Superfoods power – an eBook giveaway

Are you curious about the powers of superfoods? Do you have a desire to improve your overall healthy through changes to your diet?

I had the privilege of reading a book titled SUPERFOODS POWER Volume 1: WEIGHT LOSS – 7 Top Superfoods To Speed Up The Fat Burning Process by Charles W. James, as selling on Amazon. The author was also kind enough to give me an insight into the power of superfoods when I asked him a few questions. Charles talks about how changing his diet dramatically improved his health and in particular the suffering he felt as a result of Crohn’s disease. He also explains how superfoods can aid in healthy weight loss.

Charles is also kind enough to give readers a complimentary digital copy of his book which is currently selling on Amazon. Continue reading to find out how to receive your free copy but be quick, *giveaway ends 30 January 2013.

1. What first inspired you to write about superfoods?

When a person experiences something so powerful and truly life-transforming, it is a natural feeling to want to tell others about it. It’s like sitting on a secret and it becomes impossible to keep it in. Not only that, but all those feelings become amplified when it’s something that can help so many other people.

I am talking about my own personal experiences with Crohn’s disease and the role that diet has played. You see, I was diagnosed with this disease years ago, in 2005, when I was in my late 20s. I was immediately placed on medication but it was not working very well.

The quality of my life was not good, to say the least. I suffered from tremendous pain, extremely low energy levels, and I just felt like I became an old man almost overnight. I was very depressed and was thinking that things were only going to get much worse. Not a bright picture when one is only in his late 20s.

You know how it is when what you’re doing does not seem to be working. When you’re desperate, you will start looking for other solutions. That is when I started discovering how other Crohn’s sufferers were turning things around through diet. I cannot tell you how excited I became. I researched and read like a madman!

To make a very long story short, it was through changes in my diet that transformed my life. Once I began eating the right foods, healthy and life-giving foods, my symptoms improved. In fact, just about everything improved, and I returned to a normal state for a person in his late 20s.

Results that were so dramatic cannot be ignored, especially when it happens to you. 

I was extremely busy with various business ventures to turn my attention to writing about these experiences. I wanted to but was not sure about it. And that is how this all came about and my decision to finally share not so much my direct experiences, but the foods and type of diet that had such a dramatic impact on my life.

 

2. What are the main health benefits from including superfoods in your diet?

I will answer this in a roundabout way. First, it is difficult to say or talk about the primary benefits because there are so many benefits to dietary approaches that are somewhat similar.

When I first started exploring a dietary approach to treating my condition, my goal was slowing down the rate of damage being done to my GI (gastrointestinal tract). This is when I decided to adopt the SCD diet. As I learned more about the SCD diet, I read that this included foods that would help my GI tract to heal.

The foods in this diet are what is commonly called superfoods.

I then changed to what is called the GAPS diet which is a similar approach to the SCD diet but has a better structured protocol to follow. I had to accomplish two goals. First, I had to stop the general deterioration of the gut and I had to eat superfoods that help to bring about a healing of the damage to the gut.

Today, my diet is a combination of SCD, GAPS, and the Paleo diet. I could write a long list of benefits gained by eating a diet rich in superfoods.

It’s important to realize that all the various plants, vegetables, and fruits contain phytochemicals and phytonutrients. Phyto means plant based or derived. Now, one word most people recognize is, antioxidants. Very many of these phytonutrients/chemicals are either antioxidant in nature or support antioxidant activity.

The overall and net result is these chemical compounds are very helpful across the board. The spectrum is truly large with the various medical conditions these compounds can have a positive effect on.

Perhaps the greatest benefit is on the immune system which is an incredibly complex set of biochemical processes. However, it would be too narrow to say that is the only benefit. For example, simple kiwi fruit is rich in phytochemicals as well as regular vitamins and minerals. But the kiwi is an excellent and rich source of probiotic support which supports beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Superfoods in all their forms provide excellent benefits to the entire body. A person can help return their GI tract and bowel back to normal conditions. Healthy and positive effects on the cardiovascular system have been documented in scientific studies. These results include bringing blood lipid (fats) profiles into normal ranges. Measurable benefits in immune system responses have been seen as well.

The overall outward benefits such as higher energy levels have been reported by perhaps thousands of people. All these benefits do not come from one single source, or food. But they do arise from a diet rich in healthy foods including what are called, superfoods.

 

3. Can superfoods aid in safe weight loss?

Absolutely, without a doubt! I’m sure you and many of your readers know that safe weight loss comes from living a healthy lifestyle. That is to say, it is a combination of a healthy diet, meaningful activity, and keeping the daily caloric intake/burn within a reasonable level.

So eating a daily diet rich in superfoods is really one part of the entire equation.

However, a person can use superfoods to help bring the body to a more balanced state. For example, ridding the GI tract and bowel of accumulated toxic waste is crucial for health. There is an old saying that death begins in the colon or maybe the bowel. I believe this is very true.

An overweight person can eat foods that help clean the digestive tract. I mentioned kiwi fruit, and this fruit (plus others) are super rich in soluble and insoluble fibers. Then, moving forward, certain foods rich in probiotic and prebiotic factors will help establish healthier populations of good bacteria in the gut. What this does is keep bad bacteria and other micro-organisms at a minimal level. Improved digestion will result which means the body is getting the nutrients that are being ingested.

The net result from that includes a healthier immune system and higher levels of energy. The typical sluggish, low energy, and low metabolic levels will be eradicated.

This is just a small set of positive effects that all will contribute to weight loss. But keep in mind that while this is all great, a person has to make sure the other factors are being followed and put into action.

To read more about the wonder of superfoods and much more, head to Charles’ website NutritionGang. I spent an entire afternoon perusing his informative articles!

Ts & Cs

To receive your complimentary digital copy of this wonderful book, you must comment below stating what a healthy diet means to you. Giveaway commences immediately and ends Wednesday 30 January 1200 noon WST. Complimentary copies to be downloaded no later than 31 January 2013. 

To receive a copy of this eBook you must be able to provide an email address either in your comment or via email to peggy@cakecrumbsbeachsand.com no later than 30 January. *Email received later than 30 January may not be eligible to download a copy.

Disclosure: I was not given payment to run this giveaway however I was given the opportunity to interview the author and a complimentary copy of  SUPERFOODS POWER Volume 1: WEIGHT LOSS – 7 Top Superfoods To Speed Up The Fat Burning Process by Charles W. James.

Now excuse me while I race off to buy a bucket load of kiwi fruit!