OVERCOMING EMOTIONAL EATING

My earliest memories of emotional eating go as far back as elementary school. By my teens it had escalated to something that was very difficult for me to control.

Food became the only thing that could calm my emotional anxiety and fill an emotional void. I felt as though food controlled me, it tempted and manipulated me. I literally woke up every single morning panicked with worry, wondering how the day would unfold. Would today be any different? Would I actually start that diet, or would I give into the pain and eat my way back to the comfort of emotional numbness?

I felt that my struggle with emotional eating was at the center of everything that was wrong in my life. If only I could release myself from the grip food had on me... I would no longer feel tormented by food, I would slim down and feel comfortable in my own skin, I would finally attract the man of my dreams and feel more confident to pursue the life I had always envisioned! I blamed my compulsive relationship with food for not having achieved any of these things.

I remember so many days when I just wanted to give in and give up. What if I could just move away where no one knew who I was? I could hide out and eat anything I wanted, whenever I wanted, as much as I wanted. Sure that would mean settling, but I'd be set free from my internal food conflict. Or so I told myself. 

It was only when I started to understand the role my thoughts played in creating my life that it finally dawned on me, my negative associations (in terms of what food meant to me) had to change. Food represented something destructive in my life, and I needed to change that relationship. I had to associate food with something positive and healing. It was for this very reason that I was drawn to the concept behind raw foods. I love knowing that the foods I eat today nourish me and bring nature’s purity and healing to my body.


The one thing that has really helped me on my journey to overcoming emotional eating is to define for myself exactly how I wanted my ideal diet and lifestyle to look like. Drawing from the knowledge of the many health books I’ve read over the years, coupled with my own intuitive knowledge, I created some guidelines for myself that I felt were appropriate and realistic for me.

It feels wonderful having a custom lifestyle plan just for me! In fact, it gives me that much more incentive to stick with the lifestyle, because I know it’s mine and a lot of thought went into it.

I can truly say that by connecting back to a natural way of eating, food has taken on a whole new meaning for me. It is no longer something I desperately need to calm fear and anxiety, but rather something that brings healing and nourishment to my body.

But I also keep in mind that it’s an ongoing journey. I try to stay flexible as I continue to evolve and fine tune my diet and lifestyle. I have learned to let things go and not give myself a hard time when I'm not on my best behavior. I truly give myself love and understanding every step of the way (especially during an emotional relapse).

In overcoming emotional eating, I believe it begins with learning to love ourselves. Issues around eating, whether it's expressed through binging or starving, is a form of self punishment and self sabotage. As I continue to love and accept myself, I find that I have far less self-destructive tendencies. Plus, the cleaner I eat the more clarity I have about the choices I make, and thus it gets easier!

So breathe, and surrender yourself to the truth and wisdom of nature! In admiration of nature's beauty you will find a simple universal truth, that only the perfection and magnificence of nature can bring perfection and magnificence into our lives.

A MEETING WITH BRIGITTE MARS

As some of you may already know, I am working on a project to bring together some of the world’s top raw food chefs to be featured in a compilation recipe cookbook called Flavors of World Cuisine in the Raw: An Exquisite Breakthrough in Culinary Tradition.
I just got back earlier this afternoon from a lovely meeting with herbalist, author, and raw chef Brigitte Mars. With such extensive background as an author, who better else if not Brigitte to offer some words of wisdom on publishing a book? Author of Rawsome! and Beauty by Nature, she has established herself as one of the prominent voices in the raw food lifestyle movement.


We sat and chatted in her cozy office over some of her soothing homemade nettle tea. I shared with Brigitte some of my ideas and details about my progress on the book. She kindly offered her encouraging thoughts, along with a wealth of information and advice. What a pleasure to have Brigitte’s genuine interest in my vision of this book.

We are fortunate to have Brigitte locally here in our Boulder, Colorado community. What a pleasantly spent afternoon! Thank you Brigitte for your kind encouragement and support.

Brigitte Mars
Herbalist, Author, and Raw Chef
www.brigittemars.com

POMEGRANATE JUICE vs. RED WINE

Pomegranate juice has the highest antioxidant content, activity and protective benefits of eight different beverages tested, according to a study conducted by researchers from Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California-Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine, and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

"Oftentimes, a beverage will make a claim about its superior antioxidant content based on the results of one test alone that provides the highest antioxidant capacity," said lead researcher Dr. David Heber. "What is important about this study is that all the beverages included were run against several tests resulting in a more complete assessment of a beverage's antioxidant activity and capability."

Researchers conducted a total of seven tests on 100 percent pomegranate juice, red wine, orange juice, blueberry juice, Concord grape juice, acai berry juice, white tea and green tea. Four of these tests evaluated the antioxidant strength of the beverages.

Pomegranate juice was found to have the highest polyphenol content of any beverage, even outcompeting recent "superfoods" such as acai berry or green and white tea.

Polyphenols are a naturally occurring family of plant chemicals that are known to function as antioxidants in the body. They are believed to help reduce the risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease and the effects of aging.

In addition to polyphenol content, the researchers also tested how well the various beverages performed at scavenging free radicals and preventing oxidation (decay) of LDL ("good") cholesterol. Once again, pomegranate juice outperformed all competitors, with an antioxidant potency composite index 20 percent higher than any other beverage tested.

This study marks the 11th study in the last 10 years to demonstrate the health benefits of 100 percent pomegranate juice. Prior studies have linked the juice to reducing the risks of heart disease, prostate cancer and even erectile dysfunction.

Article by: David Gutierrez (NaturalNews.com)

TRIED.TASTED.SERVED

As raw food continues to make its way into the mainstream, it is amazing to see how far reached the vision of healthy living has come.

Connecting back to a natural way of living is something that is being practiced and appreciated by so many from around the world. A natural sustainable way of life is being embraced as something fresh, modern, even sophisticated. Surely no one understands this vision better than the team behind Tried.Tasted.Served, originated in Japan by chef Omid Jaffari.

Their mission is simple, to bring Raw and Living Foods and Sustainable Living to the world with simplicity and accessibility for a more beautiful, peaceful, healthy and happy planet. Accomplished Gourmet Raw Food Chef Omid Jaffari masterfully presents a gourmet yet simple side of raw cuisine. Exquisitely elegant, sophisticated, and highly informative are only a few words to describe what TTS exemplifies in today’s raw food movement.

I only recently came across their website TriedTastedServed.com and I can honestly say that I have yet to see anything like it in the raw food movement. The site can be read in three different languages - English, French, and Japanese!


I am in complete awe of the professional elegance and extensive content on their site and blog (Raw, The Art of Living). One can easily get mesmerized for hours reading through all of the wonder articles and information. The resources are extremely helpful and very comprehensive. They also provide a number of raw ebooks, one of which is completely FREE (Raw Japanese Herbal Teas & Drinks). Additionally, they offer numerous raw and natural eco-products, and they even carry their own brand of 100% organic raw Nama Shoyu soy sauce!

I stand in absolute admiration for their contribution to the world of raw foods and healthy living!

MY NEW BEGINNING!

Journeying into the New Year takes me back a couple of years ago when I was faced with the realization that I desperately needed a new beginning.

I was overweight and in the first stages of obesity. I was in a relationship I wasn't happy in, with a man I had very little in common with. I was in banking, climbing the corporate ladder working on another promotion, but I absolutely despised my job. I was miserable and felt trapped in every aspect of my life.

I knew that if I didn’t drastically change the direction of my life, I would end up settling for a life I did not want. Beyond that, I felt I really needed to do something that had meaning and some importance in the world.

So what do you do when you’re faced with a quarter-life crisis and you desperately need a new beginning? You risk everything for the chance at happiness, for the chance at something real. So I did the unthinkable, I called off the relationship, quit my nine year banking career, cashed out my 401k, packed up everything I owned into storage, and took off to California to pursue my passion for healthy living… not really knowing where I was going to end up when I got back. I just knew I had no choice!

I enrolled into the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute specializing in raw food cuisine, and began my journey to a healthier and happier life. Since my return from completing the program I have lost a little over 35 lbs, and I'm happier than I’ve been in a very long time.

Today I hope to inspire others with the message that there is a better way to live. That you don’t have to settle for poor health, depression, or obesity. Nature is magnificent and when we begin to live in the perfection of nature we unlock the secret to radiant health. After all, we do have a choice… the choice to live vibrantly healthy, enjoying and embracing every moment along the way.

Change is inevitable with new beginnings, where you find yourself giving up so much in exchange for so much more. The comfort of your past and everything you have ever believed in must be let go of, in order to make room for the new.

But I can honestly say that life opens up the most beautiful opportunities when you finally make the decision to open your heart, stay true to yourself, and begin to live with integrity. My decision to embrace a raw food lifestyle has given me a new appreciation for the healing power of nature, while taking my health to a whole new level of radiance.

BEFORE

1oo% CookedFAT & Miserable

AFTER80% RawHappy & healthy!

HEALING CANCER NATURALLY

The following information is currently circulating the internet, evidently part of a report compiled by scientists at Johns Hopkins (much of which the Hippocrates Health Institute has been teaching for years).

1.) Every person at some point in their life develops cancerous cells in the body. In fact, cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime, but they are not detected in standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion.

2.) When doctors tell cancer patients there are no more cancer cells after treatment, it simply means the tests are unable to detect the remaining cancer cells still residing in the body. (For this reason, cancer survivors using chemotherapy and radiation are often re-diagnosed with cancer within several years.)

3.) When a person's immune system is strong and healthy, on the other hand, cancerous cells are destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors. This is how the human body was designed to work.

4.) When a person has cancer, it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5.) To overcome these multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and lifestyle while incorporating supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6.) Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells, but it also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract, and can even cause organ damage in the liver, kidneys, heart, or lungs.

7.) Radiation, while destroying cancer cells, also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8.) Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size, however prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation does not result in further tumor reduction.

9.) When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation, the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10.) Chemotherapy and radiation can also cause cancerous cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy, while surgery can cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11.) An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding them the foods that allows cancer to spread and multiply.

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON

1.) Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting out processed sugar it cuts off one important food supply to cancerous cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, and Spoonful are made with Aspartame which is very harmful to the body.

2.) Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting out milk, cancer cells are being starved.

3.) Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is very acidic. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites which are all harmful.

4.) Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines leads to more toxic buildup.

5.) Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from eating meat, it frees more enzymes to attack the protein wall of cancer cells.

6.) Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate which are high in caffeine. Drinking water is best when purified or filtered to avoid toxins and heavy metals commonly found in tap water.

7.) Do not use plastic containers or plastic wrap in microwaves. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. The combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

8.) Do not freeze your plastic bottles with water, as this also releases dioxin chemicals from the plastic.

9.) A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juices, whole grains, nuts and seeds help bring the body back into an alkaline environment.

10.) Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach the cellular level within 15 minutes, to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells, drink fresh vegetable juices and eat raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. (Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit.)

11.) Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help a cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

12.) Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

(The Hippocrates Health Institute has been the preeminent leader in the field of natural and complementary health care and education since 1956.)