Life food nutrition: Dr. Susan Senzon explains the raw power of this high-electrolyte nutrition system. (New Recipes).

There are many schools of nutrition available to the health conscious person. As more and more people become vegetarian, the quest for the ultimate way of healthful eating becomes paramount. How does one know that their food choices are excellent? There are so many systems out there, which one promises the most optimal health and well being?

Life food nutrition is a powerful way to go. It is based on the premise that food that grows wild, like fruits and vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds, with the addition of some fermented foods, give the body everything that it needs to grow, rebuild, and emanate with life-force. It is best that these foods are organic due to their superior nutritional content, low impact on the earth, and freedom from pesticides.

The human body is completely new every seven years. The liver recreates itself every seven days. There is an innate intelligence, which governs the organization of every living cell. When this intelligence is given all the tools that it needs, the body can recreate itself in extraordinary health.

Cooked food is more difficult to digest because of the lower level of enzymes. Enzymes are the catalysts of digestion in the body. When food is cooked above 118 degrees, the enzymes are denatured or broken apart. Thus the body must use its own energy to create more enzymes and digest the food. This is one reason why people feel tired after a large meal.

Life food is food that would spoil if left out. It spoils because the enzymes begin to break the food down. A browning apple is a good example. Diets that do not contain large quantities of enzymes draw on the body's reserves of energy. This can lead to many health problems. Dr. Edward Howell, author of Enzyme Nutrition writes, "Shortened lifespan, inferior health of the organs, and nagging illnesses ... all due to an enzyme-deficient diet." (1985, p.74)

Yet life food is more than a diet rich in enzymes, it is also a diet rich in life force. This is an important point, and distinguishes this way of eating from any other. All of the food ingested in a life food diet is food that can be completely used by the body. These are foods filled with life force and electrolytes. Life force is defined by the ability of food to reproduce itself in nature. It is the vitality, or energy found in every living thing. Life force also relates to electrical conductivity, indicated by the presence of electrolytes. Electrolytes play an important role in healing because they have spare electrons to pump disorder out of the body.

Plants with living balanced electrolytes are foods that grow naturally, like fruits. Fruit is a central focus of the diet. Leaves and greens are also included in a life food menu. However, a leaf cannot reproduce itself and thus has less life force than fruit. When one thinks of fruit, perhaps an apple or orange comes to mind. Fruit is defined as that which grows from a flower. Asparagus, avocado, zucchini, cucumber, and tomatoes are all fruit. A life food diet excludes cooked food and starch because they cause mold, fungi, and yeast to form in the body. Gallstones and other metabolic wastes build up in our system as a result. Food high in electrolytes and life force resist such disorders, and help the body to grow healthier.

Another important component of life food nutrition is its gourmet nature. Many of the recipes that are used are delicious and colorful. This is not a diet of carrots and apples only. Recipes include everything from super sandwiches, to yummy soups, to incredible deserts. Eating in this way is fun. It is like filling your body with rocket fuel!

So, how does one start? First, I recommend that one be very gentle. The body responds best to gradual change. Second, it is always easier to add something good, then to take away anything. So, start slow, and add some good stuff. Based on your current diet, you might start by incorporating a wonderful smoothie for lunch, or a live soup with dinner. If you are less than accustomed to raw fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, try adding a wonderful salad every day. And definitely make a dessert.

For those who are ready to jump in and have a life food day, I have included a menu at the end of this article, as well as some resources where you could obtain excellent advice and best of all, more recipes. A good thing about the menu is that each of the recipes could be modified. You could even use this menu as the base for your whole week. Just mix and match, enjoy, have fun.

Caring for the body in this way allows for healing and attunement. When the innate intelligence in the body is able to express itself fully, the life-force is vibrant and electric. This way of eating helps one to be connected to nature, to feel the rhythms of spirit, and to know the wonders of creation in every cell of your body.

Seventh Heaven Soup:

1 cucumber with peel
1 red pepper, seeded and cored
2 whole stalks celery
1 medium tomato
1 apple, cored
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 inch ginger root, peeled
3 whole cloved garlic, peeled
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 or 2 bushy stems cilantro
1/2 cup fresh ground sesame seed
2 heaping T. unpasteurized miso
1/4 cup Bragg s Liquid Aminos
1/4 cup favorite cold-pressed oil, like flax or olive
1/4 tsp. cayenne, to taste (optional)
2 1/2 cups charged water

Grind the sesame seed to a moist meal in your grinder; it only
takes a few seconds. Cut all vegetables into chunks, and blend.
Depending on how much gusto your blender has, you may have to
shred harder vegetables, and blend in two batches if the vessel is
smaller. Garnish with spirulina flakes or your favorite oil. Store
sealed in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours. Make some extra
tonight for tomorrow s lunch!

Live Apple Pie

2 cups shredded coconut
1 cup ground walnuts
1 lb. Pitted dates
1/2 cup grated apples
1/2 cup soaked sunflower seed, soaked 20 min., drained

Mix together well in food processor and press out your crust into
the pie shell. Next, grate enough
apples to fill shell generously and set to
the side in a bowl.

Blender:

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup apple juice
2/3 cup raisins, or dried figs, or prunes
1/2 cup grated apple

Add blender mixture to bowl of grated apple filling and toss well.
Fill piecrust. Serve or refrigerate. Keeps well covered in refrigerator
for 2 days.

Vegetable Pate

7 large fresh shiitake mushrooms (or soak dried ones)
1 cup pumpkin seed, soaked 1 hour, drained and rinsed
1 cup raw almonds, soaked 1 hour, drained and rinsed
1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked 1 hours, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup white onion, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded, diced
3 T. lemon juice
2 cloved fresh garlic, crushed
3 T. kelp, or dulse powder
2 T. nutritional yeast
2 T. ginger root, grated, or juiced
2/3 cup nut milk or water
1/4 cup shoyu unpasteurized soy sauce

Grind soaked nuts and seeds with the other ingredients in a food
processor with the S blade. Blend to a smooth paste. This is a
great nori roll filler (in place of rice), great as a side to your
favorite salad, or as a stuffing for half an avocado. Keeps well
sealed in the refrigerator for several days.

* Recipes excerpted with permission from The Life-Food Recipe
Book by David and Annie Jubb, 2000.

References:

Edward Howell, (1984) Enzyme Nutrition; The food enzyme concept.

David and Annie Jubb, (2000) The Life food Recipe Book.

Ann Wigmore, (1978) Recipes for Longer Life.

David Wolfe, (1999) The Sunfood Diet Success System.

Web Resources:

www.Lifefood.com

www.JubbsLongevity.com

www.rawfood.com

www.livingfoods.com

Dr. Senzon is a graduate of Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic. She is also a certified instructor of Sivananda Yoga and a marathon runner. She practices with her husband Simon at Network Family Chiropractic on Charlotte Street in Asheville, N.C. She can be contacted by phone at [phone], or by email at [e-mail]. For raw food classes and products in the Asheville area, call 828-259-9121 in the Asheville area.