At Healthy Living we are on the lookout for the best of the best, including change agents, warriors, and other leaders— people and companies promoting the highest standards of integrity in the natural products industry. When we discover these companies, we usually find they are run by green warrior-types trying to make this land and our planet a better place.

So excuse me if I am a little excited over Seth Leaf (pictured at right) and Davy Pruzansky, affectionately known as “the Almond Brothers,” who in 2002 founded Living Nutz of Maine, which is, arguably, one of the most important nut companies in the U.S. today. In fact, they were honored earlier this year by Sen. Olympia Snow of Maine as an exemplary green business, earning them the distinction of being the first raw food snack company to receive congressional recognition.

For some time now, I’ve known that raw foods should be the next evolution in my own personal diet, and that their inclusion into my life could begin none too soon. Craig Winters, founder of The Campaign (whose mission is to persuade Congress and the President to pass legislation requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States), told me how raw foods pulled him from the brink of a health disaster back to a vibrant, healthy state. From that point on, I’ve realized I have to put more raw foods into my diet— and I thought almonds might be one of my raw food dietary staples. After all, they are heart-healthy— perhaps the healthiest of all nuts. But after meeting Seth Leaf, I understand why I must eat only Living Nutz raw almonds. Fortunately, they’re everywhere in health food stores across the country. Here’s the secret of why I am so dedicated to this company.

WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

Thanks to Living Nutz, I am more educated and really feel like part of the raw food revolution. I couldn’t be happier—or healthier. Once you learn about what is happening to your almonds, you will understand why Living Nutz’s nuts are becoming hugely popular with everyone from Hollywood actors to climbers of Mount Everest, to everyone’s benefit.

Unfortunately, a consequence of the emergence of organic foods as a major growth industry is that many of the newest organic food producers are using pasteurization at very high temperatures which destroys many, if not all, of the enzymes and other health-enhancing nutrients that are plentiful in raw foods.

Most of us would benefit from including more enzyme-rich raw foods in our diets, like celery on the stalk, crisp Gala apples, leafy lettuce, and navel oranges. Not to say that everyone should be a 100 percent raw food faddist, but the fact is that few of us come close to consuming optimal amounts of raw foods and benefiting fully from their powerful curative and restorative properties.

What most people don’t realize is that all almonds grown in the U.S., Canada and Mexico now must be pasteurized with heat or chemical fumigation due to a ruling from the Almond Board of California (ABC) and the USDA enacted in September of 2007. According to this ruling, the pasteurized nuts can still be labeled as “raw,” and there is no requirement to indicate on labels the method of pasteurization.

This ruling was enacted in reaction to two reported cases of salmonella contamination in almonds. Salmonella is a bacterium that can make people sick to their stomachs and occasionally causes death. However, these cases were due to careless factory farm methods used to grow and process conventionally grown almonds, and had absolutely no connection to practices used to grow and handle organic almonds. Tragically, this ruling means that even organic almonds, as good as they are, must now be steam pasteurized at high temperatures, which destroys their enzymes and nutritive raw food factors.

What is happening to non-organic almonds is even more horrific, as many of them are pasteur- ized using a highly toxic fumigant called propylene oxide. An April 2007 letter from Richard Waycott, President and CEO of the ABC, to activist Dr. Joseph Mercola confirmed that growers are using propylene oxide to pasteurize almonds. He went on to say, "Pasteurized raw almonds do not differ in any significant way—taste, quality or nutritional value—from untreated almonds. Pasteurization simply reduces the presence of harmful bacteria on those almonds to safe levels while maintaining taste, quality and nutritional value."

Mercola reports, "I then called [Waycott’s] office to see if there was anything he wanted to add to his letter, and he said that the EPA had tested propylene oxide and found it to be safe." But the ABC did not mention that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Hazard Summary (created in April 1992 and revised in January 2000) indicated "The EPA has classified propylene oxide as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen. Propylene oxide has been observed to cause tumors at or near the site of administration in rodents, causing forestomach tumors following ingestion…and nasal tumors after inhalation exposure."

Yuck. That doesn’t sound like my idea of a raw food dietary staple.

That’s where Living Nutz comes in.

Living Nutz began in 2002 with a core purpose: to create the best-tasting raw food gourmet treats on the planet!

"Our approach is simple; we wanted to make an easy-to-digest organic treat with the most amazing tastes that exist today!” says Seth Leaf. “Our secret is an extremely important one. Just as life is an ongoing process, so should be the method in how we prepare our food."

Behold the nut. "Isn’t the almond perfect the way it comes off the tree? Pasteurizing a nut is [as unnecessary as] steaming lettuce," he said. "The nut is on the tree and falls off. Snow covers it for the winter, and when the warm weather and spring come, the heat and moisture start to cause the nut to germinate and sprout—and that’s when it was consumed as part of the ancestral diet. At Living Nutz, we follow this ancient artisan craft to the fullest extent. We are the only company today that is able to provide raw almonds—truly raw almonds—because to circumvent these regulations, we import ours from Spain and Italy. They are truly raw. We also germinate them, which dissolves their tannins and toxins. By germinating them for about 12 hours, our nuts, like all living whole foods, are alive and alkaline; then we mix them with the most exquisite and delicious gourmet, certifiedorganic flavors and dehydrate them at a low 110ºF. The whole process takes five days."

And, in the end, you have some of the most delicious raw organic nuts you have ever tasted. That’s why I look to Living Nutz for inspiration. I want to buy foods that match my values and are absolutely scrumptious, while being 100 percent raw and organic, and rich in enzymes and other active growth factors.

"The benefits of going raw-vegan are boundless," Seth Leaf told me in a recent interview. "Raw foods are easy to digest, and they provide the maximum amount of energy with minimal bodily effort. Studies have shown that living foods have healing powers that can alleviate many illnesses, from low energy, allergies, digestive disorders, weak immune systems, high cholesterol, and candida to obesity and other weight problems. Research and real life experiences have also shown that a person can prevent their body’s healthy cells from turning into malignant cancerous cells by consuming mostly a raw food diet and whole organic foods!"

Eat raw foods and be healthy—that is certainly the message of Living Nutz. Make sure your almonds, walnuts, pecans and other nuts are truly a living raw food!

Living Nutz is producing some of the most exquisite raw living foods today.

Remember the scent of freshly baked banana bread? Yeah, it’s like that—their delicious Banana Bread Walnutz , just like Mom used to make, only enzyme active! The ingredients are certified organic Living Nutz walnutz, bananas, agave, cinnamon, and Celtic sea salt. Their Cina-Pecan-Bun raw food nuts provide all the pleasure of our favorite cinnamon-flavored buns and rolls without ANY guilt! This is the best candied pecan available, made with certified organic Living Nutz pecans, dates, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and sea salt. Finally you can enjoy your buns and feel good about it too! Delicious in many raw food recipes, Vegan Cheesy Almonds provide the great taste of cheese but are completely vegan! Other Living Nutz favorites include Spicy Onion Garlic Pistachios, Chocolate Walnutz, Tahitian Vanilla Bean Coco Cream, and Spicy Cheesy Chipotle Walnutz. There are many other delicious flavors as well! Yum yum. Now you know the secret, too.

More Living Nutz Media

See Seth Leaf on the almond pasteurization controversy on You Tube.
Hear Seth Leaf on Green Patriot Radio www.webtalkradio.net

Resources

Living Nutz packets are available everywhere. Just visit your local natural food market when you feel the snack urge coming on or you want to stock up your pantry. Twenty-five pound boxes of truly raw, organic imported almonds are also available. order here