Ahhh, the fat debate. The following blog is in response to questions on my Facebook fan page regarding my Feel Better Fast – Tip #10: “Rid rancid oils in your diet. Unstable cooked oil (rancid oil) is the largest cause of free radical damage to the human body. This damage is the primary cause of aging. It’s responsible for everything from hair loss to cancer. The ONLY safe/stable oil to cook w/is coconut oil. Olive oil is fine but ONLY raw. Sauté in coconut oil, remove from heat and then add olive oil for flavor.”

A couple of people asked whether grapeseed oil was OK to cook with at a high temperature. To answer, safflower and grapeseed oil are polyunsaturated, meaning two carbon atoms are double bonded to each other, each has one less hydrogen and the fatty acid is considered unsaturated (saturated means they are filled or … saturated).

But the debate shouldn’t really be whether it’s saturated or not, it should be about how the oil was made and will be used. Saturated fats are highly beneficial in their raw state. When fats are cooked or oxidized, they are chemically altered and are devoid of lipase, which leads to bad health.

However, for those who aren’t raw foodists, lets get back to the type of fat that is suitable for cooking. Poly oil (again, Poly means ‘many’ carbon-carbon double-bonds) such as soy, corn, safflower and grapeseed oil, has two double-bonds, giving them a reactive, unpaired electron! Consequently, this is an UNSTABLE FAT & will go rancid easily with exposure to heat, air, light and time.

Grocery store poly oils start going rancid immediately due to the air and high heat of commercial pressing, so they have to be refined, bleached and deodorized (RBDed) using even HIGHER heat to destroy the rancid smell. This high-heat deodorization pretty much destroys the oil during processing!

The now oxidized, RBDed, destroyed, nutritionally void oil has a long shelf life at room temp and will smell “fresh” straight from the store, but in fact, as I stated, it’s already rancid and is loaded with free-radicals called: lipid peroxide. And these only equal heart attack and/or cancer.

But let’s not leave lipid peroxide, or free radicals, to just cause cancer and heart disease, these attack cell membranes, red blood cells, can cause DNA/RNA damage resulting in mutations of the tissue (rancid fat is the number one cause of collagen loss), blood & skin! So they exacerbate virtually any disease!

RBDed Poly Food Oils should never be used for ANYTHING! This pretty much includes every oil on the grocery store shelf expect coconut oil, and olive oil is a mono fat, but this should still only be eaten raw. And many olive oils (even organic ones) have been solvent-extracted and often contain pesticide residue or other chemo-toxins. In addition, it is a common industry practice to adulterate up to 40% of an olive oil bottle with other cheaper oils, such as cottonseed oil, and these additional oils will not be listed on the label. The FDA does not currently test oils to determine truth in labeling. Booo!!!!!

Also, poly seed-oils such as grapeseed oil are very low-yield oils, so toxic solvents such as HEXANE are commonly used to suck out enough oil to be commercially profitable. If hexane is used, there is NO WAY to remove all of it from the oil.

But what if I get an  unrefined, hexane-free, cold-expeller pressed poly oil? The expensive stuff? And these have a high smoke point?

This is where it gets tricky. Grapeseed oil (using the example I gave above, the “BEST” GSO you can get), is an UNSTABLE and potentially TOXIC poly oil the SECOND you start to heat it. The smoke point is IRRELEVANT! You can still fry food in “toxic waste,” even if you keep it below the “smoke point.” Does this make sense? Smoke point means nothing!

Olive oil may have a lower smoke point, but it will not OXIDIZE rapidly (turn rancid) like the highly reactive poly oils. Bottom line, do not cook with poly oils EVER! Also, olive is not a stable cooking oil either, but I needed to use it as an example to show the BS involved in smoke point. And poly oils are so unstable, in fact, they will go rancid just sitting at room temp. They should be refrigerated.

I also want to point out that grapeseed oil, even when not heated, is loaded with Omega-6 (70%) and this throws your Omega-3 to Omega-6 ratio way out of balance. Also, safflower oil is loaded with Omega 6, which also puts this very low on the “desirable oil” list, even when not cooking with it.

Just say no to poly food oils such as soy (I don’t recommend eating soy in any form), corn, peanut, cottonseed, grapeseed, sunflower, safflower and Canola (which I don’t consider a food). Propaganda claims state that saturated fats lead to clogging of the arteries, when really, arterial plaque is close to 75% cooked unsaturated fat and “sludging” cholesterol from animal products.

The TRUTH is certain saturated fats are the most stable fat to cook with. And the most amazing, healing saturated fat on the planet is unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil. Unlike animal saturated fat that has cholesterol-soaked, high-calorie long-chain fatty acids (palmitin and stearin) that are very difficult for the body to assimilate, coconut oil has medium-chain fatty acids that the body can metabolize efficiently and convert into energy quickly!

Above: the semi-raw version of the butternut squash soup

Oh, but I will indeed have me some soup, and LOTS of it! Though I’m a raw foodist, I need my soup! Especially when it’s cold and blustery out! Those of you who know my philosophy, know that I am a big advocate of being gentle to the body, and this means honoring where you are and what your body needs. My clients who have a hard time in cold climates, I always have them go back to some healthy cooked foods during this time (and this includes myself). Remember, if eating raw food stresses you out, stress will kill you, so please don’t force this on yourself until you are ready, and sometimes you may never be ready, and this is OK, too. This is why many people have to get sick and are left with no choice but to go raw to heal; then they end up loving it, and 10 years later, they are still raw but have found what works for them. And what works for me in the fall/winter season are super yummy soups!

Honestly, I have never been a fan of raw soups, it’s like a savory smoothie, but we call it soup? There a few I love raw, such as gazpachos, cucumber soups, but soups that would be served cold if they were cooked – does that make sense? Anyway, the soup I LOVED and missed the most from my days of eating dead food was butternut squash soup. *SIGH*

Well, I bring to you a semi-raw version that is the closest you will ever get to the real thing! And for those who want to make this into a healthy fully cooked vegan version, I suggest you do the following:
1.    Roast the squash first with a little coconut oil and coconut nectar poured into the cavity.
2.    Caramelize the onion in the bottom of a non-Teflon soup pot, first using a little coconut oil.
3.    Mince and then sweat the garlic in the soup pot after the onions.
4.    Pour about 1/2 cup of the water into the pot, and using a whisk, scrape up all the caramelization tastiness from the onion on the bottom of the pan and into the broth.
5.    Throw in the roasted squash, remaining water, honey, seasonings and vinegar. Let simmer for 15 minutes.
6.    Ladle out some of the water and make cashew cream in high-speed blender.
7.    Pour rest of soup into high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.
8.    Top with herbed pesto and freshly cracked pepper.

Creamy Butternut Soup* w/Herbed Pesto
Soup
4 cups pure water
2 cloves garlic
1 medium sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 tablespoon Celtic sea salt
4 cups butternut squash
2 tablespoons organic, extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup raw, organic honey (or sweetener of your choice, though honey really works well here)
1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
1 cup cashews
Freshly cracked black pepper

Directions for soup:
Bring 4 cups of water just to a low simmer. Turn flame to lowest setting, and toss in garlic, onion and squash. Turn off flame, cover pot, and let sit for 5-7 minutes. Transfer the ingredients from the soup pot into a Vita-mix with sea salt, olive oil and honey, reserving 2 cups water for cashew cream. Blend until smooth. Pour soup back into the pot, and toss cashews into the Vita-mix with the reserved water. Blend, using the tamper, until smooth. Pour the soup back into the Vita-mix with the cream, and blend for a few seconds until combined. Adjust seasonings to taste.

**Remember this is a raw food recipe, so we do not want to destroy the nutrients with cooking and is why we only throw the veggies in barley heated water for 5-7 minutes. We ONLY (gently) SLIGHTLY soften the veggies in water and NOT until tender. You will need a high-speed blender to blend the slightly softened squash into a soup.

Herbed Pesto
1/2 cup walnuts
3 tablespoons pine nuts (can replace pine nuts with hemp seeds)
1 clove garlic
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons of herbes de Provence*
2-4 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

**If you can’t find it, you can make this combo by using the following dried herbs: 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons marjoram or thyme, 1 teaspoon rosemary and ½ teaspoon lavender.

Directions for pesto:
In a food processor, chop walnuts, pine nuts, garlic, parsley, basil and herbes de Provence until well ground, scraping down the sides as needed. Drizzle in olive oil as processing. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

I could never understand why David Wolfe says a way to remember methyl-sulfonyl-methane, or what we know as MSM, is to think: “Mary Sam Mary.”  I think he’s referring to remembering the acronym and not what it actually stands for. All you need to remember is MSM and that you should be taking this molecular food daily (of course, consult your doctor; those who are allergic to sulfur-containing drugs may have a reaction. It’s VERY rare, but should be mentioned). At any rate, as promised, here is more information on this amazing methyl group in response to a wall post on my Facebook page.

First here is the post:
Are you taking HARMFUL MSM?
Excipient-free, safe, organically derived MSM that’s not from fossil fuel appears as small shards of glass when held up to natural light. The swag stuff doesn’t have this appearance.

And because MSM acts as a carrier, it amplifies harmful, toxic excipients found in the swag stuff. Pine resin MSM is the best out there.

John Mabarak: Which MSM brand do you reccommend?

My thoughts:
The best way to find out is to call and ask the manufacturer. However, I would bet that 100% of the methyl groups found on health food store shelves is derived from petrochemicals and is synthetic.

Here is what you need to know to really get an answer from the company:

Pine Tree (resin) MSM -
The methyl groups are found within the lignin structures of pine trees.

A what-gin? A lignin is a complex chemical compound in wood and is an integral part of the secondary cell walls of plants and some algae. It’s pretty much what holds trees, plants and algaes together – it’s what makes wood, well, wood. Organic lignin is the second-most prevalent organic substance on earth, organic cellulose being the most prevalent.

And please understand that MSM is not extracted out of a pine tree. The DSMO from pine resin is a by-product from the paper manufacturing of pine trees. The liquid, or “Black Liquor,” an aqueous solution (a fancy way of saying the following things are dissolved in water) of lignin residues, hemicellulose (lots of different sugar molecules) and inorganic compounds (of mineral, not biological origin) is then distilled into MSM.

How do they make MSM from DSMO?
MSM produced by distillation is extremely pure.

The process we use to manufacture MSM mocks how it is produced in the earth’s upper atmosphere. The result is PURE MSM identical to that produced by nature.

“Swag” MSM -
The methyl groups are derived from DSMO; a by-product of petrochemical works. Or what happens after oil and petrol are refined, DSMO is one of the many by-products. No thanks! This is synthetic.

How Do I Know If It’s Pine Resin MSM?
Refer to its appearance when held up to light, as I mentioned earlier (see photos), or you can call the company and ask if their DSMO is a by-product of making paper or refining petro and oil.

I love Sunfire Super Foods MSM (they are a small company out of Austin Texas). Regeneration Raw plans to carry this one soon in Royal Oak, Mich., at the new Heal Yourself Institute. Also, Sunstar Organics is cheap and a great place to start (we have this one right now). And if you hate the taste, you can always capsulate it.

I’m singing this again! I think this is my second blog headline with the Gwen Stefani banana anthem. Anywho, don’t you flippin’ love banana peppers? Back in my high school days, I used to slather those puppies on my vegetarian foot long sandwich on whole wheat (aka: white flour in disguise)…pretty scary I thought, and to most, was considered a healthy eater. Oooooh, and how ’bout those bad boys adding a hot vinegary kick to Greek salads, pizza or calamari? I used to get extra banana peppers on all the above!

Yes, I was the typical vegetarian who called myself vegetarian but ate seafood! Ha! Which is meat. (I love how seafood is not considered meat to most vegetarians. I guess that’s really a pesce-vegetarian, but I don’t think there was this label back then, and really, when have you ever heard a vegetarian who eats seafood break that title out? Perhaps calling yourself a pescetarian is better, no? But, I can just see the confusion on people’s faces! It’s hard enough trying to explain what a vegan is, let alone, a 5-syllable word label for your diet.)

Let’s get back to business here. There are tons of organic, local peppers flooding the produce shelves in Michigan. I’ve, of course, figured out a healthier, raw version of this junk food classic spicy garnish. I choose to substitute the banana pepper with a hotter yellow wax pepper known as the Hungarian pepper. This is so easy to do and really is so much better fresh!! And for raw foodists living in climates with cold seasons, eating peppers gives you that feeling of warmth your body needs during those cool months. However, if you practice Ayurveda or are wanting to individualize your diet and find out your dosha is vata, these can be very aggravating to vata’s constitution. Just something to note.

Banana Peppers
1.    Any size glass jar with a tight-fighting lid will do – size the jar to figure out the number of pepper slices you have. You don’t want a huge glass jar that’s filled with 1/4 peppers. Then you have to fill the rest with a vinegar/water solution, and this is wasteful.
2.    Any yellow wax pepper or banana peppers.
3.    You’ll need some healthy vinegars. Here are the only ones I use: Eden Organics Raw Red Wine Vinegar (this is the only kind I use. The Whole Foods out west don’t carry Eden, but if you ask they might. You can order from Eden online), coconut vinegar and/or apple cider vinegar.
4.    Fresh lemon juice to help with preserving – 1-3 tablespoons depending on your jar size.
5.    Sea salt
6.    Water to dilute and cover peppers

Directions
First cut your peppers into those familiar rings. Put them into your jar, and then add your choice of vinegars until it’s just under halfway full. What I usually do is a 4:2:1 ratio. I use mostly coconut vinegar, then add red wine vinegar, followed by a little apple cider vinegar. Next, pour in lemon juice and salt, and then fill the rest with pure water. Seal and then place into fridge to “pickle.” They should be ready in 2-3 days. I like mine with a crunch. If you want them softer, you can wait longer before “harvesting,” but try them each day to see where they are in the softening process.

While in Miami last month after teaching my 4-day certification program, I went into search mode for a vegan restaurant that served Sunday brunch. I found a hole-in-the wall record store that caters in a vegan Sunday brunch. Swear. And of course, I went.

Funny, ’cause people always look at me like I’m nuts when I tell them my headquarters is in Detroit. First, I get a look like, you mean people really live there? Which is followed by, like how could a business focused on health/wellness be based there? Now that I’ve traveled all around the country and have been exposed to many wellness scenes for some time, I can tell you Detroit has a lot more going on than a lot of places. We actually have more choices for truly healthy restaurant food than both Miami and Phoenix combined.

Really, Miami? All those beautiful people? Well, they only have the yoga/fitness part down, the food, however, has a LONG way to go. The Whole Foods on Alton is the WORST one I’ve ever been to in all my travels (even beyond the swag produce offered, it’s mainly the customer service that gives the place this title). I must say, however, I did have one good experience at that Whole Foods last time I was there, but, I am literally there everyday, and more often than not, twice a day, and to only have one good experience … not so much. Miami is definitley creeping slowly toward a healthier food scene, hence the seedy record store brunch, where I experienced my first encounter with boxed water, that’s right, water out of a box. Which leads me to the fact that this concept actually was created in Michigan – I’m telling yah, there’s lots of good stuff going on here – the media portrayal has us deemed as “done,” but I think Michigan is just getting started.

For my dining cohort, drinking out of a box took him back to pounding back grade school milk cartons. For me it was an aversion, as I always hated drinking milk. The box is great, we are lessening our environmental impact, but like the S.A.V.D dieters (what I have coined the Standard American Vegan Diet – the vegan junk food diet), who in the end are saving the animals/enviroment, but are killing themselves, I ask myself, “What water is in this box?” It says it comes from Minnesota? And isn’t tap water the most environmentally friendly water, really? I think this company says on its website that tap water is the best way to lessen your environmental footprint but feel people are going to want bottled water, so the least impactful way to meet this demand is in a box. But like the S.A.V.D dieter’s, what about your HEALTH?

As a raw foodist, I am looking for both a CLEAN and environmentally friendly water. At the end of the day, I don’t want to choose between the earth and my life on earth. It speaks volumes to what we’ve created that there is now a choice between destroying our mother or ourselves. And most people are doing both.

For me, I would say the best route is to get a system on your house and “bottle” (I recycle my glass bottles) your own water. And how ’bout local spring foraging (www.findaspring.com)? Though one could argue you have to drive to the spring and this is carbon emissions. Oy. I’m tired. At the end of the day, I commend the box for trying to come up with a solution. However, at the end of the day, Einstein once said, “A problem can’t be solved from the same mind-set that created it,” so maybe we need to think outside the box (sorry, couldn’t resist) and come up with a solution that creates clean water and no waste. I mean, water is everywhere, why all the bottles? We just need to clean it up first.

And since we’re on the subject of water and for all of you who missed my Facebook post on water, I’m including it here with the link to a recent Dr. Mercola video: I get the H20 question all the time. Mercola is finally on the band wagon. I’ve been teaching for years that alkaline or ionized water is not good! H20 doesn’t do this in nature! A clean, directly from the source (like spring foraging) spring water, or if you get distilled water, remineralizing it with 1/2 teaspoon good-quality sea salt to a gallon of water is your BEST choice (of course reverse osmosis H20 with sea salt is the best choice if you can afford a system). Most importantly, if you eat the right FOODS, you won’t be acidic and won’t feel like you need these “doctored” H20’s! Again, alkalized H20 is not the easy/quick fix. You need to change your diet to get your PH back on track. Over time, they are DANGEROUS! You want H20 free of poisons/toxins, not H20 with a high PH.

Vegan Brunch (for the curious and of course, it’s vegan junk food)
Sweat Records
5505 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137

Oh, and for you raw foodists in Maimi, they at least had raw rolling papers! I was dying laughing. Hey, it’s something, raw, no?

Sept. 10 was my mom’s birthday. I haven’t actually talked to my mom in at least 5 years.

And I’m okay, really!

It’s a strange phenomenom that most people either assume my mother’s dead because I never mention her, or I get that look of utter sympathy when people find out I don’t talk to my mom.

Wait, REALLY, I’m okay!

If it was my dad I didn’t talk to, I don’t think people would have this reaction. Like, this is accepted and almost expected, but not having a mom is just plain WRONG, and you should do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to fix it. But not everything broken should be fixed.

And REALLY, this is okay!

What is a “fix” really? Junkies live and eventually die for a “fix,” which in the end kills the sprits and lives of everyone around them. And let’s not forget, like asshole fathers, moms can be assholes, too.

I used to lie to people who asked about her just so I wouldn’t feel like everyone judged me … like how you could possibly not talk to your mom! I thought people would think there was something wrong with me, but really this was my mom screaming in my head not to leave her as she destroyed my life, my dad’s life, my brothers’ lives, her family’s lives and lastly, most sadly, her life, all while trying to live out her life as a mother, wife, daughter and sister. This family obligation fed her illness and caused so much pain we are still healing from. Without the mother label, and more so without the innate expectations that this title or any family ties really harbor, there wouldn’t have been so many casualties – we would have been allowed to walk away – or better yet, allowed ourselves to walk away.

And people have judged me. But, probably in the end, I was only in judgment of myself living out a motherless existence. Besides, it’s not between me and them anyway, in the end it’s only between me and God while I’m living out the quick flash of living in flesh we call life. I choose to create abundance on all levels during this SHORT time – that tiny dash between our birthday and the day we die on our tombstones is a literal testament to how short life is.

The day I stopped the madness was the most BEAUTIFUL moment of my life.  I thank my mom everyday because without all this (remember, I chose her), I wouldn’t be who I am today.

So get rid of it! This is not part of the aging process, but rather an ugly byproduct of us demineralizing ourselves and not getting the right nutrients from food over the years!

Gray hair is simply a trace mineral (silicon, sulfur & copper), raw fatty acid and B vitamin deficiency.

Here’s how to rid of those stubborn, unattractive wiry gray hairs:

1. Eat raw fermented foods for your B’s (B-12 you need to supplement)

2. Eat sea veggies and Celtic sea salt for trace minerals, including sulfur-residue foods such as arugula, blue-green algae, bee pollen, etc. and supplement pine resin MSM in smoothies, juices or water.

3. Drink nettle/horsetail tea for silicon (best source). I also take Orgono Living Silica.

4.  Raw fatty acids include organic, cold-pressed, hexane-free coconut oil, chia seeds, flax seeds oil, hemp seeds/oil, avocados, and the list goes on and on…Man a raw food diet ROCKS!

5. Raw or cured Fo-ti, also known as ho shou wu. This Chinese nickname literally translates to “Mr. He’s Black Hair.” Though it comes in four forms, I mostly buy it cured. In it’s raw form, it really just acts as a laxative. I make medicinal teas/water with the cured form.

Now these are strawberries! I seriously wait all year for these homegrown berries. Any other strawberry doesn’t hold a candle – all the other “strawberries” taste like cardboard! Really, you have NOT had a strawberry till you’ve had a homegrown berry. It’s seriously like sugar melting on your tongue when these bad boys hit your mouth!

When they are in season, I buy tons of them from the farmers market, wash them and freeze them. And yes, leave the green tops on! We eat salads, right? So why do we cut the tops off? Yeah, we were never taught to eat to live, so we only do what we know. Well, those greens tops we lop off is where all the phytonutrients are!

I am sure to stock a plethora of fresh, sweet, amazing strawberries all winter long (if they last that long). I toss them into smoothies, make pie fillings, jams, ice creams, sorbets, fruit leathers, strawberry fig newtons, etc.

Here are some nutritional facts about the strawberry:
(based on 1 cup)
Vitamin A = 1 mcg (microgram)
Vitamin C = 85 mg
Vitamin E = o.4 mg
Vitamin K = 3 mcg
Thiamin (B1) = 0.03 mg
Riboflavin (B2) = 0.03 mg
Niacin (B3) = 0.7 mg
Pyridoxine (B6) = 0.07 mg
Folate = 35 mcg
Pantothenic acid = 0.2 mg
Biotin = 2 mcg
Strawberries are neutral on the PH scale
Calcium 23 mg
Copper 69 mcg
Iron o.6 mg
Magnesium 19 mg
Manganese 0.5 mcg
Phosphorus 35mg
Potassium 220 mg
Sodium 1 mg
Zinc 0.2 mg

Huh? In laymen terms, without a healthy lymphatic system, you don’t stand a chance. If you are chronically ill or want to avoid degenerative disease, you need some serious lymph cleanin’! Because it’s living in our modern world, our lymphatic system is doing triple overtime by neutralizing not just the bacteria, viruses and parasites it’s always handled, but now it has to eliminate all the various chemicals and pollutants we are exposed to. And ladies, if you wear bras with underwire, you actually stop lymph circulation! Oddly enough, our lymph’s flow against gravity, but we have to keep them movin’ to stay healthy. The easiest way to do this is by bouncing on a rebounder. Just 2 minutes bouncing can flush the lymph system AND triple your white blood cell count! Or, here is an easy, delicious drink that cleans out your lymph’s.

This recipe is based on a lymph cocktail recipe administered at the Tree (Tree Of Life Rejuvenation Center). I have tweaked it slightly to make it even more medicinal!

Lymph Cocktail
Ingredients
8-16 ounces nettle and horsetail homemade tea (place 1/2 cup of each herb in a giant glass jar letting it sit in the sun for the afternoon. Store in the fridge and use in recipes as needed)
1/4 cup Vivapura Goji berries
Juice of 1-2 lemons (depending on size)
1/2 tablespoon pomegranate juice (I recommend Premiere Research Labs concentrated brand)
1-2 ounces aloe juice
Pinch of Celtic sea salt
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of ginger

Directions
Combine ingredients. You can serve it as hot tea or on ice. NOW GET MOVIN’!!

There has been some recent talk about bone loss and eating a raw food diet – I want to reassure you this is not from eating a raw diet. Everyone I know is suffering from this, not just raw foodies. What we should really be asking ourselves is though we have all this milk and other dairy products loaded with calcium (does the body good, no?), oh, and I mustn’t forget all the HOARDS of calcium supplements we take (especially women) over the years, yet we seem to be the only nation blessed with osteoporosis, yet we have all this calcium at our disposal! Um, third world countries, where they have little to no dairy and no calcium supplements never see osteoporosis. More women die in America each year due to complications from bone fractures than three cancers combined! Milk, well, it does nothing good, but does what it is supposed to do: Build bigger, better, stronger COWS.

The biggest issue here is the difference between good (calcium found in green-leafy veggies, nettles, etc.) and bad calcium (all calcium supplements except maybe pearl calcium and processed milk products). Uh-huh, the calcium theory is one of the WORST medical travesties ever implemented by man. Without getting into too much science here, our bones are actually formed from silicon/silica (in bones, this is found in the area of active growth and transmutes into calcium). What? Yeah, really. We are the only country who adopted Lavoisier’s Law (a mineral is a mineral and cannot be changed). The European alchemist never adopted this theory. Why, because this is simply not true.

I remember when I was filming a commercial for a hospital (yes, raw food is in a hospital!!), and there was a pretty well-known nutritionist who stayed around to watch my segment. After the first take, she was so riled up by the fact that I said cooking destroys minerals in the food, that she went up to the producer and raised a huge stink! I also have to step back from my ego and realize the mass consciousness, so I agreed with her as not to rock the boat (I have to be VERY careful what I say and do in the hospital; I am under a VERY watchful microscope … for now at least! Things are shifting I can feel it), but still managed to sneak it in. Again, us sticking to the same science that was developed in like 1919 is ridiculous. If you still doubt me, then Google Rutherford – he found this theory incorrect in the early 1900s, and then Klaus Kaufman later came out explaining the actual transmutation of silica into calcium. For bones to actually form from calcium phosphate, you need a bunch of stuff going on, such as the presence of boron, manganese, magnesium, etc. Toss back some silica rather, and it goes to work building bone straightaway.

And why is this “bad” calcium so bad? Well, I sort of got off track here, and won’t go into too much detail, but think about it – again we have this over abundance of calcium we are consuming, but we are literally calcifying from the inside out. If you read my story, I was. This calcium is nanobacteria. I mean look at an X-ray of arthritis! There is so much more to this, but I’ll leave it at that for this blog.

There also is the whole deal with unhealthy livers and the transmutation and absorption of calcium. Silicon is actually transmuted to calcium in the liver, so if you’ve got an unhealthy liver (which 99% of Americans do), then you’re not getting the calcium anyway. And for your small intestines to absorb the calcium, your food must first be combined with bile, and if you’re not producing bile (which is what happens to our abused livers), then calcium is not absorbed. The body then has a deficit that is has to somehow make up for, and so your blood leaches calcium from your bones. It’s a vicious cycle.

So to sum up, bone loss is simply from all those years of demineralizing your body, putting the wrong calcium into your body! You have to realize how poor your mineral intake has been your whole life, and the fact you haven’t been loading up on silica – the mineral that actually builds bones. So those trying to raise a stink about raw foodists and bone loss and those raw foodists worried about bone loss, you can’t just blame the healthiest diet on the planet, and wonder why your bones are deteriorating at age 55 and you have been raw for a year! Again, this has been a lifelong journey of demineralizing your body; it’s gonna take a raw food diet with lots of green, leafy veggies (high mineral foods with silica and the right calcium), a healthy liver, and some time to get your body back on track.

When you go raw, I suggest you supplement the first year or so and get your body back on track (unless you went raw in your early 20s). And the mineral supplements you have taken all along didn’t work. You peed them out! Bone loss again is from eating a poor-quality diet low in naturally occurring minerals and an unhealthy liver. Mother Earth Minerals has a great magnesium, and also cacao is one of the highest sources of magnesium. Raw carob (not roasted) is one of the highest sources of GOOD calcium. Um, hello!! That’s like a chocoholics dream! And then to get in your silica, I make medicinal waters. Nettle and horsetail sun tea is my savior!! I throw a ton of this loose into a giant glass jar with pure water and let it sit in the sun for the afternoon. I then store it in my fridge and use this water in my raw soups, smoothies, or anywhere where water is called for in a raw recipe.