Tag Archives: Anti-Aging She-roes

Raw Vegan Superhero Highlight: Bernando LaPallo, 111 Years Young

Raw Vegan Superhero Highlight: Bernando LaPalloWhen you are off the beaten path and living la vida raw, it is necessary to find motivation to help you go the distance. I personally have always felt reinvigorated and inspired to continue my journey when I hear the stories of living examples who are reaping the benefits of their lifestyle well into their golden years. If you followed the first season of my radio show Healthy Living in a Toxic World, you may remember my longevity series which focused on interviewing HEROES and SHE-ROES who are on the raw diet, and remaining youthful over seventy. I interviewed two of my anti-aging she-roes Mimi Kirk and Annette Larkins, as well as Bernando LaPallo who was 109 years old at the time of interview. This amazing man turned 111 years old last year. Check out the video below for a sneak peak of how a raw vegan lifestyle has worked for him and if you haven’t listened to my radio interview with him yet, which is full of many nuggets of wisdom, check it out now online: Longevity Series: Bernando LaPallo. -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://youtu.be/0Hi8Ue3tA-Q]

Anti-Aging SHE-ROE #11: Annette Larkins

 The picture to the left is what introduced me to Annette Larkins years ago. If you’ve read my past posts you know that I am a coconut fiend! I would have one a day if I could. So when I saw this photo of a FAB woman sipping on coconut water, I needed to know who she was immediately. I had been meaning to get around to writing a post on her, but it slipped my mind until recently a friend messaged me the video of her below, and a reader posted a comment on the blog about her.

Who would not want to be in their seventies and have youthfulness and vitality that surpasses that of some in their thirties? The woman has had NO PLASTIC SURGERY, and often times gets mistaken for the daughter of her husband who is around her age! When I imagine my ideal self at seventy I look at someone Annette Larkin for inspiration to fuel the dream. Yes, I plan to be that size four wearing, head turning grandmother who still gets cat called in the streets. Annette began her journey as a vegetarian, while her husband owned a meat shop! She then transitioned into raw and has been 100% for over 20 years. As you will see in the video she eats primarily from her own garden, and drinks rain water. That I thought was super cool and interesting. She has authored a two-part booklet series called Journey to Health that can be found on her website via the link below.

The power of the RAW vegan lifestyle is real, and stories like this continue to reinvigorate my inspiration for leading this lifestyle. It can be tough when people constantly question your choices or simply taunt  you for being a vegetable lover. Know that if you choose this path, just like Annette, you will have the last laugh, although by then it may not be too funny. Annette’s husband who now regrets not joining her on her health quest years ago now lives with the help of medication. There’s nothing funny about watching loved ones and friends suffer from diseases or lack of mobility as they get older, but we each have one life to live. What you do with yours, is your choice. EAT TO LIVE. -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6oJA_xhTa8]

To learn more about Annette, please visit her website: http://www.annettelarkins.com/

Anti-Aging SHE-RO #10: Mimi Kirk

How many  grandmothers do you know that can still turn heads in the streets? Yesterday, I came across a lovely article about 72-year-old  raw foodist, Mimi Kirk. She was named the Sexiest Vegetarian over 50 a couple of years ago. A grandmother of seven, she decided to become a vegetarian in her thirties and then in 2008 went raw and has stayed on the path. Mimi is the author of Live Raw, and remains incredibly vivacious through diet and positive energy. More power to Mimi, I’m coming for her title in a several decades!  Check out the videos and the article below. -XoXo Raw Girl

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VdeC3OJJIzA]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcvq63B2bOY&feature=youtu.be]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-kanner/meatless-monday-what-raw-_b_878055.html

Anti-Aging SHE-RO #8

My next Anti-Aging She-ro is supermodel Carol Alt. Despite being at the height of her career in her thirties, Carol found herself lethargic, depressed and looking for a road to optimal health. She found raw foods and never turned back. Having a modeling career that has spanned 27 years, and branching out to authoring books, acting and even directing, this raw renaissance woman has manage to retain her vitality and beauty at the age of 50.

Carol is not a vegan, as she does eat animal products, but her diet is raw. Most raw followers avoid meat and dairy, but  Carol apparently eats sashimi (raw seafood), carpaccio (thinly sliced raw beef, veal, or tuna), and raw milk cheeses. I think she’s a great example that different bodies require different diets. Incorporating raw foods does promise vitality, but how one goes about it is a unique journey. Carol said in an interview published online that she found out through a holistic doctor, what her “type” was and ate accordingly.


Carol’s venture into the raw lifestyle caused her to branch out with authoring several Raw Food books including: Eating in the Raw and The Raw 50, and most recently launching Raw Essentials, a line of raw skin care products made with absolutely no chemicals (I am definitely going to test out this product). At the age of 48, she posed nude in Playboy, which she called a platform to show how raw foods have kept her body young. In the article she was quoted:  “I believe God wants me to speak about this like I’m a born-again Christian…and I needed a platform, which is why I’m in Playboy. Nobody loves the female form like Playboy, and there’s no better way to show women you don’t have to live with getting old.”

In another interview she discussed that her doctor told her that her skin was too thin to ever get a face lift, and since then she’s been committed to keeping her skin youthful naturally. I’ll pass on a bare-it-all shoot in Playboy, but I am definitely down for NEVER going under a knife, so more power to her for being living proof in this age of Botox-fixes-it-all that youthfulness can be achieved at any age through the raw lifestyle. – XoXo Raw Girl

For more about Carol visit her site:

http://www.carolalt.com/

For more about her skin care line, Raw Essentials, visit:

http://www.rawessentials.com/

Anti-Aging SHE-RO # 7

Up until now, I have not had the pleasure of interviewing any of my Anti-Aging She-roes, simply because I don’t know them or have direct access to them. I am excited this week to highlight model Pat Evans, who’s fierce look caused quite a stir in the world of fashion, and who is still gorgeous, as she has aged gracefully.

During my time in undergraduate studies, I was a fashion design major, and made it my mission to also study the history of people of color in fashion. In fact, I wrote a thesis on just that, focusing on the time period between 1950 and 1980. The images that I came across of Pat, were inspiring to me, she had shaved her head completely bald and was incredibly stunning. Needless to say, it was a great honor and pleasure to interview her, she is a beautiful example and inspiration for all of us that we can create and uphold our own standards of beauty. -XoXo Raw Girl

What are the most important factors you believe can help with aging beautifully? Growing old is mandatory, acting your age is optional. I still play games with 4 yr old children! I’m very active and I don’t like to be what is called starched. I love laughter…it keeps me healthy and it is good for the spirit.

What is your skin care regimen like? I wash my face with facial gel and  then I rinse it thirty times with very warm water and after with cold water. I use a good moisturizer as well.

What is your exercise regimen like and do you think it plays any part in how great you look? I was a martial artist when I was in NYC, I studied Seido Karate, I was a dancer for a very long time, and now I am a lead dancer at Pow Wow. I am Nanticoke Lenape Native American.

Your look really took the modeling industry by storm in the late sixties, how did you manage to stick to your own perception of beauty despite naysayers and racial barriers? And I’m also curious to know…what in particular made you decide to shave off all your hair? Was it planned or a spontaneous decision? Racial Barriers sometimes can be people of color not accepting you. Some people have become hair worshipers and believe it holds their entire being. I’ve known women that would not go out if their hair did not look great. My thought was “What if there were no hair?” Hair is NOT your crowning glory.

How would you define natural beauty? Natural beauty is a great smile and a good heart and spirit.

What advice would you give to aspiring  models of color today? My advice to any model: KEEP YOUR MORALS.

Anti-Aging SHE-RO #6

About two weeks ago I caught a glimpse of the one and only Sade performing live on television, and I had to do a double take, because I thought perhaps it was old footage. Nope. It was definitely, 2010. She was singing her hit single “Soldier of Love” which I immediately added to my ipod after one listen. Sade is 51 years old, and seems to age like fine wine. The best part is that even though she looks like she could out-shimmy a lot of young girls, this woman still manages to create music that keeps her at the top of the charts without resorting to any of the tired age old tricks of skin baring and booty shaking. I have no idea what Sade’s diet is like, but she’s definitely got incredible genes. If you haven’t heard the album check it out: http://www.sade.com/us/home/– XoXo Raw Girl

Anti-Aging SHE-RO # 5

Tonya Zavasta is an incredibly vibrant woman, fifty something years young, who went from almost permanently disabled to thriving on raw foods. Searching for a way to optimal health and beauty, she discovered  raw in 1997 and never turned back. Since then she has authored numerous books including: The Right to Be Beautiful and 100 Days to 100% Raw and now sells products, books, and information via her website Beautiful on Raw.  In the bio posted on her site she stresses that she believes that everyone has the right, and the means to become uniquely beautiful via the raw diet and she is dedicated to working towards transforming the lives of women. In addition to her diet, she also regularly practices hot yoga and advocates that practice in combination with a living foods diet for optimal health. All I can say is you go girl

The best part of her site are before and after images of herself and other people who transformed themselves on the raw diet:

http://www.beautifulonraw.com/raw_food_transformations_before_and_after.html

-XoXo Raw Girl

Anti-Aging SHE-RO #4

I actually don’t know exactly how old Lillian Butler is, but I know for a fact that for her age she looks incredible. The first photo on the left is of her at the age of 46, after adopting a raw diet! Below is a recent image of her and her husband.

When I first embarked on the idea of going raw, I took Lillian’s intro to raw crash course, which was extremely informative and gave me the tools to dive in.

Apparently, Lillian was a vegetarian for 10 years, but was not experiencing optimal health. After some time of incorporating more into her diet she decided to go raw, and sweetly enough, her husband Eddie Robinson (whose skin also glows like a light bulb!) joined her in beginning a new lifestyle. Together they opened a really lovely raw restaurant in the Bronx, Raw Soul, which also offers catering, meal delivery, and chef training. They have a wide range of INCREDIBLE desserts,  and the regular courses are yummy as well.

For more info about Raw Soul, visit www.rawsoul.com

Lillian Butler & her husband Eddie Robinson

Anti-Aging SHE-RO # 3

I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.      ~Woody Allen

Well, if I have to die, I better look fabulous on my way out. If I were Iman, this would be a given, being that her name alone is synonymous with grace, elegance, style, and  striking beauty. I personally believe her name should be written in Webster’s Dictionary as a noun interchangeable with  Goddess.  When I was younger the best compliment, regardless of if it holds water, I ever received was someone saying I reminded them of Iman. Years later, I had the opportunity to see her in person, and the sight of her took my breath away. Literally, I stood there, dumbfounded. The most beautiful thing about her is that slightly intangible something, call it self-confidence or  self acceptance,  that lies within and radiates from her.  In a 2005  interview on The Paul Gordon show titled The Politics of Beauty, She said in reference to her makeup line: “This country has really moved on to a more multicultural way of thinking… I just want to celebrate the women. Sure this is all about makeup, but it’s also about some other things that are more deeply rooted. I just want to open a dialogue where we can talk about these things, where we can define our own beauty and approve of ourselves. We have to approve of ourselves before anyone else will. Women need to celebrate their God-given beauty instead of always trying to be something else.”

Amen to that.  She continues on: “It’s time for grown ups to act like adults.  Stop obsessing over what you don’t like about the body you have. Start paying attention to things that really matter. Get educated. Find out what’s going on in the world. Teach your children empathy for the poor instead of feeding them the latest fashion frenzy…And stop blaming the fashion industry for what you don’t like about the false values and over-sexed outfits confusing little and not-so-little girls and boys. Consumers hold the power in the world of fashion, she says, not the advertisers or magazine editors. Use that power.”

Iman defines the true meaning of the label,  supermodel,  is CEO of IMAN Cosmetics, Fragrances & Skincare, and just recently launched the IMAN GLOBAL CHIC Collection, an affordable accessories line done exclusively for HSN. Author of The Beauty of Color and I am Iman, Iman’s meteoric rise to the top echelon of the fashion world began in 1975 when she left university in Nairobi for New York City.  There she began her remarkable 14 year modeling career. In 1994, she launched her business, the IMAN brand now sold around the world. Actively involved in Children’s Defense Fund, For All Kids Foundation, and Action Against Hunger, she has received numerous awards for her humanitarian work.  Somalian by birth, Iman is the mother of two and married to musician David Bowie. http://imancosmetics.com/

Anti-Aging SHE-RO #2

They say “black don’t crack,” so Christy Turlington has a lot of explaining to do.  Of course she is a supermodel, but she is still  managing to age with grace and still make the hottest new models look like amateurs. It must be all that yoga.  Whatever it is, I am definitely taking notes.

In a TIME Magazine article in 2001, Turlington said that she practices at home three mornings a week,  and tries to take at least two classes a week. As far as the benefits of yoga, she says: “I was interested in cleaning my body on a deeper level. Yoga really purifies your organs and blood. You feel that. You feel that circulation of energy. But the real lesson yoga gives you is learning how to be present.