Another health movie called, “Hungry for Change”, was released last month (they offered a limited time, free download which I posted on facebook). The movie is similar to “Food matters” but teaches you about:

• How to navigate your supermarket – what to buy and what to avoid
• The real truth behind “DIET”, “SUGAR-FREE” and “FAT-FREE” products
• How to overcome food addictions and cravings
• Why fad diets don’t work
• What food additives to avoid and how to read labels
• What is fat and cellulite and how do we get rid of it for good
• The most effective detox and cleansing strategies, and
• How to eat for clear eyes, glowing skin and healthy hair

It was very informative, and I highly recommend to watch!

Are you having dyspepsia (indigestion) including heartburn, flatulence, belching, the appearance of undigested food in your stool, bloating, bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, or food allergies? These symptoms could be caused by the improper digestion of food, which could occur from a deficiency of digestive enzymes. Did you know that without enzymes, we cannot survive?

Naturopathic Doctor, Mana Morstein, says that “Gastrointestinal problems are a huge source of regular misery for millions of patients–for example, more than 60 million Americans experience heartburn once a month, and 15 million have daily problems with it. More than 1 million people in the US suffer from inflammatory bowel disease. While the digestive system is a miraculous set of organs which enable us to digest and absorb food it can become unhealthy in many different ways.”

An enzyme is usually a protein molecule that is a biological catalyst. First, enzymes create a safe and favorable environment for the substrate (the reactant that is being used) thus, allowing the breaking down of the substrate to occur with lower energy input. Secondly, enzymes work with one and only one substrate. This makes it substrate-specific. Think of it as an assembly line; one person on an assembly line building cars may put the breaks on the car while another person may install the steering wheel. Though both work on a car, they perform different tasks that are in no way interchangeable. Without these enzymes working, our bodies would be in terrible disarray!

According to Dr. Edward Howell, we are given a limited supply of enzymes at birth. It is our job to give our body as many live enzymes as possible, in order to replenish our body’s enzyme supply. When we are born, most of us are like a brand-new car battery… fully charged and ready to go. The automobile has an alternator that puts energy back into the battery to extend the life of the battery. Enzymes are the human body’s alternator.

Unfortunately, cooking foods at virtually all standard cooking temperatures denatures enzymes, destroying their functionality. An enzyme is simply a biological catalyst; it speeds up the rates of reaction for a specific chemical reaction in a cell. It does this by attaching a substrate (molecule it acts upon) into its highly specific active site. In this active site, certain environmental factors such as high temperature will significantly lower activation energy of the reaction, this will therefore speed up the reaction. All enzymes are deactivated at a wet-heat temperature 118 degrees Fahrenheit and a dry-heat temperature of about 150- degrees.

The worst offenders of all, whether heated or not, are processed foods which have been refined (such as white flour and white rice), or pasteurized (a process in which milk is flash-heated to high temperatures to kill bacteria), or homogenized (also seen in milk where the fat in milk is subjected to artificial suspension), or preserved (chemicals are added to food to delay spoilage or to enhance texture or taste).

So nutritional experts encourage people to consume at least 50% of your food  uncooked. A good vegetable juicing program will easily put you over that volume.  If you do cook your food, the best way to cook food is to lightly steam. Also fermentation, soaking, and sprouting are great way to obtain enzymes. The Eskimo diet, for example is comprised of a large portion of raw fish that has been allowed to ‘autolate” or “predigest, “ that is, become putrefied or semi rancid; to this predigested food they ascribe their stamina. Ethnic groups that consume large amounts of cooked meat usually include fermented vegetables or condiments, such as sauerkraut and pickled carrots, cucumbers, beets and kimchi with their meals. Cultured soybean products such as natto, miso and tempe, are other good source sof food enzymes if these foods are eaten unheated.

Other examples are:

Essene bread (a sprouted grain bread baked at a low temperature)
Raw honey
Naturally fermented salsa
Kefir
Kombucha
Raw bean and seed sprouts, added to salads or eaten as a snack
Sprouted flour crackers (dried, not baked)
Raw granola

Sprouted seeds, nuts and beans added to a salad

A high dietary intake of enzymes may play a role in the prevention and/or treatment of the following health conditions:

• Maldigestion and malabsorption
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• Steatorrhea (diarrhea due to fat malabsorption)
• Celiac disease
• Lactose intolerance
• Thrombotic disease
• Acute sinusitis
• Post-operative recovery
• Sports injuries
• Adverse food reactions

Please give your body live food enzymes or live digestive enzymes to help conserve and replenish your body’s enzyme supply.

Here is a shocking story I would like to share with you. A good friend of mine was trying to find a psychologist to have some therapy sessions with. He called every single doctor in his insurance’s network to setup an appointment but couldn’t get one. Do you know why? Every single doctor’s office he called asked him if he is willing take a medication. He is calling PSYCHOLOGISTS, not PSYCHIATRISTS! Psychologists don’t write prescriptions but somehow they work with psychiatrists. My friend isn’t interested in taking medication so he said “NO”. The doctor’s office response was either, “Ok, our next available appointment is sometime about a year and half from now” or “Sorry, we don’t take a patient who doesn’t take medication.” CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT??? Psychologists are not medically trained and not allowed to prescribe medications (except New Mexico and Louisiana – Hopefully will never happen in NY or anywhere on the East Coast!). According to PsychCentral website, “By switching to a heavily prescription-based practice, a psychologist will be able to nearly double their salary”. Can you imagine any other field where you can double your salary with an additional 2 years’ worth of training?” So, it is all about money… Even though there is NO quantitative evidence that medication works (it doesn’t show in your blood test or Xray!), those psychologists want to give medication because it is quick and makes more money. How sad it is!!!  I wonder why they decided to become psychologists in the first place…

Here comes 2012! It is the year of the Dragon. The dragon usually clutches a pearl symbolic of its super-natural powers.  Invariably accompanied by thunder and rain, dragons move like lightning and whirlwinds – - all powerful yet totally unpredictable. You may hear and/or read unfavorable news around the world; however, there are still many things uplifting, improving, and prospering. So, don’t pay attention to negative and/or unhappy events, circumstances, and situations. “Happiness is a Choice” and “Happiness is within you” You can feel the happiness in a minute if you want to. You can be in happy state as long as you want to. It is You who is controlling your life. So, why don’t you use the Dragon’s super-natural powers to shift your mind and body to a healthy state. I am here to work with you not only for you but also for myself.

Thank you for a great year of 2011, and I am happily looking forward to the process of growing with you in 2012.

Are you taking blood pressure medicine and feeling that you don’t enjoy food as much as you used to? You may also have heard that cancer patient can suffer from having a taste disorder or dysgeusia.  The reason they are losing their sense of taste is because they don’t have enough Zinc in their system.  Not only those who take medications for high blood pressure and cancer treatment, but also people who eat instant food, processed food, and unhealthy snacks regularly, are having taste disorder.

Over-taking zinc can be toxic but a deficiency can cause not only a lack of taste or smell but also loss of appetite, poor growth, weight loss, poor wound healing, skin problems (such as acne, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis), hair loss, lack of menstrual period, night blindness, white spots on the fingernails, and depression. For babies and children, zinc deficiency is a serious problem.

So, what does zinc do in your body?

Zinc plays a key role in the synthesis and stabilization of genetic material. It is necessary for cell division and the synthesis and degradation of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, and is therefore essential for the growth and repair of tissue. Zinc helps to protect cells and other compounds against the effects of free radicals. It is vital for the formation of connective tissue, teeth, bone, nails, hair and skin. Zinc may play a role in calcium uptake in bone and modulate the effects of growth hormones. Zinc is considered one of the most important nutrients for the immune system as it is necessary for healthy antibody, white blood cell, thymus gland and hormone function. It is therefore vital in maintaining resistance to infection and in wound-healing. And there are more!

The recommended Zinc intake amount is:

* Adequate Intake (AI)

Source: Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.

On average, absorption of zinc from food is around 20 to 40 %. Taking in zinc from animal and fish sources makes it more soluble than vegetable sources because these foods contain compounds such as phytates and oxalates which binds zinc and reduces the amount available for absorption.

Regarding the food source of zinc, Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food.  The  other sources of zinc include beef, lamb, pork, crabmeat, turkey, chicken, lobster, clams and salmon.

If you are a vegetarian, you will most probably intake less zinc that those who have meat-based diets. Good food sources of zinc, aside from meats, are dairy products such as milk and cheese, yeast, peanuts, beans, and wholegrain cereals, brown rice, whole wheat bread, potato and yogurt. Of all these vegetarian zinc foods, pumpkin seeds offer one of the most concentrated non-meat food sources of zinc.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14. [http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/]

Zinc’s absorption increases if you eat these food with Vitamin C and /or citric acid. That’s why you eat oyster with lemon!

Molokai View from the hotel

It has been more than 3 years since I last visited my beloved, second home, Hawaii. The air you breathe and the people you greet are so different from here in NY. Of course the sun and beach are as good they get! On this trip my family went to Maui after spending time with my best friends in Oahu, a spectacular invitation from my husband’s brother, Matt and his wife, Rebecca. Thank you so much!

We stayed at the Westin Kaanapali Spa and Resort, which didn’t exist when I was living in Hawaii. Maui has changed and a lot and is much more populated now (last time I went to Maui was 1998!!!). There is even a Wholefoods and Down to Earth (local health food store) in Kahului near the airport. There is also a local health food store, called The Farmer’s Market near the resort we stayed, so I went there almost every day  . They have a lot of local produce, Okinawan sweet potato, Molokai sweet potatoes, local eggplants, snow peas, strawberries, cucumbers, and lots more!!!

I highly recommend that you try Maui Gold pineapple, Maui corn, and Maui Mango! The Mango is like custard melting in your mouth. We often buy mango at our food coop, but they are from Mexico and taste totally different. Poi, which is made by mashing the cooked corm of the taro plant until it is a highly viscous fluid, is very delicious! (I didn’t like it when I was living in Hawaii) I buy Poke (chunk cut sashimi (usually yellowfin tuna) mixed with soy sauce, seaweed, Hawaiian sea salt, chill water) almost every other day because it is so yummy! I The people in Hawaii knows how to cook fish a way better than those chefs in NY. (the seafood dishes at Le Bernardin sucks!!!)

Last but not least, I am so impressed with how much people in Hawaii care about Japan. The donation boxes are almost every local grocery stores and drug stores (Safeway, Foodland, Long’s Drug). One concert,  which was held Hilton Hawaiian Village (small venue), raised 1.6 million dollars!!! I really appreciate their care (Kokua) about Japan and sincerely wish that Japan will come back strong ever from this tragedy.

The article is from Sparkpeople By Leanne Beattie, and I thought this has great information of many kinds of whole grain. You can try each one of them. They are packed with so much nutrition!

Photo by Myriam

Popular Types of Whole Grains
Here is an overview of some of the most popular types of whole grains. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry them, most natural foods stores will.

Amaranth gives a delicious nut-like flavor to foods and contains more protein, lysine, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium than any other grain. It is also a good source of vitamin C and beta carotene. Amaranth is commonly made into flour for use in breads, noodles, pancakes, cereals and cookies. To prepare, add 1 cup of amaranth to 2 cups of boiling water for a rice-like texture or 2.5 to 3 times more water for cereal. Cook until tender, about 18-20 minutes.

Barley is used in main dishes and soups and can be ground into flour for baked goods. The flavor is sweet and nutty. High in protein, niacin, folic acid, thiamin, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous, it is a good substitute for rice and millet in recipes and rolled barley may be used in place of rolled oats. To prepare, boil 4 cups of water and add 1 cup of barley; reduce heat, cover, and cook 1 hour. Serve with dried fruit, raisins, honey, or grated orange rind.

Brown rice is a good source of B vitamins and Vitamin E and may be ground into flour for baking cakes, cookies, pancakes, waffles and breads. To prepare, boil twice as much water as you have rice. Stir in rice, return to boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer about 35-40 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the rice to steam for another 15 minutes or more. Fluff with a fork to separate grains. To make you own cream of rice cereal, grind enough toasted rice to equal 1 cup. Bring 3 cups water to boil and add ground rice. Return to boil, reduce heat, cover and cook 1 hour. Top with honey, fruit or nuts. You can also bake your brown rice in the oven in a glass baking dish. Gather your ingredients as usual (1.5 cups rice and 2.5 cups water), butter and salt. Boil the water, salt and butter together and then pour the mixture over the rice, cover with foil and bake at 375° for one hour.

Buckwheat is sometimes referred to as “groats” (hulled, crushed kernels) or “kasha” (roasted buckwheat groats). Whole grain buckwheat may be used as a main or dish, added to casseroles or soups or ground into flour for pancakes, waffles, muffins, and breads. The flour is dark, robust, and slightly sweet and is best used in combination with blander flours when baking. It contributes bioflavanoids, protein, folic acid, vitamin B6, calcium, and iron to your diet. To prepare, use about 2 cups water per cup of buckwheat. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes or until tender, not crunchy (add extra water, if needed). For a main dish or side dish, cook onions with the buckwheat and add some herbs and sea salt during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. For kasha, use slightly less water and reduce cooking time to 15-20 minutes.

Kamut is a type of wheat. It is a good source of protein, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and zinc. To prepare, use kamut flour in place of wheat flour in most recipes, especially pasta. Rolled kamut is available in some natural foods stores and can be used in place of rolled oats.

Millet may be prepared like rice and used for hot cereal and pilaf or cooked with spices and served as a side dish, in soups and in casseroles. Ground millet “meal” and millet flour are used to make puddings, breads, cakes, and cookies. Millet is bland tasting, so it is best used in combination with stronger flavors. In addition to protein, millet provides calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and phosphorous. To prepare hot cereal, roast uncooked millet in a dry pan for a few minutes, then bring 2 cups water to a boil, add 1/2 cup millet, and return to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20-30 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons raisins or chopped dates during last 10 minutes of cooking time for extra flavor. Thin to desired consistency with soy, rice, oat, or nut milk, and sweeten with honey or pure maple syrup, cinnamon, raisins, bananas, or chopped apples. If you are using it as a main dish or adding it to breads, reduce the amount of water to 1.5 cups.

Oat groats can be cooked and served as hot cereal or prepared like rice and used as a side dish or added to stuffing. When steamed and flattened, oat groats become rolled oats (old-fashioned oats or oatmeal), which may be prepared as hot oatmeal or added to breads and cookies. Oats are rich in antioxidants, so breads, cookies, and other items made with oats don’t spoil as quickly. Oats are a good source of protein, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, thiamin and pantothenic acid. To prepare, pour 1/2 cup oats into 1 cup of boiling water or milk. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, adding more water if necessary. Serve with soy, rice, oat, or nut milk, and sweeten with honey or pure maple syrup or add cinnamon, raisins or chopped apples.

Quinoa, pronounced “keen-wa,” is higher in unsaturated fat and lower in carbohydrates than most grains (technically, it’s a seed), and it’s also a complete protein, since it contains every essential amino acid. It is an excellent replacement for rice or millet in cereals, main dishes, soups, side dishes, salads, and desserts and it cooks in half the time as rice. Quinoa may be ground into flour for use in breads, cakes, cookies and used in making pasta, and it also provides protein, calcium, iron, phosphorous, vitamin E, and lysine. To prepare, rinse thoroughly by rubbing grains together in water in order to remove the bitter outer coating (saponin), which may irritate digestion or allergies. Bring 2-3 cups water to boil and add 1 cup quinoa, reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes or until tender.

Spelt is an excellent high-gluten substitute for those allergic to wheat and it can be substituted for wheat in almost every recipe, including pasta. Spelt is easier to digest than most grains and is full of B vitamins, such as riboflavin, niacin, and thiamin, as well as iron and potassium. To prepare, pre-soak 1 cup spelt in 2.5 cups water several hours or overnight. Change the water, bring to boil and then simmer for 45-60 minutes until tender but chewy.

Triticale may be found in whole berries, rolled like oats or ground into flour. Triticale flour must be combined with wheat, barley or spelt flour in order to produce a light, fluffy end product. Berries or rolled triticale can be used as cereal, in casseroles, or in side dishes such as pilaf. To prepare a delicious, hot cereal, add 1 cup triticale to 3 cups boiling water; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or until tender.

Wheat berries provide protein, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium, as well as B vitamins and vitamin E. To prepare, soak 2 cups of berries in water overnight and drain. Add the wheat berries to 6 cups boiling water or broth in a pot, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours. Serve with butter, honey or soy sauce. Add leftovers to soups, salads or knead into bread dough. For a crispy snack, place 4 cups wheat berries and 12 cups boiling water in a container, cover and allow them to soak overnight. Drain off the water and spread berries evenly onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 300° F until brown and crispy (about 10-15 minutes). To make your own cream of wheat from scratch, toast wheat berries and then grind enough to produce1 cup. Bring 3 cups water to a boil and add the ground wheat berries. Return to boil, reduce heat, cover and cook about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Top with honey, fruit or nuts.

We went to Hatsumōde (初詣, hatsumōde^?) yesterday (January 1, 2011)  in NYC. There is no real Japanese Shinto shrines in United States except in Hawaii and Washington. Some people visit a Buddhist temple instead. So, we visited International Shinto Foundation located at 300 West 55th Street.  It is a condominium building,  and you will find this NPO in one of the apartment units. If you have been to one of real shrine in Japan, you will notice how plain the place is. However, they have Omikuji ((御御籤, 御神籤, or おみくじ are random fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan), Omiki (ritually purified sake). You can buy Ofuda, a talisman issued by a Shinto shrine.  I am not a religious person but love to go to shrine for Hatsumode because that’s the way I grown up, and it is  my culture. I wish I were Japan for the holiday…

I am so disappointed with food sold at Japanese grocery store like “Sunrise Mart”, “Jas Mart”, or “Mitsuwa”. Nothing wrong with the stores, just the food like, rice crackers, pickles, condiments, dried fish, and so forth. Many of them are loaded with MSG! I went to Sunrise Mart today to buy some Osechi (Traditional Japanese New  Year food) but only could buy a few cooked beans ( I know this is loaded with sugar…). The rest of items such as Kobumaki, Datemaki, Tazukuri contain MSG. What is wrong with my people??? Why we are so addicted to MSG? I’ve heard that many of young Japanese are on anti-depressant and believe this is related to large consumption of MSG.

Of course, there are non-MSG products in Japan, but it is heard to get those in US. I was hoping the new Sunrise Mart in midtown would carry more “Organic” products, though they didn’t have many…