Superfood Evolution Ezine -- Issue #009

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Table of Contents:

1. Do You Need a Vitamin B12 Supplement?
2. 7 Ways To Eat Your Seaweed
3. Grow Your Own Aloe Vera Plant
4. BOOK REVIEW: Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast
5. Recipe of the Month
6. Announcements
7. DVD of the Month

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Hello friends,

Welcome again to Superfood Evolution! A big thank you to all my Superfoods-for-Superhealth site visitors for your attention and support! Here we go with my monthly newsletter #9. Many of you expressed great interest in learning more about superfoods, superhealth and achieving optimal states of aliveness! So, here it is by popular demand! It is my intent to uplift and empower your true health potential to create the best life ever for you and your family.

"You are what you eat" is the first rule of thumb here, the rest just falls into place!

Do You Need a Vitamin B12 Supplement?

Vitamin B12 is essential for human health. It helps the brain, nervous system and metabolism to function normally. The formation of red blood cells requires an influx of vitamin B12. These red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body by way of the blood stream, providing a constant supply of oxygen to our cells. In addition, nerves are surrounded by an insulating fatty sheath, comprised of a complex protein called myelin. B12 plays a vital role in the metabolism of fatty acids essential for the maintainence of myelin. Prolonged B12 deficiency can lead to nerve degeneration and irreversible neurological damage.

Vitamin B12 can be stored by the body, but it is often difficult to utilize. Eating foods that contain B12 is important, but studies are showing that environmental, emotional stress and caffeinated substances are depleting B12 levels like never before. Therefore, eating meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, which contain B12, may not necessarily guarantee you are getting what you need. For those of us to choose to eat a raw vegan diet, B12 is essential.

Signs of Deficiency

Common B12 deficiency symptoms include: fatigue, confusion, paranoia, shortness of breath, numbness of hands and feet, depression, memory loss, loss of appetite, general weakness and diarrhea. These symptoms are the result of having insufficient red blood cells in the body that work to carry oxygen.

The obvious way to tell for sure if you are B12 deficient is to get tested. This way you know and can take necessary procedures to re-balance. The brand Perque is a high quality vitamin B12 supplement that I highly recommend for effectiveness. You can also get vitamin B12 shots, but some say that Perque is just as good as any shot.

There are different types of B12 supplements, so it is important when you get tested positive for B12 deficiency you understand which kind of B12 you need. Some B12 is thought to be found in fermented foods, seaweeds and algaes. In addition, bee pollen is a great source of other B vitamins like folic acid which helps when one is deficient in B12.

7 Ways To Eat Your Seaweed

1) Soups - You can add seaweeds in powder, flakes and pieces to raw soups, miso soup and broths. Camouflage them into a blended raw soup or add big pieces to a warm soup. Traditionally, warm seaweed broths are known around the world to be a cure for what ails you.

2) Nori wraps - I can't really say enough about using raw nori sheets to wrap up advocado, raw veggies, and pieces of dulse. Try to come up with your own favorite combo's. See dipping sauce recipe below!

3) Desserts - There is no better way to use seaweed than in raw desserts. Irish moss adds just the right thickness to a cheesecake or pie and provides a nice balance to the sweet indulgence of desserts.

4) Spice Jar - I love to keep a spice jar on my table filled with powdered seaweeds and other herbs and spices. This makes them readily available to be used to flavor meals or soups.

5) Smoothies and Shakes - At first this might sound disgusting, adding seaweeds to shakes and smoothies, but actually the seaweed will just act like salt and accent the other tastes of your drink. Irish moss, is one of the best to use for a thickening quality.

6)Crackers - Try soaking and blending up pieces of seaweed and adding them to your favorite raw dehydrated cracker recipe. They will add a nice crunch and saltiness. I love to make a sweet/salty cracker using seaweed as the main ingredient.

7)Salad dressings - Often, a great way to enjoy seaweeds is to sprinkle some in your homemade salad dressing. This not only replaces any salt you might add, but also thickens it for a nice dressing to pour on raw salads and veggies.

Grow Your Own Aloe Vera Plant At Home!

Aloe vera is one of those multi-use plants that is great for use, topically or internally. It is both food and medicine. Because aloe grows well indoors and even in some outdoor climates, we suggest getting your very own aloe plant. This gives you fresh aloe leaves whenever you want them. Simply slice and fillet aloe into a smoothie or a drink.

Aloe is great to have on hand also for the skin. I like to rub it all over my body when I have been in the sun on a hot summer day, to re-moisturize it and make it super soft.

You can buy bottled aloe gel, but the fresh aloe plant is so easy to grow and take care of, you really can't go wrong. It acts as a house plant and a medicine-food at the same time. I have several plants from large to small that I rotate and harvest from. You can also experiment with feeding your aloe plant superfood nutrients directly into the soil, so you can grow high quality, super nutritious aloe at home.

For instructions on how to harvest aloe vera click here.

BOOK REVIEW:

Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast

Seaweeds of the Pacific Coast: Common Marine Algae from Alaska to Baja California

by Jennifer and Jeff Mondragon

This is a great, full color field guide to help you identify many seaweeds growing off the Western shores of the Pacific. It is a well organized, user friendly reference to take with you on any Pacific coast adventure. Great colorful photographs of over 128 marine sea plants, with all the basic information about location, characteristics and habitats. Jennifer and Jeff are marine biologists and have great knowledge to share with their readers. This book is excellent for both professionals and the amateur seaweed harvester.

Recipe of the Month:

Miso Seaweed Dipping Sauce

Many people love to dip their nori rolls or sushi in a yummy dipping sauce. Here is a recipe that I use quite frequently that will be sure to give your wrap or roll an extra special tang and taste sensation. Not only that, it is a great way to utilize your seaweed nutrients. Kelp powder is the star of this all great favorite!

• 1/8C miso
• 2 pressed garlic cloves
• 1T kelp powder
• 1/2T dulse flakes
• spring water
• 1/2T chopped ginger
• 2T olive oil
• 1t stevia
• few drops of seasame oil