Well, I'm finally convinced. One of the most deadly foods on the planet today is…wait for it…PEANUTS! I have known for a long time about the high concentrations of molds/fungus and other toxins carried by peanuts but what I didn't realize was how quickly it is getting worse. The specific Aflatoxin now known to be carried by ALL peanuts (with the exclusion of true, fresh jungle peanuts still inside the shell), is a Mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus species of fungi. These aflatoxins are among the most carcinogenic substances known. After they enter the body, the liver works to metabolize them into a less harmful aflatoxin, although if you live in America and eat the typical American diet, your liver most likely does not have enough free space to properly perform this reaction. And even if it does, the amount of Aflatoxin now attached to peanuts is so high that much of the fungi ends up being stored in your body to cause many future problems. The reason this is so alarming to me as the amount of Aflatoxin found on peanuts grows, is because peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seem to be among the top foods we give our children! Starting a colony of mycotoxins in the body at such a young age is a scary thought. As an example, a recent male nutritional case came in with an extremely hard and distended belly. He was having a difficult time walking, thinking, and performing normal daily tasks. He even had to use a wheel chair for certain parts of the day. Of course one of the first things we do is ask about diet. When he said he was eating Skippy out of a jar for lunch each day, you can bet the rest of the nutritional exam included searching or Aflatoxins (not to mention the detrimental effects of the hydrogenated oils and sugar in this particular brand)! Long story short, he was able to stop the Skippy and properly detox the large amount of Aflatoxins found in his gastrointestinal tract, and spinal column. Many pounds lost later, he was walking with no problem and was able to hold a job (something he couldn't do for many years). The point is, I want people who really care about their health and the health of their children to stop the peanuts, and peanut butter (including any foods with peanut butter added). We are also now finding aflatoxins in almond butters and other nut butters as well. I realize this isn't the most positive article, but none-the-less in my opinion, a very important point that needs to be made. I personally am someone who loves to add properly prepared nuts to my daily diet, so please note that you certainly don't need to give it all up for good!

Here are the safe ways to enjoy nuts and nut butters:

1. Sadly, forget the peanuts all together (yes, even organic). I can't find a single way to eat peanuts safely unless you are ordering raw, in the shell jungle peanuts from abroad. And even then, there's no guarantee you're free of Aflatoxins.

2. Eat your nuts in the raw form only. Any that have been roasted, salted, or otherwise prepared are much higher in rancid oils and fungus. Choose raw macadamias, almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts (basically anything but peanuts!). Nuts are always best eaten directly from the shell as the shell protects from rancidity, but this isn't always possible. The next best thing is to soak your nuts overnight in filtered or spring water with a dash of sea salt. This allows toxins to be released and the wonderful natural enzymes in the nuts to also be released and then used by your body to help digest them properly. After soaking, rinse and let them dry in a dehydrator if you still want the 'crunch'. Otherwise, just enjoy as they are or...

3. Take your soaked nuts and make some yummy nut butters of your own! Just make sure that you refrigerate the butters and make small batches so that you can eat the butter within the first 24-48 hours. After that, they too will start to grow these horrid Aflatoxins.

4. If you are a person who has eaten a lot of peanuts, peanut butter, or roasted nuts, it is certainly time for a fungal detoxification. Make sure you are under the care of a practitioner who knows how to help you with this. But don't get mad or upset that you have to 'give something else up'! Get excited that you've found one more thing to help you move in the direction of even more perfect health!