Kids learn to draw a special cartoon with MG just for fans of Raw Vegan Radio.  She also shows us how to make a delicious and nutritious raw food meal.  Thank you MG!  MG asked what would be best to draw (she specializes in drawing Disney characters for children).  I chose my favorite Disney movie, Wall-E.  It’s still hard to believe that a company like Disney released such a socially relevant movie.  And please try the desert recipe, it tastes scrumptious!

Why did I choose Wall-E?  The plot of the movie takes place 700 years in the future, after mankind so completely trashed Earth’s environment that it had to relocate to spaceships.

In their new orbital home mankind has evolved into huge floating fat blobs.

This video is sponsored by our friends at the Woodstock Fruit Festival.  The Woodstock Fruit Festival 2012 will take place on August 20 – August 28 at Camp Walden located on beautiful Trout Lake in the Southern Adirondacks.

For more information, visit Woodstock Fruit Festival here.

You’ll Discover:
* The difference between Vegetarian, Raw, and following a primarily Fruit-based Diet
* Keys to Balancing your Diet and Lifestyle with your Business and Family Life
* Can you really survive and thrive on a fruitarian diet?
* Updates on Not-To-Be-Missed Raw-Friendly Summer Festivals

Michael Arnstein (aka ‘The Fruitarian’ www.TheFruitarian.com) has been following a low fat raw vegan (fruitarian diet) since January 2008.

Michael is an accomplished competitive runner in a wide range of distances ranging from the mile to the 100 mile distances and beyond.
Michael runs a successful business while co-parenting to raise 3 children.  He is passionate about sharing insights on athletics, social issues and more while eating a fruitarian diet.
Michael is the owner of The Natural Sapphire Company.

Michael Arnstein founded a non profit organization in 2010 to promote the health benefits of a fruit based diet.
He is a founder of The Woodstock Fruit Festival.

Coming this July, 2012:

This episode is sponsored by:

by Steve Prussack
Host of Raw Vegan Radio

I can’t believe I am on day 8 of my organic raw juice fast. There has been an abundance of letting go, which has manifested itself in every area of my life.  I needed to be away from the computer for the last few days to reconnect with myself, the earth, the universe, and the source of all life.  It doesn’t matter what you call the supreme being- Elohim, Adonai, Bhagwaan, Yahweh, Lord, Father in Heaven, Allah, Bavenda,- Each religion and culture has a name for our source- there is nothing like cleansing the body to get closer to this magnificence.  I feel that has happened, and want to focus on that for today’s blog post.

Many people begin a juice fast with various expectations, but a big one is because they want to lose some weight.  I have to admit, that was one of my deciding factors this time.  We sometimes forget what this clearing will do for our consciousness, and our connection to everything around us.  Once we let go of years of accumulated waste, we create an opening.  This opening gives us a glimpse of our life.  Our habits, routines, shadow side, emotions- with great clarity.  It is within this complete awareness that we redevelop our deepest intuition.  We were born with incredible intuition, but the years of accumulated waste in our body has literally numbed this innate ability.  Once we begin a life that includes cleansing and eating better, we are able to tap back into this intuition.  This innate voice communicates with us strongly.  It tells us what we should do, what path we should take, and gives us the energy to get it done.

The cleansing inside has led to cleansing outside.  I went through my closet to get rid of clothing I haven’t worn in years.  I will donate this clothing to the homeless.  Also, it made me organize and get rid of clutter around our home.  I was able to see that I hold onto things, and it felt incredible to let them go.  I’m not done yet, there is still more clearing I want to accomplish in my home space.

What Lead to this New Awakening?

For me, it has been a few things.  First of all, my body wanted a colonic, so I had that done yesterday.  I already blogged about enemas and colonics here, if you want to learn more about that area.  Of course it was incredible, and I was able to let go of so much.  Deep rooted “stuff”.  It’s interesting how much emotion is caught up in the accumulated waste that lies dormant on the sides of our intestines and colon for years and years!  Once we are ready to release it during a cleanse, we feel a weight has been lifted beyond enormity (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).  We experience a physical purging, which in turn allows for the clearing of emotions we may have been holding for years.  What an incredible relief to get it out of our bodies!  A real gift.

I have spent a lot of time in nature, near the beach.  Walking barefoot, grounding my body with the electromagnetic force of the earth.  This has been incredibly healing.  My body has been absorbing the healing energy of the earth.  There is nothing like reconnecting to the earth to heal, and I plan to make this a more consistent practice.

I decided to get a massage a couple of days ago, which proved to be life changing.  I had an incredible masseuse, who came to my home and provided an opening for even deeper healing.  It had been a few years since I had a massage, and after this experience, I have decided to make this part of my life practice.  How often do we take care of ourselves this deeply?  When we start to pamper ourselves, our body/ soul repays us in many ways.

I have found that being out in the sun has been incredibly healing as well.  My body wanted to experience the full power of the sun…the healing rays, and important vitamins the sun is able to provide (and who knows what else, that we haven’t discovered?).  This made me decide I needed to sunbathe completely nude.  My body wanted to feel the healing rays of the sun on every part of my body.  How often do we wear swimsuits and not allow the sun to reach all areas of our bodies?  It felt transcending, and I began to do some gentle yoga poses under the warming sun.  This was yet another example of my body letting me know what it wanted.  I am not the “nudist” type, but gave my body what it was asking.

Another thing that has been very healing and essential during this journey has been the music I am listening to…I would love to recommend the music that is found on the Songfisher website.  I can’t stop listening to their music (it’s even playing right now, as I write this blog post.  Songfisher music consecrates the alchemy of Harmony, Joy, Peace and Love. Their music collection is suitable for Meditation, Ritual, Ceremony, Spiritual practice and Singing in groups.  Download some of their music, you won’t be disappointed. (Warning:  Their music is WONDERFULLY addictive).
Link to Songfisher.Org

At this point, I am filled with a  feeling of total contentment.  I haven’t experienced this feeling in a long time.  How often are we able to be still, in our thoughts, mind, body, and soul?  When do we get to that point in life where everything in life seems like it’s alright?  Especially with everything happening on the planet these days, we are living in a very stressful and chaotic society.

Juice fasting along with the essential practices I mentioned in this blog has led me to experience that now, and it is just profound.  I haven’t had this sense of peace for a long time.  I have found the peace comes from within.  Love comes from within.  When we allow ourselves to love OURSELVES this deeply, we are able to share that love with everyone and thing around us.

On a physical level,  I have lost 14 pounds since I started juice fasting…but I am more excited about purging the spiritual and emotional baggage.

How about you?  I would love to hear how your fasting experiences has opened and cleared the way towards a greater sense of spirit and love.  This is such an amazing place to be.  I invite you to join in the circle and share your experiences below.  Please feel free to be open….

With Love and Gratitude.

By Steve Prussack
Host of Raw Vegan Radio

Tonight’s blog is going to focus on the magic and glory of the enema/ colonic.  My third day of juice fasting met with discomfort for much of the day. I woke up feeling fine as far as cold symptoms go, but a low-grade headache continued into the day.  It got progressively worse, to the point where I just couldn’t work anymore.  I decided it was time to do an enema.

There are misconceptions and weird opinions with regard to enemas and colonics.  I realize this is not an easy topic, and many people just don’t want to talk about it.  We live in a society where we announce we are going to use the bathroom but never discuss what actually goes on when we are in there.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to provide pictures or grotesque descriptions.  But I think this is a topic worthy of discussion, because it is the very thing that alleviated my intense headache.  Quite frankly, enemas are magic.  The enema worked much faster and efficiently then taking an Advil or Motrin.  There is no doubt that enemas (and colonics) could  heal what ails you.  Not only that, they are essential when doing a cleanse.

I admit the idea of enemas always scared me somewhat.  Like most men, the idea of a tube going inside me didn’t quite thrill me.  I thought enemas were something only geriatric patients use, when they are incontinent in a nursing home.  I think many people still feel that way.  If you are someone serious about healing and experiencing health beyond your dreams, an enema (and colonic) is a must.

So what happened after your enema?

Once I did my enema today, I wish I had done it sooner.  I am going to try a coffee enema another time during the week, but this time it was just a straight-up enema with filtered water.  It was more than enough to alleviate my symptoms and rid my body of some serious waste.  What surprised me the most was how much mucous came out during my enema.  This was the kind of stuff you blow out your nose, or spit out when you are burdened with a terrible cold.  Actually, it was the very mucous that was coming out my body yesterday when I was experiencing my first healing crises on this cleanse.

When I finished my enema, not only was the headache completely gone, but I was left with a feeling of total euphoria.  Pure joy.  Happiness.  For no other reason then my body was thanking me. Do you enjoy a glass of wine when things get stressful?  Try an enema, along with a few days on nothing but juice. I have never experienced anything even close to this feeling, and I had my share of drinking back when I was a college “fraternity boy” (yes brothers of TKE—try an enema!). What a great feeling to know that you can experience a natural high, while still be grounded and clear.

I am surprised to be cleansing this much on day 3, but came to realize today that juice fasting is an accumulated effect.  I juice fasted for 23 days a few months ago, and it seems my body has picked up right where I left off!  You would think I might have to start all over again.  Instead, your body continues the work you started to begin with.  That is why I recommend quarterly juice fasts.  Four juice fasts a year are a great way to experience boundless energy, sparkling eyes, sweet breath (even when you wake up in the morning), and a trim waistline.

I have lost 10 pounds of unwanted mucous, toxins, and other debris in just 3 days. I know this is not the result for everyone. But if you try doing intermittent fasting, each juice fast will get better and better.  My eyes are starting to get brighter again too.

When we have a seasonal cold, it is actually a a build up of mucous  your body tries to get it out as quickly as possible. Next time you are suffering cold or flu symptoms, try doing a few enemas (or colonics)?  It will speed up your recovery and might even make you feel better right away!

What other ailments can enemas and colonics help with?

Studies have shown that enemas can alleviate such problems including lower backaches, indigestion, flatulence, acidity, chronic constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome. Enemas can even help address psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, irritability and other neuroses.

I don’t recommend just any enema though.  Those Fleet enemas in the pharmacy are terrible and NOT recommended.  Here is where I found the most incredible enema kit, which included a stainless steel bucket and top-quality tubing.  You can find out all about it here:
HIGHLY recommended:

Stats of the Day:

Starting weight:  183 lbs
Today’s weight: 173 lbs (WOW!)

Juices of the Day:

Fuji Apple-Kale-Spinach-Parsley-Ginger
Cucumber-Celery-Apple
Cucumber-Coconut Water-Chlorphyll
Apple-Pear-Mint-Coconut Water
LOTS of Filtered Water
(Still have one more juice to drink after this blog)
As far as supplements, I consumed probiotics, Healthforce Nutritionals Intestinal Movement Formula, ZeoForce, and Vitamineral Green.

How about you? I love hearing your comments and successes during your fast. If you aren’t doing one with me, I still love your feedback.  Please comment below.

Also, I hope you can join me tomorrow night for a special edition of YOU Interview the Masters with our special guest Karen Ranzi (author of “Creating Healthy Children”).  Be sure to bring a question with Karen to the call, and as always we’ll have some prize giveaways!
Author, lecturer and raw food consultant, Karen Ranzi, authored Creating Healthy Children: Through Attachment Parenting and Raw Foods. She has been interviewed on TV and radio on the topics of vegetarian and raw food parenting as well as attachment parenting, and recently on talk shows of the Gary Null Progressive Radio Network. Karen appeared as one of 40 raw food leaders on host Steven Prussack’s RAWpalooza Raw Food World Summit in January 2012.

Again, the call with Karen is tomorrow (Thursday, April 5th) at 6:00pm PST/ 9:00pm EST.  I’d love to connect with you.
You can sign up to be on the call here.

This Juice Fast is sponsored by:

I would like to say today was easy, and that I am filled with boundless energy.  That wouldn’t be true.  In fact, my energy is so low, I really don’t feel like blogging tonight.  I am going to focus on physical detox tonight, because that is what I am going through right now.  I am sure we will cover emotional and spiritual detox at some point over the next few days, but this is where I am right now.

I woke up this morning with cold-like symptoms.  My throat was scratchy and itchy, and my nose was running.  These symptoms continued throughout much of the day.  Soon, I was burdened with a headache that is lingering even at this moment.  It’s times like these that we start to ask ourselves, do I want to go through this uncomfortable feeling?  Everyone else is sitting down to a nice meal tonight, and I’m just drinking juice.  It is easy to start to feeling sorry for ourselves during times like these.  I found the best solution was to rest as much as I could.  I had some work deadlines today, so I had to wait until I had the energy to work.

One essential thing that keeps me going through tough days like this is the support system.  I appreciate you for taking this journey with me, no doubt experiencing your own troubles and difficulties along the road.  How do you overcome detox symptoms and feeling less energy during your cleanse?  For me, I know it is going to get better.  Once we get passed the healing crises, we are rewarded with euphoric feelings, incredible energy, and a new, trimmer, healthy body.  Our intuition will be better, and we will have a better idea of what to put into our bodies for real nourishment.  Thank you for taking this journey with me.

Just for Entertainment

I love to stay motivated and inspired during my cleanse. Last night, I watched the movie “May I Be Frank”, the story of Frank Ferrante’s transformation. The movie was great, a little over-the-top at times (did I need to see him naked sitting on the toilet?) but overall, highly recommended. It’s available as a $3 download on Play-It-Forward, so check it out if you get the chance.
http://www.playitfwd.com/movie/mayibefrank

Stats of the Day:

Starting weight:  183 lbs
Today’s weight:  175.5  (BIG drop in just one day—I am pretty shocked about this, to be honest)

Here are my Juices of the Day:
Green Apple-Spinach-Kale-Cilantro-Lemon-Celery
Carrot-Celery-Cabbage-Watercress
Pineapple-Orange-Cucumber-Kale-Celery
Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cinnamon
Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Cinnamon (Had it twice )

I also took some probiotics and Intestinal Movement Formula from Healthforce Nutritionals.

Other herbs included Liver Rescue 4+ and ZeoForce.

I’ll be back tomorrow to touch on whatever may come up during this cleanse.  I am surprised to have so many challenges on just the second day. It goes to show how out of alignment my body was, and that I was making the wrong choices. I am sure living in the toxic environment (air quality) in Los Angeles doesn’t help either.

I am hoping to get a deep tissue massage at some point this week.  Also, a colonic at the week end will be helpful. I may do a coffee enema tomorrow if these symptoms continue.

I’d love to hear from you.  What came up for you today?

This Juice Fast is sponsored by:

Welcome to the first day of my 14-day Juice Fast.  There are many people juice fasting right now, and I am glad to have your support.  If this is your first day, congratulations on taking this step!  Your body thanks you, and so do I.  When we join together in support, it makes this process so much easier.  Thank you SO MUCH to “THE JUICE MAIDS“, who are sponsoring this cleanse during an extremely busy time in my life.  There have been so many comments on my last blog, and its exciting to have you along with me on this journey. I want to touch on some of the questions that came up recently about having will power to deal with cravings on your juice fast.

What is it that led you to start a juice fast?  Did you look in the mirror and notice you have added some extra weight in the past few months?  Are your clothes fitting a little tighter?  Have you found you are not making the best food choices lately?  Whatever it was, you got to a point where you decided you wanted to do something about it.  That’s how it was for me.  I decided I want to complete quarterly juice fasts, and I am at the 3 month mark now.  My last juice fast was so effective, I knew I had to start one again.  I noticed I have gained some weight in the past couple of weeks or so.  I am not feeling as light, and my energy has been lower.  I can understand why many people are so addicted to caffeine.  I have begun to drink some green tea over the last couple of weeks, just for an extra surge of energy.  Once I get to this point, I know I am not making the best choices for my body.

For me, and maybe you are the same, I reach a point and decide I have to make some serious changes. I am tuned into how I feel after every meal, and sometimes get so busy, I start eating the wrong foods.  I have been eating way too many fats (nuts) lately.  It really adds up!  So now that we decided to do a juice fast…how do we stick with it?

The first three days are the hardest.  You will find cravings creep in at various times during the day.  I noticed this a few time today.  My body wondered, are you going to eat ANY food at all?  During these times, I have a juice (or water).  I slowly sip the juice, and sure enough, the cravings go away after a while.  My body relaxes a little, and before I know it, the cravings are completely gone.  You’ll find the cravings will just about go away after the third day.  If you could just give yourself enough motivation to get through these three days, you’ll be fine.  Just check in on my Facebook Fan Page for support throughout the day.  I’ll be checking in there with you.  Raw Vegan Radio Facebook Fanpage

I find it is best to try to relax as much as possible during the cleanse.  I was lucky to have a beautiful sunny day here in California, so gave myself a mid-afternoon sun bath. I plan on going to the gym this evening for a light weight workout. But I have a heavy workload.  I’m sure you do as well. You can still juice fast and maintain your normal daily routines. Just be sure to give yourself breaks as you need them.

Depending on your lifestyle, you may have the time to make your own juices.  I always juice fast that way, and it’s great to connect directly with the fruits and vegetables on an intuitive level.  But this fast I am trying something new…The Juice Maids are sponsoring this 14-day juice fast with a version of their “Heavy Metal Detox“.  While their cleanse includes fruit and vegetable juice as well as nut milk, I am just going to consume the fruit and vegetable juices.  Also, I had asked them to leave out an oils in my juices too.

The Juice Maids deliver organic Norwalk pressed organic juices all over Los Angeles. Have you ever experienced the juice from a Norwalk Juicer?  It is extraordinary!  Since I’m working hard on my book “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Juice Fasting” for Penquin books, having my juices delivered this time is ideal.  I am really excited so far….my favorite juice today was a combination carrot/ kumquat juice.  It was tangy and delicious.  I just finished a cucumber/ coconut milk mix that was also terrific. I love that they even include probiotics and other herbs to supplement your fast.  You can tell a lot of love goes into their cleanses. If you are too busy to make your juices right now, The Juice Maids or similar programs would be a great option.

I am surprised that I am cleansing already, the very first day of my juice fast.  My tongue is beginning to coat, and I found myself in the bathroom several times already.  I am starting to reverse the damage of overeating fats and drinking caffeine.  I can only imagine how much better this cleanse will be as each day passes.  I plan on setting up a colonic mid-way through, and perhaps a few enemas if I develop uncomfortable detoxification symptoms (healing crises).

My goals on this juice fast include dropping at least 14 pounds, giving up my new caffeine green tea addiction, and resetting my palette to transition towards a high raw low fat diet.

Starting weight:  183 lbs

Juices Today:
Apple-Spinach-Kale-Parsley-Ginger
Carrot-Kumquat
Cucumber-Coconut-Seasonal Greens
Pineapple-Celery-Apple-Lemon-Ginger-Spirulina-Seasonal Greens
Pineapple-Orange-Cucumber-Seasonal Greens
Cucumber-Celery-Apple-Chlorella

To stay tuned and find out when I update this blog, join me on our Facebook Fan Page.  We can connect there throughout each day and support each other on this journey.

So what are your goals on this cleanse?  Go ahead an post them below.

This Juice Fast is sponsored by:

Spring is here, and the time is right…for cleaning out our body!  I am starting my 14-day juice fast tomorrow.  Would you like to join me?  There are many reasons we should periodically cleanse our bodies. We are bombarded everyday by harmful substances such as bacteria,   pesticides, food additives, and environmental pollutants.  These toxins, as well as drugs and chemicals, are filtered out by an internal detoxification process and eliminated through our intestines. The human body can only take so much and our environment is getting worse.

Following World War II, the advent of pesticide use was first designed to increase production of agricultural crops. Pesticides, fungicides and herbicides were initially hailed as a miracle of modern science. Since then, the 55 year old chemical pesticide campaign to free agriculture of pests has contaminated our water, soil, air and food. Exposure to pesticides and industrial chemicals that have proliferated in our environment may overtax our body’s natural capacity to eliminate toxins properly. The chemical content in our world is outrageous. Scientists create over 9,000 man-made chemicals every year, and the number is growing. These chemicals get stuck in our environment as well as the primary cleansing organ of the human body: the colon.

Due to the onslaught of so many unnatural agents, the colon has no information on how to naturally eliminate these chemical substances. As a result, these toxins are often stuck in the body for years.

No matter how healthy we eat, we are subject to living in a toxic world. 

And even a strict raw vegan diet is not enough to free your body of these deadly invaders.  The body’s first line of defense is a healthy colon. However, our internal detoxification process can breakdown from: overexposure to environmental pollutants in our air, food and water, excessive alcohol and caffeine, high stress, lack of exercise, overuse of antibiotics and prescription medications. When the body’s internal detoxification process breaks down, toxins circulate into the bloodstream instead of being eliminated through the colon, causing illness, digestive ailments and other serious health disorders.

This produces a state of toxicity and cleansing the colon becomes one of the most important steps in detoxification. Traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda, Chinese Herbal Medicine and Western herbalism have always regarded internal cleansing as an integral part of maintaining health. According to Traditional Eastern Medicine, the need for cleansing can manifest itself with symptoms such as fatigue, sluggish digestion, heartburn, bloating, constipation, sinus congestion, skin disorders, joint pain, headaches and many more unnecessary ailments.

Why do we need to periodically cleanse our bodies?

1. Avoid Diseases. Toxins lodge themselves deep within your body weakening organs making you prone to disease. People today suffer from acid reflux, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, migraines, ADD, ADHD, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease or cancer.  It is estimated that over 90% of diseases can be a attributed directly or indirectly to an unhealthy digestive system. As Dr. Bernard Jensen (pioneering naturopathic physician and master herbalist in the 60’s and 70’s) says, “It is the bowel that invariably has to be cared for first before any effective healing can take place.”  Up until the turn of the 20th Century, cleansing was an integral part of all natural healthcare systems throughout the world. Only recently, with the over-dependence on allopathic medicine and the denial of our deeper instincts, has cleansing become seen as unconventional, strange, or just plain unnecessary.

2. Stimulate Elimination of Body Waste. A good cleansing program will help restore the body’s balance, eliminate the waste building up and make our systems run much more efficiently. During autopsies, coroners often find colons that are more than 75% clogged with waste matter. This causes the systems that clean our blood and intestinal tracts to back up. Nutrients can’t be absorbed as efficiently and we gain weight, become tired and irritable. Health issues often follow.

3. Pains and Aches Disappear. Toxins become crystallized in your body if not eliminated causing pain. We are all conditioned to take a pain killer and never told that cleaning out our body does the same thing, naturally. 4. Kick Start Your Metabolism. Your body needs a break at least 4 times a year to function properly. A sluggish metabolism fails to help your body absorb the vitamins and minerals it needs to function.  Following a cleansing program, your metabolism will become more efficient at generating energy and eliminating wastes. If you continue to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle as a way of capitalizing on the benefits of detoxification you will be rewarded with feeling and looking healthier for much longer periods of time.5. Lose Unwanted Pounds. Cleansing is the process of releasing and expelling the stored toxins through the elimination organs of your body – the intestines, liver, lungs, kidneys and skin.  A good cleanse will help you lose weight by cleansing out your body and ridding unneeded toxic build-up.  Researchers have found that as the level of toxins in the body rises, more fat is manufactured to protect the body. Weight gain is a natural by-product of toxin buildup. Removing the toxins from the body allows the body to release the excess fat, resulting in a natural weight loss.

6. Increase Energy and Vitality. Fatigue is a primary symptom of toxicity.  Reversing toxicity, by undergoing a process of cleansing, can lead to more energy.  Why?  Because it liberates the body from an excess workload imposed on the body’s organs, primarily on the liver.  When this overload is relieved, it allows every part of the body to function more effectively, which leads to the feeling we call energy.  But the need for detoxification filters all the way down to the level of the individual cell. Each cell is like a little factory. It has to have proper supplies coming in, it has to have machinery that works and it has to have the garbage taken out.  If any one of those aspects fails, the work of the cell fails. Each cell has a need for proper nutrients coming in, it has a need for a lack of interference within the cell, and it has a need to “sweat” the toxic by-products of its processes.  That is the natural process of detoxification at a cellular level.

7. Purify The Liver. The liver is our body’s primary detoxification organ and manufacturing plant. It cleans drugs, alcohol, poisons, bacterial products, various waste products and worn out red blood cells from the body. The liver is also the main factory for amino acids, proteins and fats, and the stores fat and glucose – the energy source for all bodily functions.  The liver plays a major role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins – the nutrients that supply the body with energy. It converts carbohydrates into glucose, removes excess glucose from the blood and makes and stores glycogen – a source of energy between meals. Cleansing your liver can help your body better control its blood sugar levels.  The liver is also very important in metabolizing proteins. The liver manufactures amino acids and removes from circulation excess amino acids. It has the ability to dismantle amino acids that are found to be in excess and convert them to other amino acids that may be in short supply.

Your liver removes ammonia – a toxic by-product of protein we consume – and converts it to urea to be eliminated by the kidneys. Liver cleansing can help provide your cells with protein in the form of essential amino acids.  The liver also controls the metabolism of fats we eat. It manufactures bile – necessary component for us to digest fat – and stores it in the gall bladder. The liver builds and breaks down fats as needed by the body. A liver cleanse can help you better regulate your body fat.  As you can see, a healthy liver is essential to achieving a healthy life. Cleansing and detoxification can help you achieve a healthy liver and may also relieve you of various maladies that are really symptoms of liver health.

8. Gives You Clarity of Mind. While cleansing is an ancient practice, it has never been more essential than today to cleanse and maintain a lifestyle that promotes health and well-being. Physically we are being challenged in ways that we have never seen before on the planet. The soil is depleted of minerals and filled with heavy metals and pesticides; the air is filled with carbon monoxide, lead, and other toxins; the water is purified and nutritionally enhanced with chlorine and fluoride, both carcinogens; and our food is processed, bleached, preserved, and protected by pesticides, also known to be carcinogenic.

Mentally, our culture lives in a state of chronic stress, and depression is on the rise as never before. The fast pace of our modern lifestyle, the demands and expectations of our jobs and relationships, and our disconnection from nature, ourselves, and from spirituality have caused a kind of stressful anxiety, a burden on the nervous system, that depletes us to the core of our bodies, minds, and spirits.  In short, we are all stressed, starved, and poisoned, and these states interact to compound their negative effects. If we are starved—nutritionally depleted—we lack the nutrients we need to manage our stress and anxiety. We will also become more vulnerable to the toxins and poisons in our environment, food, water, and news media. If we are stressed, we will burn up our nutrients much more quickly, especially those that manage our stress, anxiety, and our sense of well-being. Fewer nutrients again means vulnerability to toxins and a whole host of other acute, chronic, and life-threatening illnesses.

Lastly, if we are poisoned, the body is called to function under extremely difficult circumstances. Poisons such as heavy metals and pesticides can reduce the absorption of nutrients and cause cellular and neurological damage. This condition again leads to starved tissues and a stressed and weakened nervous system. As you can see, if you are to some degree stressed, starved, or poisoned, then you must be to the same degree all three.

9. Eliminate Body Stress. In today’s busy society, we all need to learn some form of stress management. Most of us are aware that stress is linked to depression and many other diseases including cancer, heart disease, and lung disease. What many don’t realize is that we can help manage stress with nutritional cleansing.

Stress is emotional and physical. A cleanse can be a good place to start creating a new outlook on life. Why? One reason is that harmful internal toxins are created during times of high stress. When overly excited, angry or afraid, your body releases chemicals throughout. Ever felt butterflies in your stomach every time you think of a certain person or circumstance? This is the release of harmful internal toxins.  As these extreme emotions happen to many on a daily basis these chemicals are released daily and build up over time. In turn, not only do you have the daily emotional issues, but now the built up internal toxins add to and hold the pent-up anger and fear. Add to these toxins the chemicals we absorb from our toxic environment.

This is a harmful cycle of creating toxins, then adding more which makes us feel worse so we stress and create more, and so on. Our wellbeing is in jeopardy.  On the other hand, many people report feeling more relaxed, happier and less stressed after a cleansing program. Using a cleansing program can assist your body in the elimination of the toxins instead of accumulating them. During a cleanse you not only eliminate the old buildup; but you should consume better quality foods which give you more nutrition. The nutrients of the foods that you eat will determine if your body produces serotonin and dopamine in your brain, which are instrumental for relaxation.

10. Healthy Glowing Skin. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and besides protecting all of your insides from the outside; it also performs several important roles in protecting your health. Most of us are probably aware of its role in temperature control.  When we get too warm, we start to perspire, which provides a rapid means of evaporative cooling.  What many of us probably don’t realize is that an important detoxification process also happens when we perspire as toxins are released through the skin along with the sweat.

Many traditional tribal cultures have recognized the importance of the skin in protection of health.  Indigenous practices have included sweatbaths or heated lodges as part of regular tribal practice.   Northern Europeans such as the Scandinavians have also encouraged sweats or saunas as part of their normal health maintenance. Our skin is permeable, and can absorb toxins directly from the environment.  But the skin is not only an avenue for the absorption or release of toxins, but a detoxifying agent in its own right.  Like the liver and lungs, the skin also has the ability to transform toxins from lipid-soluble, or oil-based compounds, into water-soluble forms, which can then be removed by the kidneys.  The skin has the ability to excrete toxins. Certain practices seem to dramatically encourage this process.  Body cleansing in addition to regular use of sauna, steambaths, or sweatbaths encourage the discharge of toxins through sweat.

What to do now?
Preventative medicine for a healthy colon is not as popular in Western culture as it is in others. In fact, there are so few people that try and prevent a health problem before it starts that it is a new concept for many. Ironic, as most Americans would never dream of driving their car without getting the proper oil change. They would be shocked at the suggestion that you should just drive until something goes wrong. So why are they so willing to take that attitude with their colon?

One of the most important things you can do to keep a healthy colon is to cleanse your body of toxins, pollutants and impacted fecal matter. The colon is designed to pass food through the digestive tract, where the intestinal walls absorb the nutrients taken in. If there is too much buildup on the colon, the body will not get what it needs to stay healthy.

There are many detoxification on the market but one of the essential components of a cleansing program is being provided with support throughout the process.  Going through the process of cleansing with a group of like-minded friends is motivating and beneficial.

Join me during my juice fast!  I’d love to hear from you, and if perhaps you’d like to jump in and join me.  I’ll be posting everyday here on Raw Vegan Radio.  We start tomorrow…so join me.  Post below, I’d love to hear from you

This Juice Fast is sponsored by:

Charlotte owns the copyright on two excellent DVD’s describing the Gerson Therapy, showing recovered patients.  The first one, “The Gerson Miracle” won first prize at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in 2004.  The later one, “Dying to Have Known” describes the attackers’ claims and counters them with Surgeons and Professors showing cured, formerly terminal, patients treated with the Gerson Therapy and recovered.

Charlotte’s recent book,  Healing the Gerson Way – Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases, written in cooperation with Beata Bishop.  It came out in August, 2007 and has been translated into 12 languages. It is new, in excellent style, eminently readable and usable for self-healing.  It also has almost 100 pages of Gerson recipes. In the meantime, she has written two additional books, Defeating Obesity, and Diabetes and High Blood Pressure — The Metabolic Syndrome;  and Defeating Arthritis, Joint and Bone Diseases.

Steve Prussack (SP): Can you expand on your background and tell us more about The Gerson Therapy?

Charlotte Gerson (SG): First of all I would like to stress that none of the protocols were originated by me; my father Max Gerson invented it all. He started working with nutrition and health when attempting to heal himself of severe migraines that were extremely disabling. All of his colleagues and teachers from medical school believed that migraines were incurable, but he was not happy with that and decided he would find his own cure. It was a very long and research-intensive journey. After years of searching, he found one paper by a women who changed her diet and her migraines got better. This was around 1906 and no doctors were discussing diet. That was for the cooks. But my father attempted to try it out. First he tried living on nothing but milk, as he figured if babies could do it he could too; however, he got sick as a dog. Then he researched what our physiological ancestors lived on. He tried this and he found a vegetarian diet with main staples of fruits and vegetables. After lots of experimenting, he established what he called a migraines diet as his migraines were cured.

During World War I he worked with one of the top-notch bio chemical professors and one of the most famous neurologists in Europe. Max latter settled into his own special practice as an internal nerve physician. Some migraine patients came to him and he got them on fresh fruits and vegetables and most importantly had them stop eating salt, as salt is a serious damaging substance to the body. All his migraine patients were showing great results with their new diets, and it was one in particular patient whose migraines not only went away but his skin tuberculoses, which was also believed to be incurable, was healed. At first Dr. Gerson didn’t understand the connection between the illnesses and the diet. So Dr. Gerson began treating other skin tuberculosis patients with his migraine therapy and found the same positive results. His other colleagues eventually ended up suing him because he said he was an internal neurologist but he was treating skin disease, which was an external disease. The judge asked several of the other accusers if they could cure the disease and they all said no, so the judge let Dr. Gerson continue with his practice. The top-notch tuberculosis doctor heard about Dr. Gerson and called him up, as he wanted to test his therapy. He found 450 seriously advanced skin tuberculosis patients and he told Dr. Gerson that if one of the patients was cured he would believe and support his work. It turns out that out of the 450 patients 446 recovered. Dr. Gerson was still not satisfied so he went out to test other patients with different types of tuberculosis. It was after that that he realized he was restoring the bodies systems to heal themselves, as people were not only being cured of all forms of tuberculoses but asthma, allergies and other illnesses as well. And that is how Gerson therapy began.

SP: At twelve years old you went on the program as well?

CG: It was 1933-1934 and Hitler had just become Prime Minister, so we had to leave Germany. Dr. Gerson was invited to do the presentation of his life to show accusers that he was not falsifying his results by retouching his x-rays. With luck he was able to cross the border to get his x-rays verified, but was not able to reenter the country because of Hitler’s prosecution, and therefore he missed the presentation. We ended up moving to Austria where my father was always in contact with tuberculosis patients and that was in fact how I caught it. But he was able to cure me too.

SP: I actually heard that Adolph Hitler used his therapy?

CG: Yes, so we were told.

SP: Can you talk about the definition of  being truly healthy and how the Gerson protocol works?

CG: The protocol works to re-establish and re-build all the body’s organ systems. It is not necessarily all about raw food; the Gerson therapy has a lot of raw foods but also cooked as well. Its not specifically raw food, but the right food. It does not include salt, which is not a food, and is strictly damaging to the body. The foods in the Dr. Gerson therapy all have to be properly prepared to get the right nutrients.

SP: Is the Gerson protocol sustaining? Is that what you follow day to day?

CG: I have followed it day to day for more than sixty years. If I truly needed salt, I would not be alive. I was born into a salt-free home because salt interferes with the body’s metabolism. Salt is twenty times worse than sugar and that includes all salt. People ask me why they can’t have sea salt and I ask them if they ever read adventure stories when they were young where people would get stranded out to sea on their boats with no food or water but still they never resorted to drinking salt water because they knew it would kill them.

SP: People tell me they crave salty foods. Is it a drug?

CG: Yes, well people crave sugar and that’s a drug too. Salt is a heavily toxic drug. As a matter of fact the body demands water to dilute it. That night we went to that raw food restaurant where the food was heavily salted I found myself drinking an extra cup of water, my mouth was burning, it just was not good (Charlotte is referring to a party at a raw food restaurant in Southern California that featured heavily dehydrated and high fat raw foods).

SP: What’ the best way to go about changing your diet to better follow the Gerson therapy?

CG: The food that I eat, and the seriously ill at the hospital receive, is all organic, all fresh and freshly prepared. There is nothing frozen, pickled or jarred, no salt added to anything, and completely vegetarian with no milk or cheese. The body does need a small amount of sodium to sustain itself but it can all be found and assimilated in fresh fruits and vegetables. Dr. Gerson said “study nature; its eternal laws will keep you alive.”

That’s the one draw back of the Gerson therapy it is time consuming, everything has to be prepared fresh if you really want to heal. Most of these mineral pills don’t work as the body usually can’t assimilate them and besides that they are not the living substance you need real fresh food.

SP: How much juice are you drinking a day?

CG: Well I am healthy and I usually drink about six 8oz glasses of fresh fresh juice a day. We have to insist on organic food because otherwise the food is poisoned by chemicals, artificial fertilizers, pesticides etc.

SP: Well I am sure when this protocol was first developed everything was organic?

CG: Yes exactly. The first decade of the twentieth century there was no artificial stuff. However I do know of one story. When my dad was a boy he loved to play in his grandmothers garden. In 1898 she heard about this new artificial fertilizer so she decided to try some on a small portion of her garden. A short time after my father noticed that the worms that were in the artificially fertilized patch were wondering across the path to the non-treated soils.

SP: What do you think Dr. Gerson would say today if he saw the state of this country and its eating habits?

CG: He passed away in 1959 so he already saw a lot of it, but not nearly as bad as it is today. He was seriously concerned about continuing to be able to heal people with availability of the best food possible. He had to start insisting on all organic food. When DDT first came out, Dr. Gerson began to see that his patients were not doing so well. In fact, within a year and half of the introduction of fungicides and pesticides, meat, milk, cheese, butter and worst of all mothers’ milk was contaminated.

The youngest babies are the most affected, so each new generation is getting worse and we see people younger and younger getting terminally ill. Its terrifying. In 1943 I was 22 years old and my body systems had already formed – they were not developing – so my generation did not get as affected as the younger generations. People my age seem to have better health than their children.

SP: What have you seen, as far as reversing disease and healing with the Gerson protocol?

CG: That is the one reassuring portion of it. We see terminally ill cancer patients who have tried everything and are extremely damaged. We can still turn them around. With the therapy and all the fresh substances we use, the pain disappears and we can get ride of all the painkillers they are taking and begin to heal them. And it’s not just for cancer. Dr. Gerson believed that cancer was the most serious damage to the bodies systems as it is chronic and degenerative.

The Gerson therapy restores the healing mechanisms in the body, which allow the body to heal even in the worst cases. You cannot heal selectively.  If you are healed, the whole body heals. You can’t keep one disease and get ride of another. The Gerson therapy is a total body healing. Giving the body the capability of healing gives it the ability to heal whatever issues arise.

SP: With such great results, it’s amazing that this information doesn’t get out there to the public more.

CG: The pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable industry in the world. They don’t want this information out there. They fought against my father to publish his articles his entire career. There was an article that said, of all the people who get chemo, 2.3% profit from it. It’s a multi-trillion dollar business. We can’t advertise in many magazines because the pharmaceutical companies hold such large accounts that they have taken financial power over other companies who depend on them for growth. The industry is adamant on not letting the information out. It’s all in the money. But thank goodness it is getting through. The Internet is vey helpful. In fact just a week ago information on close to 1,000 papers were released that discuss how to help repair the DNA of the body. “Unrepaired DNA damaged is the primary cause of cancer and degenerative diseases.” The articles go on to say that fresh fruits and vegetables contain the molecules that are used to repair DNA. That is exactly what the Gerson therapy does.

The TV commercials that promote the pharmaceutical companies often reveal that side affects can be serious illness, cancer, and death. They promise you these side affects, but people still buy their products. But when it comes to limiting their food, stopping smoking and eating salt they can’t do it because they enjoy it too much. It’s the most difficult thing of all to get people to prevent disease. It takes twenty or thirty years of the bad habits until people start getting sick and then they don’t even relate the disease to poor eating or smoking.

People are badly informed. People just don’t seem to want to change their eating habits to prevent illness; I don’t even bother to promote prevention because it’s an uphill battle.

SP: Who knows what kind of drugs they put in meat and dairy to keep people addicted to those kinds of foods.

CG: There was one study where a group of scientists were studying obesity in animals but they could not get the animals fat. They found that if they injected the animals when they were young with MSG a small portion in their brain that controls appetite and hunger were paralyzed. The animals not longer could tell when they were full so they kept eating and eating. They now put MSG in processed foods because they know people get addicted to it. MSG had been used for so many years and they tell people that it is ok but its not. They give it to children and kids are becoming obese. Politicians talk about fighting obesity but they are not getting at the root of the issue in fact they are promoting it.

SP: With the implementation of Gerson therapy, you have seen changes in schizophrenics and other mental disorders?

CG: Mental diseases are so easy to cure its ridiculous. One day when I was traveling in Europe I came across this article on the causes of schizophrenia. One doctor found that there are certain fractions of protein that have a strange structure and when that protein fraction gets to the brain it makes you do funny things and all the problems of schizophrenia occur. They found that the same fraction of the protein was in the patient’s blood stream and urine as well. Dr. Gerson’s therapy would take out animal protein from the diet and that’s what could cure the patient. But they don’t do it like that. Every mental hospital is required to serve three protein meals to their patients even though protein is what specifically causes the problem. A doctor in Canada also found that vitamin B3, which is niacin, helps the body break down animal protein in the body. Taken in large amounts, niacin can get ride of the funky protein in the body that causes schizophrenia. It’s a cheap and easy solution. Vitamin B3 opens the capillaries and causes the body to flush, which some patients don’t like so they invented a non-flush kind, which doesn’t work to get the proteins out.

SP: Could you touch on the concept of “Earthing” for us?

CG: Earthing is the most wonderful thing to do and it costs almost nothing. All you use is the electric molecules that come from the earth. Walk around barefoot on the beach for at least 30 minutes a day and you can almost cure anything and all pain goes away. Earthing gives you the energy levels that neutralize pain because they restore the cells and tissues in the body temporarily. The best way to connect with the Earth is to read “Earthing” by Clinton Ober. Earthing saved his life and he now devotes his life to saving other people. He has created earthing materials that help you connect to the earth’s electricity.

SP: Do you think when people leave the Gerson Institute that they continue implementing the diet into their lives or just heal themselves and go back to their normal eating routines?

CG: A lot of the patients who come to the institute are seriously ill and looking for help. We teach classes and have books on how to prepare food for the Gerson diet so you can continue after you leave. For the first 5-7 days most people really miss salt but when your body gets ride of the poisons and your taste buds really start tasting food, not salt, you start to enjoy food. A lot of people like me can’t eat the average food because it burns your mouth, makes you thirsty, or gives you headaches. My book has been translated into 12 different languages. The world craves this information.

SP: Which book do you think is best to start with, for those who want to know more about The Gerson Therapy?

CG: “Healing the Gerson Way” as it’s the most up to date one. You can get it on Amazon, the Gerson institute, or gersonmedia.com.

SP: Did your sisters follow the Gerson protocol or were you the only one?

CG: I had to because of the tuberculoses. My sisters didn’t follow it near as much and they passed away some years ago.

SP: Thank you Charlotte. Do you have any other tips to share with us?

CG: Dr. Gerson said, “Never let the sun set on a day when you have not moved your bowel.” Do an enema if you have to. If you look up constipation in a medical dictionary it’s defined as five days of no bowel movement. That’s deadly. You reabsorb all the poisons.

Charlotte Gerson will be taking YOUR questions on an upcoming episode of our free “YOU Interview the Masters”.  Sign up here to be notified:
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Steven Prussack (SP): Thank you for joining us Sergei. How are you doing?

Sergei Boutenko (SB): I am doing great, how are you doing Steve?

SP: So let’s talk about your background and how you over came illness at an early age.

SB: When I was nine years old my family began to fall apart because everyone began to get sick. My dad had hyperthyroid, my mom had arrhythmia, my sister asthma and I was the catalysis, I was diagnosed with diabetes before anyone else found out they were sick. When we turned to medicine, they told us the same thing, “Take these drugs for the rest of your life and never get better.” Can you imagine why my mom looked for an alternative? She started looking and reading other books and asking doctors about diabetes and all our symptoms and she was getting nowhere so she did something radical. She started looking at healthy people on the street and when she would see someone radiant, she would approach them and say in her deep Russian accent, as we’d just immigrated at the time and say, “Hello, my name is Victoria and my son has diabetes, do you know anything about getting rid of it naturally?”

I can’t tell you how many people she scared away before she met one lady that said she knew exactly what we needed to do and that was eat fresh organic raw food. At first it all sounded crazy but she thought there seemed to be enough truth there. So she got rid of all our cooked food and smashed our microwave and pots and pans. People ask me if she really smashed the microwave and she really did. My mom is one of those ladies that needs to do what she needs to do to stick with it. So she actually put a hammer through the microwave.

SP: Wow, I thought you meant that as a figure as speech.

SB: No, definitely she knew that if she just unplugged the microwave that we’d come home and be hungry and use it. So if she put a hammer through it then we couldn’t do that. It was all foreign to us and we were very much scared by the medical industry that if we ate fruits and vegetables that we’d die. But what we observed was the opposite. Within months my diabetic symptoms started going away, my blood sugar was normal, and every member of my family had similar benefits.

I was nine years old.

In the beginning we never planned to teach about it and we just shared our story with people that wanted to listen. The more we shared it and the more people tried it, the more we realized the benefits of eating this way. Here I am 17 years later and it has been a phenomenally amazing journey.

SP: Amazing. Yeah, you had just immigrated here but you had been exposed to the SAD (standard American diet) before transitioning like this, right?

SB: 100%. We immigrated in 1990 and we had 3.5 years of eating the SAD before our health deteriorated. Just that immigrating change, where we’d go from a Russian food store that had one type of coffee, meat, maybe cabbage, beets and vodka, to a US supermarket where there is like 200 types of coffee, 50 types of cheeses and we thought that with such abundance there is no way that the Americans could do it wrong. They’d tested everything, they were much more advanced, and they would never feed their people unhealthy food. So we just tried to eat every single thing we could.

SP: Amazing. So all these years later and on the raw food path, you’ve turned into an expert on wild edibles. Does this have to do with the long hike trips your family took? Well, you tell the story.

SB: Yes, when my family hiked from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest trail was when the wild edibles’ seed was planted without me knowing it. So it’s 1998, my mother decided that eating raw wasn’t extreme enough, now we wanted to hike a trail that spans roughly 3000 miles and we want to do it all on raw food. In the beginning we actually wanted to do it bare foot but that didn’t work out. So, we had never hiked before. You can’t carry 6 months of food supply on your back so we packed food parcels and had a friend ship them along the way however we very much underestimated how much five hungry hikers could eat – my father, mother, sister, our cousin and myself. What happened is that we’d hike for four days and eat all our food that was meant to last seven days and have three days to hike with zero food. As fun as fasting is, it’s harder when you’re physically exerting yourself. So, we had a choice. We either needed to quit the trail and realize that we needed to plan better or we’d improvise. Luckily the Universe put us in touch with this man that was hiking and was a wild edible enthusiast. He said, “Are you kidding me? You guys are lacking food when there is so much here around us? And best of all, it’s free.” We started incorporating this way of eating and towards the end of the trail we were eating 70-80% off wild edibles and it was great. Our health further improved and we’ve never been the same since.

SP: Why is it important to learn about wild edibles?

SB: There are so many reasons why it is important to learn about wild edibles. The most obvious one for me currently, with the state of the economy, is cheap nutritious food that is accessible to every single person. If you go to a Whole Foods or another health food store the quality produce are very expensive. I’ve seen kale sell for $6 a bunch and maybe most families can’t afford that. When you turn to weeds and wild edibles you are getting the same quality if not better for free. Free food. Also, in the studies that I have conducted in wild edible nutrition I have realized they are much more preserved the way nature intended so humans haven’t altered them. In a timeline, 1000 years ago a dandelion was what lettuce was, there was no romaine lettuce. And over time someone decided that they were too bitter and they were tired of eating dandelion. So they would harvest that new seed and each time they harvested the new seed they would take the sweetest seed, therefore modifying the plant. 1000 years later you have this lettuce that is delicious, it was much broader leaves but unfortunately the quality of nutrient suffered immensely. So when you eat a dandelion from nature, it isn’t just a pesky weed that messes up your front lawn, it is an amazing immune system boost. It has way more chlorophyll nutrient than any kind of lettuce you can buy at the store.

SP: What are some of the other health benefits of wild edibles?

SB: The biggest health benefit is that when you begin eating wild edibles you increase the amount of food that you ingest. Side note: there is this guy, Daniel Mormon and ethno botanist devoted his life to studying what Native Americans eat. Mind you Native Americans didn’t have all the health problems we do, prior to being introduced to the way we eat. Daniel Mormon found out that Native Americans would eat 882 plants a year and use another 2000+ for medicinal purposes, as herbs, and for ceremonies, all together they incorporated over 4000 types of foods in their diet. Fast-forward to today and Michael Pollan author of Omnivores Today writes that the average human in modern day eats 30 plants per year. The amount of types of food that we consume has grossly shrunk. When you eat wild edibles you’re upping your food supply but hundreds if not thousands of different foods and increasing your chances of getting calcium, vitamin D, etc. Also, the wild edibles have longer root systems and are able to go beyond the depleted topsoil and draw out vital nutrients.

SP: Amazing, some of us don’t even think about this. We are so used to going to the farmer’s market, or Whole Foods and local organic stores and you can’t get the variety you’re talking about here. So how and where do we start learning about what we can eat and what we can’t?

SB: The learning process is a little bit difficult at first like most things are and you might doubt yourself and say that you don’t have a degree in botany. But I am here to tell you that everybody can learn about wild edibles safely. The best thing to do is to follow these three rules: Don’t eat something you don’t know what it is. You can watch my YouTube video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIaOhjIDD-8] that shows comical situations you can get in if you disregard that rule. Rule #2 is eating plants in small quantities the first time. As an example, I know that dandelions are 100% edible but I ask students of mine to try a small amount to see how their bodies take it so to make sure they don’t have adverse effects. Rule #3 is that you never mix your edibles unless you’ve had experience with them. If you go out in the woods and pick five or ten wild edibles and make a salad and if you happen to have a negative reaction you won’t know which plant you reacted to.

So those are the ground rules and with today’s access of information it’s pretty simple to start learning about wild edibles. You could pick up a good book or google most edible plants of your area and I recommend that everyone do this. For example, I live in Ashland, Oregon and I google edible plants in my area, I get a list and I print it off and it’s free and I stick it somewhere I look and everyday I learn one or two plants. While I do that I can also google ‘most poisonous plants of southern Oregon’ and there are a lot fewer poisonous ones so I start studying those as well. Slowly but surely, if you did that for 1 year you’d know 365 new plants and that’d be 365 new foods you added to your diet. For those that want even more convenience I recently released an iPhone application that puts all of my knowledge in the palm of your hand, it sells on iTunes for $2.99.

SP: Wow, $2.99 so if you go on the App Store and search ‘wild edibles’ you’ll be able to pull that up.

SB: It has photos, descriptions and recipes to identify and use the plant. Everything you’ll ever need.

SP: For those living in cities, how do you recommend we find these edibles and know if they’ve been sprayed or tainted?

SB: I am so glad you asked this question. When you live in cities you have to be more careful, it is definitely possible and there are many people that live in cities and can benefit. When you live in cities and are around human toxins and pesticides you are in more trouble than if you ate something that was just medicinal and get a stomachache from it. My best advice is that you harvest wild seeds and grow them in your garden. I found out that my wild edibles take virtually zero maintenance as opposed to my garden that I need to water, weed and cultivate. So I ordered some seeds from www.seedsofchange.com – lambsquarters, chickweed and plantain. I buried them in my garden and fast-forward a few months and I am in this wild edible forest and I go in there every morning with my blender and I chop wild edible weeds and make a delicious green smoothie. If you don’t even have garden space you do it in pots on your windowsill or on your balcony. It is accessible to everybody.

SP: What would you choose to look up on seedsforchange.com for wild edibles?

SB: I think their selection is pretty limited but they do generally have two types of purslane, they have golden purslane and lambsquarters, which is a must and chickweed. Another way is to find an organic farm near by and tell them that you’re a wild edible enthusiast and ask them if you can help them weed in exchange for the weeds. I say this because all organic farms are plagued by edible weeds. If you took any organic farm you could see that over half the food is unintentional and it is so abundant that it is a great way to utilize wild edibles.

SP: Smart, but you’d have to have a good knowledge about which weeds are edible.

SB: You would and you can talk to some of the farmers that are there. They are very knowledgeable. You could bring my App with you or come to one of my wild edibles events or find somebody local to you who eat wild edibles.

SP: Very cool, great tips. Anything else helpful to add?

SB: I’d like to say that I put out a lot of YouTube videos online on wild edibles and you can join my facebook group ‘Wild Edibles with Sergei Boutenko’ and every week there is a new video and it is a great way to learn. If you can’t come to me or I can’t go to you, we can meet on the Internet. I try very hard to film plants in a way that everybody can recognize them and talk about the identifying characteristics, so not to confuse them.

SP: Do you think the green smoothies are the best way to consume these?

SB: I think green smoothies are the best way to start experimenting with wild edibles, because the edibles are so nutritious and they’re so hearty and sometimes bitter and tastes we’re not familiar with. So with blending them with fruit in a smoothie the fruit masks the strong tastes and you are still able to get the benefits. After maybe a month of this you will find that you crave bitters and you can chop dandelions in your salad and the taste won’t affect you in the same way it would’ve a month prior. I think green smoothies are the gateway into enjoying them however you like. I will also say that blending dandelions in a pesto is a great way to eat them, the fats in the pesto will neutralize the bitterness. Pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, basil and dandelion.

SP: Let’s talk about raw food a little bit. Some people we’ve been talking to on this program are doing 100% raw and some are doing high percentage raw. What are you doing?

SB: Well, for 14 years of my life I was 100% raw with no exception and I would freak out if I thought that the almonds might be slightly roasted. And I just got too stressed out so I knew that I wouldn’t live forever and there was no point stressing out. I’ll give you an example, I was okay with experimenting with my body and there was a time I was living only on oranges because I thought orange juice is so healthy and I thought I’d be better off for it. It actually damaged my teeth a little bit and there were times I’d only eat fruit or only eat greens and I have basically come around to the idea that it is all a balance and you have to find your specific balance. Today I would say my diet is 85-90% raw, with a lot of greens but occasionally I will eat a steamed sweet potato or vegetables or a little bit of quinoa and I find this helps me stay away from eating the tons of nuts that I would otherwise be eating and overall I feel better because of it.

SP: That’s a great point. Some people get caught up in that, especially when they’re transition to raw and making high fat gourmet meals that combine so many kinds of fats and they find they’re lethargic and their digestion slows down and I think what you’re saying is a great way to look at it.

SB: Yeah, that is the only way I think to look at it. I feel that my family started the whole 100% raw to some extent and we’ve kind of backed off of it and that is just the learning process. You do something and find there is a better way and hopefully change.

SP: Yeah, but there is no denying that 100% raw reversed your health problems.

SB: Absolutely not. The way I look at it now is that if you have health problems right now then 100% raw is the way to go and it is more like a cleanse. You juice and drink smoothies and eat a super clean diet. Then for the long run, I incorporate some steamed things because I find that I don’t gorge when I do that and I don’t eat as many nuts, as I said earlier.

SP: Here we are in 2012, what are your plans for the future?

SB: My plan is to continue what I am doing. I am going to write a book on wild edibles, because in my book Fresh there is just a chapter or two dedicated to it. One of my most profound thoughts right now is that when you walk into a grocery store, a health food one or conventional store, it is amazing to me that 80-90 % of the food is not meant to be consumed. When things have been processed and chemicals added to it, I am shocked that we consume it and it is so unhealthy for us and I want to put that down on paper. How opposite that is from nature, when you walk into a forest and see all the wild edibles growing, you put them into your mouth and they’re 100% good for you and they are meant to be consumed. For example, I was watching the show How it’s made episode on aluminum foil and we use aluminum foil on food, after we bake, and at every step of this aluminum foil process they were dumping heavy grade commercial chemicals and solvents into it and every single step involved toxins and at no point did they clean it off, they just rolled it up and sold it to us. Wow, that makes me never want to use aluminum foil ever again. Yet it is USDA accepted that you put it on your food.

The best thing about eating raw food is that there is no waste and I have been thinking about that since day one. You buy the avocado, lettuce and tomato and you eat everything you want and maybe have some skins that you can litter anywhere you want because they’ll decompose, no plastic, and no resources, with the exception of watering the plant. That is so important for me. When we ate cooked food or processed foods everything was packaged and we had to take out the garbage 3 times a week and presently I make one garage bag every 2 weeks. I think that says it.

SP: Yeah, that says it all. Great message. As we wind down anything you want to share Sergei about raw food, transitioning, staying raw or how to have a balanced lifestyle because I know it’s not all about the food.

SB: I am really glad you asked that because sometimes within the raw food circles people tend to get divided, some say eat only fruit, some say don’t eat fruit and they flounder their counterparts. In today’s day and age where we have so many things dividing us, we don’t need another one. This is a journey for everybody and at the end of life we’ll know what we did right and what we could have done better. There is no way of knowing that my way is the right way so I just invite people to remember that and be a little more lenient to the people around them and realize that because we’re all different that makes life interesting. If we were all the same life wouldn’t be as fun.

I like how David Wolfe says it, “My message is like a CD, some tracks you’ll like and some you’ll have to skip” and I think that’s a great way of looking at it.

SP: Some may be revised in an updated version. That’s why we say to use your intuition and it’s about self-empowerment, don’t you think?

SB: I think so.

SP: What works for one many not work for another but there is a lot of information out there and we all have something to share. Thank you for your message and all the great work you’re doing. Sergei, it is an honor to have you and see you grow over the years and see you evolve into such a conscious being. Thank you for the inspiring work, I myself want to learn about wild edibles.

For more interviews with the leaders in raw food and conscious living, check out Rawpalooza Instant-Download Program Here.

On today’s show, we feature an exclusive interview with best-selling author and motivational speaker Markus Rothkranz.

You’ll Discover:

* What recession? You can finally thrive and live your dreams and help others and the world along the way.

* How to be happy and prosper so you can help the world finally wake up and heal.

* The tools to have the freedom and resources to be yourself and live your dream.

* Letting go and being simplified down to your core being- THE REAL YOU to create a world beyond your dreams.

Markus Rothkranz is living proof how amazing life can be when we take matters into our own hands. Markus looks younger at 49 than he did when he was 29. It really works!

Markus’ passionate motion pictures, DVDs, lectures and hugely popular book “HEAL YOURSELF 101? strike a chord in all cultures around the globe. Emails pour in daily as a testimony to how many lives he’s touched. His raw food Youtube video is number one in the world.

It’s all about awakening the planet to a new way of living in body, mind and spirit. The only way to heal the planet is to heal ourselves first, and Markus shows us how to do it naturally, the way nature intended. Never get sick again. Ever. Reverse menopause, grey hair and wrinkles. Feel the passion again. This is true transformation.