WHAT'S UP WITH RAW FOOD?

Why are so many people talking about about raw food?

There are raw food restaurants popping up everywhere and plenty of raw food cookbooks and websites to be found online now—people want to know what the fuss is about. So what’s wrong with cooked food? 

I love cooked food. I was raised in Louisiana and Texas on a diet of fried shrimp, crawfish etouffee, chicken fried steak and enchiladas. And being of Czech descent, had quite a few kolaches thrown in there. Although I was eating much healthier as an adult, it was a raw food diet that was a turning point in my healing journey after being stricken with a mysterious disease in 1994 that caused years of fatigue, weight gain, and pain in my joints, especially neck, back and wrist and hip pain.

I had been a runner, but couldn’t run anymore due to the pain. I had just moved back to Austin after my father passed away. I had spent 4 months doing a work exchange at Kripalu Yoga Center in Lenox, Mass., but wanted to be closer to my mother to help take care of her in her latter years.

My experience at a raw food retreat center near Austin changed my life and my perspective about raw food. I checked into Optimum Health Institute and spent a week there, drinking vegetable juices, including wheatgrass juice, eating lots of sprouts and raw veggies, drinking rejuvelac and eating sauerkraut and fermented seed cheese. The program also included lots of classes on digestion, elimination, food combining, enzymes, as well as a spiritual/mental/emotional component of letting go of resentment and anger, moving into forgiveness, and using guided imagery to visualize a healthy life.

When I returned home, I put on some music and danced around the house for the first time in years. Suddenly I had energy again! The pain was gone. I was thrilled at the huge shift, and I was 12 pounds lighter! That’s when I became a believer in the healing power of raw foods and juicing.

I continue to take 1 or 2 weeks a year to go to a raw food retreat center and juice and eat lots of sprouts—I call it “spring cleaning” (even though it may be in January). I loved and believed in the program so much, I returned every year since 1997 and began teaching classes at OHI for about 8 years through 2014. I have also done the program at Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, and have had amazing results. They also use nutritional supplements and IVs in addition to raw food, and I am a referral agent for them, happy to speak to anyone interested in finding out more.

It doesn’t matter if you are a steak and potatoes kind of person, or a vegetarian, taking a week or two away from cooked food will be restorative and energizing. All of the energy your body uses to digest food will be diverted to cleaning out toxins (see my next blog post for more information on the role enzymes play in this process). All of the nutrients in juice pass through your stomach and small intestine with little effort. At first, there may be a detox effect with headaches and an increase in aches, pains, or fatigue, but that quickly passes, and what you are left with an abundance of energy and enthusiasm for a new day.

For people who don’t have the time or money to go to a retreat center and juice there (which can cost as much as $3,000 a week, depending on where you go and how many services you add on), there is an affordable alternative. As part of my RAW JOY wellness program, I offer a 10 Day Transformation Cleanse by Purium Health Products, with organic, non-GMO, plant-based, superfoods, which costs about  $290 retail. 

For $240, or $24 a day with the $50 gift card I have for you, you will receive additional support via phone, text and email.  If you would like to do the cleanse, let go of unwanted pounds and toxins, and boost your energy, this is the closest thing to organic raw food I have found. Some people don’t need to lose weight, but want to cleanse or build muscle. The 10 Day Transformation can also be adapted for bodybuilders who work out a lot and need lots of protein. It’s a great way to jumpstart a lifestyle transformation. 

For your $50 gift card, please contact me at joy (at)rawjoy.com or 512-983-1177.  Here’s to your optimal health and happiness!!

Watch for my next post on enzymes in raw food and how they can be they key to good overall health.