So what's the deal with all these vitamins anyway? Here's a look at what I like to call the "alphabet" vitamins.
Vitamin A This vitamin is great for improving vision, bone health, teeth/hair/nail health and protects against disease. Some of the very best sources of beta carotene are carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash, mangoes, papayas, peaches and cantaloupe.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 has been called the "mighty vite" because of all the functions it performs. It is estimated that Vitamin B6 is involved with more than 101 chemical reactions that occur in our bodies.
Vitamin B6 helps us by aiding in the manufacturing of amino acids.Vitamin B6 helps our bodies to produce what's called Lymphocytes. These are white blood cells that are called out to attack foreign invaders in our bodies called antigens. It also aids in mental health. It is best to take as a supplement.
B12
Vitamin B12 helps regulate the nervous system, maintaining a healthy digestive system, and hair/nail/teeth health. It also aids in healing cancer. It is essential for our health. Take a daily supplement, especially as a vegetarian, as it's the only vitamin we can't get through our food. Bee products, however, do contain a high amount of B12. Just make sure you get raw honey, local bee pollen, and high quality Royal Jelly. I recommend The Raw Food world for your Royal Jelly.
Vitamin C
This vitamin is a great healer. It's fantastic for colds, healing wounds, cancer prevention, heart health and diabetes. The daily requirement of Vitamin C can be acquired by consuming citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits and other fruits like strawberries or kiwifruit.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D provides calcium balance in the body that prevents osteoporosis or arthritis. Vitamin D aids in fighting depression, skin health and cardiovascular strength. The best way to get Vitamin D is to hang out in the sun.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E protects the skin from free radicals, it has anti-aging elements and protects the skin from the sun. Vitamin E can heal skin conditions and wounds. This is great used topically for skin care.
After getting out of the hospital this summer, we did a lot of research to come up with a program for my Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The program we picked consisted of seven different components: 1)Cellect, a powder complex with over 97 essential vitamins and minerals 2) Budwig Diet, a cottage cheese and flax oil mixture 3) MOPA, a frequency machine that kills the microbes in your cells, eliminating cancer cells 4)B17/Laetrile, which comes in pills and is found in apricot seeds. Potent complex that kills cancer cells 5) Vegetable Juices 6) Coffee Enemas 7) Sunlight.
Well, out of those seven I am currently doing two. I never did get into juicing; I hated the Budwig Diet and the Cellect is really awful as well. I will be restarting the MOPA soon, I just took a little break from it and admittedly I haven't spent a lot of time in the sun. I realized that I need to put together another program. The juicing has been replaced with green smoothies so mainly it's replacing the Cellect. After doing some research, I believe I've come up with a supplement program that will replace the Cellect and add a few things for my specific condition.
Merlin's Herbal Magic Elixir: This amazing herbal formula has 33 different herbs. A tablespoon a day in one of my smoothies will boost my immune system.
Marine Phytoplankton: This product contains over 90 trace minerals. Here's a bit from the website "People that experience Marine Phytoplankton are known to enjoy enhanced brain function, improved immune function, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial effects, improved
cellular repair, radiation protection and detoxification,
anti-inflammatory support, antioxidant support, improved circulation,
improved heart function, allergy/asthma relief, suppression of symptoms
stemming from degenerative disease. Plus the intense
chlorophyll content in Ocean's Alive helps to increase oxygen uptake.
Higher oxygen uptake means more fuel to muscles, which translates to
improved performance and endurance."
Colostrum: This product is excellent for the immune system. It increases energy levels, protects the intestinal tract, wards off infection, and reverse the aging process.
Vitamins A, B12, D3 and E: Vitamin A eliminates free radicals, E is great for the skin and brain function, Vitamin B!2 is vital for life and unfortunately the one thing you can't get in a vegetarian diet and of course D also supports the immune system and normally comes from sunlight, which is harder to get during the winter.
CoQ10: this is necessary for basic cell function
MSM:: Helps your body absorb the other supplements, increases energy, oxygen to the cells, reduces inflammation and much more.
Iron: I take this for my anemia
Okra Pepsin: This breaks down the mucus wall inside your intestines
Niacin: This I've been taking to strengthen my heart function
Dr.Kelley's Enzymes: Pancreatic enzymes essential eat dead cells. They will eat the tumors.
Bee Pollen: helps with immunity and hormone levels
D-Ribose: gives you energy and rebuilds bones
I have about 2/3's of these items right now and plan on getting the rest throughout the month. Sadly it's all extremely expensive, so it may take a couple of weeks for me to get on the full program. My goal is to have it all my the first of December. I really feel this will be the best program for me for now. Along with 2 quarts of green smoothie daily, healthy diet, coffee enemas, dry skin brushing, rebounding, meditation, etc.
For years we've been told to avoid sunlight. We slather suntan lotion on our bodies, and hide from those glorious rays of sunlight in fear of developing skin cancer. Because of this, Vitamin D deficiency is a leading epidemic worldwide. Vitamin D is found in nearly every cell of the body and is responsible for interacting with over 2000 genes. It strengthens muscles, is an anti-inflammatory, improves immune functioning, balances insulin, builds bone and fights cancer. The best way to get our daily Vitamin D intake is to spend at least 20 minutes in direct sunlight, without any sunscreen. We have been brainwashed to believe that time in the sun is bad, that it creates cancer and causes other issues, but there is really no proof of that. While standing out there until you turn into a lobster is probably not the best idea, we need Vitamin D to function, so soaking up a little sun is really to our benefit. A Vitamin D deficiency can lead to many diseases such as several forms of cancer, osteoporosis, heart conditions, MS, obesity, Alzheimer's, depression and infertility. In the winter time, many people do not spend nearly enough time in the sun. In this case, it's a good idea to take a daily Vitamin D supplement to get your recommended levels. You can find these easily in any Whole Foods or local health food store. Vitamin D is important to your health, so get some sun, take a supplement, and you will notice a difference.
I've always been a carrot lover. When I was little, I chose carrots over ice cream. My parents would go into Baskin and Robbins and people would give them dirty looks, because they had their ice cream and I had my carrots. Relatives often teased I would "turn orange" but I didn't care, carrots are delicious.
Now that I'm older, I also know that carrots are a wonderfully healing vegetable. Carrot Juice is a powerful tool for healing many diseases, including cancer. Check out this great blog, Chris Beat Cancer for great nutritional tips on how he healed his Stage III Colon Cancer. P.S. He drank carrot juice daily, enough to turn him orange!!! Check out this picture!
So what's so great about carrots? Well, first, they are an excellent source of pro-vitamin A, vitamins C, D, E, K, B1 and B6. Carrots are rich in biotin, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, organic sodium and some trace minerals. They are a powerful anti-oxidant, blood sugar balancer, a blood builder, cleans your arteries, protects from free radicals, dispels mucus, lowers cholesterol, improves eyesight, can increase fertility, builds white blood cells, are an anti-inflammatory, heal skin issues, and ulcers. Great stuff!!
Carrot Juice is one of the healthiest way to get your carrot intake. Check out this great article on Carrot Juice for some recipe ideas and fun facts!
Check out these other tasty carrot recipes!
Sunburst Carrot Salad Recipe
Generally speaking, I don't buy the huge woody-textured carrots you find in many produce departments. I seek out bunches of seasonal carrots this time of year from various farmers, farmers markets, etc.
2 bunches carrots, preferably spring carrots
extra virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
1 green chile (serrano), deveined and minced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted
Start by washing the carrots. Use a vegetable peeler to shave each carrot into wide ribbons. If your carrots have beat up, dirty skins, peel them first before making ribbons.
Heat a big splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the carrot ribbons. Saute for just 20 seconds or so - barely long enough to take the raw edge and a bit of crunch off the carrots. Quickly stir in the chiles and lemon zest. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro, about one tablespoon of lemon juice, and then most of the pepitas. Taste. Add more salt and/or lemon juice if needed. Garnish with remaining pepitas.
Serves 4 to 6.
Carrot Soup Recipe
I typically seek out "early" carrots with the bushy green tops still on. The leaves should be fresh and not wilted, and the carrots should have vibrant color. If they feel rubbery, pass on them. I pass on bagged carrots or the big, woody ones - the early carrots often have a much sweeter flavor.
1 1/4 pounds carrots
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or clarified butter)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cups+ vegetable stock or water
juice of 1/2 a lemon
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)
- olive oil, toasted sesame oil, or red chile oil for a finishing drizzle - if you use toasted sesame oil (sometimes labeled pure sesame oil) it is very strong. I typically dilute it with olive oil. I use one part sesame oil to four parts olive oil.
Take the tops off the carrots (if they have tops) and give them a good scrub. Cut them into 1-inch segments and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes or until the onions start to get translucent. Add the stock and carrots and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender - longer if your carrot pieces ended up larger. But try not to overcook. Remove from heat and cool for a few minutes.
Puree with a hand blender (sometimes I leave the soup a bit chunky, other times I go completely smooth) - then stir in the lemon juice. Now salt to taste. If you used a salty veggie stock, you might just need a little salt. If you used water, you'll need quite a bit more. Keep adding a few pinches at a time until the carrot flavor really pops. If it tastes flat or dull, keep adding.
Finish with a drizzle of great extra-virgin olive oil, one of the other drizzles I mention up above, or whatever twist you come up with.
Carrot Juice is one of the healthiest way to get your carrot intake. Check out this great article on 
