Juicing and Cancer

I have begun the journey to learn more about health and nutrition and how they relate to Cancer. My desire to know more about the relationship between food choices and healing is directly inspired by a need to feel I am doing my very best to support myself and my clients in the effort to prevent terminal illness in our lives. Particularly in cases where genetics already provide a link to Cancer, it is important to practice preventative health care, by eating a diet rich in nutrients and minerals as well as minimizing toxins in the system and maintaining a regular exercise regimen.

In 2008 I lost my father, William Smith, to Cancer. It was a very difficult time in my life, as well as the rest of my family. I recall the most frustrating part being the feeling of hopelessness, that there was nothing any of us could do to help him. Recently I performed with my band Medicine Woman at a benefit for children who are currently battling Cancer in various forms. It was so inspiring to feel the community coming together to raise funds and awareness and provide hope to these children. The difference in the two experiences was remarkable. I realized that I wanted to be able to do more for Cancer patients in the way of health counseling but I have to learn more. I need to know more about my own food choices and how they are creating my cell walls and forming my organs and ultimately dictating my overall functionality.

I make tons of fresh squeezed juice with Green Pirate. I make it all the time and drink it alot too, so I figured this was logical place to start in exploring the many preventative health tools that we have access to for preventing illness. I understand that there is a direct link to blood type, genetic coding of the cells and other environmental factors that are out of our control, but I also know that diet and nutrition play a major role in the health cell and therefore overall energy and integrity of the cell.

So to kick it off, here's a list of foods that are perfect for juicing when working with Cancer.

Enjoy and please feel free to comment or support me in any way on my journey to know more.

xo
Deborah
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Below are lists of foods that are known to fight and prevent cancer. These items must be consumed raw in order to get the full benefits, which is why juicing is such a powerful healing treatment.

Cruciferous Vegetables contain very powerful anti-cancer properties. Some cruciferous vegetables are:

- Collard Greens
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Turnip

Beta Carotene is another powerful cancer fighting ingredient found in foods. These foods include:

- Carrots
- Peppers (chili, green, red, yellow)
- Leafy Greens (mustard, romaine, collards, kale, turnip greens, spinach, dandelion)

Proanthocyanidins (or PAC's) are powerful cancer fighters as well. Foods that contain PAC's include:

- Beets (including beet tops)
- Blueberry
- Plums
- Purple Grapes (with seeds and skin)

Other fruits that contain powerful cancer fighting ingredients include:

- Pineapple
- Tomato
- Dark Berries (strawberry, blueberry, red raspberry, black raspberry)

There are also bottled juices that are power packed with cancer fighting nutrients. Please research the brands and only go with the best. Recommended bottled juices include:

- Noni Juice
- Mangosteen Juice
- Goji Berry Juice.

Although the bottled juices listed above are great due to the powerful nutrients that they contain, fresh juice made from organic produce is definitely the best. During the juicing process, the fiber is removed with the pulp. Because of this, the nutrients needed to heal the body and restore the immune system go directly into the blood stream in the form of juice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2289633

12 Toxins in health care products...

Sharing is Caring, right?

I am re-posting this article about beauty and health care products that I found on the Green Wala website because it was chock full of info that I didn't know. I was surprised to realize that each of these 12 chemicals or ingredients can be found somewhere in my own home, in one of my health care products, including my shampoo, toothpaste and makeup.

I had read that antibacterial soaps are not actually great for us because they kill off good bacteria too, but only recently have I started to look beyond food sources of toxins, to the other household products that I use to get a full picture of health.

This article offers some insight to the possible toxins in your health care and beauty products. I encourage us all to read the labels, understand what we are putting on our skin, and in our hair, and to choose natural products that don't contain carcinogens and other toxins. A few ideas to look into are using natural powdered minerals or metals such as mica for eye shadows, and essential oils or distilled flower essences instead of fragrance.

Enjoy!

Twelve Of The Most Toxic Ingredients In Personal Care Products

108 Days of Yoga

Tazima Davis (Compassionate Renegade), my holistic health coach from IIN challenged all of her clients to integrate yoga into their day, every single day for 108 days starting on 1/11/11. I read all of her e-mails and thought, "I could never pull that off, I'm way too busy". Then I read further and listened to her basic guidelines for what it meant to bring yoga, mindfulness and balance into a daily practice, and determined that I could definitely find time every day to spend 30 minutes in quiet or meditation, ideally on the mat, stretching and toning my physical body as well, but at very least, in a place of rest and inner calm, breathing deeply and steadily, and quieting the chatter in my mind. In fact, this is exactly what I need heading into this new year, a year of building strength.

Since January 11, I am proud to say I have met this challenge to very best of my ability and have done yoga for 14 days. I try to get over to HOSH yoga in my neighborhood where they have built a beautiful community studio, which is also pay-what-you-wish and run by volunteers, but I have also done some video tapes and downloads from the internet. On the one day that I could not actually get to a class, I made time to meditate on my train rides (believe it or not on the subway!) and at the end of my day when I was getting ready for bed, I still got on the mat for a bit and stretched while breathing deeply.

I never thought I would even make it this far, but so far the joy of taking that time for myself to turn inward and find the balance in my body has been such a gift that I am looking forward to it again every day.

The most significant thing that I have noticed is how busy my mind is and how long it takes me each class to find my breath and focus on being in the moment rather than leaping ahead to what I have to do next, or hanging onto an experience from my past.

I hope I can stick with it and that this begins to lessen as I go....

With compassion I invite you all to challenge yourselves to an exercise or activity that would help to balance your day and make you feel great, but may seem just a bit out of reach. Give
yourself the treat of realizing that there is so much that you CAN do... become inspired.

with love,
Deborah

Rock Your Own Asana!

Yoga means union. It is a balancing and integrating of your physical, mental and spiritual selves. The benefits of doing yoga are endless, but amongst them, stress relief is key.

Recently, I hosted a week long cleanse in my home, which included a group of 10 people, doing variations on a detox cleanse and practicing yoga as a group.

One of the most powerful things that I took away from this week-long journey was that I can practice yoga every single day, in my very own home.

We moved some furniture and pulled back the rug, put on some inspiring music and threw down our mats and there was our yoga studio!

Now, granted not every apartment will have large open spaces for this, but you don't really need much. Just a mat or a rug, instructions on how to properly do some of the poses, and some quiet time to do them!

There are some helpful resources on the internet that describe poses and the meaning of certain terms.
You can order videos or DVD's of your favorite instructors or find free classes online.

Here are some references that I have used in the past:

Yoga Journal

Yoga To Health (informational site)

Rodney Yee! (one of my favorites cuz he kicks my asana)

Lisa Kazmer! (my partner in crime for the cleanses in NYC)

While the ideal situation is to find a teacher you LOVE and who inspires and guides you to be at your best, you can also rock your own asana, right at home!!

Good luck, keep it balanced.

xo
Deborah

Green Pirate Caters & Delivers This Fall!

Green Pirate Juice Truck is juicing right into the Fall, making the most delicious, nutritious and environmentally friendly beverages we can think of to rock your world!

Join the fun and have the Juice Truck deliver to your business or cater the site of your next event. Visit our website to learn more about the truck and how you can have us visit YOU!

We are currently offering catering and delivery in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, through December 15th, 2010.

Check out our profile page on Thumbtack!
Fresh Squeezed Juice Truck catering in Brooklyn!

Delicious & Healthy Fall Recipes

Greetings Dear Readers!

I am so happy today because its the perfect Fall weather. Its cool and crisp outside but the sun is shining and if you stand in just the right place it will still warm you outside and in.

This is by far my favorite season for cooking. I love to bake apple pie, roast seasonal squashes and root veggies, and of course, I love juicing apples!

Today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite simple recipes for Fall. Try them at home and let me know how it goes. I hope its delicious and FUN!

Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients
1 butternut squash
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Organic Cold Pressed Olive Oil (you can use coconut oil as well)
Cinnamon to taste
Sea Salt

When I found out how simple it was to roast a squash I was blown away. You can certainly get more fancy with this recipe by cutting the squash into different size pieces or shaping them, but if your just chillin' at home and want something sweet and warm and delicious, try this:

Wash one small butternut squash and cut it in half or four.
Remove the seeds from the belly of the squash.
Place both halves (inside face up) on a baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 375 (or 400 depending on climate and your oven)
Chop 2 cloves of garlic fine and mix them into a 1/4 cup of oil. Mix well.
Drizzle or glaze the oil over the squash covering the entire exposed surface
Sprinkle cinnamon and sea salt over the squash to your desired amount
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes then check with a fork.

I like it really soft so I would probably leave my squash in another 15 minutes (40 total). If you like it kind of hard or raw still, you can take it out after 30 minutes. Cut it into pieces and serve! Delicious.

AGAVE APPLE PIE

Here's a healthy take on an apple pie recipe that I have been trying to perfect for a few years now. It includes the use of Agave nectar.

Agave nectar's glycemic index and glycemic load are comparable to fructose, which in turn has a much lower glycemic index and glycemic load than table sugar (sucrose).

INGREDIENTS

• 5 or 6 large apples
• 2 whole wheat grain pie crusts ( you can make your own or buy in a health food store)
• 1/4 cup Agave Nectar (I recommend using amber or light)
• 1/2 cup Organic Rolled Oats
• 1/4 cup wheat flour
• Cinnamon
• dash of Sea Salt

Place one of the whole grain pie crust in a round baking dish. Wash, peel, core and chop the apples into small chunks. In a large mixing bowl combine the apples, agave nectar, sea salt and cinnamon and stir until blended. Add the rolled oats and wheat flour to the mixture and stir until moist and blended. (you could add more apples or a dash more agave here to keep mixture moist).

Fill in pie dish and cover with the second pie crust. Poke holes in the top crust with a fork to allow it to breathe.

Bake at 350, for 25 minutes. Crust should turn golden brown. Keep your eye on it!

Enjoy! (don't be afraid to add a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt to this dish!)

APPLE, WALNUT & ENDIVE SALAD
(got this recipe from Martha)

Serves 4

• 1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 teaspoons grainy mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 red apples, quartered, cored, and each quarter cut into 8 wedges
• 3 ounces baby arugula, washed and dried (6 cups)
• 1 Belgian endive, leaves separated, washed and dried
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
  

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast walnuts, stirring frequently until crisp and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, shallot, and vinegar until well combined. Whisk in the oil until thick; season with salt and pepper.
3. Add apple and arugula; toss to coat. Arrange endive leaves on four serving plates, top with apple mixture and scatter mint, cheese, and walnuts over the top.

Read more at Wholeliving.com: Apple, Walnut, and Endive Salad

What are you cleansing?

It's late Summer and it's a natural instinct to want to hang on to the last juicy days of fun and sun as long as possible. In keeping with a healthy balance of reality though, it's important to realize what is about to happen in nature and find where it is reflected in your own life. We are preparing for a natural cleanse. The Earth is pushing up and out its bounty of Fall vegetables and greens, the markets are bustling with robust, ripe produce that is vibrant in color,

and the leaves on all the trees are still sparkling green, but in a few short weeks we will begin to see the first signs of the turn of season: preparing for Fall.

At this time of year we can observe what kind of rewards we reaped from the seeds we sewed last Spring. We can give thanks for the many gifts of nature that we are able to enjoy, and we can also forgive ourselves for having lost a seed or two along the way. All the more ready to replant again next year.

Soon, we will become part of a natural letting go. It may not be time yet, but when it is.... What are you saying goodbye to in your life? What are you letting go of?

What are you cleansing?

Traditional cleansing of the body can be an incredibly powerful way to create ritual around the practice of letting go. We learn to say goodbye to those things which no longer serve us and we recognize and give thanks for the many things we learned that did strengthen and support us along our path to a happier, healthier existence. While cleansing, your body is afforded the opportunity to take a break from the tedious task of digesting and processing solid food day in and day out. Your liver, gallbladder, kidneys and stomach may all thank you for a few days off, and your colon gets a good clean out.

Whether its pesticides or trans fats in your food, car exhaust fumes in the air or chemicals in the soda you drink, your body is being assailed by pollutants 24 hours a day. You can use a cleansing diet and detox plan to redress the balance and restore your body to health! It's an important opportunity to check in with what foods work well in your diet and which do not serve you.

It's a gentle stepping back from routine to observe which habits and patterns work for you and which ones don't.

I am thrilled to be co-leading a Fall group cleanse and gentle detoxifying yoga week with my good friend and colleague, Lisa Kazmer. We will be running a planning day, to prepare for the week of cleansing and meeting several times throughout the process to practice yoga as a group and check in with eachother about our individual process.

Please visit the cleanse page on this blog for more information about embarking on a cleanse or to schedule a private consultation. You contact me directly at deborah@green-pirate.com.