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Protein Perspectives- Modern Nutrition & Eastern Traditions

Paul Pitchford

There’s been a flurry of media response to the mega-protein diets, and for good reason: the largest selling books worldwide in the past couple years have focused on these diets. And due to this widespread information, virtually everyone I know with an interest in nutrition, both vegetarian and omnivore, has re-assessed personal protein needs. Why has dramatic interest in protein surfaced at this time? We might surmise it’s from stress at this frenetic point in our history, as protein foods antidote stress with stabilizing, relaxing and strengthening therapeutic actions.

Yet despite all the talk about protein, rarely does anyone eat an unrefined food that is more than 25% protein by weight. Thus “eating protein” most often means eating foods that are especially protein rich. Examples of such foods are nuts, seeds, beans, soy products and most meats, including the red meats, pork (sometimes considered a white meat), fish, and fowl as well as eggs.

However, all plants also contain protein, and convincing human studies in the 1950’s by Wm. Rose indicate that when energy needs are met with a food, protein needs are automatically satisfied. For example, potatoes or rice easily meet our protein needs when one simply eats enough to obtain sufficient calories for energy. Nevertheless such foods alone rarely satisfy those who crave “protein.” Research by the world’s foremost protein expert, Dr. Scrimshaw, head of the Nutrition Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, provides an insight. His cross-cultural studies reveal that, given the opportunity, people will consume three times more protein than their true needs. In the poorer countries, this rarely manifests, but in first world countries, protein over-consumption is commonplace, being most easily accomplished with animal products.

If true protein needs are so easily satisfied, even by complex carbohydrates such as grains, what is really being craved? I feel that when meat is craved, it is the rich, highly assimilable matrix of nutrients in meat that is desired. The animal has performed the work of converting vegetal foods into tissues not so different from our own. Thus many individuals will assimilate iron, certain vitamins, and other nutrients from meat more readily than from grains and beans. This is especially true of those with cultural heritages characterized by meat-centric diets. According to the Ayurvedic healing system of India and Chinese traditional healing arts, meat strengthens us, but only when eaten in moderation. And “moderation” generally means 3-4 ounces a day. This figure corresponds to what many nutritionists now suggest for healthful meat consumption.

When meat, seafood and fowl intake exceeds eight ounces a day, the resultant protein can cause more calcium excretion than is assimilated, thus promoting osteoporosis or bone loss. In fact, osteoporosis is widespread in the developed countries, more so than in poorer areas. Thin, underfed people in India often have stronger bones than big, beefy Americans. This is due to our eating patterns: research over the past 40 years has shown that the single greatest contributor to bone loss is the acids from too much dietary protein. Other research over the same time frame suggests that kidney failure is most frequently a result of excessive protein consumption. Interestingly, traditional Chinese medicine unifies these health concerns with the view that the kidney-adrenals rule the bones. Furthermore, the kidney-adrenals are said to rule the brain—sometimes referred to as the “sea of marrow”. Can Alzheimer’s disease also be traced to protein excess?

Perhaps. In Ayurveda, a sticky, toxic residue known as “ama” is associated with eating animal products. Uncannily, recent research finds that a sticky protein polysaccharide called amyloid plaque obstructs brain pathways in those with Alzheimer’s. (The ancient teacher Gautama Buddha suggested that those interested in developing their higher faculties should avoid meat.) This same plaque obstructs the arteries in most forms of heart and vascular disease and is also implicated in the genesis of cancer.

The most comprehensive nutrition studies in history were performed in China in the latter part of the Twentieth Century. These studies, sponsored by Cornell and Oxford Universities and the Chinese government, showed that Americans, particularly American men, had a 1700 percent greater incidence of heart disease than Asians eating a grain and vegetable based diet. Ninety percent of the protein in these diets is from plant sources. Wealthy Chinese eating rich diets had heart disease similar to the Americans. Not surprisingly, other degenerative diseases, including diabetes and cancer, were less likely in those eating traditional Asian fare.

Individuals with signs of deficiency and weakness should first eliminate alcohol, smoking, and eating of refined foods processed with chemicals and grown with pesticides. Deficient individuals do best with cooked foods although some raw ferments such as sauerkraut and pickles provide balance as well as certain essential nutrients. Strengthening foods include whole wheat, brown rice, whole grain barley, oats, soy products (especially well-cooked tempeh and natto), starchy vegetables, various legumes (black beans cooked for 5 or so hours with a little sea vegetable such as kelp or kombu; and lentils), nuts and seeds such as soaked, skinless almonds, hemp seeds, flaxmeal, and walnuts. Dairy products from pasture fed animals, when tolerated, can help with deficiency. Examples include ghee (clarified butter) and high quality cow or goat milk (cultured dairy including kefir and yogurt digest best; those of goat origin digest better than cow). One cow or other mammal product that greatly tonifies deficiency is colostrum. Available from nutrition stores, it is the mammal’s “first milk” and generally contains no allergenic dairy solids. Thus even those allergic to dairy can often use it. It enhances immunity and helps the body to gain muscle mass and strength in general.

Obese individuals who over-consume meat may have short term weight loss and fewer sugar imbalances (protein controls sugar cravings), but at the risk of bone loss and kidney degeneration. Additionally meat is extremely high in inflammatory prostaglandins of the type PGE2, which greatly contribute to infections and degenerations such as arthritis. Popular books by Dr. Atkins and others who recommend protein-rich diets tell us that carbohydrates need to be restricted in order to lose weight and control blood sugar swings. In my experience they are partially correct. Refined carbohydrates should be restricted. These include the “white foods” such as white pastas, pastries and breads that contain white, refined wheat flour and refined sugar. Also included is white rice.

All such foods are not completely utilized as they are missing minerals, fiber, precious oils, enzymes, and a plethora of phytochemicals needed for proper breakdown and metabolism, not to mention their need in supporting vital immunity. Therefore, refined food residues may stay in the tissues and promote weight gain, among other imbalances. Whole carbohydrate foods—brown rice and unrefined grains, whole grain breads, unrefined sugars (e.g., Rapidura)—do not have this effect.

It should be noted that refined oils that constitute hydrogenated fats found in common peanut butter, candy bars, margarine, and shortening also cannot be fully metabolized and thus are often stored in various tissues and organs, setting the stage for cellulite, carcinomas and other degenerations.

One would expect the protein diets to receive support from mainstream dietitians who, over the years, have been promoters of meat-based diets and recipients of funding from the meat industry. Surprisingly, however, even the American Dietetic Association sees the Atkins diet as extreme beyond reason, calling it “a nightmare.”

Many people know to avoid poor-quality foods as well as the non-foods, yet continue to ingest them. This is because our mind, body and nutrition are closely related. A mind full of toxic desires may all too easily crave toxic foods. Therefore the best starting point in our regenerative process is the mind and its intention. Food and awareness practices have historically been unified, e.g., in both the ancient Orient and Occident, prayer and meditation have always accompanied dietary purifications such as fasting. When people begin with real emotional and spiritual healing, dietary upgrades tend to be second nature and effortless. There are few things more dissatisfying than eating a diet that does not match one’s current mental outlook.

Thus the first priority in my nutritional work is to recommend quieting the mind. This brings mindfulness to all we do, and through such self-awareness, one tends to change toward balance in all life activities.

The second priority is activity. In Far Eastern tradition, without adequate exercise our digestive fire becomes weak, and even the best organic foods may not help us. So I feel that one ideally develops good mental and physical habits before undertaking serious dietary change.

A message from Rumi, ancient Middle Eastern poet:

“Let that which we love           Be what we do

There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.”

Paul Pitchford is author of the landmark book Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition; he directs the Asian Healing Arts and Integrative Nutrition Program at Heartwood Institute, located in the northern California coastal mountains near Garberville. [www.heartwoodinstitute.com]

An emergency treatment for brain stroke – the release of blood to save life

Recently, my friend’s relative had stroke, leaving half of his body seriously paralysed. This incident reminds me of a similar experience of my father.

Years ago, my father had high blood pressure and heart disease. One day, he went up to the roof of our house to do some cleaning, without bringing some water with him. As a result, he did not drink a single drop of water the whole afternoon. When he was done with his cleaning job and was on his way down from the rooftop, he suddenly had stroke and rolled down from the stairs. My father lost conscious and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. The back of his head was bleeding and some of his ribs were broken.

My mother recalled an emergency treatment for stroke that involves the release of blood. With no sewing needles on hand, she had no other choices but to grab my father’s finger and bite it real hard. However, she could not bite it till it bled as the skin was too thick. Meanwhile, someone had already found her a sewing needle. She immediately pricked my father’s fingertips and earlobes with it and at the same time, pour blessed water (supplicates to Guanyin) over my father’s head. It was only until the fifth finger was pricked when my father cried out in pain. He started to regain consciousness and his face turning less pale.

At that time, the ambulance took the wrong route and reached our house only 20 minutes later. (We realised this was actually a blessing in disguise as my father could lie untouched for a while and further damage was prevented.) When my father was sent to the hospital, he was treated mainly for his external injuries, i.e. his broken ribs and he was discharged on the next day.

While he was recuperating slowly from his external injuries, I prepared Energy Soup for him every morning and he recovered very fast as a result. However getting up very early every morning was a great chore to me and now, on hindsight, I would have used Bliss de Light and Nariwa Water to substitute the Energy Soup.

The following is an abstract of the article from which my mother learnt the method of releasing blood to treat stroke:

As for brain stroke, I know of a “releasing blood to save life” method. Not only can it save life, it is absolutely free of side-effects and is a 100% effective emergency treatment. This treatment has a lot of benefits for sufferers of brain stroke and not a single ill effect. When a person has stroke, the blood vessels in the brain will start to bleed slowly. When this happens, do not panic, regardless of where the patient is, be it in the bathroom, bedroom or living room, do not move him elsewhere. The reason is, if the victim is being moved, this will accelerate the bleeding of blood vessels. Hence, all we have to do, is to hold the person, make him sit up and prevent him from falling down again. Next, get ready to release blood. It is definitely good if you have clinical syringe needles at home. If that is not available, sewing needles or pin needles will do. Heat a needle over flame to disinfect and prick the stroke victim’s 10 fingertips. (There isn’t a particular position to prick, it is roughly one millimeter away from the finger nail.) Make sure you see blood coming out from the point where you pricked (you can use your hand to squeeze the blood out). When you have pricked all 10 fingertips and see a drop of blood on each fingertip, wait for a few minutes and the stroke victim will regain consciousness. If his mouth is crooked as a result of stoke, pull his ears till they are reddish and prick 2 times on each earlobe and see that there are 2 drops of blood on each earlobe. A few minutes later, his mouth will no longer be crooked. When the stroke victim has become perfectly normal, send him to the doctor for further treatment and you can be rest assured that the stroke victim will recover from stroke fully. Otherwise, if you hastily arrange for the victim to be sent to the hospital in an ambulance, it is feared that all the jolts and bumps he experiences on his way there would cause his blood vessels to bleed even more. Till then, not even a top specialist doctor could save his life.

Once, a departmental head in my school, Mr Tan suddenly did not look his normal self and had difficulty speaking, his mouth appeared crooked. He obviously had a stroke. I immediately asked the students to buy clinical syringe needles from a pharmacy nearby. I pricked all his finger tips till I saw a drop of blood (a drop as small as a bean) on each finger. A few minutes later, Mr Tan’s face was no longer pale as a sheet of paper, his eyes were bright again, only his mouth was still crooked. I began to ponder where to prick in order to correct the crookedness of his mouth. An idea came to my mind in the nick of the moment. I pulled and rubbed his ears, in order to aid blood flow to the ears. When the ears turned red, I pricked 2 times on each earlobe till I saw 2 drops of blood on each of them. Just then, a miracle happened. In less than 3 to 5 minutes’ time, his mouth slowly returned to normal and was able to speak clearly. I let him sit down and rest for a while, served him a cup of hot tea and supported him on his way down the staircase. I brought him to the hospital in my car, he was put on the drip, allowed to rest for a night and next day, he was back in school to teach. He was working normally after discharge from the hospital and experienced no side-effect.

In normal circumstances, most stroke victims are being sent to the hospitals in emergencies and after the bumpy ride, the bleeding of blood vessels worsens, resulting in most of them permanently paralysed. Stroke is the second leading cause of death. For some lucky ones, even if they survive, they would be paralysed for the rest of their lives, thus resulting in great losses for the individual and the society. Stroke is a terrible illness. If every one could remember this “Releasing blood to save life” method, and use it when someone has stroke; that person may still be able to lead a normal life within a short time. I hope this life-saving method can be made known to as many people as possible. Only then, can we prevent this illness from claiming lives.

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2004 Feb Issue
Translated by Lapis Lazuli Light Singapore

Comments From Reader:

Date: 21st of April, 2005

I wish to commment on the article entitled “An Emergency Treatment for Brain Stroke- the Release of Blood to Save Life” appeared in Lapis News April 2005. According to my friend who is taking a course in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the treatment described is part of “Three Edge Needle Therapy” and has been used since ancient times in China. Any TCM practioner who has gone thorugh a proper course on acupunture should have learned it. Please refer to Pg 257-259 of “Acupunture-Moxibustion” (Chinese-English edition) edited by LiDaosheng and Shi Min, People Medical Publishing House, 1990 for further details.

Readers of Lapis News may find it relieved that the treatment is a proven and well established TCM treatment. Lastly, I hope that this letter would help readers to gain strong confidence in the treatment.

With mettle
Benjamin TENG

Cardiovascular Blockage May Not Require Surgery

One day this Spring, mom went to work in the field. She had forgotten to bring water and had toiled continuously for three to four hours under the hot blazing sun. She was sweating heavily and began to feel extremely unwell. After returning home, she experienced difficulty in breathing and stabbing pain in the chest, and was rushed to hospital. A cardiograph indicated that three arteries were badly clogged. She was in a critical condition and a surgery was arranged in the next few days.

On the very night the arrangement was made, mom had a nightmare, seeing two persons attempting to kill her with knives. She was startled awake and insisted that she would not undergo the operation and that she be discharged immediately. Although mom was discharged, we were all perturbed and indecisive about what should be done. Despite the urgent discussions among my siblings, we were not able to come to an agreement. My younger brothers and sisters hoped to persuade mom to go for the operation to avoid any unforeseen risk.

As for me, in recent years, I have been exposed to, and am learning about, all sorts of natural healing therapies introduced by Dr. Chiu-Nan Lai. I was the only one who suggested that mom adopt the methods suggested by Dr. Lai in an article from her book Return to the Bliss of Body. The article discussed the causes of cardiovascular diseases and provided preventive and remedial methods. Meanwhile, I had also been analysing the pros and cons of surgical versus natural therapies.

Surgery:

Pros:
Able to unclog the arteries in a short period of time.
Cons:

  1. Mom was already in her 70’s and might not be strong enough to endure the surgery. The father of a friend of mine had died during a cardiovascular operation.
  2. After the surgery, there would be wounds, and given mom’s age, it would take her longer to recover. For instance, the skin around the raw wound would have perspiration problems and tend to get itchy.
  3. With two veins removed from a leg for the coronary bypass surgery, the function of the leg would definitely be affected.
  4. She would have to go through great physical pain.

Natural Therapies:

Pros:

  1. There would be no wounds, she would not have to experience physical pain, and there would be no side effects from an operation.
  2. Mom could move around on her own without special care.
  3. Mom could attain true health by identifying the causes of the disease, working on the source of the problem, and utilising food and herbs to dissolve the deposits in the arteries.
  4. Since natural therapies require a holistic approach to the body, mind and spirit, mom would experience a higher spiritual development.
  5. Society would be saved costly medical resources.

Cons:

  1. The effects would be slow moving, and therefore, there was a possibility that she would have another attack before the effects were felt. In the case of a serious attack, she could suffer a stroke or instant death.

Given these analyses, it was clear that the risk of immediate death was present in both options, but the advantages from natural therapies were far greater than those from the operation. Finally, mom was determined to heal herself through natural therapies.

In her book, Dr. Lai mentioned the results of decades of experiments by Dr. Dean Ornish, an influential cardiologist. These experiments proved that the most effective treatments of heart disease were: a vegetarian diet and relaxation, and furthermore, no smoking, the avoidance of noisy places, the taking of minimal amounts of sugar and salt, the consumption of more vegetables and fruits with high potassium, and the taking of one to three spoons of organic apple cider vinegar, morning and night.

Dr. Lai also mentioned in the book that many Americans, while taking Circu-Flow, a herbal formula, were able to cleanse the deposits in the arteries within a month, and avoided heart surgery.

The following are the steps my mother has taken:

  1. On a regular basis, mom has been taking medicine prescribed by a relative, who is a cardiologist, to lower the chance of a sudden heart attack.
  2. Mom has immediately switched from a meat to a vegetarian diet.
  3. Mom has started taking the Circu-Flow that was obtained through a rush order for a one-month supply (we later consulted with Dr. Lai on whether mom could continue taking it. Dr. Lai said that should be no problem since the product was food based. So mom continued for two more months.)
  4. Mom has also been taking a food formula: a black fungus heart-nourishing soup (please refer to the note below) recommended by a friend.
  5. Mom has been smiling at the cells around the heart at least three times every day, each time lasts for 30 minutes.

Recalling on the causes of mother’s illness and observing the impact on her from the changes in her emotions, I notice that, apart from the effects of improper diet and excessive fats, negative emotions from constantly worrying about her children, anxiety, fear, nervousness, sadness, anger and tiredness due to overwork, all have an instant impact on her heart.

Because of the disease and mom’s fear of surgery, whenever the negative emotions arise, she remembers to take deep breaths and exhales after holding them for up to a count of six. She has begun to replace negative thoughts with happy ones. She actively attempts to transform the negative emotions and has gradually learned to let go. Everyday, she would relax and smile at the cells, and she is becoming happier. The relative (cardiologist) said that if mom does not experience any more pain within six months, that means the condition has improved and she will no longer need to go for check ups.

The book Hint for the Future states that the earth is currently moving from the third planet into the fourth planet that brings the arrival of “pure essence”. “Pure essence” is a type of matter or method that does not pollute the environment, but is self-benefiting and benefiting others. Natural therapies, which is likely to be the new direction in future, can be considered as a “pure essence”.

Note:

Black Fungus Heart-Nourishing Soup (one serving)

Ingredients:

  • Black fungus (off-white on one side), 50 grams.
  • Red dates, 4.
  • Fresh ginger, 2 slices.

Steps:

  • Soak black fungus thoroughly, then boil at low heat in six bowls of clean
  • Water until it is down to two bowls.
  • Serving dosage: one serving per day, drink with empty stomach, continue for 26 days.
    Translated by Yih Pin Tang

Supplementing Your Diet

Mitchell May, Ph.D.
Given the world in which we live, most of us would benefit greatly from added nutritional support. However, choosing pure, safe and effective supplements can be a slippery slope. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of dietary supplements are simply a blend of isolated, synthetic chemical nutrients. Although these products are often marketed as “natural”, they are actually as unnatural as plastic. This is because they are both isolatedand synthetic.

Any fruit, vegetable, grain, herb or other botanical contains 100’s of phytochemicals that collectively define its form and function. It is much like a house. We look at a house and we see “a house”. But that house is actually many synergistic elements cooperating with one another to create “a house”: trusses, plywood, electrical wiring, nails, roofing, plaster board, piping, subflooring, beams, insulation material, sheathing, windows, doors, etc. It would never occur to us to look at a bag of nails and say “house” and expect those nails to provide all the benefits a house offers to us. Yet, this is exactly what many supplement manufacturers do—isolate individual elements from a botanical. In doing so, the wholeness and value of the botanical or “house” is destroyed.

As an example let’s consider vitamin C. In the early 1900’s doctors and scientists noticed that when people were deprived of fresh fruits and vegetables, they developed problems with their connective tissue (scurvy) and immune systems. Further study revealed that certain fruits and vegetables, such as citrus fruits and red peppers, seemed to be particularly effective in correcting these problems. They continued studying these foods and found that the foods contained an abundance of a particular group of phytochemicals that later became identified as vitamin C (note: there is no single phytochemical or molecule called vitamin C). One of these phytochemicals was named ascorbic acid. In an effort to deliver the benefits of vitamin C efficiently, scientists successfully extracted the ascorbic acid molecule and gave it to people suffering from symptoms of vitamin C deficiency. An interesting thing happened—nothing. The scientists quickly determined that administering concentrated red pepper paste was far more effective than administering isolated ascorbic acid—even though the red pepper paste contained only a few milligrams of ascorbic acid. As a result, the scientist who first identified vitamin C, and subsequently isolated ascorbic acid, did not recommend its use. In fact, later in his life, he regretted the research.

However, the pharmaceutical industry embraced the notion of isolated phytochemicals as cheap, convenient alternatives to food, and then they took it a step further and began actually synthesizing the molecules in a laboratory (also known as USP vitamins and minerals). For example, when most people look at a bottle label of vitamin C and see “ascorbic acid”, they assume it is extracted from citrus (or some other fruit). In fact it is not. Ascorbic acid is manufactured by treating a sugar glucose molecule (usually extracted from genetically modified corn) with sulfuric acid (battery acid). This effectively changes the chemical structure of the glucose to mimic ascorbic acid.

We can only wonder what our body does with an isolated glucose molecule that is masquerading as ascorbic acid. You can almost imagine the internal dialogue: Our body is poised to receive a luscious, sun-ripened orange. All its systems have been perfectly adapted over 100,000’s of years to digest the orange and utilize the 100’s of phytochemicals it contains to construct bone, skin, tendons, vein walls and manufacture white blood cells (as well as many other activities)—our body is primed and ready. Instead, in comes this bizarre looking ascorbic acid molecule, 100’s, maybe 1000’s, of them. “What the heck is this?” The signal goes out, “Red alert, red alert, we’re being invaded by an army of glucose molecules.” All systems are quickly activated to eject the threatening molecule as quickly as possible. Doesn’t sound very healthy, does it?

Fortunately, although they are rare and hard to find, there are some nutritional supplements that really are concentrated whole-foods and botanicals, and not just isolated USP synthetic nutrients. However, supplement selection is a bit more complicated than simply choosing whole-food products. One of the reasons manufacturers use USP nutrients is that it is cheap and easy to quantify and control their potency. It is also easy to pour a synthetic white powder into a capsule (or press it into a tablet) and package it. However, by their very nature, foods are variable in their nutrient and phytochemical content depending upon how they are grown and harvested. Additionally, the nutrients and phytochemicals in food are fragile. Many of them deteriorate quickly after harvest when exposed to light, oxygen and heat. It is also challenging to fill capsules or press tablets with whole food ingredients. Selection is made even more complicated by the fact that whole foods are far more expensive than isolated chemicals. Thus, nearly all manufacturers utilize inferior food ingredients as a way of controlling costs.

One of the most valuable types of whole food supplements is green superfood blends, such as Bliss De Light. If superior ingredients are utilized, these formulas offer an abundance of the enzymes, life-giving oxygen, and life energy. The very special algae, grass juices, sprouts, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and tonic herbs are concentrated sources of detoxifying enzymes, trace minerals, chlorophyll (and other beneficial pigments), amino acids and other active constituents. However, for this to be true, the ingredients must be grown without chemicals (organic), harvested with great care, dried at low temperatures and packaged very carefully. Just as with food you might consume at a meal, green food supplements must be alive and bioavailable.

Many factors influence the viability of superfoods ingredients (please see the article in this newsletter A Tradition of Healing). For instance, my research at UCLA revealed that wildcrafted and organically grown botanicals offered more nutrients, phytochemicals and life force energy than conventionally farmed botanicals. This is because plants extract their nourishment from their surrounding environment. Wild soils and the soils on organic farms are teeming with nutrients, enzymes and microorganisms, which result from the natural cycle of composting that occurs in nature and is replicated on organic farms. Plants growing in these fertile soils receive a myriad of nutrients and not just the few included in the chemical fertilizers applied by conventional farmers. Plants, in turn, use these nutrients to produce phytochemicals.

Interestingly, many of the phytochemicals scientists have identified as being highly beneficial to human health are actually created by the plants to protect themselves from pests and disease. The absence of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides actually requires a plant to increase its immunity via the creation of phytochemicals. In other words, phytochemicals are the plant’s immune system, and just as human children develop strong immune systems through exposure to childhood illness, so do plants. We, in turn, benefit from these plant based phytochemicals when we consume organically grown or wildcrafted botanicals.

Time of harvest is another important consideration. Different nutrients, phytochemicals and enzymes reach optimal concentrations at distinct stages of plant growth. In other words, wheat grass must be harvested at a particular stage of growth to optimize its amino acids and enzyme profile, and camu camu berries must be harvested at a particular stage of development to achieve the greatest levels of vitamin C. It is then necessary to consider what form of the botanical is most efficacious: juice, whole leaf or concentrate? Irrespective of the form, once harvest has occurred, the botanical must be processed very carefully to ensure that all the beneficial active constituents remain viable. In most cases this means that it must be chilled immediately, and then quickly juiced, dried or concentrated. Drying must also occur quickly, at low temperatures, to preserve heat-sensitive enzymes and nutrients. Finally, the finished product should be vacuum-packed in glass to protect the ingredients from destructive exposure to light and oxygen. Otherwise, the phytochemicals will deteriorate within a very brief period of time.

All of the above determine the quality of a whole-food or botanical ingredient.  However, the steps to ensure quality are expensive and many manufacturers cut corners in these areas.  Wheatgrass juice is a good example.  It is challenging and costly to harvest field-grown wheatgrass at the optimal stage of development, quickly juice it and then dry it at very low temperatures.   Yet, if you don’t do all these things, its value will be greatly diminished.   To avoid this expense, most manufacturers do one of two things: use whole leaf wheatgrass powder or dry the wheatgrass onto a cheap highly processed carrier material.  The nutrients in wheatgrass powder are trapped by tough cellulose fibers that humans can’t digest.  So, although the nutrients might be in the grass, they are not available to our bodies.  This is why we juice wheatgrass.  Alternatively, some manufacturers juice the wheatgrass and then dry it onto maltodextrin (high sugar cornstarch).   In fact, many wheatgrass juice products are actually up to 50% maltodextrin.  Not only does maltodextrin have no nutritive value, it is also a likely source of genetically modified materials.  Thus the reasons we include only 100% wheatgrass juice powder in Bliss De Light superfood powder.  In addition to whole wheatgrass, other green food products commonly contain other cheap ingredients that create a lot of bulk but contribute very little nutritional value such as: apple pectin or fiber, and rice bran.

Not all whole-food supplements are in powder form, and this creates another challenge.  Automated machinery forms tablets and fills capsules, and numerous undesirable chemicals are often added to facilitate this process.   Fillers (such as maltodextrin) are added to increase volume and fill up a capsule.  Flow agents (such as stearates) are added to make the material slippery so that it will flow easily into a capsule.  Stearates are also added to tablets to enhance compression.  Colorings are added to improve appearance, and synthetic or insect– derived coatings are applied to help bind.  These are all ingredients we would avoid like the plague in our meals, but routinely swallow in our supplements.  What’s worse is that studies show that some of these, such as stearates, actually interfere with the absorption of the beneficial active constituents and nutrients in the tablet or capsule.  Unfortunately almost all supplements contain these undesirable ingredients.  However, Bliss De Light superfood powder and Pure Radiance C contain no synthetic additives of any kind – only 100% pure, organic life giving whole-foods.

Never before in history have humans been faced with such an onslaught of toxins both external in the air, water, soil, and food, and internal from modern life stress.  In the face of this toxic load it is essential to nourish ourselves in the most powerful ways possible.  With this knowledge in hand, Dr. Chiu-Nan Lai personally asked me if I would work with her to create and offer the purest and most powerful Life-giving natural supplements to help and support her friends, students, and extended community – I was deeply honored by such a request.  Through our joyous and collective research and efforts, Dr. Chiu-Nan Lai and I are bringing you Bliss De Light superfood powder and Pure Radiance C.  These very special products offer you the highest level nourishment, detoxification, regeneration and life-energy possible – supporting your healing process, sustaining your healthy life, maintaining a high level of energy and your overall well-being.  Equally as important to their many health benefits are the ongoing support these beneficial products bring to raising and expanding our consciousness.

EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISM

Effective Microorganism (EM) was discovered by a horticulture professor in Ryukyu, Japan. He collected 80 cultures that were beneficial to human body and attempted to test their impact on cultivation. After the results on each of the cultures showed no significant difference in their impact, he poured all the cultures together onto a lawn and accidentally discovered to his surprise that the mixture of these human-benefiting cultures highly benefited plant growth. The investigation revealed that the mixture of the cultures could quickly dissolve toxic chemical substance. Adding the cultures to septic tanks causes the water to become clear. This product was later used for purifying polluted rivers.

Although manufacturers state that the product can only be used for agriculture purpose (dilute 100 times, spray along pathway but not directly on the roots of plants), Dr Lai suggested after her experiments that this product can be used in many areas. For example, drinking water that contains EM (one teaspoon to a cup of water) helps dissolve the toxin in the body; adding a small amount of EM into the water used for washing non-organic fruits and vegetables will also help remove some pesticides. Dr Lai has also discovered that EM can elevate overall energy. For instance, adding a small amount of EM into the water for cooking rice, the cooked rice will have a much higher energy; using diluted EM to wipe tables and floors or spray into the air will also increase the energy in the house while having the air cleaning effect; adding EM into bath water (at least one to two tablespoons; you can soak your head as well) helps removing the pollutants accumulated in your body throughout the day.

The first time my husband and I (normal body constitution) drank water with EM, we soon ran to the toilet. From then on I frequently add some EM into drinking water to conveniently detoxify. I even heard from friends (mostly very ill) who drank EM in large amount (half a bowl of non-diluted EM) for detoxification and received good effects. Some friends mix EM with molasses for their children and the children love it. For oral in-take of EM, please pay special attention to the effective date and whether the product smells bad. Make sure the quality of EM is good before drinking. Because of the serious pollution in the environment, we must carefully check if there is any mutation in the culture.

You can also cultivate your own EM. Pour three capfuls of EM into a light-proof container, add same amount of molasses, then dilute with 1000cc of water. Keep the mixture in room temperature for 3 days and it will be ready for use. This home-cultivated EM can be used as a spray for the surrounding environment or sprayed on leftover or waste from kitchen or on compost (this prevents the compost from becoming smelly and speeds up the decomposition). However, home-cultivated EM is not recommended to be used as a culture to make new EM and it is not suitable for oral intake.

The baby of a friend tends to drink bath water while taking bath. I suggested that my friend be a little flexible and add a small amount of EM into the bath water (note: we do not use soap on babies); unexpectedly she found the baby’s prickly heat gone without any medication. She also put EM that has been diluted 1000 times next to the toilet. One capful of the diluted EM is poured into the toilet after passing urine, this way it does not smell even if the toilet is not flushed (what a super saving). You probably think that this is too much trouble. However, if you know that the amount of water used from flushing toilet is ? of a household’s annual water consumption, you would understand why environmental protectionists are making such effort.

My other experience was on insect-infected roots of the lawn at a friend’s home. More and more parts of the lawn had withered, but there were concerns that if pest control company was hired to spray pesticide, the kids would not get to play on the lawn. Thus, my friend asked for my opinion. I reckoned that for plants to have attracted insects, the cause could be an unbalanced soil nutrients; perhaps increasing the richness of the soil will improve the soil condition. So I gave her some organic compound such as rock powder and suggested that she also spray some EM. It turned out that she only sprayed the EM twice (two weeks apart) without doing any thing else, and the withered lawn began to return to shining green. Not only that this method incurred a much lower cost than hiring a pest control company, it also gives consideration to environmental protection.

Mr. You, an old man who had cancer, was suffering from festering pus in both legs, and had trouble healing the wound. Later, whenever his son had free time, he would use EM as hydrogen peroxide solution or iodine tincture to clean the father’s wound, then a thick mixture of friendly bacteria (acidophilus and bulgaricus) is applied. When the application dried up, he soaked the legs in EM to wash off the friendly bacteria. Consequently, both legs recovered completely after repeated treatments.

Given that EM can be used to clean rivers, if every household uses EM, we are not only benefiting ourselves but also helping with the recovery of the earth since EM used will be flushed through the drainage into nature. Thus, whenever people ask if I know of any good staff, my first suggestion is always to buy a bottle of EM for use.

Qi REGULATOR (Pendulum)
This special tube that many people call energy tester is made of copper. It is frequently used to test energy and many are unaware that the tube also has the function of regulating qi.

Using the qi regulator to dowse the energy of food or a person is quite effective because copper is very sensitive to subtle energy and thus moves easily. Besides, copper is heavier than other metals, that makes it easier when it comes to counting the number of rotations. Other than dowsing for the quality of food and whether certain food combination is good or bad, I also use the qi regulator to test and measure the energy of people, the environment (feng shui) or ask questions, but this requires repeated practice (please refer to Dr Chiu-Nan Lai’s book Return to the Bliss of Body)

Recently, I am experimenting the number combinations (discovered by a Japanese, Dong Fang Xingqi [东方兴起]) that Dr Lai told me for preventing microwaves and electromagnetic waves. Simply use a green-ink pen to write down these combinations (microwaves prevention: #95*59#; electromagnetic waves prevention: #535000*5*#) on papers and stick them on mobile phones or electronic equipments; this will lower the interferences of microwaves and electromagnetic waves. The discoverer, Mr. Dong Fang Xingqi also recommends keying in the combination of #535000*5*# into computer, telephone or fax machine once a day to lower the vibrating energy. Whereas for mobile phones, dial the combination of #95*59# at least three times daily. Also, I have followed Dr Lai by pasting papers written with these combinations on windows or keeping them in my pockets. I realized an immediate change in my energy and the house energy. Why don’t you give it a try?

Concerning qi regulating, I remember a story Dr Lai told us during her workshop on regulating qi using a qi regulator. She said when she was in India, she helped someone regulating qi. The person experienced immediate effect after being sick for a long time. So an offer was made to Dr Lai to buy her qi regulator at a high price. The qi regulating process is actually quite simple. Simply hold the qi regulator above the painful or sick area and let the regulator move on its own. If it moves clockwise, it means qi is lacking and it brings in good qi; if it moves counter-clockwise, it means there is bad qi and it is releasing the bad qi. The regulator will keep moving left and right. You may stop when it almost comes to a halt. You can repeat regulating qi at your free time; the frequency depends on your individual need. You may find it difficult to hold the regulator above certain parts of your body. You can ask others to help regulate your qi or you can do it yourself by placing one palm on the part that needs attention to connect the qi while the other hand holding the qi regulator and let it swirl on its own. This is another level of qi regulating, you can even use a drawn human-figure, tell yourself that he figure represents you, then regulate your qi by dowsing on the figure. However, this is a very high level of qi regulating.

In the process of qi regulating, try to visualize sending negative qi into soil as compost. A friend commented that if the visualization is not done with full concentration, sometimes the bad qi would stay around. One method to purify the energy field is: add about 300cc of 60-80% alcohol into a steel cup filled with half a pound of Epsom salts or sea salt. Burn the mixture and walk one round across the room. You will notice that as you pass through areas with more negative qi, the fire becomes fiercer.

When my child is not feeling well, I help her regulate qi so that she recovers faster. But my qi -regulating aid goes mostly to friends. A friend of mine was suffering from stomach ulcer; I happened to have a qi regulator with me, so I helped regulate her qi. Although she did not feel anything special and she could not get the regulator to actually move, she still borrowed it home with some doubt in mind. One day, when she was in a lying position trying to regulate her qi, the qi regulator was making such big circles that it kept hitting her elbow. Only then that she believed the qi regulator moved on its own and not because her hand was shaking.

A friend had a ringing sensation on her left ear, as if she was hearing her own heart beat. Her numerous consultations with doctors told her there was nothing wrong but her own imagination. From her description, I felt that it sounded like qi blockage. So I offered to help her regulate qi. During the regulating process, she could clearly feel a burst of warm energy rushing out. People who are sensitive to qi generally feel warmth, numbness or flow of qi during a qi-regulating process. However, most people may not have these feelings.

Once, I lent my qi regulator to my Tai Chi teacher who was very sensitive to qi. He played with it for two days and told me that even just holding the regulator in the hand, there was a qi-regulating effect. He had once fallen and hurt his back and his qi had not been flowing smoothly around the area. When he held the regulator in his hand during his sleep, the regulator continuously regulated his qi.

Once, a Mrs Ke had a sudden gastric attack and was very anxious. After I helped her regulating her qi, she felt much better and borrowed the regulator from me. But only after two days she returned it because the regulator would not move when she tried it herself. I thought of what my Tai Chi teacher said and explained to her that by holding the regulator in her sleep would also help regulating her qi. I recommended that she try it. Later, she was very happy to share with me the surprising effect that since she has been sleeping with the qi regulator (Mrs Ke cleverly slips the regulator underneath her bra, which means that she has been placing the regulator above her stomach), she can easily sleep for up to five full hours and when she wakes up, her stomach feels soft and comfortable. This is very different from the past as she had frequent micturition; she usually slept for less than three hours and had to get up to go to toilet and then had difficulty falling asleep again, and whenever she woke up, the stomach was very hard.

There was a period of time she slept without the regulator, the frequent micturition problem returned. When she resumed the usage of qi regulator, she unexpectedly experienced walking difficulty after she woke up and went to toilet. Therefore, she returned to bed, and again, smartly moved the qi regulator to her bottom. Twenty minutes later, she got up and was able to walk as usual (my guess was that her qi was blocked between her bottom and the thighs). Over six months later, I visited Mrs Ke again. She told me that the qi regulator has been useful all along. Her daughter said the qi regulator was one of the treasures of the mother.

Another friend shared with me that if one regulates qi right after getting a bump or being scalded, the skin is less likely to get bruises or blisters.

We generally tend to our physical body when we are sick. According to Rudolf Steiner, a human being has four bodies: ego body, astral body, etheric body and physical body. Since it is so, wouldn’t it be faster to directly work on our etheric body when we are sick? This is also why qi regulating is useful. However, if the pain or illness is due to emotional distress, merely regulating qi without thought transformation can only temporarily relieve pain.

The qi regulator I use is a traditional copper tube made of spiral copper wire. The design accommodates faster qi regulating. Actually, in case of urgent need, anything you can conveniently grab, even a string, can be used to regulate qi; it is just that metals transmit qi at a faster speed. For individual qi-regulating conditions, you will need to learn through practice.

WHITE CHARCOAL
White Charcoal is an activated carbon produced from the process of firing wood at the temperature of 1000 degree C. While it is still burning, the wood is removed from the kiln and coated with cooling powder made from ash and soil, and then set aside to cool off. The white charcoal is durable and is hard as metal. Since the countless tiny holes in a piece of white charcoal can absorb contaminants, release infrared, produce ions, induce growth of friendly microorganisms and has a preventive effect against electromagnetic waves, white charcoal can also be used for cleaning air, purifying water, cooking, improving blood circulation and sleep, warming up the body system, getting rid of chill, and strengthening the yang energy. White Charcoal is a very good health product.

I frequently use white charcoal to purify my drinking water and bath water. I was asked how I treat my household drinking water. Firstly, I installed a water filter at the water faucet. Secondly, I store the filtered water in a transparent plastic container and boost the energy of water using a water crystal energizer set invented by Dr Lai’s father (I have experimented it myself: repeatedly charging the water crystal energizer set on water or food; their energy keeps rising. So I usually charge for a few more seconds while chanting mantra and dedicating the merit to the inventors, promoters and water source), and then pour the water into a big jug which has white charcoal and wheat rice stone that further purify water and release minerals into water. Sometimes I also add a tiny bit of EM to increase friendly bacteria in the water.

Of these things, the water filter is replaced once a year, with the cost of about US$50. The small bag of wheat rice stone only shrinks a little after three years of usage, whereas the water crystal energizer set and white charcoal can be used “indefinitely”. With such low costs, I get satisfactorily extra high quality water for the household!

White Charcoal can be used in many ways. There are books on white charcoal available at bookshops. My friend’s mother who had sleep problem placed charcoal next to her pillow to help with her sleep. Friends who use white charcoal for bath (one to two pounds; the effect is even more obvious is chlorine is filtered from the water) all agree that they feel especially light and comfortable. A friend who had lower back pain followed my suggestion of bathing with white charcoal; since then this has become her favourite. She even bought many white charcoal for her friends and relatives. Another friend attempted to wrap white charcoal around a cellular phone antenna and found the interference turned into positive energy. I also heard from Dr Lai that she once had a cough due to EMF interference. She followed her instinct by placing white charcoal on her navel; it turned out that white charcoal even has cough relieving effect.

I feel that besides its numerous wonderful uses, it is most appreciated that white charcoal can be continuously renewed by having it cooked in boiling water for 15 minutes every one to two months (exposing it to hut sun after cooking will better restore its energy). This product is not only healthy but also environmental friendly.

ORGANIC SUNFLOWER OIL
Swishing with organic sunflower oil has always been my favourite way of detoxifying because most detoxification methods more or less involve some reactions, but by swishing with sunflower oil (upon rising or at a set time everyday, swish for 15 minutes, then spit out), toxin from the body is directly extracted through the mouth and hence there is no commonly seen detoxifying reactions. The colour of the oil spit out indicates the level of toxin being extracted. If the oil is white in colour, that means the body has accumulated a lot of toxin, if the colour is close to the colour of oil, it means the body is less polluted.

Before both of my pregnancies, my husband and I were diligent in swishing sunflower oil everyday. We did it until the colour of the spit-out oil was the same as the colour of oil. So I did not get morning sickness during my pregnancy and the babies were born very healthy. Besides, whenever I get sick and have heavy phlegm, I would swish with sunflower oil to get rid of the phlegm. Some friends told me they spit out the oil within 5 minutes of swishing because their mouths were full of phlegm.

My friend, a teacher, used to get lots of phlegm every morning after rising. When she got to school, she always had to clear her throat before she could start talking. She received very good results from swishing sunflower oil and she felt unusually refreshed. Since then this has become her regular morning homework.

Dr Lai said as long as the oil is cold-pressed, it can be used for swishing. The reason for using organic cold-pressed oil is because organic oil has higher energy and yields better detoxification results. There was a short period of time my friend was not able to get sunflower oil, so she replaced it with cold-pressed olive oil. But according to her, the result was not quite the same; her mouth felt very clean but the effect of getting rid of phlegm was not as good as that of sunflower oil.

A young friend who grew up in the US read the magazine article that introduced the sunflower-oil swishing method. Because his Chinese was not very good, he did not fully understand the article. He went home and simply used the vegetable oil that was normally used for stir frying; he just kept the oil in his mouth (but not swishing) for 15 minutes and then spit out. But he told me that it was very effective because a large portion of the pimples on his face was gone.

Another friend has poor lungs since she was little. She said it took her half-a-year to realise the effect. For the first half-a-year, she only spit out white-coloured oil, but after that, bits and bits of solid sputum started to come out. This shows that oil-swishing takes time, patience and persistence. My own experience is that the longer the swishing time, the more toxins are extracted. If I swish for only 15 minutes, the oil spit out probably has its original colour, but if I continue and swish for a total of ? hour, the oil spit out will be white in colour. If I eat out, the oil I spit out the next day is usually whiter.

Additionally, I also use sunflower oil for oil bath (please refer to Return to the Bliss of Body by Dr Lai for details) especially when my qi is weak or when I catch a cold. This is because oil bath has the effect of warming the body and getting rid of chills. Taking oil bath is also very good for the health of a pregnant woman and the foetus.

It seems that I have an endless list of home treasures such as peat moss, electrilizer, qi regulator, water crystal energizer set, friendly bacteria and so on, but you need to try them yourself to actually realise their benefits. I believe there are many Lapis Lazuli members who have great experience with these products. You are welcome to share with us your experience in using them!

Extracted from Lapis Lazuli Light Magazine 2003 May Issue
Translated by Yih Pin Tang