Raw Living Foods Lifestyle - chiDiet.net

Detoxing and Internal Cleansing

Life and maturing sure are interesting, aren't they? So many times we take our friends for granted, then when we think to check on them we're amazed at how much they've changed.

 

This is especially true of young people. In passing through South Carolina recently I stopped in to see some old friends.

 

When I asked about their young daughter (whom I remember as being 10 years old), I heard all about her wedding, her husband and their new baby. "Little Amy" is now 22.

 

Because we keep in touch by email and phone, and because Amy was at summer camp when they visited me in Georgia and Hawaii, I'd missed Amy growing up and never realized it.

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I see the same thing happening in the Raw Foods Movement.

 

It was just over a year ago that Tera Warner started her website The Raw Divas. At the time I did a podcast with her as part of a kickoff. We've stayed in touch, mostly by being on each others' mailing lists.

 

Then today I was moved to visit her website for the first time in ages. I don't know why, I just was.

 

 

My, has Tera grown up! Not only does her website have a beautiful design, but she has so MANY programs geared to going and living raw.

 

I think it's especially neat that her advice is geared to women. Wonderful!

 

My favorite item on Tera's website is her 7 Day Detox Program. Look under "Fr*e Stuff."

 

Again, that's TheRawDivas.com. If you stop by to visit Tera be sure to tell her I said, "Hi!"

 

 

Working with you to grow your health,

 

Jim Carey

 

P.S. I love it when Tera says that Dr. Ann Wigmore was "The Original Raw Diva!"

P.P.S. "BE the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

Video Overview of Dr. Ann Wigmore's Program

If you were one of the many who ordered my new DVD series over the weekend, I want to thank you!
 
By now you're well into enjoying your bonus items. We've worked all weekend to try to keep up with the orders, but I have to admit we've fallen behind.
 
So please, be understanding if your order comes a day or two later than expected. I knew people would like the series Beth and I did; I never expected it to be this popular!
 
If you're not familiar with what I'm referring to, here's the original post that triggered our avalanche of orders:
http://grassyroots.com/index.php/the-news/217-comprehensive-raw-living-foods-program.html

Jim Carey
GrassyRoots.com

The Dirty Little Secret of the Raw Food Movement

Yes, it's true. The raw food movement has a dirty, nasty little secret.

 

It's this: Many people go raw, only to encounter NEW health challenges, sometimes much worse than what made them go raw in the first place.

 

Over the years I've received numerous letters about this. One woman even described her journey from SAD (Standard American Diet), to Raw, to insulin-dependent Diabetic.

 

Surprised? I was. So much so that Dr. Flora van Orden III - PhD in Nutrition, and a 40-year raw fooder - Dr. Flora and I spent time consulting with each of them, over the years.

 

In every case we found the same fundamental cause. The person in question suffered from a dietary deficiency. That is, while they were eating healthy, nutritious food, they weren't eating a balanced diet.

 

That is, they weren't getting all of the different nutrients that their bodies need.

 

The insulin-dependent diabetic, for example - she admitted that her raw food diet consisted almost entirely of fruits, and the overload of sugar did her in. She sees this now, and her request is that we make people aware of potential traps like this one.

 

Statistically, after one year most vegans are only eating seven different foods.

 

That's not enough for the body to get all the different things it needs - the typical list is 112 different vitamins and minerals, all available from plant-based foods.

 

So, how DO you get enough protein? How about vitamins, especially B-12? Carbohydrates? Some fat in your diet is important, but what's the right source? Where do you get Omega 3 if you don't eat fish?

 

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This is where Dr. Ann Wigmore's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Program comes in.

 

Dr. Ann Wigmore has been called "The Queen of Green,"  "The Original Raw Diva" and many other compliments, along with earning numerous degrees and awards (click here to read them).

Dr. Ann developed her "Raw Living Foods Lifestyle" back in the 1950's after being told by her doctors that nothing could be done for her colon cancer.

Through study, research and experimentation she healed her cancer, then went on to teach thousands of others around the world how the body can heal itself with the proper nourishment.

 

Dr. Ann found that certain foods - foods most people overlook - are essential to a balanced, healthy diet.

 

Dr. Ann taught that it's not about "superfoods," it's not about supplements, it's about balanced, living nutrition.

 

By the 1960's she had become a world-recognized expert in the field of raw food, had earned numerous degrees, and her advice was sought all over the world.

 

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Sadly, all great programs lose some of their momentum after the founder passes.

 

Dr. Ann perished fighting a fire in her apartment in 1993. Eighty-four years old, she was found in the hallway with a bucket of water beside her, and another bucket in the bathtub, with the water running. Smoke from the fire had overcome her.

Dr. Ann did leave us her Lifestyle Training Programs. You can learn about the various hands-on programs at AnnWigmore.com - Learn More. I've been to a number of them and have seen people undergo amazing transformations.

 

My first exposure to Dr. Ann's program was at Creative Health Institute in Michigan, and it did wonders for me. I've been a member of the Board of Trustees of their non-profit Trust for many years. My favorite is the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. Brenda Cobb and staff do a wonderful job of imparting a true Wigmore program. From what I've seen and heard, they all do a great job.

 

Dr. Ann's program works. It really works. It works because it focuses on the proper types and varieties of plant-based foods in order to give the body full, proper nutrition.

 

For those who can't afford two or three weeks and several thousand dollars for a hands-on program, we developed the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Home Study Program five years ago, and it, too, has benefited thousands, all over the world.

 

We have hundreds and hundreds of testimonial letters. You can read and see some of them at the following links (be sure to click on Previous or Next at the bottom of the pages):

See chiDiet.com/blog/category/success-stories

and chiDiet.net (see the "Feedback" pages)

and AnnWigmore.com (see the "Testimonials" pages)

 

Look around these websites and you'll find many more positive success statements. We have such a big collection of them than I don't have anyplace to publish all of them.

 

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However, even the Home Study Program isn't inexpensive. The current economic climate has pushed me into coming up with something new and even more affordable.

 

Here's what I've refined Dr. Ann's program into - The Dr. Ann Wigmore Collection - a collection of 10 DVDs of the basics of Dr. Ann's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle.

 

While the Dr. Ann Wigmore Collection is only a good overview of her program, it contains enough to get you started on the right track.  

 

Seven of the DVDs give you hours of rare footage of Dr. Ann teaching her program, and cover a lot of detail, especially about the right foods to eat, and why.

 

The other three fill in the gaps that Dr. Ann's videos didn't cover, and are taught by veteran instructors from Creative Health Institute, which was co-founded by Dr. Ann and has been teaching her program since 1976. 

 

In addition, these two instructors have agreed to be available to you for personalized coaching by phone or email.

 

I can think of no better way to get on the right track with a new Raw Living Foods Lifestyle than to view - and re-view this information.

 

This Collection is going to throw a lot of what you think you know about food - even raw foods - out the window.

 

Remember - this is tried, true, proven information that has withstood the test of time - and protects you from the dirty little secret of the raw food movement.

 

 

Here's the link: chiDiet.com/aw.htm

 

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Working with you to grow your health,

 

Jim Carey

 

 

 

 

P.S. "If you ignore your health, it will go away." - Unknown

 

 

Here's that link again: chiDiet.com/aw.htm

10 Steps to Going and Staying Raw

As always, when the kids go back to school it's a great time to change behavior patterns and to begin new lives.
 
Whether you're looking at the raw diet because of your health challenges, or because you're looking to take your healthy diet to a new level, this is the time of the year to start!
 
Studies have shown that it's best to change multiple behavior patterns at the same time. In other words, if you decide to quit smoking, get more exercise, and begin a raw foods lifestyle - all at the same time - you'll be more successful than if you try to accomplish them individually or sequentially.
 
 
However - "the secret to success is having a plan."
 
 
It's not enough just to say to yourself, "I'm going raw." That will work for a while - a few days, perhaps a few weeks - but unless you have tons of willpower, very shortly you'll find yourself going back to your old habit patterns and comfort foods.
 
That's why a plan is important. Let's consider a plan for going raw:
 
 
10 Steps to Going and Staying Raw 
 
1. Assemble the tools you need. A blender - any blender - an expensive dehydrator, some jars for sprouting, and a variety of raw recipes are the minimum requirements.
 
 
2. Assemble your list of suppliers. Where are you going to buy your food? Are you going be mostly organic? You'll also need to find a supply of sprouting seeds - at least some alfalfa, clover, sunflower and wheatgrass (hard red winter wheat). The wider the variety the better.
 
 
3. Read your instructions. Do you know how to sprout, and how to run a dehydrator?
 
 
4. Plan what you're going to do. If you decide you'd like to make angel-hair pasta from zucchini, for example, you might find having a spiral slicing machine handy. This might put you back to step 1.
 
 
5. Set a starting date and create your support mechanism. Having a support group is the greatest. Check meetup.com for raw groups in your area. If you don't know any rawbies in your area, find a raw chat group or two for support. A professional Raw Coach is idea, if available.
 
Share with them what you plan to do, and the date you're going to start. You'll find yourself more successful this way, than if you "go raw secretly." Secret quitting doesn't work.
 
While I'm constantly reminding people that we don't have to justify our lifestyle choices to anyone, sometimes we can't avoid it. This video I made about Dispelling the Raw Food Myths will help you deal with the standard objections you're going to hear: http://www.chidiet.com/blog/free-stuff/dispelling-raw-food-myths.htm
 
 
6. Don't forget that you're going to need to stay inspired as you go raw. Build a collection of books, videos, and CDs before you start so that you'll have lots of material when you go raw. This will help maintain your momentum. Otherwise you might find yourself running out of steam before you get to the top of the hill.
 
I find that videos motivate me the most. Instead of watching the news or a movie at night, I'll pop in a video on raw foods and watch it, instead. chiDietVideos.com is a good source for these, and if you have high-speed internet you can watch raw videos online at websites like RawDoctors.com and YouTube.com/chidiet.
 
 
7. Research shows that it takes 21 days for a new behavior to become a habit; if we move to a new house and now have to turn right instead of left when we leave work, it'll be 21 days before it seems natural to turn right when head for home.
 
In dealing with addictions the transitional period is longer. Yes, cooked foods are an addiction. Thus, we need to deal with them as such.
 
Victoria Boutenko has a good book on this subject - 12 Steps to Raw Foods. Her website is RawFamily.com and the book is on Amazon.com, too. Her book covers the subject in detail, but here are her 12 Steps to Raw Food:
 
 
Step 1  - I admit that I have lost control of my addiction to cooked
              food and my eating is becoming unmanageable.

Step 2  - I believe that live vegan food is the most natural diet for a
               human being.

Step 3  - I shall gain necessary skills, learn basic raw recipes and
               obtain equipment to prepare live food.

Step 4  - I shall live in harmony with people who eat cooked food.

Step 5  - I shall stay away from temptations.

Step 6  - I shall create a support group.

Step 7  - I shall find alternative activities or hobbies.

Step 8  - I shall let my higher self lead my life.

Step 9  - I shall make a searching and fearless inventory of the real
               reasons for seeking comfort and pleasure from cooked
               foods.

Step 10 - I shall let my intuition help me.

Step 11 - Through clarity I will gain happiness.

Step 12 - I shall provide support to other raw fooders.
 
 
8. Part of changing your diet and lifestyle is detoxifying the body. Not as a one-time detox, but instead, we should be constantly detoxing. That's where Dr. Ann Wigmore's program comes in. She taught much more than a diet. In her books and videos she lays out the procedures for a continuous healthy detox, including the foods we eat, how we combine them, the usage of colonics or enemas, the uses of wheatgrass juice, and more.
 
The basics are laid out in her book, Why Suffer? How I Overcame Illness and Pain Naturally, which you can download for free at http://chidiet.com/books/whysuffer.pdf. If the book won't open for you, you might need a free copy of Acrobat Reader from adobe.com.
 
Other great books of Dr. Ann's are Be Your Own Doctor and Rebuild Your Health, both available at Amazon.com. They're also available as audio books on CD at http://chidietvideos.com/index.php/cds.html
 
 
9. Be aware, not discouraged. You're going to backslide at times, and it's normal. Don't feel like you've "failed" if you happen to go out for pizza or a hamburger. Instead, think about how well you've been doing, how much better you're eating than you used to, and how much better you're feeling since you started going raw.
 
 
10. Experiment, experiment, experiment.  Knowing that I have addictions to comfort foods, I found new comfort foods. For me that's fresh blueberries, raspberries, and raw vegan pizza, made with flax crust in the dehydrator. It's a recipe I've included in my book. Victoria's Step 9, above, has helped me a lot, too.
 
 
Overwhelmed? I would be, too, if it weren't for the teachings of Dr. Ann.
 
Sometimes I get off the raw path when traveling the country, visiting family and friends. But when I get home I head to the market, stock up on good raw, organic fruits and veggies, then pull out my Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Home Study Program and get back to it.
 
I'm feeling better, more energetic, happier and de-stressed than I did in my old cooked-food life. MUCH better. My warning is when I felt the arthritis coming back in my knees - that's my personal sign that I'm not eating right.
 
 
Here's good news: There's a new Home Study Program, version 4.2. Bigger and better than ever, it's designed to lead you by the hand from raw-curious to fully raw and healthy.
 
The best part is that it's modular now. You don't need to invest a huge amount of money to get started. Start slowly, and as you grow into this you can expand your collection of books, videos and CDs.
 
The program even includes one-on-one consulting by phone and email with long-time Dr. Ann Wigmore Instructors, people that have been doing this MUCH longer than me, and know a lot about it.
 
This is the most complete collection and comprehensive overview of Dr. Ann's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle available, designed to get you started, keep you on track, and support you when you backslide. It includes:
 
The 300+ page 13 Step Raw Living Foods Success Guide
The 180 page Raw Living Foods Recipe Book
40 videos on DVD by Dr. Ann and her Institute Instructors
2 audio books on CD
1 hour of free Raw Coaching  - 2 sessions of 30 minutes
Free email consulting with Dr. Flora van Orden III, Dr. Ann's long-time assistant
Membership to RawDoctors.com
What's in Your Lunch Bucket? Eat Light - Be Bright, by Jan Jensen, a handbook for active working women
Delicious Raw Food Recipes, by Emily Rutherford of RawFoodRestaurantGuide.com
Menu planners, discount coupons for hands-on programs and much more

I do this to help others attain a healthier lifestyle, and can find no better way to start people on the path to healthy living than this program.

While I totally support and encourage people to take a hands-on program at a Dr. Ann Institute, the Home Study Program is much more detailed.

You'd have to spend months at a hands-on program to absorb this much information. Plus, you have it at home for continual reference and inspiration.

 
Dr. Steve Monkiewicz, ND, and I talk about the new program on Real Health radio show, which you can listen to at http://rawdoctors.com/index.php/real-health.html (show #66).
 
I'm really excited about this because, over the years, I've received hundreds of thank you letters and success stories from people who have benefited from the Raw Living Foods Home Study Program, and this is the best one I've assembled yet!
 
Here's the link: http://chiDiet.com
 
 
Sincerely Yours,
 
Jim Carey
 

PS: Even if you're not 100% raw, how much better are you doing today than when you were on the SAD?

PPS: "[Because of their diets] nine men in ten are suicides." - Ben Franklin

My Networking Accounts:
http://jcarey.net (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)

Great Raw Websites:
http://goraw.net

A Fun Raw Recipe Book for Kids

Finally, you can tell your kids to monkey around in the kitchen and feel good about it!

Introducing... The First Raw Food Recipe Book for Kids!

Easy Raw Food Recipes That Taste Great and Are Fun to Make!

To learn more, click here.

Benefits of the Raw Living Foods Lifestyle

We have numerous testimonials from students who credit the Raw Living Foods Lifestyle with their recovery from:

• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Cancer of the larynx
• Cervical cancer
• Malignancies, including uterine cancer
• Colitis
• Leukemia
• Hepatitis
• Gangrene
• Heavy metal poisoning
• Tuberculosis
• Peritonitis
• Pyorrhea
• Hemorrhoids
• Asthma
• Sinus infections
• Burns
• Cuts
• Menstrual irregularities
• PMS
• Constipation
• Headache
• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Halitosis
• Acute anemia
• Vericose veins
• Metastatic malignant melanoma

PLEASE NOTE: that we offer no cures - we treat and heal no one. We simply share information, developed by Dr. Ann Wigmore, about how a Raw Living Foods Diet and Lifestyle can benefit everyone, and how the body often cures itself with a proper diet.

Things the Program Can Do for You:

• Weight Loss
• Alleviate pain
• Prevent disease
• Combat disease
• Increase energy
• Cleanse the body
• Improve digestion
• Recharge your immune system

Visit chiDiet.com for more information.

Here's a directory of Wigmore Educational Resources (all links open in a new window or tab):
AnnWigmore.com - The story of Dr. Ann Wigmore, and a listing of Wigmore Institutes
Dr. Ann Wigmore's Degrees and Awards - probably not a complete list
GrassyRoots.com - The 14-episode TV series I did about raw foods and the Dr. Ann Wigmore Lifestyle
chiDiet.com - The Home Study version of the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle
RawLife.org - I put all of the videos from Grassy Roots TV and the Wigmore Lifestyle Home Study Program online
chiDiet.com/hs3.htm - The Dr. Ann Wigmore DVD video collection
GoRaw.net - Other raw websites I'm involved with or respect

Raw Testimonials and Stories:
http://rawlife.org/category/facts
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/testimonials-1.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/raw-testimonials-2.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/raw-testimonials-3.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/more-testimonials.html
http://chidiet.com/blog/category/success-stories
http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/feedback_home_study_program/ - See the various "Feedback" categories on this site

Wow. I didn't see this one coming!

If you were one of the many who ordered my new DVD series over the weekend, I want to thank you!
 
By now you're well into enjoying your bonus items. We've worked all weekend to try to keep up with the orders, but I have to admit we've fallen behind.
 
So please, be understanding if your order comes a day or two later than expected. I knew people would like the series Beth and I did; I never expected it to be this popular!
 
If you're not familiar with what I'm referring to, here's the original post that triggered our avalanche of orders:
http://grassyroots.com/index.php/the-news/217-comprehensive-raw-living-foods-program.html

Jim Carey
GrassyRoots.com

10 Dr. Ann Wigmore Videos

I put together a 10 DVD set of the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods lifestyle for a very, very special price. Almost a giveaway.

http://chidiet.com/hs3.htm

Enjoy!

Jim

Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days is an independent documentary film that chronicles six Americans with 'incurable' diabetes switching their diet and getting off insulin.

The film follows each participant's remarkable journey and captures the medical, physical, and emotional transformations brought on by this radical diet and lifestyle change.

We witness moments of struggle, support, and hope as what is revealed, with startling clarity, is that diet can reverse disease and change lives.

Additional wisdom is provided by Morgan Spurlock, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Robbins, Rev. Michael Beckwith, and Doctors Fred Bisci, Joel Furman, and Gabriel Cousens.

We've been awaiting this film for months; it's finally been released. Learn more, and get your copy here:
http://tinyurl.com/revDiabetes.

Yours in health and vitality,

Dr. Jim Carey

P.S. "Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal the patient with food." - Hippocrates.

P.P.S. Here's another good video about reversing Diabetes and other health challenges with raw, living foods: http://tinyurl.com/chiFood.

Introduction to Raw Living Foods

Steven Gibb, Director of Creative Health Institute, and Jim Carey, Creative Health Institute Board of Trustees, appeared on Robert Taylor's TV show "Out of the Ordinary" on WMTV in Detroit. As a matter of fact, the 30 minute segment was aired 21 times!

If you didn't catch it, you can order a copy at http://chiDietVideos.com.

Why is the Wigmore Lifesytyle Different From the Raw Foods Movement?

In the seven years that I've been involved in the raw food movement I've been gratified by the rate and amount of it's growth. Sales of fresh fruits and veggies are the highest they've been in decades, and the awareness and acceptance of what we're doing is higher than I've ever seen.

I retired from the computer industry in '99, then discovered the Dr. Wigmore program of raw living foods at Creative Health Institute and changed my life in '01. A year later I found myself the Director there. I saw it as a good use of my time in retirement, a way in which to give back to the world all that's been done for me.

Initially I thought I'd help out for a year or two, get the center back on it's feet, build a website for them, start a newsletter and install a computer network.

I had no intention of embarking upon a second career, but that's what happened.

In 2001 there were only a handful of websites and resources. Friends would email me links with the message, "Look, a new raw website!"

If you did a Google search on "raw foods" you'd get several dozen page matches. I just did a Google search on the same term and got back 260 million page matches. Now THAT is a growing movement!

Finding raw recipes used to be a challenge; I just looked and found five dozen raw recipe books on Amazon.com alone, as well as numerous websites like chiDiet.net that publish new raw recipes every day. I love it!

I love it that Susan Schenck has published her encyclopedia of the raw foods movement, The Live Food Factor - I used to know everybody in the raw food movement, but now I rely on Susan's book to sort out who's-who.

I love it that movies like Supersize Me and Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days are reaching the mainstream market and showing in theaters, raising awareness of the dangers of the Standard American Diet (SAD).

What's Next?

Recently I was asked why I didn't retire again (can one re-retire?).

"The raw foods movement is taking care of itself now," I was told. "You've done what you set out to do. Why not go back to traveling, see the world, and enjoy your retirement?"

Tempting. I've thought about it for weeks.

What I've seen, however, is that Dr. Ann Wigmore's work isn't done yet. While it's gratifying that the raw foods movement has grown so much, Dr. Ann's program was about much more than just eating more fruits and veggies.

That's why I call it the Wigmore Lifestyle. Dr. Ann's program embodies an entire way of life, a healthier way of living.

Dr. Ann took sick, diseased people and showed them the way back to a healthy, happy life. She led them through detoxification and into healthy eating, true, but she also addressed the issues of stress, exercise, nutrition, food combining and more. Dr. Ann revived juicing, especially of Wheatgrass, growing sprouts at home in limited space, and created foods like Rejuvelac and Veggie Kraut - all radical ideas.

Each of the elements of her Lifestyle is important to maintaining a wholistic, healthy body and a positive outlook on life.

Her lifestyle is often simpler than the typical raw diet. It's really about re-learning how people were designed to eat before industrialization shifted population into the cities.

Dr. Ann saw that all healing - and good health - is Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. She had a theology degree (along with several other degrees), but never preached - she taught that it's important everyone recognize, acknowledge and follow their personal spiritual path as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Like I said, wholistic.

In Conclusion:

I guess I can't retire. Not yet, at least. Wherever I speak I meet audiences that are predominantly raw fooders, ones that are doing better than they were on the SAD, but still find themselves with health challenges, deficiencies and toxicities.

I say "Thank You!" to all of the raw food advocates out there - around the world - for all you do. But when it comes right down to seeing people heal their health challenges and recover their lives, it's Dr. Ann's program that works. So I'm not retiring.

Not yet. There's still work to be done, and a message to share.

What I've Done Lately:

I've updated and modularized the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle, and by printing in higher volumes, lowered prices. Learn more at chiDiet.com and chiDietVideos.com.

This is a biggie - I've created an online version of Dr. Ann's Raw Living Foods Home Training Program, and of my Grassy Roots "Introduction to Dr. Ann Wigmore" TV show. You'll find them both on RawLife.org

Yours in Great, Vibrant Health!

Jim Carey

Here's a directory of Wigmore Educational Resources (all links open in a new window or tab):
AnnWigmore.com - The story of Dr. Ann Wigmore, and a listing of Wigmore Institutes
Dr. Ann Wigmore's Degrees and Awards - probably not a complete list
GrassyRoots.com - The 14-episode TV series I did about raw foods and the Dr. Ann Wigmore Lifestyle
chiDiet.com - The Home Study version of the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle
RawLife.org - I put all of the videos from Grassy Roots TV and the Wigmore Lifestyle Home Study Program online
chiDiet.com/hs3.htm - The Dr. Ann Wigmore DVD video collection
GoRaw.net - Other raw websites I'm involved with or respect

Raw Testimonials and Stories:
http://rawlife.org/category/facts
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/testimonials-1.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/raw-testimonials-2.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/raw-testimonials-3.html
http://annwigmore.com/index.php/more-testimonials.html
http://chidiet.com/blog/category/success-stories
http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/feedback_home_study_program/ - See the various "Feedback" categories on this site

Dr. Jim Carey, PhD, DD, has been a raw living foods advocate for six years, ever since the Dr. Ann Wigmore program changed his life. Dr. Carey resides in rural Georgia, USA, where he loves to eat wild edibles, and travels extensively sharing the message of the raw living foods lifestyle.

Dr. Jim also served as Director of Creative Health Institute for several years, and is a Trustee of the Creative Health Institute 501(c)-3 Non-Profit Trust.

Eating Raw and Feeling Full

by Jim Carey

During my radio interview with Kerry Pharr he mentioned going Raw for three days, and then gave up because he was always hungry. I have a solution for that:

A) To make a raw dish that is delicious and satisfying it is necessary to have all five of these flavors in your recipe:

1. Sweet/Pungent (Onion)
2. Sour
3. Salty
4. Spicy
5. Bitter

The ratios will change with the type of dish you are creating. The key to creating great Raw Recipes is learning to balance the five flavors. With time and practice creating Raw Gourmet food will be second nature to you. Here is a great resource for raw recipes: chiDiet.net.

• Excess sour is balanced by sweet. 
• Overly bitter is balanced sour.
• Fats tone down spices, and mellow too much sweetness. 
• Salt brings out flavors. 

A breakdown of the five tastes:

1. Sweet:  banana, dates, mangos, apples, raw honey, stevia extract
2. Sour:  lemon juice, lime juice, raw apple cider vinegar, grapefruit juice.
3. Salty:  Celtic sea salt, Nama shoyu, kelp, dulse, miso, celery.
4. Spicy:  hot pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper. 
5. Bitter:  kale, lettuce, culinary herbs.

B) Quantity. We're used to having small bowls of salad with our meals (at best). When you're a rawbie, what might look like a salad for four is now dinner for one. For active guys in particular, don't hesitate to eat an entire salad bowl for lunch, or a blender or more of green smoothie for breakfast. Supper should be a small meal.

C) Eating on a schedule. Get you body used to eating on time. I eat at 7:30 am, 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm. Within a few days your body will begine producing digestive juices on schedule, digesting your foods more completely, and leaving you alone between meals.

D) Listen to your body, and eat only what it needs. If you're coming off the SAD, this might mean training your body as to what it needs vs. what it wants.

- with thanks to Victoria Boutenko for the "5 Tastes" insights.

How Much or What? Which Matters Most?

-    What you eat matters more than how much you eat, and why.

By Dr. James Carey, Ph.D. (computers)

Eight years ago, at age 50, I weighed 260 lbs at 5’9” tall. I decided to lose the excess weight. After a lot of research I went on a 1,500 calorie-a-day vegetarian diet, counted every calorie I ate, walked three to five miles a day, and at the end of 18 months I’d lost 20 lbs.

I was happy with myself, but I dreaded another 4-6 years on this boring “rabbit diet,” as I called it, if I was ever to get back to my ideal weight of 165 lbs.

At the end of that year one of my sisters (I have a lot of sisters and step-sisters) – already familiar with this - talked me into going to a hands-on Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle training program. This program teaches that we should eat only organic, vegan, raw living foods. In other words, no animal products whatsoever, and only items grown organically, without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. In addition, it recommends lots of fresh sprouts and other foods that, if planted in the ground, would grow (that’s why they’re called “living”).

Oh… and nothing is cooked.

Interesting, I thought, but I’m a tough guy that can live off the land if I need to, and I can tough anything out if it’ll make me stronger (and better looking).

So I went to Creative Health Institute in Union City, Michigan, USA. At the end of my first two weeks I’d lost 20 lbs. At the end the month I’d lost 30 lbs. All this without missing a meal, without counting a calorie, and eating all I wanted. The best part was, the food was delicious, filling and satisfying.

How could this be?

There were several reasons, but, first and foremost, I was toxic. Every time we eat non-organic, processed food full of chemicals and artificial preservatives we’re ingesting toxins.

Now the body is a marvelous, self-healing, self-cleaning machine. So we put a load of toxins into our body at breakfast, and the body goes to work processing and expelling them.

In the middle of this bodily, life-saving chore we eat a lunch consisting of more processed foods and toxins. Now the body is overloaded and can’t process the toxins out as fast as we’re putting them in.

So the body wraps fat molecules around the toxin and parks it somewhere for temporary safekeeping.  Over time these fat molecules accumulate until we find ourselves overweight, even obese.

That’s what had happened to me. When I went on the vegetarian diet I was still eating foods raised with pesticides, fungicides and herbicides – all toxins. Plus, I was still eating a lot of foods high in animal fats, like cheese and milk.

Dr. Jim at 260 lbs., December, 2000

When I went on Dr. Ann’s regime of raw, organic, living foods I greatly reduced the toxins I was putting into my body.

Sure, I was still ingesting some toxins – even the air we breathe, anywhere on the planet, has a certain amount of toxins. But the quantity of toxins I was ingesting was so much lower that it significantly changed my life.

Our bodies never rest, never take a day off, never decide to be lazy for a day. When my body said, “Oh, look, no toxins to process in this meal,” it then went looking for the toxins it had been storing in my body fat.

Dr, Jim at 170 lbs., August 2006, thanks to Dr. Ann's detox lifestyle

My body took those fat-stored toxins, ripped off the fat molecules, discharged them, processed the toxins, and discharged them, too.

Voila, thirty pounds of fat gone in thirty days, without missing a meal or going hungry. All because of what I ate, not how much I ate.

In coming articles I’ll talk about digestive enzymes and stress, how and why they’re important to our health, and how the raw living foods vegan lifestyle interrelates with them.

Yours in Natural Good Health,

Jim Carey

Midville, Georgia, USA

Dr. Jim Carey, PhD, DD, has been a raw living foods advocate for six years, ever since the Dr. Ann Wigmore program changed his life. You can learn more about Dr. Wigmore, N.D., and Dr. Carey at AnnWigmore.com.

He is currently doing an American television series about the raw vegan lifestyle. Episodes of his show can be seen at GrassyRoots.com.

Dr. Carey resides in rural Georgia, USA, where he loves to eat wild edibles, and travels extensively sharing the message of the raw living foods lifestyle.

Learn more at chiDiet.com

Overcoming Diabetes - Naturally

Many "bliss-ings" for your incredible efforts, Jim!

Because of you, I make Rejuvelac and eat fermented cabbage.

Because of you, I forgive myself if I eat something not "perfect" in the raw food world when at a social event (if nothing I want or need is available). And I go right back to being intelligent and careful.

Because of you, I have learned so many things about sprouts and now incorporate 1 cup of sprouts in my smoothies and salads. (I never used to like them, honestly.)

I am truly grateful to you for your many efforts and for spreading the teachings of Dr. Ann.

Biggest hugs of gratitude...
Ricki Burleigh
Chandler, AZ

I am attaching a BEFORE and AFTER photo of me! Also, I am attaching a GROUP photo with friends from my last position. I am the one in blue -- fully 25 to 40 years OLDER than the other 4 girls in the photo. I absolutely do NOT feel older than they do! I KNOW that following a raw, living lifestyle has made a huge difference in me!!!

Thank you, again!

--------------------------------------------------------

Hi, Jim! Wow, I would be HONORED if you wanted to put the photos on your blog. Wow! Fantastic.

I went to a double-group, Raw-foods Meet-up potluck this weekend! It was SO AMAZING!! Just today, I received an inquiry from someone asking me about my raw-food journey to reverse diabetes. I am going to copy you on my response to this young man just to give you a little background on my own journey, in case you might be interested:

"There is just SO MUCH to tell and to write. I have been following a LOT of raw foods sites for about 4 years. I have been a raw-foods "wanna be" for 6 years. At the beginning, I followed Frederic Patenaude and his partner, Tera Warner, now known as The RAW DIVA. I added Angela Stokes (Raw Reform e-Journal) and Matt Monarch (soon to marry Angela at a Raw Foods extravaganza festival in Oregon); Mike Adams; Jim Carey (chiDiet.com); David Wolfe; Kevin Gianni; Roger Haeske and others.

I just read absolutely everything and anything I can get my hands on or find online to enhance my understanding of the raw foods pathway. I watched all the YouTube videos regarding raw foods and the raw foods food demonstrations.

I was a vegan for 11 years straight with no medical problems at all (in Michigan). I even taught vegetarian cooking, and I worked a "second job" in a Vegan restaurant. Then, I moved to AZ and started eating very unhealthy foods again, lots of Mexican stuff (cooked, not fresh)!! Aaaagggghhhh!

In Nov 2007, I took the "www.realage.com" TEST to see what my real age was (my biological age being 62 at the time). It said I was.... 78.6! I completely flipped! I have a terrible family history with people dying very young (43, 50, 59, etc.)

I declared that "I REFUSE TO BE A STATISTIC." I had high blood pressure (200/110, even with medication), high cholesterol (280), high triglycerides and was an insulin-dependent Type II diabetic. I made the decision to take responsibility for my health!!!!!!

I also listened to the South Beach Heart Program audio book and went to the Heart Hospital to find out my calcium score.

I joined Weight Watchers (for group support) and Curves (for regular exercise) in January 2008. My highest weight was 225. I am down to 127, give or take a pound or two.

After only 6 weeks of working out and eating HIGH RAW foods, I was almost off insulin (down to 2 units sometimes!). By three months, I had the okay from my doc to go off the insulin altogether.

Important: I absolutely chose NOT to eat like all the others on Weight Watchers -- I ate (and still eat) absolutelynothing from a box, nothing with a face, nothing processed, nothing with white flour or sugar, no starches (potatoes, rice, grains) and mostly raw fruits and vegetables, combined with (at the beginning) baked, organic boneless chicken breast. I also ate wild-caught salmon twice a month. I stopped both of those a long time ago, now.

I have been unemployed for 7 months (having been laid off), so all of my waking hours are spent
(1) first, job-searching and
(2) studying and reading and watching anything I can get my hands on regarding the raw-foods lifestyle!! I eat VERY HIGH raw (90% or more) & as much organic as I can. I am driven, passionate and like a sponge, wanting to be as educated as I can be to make the best choices for improved health and longevity.

I think that I now eat a lot like Angela Stokes (if you want to read her daily blogs), always having 4 cups of good water from the time I get up, followed by an occasional cup of herbal tea before I eat ANYTHING. Then, I make organic, pulp-extracted juice. YUM!

Later, I prepare a green smoothie with loads of sprouts (thanks to Jim Carey, Ann Wigmore and the chiDiet information) and dandelion greens/baby greens/green apple, organic frozen low-glycemic/high antioxidant berries, Rejuvelac (see chiDiet.com) and sometimes 1/4 avocado. (I sometimes also add aloe vera, flax and chia seeds, antioxidant berry powder.)

Later in the day, I make an ENORMOUS salad. If I am home, I put it in the food processor to make a blended salad with as many colors of the rainbow as I can! If I am out, I order a plate of raw veggies and/or a raw salad (no dairy!). I carry my own dressing in a teensy bottle. (It is 2 tsp. of flax seed oil, the juice of 1/4 lemon and a little nama shoyu (unpasturized soy sauce). If I am hungry at other times, I eat a raw, organic piece of fruit (apple, mango, banana or whatever WITH A GREEN vegetable!) or I make a plate of sliced tomatoes.

I studied and now try to watch the acid/alkaline elements of the foods I eat, and I try to learn more about food combining. I am passionate about the information I am learning and applying!

My blood pressure last was 108/68. (The doctor asked if she could have mine!)
My cholesterol was, I think, 142.
My triglycerides were normal. (Never before!!)
My blood sugar has been so normal that I never even check it anymore. I have been off insulin now for over a year! I feel amazing. My blood sugar had become usually around 88-114 with no insulin!

I suffer from "Dawn Effect" early morning higher number, so I do still take something that just handles that early-morning number. I am confident I will be OFF that, once I return to the doctor. I am normal at all other times. I have no more headaches, fuzzy eyesight, highs and lows or cravings at all.

I think reading RAW EMOTIONS by Angela Stokes is pivotal. I still make some poor choices, and those occasional indiscretions make my eyesight screwy and give me a headache. I'm a work in progress. But I get right back on a high-raw lifestyle and forgive myself for not being perfect!

Nothing tastes better than good health and not having to take insulin! I feel amazing! Clean eating makes you feel alive and alert and happy. Again, indiscretions make me angry and "down." The more I read and understand, the less mistakes or poor choices I make.

Have you seen the magazine at Whole Foods called "GET FRESH?" All raw, from the UK. Good read!!

Remember that CANCER CANNOT GROW IN AN ALKALINE ENVIRONMENT. Greens are all alkaline! I never want to be a statistic!

Please let me know if you would like any further information. You can write me at babaschild@yahoo.com. I have great, convincing DVDs that my daughter got me for
Mother's Day, including Reverse Diabetes in 30 days, which I think you saw.

There are MANY raw foods support Web sites and groups. Give it one year but results come very quickly!! I still eat hummus sometimes, which is not raw. But 90%+ of my diet is raw. I always plan my day, so I am never left unprepared.

Thanks for your note. I would be happy to tell you more, if you are interested.

RickiRadish (as my friends call me!)

I hope that's helpful, Jim. Thank you, again, for your guidance, inspiration and knowledge. I am never without Rejuvelac or lots of sprouts, and my smoothies are getting greener and greener!! Now, my daughter in Seattle is following, too!

Warmest regards,

Ricki

[Ricki is referring to the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Program from chiDiet.com.]

Assorted articles on the raw living foods lifestyle

A nice collection of articles from Creative Health Institute on the whys, hows and wherefores of the raw living food lifestyle: http://chidiet.com/articles/.

The economics of real food

Real Food is whole, organically grown, locally grown (preferably by yourself), and harvested when ripe. If planted, it would sprout and grow. That's a Real, Living Food.

Eating real, living, whole foods is not expensive. Being sick all the time is expensive!

If you think the price of avocados or mangos is high, walk over to the meat aisle and look at the price of steak. How much money did you formerly spend on Starbucks? Or Crispy Creme? Or McDonald's?

Juicing vs. Blending

Hi again Jim,

Thank you for the wonderful newsletter.
I was wondering if you could answer this question for me:  why is it more desirable to eat a greens juice than eating it in salad form?  Is it because we eat more if it is juiced?

Also, is a juicer much better than "doing" those greens in a food processor? Why?

Funnily enough, I cannot find the answer to those questions on the Internet or in the literature I have so I was wondering if you would be kind enough to tell me about it.

Thank you so very much and please keep up that good work!
Pat (in Quebec City)
----------------------------------

Partially because we eat more, but mostly we blend because nobody chews adequately anymore. 100 years ago we taught kids to chew every bite 35-50 times, until it was liquid in your mouth. Look at the jaw size of the Presidents on old portraits! Nowadays dentists are not only removing wisdom teeth, but on teens today they’re also removing the next 4, also. We’ve become a continent of people that gulp soft food.

The body can’t pull the nutrients out of greens if they’re not fully chewed. So we blend as a form of “pre-digestion.” Victoria Boutenko covers this in depth in her video “Greens can Save Your Life.” (www.chidiet.com/tapes.htm#v64).

She also discusses juicing vs. blending. Basically, why throw all that good food and fiber in the compost pile when your body can assimilate nutrients out of it?

I hope this helps.
Jim Carey

The B-12 issue for raw vegans

The B-12 Issue for Raw Vegans
from Steven Gibb, former Program Director, Creative Health Institute

The reason that we don't assimilate B-12 in the gut is because, when we're inoculated, our intrinsic factor in our gut breaks down. Those are the cells in the stomach that absorb nutrients from the food.

The way to correct that is to eat lightly fermented foods for one year. So... it's either Rejuvelac and/or lightly fermented cabbage.

The second thing that we've discovered is that the dark leafy greens we thought had B-Complexes in them, especially the B-12s, we've now found that they're B-12 Analogs, and B-12 Analogs interfere with the B-12 in our body, which is stored in the liver and other organs. B-12 Analogs attach to the receptor sites, not allowing the B-12 to get into our system. Again, fermented foods (a spoonful or so with every meal) fix this and get the gut going again.

So anyone who's been inoculated doesn't assimilate B-12, and this isn't just vegetarians.

Read more about this at http://chidiet.com/news/B12.htm.

Climbing the transitional ladder to ideal health

- excerpt from Lesson 2 of http://www.chidiet.com/lessons.htm

IT IS WELL TO RECOGNIZE that changing dietary habits requires a growth process, and that this growth process may be facilitated by an understanding of different foods and their effect upon the body. The following list of food groups is designed to give you a perspective into food, their relationship to one another and to different stages of growth toward a simple health program.

Be patient with yourself, and as you desire better health habits, learn to substitute natural foods for those old addictions. Begin at the bottom of the page and find the group containing most of the foods you consume. Visualize the growth pattern you would like to follow, choosing foods in other groups, progressing toward the top of the page and IDEAL HEALTH.

The top two categories being ideal, the third may also be included for a high-quality maintenance diet. Remember: LOVE yourself!

IDEAL HEALTH PRODUCED BY SIMPLE LIVING FOODS: Sprouts, indoor greens, fresh organic fruits and vegetables, cleansing with wheatgrass, Rejuvelac and fasting - tuning into your own body! This is a high-consciousness diet, promoting non-violence in thought and action.

CONCENTRATED QUALITY NUTRITION (used along with the cleansing foods above for desired effects): Dried fruits, nuts, Essene breads, sprouted legumes and sprouted grains, fermented foods, seed and nut milks, concentrated fruits and vegetables, virgin olive oil, sesame oil, and seaweeds.

"VEGAN" VEGETARIAN: Includes cooked foods, is nutritionally sound, and contains no animal products. It includes steamed or baked vegetables and fruits with some raw vegetables and fruits (for enzymes), whole grain breads and other cooked grains, nut butters, honey, maple syrup, cold-pressed oils, and beans. Any cooking done over gentle heat, baked, stir-fried, steamed or crock pot. No microwaved foods.

VEGETARIAN TRANSITION FROM MEAT: This includes high-quality dairy products such as raw goat or cow's milk, soft unpasteurized cheeses, raw milk cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, soy dairy products, some meat substitutes made from nut, soy or grain products. Also, included are whole grains, beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. In this step, effort should be made to replace all refined and processed foods with whole, organic natural foods.

TRANSITION FROM RED MEAT AND CHEMICALIZED FOODS: No more refined foods! Fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans are a new world to explore. Educate yourself to understand the truth regarding your body and the way it works WITH your food to digest, assimilate, and eliminate waste material accumulated in the body. Study nutritional food values and their production methods. Choose foods for yourself and your family that are high in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes and low in added processing, chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides. Your first step is to eliminate red meat (pork and beef) from your diet and gradually drop another type of heavy food substance such as dairy, eggs, poultry, shellfish, etc., from your diet each month or so, working your way up the transitional ladder to the optimal way of eating.

Caution: These items, if maintained in the diet, will be hazardous to your health: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, junk food, fast food, processed food, cigarettes, additives, fried foods, carbonated beverages, and OVEREATING.

Keeping a food diary

By Ella Kennen

Studies have found that people who keep food journals lose more weight than those who don't. Why? Because a food diary makes you focus on what you eat (and sometimes also on when, where, and why). This knowledge leads to healthier eating choices, less caloric excess, and in the end, better weight management.

What exactly is a food diary? It's a record of everything you eat and drink -- including sauces, snacks, candy, and water. Besides this basic requirement, food journals can take many shapes:

- Some focus on your caloric intake and nutritional breakdown, from fats to fiber.
- Others help you determine your physiological (how do you physically feel before and after you eat) and psychological (what mood are you in? do you eat with people or alone?) eating patterns.
- Many include spaces where you can jot down your physical activity for the day.

Keeping a food diary can be an eye-opening experience. Chances are, for instance, that you are consuming a lot less fiber, water, fruits and vegetables than you should. Or that while your meals are reasonable, all that "grazing" that you do in between is sabotaging your weight. Perhaps you'll discover you're ruining those healthy salads with fatty dressing. Or that your light morning and lunch meals make you overeat at night.

Maybe you'll find out that the fabulous diet you're on is so restrictive that it causes you to binge every couple of days. Or that you eat way too much when you park yourself in front of the TV.

There are many poor eating habits that you can work on changing -- once you are aware of them.

For the complete article, please visit http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art26861.asp/zzz.

The transition diet

The Transition Diet - Transitioning to Living Foods
- excerpt from Lesson 2 of http://www.chidiet.com/

The purpose of the transition diet - moving away from eating meat, processed foods, sugar, white flour products, etc. -- to a total living foods diet of vegetables, fruit, sprouts, fermented nuts and seeds -- is to allow the body to gradually cleanse away accumulated waste materials until the whole diet is one of living foods. While on the transition diet you should attempt to incorporate as many green/sprout salads and fruit meals as you comfortably can. This will speed up detoxification, plus allow the body and mind to adjust to this new diet.

THE FIRST PHASE in the transition diet is to eliminate drugs and other chemicals, meat, tobacco, alcohol, white sugar, white flour, salt, coffee and all processed "foods." This may be a radical change for some people, as these "foods" have become deeply ingrained habits and dependencies.

One way to approach this change is to "decrease and substitute." For example, if you eat meat every day, decrease it to two or three times a week and substitute fish and fowl in its place. If you drink or smoke each day, cut it to every other day, then every third or fourth day. Substitute deep breathing exercises. You aren't giving anything up - you are really choosing something better.

In the meantime, use as many live foods as possible to substitute for the refined and processed foods. Use raw honey, raisins and dates instead of sugar; whole grains instead of white flour; fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned, frozen or packaged food. You'll notice a taste change, and in a short time your taste buds and mind will automatically choose nutritious foods.

THE SECOND PHASE in transition is the elimination of mucus-forming foods such as dairy products - milk, butter, cheese, eggs, yogurt, etc. Begin to substitute seed milk cheese and seed yogurt. While in this phase, try partial fasting on juices or energy soup one day a week, or more, to expedite toxin elimination.

THE THIRD PHASE in transition is the elimination of all cooked foods from the diet. The ultimate diet is that of fresh raw fruits and vegetables, sprouts and fermented nuts and seeds. This transition may take months for some, perhaps only weeks or days for you. It's your decision.

Some additional transitional diet data:

1) Have three juice meals a day to nourish the body. Include a salad with each drink.
2) Clean out the colon with enemas and wheatgrass implants once or twice a day.
3) If you cook or steam vegetables, cook as little as possible, on the lowest heat possible, to retain the maximum amount of nutrients.
4) Eat the living foods before the cooked foods.
5) Try not to drink liquids for an hour after mealtimes.
6) Chew your food very, very well.
7) Record your results with the date and time of day, how you feel (body, mind, emotions), what you ate, activity taking place, environment, stress factors, etc.

It's all right to work slowly with changes in your diet. As you remove various foods from your diet, substitute a living food such as nut and seed milks, seed cheeses, plenty of green leafy vegetables and dehydrated goodies. Practice each change for a month, and then try another.

- Stick to basic living foods until you feel free of what ails you.
- Record and observe how you are feeling.
- It could take 2 to 6 months, perhaps even longer.

Seven common mistakes that occur on raw foods

Seven Common Mistakes that Occur on Raw Foods
- by Victoria Boutenko of www.RawFamily.com
- We're getting lots of email about the subject this article addresses. Originally published May 28th, 2005 in chiDiet.com/news/.

1. Many raw fooders do not eat enough greens. Solution: Regularly consume energy soup or green smoothies to guarantee the proper amount of greens.

2. Many raw fooders do not consume enough fiber, soluble and insoluble. Solution: Drink more smoothies or energy soups instead of juices.

3. People on a raw food diet often consume too many fats. When they try to imitate cooked dishes they substitute starches with nuts. Solution: Use nut pulp left over from making nut mylks, use more seeds and less nuts, and use more fruit and vegetable pulp from juices in your mixtures, to minimize the consumption of nuts.

4. Raw fooders commonly try to become too perfect too fast. They don't give their bodies a chance to adjust to such a radical dietary change. Solution: Gradually adjust and purify your own individual diet to help you ease into the healthiest diet for you.

5. When people change their diets they usually decide the other components that make up health are no longer important, such as sunbathing, exercising, proper rest, fresh air, etc. Solution: Practice a well-rounded, healthy lifestyle.

6. People on the raw living foods diet often over-indulge in some particular foods and neglect the variety of other fruits and vegetables. Solution: Eat foods in reasonable quantities.

7. The biggest mistake raw fooders make is that they listen to the raw food authorities and don't trust the invaluable messages their own bodies communicate. Solution: Keep a diary of your daily food consumption and how it affects your well-being. (See "Keeping a Food Diary" at chiDiet.com/news/01102005.htm.)

These notes are from Victoria's lecture at Creative Health Institute last spring. For videotape of the event visit chidiet.com/tapes.htm#v47.

[Editor's note: Item #6 is the most common problem I hear about. Most raw fooders, especially newbies, don't eat enough variety, and either get bored with the diet, or physically out of balance. Variety, variety, variety. There's not a leafy green in the produce department that I don't eat at least a bit of during the week. - Jim Carey.]

Why humans were meant to be raw living food eaters

The Human Body Compared With Carnivores

Human - All teeth are flattened, especially the back molars. Dullest canine teeth of all primates.
Carnivore - Teeth are long, sharp and pointed. No flat molar teeth. Very sharp canine teeth.

Human - Intestines are at least 12 times as long as the trunk of the body and an integral part of the most sophisticated juice extractor in the world: the human digestive system.
Carnivore - Intestines are 3 times as long as the trunk of the body. Their design facilitates rapid expulsion of fleshy matter.

Human - Bowel walls are puckered, convoluted and full of deep pouches for the reconstitution of waste matter.
Carnivore - Bowels are smooth and short for quick expulsion of waste matter.

Human - Saliva is alkaline. It contains ptyalin, an enzyme specifically designed to break down starchy carbohydrates.
Carnivore - Saliva is acidic. Carnivores have industrial strength digestive juices in comparison to human digestive juices.

What every raw fooder should know about nuts

“What every Raw Fooder Should Know about Nuts,” by Thomas E. Billing: http://rawfoods.com/articles/nuts.html

Where do raw vegans get their protein?

I’m sure all vegetarians, vegans and raw vegans hear the question, "but where do you get your protein?" more than any other. Victoria Boutenko describes it very well in her award winning book Green For Life.

1. Professor T. Colin Campbell shows in his book, The China Study , that the U.S. RDA for protein is greatly overestimated.

2. If we maintain a variety of greens in our diet, we will cover all essential aminos in abundance.

3. One pound of kale has even more protein than is recommended by the USDA per day.

4. The lack of research on the nutritional content of greens has led to a great confusion among the majority of people, including many professionals.

5. Dr. Joel Fuhrman wrote in his book Eat to Live, "Even physicians and dietitians... are surprised to learn that... when you eat large quantities of green vegetables, you receive a considerable amount of protein."

6. When we eat animal protein we have to break down these complex protein chains that have been built to the specification of a cow or a pig and rebuild them in the chains that we require for our own body. This is like getting a second hand dress and trying to tear it apart and remake it the way we want it. Or like using someone else’s protein molecules, literally. Plant proteins found in fruits, vegetables, and especially in greens, on the other hand, are in the form of individual amino acids which our body can use to build the perfect protein chains for our unique DNA. It is like using brand new materials to make our dress. Doesn’t that just make perfect sense!

Lit up by Green,
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Raw food movement sprouting nationwide

Lunch crush is coming and the deli crew is busy making burgers, lime tarts and pizza dough. Things are really cooking — at least figuratively.

In fact, none of the food being prepared at In The Raw will touch a flame or a griddle. None of it will encounter a temperature higher than a sweltering summer day. All of it, from the vegan cakes to vegan burgers, is served raw: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5868567.

[While this article calls Raw Living Foods a "fad," it's not. It's a lifestyle choice that's been around for at least 300 years. - Jim]

What are the benefits of eating raw?

What are the Benefits of Eating Raw?

Do you want to achieve optimal health? The best way to do that  is to eat a high enzyme diet consisting of raw fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, nuts, grains and some seaweed.

Eating predominantly cooked food puts a tremendous strain on your body. To understand why this is true, you need to  understand the role enzymes play. Enzymes are in the cells of  every living plant and animal. It is enzyme activity that  accomplishes all biological work from blinking an eye, to  lifting a finger, to having a thought.

When you eat, you need enzymes to help digest the food. If the food you eat is raw-whether it is a rutabaga, a carrot, a lettuce leaf or a banana-all the enzymes you need are right there in the food itself, ready to go to work for you.

If the food is cooked beyond 104 F, however, these naturally occurring enzymes are killed by heat, and your body must manufacture its own digestive enzymes to do the job.

Is this a problem? Raw fooders believe it is. The father of the food enzyme concept, Dr. Edward Howell, explained that when your body is busy digesting food, it is unable to divert the necessary energy to make the type of enzymes needed to do other tasks. There is a tug-of-war between the demands of your digestive system for a constant supply of digestive enzymes and the needs of your body for the metabolic enzymes vital for cleansing, healing, and building. Without an adequate supply
of metabolic enzymes, over time, you suffer.

What does this suffering look like?:

· Disease
· Indigestion
· Constipation
· Age spots
· Fatigue
· Lethargy
· Wrinkles
· Bad skin
· Declining eyesight
· Poor memory
· Mood swings
· Irritability
· Allergies
· Brain fog
· Candida
· Hypoglycemia
· Tumors and Cysts
· Irritable Bowel Syndrome
· Sinusitis
· Fibromyalgia
· Depression

This decline in health is usually attributed solely to 'aging'. But it is really the result of two facts: Over time, your body loses its ability to manufacture enzymes (young adults have thirty times the enzymes of the elderly); and, when you eat food that is cooked, it forces your body to manufacture enzymes for digestion, instead of enzymes that could be used for healing. Ultimately, when you don't have enough enzymes to carry the basic needs of life, you die.

Anne Kaspar
Health and Wellness Consultant

BodyByBliss

505.690.0169 C
505.474.9699 O & F
bodybybliss@aol.com
www.bodybybliss.com

Demonstrating that the human body is designed to eat veggies

Human Constitution Compared With Carnivores'
from www.chiDiet.com, Lesson 10: http://www.chidiet.com/

All teeth are flattened, especially the back molars. Dullest canine teeth of all primates.	Teeth are long, sharp and pointed. No flat molar teeth. Sharp canine teeth.
Intestines are at least 12 times as long as the trunk of the body and an integral part of the most sophisticated juice extractor in the world: the human digestive system.	Intestines are 3 times as long as the trunk of the body. Their design facilitates rapid expulsion of fleshy matter.
Bowel walls are puckered, convoluted and full of deep pouches for the reconstitution of waste matter.	Bowels are smooth and short for quick expulsion of waste matter.
Saliva is alkaline. It contains ptyalin, an enzyme specifically designed to break down starchy carbohydrates.	Saliva is acidic.
	Carnivores have industrial strength digestive juices in comparison to human digestive juices.

You, too, can welcome 'living' foods to your table

What does it mean to eat raw? Nothing more than living like our foraging ancestors, Roxanne Klein says.

Before the days of fire, which kills proteins and vitamins, Homo sapiens grazed on an endless variety of raw, or "living," foods. This vegetable-heavy diet is still common to most animals, which incidentally tend not to develop diseases such as cancer and diabetes: http://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-10-23-roxanne-sidebar_x.htm.

Supersize Me!

Here's what living on McDonald's food for 30 days did to one man: http://www.supersizeme.com/.

This is the video that started the world-wide fast-food revolt.

Raw Recipe Resources

Raw Recipe Resources....

Free Raw Recipes Online - http://rawfoods.com/recipes/
Free Raw Recipe Videos Online - http://gliving.tv/shows/category/greenchefs/
Raw Recipe Books - http://www.rawveganbooks.com
The Raw Gourmet DVDs - http://www.rawgourmet.com/
The Garden Diet recipes - http://www.TheGardenDiet.com/abouttgd.html
The Raw Vegan Kitchen videos - http://www.rawveganchannel.com/kitchen.html

In Joy!
Jinjee http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

"Chew on This" - Video

30 reasons to go vegetarian, with a video: http://www.goveg.com/feat/chewonthis/.

Things to be aware of in the raw food arena - part B

By Nomi Shannon, author of The Raw Gourmet
Reprinted with permission of the author.
www.rawgourmet.com

2. Be Aware of useless "certification". On a related theme, I am noticing every Tom Dick and Harry of raw food information (and misinformation) is now getting into the concept of offering "certification". Well, who is certifying you? What are their credentials? One such "certification" is adding up to close to $6,000.00 (for about three weeks). For that kind of money you can take the 9-week program at Hippocrates Health Institute which has been around for a long time and has a good history and track record.

Certification from someone who has a recognizable name and has been around for some time; with something that says something about their area of expertise such as a book, or someone who has been teaching for a long time might be worth your while, but don't waste your time and money on a "three week wonder".

3. Be Aware of people who tell you what to do.

There is no one pill, no one herb, or collections of pills, supplements, herbs, foods that are right for all people. When you are being told take this for that problem, eat this, drink that then suspect the person is either on an ego trip or looking to make money for themselves, or both. If there were one right way for us all life would be so simple, wouldn't it?

If there were one right way to eat then I would be a very rich lady indeed. Do not ask your neighbor or me what they eat hoping to emulate and be just like them. What works for your neighbor or me may not work for you.

4. Be Aware, you need to do your own research.

Sorry. You are a unique person. You have strengths and weaknesses, and they are different than your neighbor, your sister, your cousin or your raw food guru. I am talking about physically here, but it is true about all aspects of YOU. There is really no expert that can tell you about you. Wouldn't it be so easy to just follow one way that you hear about from one person? If that worked, there would be far fewer "gurus" out there.

You need to understand what it takes to keep you the healthy vibrant person you want to be. Of course generalities like exercise, clean air, clean food, right livelihood, relationship all factor into what makes you you. But the fact is, you need to experiment, research, read, learn, try until you find the right specific combination that works for you. For example, this week a friend made a smoothie out of nut milk, nuts, bananas, plus three other kinds of fruit. That would be digestive and caloric disaster for me. My smoothies are made out of fruit juice diluted with water, and 2-3 fruits. We are very different from one another and what works for one does not work for the next person.

Stop looking for "the answer" from outside of yourself, it is a futile quest. Stop thinking that this one person, or book (or pill) is the one right answer for you. Do not be lazy about looking after your own health. No one can care as much about you, or know as much about you as you do!!

5. Be Aware that some people treat Raw Foodism as a religion. Avoid them.

I hope that you understand this without a big long explanation.

6. Be Aware that there is more to life than the food you eat.

I hope you understand this without another big long explanation.

NEXT WEEK: "Choosing Happiness"
By Nomi Shannon, author of The Raw Gourmet

With permission of the author, excerpted from an article in  the April 15, 2003 issue of The Raw Gourmet newsletter, by Nomi Shannon. Check out the FREE 7 part email course that Nomi offers at her site,  called The Raw Truth, each of the 7 brief "classes" includes a free recipe.
www.rawgourmet.com
rawgourmet@aol.com

Creative Health Institute wishes to express their sincere thanks to Ms. Shannon for allowing us to reprint this article.

Things to be aware of in the raw food arena - part A

Things to Be Aware of in the Raw Food Arena - Part "A"

By Nomi Shannon, author of The Raw Gourmet
Reprinted with permission of the author.
www.rawgourmet.com

1. Be Aware of "Three Week Wonders"

Definition of a three week wonder: someone who has taken a three week class in raw food (or anything) and is now dispensing information, classes, written a book etc based on those three weeks.  So much misinformation is being passed around by these well meaning but inexperienced people who pass themselves off as experts with limited knowledge and little if any real life
experience.

For example, a few weeks ago I heard  an explanation of why we soak nuts and seeds. It seems according to this "teacher" that the part you soak off is what keeps animals from eating them. (Real reason: with soaking you are washing off the growth inhibitors - which in quantity are toxic to us - that keep the nut or seed from sprouting out of season if a few drops of rain fall on it-soaking and sprouting also change the nut or seed to a more digestible food as the fats are being broken down into fatty acids, the proteins into amino acids.)

Another less amusing example is a three week wonder becoming so enthusiastic about the wonderful results achieved from going raw (this may have been a bit more than three weeks, but not much experience, just a lot of enthusiasm); that they created educational materials and programs that many people purchased only to - after a few years - totally reverse their stand on raw food, now claiming that raw food is harmful. What is wrong with this picture? First of all, they went into "business" with just a tiny amount of experience. They did not expand the variety of foods they ate, but ate the same things day after day, and when they began to feel ill from lack of variety, perhaps developing deficiencies, rather than take a good look at
what they were eating, they blamed "raw food".

No food can make you healthy. Not carrot juice. Not green juice. Not wheat grass. Not algae. What contributes to your good health is giving your body the chance to cleanse and heal itself. Raw Food can no sooner "make you sick" than fresh air can. One needs to exercise some common sense. You always need a large variety of foods to be healthy. Think of the rainbow and eat foods of each color. Don't forget protein, don't forget fat. Don't forget carbohydrates. Don't listen to any one person about anything, including me.

Whenever you hear a story (being widely passed around on the internet) about sick vegan babies, sick infants of vegan moms, deficiencies on a raw diet, etc. Ask yourself: What exactly were they eating? That part of the story never gets told.

There are many people who have been all raw or high raw for well over ten years, including myself, Brian Clement, Anna Maria Gahns Clement, Doug Graham, Viktoras Kulvinskas, Reverend George Malkmus and Cherie Soria.

There are other "three week wonders" who have propelled themselves into thriving raw food related businesses and, while they do a lot of good, in their limited knowledge and experience also perpetuate misinformation that could turn out to be harmful. For example one raw food proponent indicates that daily enemas are part of their ongoing daily routine. Enemas are useful, perhaps even lifesaving, while on the cleanse phase of a raw food program and for serious long-term programs such as the Gerson Therapy, which is closely monitored. But it is never a good idea to use enemas as part of a daily routine once the cleanse phase is over. Lack of education and experience is starting to manifest itself all over the raw food movement. The very leaders you may be looking up to perhaps belong in this category. Know where you information is coming from and don't put all your faith in just one source.

My last example today of a "three week wonder" (I am being selective, there are many more examples of misinformation coming from supposed 'experts' in the field.) is a recent self-published food preparation book that tells the reader to dehydrate at 98 degrees. This is erroneous and potentially harmful advice. Dehydrating at too low a temperature leaves the food open to developing mold. If you use common sense, you will realize that food does not become the temperature an oven is set at. Roasting a turkey (this is an example to illustrate my meaning only, hold off on the critical emails to me please) at 350 degrees never results in the turkey being 350 degrees.

Likewise the dehydrator. You want to dehydrate at the highest temperature possible while keeping the food itself below 115 or 110 degrees. When I dehydrate flax seed crackers, which are cold and very wet at first, I start the machine at 120 or 125, and as the crackers become dryer and I can feel that they are getting warm to the touch (don't forget how hot a 103 degree jacuzzi feels), then I turn it down.

Dehydrators work differently in different climates. You can expect your food to be done sooner in dry hot Arizona than you can in cool damp England.  Please do not make the mistake of creating moldy food just because some "expert" who wrote a book tells you to set your dehydrator at 98.

NEXT WEEK: Examining "Certifications"

By Nomi Shannon, author of The Raw Gourmet
With permission of the author, excerpted from an article in  the April 15, 2003 issue of The Raw Gourmet newsletter, by Nomi Shannon. Check out the FREE 7 part email course that Nomi offers at her site,  called The Raw Truth, each of the 7 brief "classes" includes a free recipe.
www.rawgourmet.com
rawgourmet@aol.com

Creative Health Institute wishes to express their sincere thanks to Ms. Shannon for allowing us to reprint this article.

Our bodies have problems with processing animal protein

For an excellent overview on the problems our bodies have with processing animal protein, and some transitional ideas on how to move from the standard American diet to a Vegan one, I highly recommend the video, “A Diet for All Reasons,” by Dr. Michael Klaper, MD. Of course, Dr. Lorraine Day is still our favorite. <g>

What I appreciated about Dr. Klaper’s video is that he sums up the reasons for the entire veg*n movement in 50 minutes. For me, it’s been a good reminder of why I’m striving to be 100% raw Vegan.   

10 advantages of eating raw

A good article by Susan Jorg; http://rawfoods.com/articles/tenadvantages.html.

Raw food nutrition Q&A

Q & A
By Nomi Shannon, author of The Raw Gourmet
Reprinted with permission of the author.
http://www.rawgourmet.com/

Question: How will I get enough protein on a raw food diet?
A: This is usually the first question that people ask. Most of us have been raised with the notion that a lot of protein is good for us. The meat and dairy industries depend on that attitude. But, ponder this for a moment: What is the most perfect food for a human being when it needs it most, as a newborn infant? You guessed it- it is mother’s milk. There is no other time in the life of a person when growth will be so dramatic. The infant will triple or quadruple in size in its first year and needs more protein to grow on than at any other time in its entire life span. And just how much protein is in mothers milk? The answer may surprise you. The amount of protein in mothers milk is 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.* Compare that to the amount of protein in cow milk at  30 per cent*. A baby cow needs to gain hundreds of pounds of mass in its first year, while its relatively small brain does not need to grow very much, quite obviously different than the needs of a human baby.

If the amazing growth in the first year of life is beautifully served by the amount of protein in mothers milk, why would any human being ever need more? The answer is, he/she does not need more protein than that. One of the biggest mistakes in a SAD (Standard American Diet) is the consumption of too much protein. One of the saddest and most dramatic effects of a high protein diet is a negative calcium balance leading to osteoporosis. Habitual consumption of high protein forces the calcium in the body to act as a buffer to the high acid state created in the digestion of protein. The current medical advice to consume more and more calcium in the form of milk products, oyster shell calcium and over the counter digestive aids such as Tums can not reverse the calcium loss in the bones due to excess protein consumption. Excess protein robs our bones of the very substance they need to maintain their strength. Osteoporosis is not a disease due to calcium deficiency; it is due to a lifelong consumption of too much protein.

As for a raw food diet, all the leafy greens and sprouts contain protein. If you are eating lots of fresh raw leafy greens and sprouts, along with a moderate amount of nuts and seeds, there is no reason to be concerned about your protein intake.

For those who continue to be concerned or who have higher protein needs, such as athletes, raw sunflower seeds and raw tahini (sesame seed butter) in particular, are very digestible sources of protein and they are very economical compared to other nuts and seeds. Shakes and dressings made with a tahini base are excellent for people with weak digestion, the ill, the elderly and children. Tahini is not only a good protein source, but it is also high in calcium, contains good fat and it is alkalizing.

* Note: different texts offer different percentage numbers, these numbers are derived from lectures at Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida.

Q. I am bothered by constant food cravings, and experience a lot of setbacks - will I ever get over this?
A. The first day you notice that you are craving a large green salad or a great juicy apple or a bowl of sprouted pate with sprouts on top will be a great day indeed. Then you will know that you have rounded a corner in your health regime, and that you now have a body that you can begin to listen to.

Being able to “listen to your body” is often preceded by a period of cleansing. If you have been subsisting on a diet of McDonalds, pizza, soda and sweets, The Quick Fix is what your body will crave. If you are addicted to sugar, it is not just a mental addiction. Your pancreas is screaming for you to feed it the sugar that it has become used to having. What should you do? The best thing may be to eat the highest and best food that will respond to that craving. Far better than a candy bar or an ice cream would be a piece of fruit or two. If you do the best that you can in each instance, including forgiving yourself if you step back to your old ways for a moment, then move on again in the right direction, you will gradually reduce or eliminate unwanted cravings. The amount of time this takes depends on many things such as: how long you had been eating a poor diet, did you transition to raw slowly or quickly, did you begin with a water or juice fast to get a head start, etc.

Another way to quell cravings is to eat a good healthy meal as soon as you begin to lust for pizza or fries. In the early stages of being a raw foodist, hunger often brings on cravings. Often, once you have eaten and are satisfied, the craving itself will just go away, or at least you will find it easier to resist. This means that it is important to always have some good healthy food on hand. It is guaranteed that you will get into trouble if there are no fresh fruits and veggies in the house or office and you are hearing a litany of cheesecake, cheesecake in your head. It is too easy to give in to cravings when you have no way to fill up with healthy food. Plan ahead - bring a bag to work with you each day with a variety of fruits and veggies - try red peppers, apples, baby carrots, celery, fennel, zucchini, orange, pear. Be imaginative. Try new things.

Other ways to help you stay centered in your food choices are to meet regularly with other raw fooders and to encourage restaurants you frequent in your area to provide wonderful salads and other raw foods. When a person has feelings of alienation or loneliness it is difficult to combat unhealthy cravings. Remind yourself that the value of life and socialization is not just about food. Creating an environment for yourself that includes other raw fooders without excluding the other people in your life, often the ones that you love the most, is a delicate balance of strength and tolerance.

Cleansing, whether with a water or juice fast or more gradually through eating more and more raw food, is what will change the very tissues and cells of your body to be tuned into seeking the foods that are good for you. Ancient toxins that have been stored in your body are brought to the surface during a fast and as they exit the body via the blood stream can trigger old cravings.

Each cleanse experience is different. Perhaps in your case you may get a headache that you would have eaten sugar to avoid in the past. Now you know that a healing is taking place and you need only to wait it out and it will go away. Actually giving in and eating sugar will set you back in your process.

The day will come that you will far more often crave for the healthy foods than for the foods you wish to avoid. And as time goes on you will learn to trust your body more and more. You are on a journey and are working towards the freedom of wonderful health: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual; we all are.

Reprinted with permission of the author, Nomi Shannon. Check out the FREE 7 part email course that Nomi offers at her site, called The Raw Truth, each of the 7 brief "classes" includes a free recipe.

http://www.rawgourmet.com/
rawgourmet@aol.com

Creative Health Institute  wishes to express their sincere thanks to Ms. Shannon for allowing us to reprint this article.

Raw living foods primer

Why raw foods? What is Raw Vegan all about? This primer should answer all of the basic questions: http://rawfoods.com/faq.html.

Dr. Ann Wigmore – Degrees and Awards

Dr. Ann Wigmore – Degrees and Awards

Certificate of Appreciation, presented by the Atlantic Nutritional Association for “Distinguished Service to Mankind Through Nutrition Education, 1981

Woman of the Decade Award (1970-1980) for “Service to the World in the Field of Cancer and Other Degenerative Diseases,” presented by the Humanitarian International Association, 1980

Cancer Victory Award, presented by the Arlin J. Brown Information Center “in appreciation for saving lives…” 1979

Made Lady Ann Wigmore in the Order of Chivalry by the Kingdom of the Netherlands for “distinguished achievement and noble deeds” in recognition of her outstanding work in the field of health and human ecology, 1978

Citation Award from the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for “exemplary development of food self-sufficiency through the wise use of natural resources,” 1975

Legum Doctoris – Collegium et Seminarium Scanti David, Lampeter, Wales, 1972

Citation du Mérite - Auteur de livres sur la Santé et Docteur de Vie scientifique - Académie du Mérite scientifique, Paris, France, 1972

Diploma in Homeopathic Medicine – Anglo-American Institute of Drugless Therapy, London, England, 1964

Diploma of Naturopathy – Anglo-American Institute of Drugless Therapy, London, England, 1962

Permanent Member of British Guild of Drugless Practitioners, London, England, 1962

Doctor de Humanitas – Collegium et Seminarium Burton, Great Britain, 1962

Doctor of Naturopathic Philosophy – The Naturopathic Forest University, Diyatalawa, Ceylon, 1962

Fellow of Naturopathic Forest University - University of Diyatalawa, Ceylon, 1962

Doctor of Philosophy – Berlin Memorial University of Virginia, 1962

Médecin Naturopathe - Professeur d'Hygiène et de Médecine naturelles - Faculté Libre de France, Ecole des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris, France, 1960

Doctor of Metaphysics – The College of Divine Metaphysics, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1959

Doctor of Psychology – The College of Divine Metaphysics, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1959

Doctor of Divinity – The College of Divine Metaphysics, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1959
 

How to decode fruit and vegetable stickers

These stickers can tell you a lot about the food you are buying.

A label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food.
Labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified.
Labels with five digits starting with a  9 indicate that the food is organically grown.

Living foods defined, by Dr. Ann Wigmore

Living Foods Defined
by Ann Wigmore

The Living Foods Lifestyle is based on one essential principle - Life!  Life comes from life. The life of our body is the totality of the lives of our individual cells.  Lively cells make a lively body.  Healthy cells make a healthy body.

How do we cultivate healthy cells?  The principle can be summarized by the "Life and Death Equation", namely: Better Health" equals "Life In" plus "Death Out". In other words: Better Health is the result of putting more Life (Living Nourishment) Into the body and taking Death (Toxic Sludge) Out of the body.

What does it mean to put Life Into the body?  This means that we provide Living Nourishment to our cells.  What is Living Nourishment?   Simply speaking, it is readily digestible food that hasn't been killed (cooked).  Thus we advocate good food served and eaten raw - like crisp colorful salads and fresh ripe fruits and their juices.  Sound appetizing?  Yumm.
Then how about raw chickens and raw pigs - complete with feathers, hair, bones, and blood?  Probably not so appetizing.  (Unappetizing for us, perhaps, but not for true animals of prey - true carnivores - with fangs and claws and industrial-strength digestive juices.   For such predators these prey would constitute Live Nourishment!)

But what about dairy - milk: "nature's most perfect food"?  Well, if it's pasteurized (read: cooked, dead) even a calf can't survive on it.  But even in the live, uncooked state - cow's milk and mother's milk are quite different - in fact - they are about as different from each other as calves are from infants!  Obviously, one is ideal for baby cows and the other is ideal for baby humans.

"Yes", you might say, "but does every food I eat have to be ideal for me?"  Valid question... Straight answer:  "Well, no, not really."  But, then again, remember that every choice we make has its consequences.  Now, certainly it is true that most of us can eat almost anything that we like - and not experience any seriously harmful effects (at least up to age fifty or so).  But, on the other hand - if we knew that making certain diet modifications could enable us to live healthy and youthful lives - free from drugs and surgery - well into our eighties, nineties, and beyond - wouldn't it be worth considering such modifications?

The Living Foods program advocates a variety of fruits, vegetables, and sprouted seeds - processed in various specific ways - blended, fermented, dehydrated, or juiced - but not cooked.  Furthermore, we recommend the use of wheatgrass juice (the juice extracted from wheat in its grass form) as one of the most potent forms of cleansing nourishment on the planet.  All animals instinctively seek out the healing power of grasses - even domestic pets!

What does it mean to get Death Out of the body?  This means that we seek to make our bodies pollution-free. Any dead and/or toxic substances in the body should be detected, neutralized, and eliminated - pronto.  This requires that the body's organs of purification be operating at peak efficiency - in particular, the circulatory, lymphatic, and immune systems, the lungs, sweat glands, liver, kidneys, and... last but not least, the colon.

"Ugh, do we have to talk about the colon?"  Fairly common question. Unflinching answer:  "You betcha." In fact, of all the organs in the body, perhaps the most important is the colon.  Let's face it.  When the colon slows down, we get polluted and sick, and none of our other organs, especially the brain, can work very well.  If the colon stops working completely - or God forbid, ruptures - we get dead - very quickly.  Think of it as analogous to the sewer pipe from your house.  When that clogs up - even partially - you know that you have a serious problem.  Right?? Right.

So that's why we advocate colon cleansing - enemas - colonic irrigations.  Fun? No.  Effective in alleviating health problems? Definitely.  Now, granted, we never want to become dependent on enemas (there is no substitute for adequate dietary fiber) but when the job needs to be done, we say "Do it."

One more thing - almost nobody thinks that his or her colon is clogged.  Actually, there are various degrees of being clogged.  Consider this:  If my health is less than perfect, and/or I've been eating mostly cooked (read: clogging) food all my life, it's a pretty good bet that my colon has seen better days and my health and quality of life might really improve if I did some internal housecleaning.  Anyway, what have I got to lose?  (And wouldn't I be better off if I lost all of it?!)

-------------------------------------

The story of Dr. Ann Wigmore: www.annwigmore.com

Facts about fruit and vegetable eating

About Fruits and Vegetables

“Ask your doctor about Fruits and Vegetables. They might be right for you.”

Information about Fruits and Vegetables

HOW TO USE: Fruits and Vegetables are taken orally when hunger is present. Take Fruits and Vegetables only as directed, preferable in their raw, natural, uncooked state, three to six times daily as needed. Fruits and Vegetables work along with breathing, sunshine, exercise, rest, sleep, play, laughter and other factors to achieve vibrant health and a youthful sense of well-being.

SIDE EFFECTS: Regular defecation, expectoration of old wastes, faster healing, loss of excess body fat, increased energy, libido, muscle flexibility, sense of youthfulness and well-being, clearer eyes and eyesight, improved thinking ability and skin, more lustrous hair, joyful living and increased sex-appeal.

PRECAUTIONS: One should have a complete medical history and exam to determine if Fruits and Vegetables are right for you. Contraindications include: fruitophobia and vegephobia. There are many medications that are known to negate the efficacy of Fruits and Vegetables, so be sure to tell your doctor about all medications you are taking including those you can get without a prescription. Avoid alcohol intake, as it may aggravate side effects of Fruits and Vegetables. To avoid sprains and other injuries when rising to jump and dance around from a seated or lying position, get up slowly. The elderly may be more sensitive to the side effects of Fruits and Vegetables; therefore, caution is advised in this group.

DRUG INTERACTIONS: Before eating Fruits and Vegetables consult your doctor about all nonprescription and prescription medication you may use, especially any nitrate medications (e.g., nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate), nitroprusside (any "nitric oxide donor" medicines), cimetidine, erythromycin, azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole), mibefradil, rifamycins (e.g., rifampin) or steroids.

STORAGE: Store Fruits and Vegetables at room temperature between 59 and 86 degrees F or in paper bags in your refrigerator for longer keeping. Keep Fruits and Vegetables within the reach of children.

Facts About About Fruit and Vegetable Eating

Fruits and Vegetables have been eaten by most cultures before and since the dawn of history. If grown in fertile, re-mineralized soil, they amply furnish every nutrient required by man for optimum health. Worldwide, the increased consumption of Fruits for breakfast and lunch, followed by Vegetable salads with a portion of avocado, seeds or nuts for dinner, has instigated outbreaks of a new condition known to medical science as “health.”

Ask your doctor today about Fruits and Vegetables. They might be right for you.

-- Special thanks to Steven Gibb for sharing this valuable and colorful information with us. <g>

Raw Living Foods information and resources

We should regularly remind ourselves of why we're aspiring to a plant-based diet. Here's a list of articles that you can use to reinforce your own aspirations, as well as share with others.

Trendy "raw food" diets, recently made popular by celebrities who seemingly eat nothing but celery and sprouts, stemmed from places like Creative Health Institute: www.battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060227/NEWS01/602270313/1002.

Living Foods Defined, by Dr. Ann Wigmore: chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter07292003.htm.

Google has a number of free inspiring videos about being Vegan: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=vegan&page=1&lv=0&so=0.

Unexpected Benefits of Being Raw, by Jim Carey:
http://chidiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20060429.htm#whatraw
chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter07152003.htm

Ten Advantages of Eating Raw, by Susan Jorg: rawfoods.com/articles/tenadvantages.html.

Raw Vegan vs. Raw Living Foods vs. the Dr. Ann Wigmore Diet - The Differences: chiDiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20060225.htm

Raw and Living Foods - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): rawfoods.com/faq.html.

The Benefits of Raw Foods, by Paul Nison: chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter04292003.txt.
Other articles: chiDiet.com/benefits-of-living-foods-links.html.

(Scotland) The Value of Eating Fresh Sprouts: news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=655172005.

Scientific Studies of Diet and Nutrition, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, MD, PhD. Excerpts from The China Study:
chidiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20050730.htm
chidiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20050806.htm
chidiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20050813.htm
chidiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20050820.htm
On Google video, a lecture by Dr. Campbell about meat and dairy causing cancer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1308977765978236346&q=vegan&time=390000.

Things to be Aware of in the Raw Food Arena, by Nomi Shannon:
Part A: chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter05272003.txt
Part B: chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter06032003.txt
Part C: chiDiet.com/news/CHInewsletter06102003.txt

Vegetarian Resources: creativehealth.us/links/links27.htm.

Living Foods Resources: creativehealth.us/links/links4.htm and chiDiet.com/raw-living-foods-links.html.

Living Foods Recipes: creativehealth.us/links/links5.htm.

Meat in our Midst; Voices of Vegetarians, Messages from Meat-eaters: www.chronogram.com/issue/2005/06/wholeliving/.

Coping techniques to stay on living foods, by Victoria Boutenko: AnnWigmore.com/news/RawFamilyOctober2005.htm.

Why resolutions fail, and what to do about it: chiDiet.com/news/LivingFoodsNews20050618.htm.

86 things that help people stay Raw: curezone.com/blogs/m.asp?f=67&i=247.

Ten advantages of eating raw

by Susan Jorg, Estacada, OR

The human race learned long ago that cooking meat before eating it would protect them from certain diseases. Since then, this practice of cooking has grown to include all types of foods and is now considered an art. Very few meals are eaten which include raw elements, except for the leafy green salad.

One advantage of eating raw is that it brings Nature’s intentions into focus. When I speak of eating raw I am referring to fruit, nuts, and vegetables, which taste good to the majority of humankind in their basic simplicity - direct from tree, bush or vine.

I realize it isn’t easy to simply abandon thousands of years of tradition and revert back to 100% raw food. Margaret Mead once said, “It is easier to change a man’s religion than to change his diet.” So, to the point, there are 10 advantages to a diet of fresh, whole raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts, which may lead you to find a greater place for them in your diet.

1. Raw foods are better quality; therefore you eat less to satisfy your nutritional needs. The heat of cooking depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes which benefit digestion. As your percentage of raw foods increases you feel satisfied and have more energy on smaller meals because raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fiber to meet your body’s needs.

2. Raw foods have more flavor than cooked foods so there is no need to add salt, sugar, spices, or other condiments that can irritate your digestion system or over-stimulate other organs.

3. Raw foods take very little preparation, so you spend less time in the kitchen. Even a child of 5 or 6 can prepare most of the items for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This gives children a sense of self-esteem and independence, not to mention the break it gives Mom and Dad.

4. When you are eating raw there’s little chance of burns, unless you’re in the middle of a forest fire or out in the sun too long. Just think - No burns to tongues, the roof of your mouth, or fingers, and many fewer house fires!

5. Cleaning up after a raw meal is a snap. No baked-on oils or crusty messes. And any inedible parts go directly to the compost pile.

6. Eating a diet of raw foods can reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Remember, cooking creates free radicals, which are the major cause of cancer. When you lower the number of free radicals your cells are bombarded with, you lower your risk of cancer.

7. A raw food diet can protect you from acute diseases such as colds, flu, measles, etc. Raw foods maintain a healthy body and a healthy body will not become diseased.

8. As long as you combine raw food properly, according to the rules of Natural Hygiene, you will soon reach a level where you no longer suffer from heartburn, gas, indigestion or constipation.

9. It is environmentally sound. With humanity on a diet of raw foods the food industry would close up shop and take up organic gardening. This would save us enormous amounts of natural resources used to produce power for these industries. Think of how many trees and oil reserves could be saved without the need for the paper and plastics used in packaging our processed foods. There would also be less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when all the cooking stopped, and more oxygen produced from all the new orchards and gardens, thus helping to reverse the Greenhouse Effect.

10. Eating raw saves you money on food, vitamins, pots and pans, appliances, doctor bills, drugs, and health insurance.

So don’t waste your food, yourself, and our planet by cooking what you eat. Fruits, nuts, and vegetables which are whole, fresh and raw are brimming with life and have the ability to transmit their life force directly to you.

See www.chiDiet.com for a full, step-by-step instructional program.

Learning to Live with a New Diet and Lifestyle

I get many, many emails from people who went raw for a while, and then got into other health challenges. One woman, for example, ended up as an insulin-dependent diabetic. Why? Upon questioning, I found that she was actually eating a fruitarian diet, and all of that excess sugar caused her new health challenges. That's why it's so important to educate yourself about what truly is a raw living foods lifestyle. The Ann Wigmore Institutes around the world do a good job of that, as does the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Home Study Program. The Home Study Program is available again, and it's got more material in it than ever before: chiDiet.com. Jim

Hunger vs. addiction cravings

This letter was in answer to a person who was feeling insatiably hungry shortly after going raw.

Yes, I went through times when I was insanely hungry and nothing raw seemed to be able to satisfy it no matter how much I ate. Looking back now I think that it probably wasn't actual hunger but an addiction withdrawal craving for the sensations that eating cooked food specifically brings. But it feels just like hunger, because that's what we've been used to identifying it as.

I also had times where I felt like I didn't need to eat at all and I never felt hungry. I think that is when my body finally was truly nourished.

Now I am very seldom hungry and when I am I get satisfied very quickly with raw foods.

In Health,
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Growing pains when going raw

Getting healthier can include growing pains. Detox, growth, healing, lifestyle adjustments, and any number of other changes can occur when you embark on a serious journey to become whole. Change can be difficult and growing pains can ensue.

Sometimes the changes may be painful physically or emotionally. Often it is a journey of wonder and joy, but this is still real life, there will still be ups and downs. I’m coming to accept the tough times in the cycle because they increase my appreciation of life when I get back to a positive flow!

I’ve just come out of a difficult phase of working too much and stressing. But after all the struggle to be in a better frame of mind I’ve emerged with a joy, a passion, a clarity, an energy, and a greater appreciation for life than ever!

In Joy,
Jinjee
http://www.TheGardenDiet.com

Food in its natural state has a crystalline structure

Food in its natural raw state has a crystalline structure which carries order and information into the body and brain. The nutrients are in a form that the body can fully recognize, understand and use.

- From Why Eat Raw by Holly and Rob in The Funky Raw Magazine, UK, http://www.funkyraw.com.

What is the basic cause of disease?

Dr. Ann Wigmore taught that toxemia and deficiency are the root causes of all disease.

Deficiency that means that our bodies are undernourished and are not receiving the proper types and amount of food the body needs. The digestive tract is being overloaded and allergies have developed. Dr. Ann Wigmore believed that about eighty per cent of the population has deficiency disorders because of the body’s inability to digest food. This is why she developed methods for blending, sprouting, and fermenting. Living Food is supremely efficient nourishment that returns the body to health and productive self-healing.

Toxemia is a term used to describe poisons that are stored in the body. Toxins are formed from eating impure or unnatural, processed and chemicalized foods. Dr. Ann taught that the body can release these stored poisons by feeding it with Living Food in easy-to-digest form. Once the body eliminates stored poisons that have accumulated in the bloodstream the cells are able to receive nourishment, thus enabling the immune system to strengthen and rebuild.

The Wigmore diet defined

The Wigmore Diet
as defined in the Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, by Patricia Skinner

Definition

The Wigmore diet is named for its creator, Ann Wigmore. She devised a nutritional system called the Living Foods Program, based on a combination of wheatgrass juice, live sprouts, and fresh raw foods. It is thought that this dietary regimen, which is sometimes called raw nutrition , detoxifies and rebuilds the body. Persons following the Wigmore diet also avoid using denatured processed commercial foods or anything containing chemicals, especially pesticides. Although the Wigmore diet is essentially a vegetarian diet, its distinctive feature is its emphasis on eating foods in their uncooked state.

Origins

The Wigmore diet was developed during the 1960s by Ann Wigmore, a woman who was born in Eastern Europe in 1909 and emigrated to the United States after World War I. She credited her grandmother with teaching her natural healing methods. She did not, however, use this folk wisdom immediately but returned to it after years of ill health that included colitis, headaches, and arthritis. When she finally learned that she had cancer , she returned to her grandmother's healing methods in order to regain her health.

After testing the results of a diet based on sprouts and wheatgrass juice in her own life, she wanted others to benefit from what she had learned. Ann Wigmore founded the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston in 1963, which still teaches her methods of self-healing through a live-foods diet. Although Ann Wigmore died in a fire in 1993, her diet still attracts new followers. In recent years the Hippocrates Institute has opened branches in southern California and Florida.
Benefits

The Wigmore diet is based on the assumption that the high levels of living enzymes in fresh raw foods, particularly wheatgrass juice and fresh sprouts, provide the body with substances needed to detoxify and regenerate it. In addition to increased vitality and a strengthened immune system, the Wigmore regimen is thought to help individuals overcome some serious diseases, including arthritis, digestive tract problems, allergies and even cancer.

Description

Perhaps the essence of what she taught could best be described by Ann Wigmore herself: "Live foods nutrition is super nutrition because it recognizes and appreciates the differences between raw and cooked foods and between natural and synthetic nutrients. In the conventional nutrition-school curriculum there is little room for a discussion of either the value of enzymes and life forces in foods, or the merits of live (raw) versus cooked foods. Yet the difference, when translated into health terms, is the difference between being vitally healthy and alive, and just breathing."

The Wigmore diet classifies foods into four major groups: living foods, which include sprout mixtures, sunflower and buckwheat baby greens, living sauerkraut, and the fresh juices of wheatgrass and barley; raw foods, which include fresh organic vegetables and ripe fruit, spices, herbs, and raw nuts; whole cooked foods, which include steamed or boiled vegetables, cooked whole grains, and baked root vegetables; and processed fast foods, which include all forms of "junk foods." People following the Wigmore diet believe that most human diseases are caused when a person's diet contains mostly foods in the last two groups.

- See chiDiet.com for more information.