David Wolfe & Superfoods

I haven't had much exposure to David Wolfe besides reading a couple of blogs written by gung ho fanatics. However, I listened to an IIN webinar with David Wolfe yesterday and a new fan. Wolfe is a big and likely the most famous advocate of raw foods and superfoods. He is also an author, a speaker, and founder of The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.

Raw foods are whole foods that are unprocessed and not cooked. It contains all of the life and energy of that original food. There are a lot of theories on raw foods that I won't get into in this post.  Superfoods are somewhat a new topic to me. I've read briefly on it before but learned the most about them from the webinar.  Superfoods are certain foods, usually revered by and ancient civilization, that have enormous nourishing and healing properties. This makes sense because thousands of years ago, food was scarce. Humans looked for sources of foods that would provide the biggest bang for the buck. These superfoods have fallen out of mainstream eating but are becoming more popular as people turn more to natural foods.  Three of the superfoods mentioned were:

• Cacao (aka chocolate): Cacao is the raw nut form of chocolate.  It is nowhere near what we perceive as chocolate today-Hershey's, Lindt, M&M's, etc.  The form of chocolate that we eat today is very different from the form that the Amazonians ate.  It has been stripped of all the natural goodness and replaced with milk, sugar and other fillers.
• Maca:  Maca is a root vegetable that the ancient Incans used to trade for cacao from the Amazonians (trading one superfood for another). It is a root vegetable which David Wolfe said it great for energy and brain function. It is also good for those in cold climates or those who are cold all the time. I've seen it in powder form and know it's a common addition to smoothies.
• Goji berries: Goji berries aka wolf berries have become ALL the rage in the past couple of years.  Unknowingly, I've been eating goji berries for a while in the soups my mom makes.  They are red, raisin-like fruits that are a complete source of protein.  Also, they are stellar for eyesight and eye health.

That's all I got for today but you'll be hearing more from me about superfoods because I'll be hearing David speak live in class this weekend! Have a super weekend :)