I simply must introduce you to a woman who has inspired me deeply, and I hope she will inspire you, too. Her name is Shonagh Home, and what she taught me is improving every aspect of my life—and I think it can improve yours, too. You see, for years I had been focused on achieving good health by eating right and exercising. But I had been ignoring something very profound—my inner vitality.

Optimum health is not just about eating well and exercising—it’s about reaching a whole new level of appreciating and loving your body. There are many paths to this, but today I’m going to focus on just one—eating more of your food raw, rather than cooked. Raw food has far more nutrients and “life” in it than cooked food, which is why it can increase your inner vitality (not to mention, improve your mental clarity, your quality of sleep, and even your self-image).

It was a very dramatic scare that sent Shonagh on her mission to educate women about the importance eating raw foods. In one year, four of her friends, all of whom were in their 40s, were diagnosed with breast cancer. One of her friends was lucky enough to find a medical doctor who thinks outside the box. He encouraged her to embrace a much wider-ranging way of taking care of her body, inside and out. He sent her to a holistic healing center that shows people how to condition their bodies and transform the quality of their lives using raw food, wheatgrass juice, and colon cleansing, to name just a few methods.

“I kept thinking about everything my friend was learning, and how she was cleansing the toxins from her body,” Shonagh says. “Intuitively, I knew that I had to do it, too.”

Raw Food Is Alive With Nutrients

Raw foods are uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods that are not heated above a certain temperature—usually between 92º F and 118º F. These diets may include raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, and, sometimes, unpasteurized dairy products.

The longer food is cooked, the more important enzymes and other nutrients are lost. Ann Wigmore, one of the early proponents of raw food, explained the connection. “During the process of cooking, vital enzymes are destroyed; proteins are coagulated, making them difficult to assimilate; vitamins are mostly destroyed, with the remainder changing into forms that are difficult for the body to utilize; pesticides are restructured into even more toxic compounds; and valuable oxygen is lost and free radicals are produced.”

Ann saved her own life by switching to raw foods. When she was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, she was told by doctors to basically go home and die. Not willing to accept this fate, Ann turned to her roots. Her grandmother was from the old country and taught her about the health benefits of herbs and wheatgrass, so Ann created a device that allowed her to squeeze the juice from wheatgrass. Wheatgrass juice is the green liquid extracted from sprouted grains, and it is said to be high in vitamins A, B, C, and E, as well as amino acids such as lysine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine. Plus, wheatgrass is 70 percent chlorophyll (that’s what makes plants green), and chlorophyll is a powerful detoxifier.

Ann’s raw food diet ended up healing her cancer. Later, she shared this valuable information with others by starting the Hippocrates Health Institute (www.hippocratesinst.org).

A Raw Revolution Begins

Armed with the preliminary knowledge of the importance of following a raw diet, Shonagh immersed herself in learning because she knew that what was happening to her friends could happen to anyone. She read countless books on raw foods, as well as Dr. Jensen’s Guide to Better Bowel Care by Dr. Bernard Jensen. According to Dr. Jensen, the colon is critical to whole-body health because 90 percent of disease begins there.

So, Shonagh did a seven-day cleanse and began to eat a raw diet. “I made a three-month commitment to try it, because I understood it would take my body a while to adjust to this new way of eating,” she said. “I knew I had to make raw food interesting. I did not want to be eating lame salads and carrot sticks for the rest of my life, so I found recipe books by hot chefs who were making incredible meals for celebrities. Once you start playing around with these recipes, all of a sudden, you get it.”

Why Make the Change?

Still not convinced of the benefits of raw food? Shonagh’s research has uncovered some interesting facts about pasteurized dairy and meat.

First, she says, the American Dairy Association has been in charge of the nutritional education of public schools since 1915. “We now have four to six generations of people raising their children to believe that milk is how you get your calcium, and meat is how you get your protein. But the nations with the highest rates of dairy intake also have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

“When people hear I’m eating a raw diet, they always ask how I get my protein. The truth is, we need a lot less protein than we’ve been told. Remember, the people setting our nutritional standards are from the meat and dairy industries. You can get your protein from all green, leafy vegetables (such as spinach and kale), raw seeds and nuts, sea vegetables (such as hijiki and nori), spirulina, and algae. Not to mention, bee pollen is pure protein.

“On top of that, the meat we’re eating today doesn’t even resemble the meat our grandparents ate. The whole factory farming business is out of control. We have companies committing crimes against our food every day by genetically engineering it. Plus, animals in these factories are fed antibiotics to keep them alive because the conditions are so ghastly. It goes well beyond the bounds of cruelty, in terms of how these animals are raised and treated.

“What a lot of people also don’t realize is that a healthy dairy cow lives 25 to 30 years, and a factory farmed dairy cow lives two to four years. It’s literally milked to death. Plus, the bovine growth hormone is the most powerful hormone we know of. When we consume any kind of dairy that is from a cow injected with this hormone, we’re ingesting that hormone. The hormone is still active when it enters the body, making everything grow—including tumors.

“We simply must educate ourselves about these things so that we can make smart decisions for ourselves and our children. The most powerful way to change anything is through money, so you can refuse to purchase that kind of food. If you want to eat meat, then go to a grocery store like Whole Foods that sells grass-fed, humanely-raised beef, and try to limit your intake.”

Start a Love Affair With Your Food

According to Shonagh, “The quickest way to achieve tremendous changes in your life is through food. If you positively change the way you eat, you will see results in your body, you’ll feel better about your body, and you’ll feel better about your life in general. Ultimately, your body responds to self- love. Part of that is being conscious about what you put into your body.”

Since starting her raw food diet, Shonagh says, “I feel like I’m having a love affair with food. My taste buds have changed. There is so much flavor in raw food. In fact, I was in Mexico last December and there was a street vendor selling oranges. He sliced the orange in half and sprinkled some cayenne pepper on it. I will forever have that memory of walking down the Mexican street, savoring the flavor combination of the sweet orange and hot pepper tastes.“

In addition to the spectacular flavors you get to indulge in when eating raw, unprocessed foods, you also get a host of health benefits. Eating processed food causes a lot of toxins to run through your body. This causes constipation, among other problems. But when you’re eating a raw food diet, cleaner, purer blood flows into your brain, heart, and muscles. So, you’ll feel more energetic, happier, and
mentally clear. And some added benefits are that you’ll feel sexier and you may even lose excess fat and cellulite!

“I feel tremendous benefits from raw food. My energy level is fantastic. I sleep like a stone, and before this I was a light sleeper. Now, my head hits the pillow and I’m out. I base that on several things. I used to be addicted to white sugar, but I stopped eating it. Now I don’t have processed sugar running through my system. And because of all the fiber I’m taking in, I’m not constipated, so I’m not going to bed with all that gook in my body. I also have incredible mental clarity. It feels like a rebirth. I’m so alert.”

And Shonagh is motivated by something else—self-image. She explains, “For centuries, women have been so conditioned to reject their bodies. Do you know of a woman who can look at herself naked and say, ‘I am so beautiful?’ I say that to myself every day. If you sit and wait for someone to say it to you, you could be waiting a long time. Our bodies are beautiful and deserve the best.”

*         *         *        

Here are some of Shonagh’s recommended books that can get you better acquainted with raw food. And if you want to dive right in to this lifestyle, consider visiting either the Hippocrates Health Institute or the Optimum Health Institute (www.optimumhealth.org). In addition, Shonagh can consult with you or offer an in-home seminar. Contact her at 206-409-1536. Her Web site is www.rawgorgeous.com. (It will go live the first week of June.)

Reading List

Try Raw Food for Yourself. You don’t need to immediately change your whole diet to raw food. Start slowly by eating one gorgeous salad every day, or start your day with a fantastic smoothie. Here are a few simple, tasty recipes to ease you into this diet. Buy organic ingredients whenever possible.

Recipe #1

Green Salad Extravaganza

Salad Ingredients:

• Spinach
  Romaine or red leaf lettuce mix
  Clover or alfalfa sprouts
  Watercress
  1 or 2 pieces of kale
  2 or 3 leaves of dandelion greens (available at health food stores)
  Radishes
  Cucumbers
  Tomatoes
  ½ avocado
  Pumpkin, sunflower, or hemp seeds
  2 teaspoons powdered kelp
  1 tablespoon Udo’s oil or hemp seed oil
  

Finely chop the greens and veggies, and mix all ingredients together. (You don’t need to use ALL the greens I mention, but definitely use this as an opportunity to experiment with unusual greens and vegetables that you wouldn’t normally buy. There are so many different kales, and when you mix them with spinach or other greens, you have upped the chlorophyll content and effortlessly added powerful, health-promoting plants to your diet.)

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 tablespoons raw honey
  1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  ½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
  ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  ½ cup cold-pressed olive oil
  

Shake ingredients in a covered container and add a small amount to the salad.

Recipe #2

Raw Breakfast “Cereal”

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds or walnuts, soaked overnight
  ½ cup currants or unsulphured dried cranberries
  2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  1 teaspoon cinnamon
  ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  

Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix well. Top with sliced strawberries and add fresh-squeezed orange juice instead of milk. The flavor combination is just delicious.

Recipe #3

Fettuccine with Sun-Dried Tomato
Marinara Sauce

To make raw fettuccine, simply cut the top and bottom off of a zucchini and, using a peeler, peel the zucchini until you reach the seeds. The peelings will be your “pasta.”

Marinara Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (soaked for 3 hours)
  3 large heirloom tomatoes or organic slicer tomatoes
  1 to 2 cloves of garlic
  1 cup packed basil leaves
  ½ cup flat-leaf parsley
  3 tablespoons olive oil
  1 tablespoon raw honey
  2 teaspoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
  1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  

Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and rinse. Set aside. Cut heirloom tomatoes in half and remove seeds. Dice and set aside. In food processor, chop garlic, basil, and parsley. Add sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, honey, and lemon juice, and pulse until finely chopped but not smooth. In a bowl, fold the sun-dried tomato mixture with the diced heirloom tomatoes. Add sea salt and Italian seasoning to taste. Mix with zucchini noodles and garnish with raw pine nuts, if desired.

Recipe #4

Good Old Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 2 avocados
  1 tomato
  ¼ cup fresh cilantro
  1 teaspoon cumin
  1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
  

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork. Instead of baked chips, use sliced cucumbers to dip in the guacamole.

Recipe #5

Peaches and Cream Pie

Crust Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight)
  4 pitted dates (soaked for ½ hour)
  1 teaspoon cinnamon
  1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla
  

In a food processor, chop almonds into a fine meal. Add dates, cinnamon, and vanilla and pulse until mixed. Remove mixture and place in a pie plate. Push down and mold into a perfect pie crust.

Peach Filling Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh peaches or thawed unsweetened frozen peaches
  ⅔ cup raw macadamia nuts or cashews (soaked overnight)
  ¼ cup raw honey
  1 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla
  ¼ cup fresh-squeezed orange juice
  

Puree peaches in a blender and add other ingredients. Use orange juice to increase creaminess if the mixture is too thick. Use spatula to spread mixture over pie crust. Garnish with fresh strawberries and refrigerate. Let chill for one hour before serving.

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