The Raw Truth
I am currently on my eighteenth day of a 21 day raw food program. What drew my interest to this was a documentary I saw about a woman in the destructive stages of diabetes. In her desperation to get better she searched the internet and the one thing that kept coming up was the benefits of a raw food diet. During her search she found a place called; "The Tree of Life 21 day program". This program claimed that people had been going off their medications after as little as 4 days. Being both skeptical and hopeful all at the same time she went to her doctor and told him she was going to make the trip and try this program. Needless to say as a doctor he was skeptical but could see no harm in her trying it, besides he was also curious to examine her afterward to witness the results for himself. Well to make a long story short, this woman did the program which consisted of 21 days of nothing but raw unprocessed foods, all plant based and absolutely nothing could be heated above 116 degrees. They used cheese and ice cream that was made from nuts because absolutely no dairy or soy is allowed. There was always more than enough to eat and she really did enjoy the food. By her fourth day she was able to stop her medication and by her nineteenth day she had lost 16 pounds with her only exercise being some light to moderate walking each day. When she came back home her doctor could not believe how good her stats were and told her to continue eating the raw foods and occasionally implement a bit of meat or fish if she wished. Well her whole family rallied around her and years later she is still off all her medications and her and her entire family are leaner and healthier than they have ever been.
Luckily I am not diabetic but it does run heavily in my family. I was more interested in the weight loss aspect of this way of eating and the overall health benefits. So here I am on my 18th day feeling better than ever. I've lost about 10 pounds and my energy level is through the roof, so I am very pleased with the results. I have decided to make raw foods a consistent 75% of my lifestyle and allow 25% of the many foods I love and crave to be eaten periodically throughout.
I would suggest this program to anyone who just wants to feel better, there is no starvation here you can eat an enormous amount of food. Just look into it, I promise you will not be sorry that you did.
Raw Fresh Salsa
3 or 4 lg. tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 fresh chilies, seeded and chopped
5 green onions, chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. minced fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
In lidded jar or covered non reacting container, combine all ingredients and marinate for at least 1 hour.
This salsa will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks.
Makes 2 cups.
Photo/DivrChk/Flicker
