Tag Archives: vegan

Raw Girl on the Radio!!!

healthy living

Happy March veggie lovers! I’ve been M.I.A. shooting a film, and today is my first day back in blogging mode. Even more exciting…I’m going to be on the radio! That’s right, yours truly, will be launching very soon, a health radio show called “Healthy Living in a Toxic World.” We are recording the pilot episode this weekend focusing on the topic of longevity, and are in need of questions from you.

Please email any general health questions or questions about longevity to rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com and your question may be answered on the radio show. If I don’t get to it in the first episode, I will include it in later episodes or in the “Dear Raw Girl” segment on the blog. The show will be airing on multiple radio stations  in the DMV area and also will be available to listen to live online. Check the blog for updates! -XoXo Raw Girl

Umcka: Natural Remedy for Colds

cold

So I never get sick. Or if I do, it usually last for about a day, because I can figure out exactly what caused it and POOF! like magic I’m well again. Last week I had a fever and some itching in my throat. I managed to get rid of the fever and discomfort over night with a combination of things I had at home, including literally chewing on raw ginger. This past weekend though the itchy throat came back to haunt me as a cough, and before I knew it I was completely voiceless.

Yesterday, I went to the doctor, which I hate doing, because in my opinion most physicians are mindless drones who I consider no better than glorified urban drug pushers. Please, ask me questions and diagnose the whole problem, not the symptoms! I think the universe responded to my prior frustration with doctors, because now at Kaiser my primary care doctor is this wonderful woman who actually listens when I tell her I do not take drugs. I went to her with the cough and after determining that I had no serious infection, she recommended a natural decongestant which I was able to pick up at Whole Foods called Umcka by Natures Way, after explaining the history of the medicine. I’m on day two of taking this stuff, and I have to say, in the midst of my annoyance with the fact that I can’t speak, I am really excited to find another natural way to address one of the vicissitudes of winter, the common cold or flu.

So what is Umcka? Umcka, short for Umkaloabo has been used as a remedy for centuries by the Zulu peoples. It is native to South Africa and comes from the root of the South African geranium. Although the Zulu already knew and harnessed the power of Umcka, an Englishman named Charles Stevens claims to have “discovered it”  when he was given the root by a South African healer and returned to his native country England cured of tuberculosis. (***As a random side note: I get irritated by historical facts that credit the discovery of something to the European who happened to wander to a specific area, remedy, or learn knowledge that was already in existence and utilized by native peoples. Whose the genius..the guy who gets cured or the people smart enough to use it?) Anyway, it wasn’t until many years later in 2008, that Umcka was allowed to be sold to the masses in England, when it was approved to be sold as a cold and flu remedy.

It has been clinically tested and proved to be effective in curing respiratory infections, relieving symptoms of bronchitis and sinusitis, and eliminating any excess mucus. This is achieved apparently because of its ability to modulate the immune system and kill viruses, fungi, and bacteria. It literally stops their growth, and assists in boosting the immune system. The best part: no negative side effects unless you’re allergic to plants!  -XoXo Raw Girl

Green Juice: Celery, Arugula, Kale & Apple

arugula

Hey Gang:

Below’s a video from my fast, last month. Arugula is one of my new favorite veggies! I love it as a salad or mixed in with other greens, and it is also awesome in juice. It also happens to be a raw aphrodisiac! More on arugula later, for now check out this video and hopefully you’ll be inspired to get down with your own green juice concoction. – XoXo Raw Girl

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

The Break-Up Fast: Loss as a Tool for Transformation

depression

“Fast and your light will break forth like morning…[and your] healing shall spring forth speedily.” – Isaiah 58: 6-11 (paraphrased)

Have you noticed that when unexpected  loss shows at up at  your door, you tend to overeat? This is true for a lot of us. The concept of vegging out on comfort food is worn like a badge of honor nowadays, when processed food is plentiful and sugar addiction is the norm. In the past I was among the loyal cadre of folks that used food as the drug of choice to remedy my woes. Ever since I embraced balance and changed my diet and eating habits, the opposite seems to be the case. Loss, which used to throw me into stuff my gut til’ it aches mode, now causes me to lose my appetite and retreat into fasting mode.

I recently got dumped. Like drop my heart in the bottom of your shoe dumped. In the midst of my processing the situation and mending my broken heart, my appetite seemed to naturally vanish. In order to prevent from starving myself,  I decided to go ahead and officially fast, so that at least my body would be nourished. While wallowing in my own experience I thought it would be interesting to research the effects of fasting on loss or any sort of depression. I found that fasting has been for ages used since Biblical times to bring the body, mind, and spirit back into balance while processing loss.

I love the Bible quote from Isaiah, the idea that fasting will “break your light forth like new morning.” The operative words for me are “light” and “new.” Yes indeed fasting not only purges the body, it renews the spirit and in fact can bring the mind into an altered state of consciousness. Opening up the inner light that gets dimmed from wrong thinking, wrong eating, or just the chaos that is this modern world. Those who fast know that in the midst of a fast there can be moments of intense bliss and interconnectedness with life around us in ways that heal our unseen wounds physical and emotional. Combined with solitude, fasting brings us face to face with the chaos that we have surrounded ourselves with and can break the addictions we have whether it be drugs, alcohol, dysfunctional relationships, or even food. All of these addictions are born from that feeling of lack; a sort of unconscious spiritual deprivation that we all look to fill with people and things. There have been documented case after case of people using fasting to quit smoking, drinking, or to heal terminal diseases naturally.

Uncannily enough, just as I began the fast, my phone would not charge. I discovered that I needed to replace the battery. The loss of communication, really put me into a different place than before. In the past, I fasted in tandem with the daily texting, facebooking, and emailing via phone. With that gone, I felt a certain sense of quiet and freedom simultaneously. It forced me to look at how much of my life is spent in my present moment, rather than consumed in cyberspace.  All of this prompted me to venture on a retreat into the wilderness. My father’s church happens to own a spiritual solitude retreat called Spiritual Wilderness Solitude in Harmony Haven, Virginia, and funnily enough although I have visited, I never myself undertook the process of staying there alone for an extended period of time. It was day one of the fast, that I received the inner guidance, that I had to go, sometime soon.

Now I am a fan of solitude, I do actually spend a lot of time by myself, and am not one of those people who feels uncomfortable going to the movies alone or spending time in meditation. But this idea of being in the middle of nature no phone reception, no lighted highways, and far enough from civilization that silence was really SILENCE, on purpose, is a new concept. I’m almost afraid to venture into that space, and what I may discover about myself. But I will do it…very soon, and I will let you all know how it goes.

Visionaries such as Christ and Buddha used fasting and solitude to obtain mystical revelations. The act of fasting to me feels like the deepest form of prayer…its a sensation that seems to align the spirit immediately to receiving healing, opens the universal gateway for  help in the time of need and solutions to any kind of problem. So the next time you loose a loved one, are mending a broken heart, fall sick with any kind of disease or drug addiction, or maybe just need answers, consider fasting perhaps accompanied with some meditation and  solitude as a remedy. What began as a break up may be the catalyst for a deeper connection with life and spirit than you can fathom. – XoXo Raw Girl

For more on fasting, check out my article Juice Fasting: The Ultimate Tool for Anti-Aging and Spiritual Awakening:

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2009/11/18/my-article-on-…-juice-fasting/

And also…this previous post which offers Tips for a Stress-Free Fast:

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2009/11/18/tips-for-a-stress-free-fast/

Taco Bell Fiasco: Fast Food = Fast Death

beef

Hope everyone is staying warm in this crazy DMV weather! It took me three hours to get home yesterday, after leaving my car in a parking lot and hitching a ride with a family member. Then to top it off, got home and internet and power shut down before I could finish this post! Needless to say, I am ecstatic that all’s well now and I will never take lights and heat for granted again.

You may have already heard yesterday about the law suit being filed against Taco Bell. When I heard about it, I really was not surprised. It must have been over ten years ago, that I ventured into Taco Bell to purchase a meal. I remember my mother used to take us there from time to time and we would buy tacos and take them with us to the movies. Back then I always wondered (in my meat-eating, fast food ignorant days), what the heck I was exactly eating, although I didn’t know to ask. Now that I have undergone my complete vegan transformation the thought of consuming one really makes we want to hurl.

According to the lawsuit in addition to the mere 35% beef that is in their tacos, Taco Bell has also included: “water, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, anti-dusting agent and modified corn starch.” Anti-dusting agent? Really? See guys, this is what started to drive me bonkers when I began this journey that lead me to raw foods. When I discovered that products like cottage cheese have bleach in them, and that there are countless chemical laden processed foods with industrial or lab-made materials, I refused to eat any of it. NONE OF THESE THINGS ARE FOOD. Taco Bell, McDonald’s un-chicken nuggets, and all the other fast food chains and processed food manufacturers really should be forced to own up to the fact they are not selling food. If you are going to be allowed to sell me blended animal parts mixed with chemicals, then I should know and it should be labeled as such. So I really hope this lawsuit serves as forewarning to other fast death chains or at best gives Taco Bell a run for their money. –XoXo Raw Girl

To read more about the post check out the link below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/25/taco-bell-beef-lawsuit_n_813185.html

Kick Your Smoking Habit, Naturally…

Natural Cures

In this toxic world, unfortunately many of us have conquered healthy diet, but have resorted to polluting our body temple by other means. When it comes to smoking, it doesn’t help that movies and other advertisements continue to verbally promote that smoking is “cool.” Its too bad we never get to see the after effects in these films, because seeing James Dean struggle with lung cancer is definitely not cool.

Unfortunately often times these addictions are then addressed by prescribing stimulants or drugs, that may contribute to the damage in the long-run. Below is an interview with Dr. Yew of Yew360 Wholistic Health & Wellness, discussing how one can overcome nicotine addition the natural way. He has started a support program for those in the DMV interested in kicking their smoking habit naturally. If you or someone you know could benefit from this please see his contact info at the end of this post. -XoXo Raw Girl

What are some of the adverse affects that smoking can have from a holistic perspective?

Smoking on a physical level pollutes the body, congests the liver and lungs with tar, mucous, and a host of known cancer-causing substances.  Smoking is linked to approximately 90% of lung cancer incidents and resulting deaths.  It can either have an overstimulatory and/or depressant effect on the mind, causing increasing dependency on lighting up to feel good, and in some cases, to even function normally.  It also ultimately lowers the spirit, which is reflected in the lapse of willpower a lot of people have with quitting.  It’s used as a spiritual crutch, and if you eventually want those legs to get stronger, you have to do some therapeutic work and let those crutches go.

A lot of smokers try a range of things from patches to prescription drugs to break their habits. What are your thoughts on this?
The drugs (including the patches) are designed to lower the physical urges of cigarette smoking by stepping down the level of nicotine or nicotine-like substances smokers would normally take in.  Many find these methods to be ineffective because your body is still being supplied with some type of drug or potentially addictive substance, whether it’s still nicotine or a replacement, which is further stored by the body, contributing to its toxicity and congestion, which can have a negative effect on the nervous system.  On a correlated note, smoking is primarily caused by psychological and spiritual dis-ease, so if those aspects are not dealt with, relapses are subject to occur.

Have you had any clients successful kick their nicotine addiction naturally? How long can a process like that take?
It’s always a challenge dealing with clients who have a substance abuse addiction, especially with cigarettes, because nicotine can be more addictive than heroin.  So just as if I’m dealing with a heroin addict, if the treatment and counseling approach is not very consistent and hands-on, I’ve found that my clients have had trouble with applying the recommendations and following the regimens given.  Often, what we need most to make and stick with positive changes in our lives, besides a great practical plan, is motivation and a good support system – something many smokers lack in this stressful and individualistic society.  This is one of the reasons I’m starting this 30-Day Smoking Detox program, which will be a group effort.  It’s a new venture for me, so I don’t have any success stories to share as of yet, but I’ve been taught by some of the best who do have plenty of successful experiences, so I’m looking forward to some excellent results in making this difference.

What types of foods or lifestyle changes best support efforts to quit smoking?
Partnering with someone who has the same goal is a great start.  This way, you can exchange ideas to form a solid and practical approach to quitting, and you can be each other’s support system.  Making the effort to start with more easily applicable short-term goals is another way to keep things moving.  It helps to drop the discouragement factor by not overwhelming yourself, and therefore helps to build confidence and motivation on this mission – two of your best allies.  Highly caffeinated and sugary foods and beverages can be very disruptive agents when your agenda is disposing of addictive substances, so I would recommend avoiding them whenever possible.  Some of my clients have found licorice sticks (commonly referred to as chew sticks) to be beneficial in reducing cravings and agitation, while increasing calming and cooling foods such as fresh green lettuces, chards, and cauliflower can work in your favor too by strengthening your body’s natural resistance to stressors.

After one has successful quit, are there any foods or herbs that can assist with regenerating the lungs and clearing up any damage done?
There are plenty of foods and herbs that can help to regenerate the lungs.  Vitamins A, C, & E, which are abundant in papayas, mangoes, watercress, parsley, and green leafy vegetables across the board are essential to this process.  They synergistically help to hunt down free radicals that damage the body, fortify the immune system, and facilitate tissue repair.  There are also other herbs such as lungwort and fenugreek, which can tone the lungs and/or work towards removing mucous plaque and tar buildup.

Dr. Yew is looking for approximately five individuals who want to quit smoking here in the DMV to form a support group and complete a 30-day detoxification program with discounted natural products and services. If you are interested, or know of someone who may be, please contact him ASAP. Email is contact@yew360.com and phone # is (202) 413-4581. Sign ups for this group ends January 27th. For more info about his practice visit www.yew360.com

A Raw Vegan Workout Junkie’s Guide to Protein

building muscle on raw

One of my New Year’s resolutions, especially now that my back injury is healed, is to get fit. My ongoing joke is that I want to be like Janet Jackson back in the day when you could bounce a quarter off her abs fit.  In between sessions with a personal trainer to build strength and lower my body fat percentage, I am staying limber and releasing toxins regularly by slowly but surely easing my way back into a regular hot yoga practice and getting a dance class in here and there. If you can’t tell, I love working out! The only thing I don’t love is not being able to move my limbs normally after an intense workout. The question that always arises when people discover that I am vegan and interested in building muscle: where do you get your protein?

I am a big proponent of everyone figuring out what works for their body. My body in particular, cannot handle animal protein sources at all. So I get all my protein from plant sources. People assume that because you are raw or vegan that you cannot build muscle. I have actually seen a lot of evidence to the contrary.  Time and time again, I have noticed that my diet actually makes my body even more receptive to exercise. Within my first week of strength training, only one day in that week, and eating my regular highly raw diet,  my body fat percentage decreased by about 5%.  I have been training for a month now, and my body fat percentage has decreased from 33% (unhealthy for my age) to 26%! I am now aiming for the optimal body fat percentage of 22-25%, and I am sure I will get there very soon with more training sessions.

It is assumed that by default, plant protein is inferior to animal protein, but actually, raw plant protein is the highest quality, most digestible protein for humans. When we eat cooked meat or animal protein the body tries to break it down in to amino acids. If the body gets enough of its required amino acids, our protein requirement is fulfilled. The point that many raw foodists make in this argument is that HEAT damages amino acids making it harder for the body to utilize. In an interview Stephen Arlin, raw body builder and author of “Raw Power!” said that raw food eaters building muscle have “an immeasurable advantage” over cooked food eaters because: “Building a body with cooked-food nutrition is similar to blowing up a balloon; sooner or later the balloon will deflate. Muscles blown up with cooked food and other unnatural substances will eventually atrophy and deflate. Most fitness experts and body-builders atrophy and wear down pre-maturely. Muscles built on raw-food nutrition last much longer, because they are naturally built. I compare building your body with cooked food to building a brick wall without any mortar. There’s no foundation there.”

Now that I am focusing on strength training, I am taking care to add in adequate amounts of protein in my diet and want to share a long list of great non-animal protein sources for anyone worried about getting enough to build muscle. Our culture tends to be a bit protein crazed, probably to an extreme, so make sure you are listening to your body and not overloading. Most times, people who overload on excessive amounts of animal protein, whey, etc. are not actually healthy, and cannot sustain optimal health longterm. We need not just large amounts of protein but high quality nutrients and minerals to achieve optimal wellness.

As I continue to workout, I am doing more research on what raw body builders and vegan athletes are saying about building muscle and achieving optimal workouts. From several sources I heard that fruit is a great pre-workout meal that gives the body fuel, and that blended smoothies with vegan protein sources are good ways to recover (which I was already doing). The more I sweat, the more I will learn and share. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to get your veggie loving but in the gym as well. Happy sweating! – XoXo Raw Girl

Heres a partial list from one of my favorite books, David Wolfe’s “Eating for Beauty” of what he calls the “Best Protein Foods”:

  • Almonds
  • Bee Pollen
  • Brewer’s Yeast
  • Chlorella
  • E3 Live (algae)
  • Goji Berries
  • Grass Powders
  • Green leafy vegetables
  • Hemp Protein (30 grams of protein per tablespoon!)
  • Hemp Seeds
  • Maca (can buy in powder blends or by itself)
  • Olives
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Spirulina
  • Sprouts (of all types)
  • Sprouted grains
  • Sprouted wild rice
  • Vegetable powders (dehydrated and powdered greens)

Ban on Traditional Medicines in Europe!

ban on traditional medicine

It’s starting my friends. Our freedom to achieve optimal health is slowly but surely being eroded as laws are going into effect that will limit our access to organic foods, high quality supplementation, and natural medicines. This year, beginning in April, many traditional medicines will no longer be available in Europe. The more I read, the more outraged I become.

The FDA in cohorts with major corporations, and individuals/entities concerned with GREED and the control of the worldwide population is not going to stop jeopardizing our freedoms. Products and foods that are natural are being attacked in a real, mafia-like way. Why? Because they are POWERFUL. The more we take our own health in our hands, avoid using pharmaceutical drugs, and become independent beings who consume foods full of life force, the more power we have to exercise our minds and bodies, to create, and to consider opposing a power paradigm that is intent on us becoming dull, lifeless, disease-ridden, and drug dependent puppets for the system. Please read more about this ban, and about CODEX in the links below, and visit the Alliance for Natural Health site to take action on their petitions or donate.  If you think we don’t got next, please think again! CODEX guidelines that regulate our food supply and are expected to be implemented in 2012. This may be the last year to stock up on all things herbal, or at the very least learn how to grow them ourselves before the veggie indefinitely hits the fan. -XoXo Raw Girl

To read more about this ban visit:

http://www.anh-usa.org/traditional-medicines-to-become-illegal-in-europe/

To read more about CODEX, visit:

http://www.anh-usa.org/stop-codex/

http://www.anh-usa.org/campaigns/codex-international-standards/#Will%20it%20or%20Won%E2%80%99t%20it%20affect%20your%20Vitamins?

5 Reasons to Drink Green Juice

chlorophyll

1. A Large Dose of Chlorophyll. You are what you eat, and chlorophyll is the building block of our bodies. More of it means more oxygen flowing, more vitality, and more energy!

2. Trace Minerals & Enzymes. Boost your digestion, encourage detoxification, and give your body the minerals its been missing out on!

3.More Veggie Bang for Your Buck. Juicing allows you to consume a wider variety of vegetables in larger quantities, and the nutrients are absorbed easily in juice form.

4. It’ll Make You Happy. Green juice and fasting help our bodies and spirits get through the icky stuff and clear the way for divine connection and inner peace. So basically, you’ll get a free dose of Zen with each glass of greens.

5. Keep Your Body Alkaline. Green juice consumption will help you ward off health problems, and fight any imbalances in the body. Disease can only live in an acidic state, and drinking green juice regularly will help to keep your body alkaline.

-XoXo Raw Girl

Dear Raw Girl: Fighting Lupus?

Dear Raw Girl

Hello Raw Girl! I came across your site after searching for vegan and dermatomyositis…I was diagnosed with Lupus about a year ago…they put me on meds and the symptoms didn’t improve and I got even more sick. By the grace of God I came across Jill Harrington’s Lupus Recovery Diet and became vegan. My symptoms improved and I thought I was *cured*…so I then began eating whatever I wanted. BIG surprise (not) my eyes are swollen and itchy. Turns out, I have this thing…so now I’m in the middle of a fast to get my body back on a fresh start and then STAY on the vegan diet. I’ve even started feeding my kids a more vegetarian diet. Wondering from your opinion…do you think my symptoms will improve again? Or is it too late? – Brittany Clarke

Dear Brittany:

Thank you for sharing this with me and trusting my opinion. First off, I want to say, whatever I express in this post is just that, an OPINION. Not fact, not necessarily the be all end all, just my own biased point of view. I am not a doctor so I cannot give you a specific medical opinion based on your body, but I can share with you my thoughts. Unfortunately there are many doctors with opinions, who speak into people’s lives, and their word is taken as truth. Time and time again, patients with terminal diseases have proven doctors wrong, and have far outlived their diagnosis just based on the power of will and positivity. That said, how bad do you want it? You made yourself well once before, so you clearly have what it takes to do it again if you visualize wellness and stick to your guns. I think you can do it.

I did some research through several natural cures books about Lupus, and diet is definitely key in keeping you well long term and reducing inflammation. They say no one knows the exact cause and conventional medicine usually treats issues that may lead to flare-ups such as medications, birth control pills, any pre-existing viral illnesses, or extreme stress. Attacking your condition from the holistic perspective you need to find out if you have any particular food allergies (apparently some food allergies can mimic lupus or worsen conditions), watch anything that may cause hormonal imbalances, assure that your digestion is optimal, make sure you address any potential nutritional deficiencies, and also that you avoid intake of more toxins and detox from heavy metals. So its important not only that you go vegan, you need to avoid the sugars and carbs that promote an internal acidic environment and inflammation, you also need to focus on really giving your body OPTIMAL  nutrition. Here’s some ideas based on my research that may help you.

  • Juice Fasting. The juice fast plan is great, 3 days is a good length on green juices, and you can even throw in their some organic herbal teas to help promote detoxification. Try once a month if more seems too much to start.
  • Buy organic whole foods. Avoid conventional veggies if possible so you don’t take in more toxins via pesticides etc. Thoroughly wash your veggies.
  • Vitamin E . For this you can include wheat germ, watercress (which has three times the amount of Vitamin E in lettuce) and all other leafy greens, nuts and seeds.
  • Essential Fatty Acids in ground flaxseed or flaxseed oil will help you reduce inflammation. You can add these to a salad. Or make a yogurt out of fruit and sprinkle ground flaxseeds on top.
  • Foods high in sulfur will help repair damage that flareups do to your joint cartilage. Foods such as: onions, garlic, asparagus, arugula, blue green algea (E3 Live would be great), bee pollen, broccoli, kale, maca, spirulina, watercress, cauliflower, and pumpkin seeds are contain a nice amount of sulfur.
  • Incorporate a supergreen supplement in your diet, some of which were mention in the sulfur food list above: spirulina, chlorella (which also helps body detoxify from heavy metals), and/or E3 Live (liquid blue green algae supplement).
  • Make sure your water is clean! Tap water may expose you to toxins and microorganisms which won’t help because your body is already in a compromised state.
  • Probiotics will help with digestion and maintain a healthy digestive environment.
  • Natural Pain Relievers. Evening primrose oil and black currant oil can help to reduce joint inflammation. White willow bark is a natural alternative that can be used for join pain. (I can vouch for this one, when I had my accident I took this and valerian root to help ease the pain.)

All that said, the gist of it is that I believe, YOU CAN DO IT. Make sure to listen to your body, seek medical supervision holistic or regular if you need it just to see where you are. Consider going to a holistic practitioner and testing for any food allergies and nutritional deficiencies you may have, and try to organize your life in a way that minimizes your daily stress. I sincerely wish you the health you deserve, and because you did it once before, you should know, you most definitely can do it again! This next time, though, make sure to stick with it. -XoXo Raw Girl

For tips on how to have a stress free fast, check out this previous post:

http://rawgirltoxicworld.com/2009/11/18/tips-for-a-stress-free-fast/

Have a question for the Dear Raw Girl segment?

Email rawgirltoxicworld@gmail.com and your answer will be posted on the blog!