Sometimes it’s not all about the fruit. At certain times and for a variety of reasons you may want a fruit-free juice or smoothie. I have many clients who are on my Candida Recovery Program, and for them fruit is temporarily off limits. It can be hard at first, especially for people who have an addiction to sugar. I’ve had clients who have sailed through 60 day or longer juice cleanses without a hitch, yet the first three or four days of drinking juices without fruit becomes a true challenge. This is often a key sign that there is an overgrowth of candida fungus.

Cinnamon should definitely be included in the “superfood” category for many reasons. Did you know that cinnamon has super-antioxidant power, and is several hundred times more potent than any fruit or vegetable? Cinnamon contains: B-complex vitamins, as well as chromium, iron, zinc, and calcium, and in studies it has been shown to help prevent brain tissue damage that leads to Alzheimer’s. The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease reported that cinnamaldehyde and epicatechin, both found in cinnamon, inhibit the clustering of a protein called tau, which forms lesions in the brain that lead to Alzheimer’s.

Many of you have heard of Maca by now, it’s fairly common to see it in most stores. And, that’s a good thing. Maca is truly a super food in every sense of the word, and the hype is well deserved. Maca is a root that has been used in Peru for a very long time, and is in the radish family. It is considered an adaptogenic root that can help you deal with stress, give you energy, provide hormonal balance and increase physical endurance.

In the past few years I have seen a definite increase in leaky gut in my clients. Also known as hyperpermeability, leaky gut is a syndrome where food travels through the intestinal wall into the abdominal cavity, causing hyperstimulation of the immune system. Leaky gut happens when there is inflammation in the body due to chronic stress, allergies to wheat or dairy, or other causes outlined below. The inflammation causes the spaces between the cells of the gut wall to become larger than usual.