Utah's Healthy Foods Connection: The Art of Tai Chi

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The Art of Tai Chi

Human beings do not sustain life by food and breathing alone. It is important to have a strong flow of energy within the body. Chi healing is an ongoing process of creating a balance between the Yin and Yang energies within our being. The most nutritious food would be of no use if our inner constitution is weak. In order to absorb and integrate the universal energy outside we must learn to integrate and strengthen the fundamental life force within our body.

Good health is living and being in balance with all aspects of our internal world - the body, mind, emotions and spirit so that we may be in balance and good relationship with all aspects of the external world. Just before the luncheon began on the 28th a special demonstration was arranged of this amazing skillful, mindful art by Michael Wilson, who has been studying with Master Lu for the last five years.

For anyone wanting more information about the classes that are being held, contact Andra Coccimglio about the Tai Chi group that meets weekly at Wheeler Farm.

Andra also incorporated some information from one of her other passions which is preparedness. Emergency preparedness was addressed by Joyce Lowy as she shared a home made (clothes washer) in the event of no electricity, and emergency lighting using Lanterns. To contact her for information about these items call her at 942-6089.

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Andra Coccimiglio

It has been exciting to see the group grow over the last few years, and it’s a great way to connect and share ideas, recipes and information, and sample delicious raw food potlucks. We usually have someone speak on nutrition and the benefits of eating more of a raw food diet. Each person brings a dish and a copy of the recipe to share. And then we e-mail all who desire a copy of the recipes. It has been such fun, so please join us, and begin the journey to greater well-being and health. Please feel free to contact me with questions on times and event: andracoccimiglio@hotmail.com or call 801 718-3936

Meet Rima E. Laibow, M.D

Rima E. Laibow, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Natural Solutions Foundation. She is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1970) who believes passionately in the right every American to choose a personal health path that is free of government or corporate interference.

She has practiced drug-free, natural medicine for 35 years by seeking the underlying cause of every illness and ailment. Over During this time, she has enjoyed remarkable success with a wide assortment of cataclysmic problems and health promotion efforts.

Like other healers who trust the innate ability to heal, she believes in using nutrients and other natural options to find, define and treat the problems which underlie degenerative, chronic diseases. The key is supporting the immune and other crucial body systems. Dr. Laibow has seen results from these techniques so often in her patients and in her personal life, that she believes the medicine of the future is the medicine of cooperation with nature.

Because of Dr. Laibow’s awareness of the wide variety of powerful natural, non-toxic options available to treat the underlying causes of disease, she is focused on maintaining these choices for all Americans.

Based on her understanding of the impact of poor nutrition and chemical/pesticide toxicity on the declining health of America, Dr. Laibow is determined to help Americans maintain their right to choose health promotion rather than illness care in their efforts to protect themselves from disease and toxic harm.

Food for Thought

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”

Albert Einstein

“My refusing to eat meat occasioned an inconveniency, and I have been frequently chided for my singularity. But my light repast allows for greater progress, clearness of head and quicker comprehension.”

Benjamin Franklin

“Our bodies are our gardens, to which our wills are gardeners.” William Shakespeare

“You are what you eat.” American proverb

“When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot be exerted, wealth is useless and reason is powerless.”

Herophilies 300 B.C.

“People who don't have patience, will become patients”

Yogi Bhajan

“A closed mind is a wonderful thing to lose.” Author unknown

“...vegetarianism should gradually eliminate the fierce and rugged elements from man's character, and fill the earth with gentle manners.

It is both feasible and rational, and should appeal to and be practiced and advocated by all who seek the ideal life, and aim at producing a sweet-tempered, intellectual and artistic, yet vigorous, active and prolific race.” Professor Gautier (As quoted in What To Eat In Health And Disease, printed in 1923.)

Tony Robbins. stated in his audiotape series, Personal Power, said the following words, “If you want to be alive, eat live foods”.

He also brings up the point that our planet is 70% water and our bodies are 80% water. He says then, that it only makes sense for us to eat mostly water rich foods such as fruit, vegetables and sprouts. He explains that proper diet increases one’s energy, which is necessary for total success.

Albert Schweitzer was a severe diabetic. When he sought the help of the raw food pioneer, Max Gerson, he was ill indeed and taking huge doses of insulin.

Gerson took him off his high protein diet, commenting that since it is the pancreas that has to supply most of the enzymes needed to digest protein and since it is the pancreas which is ailing already in diabetes, why flog a dead horse? Poorly digested proteins only create more than their fair share of toxic wastes.

Gerson put Schweitzer on a regimen of fresh raw vegetables and lots of vegetable and fruit juices, including apple juice with all its fruit sugar. Ten days later, Gerson judged it safe to reduce his patient’s insulin by half. A month later, Schweitzer needed no insulin at all.

His diabetes never returned and he remained healthy and very active until his death in 1965 at the age of 92. This information comes from Leslie and Susannah Kenton, in their book, Raw Energy.

Thomas Edison, the man credited with the creation of the light bulb, made a very profound statement and one that is relevant to our topic: "The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."

Foods that help you live better lives

(CBS) As more research is being done on foods and how they affect us, researchers continue to find that certain foods will not only help you live longer, but could help you live better.

For those curious about the "super foods," the April issue of Health magazine put together a comprehensive shopping list of the most promising anti-aging foods around.

Robin Vitetta-Miller, nutritionist and contributor of Health magazine, visits The Early Show to discuss the different categories of "super foods" and the anti-aging benefits.

Foods to Focus Your Vision

· Spinach.

· Broccoli: 1/2 cup each day protects against a number of cancers, particularly cancers of the lung, stomach, colon and rectum. Broccoli is a great source of flavonoids, carotenoids, vitamin C, folate and potassium that helps prevent heart disease.

· Corn

· Tuna

· Peaches

Foods to Protect Your Heart

· Garlic

· Oats: 5 to 7 servings a day of oats or other grains such as brown and wild rice, barley, wheat germ and flaxseed. They are a rich source of magnesium, potassium, zinc copper, manganese, selenium, thiamine and panthothenic acid.

· Grape juice

· Walnuts

Foods For A Better Memory
Research shows that berries seem to slow and reverse many of the degenerative diseases associated with an aging brain. Blueberries also provide another antioxidant known as allagic acid. This acid blocks the metabolic pathways that can promote cancer. The acid is also found in black and red raspberries, boysenberries, marionberries and blackberries.

· Blueberries

· Raspberries

· Blackberries

· Kale

· Dark Red Apples

Foods to Lower Cancer Risk

· Soybeans: Soy offers tremendous health benefits when incorporated into the diet. It's an inexpensive, high-quality, vitamin and mineral rich plant protein.

It has been recognized by many researchers as playing a positive role in preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis as well as helping to relieve menopausal and menstrual symptoms.

· Garlic

· Green Tea

monthly recipe resource

In the beginnings of this group Andra along with Gary Parker had a vision to reach out to other like minded people who are looking of answers to creating greater well being.

The sharing of information can be empowering. I you’d like to share recipes or tape into our monthly recipe resource contact Gary Parker at turbop@byu.net.

Below is a great sample of some of the recipes shared at our November meeting. Enjoy!

Apple and Celery Salad by Frederic Patenaude courtesy Marie Landvatter:

Two cups celery, finely chopped.

One cup apple, peeled and finely chopped.

One avocado, mashed.

One cup fennel, finely chopped.

Two teaspoons fennel seeds.

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Make sure the avocado is mashed.

Raw Apple Pie (yield: 9” pie) courtesy Carolyn Rouch:

Crust:

1 ¾ cups soaked almonds.

1 ½ cups dates, pitted.

Two tablespoons water.

½ teaspoon vanilla.

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon.

Two teaspoons psyllium.

Combine nuts and dates in food processor until finely ground. Then add water, vanilla, and cinnamon and continue processing. Gradually add psyllium while continuing to process. Remove mixture immediately from processor and press into pie plate.

Filling:

Ten to twelve apples peeled and cored.

Two cups pitted Medjool dates.

One cup golden raisins.

Two teaspoons cinnamon.

Two tablespoons psyllium.

Run apples, dates, and raisins through juicer using the homogenizing blank and mix well. Place mixture into food processor.

Add in cinnamon and mix well. Continue mixing and gradually add psyllium until thoroughly mixed.Remove mixture immediately from food processor and pour filling into piecrust. Cover and refrigerate.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Helped with the Raw Food Diet:

It was the end of fall in Australia, 1994, when I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 43. My children were only 6 and 8 years old at the time.

It wasn’t long before I was fully immersed in its unremitting fury that left every part of my body and flesh screaming out in torment. Indefinable pain and suffering was now my constant companion. I was in such deep despair over the agony I was suffering from this insidious disease, it was all I could do to stay alive for my children. Finally, I became bedridden.

My children dressed me, fed me, and positioned me in the right place to pull me out of bed so as not to hurt me in any way. They took me to the toilet and placed me on the bowl, and waited while I sat, pondering on my life and the misery set before me. The hardest thing for me was simply being alive. The thought of ending it all to relieve my anguish would have been a welcome relief. Growing up in orphanages and children’s homes, I was beyond the point of, ‘who would love my children if I died?’

It was beyond me now to hold onto my children’s hands as I took them to bed, to feel their flesh against mine. Now they took me to bed, and were no longer allowed to touch my flesh, as it left me wailing in pain. I could see in their eyes that they needed me.

Night time was the loneliest time as I lay in the darkness of my room, alone with my thoughts, knowing I could not call out to my young ones, as God knows they needed their rest. I averaged 2 hours sleep per night because of the pain. My tears were constant and flowed most of the time. Sometimes in the darkness, I asked, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me” and in those tears I cried out, “Where is my miracle?” I thought that I would never recover from the way the disease had altered me, or shake off the despondency into which my personality had sunk.

As the light of day dawned through the Venetian blinds, I pondered on how I could recover from this tormenting, crippling disease. I did not want my children to have any part in the burden of my sorrow any longer. I had to recover for them!

I started reading books on diet and disease and finally came up with my own regime that worked for me. I had no idea what I was doing at the time, but knew in the deepest recess of my heart I would be free from rheumatoid arthritis.

After changing my diet to a high raw food diet, I became well, pain free, and disease free. I was once again able to physically love my children and take care of them. We laughed, we danced, we had fun, and I was caught up in the spirit of my children. They told me, “Mama we love you.” It was beautiful. I have since become a 100% raw vegan. Now the raw food vegan lifestyle is the secret of health, longevity and quality of life. - Sonia