Recently, I was asked “What is a raw foodist?” Larry and I are both what is considered ‘high raw’ foodists. Which means, that we are vegan, in that we don’t eat any animal products which includes all dairy, eggs, yogurt, cheese, etc. And about 80-90% of our diet is raw vegan food. I enjoy creating dishes that taste like some of our favorites such as raw tacos, raw pizza, raw lasagna, all made with nuts and vegetables, and other ingredients that pull it all together. You’ll find these recipes and more when you subscribe to my my weekly Raw4Healing recipes.

Now some raw foodists will disagree with me on this point: I do not feel it is necessary to be 100% raw all the time, in fact, often times it simply is not realistic for most people. But I definitely feel that the benefits of an 80% to 100% raw food lifestyle far outweigh any other dietary choices out there. We enjoy some things cooked, like yams, brown rice, black beans, Lima beans, whole grains, etc. Larry still enjoys eggs occasionally and I’m not super strict about what he eats.

Basically, after having gone through detox, colon cleanses, etc. it’s okay to ‘fall off the wagon’ so to speak once in a while. Sometimes it can’t be helped, like when we go to the kids’ house for dinner, or family and friends get together. And if that’s the case, we’ll bring something from our kitchen to share. People have to do what is right for them, what works best for their lifestyle, and their families. But bottom line, it is important to look seriously at what is in our food, the quality of it, the chemicals, pesticides, preservatives, food colorings, artificial flavorings, MSG, GMO, hormones, etc., etc., and how it affects our health after eating this way for 10 - 20 years. That’s why so many chronic diseases occur in the 40 and over age group. We’ve been programmed to eat this way, and society constantly tells us to eat these processed foods. It’s on TV, newspapers, billboards, magazines, everywhere.

I’ve been a health nut all my life, I learned a lot from my grandparents, who took vitamins and were considered ’strange’ in their day. They became vegetarians back in the ’70s after my grandfather read about how animals are inhumanely treated and slaughtered, and the hormones, and pesticides that are in the beef and chicken. This all ends up on the table or in a restaurant. He immediately became a vegetarian, I remember it vividly. I was in my 20’s and it was pretty radical for our family that always had traditional turkey for thanksgiving and roast beef for Christmas, and ham for Easter!!

But they both lived to be 93 and 94 and would have lived longer if the doctors and prescriptions had left them alone, thanks to medical intervention.

Both my parents died from medical intervention, my dad of leukemia, and my mom from a rare debilitating paralyzing disease. My dad’s cancer went into remission when he started doing some natural treatments, holistic and nutritional therapy. But his doctor said it wasn’t going to work and insisted he go back for radiation and chemo… he died soon after that. My mom had a stiff neck, and some tingling in her legs, and the doctor wanted to do exploratory surgery on her neck at the famous Stanford Univ. hospital. She almost died on the table there twice. When they sent her home, she couldn’t walk, was paralyzed on her left side, and suffered that way the rest of her life. She was only 30 at the time, and lived to be 71, much longer than any of us kids expected.

After my grandparents and parents died, I started to do a lot of research. I didn’t want to be another statistic… and I knew I had some genes to fight against. This was back in 2005 right after my mom died, and I became a full blown vegan, having already been vegetarian most of my life. Last year, in researching for one of my other health sites, I learned that raw food was the next best step toward optimum health and healing. Thus, raw4healing.com was born.

Since then, my husband has lost over 40 pounds, and I have lost 20 pounds… and so many little health issues that we generally attribute to getting old are gone. Gone are migraines, hypoglycemia, arthritis, skin rashes, sleep disorders, mood swings, went through menopause without a hitch, constipation, joint pain and stiffness, all gone… we both have increased energy, and feel like we’re in our late 20’s.

Before attempting a food switch, it is important to find some books to read about it, or articles, but I like Dr. Mercola’s books. I also like David Wolfe’s, and my other favorite is Gabriel Cousens, “Conscious Eating”. The internet is LOADED with tons of free info, testimonies, etc., just Google ‘raw food’ and you’ll find all you need to know, plus what I have too, but don’t stop there. Plus, I should add it is best to check with your doctor, preferably a holistic practitioner, or a nutritionist who knows you and your health requirements.

Also, most people eat the SAD (standard American diet) and as a result, need to first go through a detox program. If constipation is a common health challenge, then ‘juice feasting’ helps to regulate elimination. This is what killed my mother. She was always constipated, trying all kinds of laxatives and in time, the toxins in her blood reduced her immune system, causing her heart to work harder, and she died of a heart attack. Part of it was because she was unable to be active due to her partial paralysis… but she almost always complained of constipation and I didn’t know enough at the time to help her.

So I started my detox program with fresh wheatgrass juice and carrot juice several times a day. This was before I learned about ‘juice feasting’ (consisting of fresh fruits and greens, like spinach, kale, romaine lettuce), which I also recommend but it requires a high speed blender, OR a food processor, then transferred to a regular blender. Two quarts a day for a week, to two weeks, or more and drink plenty of filtered water. Some people are very toxic and during the detox will experience headaches, cramps, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, but usually for only a few days… Then transition over to solid food, but only organic all natural fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Preferably 100% raw for a few months… after that, it becomes a personal thing, you learn what works for your own body. Like I can tell right away if something I ate is going to agree with me or not.

People complain that it is hard to give up the foods we grew up with, often times considered comfort foods. Dietary changes are a personal thing, each person needs to do their own research, and do what works best for them. Many people cannot or will not give up their favorite foods, but refuse to face the fact that they may actually be addicted to them. Thanks to scientific food engineering, they have done an excellent job of brainwashing and hooking the masses for profit, and certainly not for health!

What keeps me on the natural, vegan and raw path are the major conspiracies in our government and secret world organizations that control the quality of our food and water, and that our food is processed without any regard at all for our health, in fact it is designed to make us want it all the time, with artificial flavorings, colorings, etc., (consequently we have an extremely HIGH obesity rate nowadays) and also designed to destroy our health so that the medical INDUSTRY and pharmaceutical industries, and the major food corporations (yes, they are all in this together), can stay in business - stay rich… because if people get healthy, then they don’t make any money… and our government, the FDA, etc. all support this scheme. I urge people to do their own research about what is really happening behind the scenes with regard to the deliberate contamination of our food and water supply.

Many people reject what I say about our food being ‘designed’ to make us sick, either because they trust their government (after all we’ve been programmed to believe them, right?), or they feel helpless and powerless, which isn’t true. There are many activist groups that are more public and out in the open about these issues, marching in the streets with signs to protect our health freedom, before the cops come and take them away… and you won’t hear about it on your evening news.

A long time ago, I studied to become a nurse, only to drop out after learning that much of the training is about how to treat with drugs, etc. No nutritional training, and that is true for doctors, too. My sister in law is a charge nurse in a hospital, and she agrees with me 100% - we have great discussions. She said it is true that pharma reps come in with stacks of pizzas for the doctors and nurses, and they are trying to ’sell’ their drugs and literature to the nurses - and if that doctor or hospital ’sells’ enough of their drugs, they get kickbacks and dinners, and vacations, etc.

Needless to say, the raw vegan lifestyle is so much more than a dietary change. First, I feel it is following what God ordained in the beginning, in Genesis 1:29: “And God said, “See, I have given you every herb (vegetables) that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.” And second, it’s more than just improving our health; it involves every aspect of our lives, our relationships, our families, our environment, and what is going on behind the scenes that is never allowed to be made public. News and information that never makes it to the national TV networks, or newspapers. If you want to know, you have to dig, and be ready for surprises.

I think of John Lennon’s famous song: “Imagine”. Imagine world peace. Imagine global health. Imagine if everyone followed a high raw vegan diet. There would be no sickness and disease. No need for doctors and pharmaceutical drugs. Babies would be born healthy and grow up to be healthy and high functioning adults. People would be at peace with each other, there would be no wars because they would not be consuming foods that contain excitotoxins and high amounts of sugar and other chemicals that cause mood swings, aggressive behavior or mental health issues. There would be no need for raising beef and chicken, or for slaughterhouses, or dairies. The land would be cared for and fed organic natural compost fertilizer and used for growing crops that feed people, not cows or other animals. Our air quality would improve if we didn’t have methane gas that come from cattle farms. There are at least a hundred human and environmental benefits if everyone followed a high raw, vegan lifestyle. Maybe someday I can research that aspect of it and post it here.

Blessings!
Larry and Lauren

Larry writes: Hey everyone, thanks so much for hookin’ up with our Raw4Healing blog. I wouldn’t be here today sharing my personal testimony if it weren’t for my wife, Lauren. She is not only the best personal trainer, coach, and health advocate a guy could have, but also inspires me because of her passion for a raw vegan food lifestyle. I personally have been fighting the battle of the bulge in excess weight of around 30 plus pounds for several years now. It has been very hard and nearly impossible to accomplish this weight loss.

But today, is my day! I am proud to share with you that I have not only lost the weight, but feel healthier than I ever have ever felt before! I have a secret I want to share with you: raw vegan food is sustainable energy and good energy equals good health! It’s really that simple.

I want to start by saying click to read more…

As a vegan raw foodist, one of the hardest things to do is find high quality, organic supplements to enhance our existing diet of fresh organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains. There are so many products available, all of them touting their benefits to your health, etc. Personally, I think the only one that really benefits are the manufacturers and distributors that sell these products. Sure, many companies offer affiliate opportunities with their products, but they generally only pay about 5 - 10%, and requires the marketing person to continuously sell that same product over and over again.

Recently, as part of my business, I’ve aligned myself with a company that endeavors to produce only very high quality and organic nutritional supplements. Since I’ve done extensive research and have seen almost everything that is out there, I am proud to represent their products here on Raw4Healing.

BioGenX Global offers several nutritional products, but I am only going to feature just one of them here today. “Live Greens” is a nutritional raw greens powder that can be mixed with water, juice or added into your smoothie. Below are the ingredients of Live Greens.

Q: What makes the BIOGENX GLOBAL’s Live Greens so nutritious?

A: Each individual ingredient in the BIOGENX GLOBAL Live Greens are in themselves, nutrient rich, superfoods. When the ingredients were combined by our Master Formulator, he scrutinized each potential ingredient, to be sure that nutritionally, every need was met. Not only were they met, but they were exceeded. This is because each ingredient chosen to go into the Live Greens formula was nutrient dense, and had multifaceted nutritional value. Look at wheatgrass alone, it is considered to be a complete food in itself. The fact is that one pound of fresh wheatgrass is equivalent in nutritional value to 23 pounds of choice garden vegetables! Wheatgrass, Kamut grass, barley grass, and oat grass are just the beginning of this amazing formula. Besides the grasses, grains and seeds, we have included highly nutritious micro-algae, like cracked cell chlorella, and spirulina, which contain many B vitamins, chlorophyll, and minerals such as calcium and iron. Live Greens also contain seaweeds like Kombu and Wakame which are not only extremely nutritious, but also help to rid the body of toxins and heavy metals, while boosting immunity. The fruits and vegetables contained in this super nutritious formula were chosen because of their high antioxidant level, and their ability to provide many vitamins and minerals. Our Master Formulator also created a unique herbal formula, to support the assimilation of the nutrients. BIOGENX GLOBALs’ Live Greens contain many nutrition packed herbs, such as ginseng and olive leaf, to help the body heal and to boost the immune system. Last, but not least, included in the formula are enzymes, Omega fatty acids and probiotics to ensure that the body is able to assimilate the nutrition provided.

Q: Why are BIOGENX GLOBAL’s Live Greens So Unique and Powerful compared to similar products on the market?

A: Again, it is because of the structure of the formula. BIOGENX GLOBAL has gone out of our way to bring the most nutritious ingredients along with the most powerful herbs, and fruits and vegetables, regardless of cost to us. Many other Green products are made with the majority of the ingredient being the cheapest ingredients, such as alfalfa, which is a very cost efficient, and nutritious, but not as nutritious alone as it is when combined with many other nutrition dense foods, which over-lap each other nutritionally, guaranteeing you the most nutrition possible, per tablespoon, of whole food goodness.

For more information about Live Greens, click here.

Hints for Creating Raw Foods ‘on the fly’

Sometimes, when I haven’t made time to plan my raw food meals, make a list and shop for the ingredients, and ‘have it all together’, I find it hard to throw something together that’s quick, satisfying, and still 100% raw. I’m tired, hungry, and don’t feel like thinking, let alone, preparing a time intensive gourmet feast. Sometimes, it’s easier to just rely on the same old boring recipes we’re used to and grew up with. Do you ever feel that way? Yet, for me, I almost would rather go hungry or just have my juice instead of eating the ‘old way.’

There are so many great, yet simple, recipe ideas that make a lot of difference in helping us to stay on our raw path. I’m sure many of you have a full collection of recipe books that produce wonderful and tasty meals, but require many ingredients, days of preparation and aren’t very helpful when you want something quick and fast.

I’ve heard that most people really only use about 7 to 10 recipes on a regular basis! I raise my hand, that’s true for me. I have my favorites, like raw enchiladas, raw lasagna, raw tacos, etc.

The beauty of raw food, is that it can be as simple as it can be complex. It’s always easy to put together a few ingredients and have a lovely meal. We just need to think outside the box, and look at what’s in our vegetable/fruit bins, in our freezer and pantry to come up with quick, simple ideas and yet taste delicious and satisfying.

So here are 6 quick and easy recipe ideas that work for a snack or a meal.

Zesty Orange Smoothie

I love fresh-squeezed orange juice. Have you ever just peeled the oranges and dropped them into your blender? It makes for a delicious and very satisfying quick snack. Of course, use organic Navel oranges, they are the sweetest.
Simply peel the oranges with your knife, keeping some of the “white” pith, cut into quarters and blend them whole in your blender. If necessary, add a little water.

This drink tastes milky and sweet. And you can add other fruit too, if you want. But sometimes it’s best to just keep it ‘mono’ fruit. Orange ‘smoothies’ like this are more nutritious that way too! You get all the fiber and all the goodies in the white pith. That’s where all the calcium is. Orange juice is a joke, in comparison, in terms of taste, satisfaction, and nutrition.
Note: if this drink tastes too bitter, then it means you’ve not cut the oranges properly. Avoid any of the peel. Also, find the juiciest, sweetest seedless oranges you can find.

Frozen Berries

I always make sure that I have some frozen strawberries and blueberries. You can make any smoothie taste amazing by throwing in some berries. Especially my favorite: blueberries!

I generally use frozen berries all year round, but when seasonally available, you can use organic fresh berries, if they are not too expensive! Check out your local farmer’s market for a great deal on organic berries, you can freeze them to use in your smoothies. Or simply buy frozen berries (or even frozen wild blueberries) at your market or health food store.
Keep in mind, I recommend buying fresh organic berries, because you have to remember that berries are often the most sprayed fruits, so by buying organic frozen berries, or freezing them yourself, or buying wild berries, you avoid that pesticide exposure.

Berries are also the richest fruits in natural anti-oxidants, which are compounds that protect against cell damage inflicted by molecules called oxygen-free radicals, major causes of disease and aging. It’s been found that most berries rank higher in antioxidant activities when compared to other cultivated fruits and vegetables. The USDA Human Nutrition Center ranked blueberries the #1most antioxidant rich berry. Strawberries came second on the list. The antioxidants are usually found in the pigment that give berries their color. They help protect us from cancer naturally.

Berries also contain a higher amount of phytochemicals than most other fruits. Phytochemicals are components of plants that have been shown to help prevent certain diseases, or at least influence our health in a positive sense.

Berries are generally high in vitamin C. For example, a cup of strawberries contains as much vitamin C as a cup of orange juice. Without having to go through the list, let’s just remember that berries, especially wild ones, contain plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other phytochemicals, more than most cultivated fruits.

A quick word about freezing: although freezing is not ideal, it’s still better than cooking or drying, and preserves most nutrients. Some people experience problems when eating frozen fruits ice cold. So you may want to thaw your frozen berries before adding them to smoothies.

A Berry Good Smoothie:

1 cup water
2-3 bananas
1 1/2 cups blueberries
A big handful of greens, or 1-3 stalks of celery

Blend an enjoy!

Need a Quick Salad Dressing?

It’s easy to get stuck when trying to come up with a quick and easy salad dressing, because we grew up with making the dressings with oils or artificial ingredients.

Try this delicious salad dressing from whole foods.

Raw French Dressing:

Start with tomatoes. Take 1 - 2 tomatoes, and put them in your blender, with the juice of half a lemon or some apple cider vinegar. Add in some sort of fatty food such as avocado. Then throw in some herbs of your choice (dill, chives, etc.), and some of your favorite seasonings (if desired).

This makes for an incredibly tasty dressing that only took all of about 2-1/2 minutes to prepare!

Here’s another quick salad dressing recipe.

Mango Tango Dressing:

In your blender, blend 1 cup of tomato (in chunks), 1 cup of mango (flesh only), 1/4 cup of water, and 2-3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.
Let me know how you liked it!

And I have one more dressing for you…. My favorite quick and easy salad dressing:

Avocado Dream Dressing:

I never really measure anything, just kind of ‘eyeball’ it - that’s the beauty of raw food preparations, it’s all based on taste, not exact scientific measurements!
1 – 2 avocadoes
2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice or Apple cider vinegar
2 tsp minced garlic
Dash of sea salt
1 2 tsp Italian Seasoning (to taste)
Enough water to smooth it out
Blend and enjoy on your salad. Keeps refrigerated for a couple days.

Most raw foodists always keep plenty of bananas on hand, and if they don’t get used up before they start turn black, peel them and freeze them for delicious smoothies. Bananas and chocolate (or cacao) are just about one of my most favorite combinations. It’s always so satisfying and very yummy!

Banana Cacao Shake

1 ripe banana, peeled
½ cup raw coconut flakes (soak until softened)
2 tsp raw chocolate powder (crushed cacao beans or nibs)
4 tsp cold-pressed hemp seeds
1 tsp of cold-pressed hemp oil or flax seed oil
1 tbsp raw honey or raw agave (I prefer honey, tastes better)
handful of ice cubes
Blend and enjoy!

In Summary
I’ve just given you some of my easiest and quickest recipe ideas. I love simple recipes because when our days get full of other obligations, sometimes there just isn’t enough time to plan ahead. Most of us are busy and having some easy recipes up your sleeve to whip up will help to us to stay on the raw path!

Look for raw food books that offer recipes that are easy to prepare, ready to eat in a few minutes, and use simple, easy to find ingredients. Steer clear of recipe books that only end up gathering dust on your top bookshelf somewhere in your home!

Riff on all the raw food approaches, by Nomi Shannon

Water only

Juices too

Just green smoothies

What to do

Do it like Ann wigmore did

Just be sure to alkalize

Food combining is the way

Acid fruits are not OK

But yes they are –just before 10

Now I hear you should only eat the pineapple stem

Have you heard of 80-10-10?

What about Fit for Life and Zen

Let’s be reasonable apples only

But haven’t you heard of the grape fast

What about Joanna Budwig-quark and flax

What is quark and is it raw

I haven’t time to grow the sprouts

If they don’t sell it at McDonalds I have my doubts

Can I eat sweet potatoes, rutabagas and tomatoes?

What do they mean by mono meals?

Mr. Aajonus vonderplanitz says eat raw fat and meat

That sounds gross -but how will I get my protein

Better only eat low glycemic

I’m afraid I’ll become anemic

Fruits til noon and then my veggies

But where do I buy them and how do I make them

I need help and what did they say about nightshades

Don’t they go on top of lamps?

I think I’d better wait for awhile

and put if off until I know –just

Exactly the one right way

to eat better every day
If you are confused about how to begin… or want to renew your enthusiasm, Join Nomi and Friends today:

FREE WEBCAST EVENT

Join Nomi Shannon, The Raw Gourmet, with Kevin Gianni of LiveAwesome.com and David and Katrina Rainoshek of juicefeasting.com for this FREE webcast event on Saturday April 19th, noon EST, 9AM PST.

Learn Nomi’s three secret fail-safe steps to success on starting and continuing your raw food diet.

Learn Kevin’s 8 step process that will prepare you to soar beyond the health and fitness goals you thought you could never achieve.

Learn about David and Katrina’s experiences in their 50th day of juice feasting and how it can affect you in your quest for better health.

EVENT: Spring Renewal, Begin 21 Days to Better Health
DATE & TIME: Saturday, April 19th at 12:00pm Eastern 9AM Pacific
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)

TO ATTEND THIS FREE EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…

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This will be an approximately 90 minute event.

The Raw Gourmet
PO Box 10396
Wilmington NC 28404

My husband, Larry, says that I’m too vigilant, too radical sometimes when I share with others about vegan raw food and the health benefits. And he’s probably right. But since he’s lost over 30 pounds, he also agrees with me!

I care too much, love too deeply, and want so desperately to share with others that are blinded by today’s rich, greedy corporate bureaucracies. These societies and bureaucracies have a very strong hold on the general public as to how much good food they will allow the public to eat, let alone keep the information for real healing buried deep in the medical journals where no normal person will every find it. They control what is considered acceptable ‘good’ food, even the empty stuff that is processed, packaged, irradiated in pretty colorful packages that cost more than what’s inside.

It’s dead food, and dead food cannot build life. Living food builds life, health, and healing. You cannot put a price on that. Health is literally priceless. Almost everyone knows someone who has cancer, or some chronic health issue. I was just at an open house party the other night. Most of the guests there were in their 40’s - late 50’s. They ALL had health issues, had family with cancer; one lady I spoke with is getting ready to go into the hospital for surgery, and on and on about that hospital vs. this hospital, that doctor and this doctor…. WAKE UP PEOPLE!! Don’t you see what you are doing? You are doing EXACTLY what ‘they’ want you to do… pay attention to them, talk about them, see them and give them YOUR money. They don’t care about your health.

The other sad thing is that most people in the general public DON’T care about their health either. Because their confidence is in their doctors to fix whatever problem they will ever have. A simple prescription will take care of their ills. And the plot continues to thicken. Fix a problem with drugs, that will in the long run create more toxic issues, requiring more drugs…. and that’s what keeps the pharmaceutical companies RICH!!

I had a great chat with my lovely daughter Erin. She’s 21, beautiful and fit, in the prime of her life and tells me on the phone that she’s been told four different times that she has high blood pressure. Well, I began to ask her what her personal life is like… is she under stress, stuff like that. She didn’t think so. But when I asked her about what kind of food she was eating, it was mostly SAD stuff… coffee, cereal, milk, bagel/cream cheese, hamburger, tea or soda, cup ‘o noodles… “whatever,” she says.

I felt absolutely awful. I had been a health ‘freak’ most of my life, but failed to teach my daughter before she left home. Of course, that was four years ago, and I didn’t know what I know now. I was kind of just following the ‘flow’ back then, doing my own thing I guess….

I’ve learned so much… my raw journey is finally coming full circle. I am grateful to God for opening my eyes to see His truth. Genesis 1:29: “Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.” No where do the scripture say “I have given you hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, drugs, dead animals and their byproducts, preservatives, food coloring, flouride, chlorine, denatured, junk and empty food to sustain your life with.”

I am so very grateful that I have overcome all my health issues with a raw food lifestyle and at 54, that is considered pretty unusual. I can share this wonderful testimony with my family, the community, even my church. If it helps to open the eyes of others so that they may see out from under the ‘cloud’ that they are under. That’s how I see so many people… I’m outside of that ‘cloud’ looking at the people and see them in the cloud, completely oblivious to it. Accepting whatever the ‘powers that be’ say.

So I spent about the next 30 minutes explaining to my daughter how food relates to her health. About the difference between raw and cooked food, enzymes and nutrients in the raw food, how it’s a better eco green way to live for our environment, to how we are all being manipulated and conveniently kept ’sick’ to keep the money coffers full for those in control. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have internet access in her studio apartment, but she can check her email from a friend’s computer, or an i-cafe. But at least she is very interested, and wants to know more. Thank you! At last my daughter is finally listening to me LOL!!!

I told her that if she went on a raw food lifestyle program, or even a high raw and vegan diet,  that she would be able to retain her lovely youthfulness for many, many years. She would age so much slower than her peers. She will never have a weight problem. Her high blood pressure, and all other health issues, will go away.

I’ll send her some books, my Smoothies for Health, and help her get started with some of my favorite vegan, natural and organic recipes. First off, she can start very simply by making smoothies. Once she starts doing that, she’ll be on the path to improving her health.

If you haven’t gotten your free copy of my Smoothies for Health, then feel free to click here to learn more and subscribe to my free raw food weekly recipes.

I always love hearing other people’s testimonies about how simply changing their diet to an all natural, raw vegan lifestyle helped them eliminate their health issues. And when they are healed, they no longer need to see the doctor, spend money on pharmaceuticals, or need to continue to take prescription drugs that poison their system. There are thousands of testimonies on the web of people who have been healed of all kinds of debilitating and chronic diseases, easily lost weight, and gained significantly more energy. Below are just a few people who overcame their health issues and are making a difference by helping others do the same.

In his book, Your Natural Diet, David Klein writes about how he got fed up with seeing doctors, having a myriad of tests run, and taking tons of prescription medicine for his Colitis and Crohn’s diseases. Someone told him about eating a whole living food diet, and to eliminate all animal products. It wasn’t easy, but when he started to make that transition, his colitis and IBS flare-ups began to subside. He committed to a 100% raw food vegan diet, and immediately began to feel better than he ever had felt before. This was almost 20 years ago. He went on to get his Ph.D in nutrition, and has been counseling others in transitioning to a natural vegan diet ever since. Today over 1,000 clients have been healed since 1993 on his medically endorsed vegan diet healing plan. On one of his sites: http://www.colitis-crohns.com/ he says:

“99% of our clients heal and feel great in 2 to 8 weeks by their own self-healing power. This is not a quick fix. No other plan results in health. Find out why natural hygiene is the true path to health. …”

His testimony is amazing, as are many, many others who have made the change to a vegan, whole food, natural diet. I still refer to one of his great books: Your Natural Diet, I would encourage anyone interested in learning more about the “diet that heals” to get this book.

David Wolfe is another very well known raw foodist and is considered by peers to be one of the world’s leading authorities on nutrition. David is the author of Naked Chocolate, Eating For Beauty and The Sunfood Diet Success System. David works, in conjunction with Sunfood Nutrition™, to develop, market and distribute some of the world’s most wonderful and exotic organic food items. David and Sunfood Nutrition™ (formerly Nature’s First Law) were the first to bring raw and organic: cacao beans/nibs (raw chocolate), goji berries, Incan berries, cacao butter, cacao powder, powdered encapsulated mangosteen, maca extract and cold-pressed coconut oil into general distribution in North America. Known for extraordinary quality control and ethical production, these products and many others developed by David and Sunfood Nutrition™ lead the field. David Wolfe has degrees in mechanical and environmental engineering, political science, a juris doctor in law, and a masters in living-food nutrition. He has studied at many institutions including Oxford University. Currently, David still participates in higher education as a professor of nutrition for Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ masters degree program on live-food nutrition. David Wolfe is the middle son of two medical doctors, which provides him with a unique perspective in the health field. Since 1995, David Wolfe has given over 1,000 health lectures and seminars in the United States, Canada, Europe, the South Pacific, Central America and South America. He hosts at least six health, fitness and adventure retreats each year at various retreat centers around the world. David is the founder of the non-profit Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (www.ftpf.org) whose goal is to plant 18 billion fruit trees on planet Earth. David is also the founder of, and leading contributor to, the internet’s only Peak Performance and Nutrition online magazine: www.thebestdayever.com. David may not have any real great testimonies about personal healing, but for someone who travels constantly, doing seminars, and sharing his knowledge, his busy schedule is a testimony in and of itself for the raw food diet. You can see some videos I posted about him here.

Shelly Keck-Borsits went to hell and back with her health issues for many years before she made the connection of a raw, vegan food diet and her health. I wrote a post about her testimony here: http://raw4healing.com/health/dying-to-get-well and how she documented her story in a free ebook that you can download and read here:

http://www.abcinternetmarketing.com/dtgw/ebook/free/rawfoods/DTGW.pdf

She also bravely writes about the little known corporate conspiracy and cover up by the food manufacturing industries, and the medical and pharmaceutical industries. They are not concerned about improving your health, they’re primarily in business to make money, at the risk of your health!

I could write for days about all the testimonies of people getting healed by simply following a pure, natural, vegan diet. Not even necessarily 100% raw food, as it may seem pretty radical to some people. I’ve heard of health improvements on an 85% raw food diet. The main thing is to make the decision to stop eating packaged, processed, canned, pasteurized “food”. Food manufacturers spend more money on packaging and fancy color pictures on the boxes than they do on the junk inside!! More money is spent on preservatives, food colorings, and MSG than on the so-called food itself! It’s all about getting the consumer to see it, and then want it. They don’t care if it’s healthy for you. Remember, like I’ve said in my other posts, just follow the money trail.

But let me focus on the title of this post: Raw Food Diet Cures Fibromyalgia. I recently read Alissa Cohen’s book: “Living On Live Food” (which includes a DVD) and enjoyed it very much. She teaches a raw food certification course, and she shares many tasty recipes as well as her own personal story. She was, what she calls a ‘quasi-vegetarian’ when she was sixteen. She wasn’t specifically concerned about health benefits, animal rights issues, or environmental concerns at the time. She just didn’t like red meat that much. Around this same time, she started working out in a gym, and began reading books on health and fitness. She read “Fit for Life”, “Diet for a Small Planet” and others promoting the vegetarian philosophy.

When she read John Robbin’s “Diet for a New America”, she immediately became a confirmed vegetarian. She was fascinated with Robbin’s theories on the physiological impact of eating animals, his exposition on its social, ecological, and economic consequences really blew her away. (It really impacted me, too, when I read John’s book; highly recommended reading!) As a result, she began reading more about how whole foods have a major influence on the overall health of our bodies.

Alissa thought that since she wasn’t eating meat, chicken, fish or eggs, that she was healthier than most people. But she was experiencing chronic illness, including constant yeast infections, and bladder infections. She was tired a lot, her skin was breaking out, she was having frequent headaches, and she couldn’t keep her weight down.

Seeing the doctor only aggravated her problem. He put her on antibiotics, which helped for a week or two. But she was constantly getting colds, her immune system was being weakened due to the continuous round of drugs she was taking. The various doctors she was seeing kept telling her she had a yeast infection, and kept prescribing her antibiotics and other drugs. This regime went on for two years! And she was getting worse. At the age of twenty-two, she began to feel like a very old lady, with no energy, tired and achy all the time.

Finally, a doctor recommended laparoscopy. This was to be exploratory surgery involving a fiber optical instrument to be inserted into the abdominal wall through the navel in order to examine the organs. It was painful and intrusive, and yielded no new information. And yet, further exploratory surgery was suggested. That’s when she said NO! No more!

As her depression grew worse, she began to listen to her gut feelings and researched holistic practices. When she wandered into a local health food store, and discovered a book call “The Yeast Connection”, she writes that “Purchasing and reading that book was a life changing decision for me.” She learned how the food she was eating was contributing to her yeast infection. She visited a holistic practitioner who confirmed what she had read in the book and he told her that changing her diet will help to rid herself of the yeast infections, and improve her immune system as well.

She had Candida and Fibromyalgia and a host of other ailments and after seeing the holistic practitioner, she immediately changed her diet to nothing but 100% raw vegan food. She found that when she ate so called good vegetarian foods (steamed veggies, rice, tofu, etc.) she would feel lethargic and foggy-headed. But her body would buzz and her energy began to soar when she ate raw fruits, vegetable, nuts and seeds. Her back didn’t hurt, her Candida went away within days! She couldn’t ignore how she felt when she ate raw compared to when she ate cooked food. The concept of eating whole foods full of life energy and enzymes made so much more sense than eating dead cooked foods.

At the time, the only information available was Dr. Ann Wigmore’s book “Recipes For a Longer Life”. She teaches how living foods create live bodies, dead foods produce dead bodies. This impacted Alissa so much she began eating only raw foods.

After just a few months on the raw food diet, Alissa had no symptoms of Fibromyalgia, her Candida was gone and she felt better then she had since her teenage years. Her energy shot through the roof and she began to look younger and younger, and was more positive and happy. Soon, she began to share this diet with others and found they got the same kind of results. She knew she had found the perfect way to eat for her and, for others as well.

Since then, Alissa became a nutritional counselor, polarity therapist and personal fitness trainer. She has certifications in energetic bodywork, holistic counseling and nutrition, and opened her own health food store. She was experimenting with raw food before much information was out there, and as result, began to teach herself and work with many well-respected teachers and trailblazers in the raw food movement.

So what is the best way to get into raw foods?

Everyone is different. The very first time I learned about raw foods was actually several years ago. I was researching the benefits of a vegan diet, and stumbled on some information about raw foods. I had also read Dr. Ann Wigmore’s book back in the late 1970’s about the health benefits, and cancer fighting properties of a raw food diet, but it just seemed like too much work. And that is really what many people first think when learning about a raw food diet. There is a little bit of a learning curve as well. Preparing meals with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds is VERY different than what we grew up with. Learning to make a ‘cheese’ with raw cashew nuts or pine nuts, corn tortillas with a dehydrator, and noodles with zucchini is radically different than what we’re used to. But the benefits are so awesome, I can never go back.

I’ve been almost 100% raw for nearly a year now, having been a total vegan for many years before that. But it wasn’t until I started eating more raw fruits and vegetables, and learning to prepare delicious raw food meals, when my own health issues began to disappear. My skin rashes and scalp problems cleared up, my muscle and joint pains are gone, I no longer wake up with stiff, swollen hands in the morning (water retention), my hypoglycemia is gone, I sleep less, I weigh less than I did in high school, and I have more energy than I’ve ever had in my whole life. And my husband has lost over 30 pounds in less than three months, is able to reduce his asthma medicine, and has more energy than ever before.

For some people that decide to start eating a whole, living and raw food diet, they feel they need to transition slowly, while others are ready to jump right in. Generally, it is recommended that people should start 100% raw right away. Usually, when people go slow they simply just never get there. They’re not committed, and get side tracked and eventually lose momentum. When you’re not eating 100% raw, the results are slower and the motivation is lost since the results are not quick enough. Read books, search the internet, attend some local raw food classes and find out for yourself what the best way to do this diet is. I do think that raw food is for everyone but that doesn’t mean that everyone should have the same raw food diet. This diet can be tailored to your needs and your situation. No one way will work for everyone, some people eat mostly fruit, some more fats and proteins, others more of a mono diet and so forth. You need to experiment and see for yourself what works best.

I have found that for those new to this lifestyle, the easiest and healthiest way to transition is to go on a ‘juice feast’. A juice feast is simply blending fruits and vegetables in a high speed blender, and literally ‘drinking your food.’ This provides your body with the maximum amount of nutrition, is very filling and satisfying, and at the same time, it allows your body to detox. Many health issues are the result of built up toxins and poisons in your system from eating a standard American diet (SAD). On a juice feast, you don’t have to worry about preparing special raw food meals, take the time read some raw food books with recipes, and do some shopping. Some juice feasts can last from three days to 92 days, like the current Global Juice Feasting program.

There are some problems when people transition to a raw food diet. They might get too strict. They try to eat a mono diet. They start fasting. They cut out nuts. They start thinking one food is not good, that fruits are too high in sugar, they shouldn’t have as much fat, they should not eat too much, etc. Eating raw food is drastically different to what most people are used to eating. What makes people think that eating an extra piece of fruit or more raw nuts will be the worst think in the world when just a week before they were eating pizza, ice cream and Mexican food? On this diet, people tend to go to the extreme. Raw food is extreme enough for most people. Just relax around it and have fun with it. And some people think that a raw food diet consists of nothing but fruit and salads all the time. Oh, it is so much more than that! There are so many awesome and wonderful, easy to prepare raw food recipes that are alive with flavor, and full of nutrition and enzymes.

Another major pitfall is not having food in your house. You need to make sure you have enough food so that when you get hungry you can eat! For some reason when people go raw, they don t think they need to have a lot of raw food in their home. But you would have cooked food if you were eating a cooked food diet! Make sure you know how to make some good raw food meals so when you re hungry you know how to whip something up so you don t find yourself driving to the nearest fast food chain restaurant.

In summary, if you are really serious about improving your health, losing weight, and having more energy than you know what to do with, then you want to learn all you can about how to change your diet to a natural, vegan raw food lifestyle. Think of it as an investment, not only in your own health, but in your family, children and even your friends. Once you begin to share the benefits of this new lifestyle, think of the impact you will have on those around you. Especially children. Do you realize that children raised on a raw food diet are healthier, smarter, and have far less discipline problems? They do not have ADHD symptoms, obesity problems, (both of which are now considered to be at epidemic proportions with our children today), or even discipline issues. If parents were to change their diet in addition to putting their children on a raw food diet for just two weeks, they would never look back. I know I never did!!

Awhile back, I did a juice fast and absolutely loved it. I probably didn’t follow all the rules, but I made a couple quarts of pure juice with my Green Star juicer and another quart of juice in my Vitamix. I lost weight, my hair started growing really fast and my nails, too. My skin cleared up… need I go on? It was awesome!

I followed the Master Cleanse “Lemonade Diet”, quite a few months ago, and that is what propelled me to to do the juice regimen. I love green drinks, but then I usually added an apple, strawberries, or some sort of fruit. I just realized from our RawFood.meetup.com/197 message board, that there is now a new Juice Feast starting March 1! And if you just look around the internet at other raw food sites, everyone is doing it! First, it was Terilynn at Daily Raw Cafe, and then, today I see that Heidi at Raw Food Right Now is doing it, too.

Then I found a site which was totally devoted to coaching people who are juice feasting. Goodness!! I never thought of getting someone to help me do a juice fast…. I never realized that there would actually be a site that offers support and encouragement for juice feasting.

Of course, if you are thinking of doing any sort of Juice Fast or Juice Feasting (it seems the difference in terms has to do with whether you are juicing your vegetables or blending them), you will need to have, at the minimum, a powerful blender. I love my Vitamix, which I’ve heard people describe it as a “blender on steroids”. It will pulverize just about anything you put into it (within reason, of course). You might also want a personal blender, so you can blend fresh anywhere (I usually blend my juice in the morning, and carry it in an insulated container, it still tastes great, and it works for me).

I do like plain old juice, so I need my Champion juicer. I love my Green Star juicer, because it does a great job juicing greens and wheatgrass, even if it does have few more parts to clean. I also love my Champion as it makes great pate, and other raw food goodies.

Juice Feasting is an highly nutrient-dense and digestive-saving way to cleanse and detoxify the body while still getting tons of the nutrients your body needs. The difference between juice fasting and Juice Feasting is that Juice Feasting is designed so the feaster will consume enough calories to supply their daily requirements.

Juice Feasting’s current hero and biggest supporter is David Rain, who holds an M.A. in Live Food Nutrition and also is research assistant to Dr. Gabriel Cousens at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona.

David and his wife Katrina have created the official website of Juice Feasting, JuiceFeasting.com, and they created it to be “a treasure-trove of exciting information, stories, music, movies, books, and files for you to learn all about personal healing with Juice Feasting.”

They have a membership site that is designed to fully support you each and every day while on your 92-day juice feasting journey. Each day you will learn new and different aspects of the raw and living foods lifestyle while also being provided with the full juice feasting information available.

And you don’t even have to sign up and pay for a membership just to learn how to juice feast, since David & Katrina still provide the most basic Juice Feasting information available for free on the JuiceFeasting.com website. Check out their site and read everything under the “Juice Feasting Intro“.

If you’re ready to do a Juice Feast, or even if you just want to read about the concept, A Juice Feaster’s Handbook is a good guide.

If you are not ready to juice feast, but you are looking to take off some weight check out RawReform: How to Go Raw for Weight Loss for some good information.

Need more weight work inspiration? Check out Raw Reform.