Eighty Percent Raw Blog

Wow! It's been ages since I last posted anything on this blog! I'm really sorry about that. I think I've been stuck in the technology twilight zone for a while now but I'm starting to make my way back out of it!

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Web Marketing For Dummies in an effort to make sense and use of the plethora of web-based marketing tools out there and I'm learning some very valuable skills and lessons. But still, it's a mass of confusion to me! And I'm pretty computer and internet literate! So, it really makes me cringe for those out there trying to navigate their way through the information maze who don't really have much in the way of computer knowledge or experience to fall back on!

Anyhow, I learned about something called a Media Desktop, which can be used to track where people are following you, your website, publications, posts, blogs, videos, audios, etc. from, on the internet, and places them all neatly into one browser page so that you aren't trying to keep up with a godzillion different social networking accounts, blogs, magazines, etc. all over the net!

You can use your Google homepage for this purpose, if you already have a Google account, which I do, but personally, I like the graphical interface and sophisticated layout available on Netvibes. An account with them is free and, in my opinion, much more visually appealing and fun to play with than the Google interface.

The amazing thing about using a Media Desktop is that you can perform a search on blogs or just enter your own website address to find out when and where anyone and everyone on the internet has mentioned you or linked to you in their own posts or on their websites! This is AWESOME information! And it was due to this search that I stumbled upon Carmella's post about Chef Tina Jo's amazing BBQ Meatless Balls on her own blog at The Sunny Raw Kitchen! She graciously links back to Chef Tina Jo's original recipe, located here ,on Eighty Percent Raw! Which, I have to tell you, is just awesome! Because this inter-linking from one related site to another across the internet is one of the primary tools for spreading your message across the web and increasing your visibility, and thus, your web traffic.

Now that I'm learning all of this great information about web marketing I am going to work really hard at becoming more consistent with my blog posts, since that too, is key to keeping people coming back to your website.

On another related note, our team at Eighty Percent Raw and I are gearing up for the next big issue, which will go live on June 1st! If you aren't on our mailing list, be sure to Join Our FaceBook Fan Page so that you will be notified!

Please do let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions about how we at Eighty Percent Raw can better meet your health and wellness needs.

Bright Blessings,

~Tracy

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So, last night I was thinking about wheatgrass for healing and decided to do a little internet search to see what I could find out.

I don't really have any experience with wheatgrass, other than the occasional shot I have them toss into my all-fruit smoothie at Jamba juice the couple of times a year hubby and I pop in there for a snack. Being a big green smoothie enthusiast I figure having that shot of wheatgrass adds the "green" element that would be otherwise missing from my drink-of-choice at their establishment. And since I am a firm believer in adding the green element whenever having a pure-fruit drink in order to help mitigate the sugar absorption into my bloodstream, I always have them throw in a shot of the green juice. But that's the extent of my personal experience with the stuff.

It's kind of funny, I suppose, that I've been a high-raw foodist for over three years now and still haven't really gotten into some of the more "complex" or unusual (by traditional American standards) food methods and preparations utilized by many other raw foodists. I guess I just like to keep things simple. However, I began thinking about the potential healing benefits of wheatgrass juice earlier this week when I watched a YouTube video about Dave the Raw Food Trucker - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ip-VkRgHkM&feature=player_embedded who has now lost over 200 pounds in under two years, cured himself of diabetes, kidney & liver disease, got off of 19 prescription drugs, etc. all by following a raw food diet. And Dave swears by wheatgrass juice. Soooo...it made think maybe there is something to this that merits more research.

After doing a general Google search on how to grow wheatgrass, and then how to juice wheatgrass, I spotted a search engine listing that grabbed my attention. It was on a site called Skeptico.blog.com and the summary said:
"In my view, it's not the nutritional value of wheatgrass that's important. My clinical experience with it and the research I have done suggests it acts as a ..." which, in addition to the enticing name of the site, naturally peaked my curiosity. I took the bait and went over to:
http://skeptico.blogs.com/skeptico/2005/04/wheatgrass_madn.html to check out what Skeptico thought about the nutritional value of wheatgrass and was astonished by the information and heated discussion going on over there about this particular issue!

I find the similarity between dietary opinion and religious fervor very interesting and quite humorous, if truth be told.

So, the author of Skeptico, who appears to be a nameless and faceless person choosing to post his (I don't know why I presume this individual is male...maybe I picked that up in his posts somehow? I guess that might be a little sexist of me.) thoughts and opinions anonymously, stating that

"It’s what I write that matters, not what my qualifications are. The important question is not, who am I? The important question is, why should you believe me?"

Ya, he had me, then he lost me.

Clearly this guy is intelligent and has done SOME research on the matter. But when people commenting on his blog pose valid questions he retaliates with below-the-belt insults and never really answers the questions effectively.

Basically, his contention is this: Wheatgrass juice has no nutritional value for humans because apparently there is significant evidence to suggest that humans can't digest grass. This, according to his logic, is due to the fact that we do not have four stomachs, as do cattle, and since our bodies can not effectively break down the cellulose found in the cell walls of the grass, there is no way for us to assimilate the nutritional value in the juice.

But here is my question...and another of his readers brought this up as well, without any effective response on his part...IF we extract the JUICE (breaking down the cell walls in the process) then why is it that humans can't THEN absorb the nutritional value from the liquid? I absolutely understand that, perhaps, our bodies do not possess the ability to break down the fibers in the grass itself. But that fact doesn't address why we couldn't/wouldn't absorb all of the nutrient value from the juice once all of the cellulose/fiber has been removed from the equation.

I don't claim to be any kind of scientist. And maybe I'm over simplifying here. I pretty much rely on logic and common sense...which really isn't so common after all, lol! And I'm certainly not trying to drive traffic to this person's blog...though I _do_ agree with him on several of the topics he addresses elsewhere on his site. But I'd love to hear from someone with more education on the matter who can accurately address the issue as I stated it above.

It seems self-evident to me, from examples such as Dave the Raw Food Trucker, and many others out there like him who share testimonials regarding the amazing health benefits they have received when consuming wheatgrass juice, that humans MUST be able to absorb and utilize the valuable, healing properties found in this lowly gift from Mother Nature.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

~tracy

Tracy Partridge-Johnson
Editor & Administrator
Eighty Percent Raw

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by Ela Harrison Gordon

For many of you, the longest days of summer aren't as drastically longer than winter days as they are up here in Alaska, where it almost doesn't get dark at this time of year. Some people feel e little sad when solstice passes, because they're aware that after this, every day is that little bit shorter. But even in September, the evenings are long. 

If you don't get daylight all hours, though, you're probably in a region where peaches and cherries and other 'stone fruits,' delights of summer, grow. Apricots and cherries first, with their seasons so short and sweet, and then the peaches, nectarines, plums; figs a little later, all the way through Hallowe'en. It's interesting how their seasons reflect the truth that when something gets cold, it takes a long time to heat up. When I lived in California, it was very obvious to me that even though late June is summer solstice, in terms of the growth and harvest season, it's just the very beginning. So many things are just getting underway.

Today, I want to talk a little about how plants adapt to their environments. Up here in Alaska, the soil is rich, but the season is so short, because the ground is frozen for so much of the year, that many plants are highly challenging to grow, or won't grow at all without a greenhouse. On the other hand, there are native and naturalized plants that thrust up huge and burly without any 'outside' help.

I love celery, and couldn't grow it well in California because it was too dry and sometimes too warm, nor in Hawaii, because it was too warm. Here, we are both cold and dry: celery likes it wet. I started my celery indoors in late February and didn't put it outside until late May. Here is one of the celery plants in a raised bed:

[insert celeryraisedbed1.jpg] Isn't it incredible how small that plant is, considering it's been going for four months? For scale, here is the celery with the lavender plant to its right:

[insert celeryraisedbed2.jpg]

Because I knew that the cold would be a challenge, I also tried growing some celery in a three-gallon pot with plastic insulating it, which I placed against a south-facing wall, to maximize warmth. 

[insert celerypot.jpg]

So much better! That's a striking difference indeed, considering that the seeds were all started at the same time.

Finally, though, I'm going to show you a picture of wild celery - the tall, stalky plant in the middle of the weeds in the next photo:

[insert wildcelery.jpg]

This plant grew as a volunteer, unrequested, unannounced, and with no mollycoddling whatsoever. It's not as succulent as regular celery and has more of the bitter compounds than the cultivated variety, but it is not that distantly related to it.

It makes me wonder about us, too, and how well-suited we are to the environments we put ourselves in: how well we grow. Do you feel more like that celery in the raised bed? Or more like the luxuriant wild celery? Or do you need the comfort zone of your own special, warm space to do ok? I know that my answer is not the same every day. What about for you?

love

Ela

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by Ela Harrison Gordon

In my article for the month of April, I wrote about liver flushing, and followed up with a blog post about why I myself was not going to be flushing! I had wanted to present the story of someone who has had positive experiences with liver flushing, and have been fortunate to be able to do so. It is my pleasure to present Courtney Pool, who works at Gabriel Cousens' Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, AZ. She has been eating a raw vegan diet for four and a half years and studying nutrition and spiritual healing for a year longer than that. She also writes, speaks and coaches about incorporating raw food and spiritual practices into healing emotional eating and eating disorders.

Ela: Courtney, thank you so much for agreeing to share the illumination of your liver-cleansing experience with us. Please would you tell us how many liver flushes you have completed at this point.

CP: Thank you for inviting me to this exchange, Ela!  At this point, I have completed three liver flushes.  The first was in the summer of 2008, the second this January, and the third a couple weeks ago.

Ela: Have you done all of these in the supportive environment of the Tree of Life center?

CP:  Yes, I have done them at the Tree of Life, but the center itself didn't have a huge amount to do with the actual protocol.  I got juices from the Tree of Life cafe, but that was about it.  All the other preparations and steps I did at home.

Ela: Could you tell us some of your thoughts about the importance of a supportive environment for undergoing this kind of cleansing process? You referred in your blog to a friend of yours at the Tree of Life who had completed many flushes and been an inspiration to you: any more stories of mutual inspiration or shared experiences in the process?

CP:  Although I did the actual flush at home, I have lots of people around me who are enthusiastic and supportive, and that's always helpful.  I always recommend, for any kind of cleanse or dietary upgrade, to find supportive people and surround yourself with them.  I think it's great to team up with another person, even if they're not in physical proximity, and do a liver flush at the same time.  You can keep each other accountable for your routines, such as coffee enemas or supplement intake, as well as keeping each other motivated to keep up with whatever diet or cleanse you choose to do prior to the actual flush.  Personally, I don't even share what I'm up to with people I know will react negatively to it, not out of fear of judgement, but because I'd rather use my energy for healing than dealing with that energy.

Ela: This sounds like a very wise strategy, and an important key to your success and wellbeing throughout the process. What decided you to undertake liver flushing? You were in pretty good health to begin with, right?

CP: Everyone has liver stones, and everyone has toxicity in their liver.  I know people who seem and look perfectly healthy, and get stones out after even 5 or 6 or 10 liver flushes.  One thing I've learned is that "health" is somewhat relative in its implication, because we often have a ceiling to what we think health really means.  

Ela: So, what benefits have you noticed as a result of doing them? Have you had flushes after which you felt less good, and then others after which you felt a lot better? 

CP:   The more I do cleanses and upgrade my body's systems, I'm continually surprised that I can actually feel healthier than I thought was possible.  As a result of doing them, I've noticed better digestion, more mental clarity, and clearer skin.  The most recent one I did I got the most stones out, and that's the one I felt the most difference after. 

CP: I recommend checking with a holistic physician who is familiar with liver flushing to find out if it's a good idea, as there are probably some conditions that may not be able to tolerate that deep of a cleanse.

CP:  That can certainly happen.  The reality is, you don't get away with that kind of pattern.  Even if you did take the time to do all the things you'd need to to counteract junk food binges, which most people don't, due to time, money, and willpower, your body still would have to digest, absorb, and counteract what you've eaten.  Too much cleansing can also be imbalancing for the body, which is why we want to make it an eventual goal to be consistent enough with our healthy eating and lifestyle patterns that cleansing is not done to compensate for imbalanced behavioral patterns, but as regular protocol to keep our bodily machines working wonderfully.  It's a huge burden for the body to continually have to use the energy to deal with junk food and then use more energy to cleanse it, only to break even (and maybe not even), so to speak.  If any kind of cleanse is going to result in one step forward and two steps back, it's better to choose something less emotionally challenging, that you know you can have a healthy relationship with.  The focus needs to be healing the reasons why you tend towards yo-yo patterns.

CP:  I think that there's a good reason for that association.  Intuitively for myself, it does feel most supportive to do cleanses in the spring.  Most times of year it works for me to cleanse, although for my body, the thick of winter isn't the best choice.  Spring is about renewal, new beginnings, growth, and freshness, which are all reasons we cleanse in the first place.

Ela: Courtney, thank you so much for sharing with us!

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author: Chef Tina Jo

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

You may be wrestling with your mother - trying to have that perfect relationship (the one you always dreamed of having with her) but it just never seemed to happen. Does she somehow always fall short? Is your mother the type who drives you nuts for one reason or another? One who just isn’t the mother YOU want her to be? Entertain for a moment a different perspective: What if your mother is exactly where she needs to be on her life journey? What if you can not change her? What if you are not supposed to? What if she is exactly who she needs to be? Can you hold her in unconditional love, without judgment, without wanting to change her in any way?

These are some really difficult questions and many of us struggle with them.  But just maybe, in our human perception, what our mothers may be doing seems (to us!) self destructive and negative, or passive and limiting.  But, perhaps, this is exactly what she is supposed to be doing.  Perhaps her chosen spiritual task was to be an example of how negative thinking plays out emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually on her human body. What a difficult lesson to take on. What if our mothers have an amazing capacity to love and only through their strength of spirit  has this love  allowed them to spend so many years in chronic depression, stifled or unexpressed creativity, pain, worry, anger, guilt, destructive behavior  or whatever  the other physical symptoms have manifested in our mothers – all of this only to demonstrate what it looks like NOT to believe in yourself , NOT to have gratitude and NOT to know your higher power.  What if all this was done to bring you to your higher self? Can we show some compassion for their sacrifice? Can we recognize the sacrifice?

What gifts, talents or skills would not be ours today had she been different? What drive and tenacity would not have been fueled had she been a different kind of mother? What kind of mother would you be today had she not taught you those early lessons? Maybe your inner child screams for the mommy who was not  there, or cries in memories of pain or loneliness. But, perhaps, in those hours of discomfort, the stronger “YOU” of today was forged? Possibly, compassion and gratitude are the appropriate modes for responding to our mothers.  Our mothers have given us great gifts and sacrificed much in the process - and many of them carry deep and lasting wounds that are not healed and may never be. Let's hold them in love.  Honor your mother's sacrifice, whatever that may be.

So let us all go forth with humility and gratitude for the gifts we have been given and let us honor the giver of those gifts: our mothers. Leave our judgments behind; they do not serve us. Only love, peace and joy are in order.

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by Ela Harrison Gordon

Last week, I wrote about the 80-10-10 version of the raw food way of eating, and some of the crucial factors in making it work well for you if that's what you want to do. This was based in large part on my own experience and observations in following the diet for about 6 years. Now I'm going to talk about what I didn't do that I think it would be essential to do, in order to practice this way of eating successfully and comfortably.

The first thing that I would say is: address any pre-existing yeast issues. Many practitioners of the 80-10-10 approach claim that cutting out the fat will automatically starve out any candida, because the simple sugars from the fruit will not be slowed down in the bloodstream enough to be able to feed the yeast. They also point out that a certain level of candida in the gut is essential to 'mop up' any excess sugar that is ingested. They further claim that if a yeast issue persists when eating this way, a fast of a few days will take care of it. 

This all sounds well and good, but the truth of the matter is that there is a significant difference between a non-pathogenic yeast colony in the gut and one that has gotten out of control. Once candida and other yeasts proliferate to the pathogenic level, eating a yeast-unfriendly diet, or even fasting, will not starve them out. Your body always maintains a certain level of blood glucose, to fuel the brain, and even if you eat no food at all, the yeasties will feed on this. Furthermore, once a yeast colony is established and proliferating in a pathogenic fashion, the yeast organisms excrete almost a hundred different kinds of toxic substances into the body, crowd out the beneficial bacteria that are responsible for absorbing vitamin B12 and a host of other important nutrients, and deplete the body of minerals and fat-soluble vitamins that are less likely to be replaced on a very-low-fat diet like 80-10-10.

Speaking from experience, if you have a pre-existing yeast issue and do not address it before embarking on the 80-10-10 path, you will do yourself no favors. I am not saying that this way of eating encourages yeast: but even if it is 'yeast-neutral,' it does not permit the condition to be cleared up. In my own case, I suspect that I had a yeast issue before I started eating this way, and chose to deny the symptoms that I experienced or ascribe them to 'detox.' Before I quit eating any kind of sugar many months ago, I was noticing instant yeast/sugar reaction symptoms in my body if I ate even a little bit of fruit.

In the first part of this article last week, I mentioned the importance of fostering a feeling of abundance when eating this way: of seeking out local foods, making sure that your food space is stocked up, buying ahead of the ripening curve so that you're not caught with a stack of unripe fruit or none at all. These practices really are crucial for success, as well as being a lot of fun. However, they won't secure the poise and ease that you'll require to feel happy doing this long-term unless you pay really close attention to your own varying needs from one day to the next. 

Practitioners of the 80-10-10 diet talk a lot about what they find to be 'the optimal way to eat,' and most of them advocate for eating 'mono meals' - one kind of fruit per meal, preferably whole rather than blended, and for eating fewer, larger meals and waiting for the stomach to empty completely in between, rather than several small meals. These stipulations are surprisingly intimidating to a lot of people and it is really important not to be put off by them, and to find out for yourself what works best for you. Some people find that eating in the way described above works well for them from the get-go. But many people initially find water-rich fruit very filling in small quantities and then find themselves very hungry again within a short period of time. If you have this experience and go with it, eating smaller, more frequent meals, you may find that this is what works for you - or you may gradually find yourself eating bigger fruit meals and enjoying longer stretches between them.

Don't get caught up in the 'shoulds!' You are more important than they are. I white-knuckled so much, insisting to myself that I had to wait a full six hours between meals and being famished constantly, and even for someone who's spent as much time being hungry as I have, it's not really a sustainable way to be.

Bottom line observations for success with this way of eating: 

- Physical activity and then eating adequately to make up for it seem to be essential. I was always physically active but never seemed to build any strength - but I had such a fixed idea of how much to eat (plus pre-existing yeast and absorption problems) that I never seemed to build any muscle.

- Taking it slowly and being gentle with yourself, listening to your own body as opposed to dogmas. This way of eating may be the most fertile ground for dogma in the raw foods movement, perhaps because it has been so attacked, and yet for the people for whom it works really well, the same observations seem to recur to the point of making them seem absolute truths to them.

- Willingness to compromise, with clear knowledge of your own boundaries and preparedness to make sure that these are not forced into compromise, are good habits to build.

- Either being able to avoid the 'dogma' trap, or being the kind of person who enjoys subscribing to a dogma, and feels comfortable having a clearly defined frame of reference from which to look out at the whole nutritional universe, will stand a person in good stead.

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Author: Chef Tina Jo Stephens

May is the most promising month of the year to me. We shake the dust off our boots and look forward to the pleasures of eternal youth.  It is like the birthday of the entire universe. Blossoms, little buds of hope, suddenly spring forth as if from heaven - awakening  the sleeping spirit. The earth is suddenly alive again. Freshly laundered cottons play in sun-kissed springtime air. 

Meadows of bright yellow, as far as the eye can see, dance with excitement from my windows view. Soft white curtains sway in the sultry evening breeze and  I get a whiff - ever so subtle - of gardenia under the windows.  It is exhilarating, this spring fever, and it flows through my veins.
   

May is the time of year I feel  like all the projects dreamed of over the long winter months start to come to fruition. Whatever it is the heart desires, now is the time to let the dream come alive. Turn to the place that brings you joy.  For me, that place is my garden.  It is my sanctuary, my happy place. Funny things  happen in the gardens  of May,  little faces forgotten appear and plants thought to be dead wave their green hands in the air as if to say “Hello, I’ve returned!”  Empty earth is now full of life.    

In time, my garden will bring forth a bounty of my favorite summer fruits and vegetables.  In May, I no longer yearn for heavy roots, such as potato, rutabaga or yam.  What my heart and body longs for are fruits and veggies that are lightweight and bright. I’m craving things that grow on vines!  It’s time to bring on my favorites like lettuces, cucumbers,  vine ripened tomato, summer squash, red bell pepper, heirloom anything, snap peas and all that embodies flavor, vibrancy and color. 

Here is a partial list of popular garden additions (depending, of course, on your climate) that will bring color, texture and flavor to your summer season tables:

Strawberries,  rhubarb,  melons, berries, tomatoes, fennel, spring onions, Swiss chard, parsley, arugula, red bell pepper, escarole, chives, thyme, green beans, snap peas, asparagus, cucumber,  garlic, radish, basil,  grapes, lemongrass and corn.                                                                

Mulching will help keep airborn (and earthborn) diseases off the plants. Birds such as wrens, mockingbirds, robins and warblers will help keep harmful insects away, so include a source of water for our feathered friends and plenty of shelter. Plant to attract them and include a pretty, scented array of flowers nearby.

Remember to plant seasonally and your garden is sure to open your heart and fuel your body all year round. Don’t have space to grow a large garden, check out this link http://myorganicacres.com/index.php?=4132

EVERYONE deserves to know where their food comes from and EVERYONE can have their own organic garden, come join me!

Making your life delicious,

Chef Tina Jo

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Author: Harry Barron

So, you've been following some of my writings, have you? Or maybe you  think that some of my articles  are actually the  ravings of a madman. If indeed you have been following me, you will know that I do not always advocate the  Raw Food Lifestyle for certain people and I know you, being the Raw Food Champions that you are, are just chomping at the bit to know what exactly I am getting at. But before you hire a hitman to take me out and put and end to my subversive mutterings, hear this (or read)!!  I have mentioned many times, many many times, that Food has qualities that go way beyond the  nutritional content that everyone loves to declaim. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the branch of Medicine that I have extensive training and experience in, all food without exception has a thermal quality and a flavour. In addition, they can also directly or indirectly affect any of the Internal Organs listed in TCM Physiology (very different to Western physiology, as TCM also talks in terms of Energetic Functions, rather than purely biological functions) as well as treat or exacerbate any Pathologenic Factor present. That means that  that piece of food (or drink for that matter) you place in your mouth, regardless of whether it is cooked or raw, can be Hot, Cold, Warm, Cool or even Neutral. It can also taste Sweet or Sour, Bitter, Pungent or Salty, which all affect different Internal Organs that correspond to each of these flavours. TCM likes to Capitalize names and terms, by the way – don't ask me why, I just follow protocol! Oh and we spell some words differently in the UK too. And just to confuse the matter, all food works on the individual Channels (or meridians, as people once called them) that criss-cross the body and can either help the flow of Qi or hinder it, promoting well-being or ill-health! And what makes it infuriating to the uninitiated, is that it is possible to get it all wrong. Oh so very and disastrously wrong, depending on that individual's personal and physical constitutional make-up.

Sigh!

You see, where Traditional Chinese Medicine tends to want to grind its axe against Raw Food, is that it considers Raw Food as being an excess of Cold, being Yin in nature, that would injure the body as there is little Warming or Yang Food being eaten. For the person with a Cold and/or Damp Constitution, this can become a catastrophic event for the body's well-being. And indeed, I have had to help people correct these kinds of imbalances in my own practice. Although, for a robust person, with plenty of excess Hot Qualities, Raw Food Diets can be a heaven-sent tonic. This is also true for people with heavily congested  livers and toxified digestive systems, probably due to the excessive amount of concentrated animal proteins and unnaturally processed foods (mixed with hormones and chemical residues) that we wash down with copious amounts of alcoholic beverages and/or coffee. People suffering from hormone deficiencies, such those suffering from the Menopause or Andropause, which are symptoms of failing Yin (the cooling element), where warming Yang fires up unchecked, actually benefit form Raw Foods, as the cool and  lubricating qualities of the foods help cool the effects of overheating (as well as overeating!). So I am all for Raw Foods. But it would be fair to say, that there is usually a certain amount of Yang deficiency involved with patients suffering from symptoms caused by the Menopause and Andropause, So it is hard to self-diagnose sometimes, and certainly harder to choose appropriate foods to help treat these conditions. Oestrogen and testosterone are both required in different amounts for both sexes and they both  affect men and women in different ways.  I have looked briefly at the Menopause in this month's magazine and the Andropause will be dealt with in my article in June's edition of Eighty Percent Raw.

But people with serious health conditions sometimes turn to Raw Food in search of an answer to their sometimes desperate medical dilemmas and sometimes they do find their answer and glow with health but it should be born in mind, that sometimes they end up wrecking their health instead. But I hope you know enough about me to realise that I am not against Raw Food Diets. Quite the opposite. I love Raw Foods but being able to understand the thermal nature of foods gives me the ability to choose the foods more appropriate to my bodily needs and avoid those that could injure me. But let me give you some indicators about the people who definitely should avoid raw foods for the moment.

Do you generally feel, heavy, sluggish, can't wake up in the mornings and when you do, you cannot focus or concentrate? Or maybe you have this damp musty smell about you that you just cannot mask with perfume? Maybe you are overweight and have a pale complexion with damp, clammy hands and your limbs feel cold? Or maybe you are thin, on the border of emaciation or maybe you are even recovering from a serious illness and feel weak, limp and lifeless? If you can see yourself in one of these descriptions, then maybe you need to approach Raw Foods with caution. Or learn about their intrinsic thermal qualities and stick with warming, astringent foods or get a dehydrator (more about this at a later date). Or at least wait for your food to warm to room temperature after taking it out of the refrigerator before you eat it!

If you are not sure about how your body is feeling, then this is a sure fire indication that you may need to cut down on your Raw Food intake. If after eating Raw Foods, you feel bloated, tired and suffer diarrhoea, then your body is craving warmth rather than coolness. Conversely, if you are constantly constipated and always feel hot-headed, as if you are about to blow your top, go for Raw Foods heartily! If you are in between or you feel “normal” (whatever that is), then introduce Raw Foods gradually, seeing how your body likes it and if it likes it, then gradually increase the amount of Raw Foods you eat; but if not, reduce it a little and see if that eases any gastric distress!

One of the more common problems that I encounter in my clinic is a proliferation of hyperactive yeast, otherwise known as Candida Albicans. Yes, there is a certain amount of Candida in everyone's system, but when if proliferates, this is an indication that something is amiss. Your intestinal flora is in disharmony, indicating that there may be underlying organic disharmonies lurking.  Candida is often encountered in patients whose immune systems have been compromised; it is commonly seen in HIV patients with advancing HIV disease; those undergoing chemotherapy  treatment for cancers, as well as patients who have been over-prescribed antibiotics. It could even be indicative that you are stressed. But sometimes, a yeast infestation can just mean that you have been eating the wrong kind of foods, usually cold and damp forming and in TCM terms, your Spleen's efficiency (the organ that corresponds to the “function” of Digestion in Western Physiology) has been compromised due to Cold dousing the digestive fires and allowing Damp, an Internal medical Pathogen, to form. Yeast is a symptom of a Damp Internal System. So some people turn to Raw Foods in a naïve attempt to adjust these imbalances because they have heard that the Raw Food Lifestyle promotes health and well-being and this is true to a great extent. But while the attempt is commendable, without understanding thermal qualities of foods, for a Damp person, the results just produce more Damp and encourage moreYeast, causing more bloating and discomfort and those people will leave the Raw Food lifestyle, cursing and condemning it. But it wasn't Raw Foods per se, that was at fault, as I hope you realise, but the lack of education on the part of the Raw Fooder! Hey, that's why I am here; to educate!

I am going to tell you how to treat Candida infestations in the second half of my discussion on “When not to go Raw” and yes, you are going to use Raw Foods to help, which is not a contradiction to what I have just written. And yes, I will also recommend that you use some cooked foods and different cooking methods to help combat this common problem and re-establish balance and digestive harmony. But know this, that once you have knocked this problem on the head, you can go ahead and enjoy your Raw Food Lifestyle with impunity, hopefully because you will have learned about balancing Yin Foods with Yang Foods and produce a harmonious, healthy offspring!

But first I want to briefly address some of the reasons why Candida takes over. Yeast loves sugars and our modern diets consist of, erm,  huge quantities of refined sugars  in erm, lots of sugary products and also processed carbohydrates. It also thrives in Damp environments both internally and externally, so there is an environmental aspect to this. But what actually causes Damp, you may ask? Ok here is a brief but not completely comprehensive list, but you get the idea, right?:

• excessive consumption of nuts and seeds, dairy and cheese; especially when your nuts have gone rancid. But some nuts are actually legumes and these can be very damp forming; the main offenders being Cashews and Peanuts.
•  too much protein in your diet, especially heavy animal protein, which are all concentrated forms of protein. Include into this, the hormones, antibiotics and residues of chemical fertilisers etc present in most meat products, not to mention the fact that meat by its very nature starts to rot at the death of the poor animal. No matter how fresh you think that slab of lifeless meat may be from the supermarket and no matter how well it has been refrigerated, you are essentially buying a lump of putrefying flesh, which does not help when combating yeast problems. And to make matters worse, the meat is often pumped full of chemicals to delay the onset of putrefaction and to make it look red and rosy, as opposed to grey and lifeless, which is what it really is. I can make no apologies for this, as it is a glaring fact that most people ignore wilfully
• alcohol; mainly  fermented ones, such as wines, meads and beers. Distilled alcohols in small amounts generally do not have such a detrimental effect.
• too many spicy dishes and  too many fatty dishes; in particular the saturated fats in meat and dairy cheese sauces. Conversely, the Omega Essential Fatty Acids are good for you in this respect.
• hydrogenated and processed fats ( including transfats etc) which are found in a frighteningly significant amount of foods! And still they have not been banned!
• too many ingredients in your diet – try food combining!
• too many raw fruits and fruit juices. Sorry, but fruits also have simple sugars that yeast  thrives off!
• drinking cold drinks on top of meals (so, that hamburger and cheese, washed down with an ice cold drink followed by a nice rich milk shake is going to do wonders....... for a sluggish digestive system and yeast loves it!
• processed wheat products – most white breads, pastas, pastries, cakes and cookies.
• living in Damp houses, rooms and apartments
• living in hot and humid climates
• wearing underwear and socks made of man-made fabrics, which may also be too tight on you (I know it is crazy but I know some people still wear nylon socks and undies!)

 This list is not even exhaustive! Depressed yet?

I know I am!! I love cakes and cookies!

But it is not all that bleak, as you will see next month, so there is no need to prepare to leave your mortal coil in despair yet!

I hope this has given you some food for thought for the time being. And fear not,  I will be tackling the treatment and cure naturally in of part two of my blog next month! Yeah sure, I could have done it this month, but it gives you something to look forward to next month!

Yours in health, always

Harry

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Author: Chef Adam Graham

After a 32 hour day of travel I arrived at my final destination in Malaga, Spain on April 9th. As the plane prepared to land I noticed the olive orchards surrounding the airport. Malaga is on the southern coast of Spain nestled along the Mediterranean sea. Thoughts of delicious local produce filled my head. One thing I was hoping was in season was cherimoya... I would soon find out. But first let's cover the details of how a rawfooder survives a 32 hour travel day. First thing on the list is hydrating yourself the day prior to flying. I had a good amount of water the night before and the morning I was set to fly. Breakfast consisted of light miso soup. I pack ed 6 oranges and some carrots for my flight.

I was also equipped with  goji berries, a bag of dates, cacao beans for stuffing into dates, spirulina powder and chlorella tabs. Water is one thing you can't bring into the airport so hydrating foods are a must. Cucumbers, apples and even bell peppers make great travel foods. There's a tendency to pack a bunch of dry fruits, nuts and seeds... this is counter to the whole hydration thing. It's nice to also travel with a small container of Himalayan or sea salt. You can add a pinch of this to your water or use it on the foods you bring with you. I burned through all my food except for one orange before I had even gotten out of the states, thanks to a 6 hour layover in Philly. Before we took off for Europe I did purchase a couple of ripe bananas from one of the food pirates at the airport. This was the makings for a yummy creation that kept me satisfied as we crossed the Atlantic.

Here's the procedure for what I have named "The Mile High Gadget"

1. Juice one orange into a bowl (I used an empty salad container from the in flight meal)
2. Place a handful of gojis into juice to soak for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 T of spirulina powder.
4. Cut up 2 bananas and carefully mix with a spoon coating the banana.
5. Eat, Enjoy and be sure to smile at passengers and flight attendants who will cringe at your green teeth.

This was truly a satisfying feast. Often times I've done the Apple Avo Gadget on flights, this works just as well.

In Malaga, Spain I collected my bags and caught a bus to the city station where I caught a second bus to my final destination in the small coastal town of Benajarafe. I was surprised to see the Mediterranean with wind whipped waves. As the bus cruised along the coast I caught site of local surfers taking advantage of the waves. As I write this post I can look outside and see that the wind and waves have subsided to leave the Mediterranean that most people are familiar with.

Gabrielle Kirby met me at the bus stop in Benajarafe around 5pm. She is one of the members of the Servants of Love who organized this event. She and I met a couple years ago out at The Tree of Life. I had arrived just in time to get a quick swim in the pool and shower before the group orientation.

I was the one American amongst the group from Ireland. We all took turns introducing ourselves and sharing a bit about our interest in healthy living. It was great connecting with all of these lovely people that would become great friends over the next few days, but there was one thing on my mind and it was the magical rawfood dinner that we were about to enjoy. The main course was a Spanish style pizza on a flax and buckwheat crust topped with olives, peppers, mushrooms and a cheezy sauce. This was accompanied by a sprout salad, all of which had been grown in and brought from Ireland. To round out the entree there was cauliflower with a cashew cheese sauce. It was a delish feast indeed.

Dessert was the next thing on my mind... actually dessert is always on my mind. Fresh strawberries, coconut whip, fresh mint and a banana cookie finished things off on a sweet note. Needless to say after this amazing meal I was ready to recover from my travels. The excitement doesn't end here. Tune in for the next installment from my adventures in Spain. Keep It Live!

Sweet Relief!

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Author: Ela Harrison Gordon

One of the primary currents in the Raw Food movement is the Natural Hygiene and 80-10-10 approach, which advocates for minimizing the amount of fat and protein consumed and excluding all herbs and spices. I followed this approach myself for many years, and constantly observed that there was a huge discrepancy in how people did with it. Some people loved it, some people throve on it for a short period of time and then rebelled, some couldn't even stand the thought of it, some tried and were surprised not to have it work for them.

Since I'm currently avoiding all sugar, obviously in the long run I would have to say it didn't work for me. But for a long time I felt that I was quite successful with it, although my definition of 'success' included maintaining a weight in the low 90's: high enough to function, in a nervously-energetic sort of way, low enough that I could ignore my anorexia issues and claim recovery, too low to really be able to build muscle and stamina.

This 'problematic' definition of success, as well as unaddressed physical challenges left over from the anorexia days, is why I believe this approach didn't work for me. However, I did learn many practices that allowed me a certain amount of success with it, and today I want to talk about what sorts of things help people to do well on an 80-10-10-type diet. I'll start with things that I was able to do. Then, in my next post, I'll add a few factors that I failed to implement and believe are crucial for success with this way of eating.

First off, it is helpful to spend as much time in the warm, unpolluted out-of-doors as possible, being physically active. Part of the rationale for the diet is the claim that evolutionarily, we are tropical creatures, and designed to live outside, with sun on our bodies, fueled by sweet fruits. Whatever the problems with the details of this claim (see my series of posts on 'Catching Fire' on my personal blog), the practice of getting lots of fresh, clean air, warm if you can, is good for everyone. The 'unpolluted' part is particularly important if you are eating this kind of diet, which is so low in fats and herbs that can provide a 'buffering' and toxin-absorbing effect.

Another very important thing is to _stock up_. Eating mostly sweet fruit and green leafies, both of which are very largely water, means that you need to have an enormous volume of food around. Especially if you are not eating fat, abundance is very important, and the feeling of abundance, since simple-sugar foods are digested faster and are less filling. Whilst calorie counting is one of the slippery slopes that makes this way of eating problematic for certain types, for others, it is useful to get a general idea of how much fruit you actually need to get in. And this requires planning. Some people have a 'ripening ladder' - bunches of bananas on every step in various degrees of ripeness. It pays to shop around and find out where you can get bulk amounts. Combining this with the first point, the 'outdoors time,' worked really well for me - I did a lot of foraging and gardening, and studied and learned a lot about plants and trees in the process - and had fun, too.

Related to this is the value of eating in season, and locally. Obviously how far you can connect to this will depend on the climate in which you reside - when I ate this way, I was living in the California Bay Area, which was close to ideal, as you can grow greens or forage weeds year round and there's some kind of fruit all year too. There is a wonderful symbiosis between the building of appreciation for the trees by harvesting their fruit, and the enormous gratitude and euphoria that comes from eating fruit fresh from the tree or vine! Those living in cooler climes may nonetheless be able to connect with the cycles of nature. One can grow sprouts for salads, and sunflower greens in flat trays. Even in the far North (or South, if you're south of the equator), there is a berry season. If you have a local farmer's market, it may become a treasure trove and a source of great acquaintances.

Then, it is really important both to have the courage of your convictions and to have some support from likeminded folks. This way of eating is so very different from most standard diets that if you do it by halves, it's not going to work. That said, though, I've known some people do very well with one of two different strategies of flexibility. The one way is to stick to the very-low-fat plan and to eat some steamed veggies, and maybe baked root veggies, on occasion. The other (which I guess I sort-of-did too, although I was too afraid of it to really benefit) is to eat that way 'most of the time' but, if your living situation allows it, to have the occasional high-fat/spice-rich break, whether by going to a raw potluck or by trying out a raw restaurant or even a gourmet recipe at home. It's always good to build in some flexibility, unless you are in the kind of allergic/hypersensitive state that doesn't permit it (even there, there is usually some leeway). When you're with a 'standard-diet-eating' crowd, there may be less rather than more for you! Never assume that your needs will be met: always bring plenty to share. Many people love fruit, and many will eat a lot of it on top of all the 'regular' stuff, so make sure to bring plenty or save a personal 'stash,' and many are won over by a beautiful salad too.

A final and most important thing: there's no hiding on this diet. It is probably the rawest of the raw diets, in that emotions and feelings and nerves tend to be raw, without the insulation of dietary fat or the distraction of intense flavors and spices. This could be viewed as a good thing, and if you are eating this way, it is something that you need to embrace. But it needs to be embraced in a very self-loving way: make sure that your explorations of the subtle flavors of pure, fresh, ripe, juicy fruits and greens are not tempered with a sense of deprivation, go easy on yourself. The clean palate and subtle discernment of flavor nuances that comes from eating this way is one of its chief joys. This way of eating mandates that food be regarded as pleasure, not entertainment. However, it also acknowledges that food is supposed to taste good! Developing your sense of taste, and developing coping methods that do not involve food for dealing with awkward emotions, are two beautiful challenges that you can kindly offer yourself by eating 80-10-10.

The converse of some of what I've said so far is obviously the basis for some of the potential pitfalls that catch people's heels when they try to eat this way. I'll explore those, as well as some others, in more detail in my next post.

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Author: Ela Harrison Gordon 

Having written an article about liver flushing, and having also just completed a course of a strong anti-fungal drug that is harsh on the liver, I was getting all set to do my first series of full-blown liver flushes myself this month, and looking forward to sharing my experiences about it on this blog. Yesterday morning, I had my calendar out and was blocking out two weeks of liquid fasting with three flushes, planning how my food-prep time would change from energy bars/crackers/salads to more liquid offerings, and feeling quite excited about it! And then, (while I was in the outhouse) the naturopath called, inviting me to come in for an appointment a week earlier than originally scheduled - and he talked me out of it!

In my article, I was careful to say that a full-blown flush isn't always appropriate for every body, long and hallowed though its history is as a rite of renewal in springtime. And although it was challenging for me to give up on my plan, I feel that part of doing my best is to be willing to hear good sense and accept feedback from people who know what they are talking about. And I realize that it may, in fact, be just as interesting for you to hear why I'm _not_ doing the flush!

Here is some of the food for thought that the naturopath (with whom I was very impressed generally) offered me:

- First off, he says that he never has anyone flush their liver before May in Alaska - it's NOT SPRING YET here!! And I have been _freezing_ the past couple of days as I prepared for the flush, although it's warmed up to 40 degrees.

- More specifically, he says that he sees two kinds of patients: those with 'excess' conditions and those with 'deficiency' conditions. I'm a 'deficient condition' type, both now and in general. My bile salts are already deficient, as well as other minerals, and a flush would flush out even more of these too. In his opinion, my liver needs support for sure, especially post-diflucan, but that can be accomplished with milk thistle, dandelion and other herbs.

- He says that being a 'deficient' type, my liver is highly unlikely to be clogged with stones anyway (well, that's a relief)!

- As a person with a history of very severe anorexia, he says that he wouldn't recommend that I cleanse much if at all in general: it's the wrong message to be giving both to my body and to my psyche. He 'rumbled' me: he said that he's seen a strong tendency in those recovering from eating disorders and trying to deal with the physical aftermath to be strongly drawn to cleansing and flushing and other 'breaking down' methods of healing, and suggested that this was more of the same anorexic tendency. Yes, I had to admit he was right!

- Additionally, there are so many other things that need work - the yeast condition in my gut was severe enough that if I'm lucky I'm only 50% done rectifying it and I have a lot of heavy metal toxicity that needs clearing, which will then give the hope of clearing up the hypothyroid situation.

- He says that I need to rebuild, eat more, specifically eat more _fat_ (I know in my body and brain that I need more fat, but have a hard time making myself eat it). He said half a cup of coconut oil a day!!

This all made sense to me: does it to you? I am glad to allow myself to be convinced by sensible arguments: I feel that this is part of the '80%' philosophy!

I would strongly encourage anyone who is considering flushing to really check in with yourself about your motivations first. Try meditating on the question 'am I in excess or deficiency?' and ask your inner self really honestly and deeply - don't take the first 'standard answer' you come out with.

I really hope that my sharing this is helpful to someone.

In the same spirit, I will be writing more about the whole yeast issue soon, as I promised over on the message board.

love,
Ela

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