rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_033e9c55-981c-58da-878d-539746b8648d.jpg"/> Fruits
I think it’s crucial to include daily EFAs in the form of flax oil and hemp oil (at least 1 tablespoon), and fermented foods and drinks such as sauerkraut or kombucha are also extremely beneficial.
I believe for raw foods to become successfully integrated into our existing lifestyle, it is important not to get too fixated on our diets. Many people fail because they set themselves unattainable goals which they can’t stick to, and then they feel that the raw food diet must not be for them. For it to be sustainable, it is far better to introduce raw foods gradually than rush at it headlong. Just increasing 50% of your diet to raw will reveal the benefits to you, especially when combined with daily consumption of superfoods. The rest will come in time. Raw is a journey not a destination; it is the key to a door but we must walk through the doorway unassisted, with no crutches. When being 100% raw becomes the goal, we are missing the point; if sticking to the diet is making us unhappy because we can’t share food with friends, we are getting it wrong. Emotional health is just as important as physical health, and it is vital we keep that perspective: preparing and eating your food with love is just as beneficial as the quality of the food itself. When done properly, we shouldn’t have to think about it; raw is there to enable us to live our lives more fully, to free up energy to enjoy ourselves, not to become another set of rules to be entrapped by. Raw foods open up a whole new paradigm within us, a world of unlimited life and abundance, where there is no death, just a continual rebirthing process. The potential for the transformation of humanity as more and more people open themselves up to this way of being is mind-blowing.
If you are interested in finding out more about raw food nutrition, and want some recipes to get you started, I go into more detail in my earlier books, Eat Smart, Eat Raw and Raw Living.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
—MAHATMA GANDHI
I adore superfoods. I have been eating them every day for over two decades, and I can say unequivocally that they provide me with that edge which helps me deal with the demands of life as a woman in the 21st century. Of course, I could do fine without them, but I don’t want to just do fine, I don’t want to just get by, I want to live a fulfilling and abundant life, and superfoods are a major factor in my being able to juggle and balance the varying and often contradictory elements of my world. I run a successful business, I enjoy many creative projects, I spend large amounts of quality time with my children, I have a full and fun social life, I am a conscientious and dedicated homemaker, and I get plenty of time in solitude to meditate and reflect. I am not leading a life that everyone isn’t capable of, and I don’t come from an exceptional background. I have had little support from family and society in my life because of the unconventional paths I have chosen to take, and I have lived for long periods of my life in relative poverty. But I had a dream, and I kept focused on that dream, and my focus has led me to this point today. As a teenager growing up in the 1980s I knew there must be more to life than the picture of doom and gloom presented to us in the media, and the drudgery and boredom of my parents’ lives. I sought to find alternatives, to find a deeper truth, a more beautiful way of living. My journey brought me back time and time again to the answer that all we have, all we need, is here in the moment, and the more we live life in our highest truth at every turn, the more we are rewarded. “Being the change” means being aligned in body and heart, constantly reminding ourselves of our focus and our truth in life, of how we can play our part to make the world a better place. And that is how I came to be so passionate about superfoods, foods that help create that inner and outer alignment in our lives.
People are becoming more familiar with the idea of superfoods, but there still remains a lot of confusion as to what actually qualifies as a superfood. I would classify them as natural plant foods which have two primary qualities: firstly, they are exceptionally high in nutrition and thereby provide the body with increased energy, and secondly, they have special intrinsic properties which can enhance our lives greatly. In my book, broccoli and blueberries are not superfoods! They may be excellent food choices, but they don’t have the incredible charge and power of true superfoods. True superfoods really do make superbeings!
Because all the nutritional properties of these foods are so packed in, they are amazingly efficient, and make the body’s job of extracting what it needs and utilizing it so much easier. When our bodies are getting their requirements met abundantly, and when the digestive process isn’t being strained in the process, so much energy is released, we feel the revitalizing effects very quickly. This is a major factor in their growing popularity; the difference in your performance between when you take them and when you don’t is remarkably obvious. Superfoods are in a different league from supplements because they are actually whole foods. Their natural synergy is preserved and the messages they send to the body are much more easy for it to receive and process than those of isolated components that have been manufactured in a laboratory.
As you are reading this book, you are very likely wondering why you haven’t heard of many of these foods before. Most of them grow in areas where the land is purer and unspoiled because the indigenous populations are living lives of isolation and poverty, still relatively untouched by Western materialism. They are often celebrated and revered in their native countries, but unheard of outside of the regions where they are grown. As we Westerners start to realize the importance of really treating our bodies as temples, demand for innovative and original products increases, more research is done, and we are being introduced to many exciting new discoveries. As word spreads about their efficacy, people are joyfully consuming superfoods on a more and more regular basis.
If you are looking at the many superfood blends that are on the market, then I would advise you to remember that old adage “You get what you pay for.” There is no such thing as a bad superfood, and I have never come across one which cannot help with healing to some degree, but the quality between brands varies immensely. Some are bulked out with cheaper fillers, others are of a higher potency. But what you are paying for when you buy these products is the formula development, the complicated manufacturing process of blending the powders to an exact recipe, the packaging and the branding. When you are taking the superfoods in this book, in my experience the body responds better because it is not being overwhelmed by the complex information contained in these branded blends. The body is like a child: it works best when it’s being treated in as straightforward and uncomplicated a manner as possible, and is much happier being given one or two toys at a time to play with than a huge toy box where it’s just going to lose half the pieces and then not be able to find the bit that it wants!
When you first enter the world of superfoods, it can be hard trying to decide which ones are right for you. They all have unique qualities which makes it hard to say that one is better or worse; it’s like trying to compare peas and carrots or an apple with a banana. Some days, you fancy an apple, some days are banana days. It’s best to start with just two or three, so you can notice their effects, and get to know them, then you can tune in and decide which ones you need at a particular time. It’s also not easy recommending a daily dosage. It is always advisable to start off with a little and work up until you reach a level you feel comfortable with. Often the body will go through a healing crisis as it rebalances. Old complaints like skin problems or gut reactions may flare up, in which case return to a minimum maintenance dose, allow yourself some time to rest and let the body do its thing, and after a few days you should be feeling you’ve reached a new level of vitality as you’ve cleared your old stuff out.
Virtually
