Making Whole Food Smoothies

I learned about this from Jeff Primack in a Qigong conference several years ago and have been doing this every day since then.  This is a video I created of how we make our Whole Food Smoothies. We use a Blendtec Blender.  For Whole Food Smoothie recipes and information on Jeff Primack, go to his food based healing website at qigong.com/food-healing .

YouTube Video:  Making Whole Food Smoothies

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Blog Post And Images (c) 9/8/15 by Don Shetterly

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Food and Healing The Body

What the vast majority of us know about nutrition would probably not hold up to a large scale scrutiny through a scientific research study.  We all think we know what we need to eat.  We all think that what we've been told through the media and much of our education is gospel truth.

Unfortunately, we don't know as much about food and the body as we think we do.  Pat yourself on the back if you think you're an exception, but most likely you're not.  If you buy into most of the modern day paradigms, let me sell you some moon water while you're thinking about that one.

Too much of what we were taught really wasn't what we needed to know.  No sense in blaming our parents or schools or society for what we were taught.  It isn't going to get you very far.  So, feel free to stretch your limits and your own paradigms.  Time to re-educate yourself.

Review Of Qigong Revolution Convention

When I went to the QiGong Revolution Conference, I wasn't really feeling much like going.  I was feeling depressed and just didn't want to be around a lot of people.  Yet, that's the opposite of what this event was.  I had already paid for this and I needed the CEU's, so I couldn't back out.

The first day wasn't too bad and I managed to make it through it.  I had been so exhausted in the previous weeks from too hectic of a work schedule and so many emotional moments that had hit me hard.  I was starting to get my strength back a little.

The breath work at the conference helped so much.  I think my body really needed to just increase the oxygen that was available to it.  I was depleted in so many ways and oxygen was one of those deficiencies.  I felt empowered and relaxed after the 9-breath work we did.  It was such a peaceful moment after that until too many in the audience thought clapping was an appropriate response. I know - I know - everyone responds in their own way, but the peaceful moment got interrupted. 

Qi Activation - National Qigong Conference Orlando

Will I see you on May 25 to May 28?  I will be attending the National Qigong Conference in Orlando.  Qi Activation is the title of the conference and if it is like the one I went to in 2009, I'm sure no one will be disappointed.  It was well worth the 4 days that I spent there and it was one of the most inexpensive conferences I have ever been to in my life.

The first thing that drew me to this conference was the low price for a lot of CEU's.  Since I'm a massage therapist, I look for lower cost classes I can take to meet the CEU's I need to renew my license.  Too many classes out there charge way more than they should because they can.  I'm sorry if that steps on some toes, but I get tired of this attitude.

I was also intrigued by the size of this conference.  Never before had I been in a conference like this with 2000 people.  Let me tell you, it enhances the experience in so many ways.  I met people from all walks of life and actually saw a few familiar faces.

Naturally Reverse Osteoporosis With Cucumbers

It probably is no secret on this blog if you have been reading it for some time, that I really like what Jeff Primack with Qigong.com has to say about food based healing. It is important to note that we've been doing his General Health Smoothie Recipe for almost two years and have seen positive results.

Here is a video about how cucumbers can help reverse osteoporosis through natural foods. We all tend to think first about what pill, medication or medical procedure we can take rather than thinking about foods that are natural and have very healing properties to them.

Cucumbers are alkaline which help to alkalize our blood from all the acidic things we eat. Our bodies need a pH of 7.35. Things like coffee (pH = 5), diet Coke (pH = 2.8), fruits and vegetables (pH =9 or 10), along with things that have more vitamins and minerals tend to have a higher pH or are more alkaline. Wheat and flour products along with other things that are acidic cause our pH to go down. In order for the body to counteract this, it starts pulling calcium from our bones. Of course when you don't have enough calcium in the bones, you end up with osteoporosis. But to get all the information on this, check the video out.

Most of us usually tend to eat the part of the vegetable or fruit that does not have all the good vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytochemicals in them. Things like the seeds, stems, stalk and skins of the food items are usually the highest in these things and most of the time we throw those parts away. In addition, cooking, freezing or other processing methods denigrate our food items to just something to eat rather than having all the wonderful healing properties they had when they cam out of the ground.

Take a moment to view the video and then check out all the other videos he has on his YouTube page. You can also check out Jeff Primack's website at www.qigong.com for more information.



Further Reading
1) Oprah And The Vegan Challenge, Part 1
2) Food Based Healing Smoothies
3) QiGong.com








Blog Post & Images (c) 2/21/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Most Diseases Are Reversible With Food

Did you know that most diseases are reversible with food? According to Jeff Primack, from QiRevolution.com, he has developed Food Based Healing Smoothies that have helped many people.

Just attempting to eat healthy is not enough because so often we either process, freeze or mutilate our food to the point of losing so many of the important nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Just because we eat frozen vegetables or processed foods with healthy things in it, does not mean we are eating healthy.

Fruits and Vegetables contain naturally occurring photochemicals which Jeff calls, the spark plugs of the immune system. Humans do not generally get enough of them. Phytochemicals hide in the cellulose fibers of seeds, stems, skins and rinds of the fruits and vegetables we eat.

When is the last time you ate the entire apple including the seeds, stems, and apple peelings? Do you realize that the best part of the apple is in the seeds, stems and skin? Or you ate an avocado with including the seed and shell? What about the cucumbers that you buy in the store where you normally peel off the skin and eat the inside? (granted a waxed cucumber is probably not the best thing and our food industry is determined to wax every cucumber sold or charge outrageous prices for ones they don't). Just think of the fruits and vegetables you eat and how much of the "good stuff" of these do you throw away?

What Jeff Primack teaches, is how to make a smoothie using a high powered blender (found on Amazon - Blendtec TB-621) and dumping in all the fabulous phytochemical rich foods. We've been doing this for almost two years and not only does it really (and I mean really) help digestion, but we don't get the colds and flu like everyone else is getting. In fact, I overheard a conversation the other week about how these two people had been through two or three rounds of a cold and flu and it was almost foreign to me what they were talking about. If I feel anything like a cold or flu coming on, the smoothie usually knocks it out so quick that whatever was hitting me comes and goes within a day at the most.

At first, I wasn't sure if I could drink the smoothies. They taste good but sometimes you get ingredients that have off flavors and then it makes it hard to drink the smoothie. Once I got accustomed to it, I really don't mind it at all. It is part of our routine in the morning and we have gotten the prep work down to a science now so that it is not hard to prepare the stuff to put it in the blender. Our biggest problem is living in an area where produce in the stores is sometimes difficult to find. Sad that this happens, but it is true so it makes it a challenge at times.

There are so many nutritional things out there from Green Drink Mixes to Juice Plus to NingXia Red to Healthy Chocolate and so many other things. I know all these places have their research and their success stories and so on and so forth. I'm happy for them. However, when you have to start spending considerable money each month on a processed product that you can only buy from certain places or through some Multilevel Marketing (MLM) system, the questions in my mind run over each other trying to get answered! Sorry, but I'm just not into buying a product that someone claims and regurgitates the claims that it is the best thing since oxygen was discovered!

With the smoothies, I am using natural food that I can buy at my local market or I can grow on my own. I put it in a blender for a couple of minutes and drink it. That is all the processing there is. There is no heating and cooling and pressing into a pill or powder. There is no freezing or bottling and letting it sit in a warehouse or on a truck. There is no wondering what is truly in the product because I can see with my eyes and with my hands, just what is going into what I am consuming.

Even if phytochemcials are not something I specifically know about, it is not hard for me to understand how eating whole, natural and fresh fruits and vegetables is very healthy for a person. We've all been taught that we need to eat our veggies, so it is not difficult to understand how beneficial this is. If you're skeptical, than why not put it to the test? What do you have to lose? After all, I don't make any more money telling you about this if you do it or you don't do it. I'm just passing along something that I do and have had very positive benefits from.

Here are some examples of specific foods for specific diseases.

Kiwi - Helps to reverse Asthma
Avocado: Helps reverse heart disease, plaque in arteries and losing weight
Asparagus: Naturally Reverse Cancer & Detoxification
Bitter Melon: Naturally Reverse Diabetes and Improve Blood Sugar
Reishi: For Reversing Heart Disease, Chest Pains, Asthma & Depression
Maca: For Energy, Better Sex, Menopause, Fertility

Take a moment to look at Jeff's website along with the videos that he has put up on YouTube. It will explain much more and will give you further insight into the healing smoothies. If you want to get the smoothie formula book that I use, see the image link below to purchase this on Amazon.


Further Reading
1) Food Based Healing And Smoothies
2) Smoothies, A Year Later
3) Qi Revolution - Jeff Primack
4) Food Based Healing Introduction

Blog Post & Images (c) 2/20/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Asparagus the Cancer Fighter

According to Jeff Primack of Qigong.com, Asparagus has more Gluthathione than any other food. Gluthathione is a phytochemical that helps with detoxification of the body.

While you can receive injections of Gluathathione, it has been suggested that better results are obtained by eating asparagus.


According to Wikipedia, Gluathathione has the following functions:

1) It is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the cells, participating directly in the neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, as well as maintaining exogenous antioxidants such as vitamins C and E in their reduced (active) forms. Note: Endogenous antioxidants are antioxidants that are made by our bodies versus exogenous antioxidants that we get by eating antioxidant rich foods.

2) Regulation of the nitric oxide cycle, which is critical for life

3) It detoxifies many foreign compounds and carcinogens, including heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic.

4) It is essential for the immune system to exert its full potential

Jeff Primack's action strategy for cancer is to boost the immune system and detoxify the body. He suggests lightly steaming asparagus rather than eating it raw. The cancer strategy he uses calls for eating asparagus every day in addition to other foods that are high in phytochemicals.

For more information on Phytochemicals, see my blog post on May 14, 2009.


Blog Post & Images (c) 12/14/10 Don Shetterly - use by permission only

Smoothies, A Year Later

It has been over a year since we bought the Blendtec Blendor and started making our own smoothies every morning. After attending a Qigong Event put on by Jeff Primack, we decided to give this a try. (see post on Food Based Healing and Smoothies).

To be honest, I was not sure what to expect. We weren't trying it because we needed to solve some health problem or disease. If anything, we wanted to work on better digestion and better overall nutrition for ourselves.

While I know there are many claims made and many recipes given for the smoothies that state they are for all types of health conditions, I have no way to prove this one way or the other. So for the people that want definite proof of what these will and will not do, I can not give that to you. If you are looking for someone that is going to call this a fraud, you will not find that here either. I'm just stating my review of what this has done for us and why we chose to do this.

First off, regardless if I can prove what phytochemicals are in a smoothie, I am smart enough to realize that eating fresh, raw vegetables and fruits is one of the best things you could do for your body in a day. What better way to get much needed nutrients into your body without processing the ingredients and cooking or freezing them. Just how many of us would sit there in a day and eat this quantity of vegetables and fruits complete with the skin and seeds. I doubt very few of us would do this. So regardless of what anyone may think of the science behind this, it seems like a very healthy thing to do. So much food that we consume in a day is frozen, cooked and processed that by the time we eat it, there is little value left to what we consume.

Second, his claim about helping and improving digestion is right on. I can completely agree with him on how it does this and it makes a world of difference in how my body physically feels. I did not realize this until we started on the smoothies and while stress, anxiety and other factors may impact digestion, the smoothies do help.

Third, since we've been doing this, we do not get sick with flu/colds like we did. We never really got sick that much before but usually once a year, we would get a cold or flu. Sometimes we feel like we may be picking up some bug that is circulating around the community but it doesn't get that severe nor does it pull us under. I've actually found that if I am feeling a little under the weather and I drink a little more of the smoothie, that the symptoms go away much quicker. It is like a major pick me up for my immune system or that's how it feels. Most likely, we were all taught growing up that if we eat our vegetables and fruits, that we will be more healthy so it stands to reason that this would be the case. Again, I'm just trying to apply common sense here.

Fourth, is that I've been noticing how my tastes for various foods are beginning to change. Things that I once craved are no longer something that I have to have. Foods that I never really cared much for are beginning to taste differently to me and attract my attention. I'm finding that overall, foods have much more taste and flavor in them then they once did and that I'm choosing more wisely what I eat.

Fifth, there are some of the vegetables that we would never eat in a day that have significant health benefits for a body. We just don't care for the taste of them by themselves but when they are mixed together in the smoothies, it is fine. Granted, some days the smoothie tastes different than others, but overall, we have no problem drinking it every day. At points, I've wanted to take a break from it for a few days and so I listened to my body and did that. After a few days away, I'm more than ready to start it up again.

There are many health drinks, health pills, juice products out there today and while I know people make claims of the analysis and research, I have to question them. Anything that is processed in my view and opinion has already lost part of the battle for me. Plus, many of these so called "health drinks and nutritious products" will drain your wallet quickly. Someone is getting wealthy from them and often it is the company that makes the products. Many of these companies employ a multi-level marketing (MLM) to help push their product and so income becomes the reason for people to get you to try this. Yes, I understand that it is cloaked in the benefit to the person, but if they weren't getting a commission from it, would they still be pushing the product as hard? I remember a couple of these products where someone hounded me to buy it so badly that it got to the point where I wanted nothing to do with the person. Telling them no, meant nothing. It was almost as if a used car salesman was trying to sell me a car I didn't want.

The best thing with these smoothies is that we can go down to our local grocery store and buy everything we need. It isn't like we are having to make special orders to any particular company and attempting to earn commissions in the process. In fact, we could grow everything in our garden if we so desired which would be the best way. After all, why should you have to pay outrageous prices to drink or eat something that claims to make you healthy and cure all. That sounds a little too far fetched for this brain to agree with.

I see the ads on TV for the yogurt based products you can buy that claim to regulate your digestion in so many days. Of course, I'm sure they have extra sugar in them and they are processed foods. It is advertising and marketing to sell a product but in the end, one has to use common sense as to what they are eating and what they are buying into. With the smoothies, you don't add sugar and outside of blending them for a couple of minutes, there is no processing to them. There is no packaging to throw away either by doing the smoothies like there is when you buy these products from the store. So, in a small way, you are helping the environment rather than adding to the problem.

I just want to say that I don't get paid a thing in writing this blog post. I'm not earning a commission or selling anything. All I'm doing is telling you about something we do and we have seen a positive benefit to it, so we have kept it up. When we started it, we weren't sure if we would keep doing it forever but now it is part of our morning routine. We've worked the process out so that it is not a difficult thing to do every day. The BlendTec blender we bought is still going strong and we actually use it to make regular fruit smoothies and homemade peanut butter. The cost of the Blender was quite high at the beginning but seeing how it has performed makes us happy we purchased this and didn't attempt to buy some other brand.

So at the end of the day, each person of course has to decide what is best for them to do. No one size fits everyone. I'm telling you my personal views and opinions as I review what this has done for us. Some people are concerned if Jeff Primack is a fraud but to be honest, it is like everything that you hear - learn from the people, take that which works for you and keep everything in perspective. Not everything you hear is completely thought out at times and not everything you hear is a fraud. What Jeff Primack shared in the Qigong Seminar has worked for us and we'll continue to do it. Outside of that, it is up to you to evaluate what effects it may have upon your life. I was happy to see that Jeff Primack was very careful about the claims he made and how he was really trying to apply common sense to what he was saying.

If you have been doing the food based healing smoothies, please feel free to leave your stories of how it helped or how it didn't help you. I'd love to hear them and I'm sure others would to. Of course if the comments are meant in a mean spirited way, they most likely will not get posted. If it is respectful comments that are balanced, than most of the time, they are posted to the blog.

For Further Reading: Food Based Healing Smoothies

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Qigong

For more information on this post, http://www.qirevolution.com/

Last week, I had the unique opportunity of attending a 4 day seminar in Orlando on Qigong put on by the Qi Revolution. It was 2000 people from all walks of life converging in the Orlando Convention Center to learn about Qi Gong. Plus, it gave 32 CEU's and was very inexpensive for most seminars that we take for our licensing.

Direct from the flyer in the mail that I received, Qigong is an Energy Art that uses powerful breathing techniques and special movements to strengthen Qi (or energy). [Qi is pronounced "chee"]. According to Chinese Medicine, "Qi" is the leading force behind blood circulation. The key benefit of Qigong is that it turns on your nervous system's healing energy. Practicing dramatically strengthens blood circulation, immunity, metabolism, digestion & the endocrine system.

While I was a little nervous about going to this, I needed the CEU's and I wanted to experience what this was all about. So, I was courageous and signed up for it and am glad I did. It was a little overwhelming at first with 2000 people in a big room as I usually don't do very well in that many people. So that was challenging but I was able to meet some people and felt a little less "all alone".

The first couple of days were challenging. I had just come off of a couple of weeks of working in jobs and trying to keep up with some projects that had a due date on them so I was pretty exhausted walking in there. The movements we were doing pretty much hurt like "you fill in the blank". They were not difficult movements either. It was just that my body was sort of frozen from the buildup of stress. I figured, I would go into the pain because I know that by doing this, I would find peace, calmness and ease. Of course, by the second day we did a stretching routine and that made a world of differance in me and the pain did let up. It became easier with each day.

Throughout the four days, there were different "forms" that we did which is another word for routines in Qigong. Some of them were challenging for me as I still struggle to stand with balance going back to my days of being paralyzed. Each day though, the basic movements did get a little easier.

We did a lot of breath work and I believe the seminar leader, Jeff Primac, called it Breath Empowerment. And boy ol boy was it empowering! He took us through one exercise that had many of us crying and moving and a shaking and releasing. The peace that followed all of that was so wonderful and felt so good to me. From there, we did a 9 breath method and again, it was powerful but then he used the 9 breath method in a meditation circle. All 2000 of us were sitting in chairs, holding hands going through this 9 breath meditation. It was a powerful moment. You had to be there to fully understand it but just take my word for it, that was an experience like no other.

Some of the breath work we did was based upon TUMO. Tumo is an ancient form of breath work that the monks in the Himalayas used to keep warm. It generates so much heat that a guy referred to as the "iceman" can sit in a tub of ice and melt it with the body heat generated by this breathing process. The breath work is very powerful in moving energy (qi) through the body.

Throughout the seminar, he had various lectures on topics such as "Food Based Healing, Origin of the Universe and Miracles, Near Death Experiences and Sacred Geometry". The food based healing was awesome to learn a little about and I'll have to write more on this another day. For me though, the near death experience lecture hit so close to home because I've had a brief visit with that when I was paralyzed. It was the first time I have heard anyone talk about it or been in a room where others have been through it, so for me personally that was very empowering.

There is so much I could say about this seminar but I am glad I went. Working with movement, breath and energy is so healing and healthy for the body. We all need to be doing more of this every day in our lives because it touches the true essence of who we are and what it means to live in our bodies.

Since the workshop, I have continued to work with what I learned (Level 1 Form) including the stretching routine that he showed us. It is amazing just how peaceful and centered, the practicing creates in myself when I do this work. I am sure that it will deepen my healing work and deepen my connection between my own mind and body as it takes me to the next level of awareness.