Jul 12, 2012 - Dear Ahki    1 Comment

If You Knew The Difference Between A Stimulant and An Adaptogen, You Would Have More Energy Than You Do Now and You Would Sleep As Well As You Used To Sleep

STIMULANTS vs ADAPTOGENS

 

Every day in our lives, we face different challenges. Whether it’s a problem at work, or at home, we often find ourselves stressed and exhausted. Sometimes we simply need more energy, but how do we manage to be energetic and keep a tight sleep regimen, without harming our bodies?           

As low energy becomes a problem all around the world, many researchers have tried to find a way to defeat stress and exhaustion, without harsh side effects.

With a long day ahead of them, the first drink most people think of is coffee. What they don’t know is that coffee isn’t as harmless as it may seem. Caffeine is a stimulant and the use of it leads to addiction and energy depletion.

Rather than helping you, coffee makes you stay awake, but drains your energy in the same time.

The good news is that there is a better solution!

Adaptogens are metabolic regulators, which have a normalizing effect and help you with your performance. Research has shown that adaptogens don't have side effects, and are a great alternative to stimulants.

Most stimulants, such as caffeine, amphetamine, nicotine and others, lead to addiction. Moreover, if you take stimulants regularly, your body gets used to them, and you no longer actually feel an increase in energy at all.  You need the coffee just to get back to where you would be without it.

This is in stark contrast to adaptogens – the more you take them – the better results you get.

The adaptogenic herbs, used in adaptogenic tonics like The Essence of Vitality, help you with your sleep and your performance in general. An adaptogenic herb improves your sleep quality and doesn’t interfere with your metabolic regulations, as normal stimulants do. You will not only feel more energetic, your stress levels will be reduced as well. You will feel more relaxed and ready for whatever challenges you have to face.

Athletes, when you add the regular use of an adaptogenic tonic to your training program, you will experience even greater results. You will perform better on the field and recover faster off the field.

 

With high quality non hybrid adaptogenic herbs you will find yourself handling stress better, your sex organs strengthened and your sleeping will improve dramatically. 

So why not exchange your regular morning cup of coffee for a shot of an adaptogenic herbal tonic like The Essence of Vitality? You will break your addiction to stimulants and feel energized on a level that you probably haven't felt in years.

 

Jul 7, 2012 - Dear Ahki    2 Comments

Dear Ahki, I have a few questions for you in regards to the 21 day cleanse

 

 

Hello Jeanelle , 
 
Thanks for the question.  This gives me a chance to clarify a few things.  My apologies for the delay.  Been busy as a bee. 
 
1.   What natural sweeteners do you recommend during these 3 weeks?
 
Dates, agave, maple syrup (grade b)  first two weeks – nothing the third other that natural sugar that comes from a fruit that you may be juicing.
 
2. For example, in Week 1 we can have amaranth, but what do you use to prepare it (coconut milk, agave)??
 
3 cups water or coconut milk (prepared yourself to 1 cup amaranth.  Bring liquid to a boil then add amaranth, bring to a boil again the reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes checking periodically so it doesn’t burn.
This can be prepared and topped with cinnamon, some sweetener to taste, coconut oil and/or maple syrup or in savory dishes topped with olive oil and steamed kale or other veggies.
 
3. When I prepare the vegetables, can I sauté them in coconut oil?
Yes – during week 1
 
4. In week 2, can I use fruits in the smoothies or is fruit not allowed during the cleanse?
 
Yes.  You can use fruit.  However, be careful.  Most fruit is very hybridized and full of sugar.  The more starch and sugar you remove from your diet the better your detoxification.  The faster the weight drops off.  Use fruit to taste … but gradually taper off till it's gone.  You will like the results.
 
5. During week 3, can you drink a variety of different juices throughout the day or do you have to drink a gallon of only one mixture?
 
Primarily green juice and water with lime, but may have one fruit juice during the day – preferably low glycemic like pear or berries
 
 
Hope this helps Jeanelle. Keep the questions coming.  
 
Blessings,
 
Ahki
 
 

 

 

 

Jul 3, 2012 - Dear Ahki    1 Comment

Love Kids? Never Let Them Drink Cow’s Milk

 

The dairy industry and the federal government have spent the past 60 years selling Americans the idea that cow's milk was not only good for children … they sold the idea that cow's milk was almost NECESSARY for the healthy development of a human child.

 
Nothing could be further from the truth.
 
Humans.  Need.  Human. Milk.
 
It's that simple.
 
Milk from another species of animal is the last thing your child needs.
 
When that milk is full of growth hormones, antibiotics, and is Pasteurized … it is downright harmful to your child.
 
 
"Studies have suggested that bovine serum albumin is the milk protein responsible for the onset of diabetes… Patients with insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus produce antibodies to cow milk proteins that participate in the development of islet dysfunction… Taken as a whole, our findings suggest that an active response in patients with IDDM (insulin- dependent diabetes mellitus to the bovine protein) is a feature of the autoimmune response."
 
New England Journal of Medicine, July 30, 1992 
 
"In lieu of the recent evidence that cow's milk protein may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, we believe that the Committee on Nutrition should clarify whether cow's milk is ever appropriate for children and whether or not infant formulas that are based on cow's milk protein are appropriate alternatives to breast milk."
 
Pediatrics, July, 1992: 89 
 
"Cow's milk proteins are unique in one respect: in industrialized countries they are the first foreign proteins entering the infant gut, since most formulations for babies are cow milk-based. The first pilot stage of our IDD prevention study found that oral exposure to dairy milk proteins in infancy resulted in both cellular and immune response…this suggests the possible importance of the gut immune system to the pathogenesis of IDD (insulin- dependent diabetes)."
 
LANCET, Dec 14, 1996 
 
"Introduction of dairy products and high milk consumption during childhood may increase the child's risk of developing juvenile diabetes."
 
Diabetologia 1994;37(4):381-387 
 

 

 

 

Jun 29, 2012 - Dear Ahki    4 Comments

Is It A Scientific Fact Diabetes Is Completely Reversible?

You ever meet people who can't believe something, until they hear it from the government or from a corporation?  Well, thank God scientists in England have finally gotten around to "discovering" what  healers, herbalists and natural foodists have been saying for years.  DIABETES IS COMPLETELY REVERSIBLE.

Researchers from New Castle university in England report in medical journal Diebetologia that Type II Diabetes can in fact be reversed with changes in diet and lifestyle.

"To have people free of diabetes after years with the condition is remarkable – and all because of an eight week diet. This is a radical change in understanding Type 2 diabetes. It will change how we can explain it to people newly diagnosed with the condition. While it has long been believed that someone with Type 2 diabetes will always have the disease, and that it will steadily get worse, we have shown that we can reverse the condition." UK Study  http://172newcastleuniversityunitedkingdom.magnify.net/video/Diet-could-help-with-diabetes-U/theater

Jun 27, 2012 - Dear Ahki    2 Comments

Dear Ahki, What is a great detox herb for daily use in tea form??

Hello Rashid.  I drink a variety of herbal infusions in tea form. 

Stinging nettle, raspberry leaf, oatstraw and red clover are among my favorites.  

There are many things we get from herbs that we simply cannot get from food. 

Of course it is necessary to eat as natural, as non hybrid and as unprocessed as possible to even hope to avoid disease these days. 

But is your health goal simply to 'not get sick'? 

Western medicine teaches Health = The Absence of Sickness

I think Health = The Maximization of Human Potential

 

No one can reach their human potential while taking diabetes drugs.  No one can operate at their maximum while on high blood pressure medicine.

Because of the curruption of the food supply today, we cannot optimize our health without the vital micronutrients and essential minerals that can only be found in wild herbs. 

You asked which herbs? 

Tonic herbs.

The Essence of Vitality herbal tonic changed my life.  The formula dates back to the ancient Ghana empire.  The original herbalists. 

It’s not about “boosting” your immune system.  It’s about balancing your entire system.

 

Detoxify Detoxify Detoxify Nourish.

.

Jun 24, 2012 - Dear Ahki    5 Comments

Dear Ahki, Where’s the recipe?

 

2 packages of kelp noodles
1/2 cup of grape or cherry tomatos
2 packed cups fresh basil leaves
Half cup olive oil 
One half cup pinenuts, almonds or walnuts 
Half tsp to 1 tsp salt 
Juice from 1 lime

 

Combine basil and olive oil in food processor. Pulse until combined.

Add nuts, salt and lime, pulse several times until nuts are finely chopped.

This should be enough pesto to coat 2 packages of kelp noodles with a little left over.

Remove kelp noodles from package. Place in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to sit for 5 – 10 minutes separating the noodles with a fork.

Drain noodles and coat with pesto, add extra salt to taste if needed. Top with sliced tomatoes. 

Enjoy starch free!

Jun 22, 2012 - Dear Ahki    No Comments

Dear Ahki, can food affect my moods?

Dear Ahki,

This is a silly question however. I have severe mood swings and often depressed.I'm 20 but have had it since I was 11.

When I was 16 I started taking mood stabilizers and antidepressants. And although my mom is all for them. I just feel like they make me kinda feel worse and addictive becuz when I'm off em all hell breaks lose..

I want to know if eating better can also benefit my mental health? And other tips that may help.

 

Hello Jade,

I appreciate your question, and it is not in the least bit silly.

It is actually quite serious. It is very brave and candid of you to share your experience with us. Believe me, you are not alone. The "Standard American Diet" (SAD) is reeking havoc on the mental health of many of us.

In order to understand your problem you need to look at history.

Not just your history, but the history of people on this planet. You need to understand that humans evolved on Earth for over 2 million years. Only in the past 7,000 years have people had agriculture.

That means the food we eat today is brand new to the human body. We used to eat wild vegetables, fat, roots, tubers and some wild meat.

When people started farming (just yesterday from a historical context) we went from wild food to domestic food. We went from fat, vitamins and minerals to carbohydrates, starch and sugar. We went from natural to hybridized. We went from food created by the creator, to food created by man.

  We went from health and longevity to disease and early death.

Most of what we eat today is starch.

Starch breaks down into sugar.

So what does all this have to do with your mood swings?

Carbs (starch) breaks down in our digestive system into sugar. This sugar then passes very quickly through the intestinal wall and pours directly into our bloodstream.

If this happend only once in awhile it wouldn't be a problem, but most of our diets today are so high in carbohydrates and starch people have a constant level of sugar pouring into their bloodstreams.

This requires the body to produce large quantities of insulin to keep the sugar level down. Insulin’s job is to push sugar out of the blood and to the cells where it uses it for emergency energy.

Eventually the cells in our bodies and our brains become insensitive to the effects of insulin. This continues until the pancreas maxes out the amount of insulin it can produce triggering what is called "insulin resistance" in the body.

This is when the doctors tell you that you have "Type 2 Diabetes".

This is when they start prescribing pills and shots to "control" the diabetes.

Why not just stop eating the starch that causes the sugar which exhausts the insulin?

That wouldn't be very profitible would it?

Anyway, the problems of excess insulin are many.

1) It is never excreted. It is stored in the body as fat. This is why people with insulin resistance gain weight around their bellies and working out doesn't really do anything for them.

2) High blood pressure, mood swings, brain fogginess, inability to focus, irregular sleep, crankiness and cravings can all be symptoms of excess starch and insulin resistance.

3) Depression due to unbalanced hormones is a result of insulin resistance. (Insulin is a hormone. If one is out of balance others can be too)

So Jade, can eating better also benefit your mental health? ABSOLUTELY

Removing starch from your diet will reduce your blood sugar levels and the strain on your hormones.

I suggest you reseach the subject and learn as much as you can about detoxifying the body.

That's always the best place to start.

Love and Blessings,

Ahki

Jun 16, 2012 - Dear Ahki    No Comments

Dear Ahki, what do you do to take care of your skin?

 Hello Erika,

I get this question quite often. It brings us back to my core philosophy. I really don’t ‘take care of my skin’.

I take care of my whole being, and my skin takes care of itself.

Western medicine taught us to treat symptoms or to try to enhance a particular feature of our bodies, like our ‘hair’ or our ‘nails’.

Its taught men to work on their ‘biceps’ or their ‘quads’.

In actuality, the body is a very balanced and delicate interconnected system. One affects all and all affects one.

Balance is the key.

90% of taking care of our skin is taking care of it from the inside out.

There is no way we can eat hydrogenated oils and GMO and still get the best out of our skin.

After taking care of the skin from the inside, we must be equally careful about what we put on the skin. Remember the Chef Ahki rule:

“If you can’t put it in your mouth, don’t put it on your skin.”

Things you put on your skin will be absorbed into your bloodstream faster than things you eat. Things you eat must pass through the digestive system which is a very capable and sophisticated system designed to remove toxins before they enter the blood.

Therefore, coconut oil instead of Vaseline. Shea butter instead of Jergens lotion. Cucumber instead of L’Oreal.

Stay tuned Erika. I will be covering this theme extensively.

Thanks,
Chef Ahki

Jun 16, 2012 - Dear Ahki    1 Comment

Dear Ahki, are you a Raw Foodist?

Hello Josephine,

Thank you for your question.

No.

I eat a ton of living food.

However, I am not a “Raw Foodist”.

Nor am I a “Vegan” or a “Vegetarian”.

I am not a Frutarian, nor do I subscribe to the Paleo diet.

I reject those labels because they become group identities.

People join groups so they don’t have to think. They just do what everyone else in the group does.

I don’t think that works anymore.

We have to think of ourselves as individuals. We have to individualize our diets.

I like to tell people I am on the “Ahki Diet”.

I eat what works for me. I eat what keeps my energy up. I eat what I find deliciuos. I eat what makes me feel good. I eat what doesn’t make me fat. What doesn’t raise my blood sugar. I eat what doesn’t make me age fast. I eat things that keep my mind clear and calm.

What I eat changes over time.

However, there are some core principals. Some guidelines that I believe are fundemental .

1) Plant Based
2) Non Hybrid
3) Mineraly Dense

As fresh as possible. As Non Hybridized as possible. No modern grains. Plenty of living foods. Some cooked.

But no Josephine, not a ‘Raw Foodist’.

But a big shout out to my Raw Sistas!

Whatever works. Staying healthy is a full time job.

Regards,

Chef Ahki