Looking to up the ante when it comes to your intake of healthy foods? Herbalist and living food expert Patricia Ferguson explains the importance of living foods and recommends five super pregnancy foods
For pregnant women, living foods are a wonderful source of enzymes, which are vital during pregnancy. Living foods are plant-based foods that have not been heated above 105°C, meaning all the good stuff – enzymes, vitamins, mineral and phyto-nutrients remain intact.
Without enzymes none of our biological functions could take place. Enzymes break down debris from undigested food fragments that lodge between cells and in between joint spaces, cleaning and repairing, while also essential to a healthy internal environment.
Unfortunately, cooking compromises the nutritional content in plant food, with heat destroying 50 per cent of protein, between 70-80 per cent of vitamins and minerals and 95 per cent of all the nutrients in plant foods. To compensate, try adding the following nutrient and enzyme-rich living superfoods to your diet.
1 Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds are 19 per cent protein and an excellent source of B vitamins and minerals. In particular, they are considered one of the highest sources of calcium available. Sesame seeds are also high in magnesium content, which is necessary for proper calcium absorption. There is a common misconception that milk and dairy products are the best sources of calcium.
Milk is a good source of calcium, but only has a small amount of magnesium, which means calcium absorption is limited. To incorporate sesame seeds into your diet, make milk from raw tahini, a spread made from sesame seeds. Blend one or two tablespoons of tahini with some pure water and some dates to add sweetness.
2 Sea Vegetables
Many people are unfamiliar with sea vegetables and their impressive nutritional profile, which is higher than that found in land vegetables. Sea vegetables are rich in minerals and trace elements, including iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iodine, manganese, chromium as well as providing fibre, enzymes, and high quality protein.
Marine phyto-chemicals, especially sodium alginate, found only in sea vegetables, have been shown to bind with, absorb and eliminate radiation and heavy metal contaminants and chemical poisons from body tissue.
There are many types of sea vegetables to choose from like dulse, wakame, nori, hiziki and sea salad. Arame, short strands of delicate, purple seaweed with a subtle flavour, is an ideal introduction. To prepare, soak a teaspoon of arame in warm water until soft and add to a salad.
3 Sprouts
Soaked and sprouted seeds like alfalfa, mung beans and sunflower are an important addition to any diet. Sprouts are one of the most concentrated natural sources of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, trace elements, amino acids and proteins.
Sprouts are actually growing at the time they are eaten and contain 20 to 30 times the enzymes of any other food. Sunflower greens are the one of the best sprouts of all because they are the softest and most nourishing for the body. Versatile, sprouts can be added to salads and sandwiches and made into live hoummus.
4 Green juices
Raw, fresh juices allow you to easily consume your recommended daily quota of fruit and vegetables, supplies you with a plethora of vitamins, minerals enzymes and phyto-chemicals, replaces lost fluids, and helps to keep the internal environment of your body alkaline. Once whole fruits and vegetables are juiced and separated from the fibre in pulp they can be absorbed into the cells of the body within 15 minutes, bypassing the digestive system.
This saves the energy needed for digestion and allows the body to rest while detoxifying and cleansing. Juices are biologically active and lose their vitality very quickly and therefore should be consumed straight away. There are many pleasant combinations of fruit and vegetable juices. Try juicing a handful of spinach with a few apples and a cucumber daily.
5 Green smoothies
Fruit and vegetables contain cellulose, lignin and pectin – all types of fibre essential to health. Fibre slowly absorbs food while increasing the absorption of nutrients. When fruit and vegetables are blended together the insoluble fibre in the juice adds bulk to stools, cleansing and facilitating its rapid elimination through the colon and helping to prevent constipation.
Green smoothies combine green leafy vegetables like spinach with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or mango and a little apple juice to make a thick shake, an unusual but tasty combination. Add a tablespoon of flaxseed or avocado oil to increase the absorption time, which will help to keep you feel satisfied for longer.
• Patricia Ferguson is a qualified medical herbalist and living food advisor. Patricia is experienced in living food preparation and holds regular introductory events, which highlight the healing and rejuvenating effects of live food. Patricia also runs classes in practical herbal medicine.
For more information, visit www.greenleavesherbalhealth.co.uk