Fasting

I admit it, I've always been a little bit baffled about the concept of fasting. Why is it necessary? Why do we (some of us) do it for religious reasons? What good does it really do? Well, I've been reading about fasting for 3 days now and it is really fascinating! Fasting has been used for thousands of years to help heal disease and chronic illness. When we allow our bodies a break from digesting, it can set to work on the cleansing. Little did I know, Europe continues to use fasting even to this day as a major method of treatment. Why do we as Americans know so little about fasting, or have a stigma against it? I guess when most people think of fasting they think 'starvation'. But really, most fasts, at least those done for medical reasons, are actually juice fasts. The juice intake provides all the calories our bodies need while at the same time giving our digestive system a break and allowing our body to rid itself of toxins, bad tissue, and poorly formed muscle. Not only does juice fasting offer amazing physical benefits, but many people and many religions use fasting for spiritual reasons. Many believe that fasting brings us closer to our spirits and closer to God by humbling us and reminding us that we rely on the Lord for all we have. Many spiritual fasts are water fasts, but from what I've read doing a water fast for more than a couple days can really wreak havoc on the body. Not because it is necessarily 'bad' but because it is so effective. When doing a water fast, toxins are expelled so quickly from the body that one could be in serious distress if not already used to fasting for long periods of time. Still, the concept of a water fast, for spiritual reasons, is intriguing to me.
So...I've decided to take the plunge. I really want to add fasting, for physical and spiritual reasons, as part of my lifestyle. I am used to fasting on the first Sunday of every month, but I admit, sometimes it's more like starving myself because I don't take advantage of the spiritual benefits. In addition to my monthly religious fast (which is completely abstaining from food and water for 24 hours) I would also like to add periodic juice fasts, such as maybe 3 day fasts every month or couple of months. I also want to add in a large fast of maybe 30 days every year. This would translate roughly, if I did my math right, to almost 1/4 of the year where I am not eating solid foods. I think that if I can do this consistently, when the time is right I might be able to do a prolonged water fast, if I feel it's good for me.
So my new goal is to start off small. I want to say that I could do 30 days no problem but I know myself, and I know I'd cave and probably end up binging. So, starting Nov. 2nd, Sunday, I'm going to fast for 6 days. Day 1 will be abstaining from food and water, and days 2-6 will be my 5 day juice fast. I am going to buy a juicer tonight hopefully. To keep it pretty inexpensive I will juice fruits and veggies that I can buy in bulk for cheap, like apples, oranges, spinach, melons, other greens, carrots, celery etc. I also found a homemade detox lemonade that I could use which only contains lemon juice, water, and pepper. I think I am going to make some vegetable broths with the leftover pulp and drink that as well, along with herbal tea. They say that the hunger pains will subside once the digestive system goes into hibernation, after a few days. To prepare, I am eating less calories and trying to cut out everything but fruits, veggies, and grains until the day I start. More updates on this later! Wish me luck!

God's Beauty

Ok, so I've been on a real fruit kick lately. I just can't get over how beautiful some fruits and veggies really are. Look at this strawberry...
GORGEOUS! It's a natural beauty! The next time I'm craving pizza I'm just going to pop open this page and take a long, hard stare at this beaut...

bad cravings gone! Time to buy strawberries!

Anti-cancer foods!

I read a great article on prevention.com today about the best anti-cancer fighting foods. You'll rarely find a doctor say this, and it blows my mind as to why not, but there are some foods out there that can actually help cure some cancers, because they can actually force cancer cells to die through a process called apoptosis. Here are some of the best foods:

pomegranate juice
ginger
broccoli, bok choy, brussels sprouts
garlic, onions, leeks, chives
citrus fruits, berries
dark chocolate (over %70)...or heck why not use raw cacao!?

It also recommended blending 1 tsp of turmeric with black pepper and dissolving it in oil, to use in soups, salad dressings, on vegetables, etc.

Cutting out meat and dairy also helps combat cancer, but adding fresh fatty fish has shown it's benefits.

So...not so surprising, but what is one diet that incorporates all these foods in their best (raw/natural/organic) form? That's right, RAW!




Eat yer apples!!

Something Pretty

Ok, so this smoothie isn't really anything that special, but it's so pretty! I used fresh raspberries from my parents' garden, 1 banana, and some almond milk, if I remember right.

What I have been searching for!

I've been neglecting my blog lately, because I've been neglecting myself! Sometimes I go anti-social for a couple weeks at a time, and become very apathetic, but I can feel myself coming out of this slump so hopefully I'll write more and have some cool things to share. Today I had a total epiphany, thanks to a great article that I read. I finally checked my email today and I got a new newsletter from Raw Food Right Now, and they had posted said article. After reading it I just felt so happy! I totally agree with what they are saying! I've been feeling the same way for awhile, but I thought I was the only one out of the entire raw food community, and I'm not! I don't think it will be bad to post the article, as long as I post a link to it (I hope not!). So here it is!:

The 100% Raw Trap

I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the awesome post Anthony from RawModel.com recently did over at We Like it Raw.

Go give it a read and then come back here: Anthony Talks about the 100% Raw Trap.

I don't think it's ever been put so elegantly as Anthony has just done.

For the record, I'm not 100% raw. Sure, I've been "100% raw" in the past, but what does that really mean, anyway? If I eat 100% raw for 25 years and then eat some cooked food am I not "100% raw" anymore? The label breaks down pretty quickly under circumstances like these.

When Heidi and I first went raw in 2004, we didn't go 100% overnight, but shortly after, we did go 100%. At the time, 100% raw was the buzzword. Not only was it the "it" phrase, it was the only way according to everything we read back then. This was also during a time when the phrase "cooked food is poison" was a common chant by many raw people, both online and offline.

It was all or nothing.

This is before raw blogs and raw communities really started popping up around the web. People were under the assumption that you had to be 100% raw. And we thought that everyone was 100%! But just a few years ago, we started hearing one raw food "guru" after another come out and say they now recommended 80% raw foods for everyone and 100% only if you felt it was right for you. Not only that, but every raw foodist we've talked to that did go 100% overnight, does not recommend that anyone do it overnight. The body chemistry and emotions are too complex for such a radical change.


How Eating Cooked Food Helped Me to Eat Raw

It's funny, because when people ask me how raw I am, I have to sit and think about it...

"Hmmm, I guess I was 100% raw Monday and Tuesday, but ate some cooked food on Wednesday...then today I've had...let's see..."

To me, it's become a total non-issue.

In fact, when I was trying to stay 100% raw, that is when I also had the most difficult time staying raw! I have had my times, just like Anthony, where I binged on cooked food, felt guilty, and went on a downward spiral...and this is coming from someone who never had any food issues ever before going raw!

But one day, over a year ago, I decided that I'm going to eat whatever I want, with love, consciousness, and intent. My only stipulation was that it had to be vegetarian. Once I did that, eating was no longer a dogmatic struggle, but was easy and fun! Not only that, but now I find it so easy to eat raw! Imagine that! Cooked food helped me eat raw!

Now what's interesting about this, is when you reach this point, you start to develop a relationship and communication with your body. You are no longer fighting it, but working with it together towards a common goal: Optimal Health. (Notice that I didn't put the word "raw" in there.)

Once I was able to let go of the 100% dogma and find my own gradual path to success, my body easily let go of so many foods that were harming me, and I was easily able to embrace and truly desire the foods that are good for me. My diet stabilized and I no longer was on any sort of yo-yo diet.


My Ultimate Goal

My new ultimate goal with diet and health is to only eat the foods that are the absolute best for my body and to truly only desire those foods. And friends, I am nearly there. I look at foods I used to eat and say "I could have you right now if I wanted, but I truly, truly don't. I really just don't want it!"

That's freedom.

I can't imagine where I would be if I was still trying to force myself to eat 100% raw. Being in the raw food world for nearly four and a half years now, I've seen so many people come to raw food and quit because they couldn't go "100% raw". They go back to eating junk because they are trying to obtain something that is unrealistic to obtain in a short amount of time.

The fact that people have heard of raw food and gotten absolutely excited, only to give up because they couldn't "do it right" is a sad reality of the current raw food movement. How many people have completely given up and may never try to eat raw again because others put on the facade that you have to be 100% raw?

I, for one, always want to be open and honest about where I am on my raw food journey. This is especially important since I co-run a very popular raw food website.

Let's all just be who we are, love where we are at, and always have our eyes on the goal that we are heading towards, whatever that may be for you. Be open to change, let go of your dogma...and do everything at our own pace.

With much love,

~ JS
The article is a breath of fresh air and makes so much sense to me! Lately I've been thinking about what it means to call myself "raw". People don't really know what I'm talking about if I say that I'm a "raw foodist". Actually, the first question I usually get is "does that mean you eat raw meat?". Then we have the obnoxious (albeit sometimes well meaning) ones that if they see me eating some cooked food have to point and say "uh oh, you are eating cooked food, you aren't allowed to do that! I thought you were a raw foodist!"..Sigh.. So I've been thinking that maybe the term "raw" just isn't the best word to use to describe how I eat. I don't want to say "vegan" because that has it's own connotations. I don't like labels as it is, but I feel like I need to be able to at least describe my diet in a way that is encompassing and makes sense. "Fresh" is a good word, so are "un-processed" and "natural", because all those things could mean "raw". I think that someday I'd like to be able to say that all I eat are "fresh and/or natural foods". This could mean raw, but it also could mean natural cooked foods. I know that this is a journey because my diet is a path, rather than a destination. I've said this before but I also don't believe that 100% raw is necessary or 100% healthy, so I believe that by eating only "fresh and/or natural foods" we will be eating the healthiest diet on the planet.

Still, however, since this is my raw food website, and since I believe the more raw foods we eat the better, I will still share lots of yummy "raw" stuff!

I know I've been focusing too much lately on what I shouldn't eat, rather that what I should. The best part of that article was when he said that he was going to "eat whatever I want, with love, consciousness, and intent." Isn't that really what it should be about?