Green Juice
I would like to take a moment and share with you my personal raw testimonial I wrote several years ago for a discussion on We Like It Raw (WLIR), a social networking site for raw food enthusiasts called Give It To Me Raw (GITMR). I recently stumbled upon this testimonial and felt it could be inspiring and supportive to share it here. In it, I discuss my experience as I transitioned into raw foods long ago. (I have been living a raw lifestyle since 2004.) Please enjoy reading about my raw transformation. I hope this information is helpful in understanding the body in relation to diet.
♥ ♥ ♥
I introduced myself to raw foods with a gentle fast. I snuggled into my home for three days and did nothing other than drink fresh juices and rest. My body quickly began to detox. My tongue became coated and white, I had a dull headache, and I felt listless. These symptoms were mild, serving as a reminder that I did indeed have junk in my system that needed to be purged. Strangely though, I felt very satiated on the juices I was making, and I did not have any food cravings at all.
When I returned to eating whole foods, I began making heavy raw meals out of nuts and seeds. Many of the gourmet raw recipes use these ingredients as a base, so for culinary purposes they were difficult to avoid. I quickly discovered that these heavy foods dehydrate me. When I feel dehydrated, my body craves sweets. This is a vicious cycle, because sweets dehydrated me further, causing for more cravings. I had a challenging time with this at first, and my body needed extra sleep as it was adjusting to my new diet.
After a few weeks, I discovered the importance of greens. I began making “soups” out of blended celery, cucumber, and kale with added carrot, red pepper, and onion for garnish. I would start my days with these soups. I realize this is a strange breakfast entrée; however, the soups made me feel wonderful, grounded, light, and energized. The more greens I ate, the more I craved them, the better I felt, and the less food I needed in general. I believe when getting all the nutrients my body needs, it simply requires less food. This is important to note, because many people today with weight challenges are eating many empty calories void of nutrients. This causes cravings and more food consumption, because the body is literally starving as it is packing on fat cells.
As time went by, I continued to develop my own raw recipes, which left me with lots of decadent foods to eat. My body became very sensitive to the desserts and heavier meals I was making. The cleaner my system became, the more I was affected by each food I consumed. I also noticed that I could eat an enormous amount of raw food and not gain weight. In fact, I concluded after a few months eating 100% raw, that it is virtually impossible to gain weight on raw foods. However, I would not recommend testing this theory. I do strongly advocate increasing green foods while limiting dietary fats like nuts. I have learned that my body stays hydrated when I eat water dense foods like fruits and vegetables regardless of water intake, and I simply feel better eating this way.
The importance of greens is the most significant thing I have learned from my experience. In her life-changing book, Green for Life, Victoria Boutenko writes, “Greens are the primary food group that match human needs most completely.” My goal is to eat at least one bunch of dark green leafy vegetables every day. One bunch makes me feel grounded and satisfied, but my health feels superior when I consume two or more bunches a day.
Nine weeks into my journey, my social life opened up, posing as a challenge for me as a raw foodist. I succumbed to temptation, ate cooked foods, and immediately felt awful. The whites of my eyes turned grey, my energy plummeted, and my face broke out. I think my physical reaction was extreme, because I was so pure from two months of clean foods. This was a great reminder of how unhealthy the Standard American Diet (SAD) is. This experience certainly renewed my efforts with raw foods. The other lesson I learned was how difficult it is to stay raw in a cooked world. Our culture embraces and celebrates traditional cooked foods.
After successfully returning to my 100% raw diet, my energy returned. It took only a few days to restore my health. I now need less sleep. In fact, there are nights I sleep only a few hours. I feel joy in my life in a way I never have before. I feel there is a direct correlation between food and mood, and I know raw foods have immensely improved my state of mind and sense of peace.
My sense of smell has also heightened. In fact, all my senses are keener. My sixth sense has evolved and strengthened as well, which is an unexpected phenomenon. I feel more intuitive. Things are happening to me; I will get an inkling of something before it actually occurs. I begin to feel I will meet someone or that I will need something and later discover my feelings to be a reality. These senses are happening more frequently and much more intensely. Now that I am aware, I am far more spiritually and intuitively open. Gabriel Cousins in his book Spiritual Nutrition explains this. He writes, “A key step in [the Whole Person Enlightenment] begins with a summary of the importance of veganism, live foods, spiritual fasting, and a full body awakening….” He further writes, “It is about how to eat and live in a way to enhance our Communion with the Devine.” I am experiencing this on a noticeably increasing scale, and I can easily see as I continue embracing the raw diet while practicing meditation that my spirit-mind-body will elevate and evolve respectively. I would like to harness this energy and see how far I can develop it. Again, this was an unexpected discovery, one that deeply inspires me.
My physical health has been optimal since becoming 100% raw. For the first time in my life, I went an entire winter season without a cold or flu. I had spent countless days working closely with sick coworkers and clients, never once feeling ill or fatigued. This is significant. I also had my cholesterol checked prior to starting the raw diet, hoping to discover any health benefits or disadvantages. The results are remarkable for only four months on raw foods. Here is my cholesterol comparison:
Triglycerides….before 147…..after 102……(dropped 45)
LDL (bad)………before 127……after 94……..(dropped 33)
HDL (good)……before 50……..after 100…..(up 50)
Triglycerides should be under 199, and the good cholesterol, HDL, should be over 45, minimizing the ratio between HDL and LDL. My doctor says my cholesterol is “exceptional.” I feel better than I ever have in my life. I feel strong, vibrant, and energized; I feel truly alive!
I feel amazing from the foods I am eating on levels I never imagined. As long as I do not overload the fats like avocados, nuts, and seeds and I include a hearty helping of dark leafy greens, fresh fruits and a colorful array of vegetables, I feel balanced, grounded, energized, alert, focused, blissful, motivated, and clear. I love the way I feel so much that I have no desire to return to my old diet. Terces Engelhart co-author of the fabulous raw recipe book I Am Grateful and co-owner of one of my favorite raw restaurants Café Gratitude in California writes, “I’ve always believed that if people are given a healthy choice, they will choose it, and if they choose it often enough it will soon be their only choice.” I choose health and vitality.
In closing, I would like to add that over the years I have eaten cooked foods from time to time when necessary for a meal or two in social situations, but quickly return to my raw diet, making it a daily standard. I think the social expectations around food are a challenge for some people wanting to improve their diets. However, if one can prevail as a raw foodist in this cooked world, the benefits are overwhelmingly worth every ounce of energy that goes into this magnificent green lifestyle!
Sweet Blessings,
♥ Shana
Organic Garden Greens
