Personally, I've made an active effort to minimize the amount of agave I consume. About 2 years ago I started to notice that I got really "flemmy" in my throat after I had a smoothie or tea with agave.
Outside of that, I also noticed that my teeth suffered from the amount of agave I was having (2 to 4 table spoons a day). The sensitively I once had to hot and cold returned and I had to bring back my strict ToothSoap + food grade hydrogen peroxide routine. Which worked very well by the way.
I know I'm going to be scolded by some out there, but right now I use raw organic honey as a sweetener. I use it sparingly, but I still use it. I've tried stevia, but the chemical taste doesn't work for me.
It would be interesting to hear about your agave and sweetener experiences. Are you down with agave? Do you like stevia? Do you use any sweeteners?
Is it Christmas already? Two My Way's in one week! You know how we do here at We Like It Raw. We just can't stop highlighting amazing peeps in the community who are both looking good and up to something special. And speaking of looking good and doing good....
This week's second My Way feature comes to us from the lovely Andrea Crossman, half of the two-member-soul-sisters-team responsible for Lovemore. The mission of Lovemore? Inspire the world to "let love be our guiding principle in every situation."
Andrea is based in Brooklyn, NY and to really get her you have to see a list of her favorite things: Art of Living, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Buddhism, vegetarianism, peace, love, yoga, Bikram yoga, holistic health, guacamole, cocktails, campfires, hot springs, deliciously bad tv, books, google, the moon, the stars, waxing philosophical and being ridiculous.
Damn, you go girl...
Andrea was always into keeping fit and healthy, but only recently jumped into the world of raw foods. She'll tell us a little bit more about the motivation behind that jump, but it is safe to say she's been loving every minute of it. Now, let's here from Andrea how she does things her way!
My Way: Andrea Crossman
On June 1st I signed up to be a guinea pig for Penni Shelton’s Raw Foods Rehab, an 11-week experiment about raw foods and weight loss. Penni is writing a book on the subject so to test her theories she created Raw Food Rehab—RFR for short. This group was heaven sent. As the co-founder of a love-infused social entrepreneurship venture called Lovemore, I was deeply bothered when I began to realize that I was not in alignment with my own mantra, “love more,” in some fundamental ways. I had stopped the exercise I loved, put back on 40 pounds I was oh-so-proud to lose a few years ago, and my social life all but ground to a halt as I struggled with not feeling in my skin, or my spirit. It was in this place that I stumbled upon Penni’s open call for guinea pigs. This kind of serendipity is not to be ignored. This raw connection back to my soul was masterminded by the cosmos, of that I have no doubt. As of this moment, early morning on July 2nd, I have been raw for exactly 31 days, and the first 18 were spent in a juice feast. Here are my last four raw days, My Way.
Sunday
I got up at 1 pm. I wonder if I’m the first My Way’er who is a shameless night owl. I’ve always had the propensity for the second wind, but ever since my stint on the night shift as a labor and delivery nurse, I slip back into a late to bed, late to rise habit often. Today was the Smith Street Fun Fair in my neighborhood of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. As I got ready to head to the fair I decided if there was something I really wanted to eat, I would, even if it wasn’t raw. This felt a touch scandalous both because I hadn’t had anything un-raw since May and also because it was day 1 of this My Way. I checked out all the street fair food and was tempted by some vegetarian sandwiches from Mario Batali’s Po, and some others from Stinky Cheese, but not enough to take the plunge.
I checked out the non-food goings on as well. I talked with a guy who owns Brooklyn Tattoo as we want to create a tattoo inspired Lovemore t-shirt. I talked to some other artists and designers too and felt a kinship with them for the first time. I didn’t expect to make Lovemore connections today and it felt great.
I wanted to stay out and enjoy being with the people so I went to Pacifico, a Mexican restaurant with great outdoor space. I did have a little cooked food: two tostones, and a handful of chips, both merely as guacamole delivery devices. I figured guacamole and a salad (hold the cojita cheese and croutons please) were the best near raw choices.
I also ran into Brandy Barber at Pacifico, who I know because she co-produces Mortified, a show where people read their angst-ridden teenage diaries. I was in the Mortified in April of 2008 and it was without question one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Mortified’s other co-producer, Anne Altman contacted me about a week ago asking if I’d be free for a show in September. Oh yes I would!
Back home I took a nap and then had my favorite salad: baby romaine, shredded carrot, and avocado dressed with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper. I also had a few leftover raw stuffed mushrooms, and some freezer fudge from the Sarma Melngailis cookbook Raw Food, Real World.
Around midnight my sister (best friend, business partner, neighbor) returned from a weekend trip to Seattle. I headed over to meet her for a late night walk and debrief of our respective weekends. Happy to have my sister back safe and sound I headed the 3 blocks back to my place and to bed.
Monday
I had a restless night’s sleep and woke up at noon. I hopped on the scale and took my measurements like I’ve been doing every Monday for RFR. So far I’ve lost 19 pounds and a whole lot of inches, and I feel so much better. Something interesting about the past month is that I don’t want to eat until quite late in the day. Before my lunch I spent some time on calls with my sis and then made my first ever video for RFR. It was a little nerve wracking, which is funny as I was a professional trainer and public speaker for years, and still consider that my core competency, but it took a minute to get used to the lack of a live audience. Once I did, I loved having another way to connect with this community that has shown me so much humanity and love.
When I finally got around to eating I had a snacky assortment beginning with stuffed mushrooms and a few raw crackers with lemon-garlic-tahini sauce mixed with some leftover pesto. Still needing more veggies, I made a big bowl of broccoli, which I mixed with a more of the lemon-garlic-tahini sauce and nutritional yeast. This is one of my new favorites. I ended the meal with a nibble of freezer fudge.
For dinner I had some nuts mixed with EVOO and spices. I then made hummus. Sorta. It wasn’t very hummus-y. It was zucchini and sunflower seed based and I dipped rounds of yellow squash into it. Then more chocolate. Then a realization: I’m much more satisfied and ultimately eat less when I have something more traditionally meal-ish, even if it’s just a salad. This is going to be quite a process of figuring out what works best for me.
Late tonight Rawdawg Rory sent me a photo of him sporting a Lovemore t-shirt. We love to collect pics of folks wearing or using their Lovemore gear so we can to add to our flickr stream. Rory has been very supportive of my new raw journey and also of Lovemore. He is one of the connections I’ve made in this community that show me something special is going on here. He just created a new “Why Raw?” page on his site that is very helpful for newbies like me. I couldn’t have been more psyched when I saw his “after” picture. So cool!
Tuesday
Ok, so I may have downplayed the final dose of chocolate I had Monday night. Holy. Cacao. Starting at about 2:30 am I had an anxiety attack like no other. By about 6:30 am, still wide-awake, with a pounding heart, and the inability to lie still, the light bulb went off. Crack-cao! Ohhhhh…noooooo… I finally slept for a few hours and when I woke up I felt what I described as “vomity.” (Please don’t tell my alma mater Columbia University School of Nursing about this word I’ve invented.) I wrote a long whiney rant on the RFR message boards that ended up creating some good comedy as our Raw Food Rehab community truly become REHAB. I simply couldn’t handle the hard stuff. I cancelled my evening plans, moaned about not being able to have my mommy or her homemade white toast, eventually got over it, and laughed at my raw rookie mistake.
In lieu of toast I made what I dubbed a Calm Belly Smoothie: Brazil nut milk, a pinch of salt, vanilla, dates, bananas, chia, pineapple, and nutmeg. It hit the spot, but not like mom’s white toast with butter would have. I’m not gonna lie. Sorry die-hards.
In the midst of cacao withdrawal, I followed up with Equinox about some trunk shows they want Lovemore to do in 4 of their NYC stores and strategized with Angela about an inquiry from a local Shakespeare group about Lovemore eco-tees for their organization. Synergy rocks.
As the day came to a close I made plans with Dave, one of my oldest and best friends to meet tomorrow at the raw foods Mecca: Pure Food and Wine.
Wednesday
I got up late as per usual, fed my kitten (she is 9, but always a kitten to me) and packed food and sundries to head over to Angela’s.
Having grown weary of watching Angela eat pizza or bagel sandwiches, I decided to bring lunch to her place. Before we got down to business, I made us the raw vegan version of that Chinese chicken salad that was popular in the 90s. Remember? With the ramen noodles crushed on top? No ramen for us today. I used cabbage, shredded carrot, red onion (would have preferred scallions but was out), and dressed it with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, agave, and salt and pepper. Once it was all mixed up I sprinkled it with slivered almonds, which totally make the dish.
After lunch we checked in a delivery of new stock. We got to see our brand new reusable bags bearing our tag line, “be the love,” Lovemore’s riff on Gandhi’s “be the change you wish to see in the world.” I am thrilled with this new addition to our line of green living gear. Once all was unpacked we got to flip ‘n folding. It is amazing how as an entrepreneur you truly do everything. While we were flipping right, then left, then up, we talked about the possibility of being a vendor at the upcoming Raw Spirit Festival in DC. We need more information, but if Lovemore would be well received, we think it could be a really cool opportunity. We’ll see.
A few more random tasks and it was time for me to hustle home, get pretty, take my 30-day raw picture, and hop on the subway to Pure Food and Wine. I arrived shortly before my 8 o’clock reservation to meet my friend Dave, who I have known since 1989, when we both lived in Middlebrook Hall at the University of Minnesota. Dave has never had a raw dinner so I was very excited to share this with him. I am an extremely lucky girl because he generously treated this budding social entrepreneur to the Pure Food and Wine tasting menu. There is truly nothing more loving that a friend could do for me to celebrate my 30 days raw. Thank you Dave! Technically it is a 5 course tasting menu, but there were actually 7 episodes of deliciousness, because the dining experience began with an amuse bouche (cherry tomato, watermelon, basil and balsamic…shockingly tasty) and there was a peach popsicle palate cleanser before dessert. After our 2nd course, Dave, looking for some more substance, said, “I’m feeling a little Gary Crossman here,” invoking my father, an old-school meat eating man if there ever was one. The waitress assured him that would all change by dessert, and she was absolutely right. By the time the entrees started coming—lasagna, Thai curry something or other, fettuccini, falafel—Dave and I were both beyond pleased. And then dessert came. Oh. My. God.
There was a fruit crumble-esq thing that was fantastic, but whatever. Why whatever? Because of the other thing. A minty, chocolaty, ice creamy, fudgy, wow-this-is-so-good-are-you-kidding-me creation. Dave’s commentary went something like this: “this is ridiculous…there is no way this can be good for you…this is ridiculous.” It was…beyond... Pure Food and Wine, you outdid yourselves with that one. We literally closed down the patio and experienced one of my favorite revelations about raw foods, the experience of complete satisfaction without uncomfortable fullness. We left feeling light and happy, me a bit giddy from my first wine in over a month, and we continued on to a further subway stop just to enjoy the walk.
Now I am back home in Brooklyn with my sleeping kitten Lizzy, and putting the finishing touches on My Way. As I reflect, I thank the gods for giving me this beautiful community and way to love*myself*more. I also thank them for that dessert. Blessed be.
With love,
Andrea.
Andrea Crossman is an entrepreneur and love goddess based in Brooklyn, NY
p.s. To say thanks, in my own little way, for all the amazing support I've gotten from the raw food community, I'd like to share a special discount code to the Lovemore site. The code is "LoveRawMore" and when entered on the checkout page it will give you 15% off every single thing on chooselovemore.com through August 16th, which is when RFR wraps. Hope you enjoy and again really, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Living Raw Food is a follow up to Sarma's first book and it contains over 100 new recipes inspired by the amazing dishes at Pure Food and Wine.
We'll be talking more about Sarma's book next week (including giving a few away) but this week we just wanted to wet your appetite with a sample recipe from the book. Here is one of my favorites.
Chanterelle and Yuzu Ceviche
with Pineapple-AvocadoPuree and Heirloom-Cherry–Tomato Salsa
Serves 8 | Equipment Needed: Blender
Chanterelle Ceviche Ingredients
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin
olive oil
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 to 5 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 cups cleaned and sliced chanterelle mushrooms
Chanterelle Ceviche Instructions
Place the orange, lemon, and lime juices, yuzu juice, and salt in a blender and blend until well mixed. (It’s important to blend the salt with the juices very well so that the mushrooms will properly break down while marinating. If you don’t feel like using a blender, whisk the mixture thoroughly and make sure the salt is fully dissolved.)
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and whisk in the olive oil, scallions, and pepper.
To prepare the chanterelle mushrooms, first cut off the coarse end of the stem. Then cut the mushrooms into halves or quarters, depending upon the size. Place the cut mushrooms into a bowl of cold water and massage with your hands to remove dirt. Remove the mushrooms from the water and lay them out on paper towels. Pat the mushrooms dry.
Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and let them sit at least 1/2 hour. Set aside.
Pineapple-Avocado Puree
3 cups chopped fresh pineapple (about 1 small pineapple)
3 ripe, yet firm, avocados, peeled and pitted
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Puree the pineapple in a blender until it becomes a smooth liquid. Add the sea salt and avocados and continue blending until very smooth. Set aside.
Heirloom-Cherry–Tomato Salsa
6 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves
1 1/2 cups finely diced celery (save the celery hearts for garnish)
1 small bunch parsley (about 2 cups), leaves only, roughly chopped, plus additional sprigs for garnish
3 jalapeños, seeded and finely minced
4 to 5 scallions, the white part and 1 inch of green, sliced very thin
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss until evenly mixed.
To Serve
Set up 8 martini glasses. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple-avocado puree in the bottom of each glass.
Top with
3 to 4 tablespoons heirloom-tomato salsa, then about 1/4 cup marinated mushrooms. Repeat once or twice, as needed. Garnish with the parsley sprigs and celery heart stalks.
Yum!
p.s. Sarma has a new blog over at One Lucky Duck. Check it out.
This past weekend our good friend Vanessa Barg hosted alchemist, herbalist and spring water king, Daniel Vitalis, at the first ever SurThrival NYC lecture and Chocolate Party.
SurThirval is the art and science of "thriving through all circumstances" and at this lecture Daniel Vitalis went deep into some of the ideas he covered in our joint venture ElixirCraft Master Course.
The event featured amazing food, lots of recognizable faces, tons of chocolate, dope elixirs and a commemorative chocolate bar.
Rawtographer Jeff Skeirik was in full force at SurThival and took some of the best event photos I've ever seen taken at an event. I've posted a few of my favorites here, but be sure to check out the entire photo album here.
This week we've invited Jessica, of the recently launched Raw Food Nation, to be our My Way feature. In the spirit of seva (service), Jessica runs her raw food portal pretty much anonymously. In fact, when I asked her to talk about her daily routine she hesitated just a bit because her ultimate mission is "to further promote that we are not just one or two people, but a nation, we are everyone." But ultimately Jessica did agree and for that we are thankful!
What is Raw Food Nation? "We are the beginner's guide to raw foods, eating healthy, going green and lovin' life!" Sweet!
And now we bring you Jessica on behalf of Raw Food Nation:
My Way: Jessica of Raw Food Nation
Saturday
Rise and shine! The rays of the sun find their way through my bedroom window and dance across the floor. I'm up! Green smoothie for breakfast and I'm ready to face the day. Meeting sisters and friends down in Annapolis, Maryland for a day of kayaking and outdoor fun. We hit the water with ease and start to paddle around. Yikes! Turning is not as easy as I thought it would be. It feels like we're in bumper cars at first but it's all in good fun. And what a workout! Back on dry land after a couple hours in the water and we walk to a local restaurant for lunch. No salad for me! Their veggie burger looks delightful and I would like to give it a try. That on top of a bed of greens hits the spot. We finish up our day by walking through the local shops of the town and doing some window shopping. I'm loving the brightly colored paintings I'm seeing in the art galleries. They are fabulous and the colors are exciting! After we part and go our separate ways, I head home and decide to veg out on some veggies (throw some delicious greens into a salad topped with carrots and a lime vinaigrette). My sofa sure looks comfortable; I thrown a DVD and get comfy, ready for a relaxing evening at home.
Sunday
Ahh! My arms! Kayaking must've been quite a workout. I didn't feel a thing yesterday but today is a different story. After some stretches I managed to get up and get ready for the day. I'm excited because today is Wholefoods day! I don't go here all the time; my wallet would be on life support if I did! But they to have an extensive variety of organics and their produce section excites me. So every 3 or 4 weeks I make the trip. The earlier in the morning I go, the better.
I eat some fruit for breakfast and I am out the door. I rope in a couple other errands and then I'm ready to hit the back roads to Wholefoods. The drive is one of my favorites, I always take this winding one lane road that weaves and curves through fields, trees and other natural surroundings. Nature provides its own soundtrack so I usually don't play music. Once inside the store I roam the isles like I have the place to myself, spending extra time in the produce section to see if there is anything new to try. I treat myself to a Larabar on the way out. After a hearty salad for lunch I spend some time tending to my patio garden (these plants sure do let me know when they need water!). A couple other household projects plus lining up some articles for the website take me into my evening. Some light reading followed by meditation and my day is complete. A weekend well spent.
Monday
What?! 5:30am already? Not possible. I roll over and wait 5 more minutes (but it really feels like 5 seconds). I wake up and officially start my weekday morning routine, which involves stretching, me time, and getting ready for my 9 to 5. But not before making my green smoothie and sending positive ibes out into Twitter. At work my colleague has surprised me with a new loose leaf tea to try that he picked up while visiting friends in England. The flavor is kiwi, and it is delicious! After work I made it home in time to stroll through my neighborhood for a low impact workout before dark. Then I prepared a raw red cabbage slaw for dinner and mixed it with shredded carrots and raw almonds. After dinner I do a little research for an upcoming article (for Raw Food Nation), and I end my day chatting on the phone with a friend I haven't spoken to in a while. It's always good to catch up with people and find out where life is taking them.
Tuesday
What?! 5:30am already?...just kidding. This morning I am making a superfood smoothie with gogi berries and cacao nibs (along with a little romaine lettuce, and pear). The highlight of the day will be meeting up with a couple of friends for dinner that I haven't seen in a while. One is a newly wed and the other is settling into a new apartment in the city. I arrive early to Fells Point but I don't mind the wait. This gives me time to walk down the cobblestone street clsoest to the harbor, catching the breeze that rolls in with the waves and paying visits to my favorite neighborhood shops. Eventually I meet my friends at the restaurant, and we continue talking long after the food is gone and our bill is paid. I brought them each a little bamboo plant for their homes as a "just because" gift. Bamboo is a symbol of luck, and they loved it. Good conversation and a good meal shared with friends is the perfect way to end the day.
Wednesday
Today I awake to grey clouds and the sound of rain. I wish that the sun was shining and I always joke that I am solar powered like plants (must..complete...photosynthesis!). A green smoothie and a double shot of wheatgrass give me the boost I need to start my day. I conveniently leave my lunch at home, but that's okay because the rain has cleared and I can enjoy the fresh air while walking to the nearby market for a salad. With the sun finally coming out from behind the clouds I decide to join my colleagues outside for lunch. After the work day I am happy to be going straight home. Sometimes I am so busy that I appreciate the days when I can take it easy. Me time is spent rockin' out to my favorite tunes (in case you didn't know, I play a really good air guitar). Then I curl up on my comfo sofa and watch one of my favorite DVDs, "Stranger Than Fiction." Needless to say, I barely make it half way through before I am drifting off into a dream. I can see the weekend from here, which includes more funtimes with friends, more produce shopping at the local market, more sunshine, and more doing raw my way.
There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America -- a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat.
THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
About a year ago I created a group on Facebook that served a very simple purpose: introduce cool people to cool people.
As part of that groups mission I sent out a series of messages, usually once a week, that featured three members of the raw food community, the things I appreciated about them and why peeps should get to know them.
A few months after I started that group I ended up creating GI2MR, our community site. And with all the excitement of the new site I discontinued the "3 People You Should Meet" messages.
Well, two weeks ago I felt like bringing it back.
I posting an archive of the two latest "3 People You Should Meet" series here, but in the future if you want to get them you'll have to join our Facebook group. Ya dig?
3 People You Should Meet: Feature 1, Bringing it Back
Hey Everyone, Dhrumil here from We Like it Raw.
Back when this Facebook group was first created I would send out weekly updates titled: "people you should meet" It was a cool little thing and today I'm inspired to bring it back.
Here are 3 of my friends that are cool people who just happen to also be into raw foods. Hopefully you can get to know these people too!
Meet Jon Bischke of San Francisco, CA
Jon is a passionate foodie and student of personal development. During the day he's the CEO of EduFire.com, an online video learning site, and during the evening he's a passionate connector of people. I swear, this guys know everyone!
I first met Jon at our Garam Masala raw food retreat and ever since then I've been blow away by his generous nature and his entrepreneurial spirit.
Lenette is holistic health cheerleader and raw food coach. I say cheerleader because she got that swagger of enthusiasm that only someone who truly stands for something meaningful can have. She knows what she likes and she isn't afraid to tell the world! In fact she does regularly at gorawhavefun.com
I first met Lenette while she was on vacation in NYC and I quickly realized that she is just as beautiful inside as she is outside.
Pete makes the world a better place with his humor. Need an ab workout? Forget 4 minute abs, just read Pete's jokes or watch his crazy videos.
Pete has taken the world of health, which can often get sooooo serious, and turned it into an enjoyable satire. His RawHumour.com newsletter is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to put a smile of their face. I haven't met Pete in person yet, but I'm looking forward to the day I do.
3 People You Should Meet: Feature 2, The Sexy Edition
It's your boy again, Dhrumil in the house, community organizer from We Like It Raw.
It's Friday night, I'm listening to some feel good music (Mos Def's new album) and I'm in a good mood.
Why? Because I'm thankful. Thankful for all the amazing people I know and all the amazing friends I have. Thankful for all the peeps out there that are making the world a better place by being present and fully engaged with life. In this "People You Should Meet" feature, I'm going to highlight 3 of those folks who, like you, are making the world a better place.
You dig? Aighty, let's do this!
Meet Vanessa Barg of New York, NY
Vanessa is one of the kindest, most supportive, most ambitious, most beautiful females that I know. A few years ago Vanessa founded Gnosis Chocolate, one of the hottest raw chocolate lines out there.
Today she is an true example of what you get when you add purpose with hard/smart work. Vanessa is a core member of our NYC tribe, and like me, she cares deeply for community. Form Chocolate Parties to retreats... she makes things happen and brings people together. And this is why I adore her.
Burke is kind of a big deal. He's an actor, television host, award winning writer, award winning photographer, and "lover of silence". He's big into the "movement" aspect of the raw food movement, and always encourages folks to choose whole raw foods first.
Take the presence of a Buddhist monk, looks of young heart-throb and kindness of.. of... some one who is really kind ; ) , and you got Burke.
Burke is one of those guys that is all about community. He regularly host gatherings in LA and keeps in touch with community online. I owe him greatly for being an active member at giveittomeraw.com and always welcoming newbies.
Yafa is a holistic health educator and a master business woman. Yafa is queen when it comes to creating a space that encourages the healing, cleansing and rejuvenation process. A few years ago she founded the House of Verona, a healing retreat center dedicated to helping people feel good while they vacation. I haven't met Yafa yet but I feel like I already know her.
From her Facebook updates to her Tweets, Yafa is always dropping that holistic health information and inspiration. Friend her up and some of that goodness can rub off on you too.
I got a special place in my heart for people who make community happen. But I got an extra special place in my heart for females who make community happen.
This post features two woman who are doing just that with two must check out retreats:
Say hello to Yafa Sakkejha, founder of the House of Verona, a retreat center just outside of Toronto, Ontario.
Yafa is a holistic health educator and a master business woman. Yafa is queen when it comes to creating a space that encourages the healing, cleansing and rejuvenation process. And this summer you'll have an opportunity to experience this gift that she has first hand.
From Friday, Sept 27th to Sunday, 29th Yafa will be hosting the Blue Mountain Raw Food Retreat in conjunction with Angus Crawford, owner of Rawlicious. The retreat will feature a 100% raw, organic, gourmet menu, waterfall hikes, raw "loot bags" and plenty of time in the hot tubs, saunas and private pools. The retreat will cap out at 25 peeps so be sure to holla at Yafa today if you are interested. Full details here.
Even if you can't make it our to her retreat, I highly recommend you follow Yafa on Twitter and Facebook so you can keep up with all the cool things she's up to.
I feel like this lovely lady needs no introduction on We Like It Raw. But being the gentleman I am I'll do it anyway!
Vanessa Barg is the founder of Gnosis Chocolate. One of the hottest raw chocolate lines out there anywhere. But chill yall, she's not just a female willy wonka (willy wonkette?) Vanessa is also deeply passioante about bringing community together. And this September 2nd to 9th she'll be doing just that at her first annual Raw Island Retreat.
Hold up, side note really quickly: Damn, is it me or are raw food retreats getting a little sexy? First Yafa with her House of Verona + saunas + private pools, and now Vanessa all up on an Island? A young raw food male that had an appreciation for the finer things in life could get use to this!
Okay back to Vanessa...
Vanessa's Raw Island Retreat is a celebration of community, health, and oneness with Nature. The retreat will be hosted on the Lake George Islands and I have a feeling you'll see a lot of our local NYC community there. In fact, rumor is that Philip McCluskey is working on getting a bunch of folk to head up to Vanessa's retreat together right after the Raw Spirit Festival East.
Same deal with Vanessa, even if you can't make it out to her retreat you need to follow her on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with all the bad ass things she's up to.
This is your home boy Dhrumil with another raw food community update. You can catch me on Twitter and Facebook too you know!
In the book Dr. Kessler tries to understand why and how food addiction happens, and how big food companies have unleashed a beast that is wreaking having on the overall wellness of the population.
Dr. Kessler isn’t convinced that food makers fully understand the neuroscience of the forces they have unleashed, but food companies certainly understand human behavior, taste preferences and desire. In fact, he offers descriptions of how restaurants and food makers manipulate ingredients to reach the aptly named “bliss point.” Foods that contain too little or too much sugar, fat or salt are either bland or overwhelming. But food scientists work hard to reach the precise point at which we derive the greatest pleasure from fat, sugar and salt.
The article continues with a specific example:
The result is that chain restaurants like Chili’s cook up “hyper-palatable food that requires little chewing and goes down easily,” he notes. And Dr. Kessler reports that the Snickers bar, for instance, is “extraordinarily well engineered.” As we chew it, the sugar dissolves, the fat melts and the caramel traps the peanuts so the entire combination of flavors is blissfully experienced in the mouth at the same time.
Recently Dr Kessler was on Fresh Air with Terry Gross talking about his seven year research journey that led to this book. Mind you, nothing new for a lot of our readers here, but still pretty sweet that a former FDA head is talking about all this.
Maybe next we can get him to write a good about perscription drugs!?
Big thanks to Courtney Pool for sending me the NY Times Article.
Austin is the proud new home of the nation's newest raw food restaurant, Borboleta.
Their goal is to expand the living food concept to more mainstream acceptance by providing vegan and living cuisine that tastes just like the food people love and crave.... only much better.
"Borboleta" is Portuguese for "butterfly" and the folks there aren't shy to tell you that this symbol of transformation and joy is the foundation for not only the food, but the culture of the cafe.
Chef Virginia Morgan, pictured above, has been eating a primarily living foods diet for seven years and has been in the gourmet food industry for four years. She passionate about not only organic food, but local food too. Borboleta purchases as much as local produce as possible to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the cafe.
Virginia's ultimate goal? Give back to the community. Recently she told us, “I believe in the healing power of food. I want the living food to look and taste good so that people love it and say, ‘this is the best thing I’ve ever tasted’…I want to make people happy and healthy.”
When it comes to cuisine Borboleta is gourmet, as may raw food cafes must be to thrive. Gourmet raw food brings that "wow" factor and makes a great first impression on raw newbies.
Some of Borboleta's common entrees include Lasangna, "Tuna Melt", Nori Rolls, Falafel, and Portobello Steaks. Desserts include cheesecake, pecan pie, key lime pie and pear tarts. Prices on entrees range from $8 to $13 and desserts are $7 to $9.
Gourmet live food at a very affordable price. This makes Investor John Wegmann very happy, "I’ve felt 100% better since I began eating raw food, so I want to give Austin the opportunity to experience the benefits as well. I was blown away by the taste, and I realized that healthy food doesn’t have to taste like health food. Besides, now I don’t have to go to New York or San Diego for amazing raw food.”
The We Like It Raw squad hasn't had the opportunity to make it down to Borboleta yet, but we're looking forward to the day we do. The food looks great and so does the staff.
Borboleta is open Monday through Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm and Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm. Food is available for take-out. Borboleta also serves fair trade organic coffee and tea. Borboleta will be holding art openings every eight weeks on Saturday nights to support local artists. Cooking classes will also be offered monthly.
If you are in the Austin area you can find Borboleta in the Bella Salon & Spa building, just west of downtown Austin and blocks from Whole Foods (which it self is a must visit at over 80,000 square feet).
You can also learn more about Virginia and the Borboleta team at borboletagourmet.com
Our guest today is Shannon Leone, director of rawmom.com, producer of the Raising Children Raises Us DVD, and co-founder of the Raw Mom Summit.
Shannon is here as a part of our weekly community beat feature to talk about the upcoming Raw Mom Summit and some of the amazing guests they'll have featured as a part of it.
To give you some context, over 7 years ago Shannon introduced her two young boys and her Italian construction-worker husband to the benefits of raw food and holistic living. After gaining a wealth of experience, Shannon set off on a mission to empower other moms by marrying her two passions- Conscious Parenting and a Raw Food Lifestyle.
The Raw Mom Summit is Shannon's latest manifestation of her passion, and in this interview we get a chance to hear why it's gaining so much attention.
This guest article comes to us via Dr Robert Young, author of the pH Miracle, and our friends at Organic Ave, NYC's number one spot for cleansing and natural living education.
Dr Robert Young and Organic Ave have teamed up together to bring NYC its first ever pH Miracle weekend retreat. On Saturday June 27th & Sunday June 28th, at Lighthouse International, Dr Young and Denise Mari from Organic Ave will take you on a journey that will empower you to revolutionize your health, gain unstoppable energy, lose weight, increase mental clarity, boost your immune system, prevent and reverse illness.
To give you a little taste of some of the topics Dr Young and Denise will be covering, they've graciously shared the following article. Hope you enjoy!
You are What You Eat and What You Think
By: Dr. Robert O. Young, Author of the pH Miracle
Ranges of emotions from love to anger to joy to sadness profoundly affect your body's physical, mental and spiritual health. Skeptics take note: laughter is one powerful drug.
My theory of one sickness, one disease and one health, set forth in what I call "The New Biology," not only considers how our diet affects our physiology, but also how our psychology affects our physiology and how our psychology affects our spirituality.
Imagine the fish in the tank are your cells and organ systems bathed in fluids, which transport food and remove wastes. Now imagine we back up a car and put the tailpipe up against the air intake filter that supplies the oxygen for the water in the tank. The water becomes filled with carbon monoxide, lowering the alkaline pH, creating and acidic pH environment, and threatening the health of the "fish," your cells and organs.
What if we throw in too much food or the wrong kind of food (acid-producing food like dairy, sugar, and animal protein) and the fish are unable to consume or digest it all, and it starts to decompose and putrefy? Toxic acid waste and chemicals build up as the food breaks down, creating more acidic byproducts, altering the optimum alkaline pH.
Basically, this is a small example of what we may be doing to our internal fluids every day. We are fouling them with pollution, smoking, drugs, excessive intake of food, over-consumption of acid-forming foods, and any number of transgressions which compromise the delicate balance of our internal alkaline fluids.
Some of us have fish tanks (bodies) that are barely able to support life, yet we somehow manage to struggle from day to day, building more severe imbalances until there is the inevitable crash and debilitating chronic, disturbing and disorganizing symptoms to deal with.
The pH level (the acid-alkaline measurement) of our internal fluids affects every cell in our bodies. Extended acid imbalances of any kind are not well tolerated by the body. Indeed, the entire metabolic process depends on a balanced internal alkaline environment. A chronically over-acidic pH corrodes body tissue, slowly eating into the 60,000 miles of veins and arteries like acid eating into marble. If left unchecked, it will interrupt all cellular activities and functions, from the beating of your heart to the neural firing of your brain. In summary, over-acidification interferes with life itself leading to all sickness and disease!
For over 20 years, I have conducted scientific research pertaining to blood cells. I developed a specialty in cellular nutrition seeking to find out the root causes of why and how disease enters in the body. My findings were astounding, having discerned that a pH balanced Alkaline lifestyle create healthy cells. Through live and dry blood cell analysis, I could see diabetes, cancer, AIDS, hypertension changing the look and shapes of the cells.
My wife Shelley and I have written numerous books about how you can cleanse your body regardless of age, gender, or state of health. For example, my work with the epidemic of Type I and II diabetes has improved millions of lives. By balancing the body’s pH, controlling acidity, a diabetes diagnosis can be reversed or never appear, despite a family history of the disease.
Being obese or over weight is such a strain on the body. It’s really not about being fat, but more about being acidic. So many people have lost weight and gained self-esteem back by learning how to eat, drink think, and exercise in easy to follow steps.
CASE IN POINT
My collaboration with New York's Organic Avenue
My protégé, Nutritional Microscopist and Founder of Organic Avenue, Denise Mari, advises some of the most affluent, famous, intelligent and powerful people in Manhattan and the tri-state area. When Mari executes live & dry blood cell via a Nutritional Microscopy Education session, she gets to the core of how their diet, emotions and lifestyle impact their health.
Given the current recession, some clients have been more stressed, fearful, and even in deep despair. Bottom line: a negative state of mind can create more metabolic acids than the acidic food that you're eating.
After Mari and I analyze the live & dry blood, we devise complete diet and lifestyle detoxification recommendations. In New York City, Organic Avenue addresses the emotional and physical toxicity of its clients with Mari's targeted LOVE (Live Organic Vegan Experience) cleanses. These cleanses run the gamut from gentle to potent, for as long we see fit. The most recent addition to Mari's offerings is "YOUNG LOVE", and this particular program is based on my theories and science of The New Biology and the principals of the pH Miracle Lifestyle & Diet. Usually, our clients feel so good that they continue on the program because of their newfound energy and mental clarity.
If a happy, robust life is the objective, than a delicate balance of the pH of the blood should be a constant 7.365 to remain healthy. This takes a keen awareness of your thoughts and words, in addition to your food & drinks. Negative thoughts and harsh words can upset the delicate pH and produce biological waste and acid. Gone unchecked overtime, this can lead to fatigue, numerous cancers, arthritis, heart attacks (really thought-attacks), dementia, autism, and other life threatening diseases.
On the other hand, positive emotions, such as love, peace, hope, faith, joy, forgiveness and charity can be alkalizing to the blood and tissues. These emotions require far less energy and can cause you to be in a relaxed state and cease re-playing the acidic mind-movie over and over in your head. Students of higher consciousness know that you can even enter into a state of bliss wherein you have no thoughts at all and wherein you are producing no metabolic acid.
Mari and I constantly see this shift in our clients and coach them through any setbacks with follow-up consults, strategies and newsletters. Hope, love, positive expectations, confidence in what you are doing, and trust in your own good intentions is the key, and that's what the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet will do for you. It will give you results you've always desired.
For myself, I have decided to call this wonderful place "Young Love." That's because I exercise and meditate every day. It raises my level of consciousness and positive connection with the world. The connections between "Young" and "Love" are numerous. My name is Young, of course, but more importantly, being young is a term we normally associate with being youthful, energetic, open, optimistic, and filled with excitement. And the ultimate purpose of life is Love. And Love is the sweetest expression of life. So Young and Love go together.
I Love to have my friends and guests work out with me at the pH Miracle Center in Valley Center, California or around the world where I lead medically supervised healing retreats. I lead them through the steps of the New Biology and The pH Miracle Program. I teach them the Young version of Yoga. It's been cleverly and affectionately titled "Younga Yoga". It incorporates proper breathing, stretching, toning, meditation, relaxation, and of course some sweating to remove yesterday's dietary and metabolic acid and to help bring all into an alkaline state of happiness and bliss.
When you start The pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet program, you are making a conscious decision to try to do a little better. And, when you get on this healing path that leads to Young Living, Young Energy, and Young Love this gradual alkalizing process, you start experiencing those little and then those big pH miracles.
These changes come about because you feel so good. You are rewriting your genetics with your positive emotions. You are taking your alkalizing eraser and erasing all your past life's negative emotions. On the pH Miracle Lifestyle and Diet your emotions or energy in motion will finally be under your control. You will become the master of your mind, body and spirit. You will be living an alkaline lifestyle and diet full of energy, happiness, bliss and love.
To learn more about the affect of negative and positive (e)motions on the brain and body and to learn more about "Young Living" "Young Energy" and "Young Love" read, The pH Miracle, The pH Miracle for Diabetes and The pH Miracle for Weight Loss, visit phmiracleliving.com
To learn more about the LOVE cleanses & Organic Avenue or Dr. Young's first NY Retreat held on June 27th and June 28th in NYC visit organicavenue.com or call 212.334.4593.
Dr. Young's New York City Weekend Seminar: Saturday June 27th & Sunday 28th June, 9am-5:30pm.
Packages:
$500 general: 2 day seminar, 3 inspirational alkaline meals-daily.
$750 diamond: Center front seating, 2 day seminar, 3 inspirational alkaline meals, pre-seminar private dinner (Friday,June 26th).
$1000 platinum: Priority seating, pre-seminar private dinner (Friday, June 26th), personal question & answer session, book & product gift pack, 15min private consultation one-on-on with Dr. Young, 3 inspirational alkaline meals daily.
Dr Robert Young is the author of the best selling book, the pH Miracle. Denise Mari is the founder of one of NYC's most respected organic and natural living centers, Organic Ave.
Like many of you, I agree with most of what Susan Schenck had to say in her article about losing health insurance. And like many of you I also had a "but" to add to the article.
I'm young, I'm healthy, I feel great and I don't visit a traditional doctor or dentist regularly. I plan on living a very long time and degenerative diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes are so incredibly far off my radar.
The health practitioners that I do see every so often aren't covered by health insurance in general, so the only real value of having health insurance is to protect myself in that rare situation. You know, car accidents, bike accidents, durian accidents and things like that.
In her article Susan stated, "Yes, you might want to get a very high deductible insurance in case of accidents." I agree. There is value in having high deductible insurance coverage. With high deductible coverage you are still protected from the rare event, but you also have access to low premiums, making the insurance much more affordable.
The best high deductible insurance coverage that I have seen, and that I personally have, is a Health Savings Account, also known as an HSA.
HSAs were not only designed to provide insurance coverage, but they also provide a tax-advantaged medical savings account. This means that any money you put into the HSA account, up to a certain limit each year, rolls over and grows tax-free, year by year. At the age of 65 any money that is in your HSA account is yours, 100% tax free. Cha-ching.
Now, the money that goes into your HSA account is not the same as your premium. Your premium still goes to the insurance company. And to give you some idea, as a single insured person my premium is around $98 for a $5000 deductible. This means that I have to pay 100% of the cost of any medical expense that I encounter under $5000. But that's perfect for me since I don't have any medical expenses right now at all and I don't plan on having any regular medical expenses in the future either. Now, if that durian accident happens and I end up with a hospital bill of $25,000, my HSA insurance coverage covers 100% of the cost above $5,000, (I have to cover the first $5,000).***
Are you with me so far? Just so we are clear let me review.... So every month you have to pay a premium to your insurance company, that's standard. But in addition to paying your premium you have the option of putting in up to a certain amount into a tax-advantage HSA account. In 2009 that "certain amount" is $3,000 as a single person, and $5,950 as a family. Every year the amount goes up a little bit. The money that you put in that HSA account grows each year and essentially becomes a retirement account. At the age of 65 you can take it out 100% tax free.
When you put money into your HSA account you have the option of paying for small medical expense with this money. Basically you'd be paying for anything under your deductible amount. In my case my deductible is $5000. I could use my HSA account money, if I needed, for things like the eye doctor, glasses, laboratory fees, acupuncture and a few other things. Any money that you spend on approved medical expenses from your HSA can be tax-deducted at the end of the year.
If you are healthy, if you plan on staying pretty healthy and if you are willing to be smart about your money, HSAs are the way to go for insurance. If you don't plan on getting any insurance at all that is up to you, but I personally think durians and ceramic knives are pretty sharp!
Don't go out an buy an HSA today without getting educated. Learn about it, ready about it and then, only then, if it feels right feel free to move forward. And only buy an HSA plan from an independent insurance broker who is not affiliated with any one insurance company. Independent brokers can shop around and get you the best price.
Here are a few resources you can check out to help you further your reading.
Question: Do you currently have insurance? If you do what kind do you have? If you don't, would love to hear more about that too!
Update 1: My friend Jainy Savla had a great point on facebook. Number one cause of death for young adults is "unintentional injury". A good reason to have insurance.
Update 2: I incorrectly shared a deductible analogy here, thanks to Terry for pointing it out in the comments. I've updated it on this post. Sorry, I must have been smoking raw cacao.
Note: Funny thing is we have President George W Bush to thank for these HSA accounts. On December 8, 2003 President Bush signed the Medicare bill which created the HSA accounts. Probably one of the smartest things he did in addition to doubling the size of protect area in America. Anyway, I figure I ranked on Bush enough in my life that I might as well give him credit where credit is due. This isn't the best system ever, but for insurance it is the best system we have right now.
I asked my friend Susan Schenck, author of the Live Food Factor, to guest author an article for We Like It Raw on the topic of "loosing one's health insurance". During these tough times a lot of Americans are facing hard choices when it comes to insurance, especially if they are unemployed. And, on top of that, the number one reason for bankruptcy in the USA is medical bills! Geez!
So what's the solution? Universal Health Care, aka Universal Sick Care? While that may look like a step in the right direction, the reality is if we don't get to the root of the problem we'll forever be stuck in a cycle of dis-ease and dis-harmony.
It really doesn't have to be this way, this is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Here's Susan Schenck to take the conversation further:
So You Lost Your Health Insurance…
Millions of Americans are feeling the stress of losing their jobs and as a result, their health insurance. But what if I told you that losing your health insurance could actually be a blessing in disguise? What if I told you that there is an opportunity in that loss…an opportunity for growth, and perhaps, with a bit of determination on your part, to reach and maintain your highest health potential?
When I was in high school in the ‘70s I developed an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa that flipped into bulimia) that lasted 10 years. Sure, I had insurance. But it was the pre-Karen Carpenter era, so no doctors or counselors had a clue---which made my insurance worthless! Nowadays they might prescribe a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, but I am so glad those didn’t exist back then. Drugs do not get to the root of the problem and often have side effects nearly as bad, if not worse, than the illness.
Convinced I had to heal myself, I took eight university classes in psychology searching for a cure. But nothing worked till I moved to Mexico and got away from all the processed trigger foods. I also started taking super foods like bee pollen and brewer’s yeast, and… suddenly the eating disorder, which had been a 10-year hell for me, simply vanished! 10 years of praying and seeking a cure for my mind by reading psychology and self help books ended. I got well only after healing the body, not the mind.
I then knew the importance of nutrition as the principle key to health. Through the years I experimented with health modalities, even got a master’s degree in Chinese medicine and did acupuncture for a while. But I noticed herbs were even more effective than needles. The conviction grew that what a person puts into his or her mouth has the greatest effect of all.
When I discovered the cleansing and rejuvenating power of a raw food diet, my health soared! I was free from hepatitis C, PMS that had me depressed three weeks of the month, athlete’s foot, brain fog, herpes, even jet lag! I devoured every book on the raw food diet and came across a multitude of testimonials—people healing from disease without drugs or surgery. Victoria Boutenko, for example, was healed of arrhythmia and her husband of hyperthyroidism. Their son was cured of juvenile diabetes and their daughter of asthma. After just a few months on the diet, they were all going on extended hikes, bursting with energy!
Reverend George Malkmus healed himself of colon cancer…David Klein defeated colitis…Roe Gallo conquered a highly allergic sensitivity to the 20th century chemicals…Lou Corona healed from a head tumor…Dr. Lorraine Day reversed breast cancer…Angela Stokes lost 159 pounds… Jenny Smith no longer sleepwalks. The list goes on and on.
“But what about accidents?” you might be protesting. Yes, you might want to get a very high deductible insurance in case of accidents. But consider this: I know of people who even used raw foods as a main part of healing from accidents. Take Aajonous Vonderplanitz, for example. Four MDs told him that his son, injured from a car accident, would be brain dead for life. But using raw foods, Aajonous got his son to come out of the coma with a full recovery of his brain and muscles. His son went on to graduate from a university. (Aajonous details the entire story in his book We Want to Live.)
Then there is Dr. Joe Dispenza (who appears in the films What the Bleep Do We Know? and What If? and tells his story in his book Evolve Your Brain). Joe was injured in a car accident and was diagnosed with “multiple compression fractures of the thoracic spine with the T-8 vertebra more than 60% collapsed.” The doctors recommended Harrington rod surgery, but Joe was haunted by all the patients he had seen that had had this surgery. They never really healed, never regained their spinal flexibility, and many lived the rest of their lives addicted to pain medications. Filled with the conviction of the body’s innate power to heal itself, he rejected surgery and used raw foods plus visualization to heal himself.
Finally, there is my husband who injured his back from lifting weights at the gym. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc, and told he needed surgery. But he continued with a raw diet, getting lots of rest, and his MRI a year and a half later showed a complete healing!
Researchers are starting to learn that what you eat impacts your health more than anything, even genetics. What you eat feeds your genes toward health or degeneration. A friend of mine who eats a 100% raw diet says her friends are horrified when they find out she doesn’t have health insurance. She replies, “My health insurance is what I put into my mouth.”
Even if you don’t want to eat a largely raw diet, switching to whole foods goes a long way. (Don’t eat anything from a box, can, bag, or jar.) Get more alkaline by eating more greens (salads, green smoothies, wheat grass juice, chlorella, spirulina, blue-green algae). Avoid the worst culprits (wheat, dairy, table salt, sugar, transfats, monosodium glutamate, aspartame).
Also learn to use supplements instead of drugs. When I had hepatitis C, I took several pills of milk thistle three times a day. When I went back for a test, the MD was astonished to find that my liver enzymes were to be envied! My sister was hooked on a prescription drug and when she lost her insurance, if she didn’t keep buying it (spending $200 a month!) she couldn’t sleep at all. When I got her a month’s supply of tryptophane and told her to gradually reduce the drug while taking this supplement, she was finally able to wean herself off the costly meds.
There are other lifestyle factors besides diet that can make a huge difference in one’s health. One of the most important things is to get rid of the toxins in your environment. Get an air purifier and toss the moldy rugs or mattress (especially if you have asthma). Use natural, nontoxic cleaning supplies, makeup, tampons, personal care products, etc.
Exercise is another investment in your health. Vary it so you cover flexibility to prevent injuries and keep the spine youthful (yoga, stretching), endurance and cardiovascular health (walking, running, etc.), as well as strength-building (lifting weights, pushups, etc).
Other factors of health include adequate sleep and rest; supporting relationships; positive thinking; pure air and water; and adequate sunshine during the day so you can absorb Vitamin D.
The truth is that even if you have health insurance, the copayments can bankrupt you if you get a major disease such as cancer and you decide to go the conventional route. (This topic was brought up in the movie Sicko.) And even if you have 100% health insurance, the tendency is to not be proactive in your health. People who have that attitude wait till they get sick, and then expect some pills or surgery to heal them, and then wonder why they never feel good again. Many of these people end up spending a small fortune on alternative therapies that their health insurance didn’t cover (after they realize the conventional route didn’t really heal them) because they truly want to regain their health.
People tend to leave all of the responsibility for their health to their health insurance. I have come across people who accept jobs they hate simply because they want the health insurance. In San Diego, many teachers are turning down a very generous golden handshake because they don’t want to lose their health insurance.
People are selling their souls for their health insurance because they don’t realize that if they change their lifestyle, they can be in near complete control of their health! What is really needed is not universal health insurance, but universal health education.
Take responsibility for your health. You may find, after a year or two (as I have), that you go to the doctor only for the annual checkup to confirm that you are on the right path. You may find (as I have) that you have restored the vigor, energy and radiant health you had decades ago. You may find (as I have) that when you are in control of your health, having no health insurance suddenly doesn’t seem relevant.
Susan Schenck, LAc, is a raw food coach, lecturer, and author of The Live Food Factor, The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet. Susan is currently offering some free bonuses with her book, you can get all the details and purchase book here. Additionally, you can get the first chapter of the book for free here.
