Usually it is not in most people’s budget to buy all organic foods. Nor can every food type your are interested in be readily found in organic form at your local grocery. I came across this list last year as to which produce is most important to buy organic, though I didn’t reference the source. If your budget limits you to what you can buy organic, here is a list of which is most important produce to choose in organic form.

Focus on buying in organic form the fruits and vegetables that are most heavily sprayed with pesticides.

The following fruits and vegetables are ones that are heavily sprayed with pesticides and are listed in order of the worst offenders in pesticide residues, number one being the highest.

1. strawberries
2. bell peppers
3. spinach
4. cherries
5. peaches
6. cantaloupe
7. celery
8. apples
9. apricots
10. green beans
11. grapes
12. cucumbers

For the produce you buy that is not organic, wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating them or even peel them. It is recommended that you use a fruit wash such as Veggie Wash or Fit ; you can find fruit washes at your local grocer, but you can also use a diluted soap, as it is better than just water alone to remove the pesticides.

You can significantly improve your overall health and nutrition for only a few dollars a day by incorporating super foods into your diet.

Superfoods (or super foods) are foods that are so rich in nutrients that they can treat or prevent disease. One can incorporate the natural forms into your daily meal plans or obtain the benefits of a wide variety that would be virtually impossible to eat by using one of the many new superfood supplements available. The following data and suggestions are excerpts from an article by Dr. David J.Foreman, Herbal Pharmacist, author of the monthly newsletter for the Vitamin Shoppe chain of stores. See the footnote below for a link to the complete article.(1)

According to Dr. Foreman’s research, most experts are now recommending 9 servings per day of fruits and vegetables.(1)

Few of us ever achieve that level on a daily basis. In addition, there are certain “superfoods” which have vastly higher amounts of beneficial phytonutrients and phytochemicals than the average fruit or vegetables one typcially eats. You should try to incorporate natural forms of these foods into your diet as much as possible, but also seriously consider a superfood supplement, as some superfoods are either not easy to fix or not tasty to the average person.

You can enjoy common health benefits from superfoods such as:

-Increased Energy
-Balancing of Your pH
-Strengthening Your Immune System
-Detoxifying Your Body
-Good Source of Fiber
-Nutrients More Easily Digested and Absorbed

Dr. Foreman personally saw major changes in his overall health after using a superfood supplement, including increased energy, better sleep, more effective digestion, clearer skin, and improved vision.

Here are some ways superfoods treat or prevent disease:

-Reduce Certain Cancer Risks
-Reduce Inflammation
-Increase Body’s Effectiveness to Fight Disease
-Improve Heart Health
-Help Maintain Better Weight

Here is list of typical superfoods:

Super Fruits include: blueberries, cranberries, red grapes, mangos, mangosteen, papaya, tomatoes, apples, noni, bananas

Super Veggies include: alfalfa sprouts, spinach, blue green algae, chorella, quinoa, soy, grasses

Superfoods other than Fruits/Veggies: yogurt, bee pollen, turkey

The following Superfood Supplements are combination products with an enormous variety of whole foods in them. These products are some of the great superfood options available on the market to add to your daily intake:

Greens – Greens Plus, Bio Greens, Perfect Food, Green Vibrance, Wheatgrass

Berry/Fruit Extracts – Fruits of Life Antioxidants, Red Lightning, Fruit Complex, Red Stuff (by Gary Null)

Fruit/Veggie Combos (best overall) – Berry Green, Perfect Food Berry, Greens Plus with Wild Berry, ORAC Energy Greens (Dr. Foreman’s personal favorite)

Here are some common sense suggestions from Dr. Foreman for getting started with super foods.

1. Ask a store associate about samples of the products you are interested and try those first. Then you do not waste money on buying something that you do not enjoy taking.

2. Mix the superfood supplement with a superfood juice such as acai, mangosteen, pomegranate, or maqui instead of filtered water.

3. Take the supplement mixed with superfood juice along with your breakfast or lunch.

4. If you are unsure about the possible benefits of adding a superfood supplement to your daily intake, buy enough of a product to last at least 30 days. Dr. Foreman is convinced that 30 days gives you enough time to see significant initial changes in your health.

1. You can find more of Dr. Foreman’s articles at www.VitaminShoppe.com, click on Health Info, then on Herbal Pharmacist.

For anyone who is wanting to increase his nutrition intake and improve his health, raw food needs to be a major focus.

It is surprising the times one can walk into a health store and see the shelves stocked with a majority of what is marketed as health food. A quick look at the label shows overly processed foods, chemical additives, binders, fillers, and numerous other items or processes that make the food anything but healthy. If you truly want to increase your nutrition intake, improve your health and boost the quality of your life, seriously consider raw foods.

I recently read an article about Paul Nison, author of Raw Food Formula for Health. He is a former Wall Street Trader whose poor health caused him to relocate, change careers, and focus on improving his health. After working on his health with the Hippocrates Health Institute’s plan of an 80% raw food diet, Paul’s health was transformed, convincing him of the benefit of eating raw, unprocessed, and uncooked foods. The health benefits of a raw food diet were so compelling that Paul switched to a career as a raw food chef and author/lecturer about the benefits of raw food.

Why does cooked food put a strain on the body and its digestive system?

As Paul explains in his book, essential enzymes are destroyed in cooked food. A diet of mainly cooked food strains the body by causing it to work at producing enzymes that ought to be in one’s food intake. While a person who eats raw and fermented foods high in enzymes jump starts that body’s digestive process by reducing the body’s need to produce enzymes, a person who mainly eats cooked foods use up his enzyme potential by forcing an outpouring of secretions from the body’s digestive organs. When the body is consistently forced to produce the majority of its digestive enzymes, the result is a life of poor health.

Try following this simple Raw Food Menu plan for 3 days.

Paul Nison has a 7 day Menu posted online on Jordan Rubin’s website. They suggest trying 3 days on the raw food menu to see how much better you will feel. It does not matter the order in which the menu is used (You can swap days.). Paul does recommend to drink your water an hour before your meal instead of with it and finish your last meal by 7 pm.

Click here for the link to the full Raw Food Menu.

Here is a sample of Day 1 from Paul Nison’s Raw Food Menu:

Breakfast: Juice of 1 cup spinach, 1 cucumber, and 2 stalks celery.
Morning Snack: Green apples or berries and a salad, if desired.
Noon: Juice of 1 cup kale, 1 cucumber, 1 green apple, and 2 cabbage leaves.
Afternoon Snack: Juice of 1 cup spinach, 3 stalks of celery, and 3 carrots.
Dinner: Paul’s Powerful Salad: fresh spinach leaves (as much as you like), 1 ripe avocado, half of a medium-sized cucumber (chopped), half of a red bell pepper (chopped), half a stalk of celery (chopped), and 1-2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds. Combine ingredients and sprinkle with juice of one lemon and the flaxseeds. Yield: 1 serving.

Article Referenced: Take the 3 Day Raw Food Challenge, pp. 22-23, Extraordinary Health, Vol. 5

When it comes to improving one’s health by eliminating toxins from your diet or environment, most people just start with what they can afford. The most important point is that you start.

Usually it is not in most people’s budget to buy all organic foods. Nor can every food type your are interested in be readily found in organic form at your local grocery. I came across this list last year as to which produce is most important to buy organic, though I didn’t reference the source. If your budget limits you to what you can buy organic, here is a list of which is most important produce to choose in organic form.

Focus on buying in organic form the fruits and vegetables that are most heavily sprayed with pesticides.

The following fruits and vegetables are ones that are heavily sprayed with pesticides and are listed in order of the worst offenders in pesticide residues, number one being the highest.

1. strawberries
2. bell peppers
3. spinach
4. cherries
5. peaches
6. cantaloupe
7. celery
8. apples
9. apricots
10. green beans
11. grapes
12. cucumbers

For the produce you buy that is not organic, wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating them or even peel them. It is recommended that you use a fruit wash such as Veggie Wash or Fit ; you can find fruit washes at your local grocer, but you can also use a diluted soap, as it is better than just water alone to remove the pesticides.