12 Steps to Whole Foods

Bye-Bye, Stimulants — Hello, Green Smoothies
When the food is raw, whether whole or in the form of juice, every atom in such food is vital
ORGANIC and is replete with enzymes. Therefore, the oxalic acid in our raw vegetables and their
juices is organic, and as such is not only beneficial but essential for the physiological functions of the
body.
The oxalic acid in cooked and processed foods, however, is definitely dead, or INORGANIC, and as
such is both pernicious and destructive. Oxalic acid readily combines with calcium. If these are both
organic, the result is a beneficial constructive combination, as the former helps the digestive
assimilation of the latter, at the same time stimulating the peristaltic functions in the body.
When the oxalic acid has become INORGANIC by cooking or processing the foods that contain it, then
this acid forms an interlocking compound with the calcium even combining with the calcium in other
foods eaten during the same meal, destroying the nourishing value of both. This results in such a serious
deficiency of calcium that it has been known to cause decomposition of the bones. 4
Two other classes of nutritional compounds, purines and goitrogens, are found in some leafy greens such as
spinach. Eating “excessive” amounts of spinach or cruciferous vegetables (broccoli and cauliflower, for
instance) containing these compounds can be a problem for people who suffer with gout, kidney stones, or low
thyroid hormone production. These chemical compounds are also found in peanuts, strawberries, soy products,
and other foods as well. However, the literature seems to support that a few weekly servings of these foods is a
good idea for almost everyone. 5
Sugar Restrictions and Sweeteners for Smoothies
If you are diabetic, hypoglycemic, or trying to cut down on sugar, using
stevia as your smoothie sweetener is wise if you want to use any
sweetener at all. Stevia is 100 times sweeter than sugar, but it is derived
from an herb and is natural (though processors do add fillers to the
powdered versions and a base to the liquid versions), so you can use ¼
to ½ tsp. to sweeten a full blender of smoothie. You can purchase stevia
either powdered or liquid form at any health food store.
In Asia, stevia has been widely used and well known for decades,
although it has not been studied in clinical trials. Many forces,
including governmental ones, conspired to keep stevia out of the hands
of American consumers for many years, even banning it from the
shelves of stores selling food. This was not because of any consumer
complaints about side effects (no side effects of stevia have been
documented as of this writing), but because of the monopolistic
chokehold that the manufacturers of the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet) had on the American food
industry.
I believe the erosion of aspartame’s power, as it began to give way to Splenda (much like saccharin gave way to
aspartame many years ago), created the opportunity for stevia to become accepted in the western hemisphere.
Aspartame’s current decline can be directly attributed to the fact that of over 4,000 food additives approved by
the FDA, aspartame has more health-related complaints than all the other food additives put together!
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 39