According to a study conducted by Datamonitor in 2007, Europeans skipped on average of 100 meals per year. The busy and competitive lifestyle that many of us live has especially impacted our immune systems and energy levels. We are often working beyond our limits. The signs of chronic illnesses and the lack of daily energy is a notable issue. Modern life requires new solutions.

Promising solution with much more potential

As many of you know one super-simple solution to solve some of these new dilemmas is to add highly nutrient-rich foods, also known as Superfoods, into one’s diet. These can be used to replace industrially-made synthetic supplements or just as a quick snack on top of the conventional diet to fill many nutrient-deficiencies. Those are easy to carry, easy to consume, and easy to get results with. Unfortunately not many people know about them and many superfood articles are not exactly an easy read either. On the product side drug-like pills and expensive super-duper-hyper juices leave a lot for improvement. This is sad considering all the potential health benefits there are to reap. So how can we popularize them to a much wider audience?

Putting All the Six E’s in Order

Traditionally it all starts with education and goes from there clockwise though the value chain. The challenge is that in current society it’s hard to provide enough scientific data in short time periods to convince especially the left-brain focused people. Whole food advocates also find it difficult to compete with research resources when large food corps and Big Pharma are funding the current studies so heavily – some of them even own the research firms. But what if you look at this completely the other way around?

Looking Things Through Another Lens

The worst thing ever is to convince someone to try out a “superfood” product and then s/he will not notice any results. What a let down! All that hard work would have gone down the drain. But if s/he would notice significant results by using very effective products — especially products that are fun and easy to use — then the rest will follow naturally. S/he will be willing to go further than one block away from home to buy them, spend more time studying the origin of the foods, and even to pay a small premium versus standard Western diet. In this case the individual doesn’t need double-blinded studies from industry-funded universities because the results are so obvious. This is a slower process to democratize super herbs and foods, but much more sustainable and personal.

This is Our Mission

Through Four Sigma Foods our own mission is to mitigate this communication and product innovation gap. Through Education, Effectiveness, Easier consumption, and Environmental values we think that we can assist in the two last E’s too. The more people buy whole foods and superfoods, the cheaper they will get. And the more we will create consumer demand, the more large distributors/resellers will be forced to change their highly processed products into more natural ones. But we can’t of course do this alone so please pass the word. Sharing is caring! And if it helps, you can start by forwarding people this free eBook about the most common superfoods or by giving them a small sample of some high quality products. Together we can make this happen!

Rock on,
Tero

What’s the reason for adding things like licorice and mint to your products?

Two main reasons for including licorice, field mint, and star anise are (1) to add pleasant flavor, and (2) to hide the naturally bitter taste of our superfood mushrooms. In addition, they each have their own unique health benefits.
- Licorice is an adaptogen, helping your body to adapt to stress.
- Field mint and star anise aid the digestive system.

It is, however, worth mentioning that with licorice and field mint, the quantities in our products are too small to offer any significant medicinal benefits.

Why did you choose these four mushrooms products from all the different mushrooms in the world?

These four mushrooms are shown to possess the most interesting health benefits to the human body, and together they are even more interesting. There’s few other really cool medicinal mushroom outside of these four, but we found that these complement each other the most. Cordyceps mushroom may boost your physical performance. Reishi mushroom is known to have stress alleviating and cardiovascular system improving properties. Chaga mushroom is believed to be the thing against pathogens of any kind…and I won’t even say anything about its anti-tumor properties. Lion’s Mane mushroom may help your body to build a strong and robust nervous system and improve cognitive functions. In the other words, these four mushrooms can improve your physical and mental performance, and they can protect your body and mind from physical and mental bugs.

Are your products suitable for vegans?

Yes. Our products are still vegan, wheat free, gluten free, cholesterol free, sugar free, soy free, peanut free, nut free, and caffeine free.

I’ve heard that Stevia extract is not the best sweetener ever. Is that right?

That is right. It’s not the best, but it’s better. And with that we mean that for most it’s a quality upgrade. We don’t want people to keep using refined sugar to sweeten our products like in the past few months sometimes has happened. Different sweeteners have different qualities. There is no one best sweetener existing in the world; honey is packed with enzymes, but palm sugar is full of minerals. Stevia, however, is calorie-free. Honey and palm sugar affects your insulin levels and may cause type 2 diabetes if consumed excessively. Stevia is a natural plant, but stevia extract is slightly processed, although it doesn’t contain synthetic chemicals. All sweeteners have different qualities – good and bad. Let’s try to think them more holistically, study their pros and cons, and learn when and how to use them.

Do you think your products are now perfect?

No way! There are always room for improvements and that’s what we are going to do – Continuously improve our products. It’s not like we do something once and then forget it. We will give love to Four Sigma Foods Instants always. This mindset applies to everything else too; we are going to improve our practices every single day – from logistics to Facebook page and website, from product recipes to customer service and partner relationships. If you have any ideas how to improve our products or procedures, please share them with us here or on Four Sigma Foods Facebook page

I’m still not convinced why should I buy Instant Drinks instead of bulk powders?

We think that the best herb in the world is the one you collect yourself from the forest. That’s the food you have most personal connection with and the highest appreciation of. That’s also the cheapest option on any given scale! Then I guess the second best option is to buy a few dozen of Miron glass jars and source large powder sacks to fill them in your home “laboratory” — preferably straight from the farmers/harvesters. But both of these two approaches combined are relevant to less than one per mille of the people in the world. That’s hardly inline with our mission to democratize superfoods. So to make meaning on a larger scale one requires easier solutions. That’s why we have readily-portioned, easy-to-carry instant drinks. You don’t need to dry and boil chaga at home for hours…just boil hot water, twirl a bit with a spoon and the drink is ready to be digested. But we’re more than happy if some of our customers or followers will outgrow us and start harvesting their own Cordyceps from Tibet or order their chaga in bulk from Lapland

Where can I purchase Four Sigma Foods Instants products?

You can find up-to-date reseller list here. Due to legislation in different countries, not all four products are sold in every country. In EU, for instance, Lion’s Mane mushroom is not allowed to sell as food. That’s why EU citizens won’t be seeing Instant Lion’s Mane in their local stores anytime soon. You can always get it online, though. :) To give another example, Australians can freely buy Instant Cordyceps, but for other three products the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry requires to be irradiated. LUONTOlife is 110% against irradiation and none of FSF products will ever be irradiated. Period. That means, that Australians can only purchase Instant Cordyceps online and offline.

Are you ever going to sell your products in the USA?

I have three letters for you – FDA. LUONTOlife is a small company who hustles revolutionary products in the markets. Products that may decrease the need of medicine and increase general health. Now that’s a huge business we are trying to kill here, and FDA, the Big Pharma, and the great majority of doctors won’t let us that easily to enter the biggest market in the world. They have too much to lose. I can only say that we are working on it, but it will take some time. If you can help us on this matter, please drop us a line at info (at) luontolife.com.

Are there any research results that show mushrooms would be truly beneficial?

Yes. Loads. Both in the Western and in the Eastern cultures. Even though we don’t think scientific research tells it all, this is one of the main reasons we chose these specific ingredients as the base of our first products. Just to name a few, researchers from the University of British Columbia, Shanghai Normal University, Stanford University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and UC Davis have studied the health benefits of these products. We will be sharing the latest and greatest info on all our current and upcoming products on our Four Sigma Foods blog at www.foursigmafoods.com/blog

I don’t do sports at all. Why should I use Four Sigma Foods products?

Even though our products significantly help professional athletes, they are aimed at normal consumers. They are purposely designed to help with everyday issues like sleep quality, ever-rising stress levels, chronic illnesses like flu or cough, and most importantly to give us more energy in a sustainable way.

There are so many superfoods and supplements on the market. Why should I buy your product?

This question can be answered in two ways.

First, the people who most commonly ask this actually don’t use good quality health products of any kind, and by raising this topic they just dodge the possible use option altogether. Often even the lousier health food products are better than, for example, the Standard American Diet.

Second, our products aim to solve three major unsolved challenges:

- To create real, noticeable results in our bodies. Our team has spent a good $40,000 on various health products during the past years, and unfortunately most of them might affect your body in the long term, but do not deliver any obvious benefits right away.
- To create super-simple choices for us busy 21st-century human beings. Large powder bags or dull pills are not the answer. Our products are easy to carry, easy to store, and easy to consume.
- Raise people’s awareness of what they eat. Most health food producers try to mask what their products contain with strange proprietary blends and “ultimate” mixes containing every possible superfood on the planet. Our products are simple mixes, with generous amounts of the pure effective ingredient itself.

Nature didn’t mean us to take fancy superfoods, so why would I care?

Well, nature didn’t want us to poison our soil, dump toxins in our waters, or use genetic manipulation to “help” its evolution, either – but we did. Nostalgia is nice now and then, but the sad fact is that eating fish from our seas or bananas from our fields is not exactly what it used to be. Also, our lifestyles have become more stressful, much busier, and far more toxic. To fight this new way of living we also need to find some new solutions. Superfoods are the perfect combination of the old and the new. They are the best old foods from other parts of the world, brought to your doorstep through a modern distribution network.

Why are your products better than your competitors’?

Our products are not just dietary supplements in the form of capsules or hard-to-use and terrible-tasting powders. Every single one of our products, current and future, is and will be more than that. They are essential parts of a healthy diet for modern men’s and women’s mobile lifestyle. You can easily take a pack or two with you and mix a drink in a second while on the road. We pay extra attention to ease of use, quality, and taste. As part of the quality, we don’t use any fillers or hide behind “Proprietary Blend” fact sheets.

Are the mushrooms you use illegal? Would using them be considered doping?

None of the four mushrooms (cordyceps, reishi, chaga & lion’s mane) are on the WADA Prohibited List. And, as they are whole foods that people have been safely consuming for more than 5,000 years, it is very unlikely they will ever end up on such lists.

Why are superfoods so expensive?

Superfoods often grow wild, in locations that are difficult to access – such as high up on mountainsides or deep in rainforests. Cultivated superfoods are usually grown using sustainable and environmentally-friendly methods. Local herb hunters and farmers generally get better earnings for their work, which helps to boost local economies. All these things add up to higher production costs.

However, being expensive is a relative thing. For example, one gram of cordyceps is a lot more expensive than one gram of wheat flour, if you compare by weight alone. If we change what we’re measuring from weight to health benefits or nutrient density, then one gram of cordyceps might actually be considerably lessexpensive than one gram of wheat flour. If we take into account lowered expenses for medicines, doctor appointments and sick-leaves (all as a result of improved health), as well as increased energy levels, superfoods might turn out to be a terrific bargain, by comparison. It’s funny that many of us invest more in our cars and on fashion than on our health.

From a superfood point of view, we strive to offer the best superfoods at a competitive price. Our products generally cost a bit less than the industry standard, but we have produced them with much more of the expensive effective ingredients.

Are your products organic?

No. All our current and upcoming products are either wild foods or naturally grown. The wild foods are not farmed, so of course no modern farming practices are followed – but they are much more powerful. Our cultivated products are manufactured with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACPP), and various ISO standards – all to provide optimal end results. They just are not certified as organically grown.

We fully support certified organic farming versus intensive industrial farming. We all eat organic vegetables every day. We just know that that in the current society, seeing an “organic” means jack shit when it comes to actual food quality. A few years of organic farming will not rescue soil that has been contaminated by 100 years of pesticide use. Nor will constant watering of organic vegetables help the plants become strong. Instead, it makes them wimpy. Their roots are shallow and weak. Further, most labels are owned by large multinationals. A “certified organic” label is a nice-to-have, but not necessary – and it often just means higher purchase prices for consumers.

How much of your products can I use each day?

As our products are quite strong, it’s better to start out with one bag per day. You can simply replace your morning coffee or tea with a Four Sigma Foods instants. No need to take breaks or adopt cyclical consumption patterns. It’s wise to use the product constantly, to beat minor illnesses before they arise. Treating the cause is always healthier than curing the symptoms (such as drinking the products only after you’ve become ill). After a few weeks of use, go ahead and drink as much as you like each day. Just listen to your body and your cravings, and all should be fine.

Your product doesn’t mix well. What’s up with that?

Our whole-food-based instant drink blend was not formulated to be 100% soluble in liquids. Small amounts of sediment are natural. Real foods don’t behave the same as synthetic foods. Not every batch will taste, look and behave exactly the same as every other. Just like with grandma’s organic apple tree, where not all apples were equally sweet, the consistency of natural food products sometimes varies. Just breathe deeply, mix a few times more with your spoon, wait a few seconds, and voila!

A few months ago LUONTOlife launched the first caffeine-free reishi and cordyceps instant beverages in the world, and ever since the feedback has been simply amazing. People took the products well everywhere in the world: in Finland, Ireland, Switzerland, the Great Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, Denmark and Australia to name a few. Needless to say that we are blown away and so grateful of the positive feedback you guys have sent us. Thank you so much!

Before launching Spark and Zest, we knew that many people will love them, but we also knew that there are many people who will hate them. It’s only natural as we humans tend to like different things. After reading and replying for myriad of feedback and suggestions we had an idea which changes needed to be done to further improve already good products.

The five improvement ideas that made sense for us were:

1. The company name (i.e. LUONTOlife) is unpronounceable
2. Bitter and undifferentiated taste between our two products
3. Sachet tear line shouldn’t be in the center of the package
4. The box colour should match the sachet colour — otherwise it’s too confusing to bring different individual portions along in your purse/bag
5. Our marketing communication is not crisp enough especially for new superfoodists. For example our comment that Spark “boosts your training regime” is correct, but confuses users who don’t practise sports that much. And Cordyceps after all is an adaptogen and works marvellously with any kind of lifestyle.

The biggest issue was undoubtedly the taste. Our products are effective; anyone who have ever tested them knows that. They are convenient; grab a sachet or two with you and you’re ready to go. They are natural; no additives, no preservatives, no refined sugars, just pure natural ingredients. Our products are tasty…Err, not quite, unless you are a serious superfoodist and are used to eating (super) strong and bitter flavors. The super strong herbs are also super strong with their taste. So something needed to be done to lower the barrier for new users to apply these world’s most nutrient-dense fungi easily to their diet.

Like many of you know, our internal mission is to democratize superfoods. We believe that nutrient-dense, medicinal properties possessing superfoods are an integral part for making the world and the people healthier and happier. We are here to make ecological and healthy foods an important part of our everyday life. Thus we have worked the last few months like lunatics to further improve our products, and I’m confident that you will like the outcome!

From now on, there won’t be products by LUONTOlife anymore. Instead we have a new, fresh and simply gorgeous brand for you – Four Sigma Foods.

It’s Four Sigma Foods time!

Four Sigma Foods will continue where LUONTOlife left. LUONTOlife Limited will still be the company behind Four Sigma Foods, but Four Sigma Foods will be on the spotlight. As our blog is already named after the same concept, it’s pure Four Sigma Foods’ show from now on!

Our old products will naturally fade away as new and better products will replace them. Since many people started to like the old ones a lot, we decided to keep them on our portfolio with just minor adjustments. What we decided to do was also to introduce two completely new products. From now on, instead of two products we have a total of four new, unique, easy-to-use, all-natural, ecological, and effective products on the market, which all have different active ingredients:

Instant Performance – Cordyceps
Instant Longevity – Reishi
Instant Immunity – Chaga
Instant Brain Power – Lion’s Mane

These four products are the real four sigma foods. They are modern world’s nutritional rock stars. Four Sigma Foods Instants are brand-new players, but the legacy of LUONTOlife Instants gives them rocksteady merits to thrive.

Read more about Four Sigma Foods Instants

I hope you find our new products even half as interesting as we do, ‘cause then you are crazy in love with them. If you have any questions about Four Sigma Foods Instants or LUONTOlife, just post them on Four Sigma Foods’ Facebook page. We prefer Facebook to chat and converse as it’s the most transparent forum out there.

Have the best day ever!

LUONTOlife Team

Chlorella is a type of single-celled green algae. Its name derives from the Greek word chloral, meaning “green,” and the Latin ella, meaning “small.” There are several different chlorella species; the ones most commonly used as food are Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Chlorella vulgaris. Other species include C. minutissima and C. variablis.

During the world hunger crisis of the late 1940s and early 1950s, chlorella was believed to be the world’s most promising new food source, though it has not yet achieved widespread cultivation and use.

Chlorella is the most chlorophyll-rich food known; chlorophyll has been found to aid the body in detoxification, including removal of heavy metals

Why to Use Chlorella

Pollutants, toxins, artificial additives and unhealthy processed foods combine in a constant and growing assault upon our bodies. Compounding the problem is the all-too-common dietary lack of important substances the body needs for repair and maintenance. It is no wonder that more and more people complain of feeling tired or ill. Chlorella contains an abundance of easily-utilized proteins, vitamins and minerals – all vital nutrients. Chlorella is the most chlorophyll-rich food known; chlorophyll has been found to aid the body in detoxification, including removal of heavy metals. Chlorella also contains a substance known as Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which reportedly supports immune system function, helps combat cancer and aids in repair of nerve tissues.

Credit: redlinx

How to Use Chlorella

Chlorella is available in three main forms: powder, capsules and tablets. Capsules and tablets are generally the most convenient forms to use. Because of its tough cell walls, unprocessed chlorella is rather difficult to digest. For this reason, the chlorella in most high-quality products has been put through a process which naturally opens the cell walls, without damaging the cells’ contents. Up to 10 grams of chlorella can be consumed per day, but it is best to start off with smaller portions, perhaps 1-2 grams per day. Even broken-cell chlorella can be difficult to digest until the body becomes accustomed to it.

Find more information about chlorella from our ebook Sovereign Superfoods.

Where to Buy Chlorella

Chlorella products are available from most health and natural food suppliers in North America, Western Europe and some parts of Asia. We at FSF recommend the following chlorella products:

NOW Foods Chlorella | More convenient option for powders

Amazon US (Affiliate): NOW Foods Chlorella

Amazon US: NOW Foods Chlorella

Jarrow Formulas Yaeyama Chlorella Powder | The best value for money

Amazon US (Affiliate): Jarrow Formulas Yaeyama Chlorella Powder

Amazon US:  Jarrow Formulas Yaeyama Chlorella Powder

Phytoplankton is the general name given to a multitude of microscopic, unicellular plant species, living in most bodies of water on Earth – from oceans and seas to lakes and ponds and even puddles. Phytoplankton are responsible for more than half of all the planet’s photosynthetic activity, and play a major role in maintaining the world’s supply of atmospheric oxygen. In fact, it is estimated phytoplankton produces more oxygen than all of Earth’s forests combined. Phytoplankton has supported other aquatic life forms for the last three billion years – both directly and as the lowest link in many food chains. Phytoplankton affects all life on Earth, both at sea and ashore.

 Research studies have found phytoplankton to contain every single nutrient necessary for building and maintaining human cells.

Interestingly, this tiniest of plants is essential to the diet of the world’s largest mammal, the blue whale. Blue whales eat krill – a type of animal plankton. Krill eat only phytoplankton. So one could argue that the food chain from phytoplankton to blue whale is short and simple indeed. Nevertheless, supported so directly by microscopic plants, the blue whale can grow to greater than 108 ft (33 meters) in length and 200 tons (180 metric tons) in weight. It can swim hundreds of kilometers without stopping, its brain is the world’s largest, and its nervous system the healthiest. Its life span ranges from 80 to 150 years, and it maintains sexual prowess its entire life. All on a diet based exclusively on the smallest of living creatures.

Why to Use Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton may be the most nutrient-dense food on Earth. Research studies have found phytoplankton to contain every single nutrient necessary for building and maintaining human cells. Truly a miracle food, phytoplankton is the world’s richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. It also contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C and D, all 22 amino acids and all known biologically necessary minerals. Phytoplankton also contains nucleotides, which energize the body at the cellular level.

If you want to ensure your body gets all the building blocks it needs to thrive, if you want a steady and sustainable energy stream, and if you want high-potency nourishment for your brain and nervous system, phytoplankton may be your best possible choice.

Credit: Nasa

How to Use Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton is currently available in two major forms: liquid and freeze-dried. You should ignore low-quality phytoplankton products, such as those that have been pasteurized or cooked – the processing destroys too many precious nutrients.

Where to Buy Phytoplankton

At this time, phytoplankton products can be rather difficult to find, no matter where you live. It’s possible to find them at some of the larger health food and nutrition stores, and from a few small, specialized suppliers. We at FSF like to use the following phytoplankton products:

Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton | This is just hot!

Amazon (Affiliate): Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton

Amazon US: Oceans Alive Marine Phytoplankton

Sunfood Ocean’s Alive Marine Phytoplankton | A high quality product from a high quality brand

Amazon US (Affiliate): Sunfood Ocean’s Alive Marine Phytoplankton

Amazon US:  Sunfood Ocean’s Alive Marine Phytoplankton

Cordyceps is a rare and exotic medicinal fungus, with a wide range of therapeutic uses in traditional Chinese medicine. It is found in the wild only high on the Himalayan Plateau – making it difficult to harvest and quite expensive. The medicinal value of cordyceps has been recognized in China and the Orient for more than 2,000 years. The first known written record of its use comes from China, dating back to 620 A.D., during the Tang Dynasty.

In the West today, cordyceps is most widely used by two groups – athletes and the elderly – to increase energy and reduce fatigue.

At the Chinese National Games in 1993, China’s women’s track and field team broke nine world records, all by substantial margins. These included the 10,000-meter run, accomplished in 29:31:78. The remarkable feat raised speculations that prohibited substances had been used, but the results of rigorous testing were all negative. The team’s coach attributed the success to their use of cordyceps.

Why to Use Cordyceps

Traditional Chinese medicine calls for cordyceps in treating many different ailments, including respiratory and pulmonary diseases, renal, liver and cardiovascular diseases, and hypo-sexuality. Cordyceps is believed by many to be a sovereign remedy for weakness and fatigue; it is often used as a general rejuvenator, to increase vital energy during recovery from serious illness.

In the West today, cordyceps is most widely used by two groups – athletes and the elderly – to increase energy and reduce fatigue.

Like most medicinal mushrooms, cordyceps is also believed to possess anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-cancer properties. It has seen increasing use in cancer treatments, as an adjunct to chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other conventional and traditional methods.

Credit: pellaea

How to Use Cordyceps

Cordyceps is traditionally taken in tea, or eaten whole – by itself, or as an ingredient in various dishes. Today, most Western users take cordyceps in capsule form, or as an alcohol tincture.

Read more about Cordyceps : Zombie Ants and Killer Cordyceps // The King of Training Boosters  

Where to Buy Cordyceps

We believe that Four Sigma Foods Instant Cordyceps provides the most convenient, tastiest and healthiest cordyceps experience available. That’s why we encourage you to give it a try. After FSF Instant Cordyceps there are only few products left we can recommend. Instant Cordyceps offers everyone the opportunity to experience and enjoy the healing power of this Tibetan gift to the world.

In addition to Instant Cordyceps, there really is only one other cordyceps product we sincerely can recommend to you:

Fungi Perfecti Cordyceps Capsules by Paul Stamets, America’s #1 mushroom expert

With a history of promoting health and longevity going back more than 4,000 years, reishi is definitely one of the mankind’s oldest and most precious herbs. In China it is known as Lingzhi, which means “herb of spiritual potency.” In Japan, the very same super-herb is known as “10,000-year-old mushroom.”

In different places and times, reishi has been known by many names. Adding to the list above, some of the better-known ones are:
- Auspicious plant
– Auspicious mushroom
– Divine mushroom
– Immortality plant
– The elixir of immortality

Reishi’s most important role is as a normalizing and balancing agent helping the body adapt to varying conditions and stresses

Why to Use Reishi

In recent decades, a respectable number of academic works in Japan, China and the U.K. have documented reishi’s value in treating a wide variety of diseases, common ailments and conditions. The mushroom’s curative properties seem to act on many of the body’s organs and systems.

Perhaps reishi’s most important role is as a normalizing and balancing agent, helping the body adapt to varying conditions and stresses. For the reishi user, this can mean a healthier lifestyle, fewer visits to the doctor and greatly reduced expenses for medication.

Read more about Reishi : Reishi—Grandfather of Superfoods //  Reishi—Big Pharma’s Worst Nightmare 

How to Use Reishi

Traditionally, reishi has been used as tea, or as an ingredient in various dishes. Today, especially in the West, people often take reishi in capsules or as an alcohol tincture.

Where to Buy Reishi

You can purchase reishi products in most health and natural food stores in America and Western Europe. Reishi is even more popular in Asia, where it is readily available in many different forms. Of course, we believe FSF Instant Reishi to be the most convenient, tastiest and healthiest reishi product available anywhere! Don’t take our word for it, though – try it out and experience it for yourself. (When you do, we would love to hear from you – your comments and feedback would be invaluable.) Here are some other reishi products we have tried and can recommend:

Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Capsules (product of Paul Stamets, America’s #1 mushroom expert)

Amazon US (Affiliate*): Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Reishi Capsules

Amazon US: Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Reishi Capsules

SurThrival Immortality Quest ReishiCapsules (nother quality product from Daniel Vitalis itself)

Amazon US (Affiliate*): SurThrival Immortality Quest Reishi Mushroom Capsules

Amazon US:  SurThrival Immortality Quest Reishi Mushroom Capsules

*Affiliate program link: Product costs the same to you but FSF gets a percentage of the sales to bring more healthy products to you

Honey is produced by honey bees – these fascinating insects collect nectar from flowers and carry it to their hive. The nectar is acted on by enzymes in the bee’s digestive system, transforming it into honey. It is stored in the hive for use as food – indeed, one of the most remarkable foods in the world.

The Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, and ancient writings from Persia, Egypt, China and India all speak of honey as exceptional, even miraculous, as a food, in beverages and for medicinal purposes.

History tells us that apiculture (the practice of bee keeping) had its roots in ancient Egypt, where people began keeping bees in order to collect their honey and other products for medicinal uses. An enormous number of surviving Egyptian papyrus documents and other records include mentions and depictions of bees and beehives.

In his epic works The Iliad and The Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer speaks repeatedly of honey and bee pollen. At the ancient Olympic Games, competitors made a “sports drink” by mixing honey with water. It is also said that the famous Greek mathematician Pythagoras and his students ate honey daily.

The Prophet Mohammed declared, “Honey is a remedy for all diseases” and “rivers flowing with honey” are part of the Mohammedan conception of paradise.

Honey has proven effective in treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis.

Why to Use Honey

Honey is a superior natural sweetener. Its potent antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties also make it extremely useful in caring for the body, both internally and externally. For example, honey has proven effective in treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis.

Honey has been called “nature’s energy booster,” known for its ability to give a near-instant boost to performance and endurance, as well as reducing muscle fatigue during exercise. Honey’s glucose can be absorbed rapidly, providing an immediate energy boost; its fructose absorbs more slowly, for sustained energy.

Honey is a humectant, meaning it attracts and retains moisture. Hence its use in numerous skin-moisturizing products.

Find more information about honey  from our ebook Sovereign Superfoods.

Credit: Joliebean 

How to Use Honey

The first and most important thing to remember is to choose only high-quality, raw honey products. Many honey producers heat the honey to high temperatures (pasteurization), destroying the healthful properties of many of the substances it contains.

Honey is said to make a better sport drink than any commercial product.

Raw honey may occasionally contain spores of Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The small amounts that might sometimes be present pose no threat to adults, but babies under the age of about one year have not yet developed the intestinal flora needed to deal with the bacteria. For this reason, it is very important that honey never be fed to young ones until they have passed their first birthday. Breastfeeding mothers may safely consume honey – any spores that might be present cannot be passed to the infant through the mother’s milk.

Honey may be used to sweeten almost anything. The amount to use is a matter of taste and preference, though many recipes recommend amounts to be used in place of sugar or other sweeteners. Honey is said to make a better sport drink than any commercial product. Try adding 1-2 teaspoons of honey (or more, if you like) to half a liter of water, then enhance it with a pinch of high-quality sea or rock salt. Adding a couple of teaspoons of organic apple cider vinegar boosts this drink to a whole new level, providing potassium and other important electrolytes and nutrients.

Where to Buy Honey

High-quality raw organic honey can be found in most larger grocery and health food stores, all over the world. In many countries it is common to pasteurize honey, so finding unpasteurized products is sometimes a challenge – but it’s essential. Like all real honey connoisseurs, we prefer locally-produced raw honey. So go your local store and ask for some high-quality raw honey. If they can’t help you out (and you can’t find a local producer to buy from directly), the next best options are:

Wedderspoon Raw Organic Manuka Honey (with Manuka honey you can’t go wrong)

Amazon US (Affiliate): Wedderspoon Raw Organic Manuka Honey

Amazon US: Wedderspoon Raw Organic Manuka Honey

YS Royal Jelly/Honey Bee (Honey enhanced with Roal Jelly)

Amazon US (Affiliate): YS Royal Jelly/Honey Bee – Raw Honey

Amazon US:  YS Royal Jelly/Honey Bee – Raw Honey

Credit: Eric Langley

LUONTOlife team has an internal mission to democratize superfoods around the world. In order to do that we will be focusing on sharing the world’s simplest superfood information for free to educate people. We will also try to innovate completely new superfood products that will help in this mission and provide the minimal funding we need to stay in the game. But the first question we always get is “what is a superfood?” This question is two-fold. What foods are super and what foods are not so super. Superfoods to us are some of the most natural and oldest foods on the planet. Nature did not mean them to be a marketing gimmick. Too bad that’s what they have recently become.

The name superfood has recently gained unprecedented hype around it. Nowadays any freakin’ dried berry can be sold as a Superfood for a premium price in some chic smoothie bar. We see this as a huge disrespect to the real nutritional rock stars. Our answer has been that only Four Sigma Foods (FSF) are real superfoods. In this blog post we will explain more deeply what we mean.

Normal Distribution and Sigmas

First little context. The whole Four Sigma Foods concept is based on the theory of normal distribution. Here’s the summary of it from Wikipedia.

“In probability theory, the normal (or Gaussian) distribution is a continuous probability distribution that is often used as a first approximation to describe real-valued random variables that tend to cluster around a single mean value.”

So in more common terms, if there’s a large enough group of data they seem to form a bell shaped curve around the mean value that itself is the peak of the “bell”. For example, scores on intelligence tests are likely to be normally distributed. The mean is about 100 and a typical person is likely to score within about 15 points of the mean, that is, between 85 and 115. There’s an equally small amount of extremely low and high scoring IQ individuals. Normal, or Gaussian, distribution is proven to be extremely accurate across several sciences, including natural sciences. Almost everything in nature that we can measure well enough does follow the normal distribution theory.

When trying to see how special some data point is, one can count the sigma, a.k.a how many full standard deviations above the mean they are. Every full standard deviation value is one “sigma”. About 68% of values drawn from a normal distribution are within one standard deviation σ away from the mean; about 95% of the values lie within two standard deviations; and about 99.7% are within three standard deviations. So basically over three sigma IQ would be being smarter than 99.7% than the world’s people.

Mathematics reasoning

Warning: too much geeky stuff here. Skip to the next chapter if you’re not interested.

It’s really hard to know how many species there are in the world. Estimates often are between 2-10 billion. The ones we have identified are between 1.4-1.8 million. For example experts say that there’s 375,000 plants and 150,000 mushroom-forming fungi. Honestly, I don’t think nobody really knows the exact numbers. One could argue that even though we know are minority of all the species, we do know through various indigenous tribes the majority of the edible species. And one could say that we shouldn’t put all the species in to the same bucket as many of them are not usable to humans, and some are extremely usable.

You can calculate the food sigma by the following formula:
Ntot*Erf(n/sqrt(2))

Anyway, in our math we have used the base number 1,8 million species as the base data as it’s already known and we expect that its Four Sigma Foods represent about 50% of all the real superfoods.

So then the math goes like this:
Amount of real superfoods = Ntot*Erf(n/sqrt(2))
A.K.A
ErfcInverse(100/1,800,000)*sqrt(2)

So then this means that there’s around 100 Four Sigma Foods on the planet, from which we do know right now 50. If all species would have been created equal, which they aren’t, then there would be around 20 real superfood plants and 8 superfood mushrooms. Do you still follow? Good.

Product offering logic

I love blueberries. I grew up eating wild blueberries and they still bring a smile to my face. But are they more nutrient-dense than like 99.9999% of the world’s plants? No. They are simply good healthy food. Nothing super in them, but you should still consider eating them. The TOP50 foods need to be much more.
Credit: BRX0

Real life examples: Superfoods vs. Four Sigma Foods

- Broccoli has many healthy nutrient compounds, but Chlorella is packed almost everything your body needs, and it also detox your body.

- Apple a day may keep the doctor away, but take little bit of Cordyceps, Reishi, or Chaga once in while, and all pathogens will be powerless against your pathogenproof immune system.

- Oranges are a good source of vitamin C, but Camu camu contains 30 to 60 times more vitamin C than an orange.

- Plums are said to be high in antioxidants. Well, raw cacao has 8 times more antioxidants than plum. In addition, raw cacao contains hundreds of other substances that are highly beneficial to your body and brain.

- It is common knowledge that carrots are a good source of beta-carotene. Meet spirulina. It contains many times more beta-carotene than carrot. Spirulina is also a complete protein, high quality source for essential fatty acids, and highly bioavailable iron, and is a complete source of B vitamins.

- Turnip is average high in vitamin C, and only in vitamin C. Maca, instead, is a strong adaptogen and full of nutrients, helping your body effectively increase your stress buffer. With maca you can do more things without getting a burnout. Plus maca may enhance your performance in the bedroom too.

We hope that this short, geeky and hopefully enlightening article about Four Sigma Foods helped you to understand what is the difference between hall of fame of superfoods, A.K.A. Four Sigma Foods, and normal healthy foods. We still recommend you to eat normal plant based food as it’s the first step and the foundation of healthy and balanced diet. When the foundation is sturdy enough you can start building up your own skyscraper of Four Sigma Foods. The more you add four sigma foods into your diet, the higher your performance and mood will rise.

Your FSF blog writers,
Tero and Mikko