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Current and Breaking News for Professionals, Consumers and Media |
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| Current and Breaking News for Professionals, Consumers and Media |
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First, let it be made clear that nothing, no outside object, “cures” or “heals” the body. The body always heals itself, and it alone has the wisdom to do so. As French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) once observed, “The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” But in order for nature to do the healing, it must be aided by the right nutrients, or building blocks. It must also not be burdened by the toxic byproducts (such as acrylamides, heterocyclic amines, and lipid peroxides) which numerous studies have shown are produced by cooking. Thousands of modern-day people have enabled their bodies to heal themselves from all kinds of degenerative diseases using raw food diets. Many have written books (or have been written about) describing their journeys to health and full recovery from cancer, diabetes, heart disease, AIDS and other ailments. It is very common, on a 90-100% raw diet, for the body to heal itself of supposedly “incurable” ailments and no longer need medications. I personally have met several people who had to take the drug Valtrex every day for many years for herpes. After going raw, they threw the drugs out and never had a breakout again. I have met people who no longer need medications for diabetes or asthma. I know people who have healed from colitis. The immune system is vastly enhanced on a living food diet. A clinic in Germany (Klinik in der Stanggass, Berchtesgaden) documented the influence of a raw diet on the immune system. They found effects that yielded antibiotic, antiallergenic, tumor-inhibiting, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory results. They recommend uncooked food as an adjunct to drugs in the treatment of allergic, rheumatic and infectious diseases. Eskimos traditionally ate nothing cooked until very recently. They are the only Native American culture that has no history of a “medicine man” because they were extremely healthy until introduced to cooking. Most people think of health as the absence of disease. Dr. Herbert M. Shelton was a renowned leader of the Natural Hygiene movement, a health reform movement that became prominent in the 1800s. He was quick to query, “Why must we accept as normal what we find in a race of sick and weakened beings?” At his death, Shelton was writing a book to be called Normal Man, his vision of what true normal really is for our species. Perhaps we have yet to realize the full scope of our health potential. Some people are motivated to get on the raw food bandwagon even though they were relatively healthy already. Some do it to prevent degenerative diseases. Much to their surprise, they soon encounter what can only be described as “ultra health” or “super health.” Gone is the need to sleep eight hours a day, and some even jump out of bed fully awake after three to six hours of sleep, with no desire for coffee or other stimulants. Excess fat melts off without any feeling of deprivation. The desire to overeat is diminished, as natural appetite control reestablishes itself. Women find complete freedom from PMS, and for most, even their periods, which are a form of detoxification, dwindle down to one day. Birthing labor is sometimes painless and very brief. Women who have been eating raw diets for several years prior to the onset of menopause report having neither signs nor symptoms that indicate they are passing through menopause. The only way they discover that they have gone through the passage is via blood tests for hormone levels. Temperature extremes are suddenly tolerated more easily. Body odors vanish or greatly diminish after a year or two of eating 100% raw. Skin becomes soft and smooth. Hair grows thick and wild. Bad breath becomes a thing of the past. Air travel does not entail jetlag. Various other complaints, like athlete’s foot, acne, allergies, colds, flus, dandruff, herpes or cold sores, vanish. The physical senses sharpen. The person’s psychic ability and feeling of being “in sync” or “in the flow of synchronicity” flourishes. The person finds himself more dynamic, radiant, charismatic and confident. There is a feeling of lightness that everyone new to the raw diet comments on because far less energy is required for digestion. Digestive time is also reduced: While 48-100 hours are needed for cooked food, only 24-36 (or even less) may be needed for raw food. Athletes eating raw food diets have found their athletic performance enhanced. Dr. Elmer in Germany and Dr. Douglas Graham in the USA both experimented with athletes they train by having them go on purely raw food diets. The athletes improved remarkably in strength, energy and stamina. Jan Dries tells of a cancer patient on his raw diet regimen who was actually skiing better than before she fell ill (The Dries Cancer Diet, p. 67). Comedian Dick Gregory became a remarkable athlete on a diet of raw foods and juices and occasional fasting. He ran 900 miles on fruit juice alone in 1974. Since the vast majority of your body cells are replaced every two years, after two years on a raw food diet, a whole new “you” will be formed. Only this will be the first time your body will be rebuilt with living food, full of nutrients. If you have no interest in achieving abundant health, consider that most illnesses do not show symptoms until the eleventh hour. For example, most people don’t know they have cancer until it is in very advanced stages, and the doctor gives them about a year and a half to live, despite the tumor’s having been there for up to a decade or so already. For about 40% of the people who have heart disease, the first symptom they experience is death by heart attack! (Sorry, the living food diet cannot bring you back from the grave.) Although living foods can help your body cure itself even in advanced stages of disease, it is not wise to wait until you are ill. In the Chinese medical classic, the Nei Jing, it is said, “To administer medicine after an illness begins is … like digging a well after becoming thirsty or casting weapons after a battle has been engaged.” Therefore, even if you are currently content with your state of health, consider this diet as a powerful way to prevent future disease. It is much easier to eat a raw diet than you would imagine, especially if only 75-80% raw (which still enables most people to avoid diseases). Eating a raw diet is anything but boring. When you cook food, much of the flavor is destroyed. Raw food actually tastes better. There are raw gourmet recipes that mimic just about any cooked food, mostly using just fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds: raw pizza, “burgers,” “meatloaf,” soups, smoothies, cakes, cookies, candies, etc. Here is my favorite raw soup: Everybody’s Favorite Celery-Cilantro Soup 1 bunch celery (about 8 stalks) 1 bunch cilantro 1 bunch fresh dill 1 cup unpasteurized olive oil ½ cup raw almond butter or raw tahini 3 cloves garlic 2-4 T unpasteurized miso 2 T nama shoyu ¼ cup lemon juice (if not available, raw apple cider vinegar) 8 cups water Blend in a K-Tec or Vita-Mix, adding a little of the ingredients at a time until creamy. This is a big hit everywhere I have taken it. I always get requests for the recipe! If you want to make it creamier, simply add more celery stalks and a little more almond butter or olive oil. Serves about 10. Susan Schenck, LAc, is a raw food coach, lecturer, and author of the 2-time award winning book, The Live Food Factor, The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet, which has gained a reputation as the encyclopedia of the raw food diet. Go to Live Food Factor to check out more free articles, recipes, health information and get a free copy of the first chapter of her book to discover in depth 10 reasons to stop cooking. www.HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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