When I first went raw, I jumped in with both feet and went 100% raw for 30 days. The first few weeks I found myself eating tons of nuts! I know it’s not uncommon for people transitioning to raw food to overeat nuts, so I decided to share my story and advice about nuts.

Why The Nuts?

Why do most of us immediately reach for the raw nuts and seeds when we switch to a raw diet?

1. We want to feel full.

Since nuts are solid, crunchy, and filling, we have a tendency to use them as a replacement for cooked food. For example, when I first went raw, I would still feel “hungry” after eating a generous salad. I’d eat a handful or two of nuts to get that semi-drowsy feeling I was missing.

2. Nuts are crunchy.

Of course another reason why we might overeat nuts at the beginning is that we miss that crunchy yummy sort of salty feeling. Nuts make a natural replacement for chips, popcorn, crackers, and other snacks. Here’s a quick tip if that’s why you’re reaching for the nuts: try crunching on some celery, or make kale chips!

3. It’s an easy snack food.

You don’t need to wash, cut, or blend anything to eat nuts. If you’re in a hurry or feeling tired, you can just open a jar or reach for a container of nuts and enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with this behavior, but if you’re overeating nuts you will want to prepare adequate snack foods in advance.

Remember that being prepared is half the battle when it comes to eating healthy foods.

Nuts: The Good and The Bad

On the one hand, nuts make us feel full because our body is expending energy trying to digest them. Nuts are harder to digest than fresh fruits and vegetables. In reality we probably wouldn’t be eating tons of nuts in nature, unless they were fresh and in season. How many of us live next to a Brazil nut tree? That’s what I thought.

Nuts have tons of great nutritious qualities, and I don’t think we should shun them entirely. The healthy oils found in nuts are full of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for the brain, and for keeping your stress levels under control. Alternative sources of omega-3 fatty acids include chia seeds and flax seeds.

Most people have an easier time digesting seeds than they do digesting nuts. Also, the reason why more people are allergic to nuts than seeds is that nuts tend to go rancid if kept on a shelf for too long a time.

The Nutty Conclusion

So what’s the verdict? No, you won’t go insane if you eat too many nuts. But try to limit yourself to one handful per day, since they are hard to digest. If you feel bloated or gassy after eating nuts, cut down.

Also, you should avoid eating nuts with fresh fruits since that will definitely cause some discomforts and gas!

Other than that, go nuts. :D

Have you ever had a taste of freshly made vegetable juice? It’s one of the most nourishing foods out there. And today I’m going to show you just how to make this type of fresh veggie juice.

How to Make Vegetable Juice Video

Veggie Juice Ingredients

The beauty of making vegetable juice is that you can pretty much improvise with what you’ve got in your kitchen or garden.

That being said, here’s what I used in this particular juice.

• Carrots (tops and all)
• Apples
• Ginger
• Celery
• Parsley

Juicer Recommendations

I’ve heard great things about the Breville Juice Fountain, and many raw foodies recommend it. One of the benefits is that it’s a good quality juicer, for a pretty fair price.

It also has a wider opening, so you don’t need to cut fruits or vegetables as small to get them juiced.

The juicer I own is the Omega J8005 Nutrition Center Single-Gear Commercial Masticating Juicer. What I like about it is that you can use it to make green juice, and other treats like nut butters, raw fruit sorbets and ice creams, and baby food.

It’s got a heftier price tag, but because it uses a mastication system you’re actually getting more juice for your buck. Before I got this blender I always cringed when I saw how much juice was left in the pulp. Now the pulp is totally dry.

What is Your Favorite Mix?

I’d love to know what your favorite mix of vegetable juice is. I’m pretty partial to my “Beet Goes On” beet juice recipe. What else do you like to drink?

Photo by Andreas Levers

Could your health be suffering because you don’t supplement with vitamins and essential minerals?

When I first went raw, I thought vitamins and supplements were for the birds. Or rather that we didn’t need them. After all, I had my blood levels checked after I went raw and everything was fine.

Since then I’ve done a lot more research into the benefits of supplementation with vitamins and minerals. One of my most shocking discoveries was that modern day food doesn’t have the same level of nutrition that it once had because of modern farming practices.

Another realization was that most of us are not absorbing as many of the nutrients from our food as we should be. So in my opinion, I think it’s a good idea to supplement with a quality product that is highly bioavailable.

Supplements: Which Ones, and Why

I often get asked what supplements I take, and whether people should take supplements if they embark on a raw diet. The answer will depend on you, but I think that most people can’t afford to go cheap when it comes to their health and wellbeing.

I used to believe that we could get all the nutrition we needed from whole foods. However, more and more research is coming to light proving that produce doesn’t have nearly as much nutrition as it did years ago.

If you’re buying organic produce, or growing your own food, then the quality of the produce will be far better. However, I think that most people can still benefit from supplementation where certain vitamins are concerned.

Most Recommended Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin D3 is highly recommended, especially if you live in a cold climate where you don’t get at least 10-15 minutes of direct sunlight outside every day.

Vitamin D3 is synthesized by your skin when it is in contact with the sun. Vitamin D3 has been linked to cancer prevention and essentially tells your cells when to die after their lifetime is up – which is very important for cancerous cells.

Vitamin B12 is another vitamin that I think people should really consider. Since we’re mostly eating “sanitized” food we don’t get much B12 from our food. That’s why supplementing with B12 is important. It’s something that even meat-eaters should consider, since everyone is susceptible to a lack in Vitamin B12, not just vegans or vegetarians.

Vitamin C is super important for keeping your immune system strong, and can help with acne. I’ve seen really high recommended doses of Vitamin C, and it makes sense we would naturally get a lot by eating fruits.

There are tons of other vitamins and minerals out there too, but at a minimum these would be the ones to focus on.

Best Types of Supplements

Most people take supplements in solid pill form. However, the nutritional absorption of pills is very low… somewhere between 20-25% is actually absorbed into the body.

On the other hand, liquid supplements have a higher absorption rate of about 90-98%, and can be absorbed more quickly.

Think of liquid supplements as being very similar to juiced vegetables. The reason we juice vegetables is to get all the pure nutrients of the vegetables directly and bypass the digestion process. That’s why liquid nutritional supplements are ideal.

I think it’s really important to invest in a proven supplement, because not all supplements are made equal. I’ve tested several types of supplements on myself over the past year, and Vemma is the only supplement that I’ve gotten results with and can recommend.

There may be other great supplements out there, so definitely do your research. This is my opinion and I am recommending it from my experience with the product.

If you’d like to see if this liquid supplement is right for you, then click here to check it out.

Have An Awesome Day!

I hope this article gave you some food for thought on nutritional supplements. Check out the Vemma line of liquid nutritional supplements and have a great day. :)

Photo by NataschaM

Last week I wrote about the benefits and the power of antioxidants in keeping us young, boosting the immune system, and feeling great.

This week I’m going to talk about a particular type of antioxidant that is harder to find… in fact it is only available in two fruits: the king & queen of fruits. Before we get into the powers of this particular antioxidant, let me introduce you to the king and queen of fruits.

Durian is the king of fruits.

You might want to see my video all about durian, so you can get a better idea of the history of this odd fruit.

Durian is a large spiky fruit, that smells strong. How strong? Each time my boyfriend’s mom visits us when we’ve got durian in the house, she asks if we’ve got a gas leak.

Even though it’s the king of fruits, durian is a bit of a controversial fruit because it’s an acquired taste. It’s also an acquired smell, so much that it’s banned in hotels and subways in many parts of Asia where it originates from.

Photo by Becky Quan

Mangosteen is the queen of fruits.

Although it’s small, mangosteen is definitely the queen of fruits because when eaten with durian it can balance out the “hotness” of durians. This is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts of yin and yang or hot and cold foods.

Since most modern day diets tend to be too “hot” with lots of meat products or acid forming foods, mangosteen is a great fruit for balancing your food intake.

Special Antioxidants: Xanthones

So what’s so special about these two fruits for them to be known as the king and queen of all fruits? Well the taste is definitely part of it, but I think there’s something even more special about these two. They both contain the hard to find antioxidant Xanthone.

Most fruits only have about 2-5 antioxidants per serving, whereas a mangosteen or durian has upwards of 43 Xanthone antioxidants.

Now, this may get a little technical so hang in there with me as I explain exactly what’s so special about xanthones available in mangosteen (and durian).

According to scientific literature from PubMed, obesity-associated inflammation happens when white blood cells enter into adipose tissue (fat) which produces an inflammatory antibody reaction, leading to the development of insulin resistance.

The xanthones, alpha- and gamma-mangostin, are major bioactive compounds found in mangosteen that have antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Another study showed that Mangosteen fruit pericarp is a rich source of xanthones, showing remarkable pharmacological activities. From potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities.

Since most of the antioxidants we talked about are actually in the outer layer (the pericarp) of the mangosteen (remember, we’re talking about bright colors here) then you might wonder how you can get those Xanthones into your body.

Well I’ve recently chosen to carry a product that is designed with the modern on-the-go lifestyle in mind.

The busier you are, the more stress you take on, the more you accumulate free radicals. That’s why I think it’s essential for people to start getting more antioxidants from the king and queen of fruits.

So unless you’re already consuming fresh durians and mangosteens, I’d love for you to consider getting in touch with me to see if this new plant-source mineral and mangosteen product is right for you.

Find Out if It’s Right For You

Just email me here, or call me at 1-802-323-1841 and I’d love to discuss this new product with you and get your body the Xanthone antioxidants it needs!

We hear nutrition buzz words like antioxidants, free radicals, and oxidative stress all the time… but what do they really mean, and more importantly what does it mean for your health?

Photo by Darren Hester

What Are Free Radicals?

Free radicals is a chemistry term that describes a molecule that is unstable. A molecule is unstable when it has an uneven number of electrons, and is constantly searching to bond with other molecules to gain that electron.

When an unstable molecule bonds with an existing stable molecule, it “steals” the electron it needs and causes a domino effect by making the once-stable molecule turn into a new free radical.

The term “free” refers to the fact that these molecules are traveling throughout the body looking for a fix (an electron).

Sounds innocent enough, but free radicals are responsible for:

• Accelerated aging
• Destruction of DNA
• Clogging of arteries
• Tissue damage

I should add that our body naturally produces free radicals when it needs to fight off viruses and bacteria. However, most of us have way too many free radicals due to environmental factors like pollution, radiation, smoking or inhaling smoke, pesticides, herbicides, and stress.

What Are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are phytochemicals, vitamins, and other nutrient dense substances that fight free radicals. Antioxidants to the rescue!

How can you tell if a food has antioxidants? Colors!

Plants create different colorful pigments to protect themselves from the sun’s UV rays. Plants too can develop free radicals if they are under too much ultra violet sun light. That’s why they develop bright and colorful antioxidants.

Lucky for us, we can eat these colorful plants and fruits and gain the beneficial antioxidants to help us fight free radicals.

Ever notice how all of these “antioxidant superfoods” are dark and colorful like pomegranate, blueberries, acai, etc? Yep, it’s those color pigments that have the antioxidant properties we’re looking for.

Antioxidants act like scavengers for free radicals, giving them one of their electrons. The key is that antioxidants continue to be stable even if they donate an electron. Hence antioxidants have a stabilizing effect, that can repair damage and prevent more from happening.

Antioxidants also improve your body’s immune system, helping you fight off colds and out of control cell reproduction.

Photo by Doug Wheller

How Do You Get Antioxidants Naturally?

I’ve already hinted at this in the previous section, but the trick to getting your antioxidants in naturally is to eat lots of colorful plant based foods.

Think in rainbows. Dark blues and purples, shimmering reds, yummy oranges, delightful yellows, powerful greens.

When you shop at the farmer’s market or grocery store, look for the bright colors. Manufacturers try to lure you in with brightly designed boxes and cans, but if you let your instincts kick in you’ll be drawn to the naturally beautiful colors of fresh organic produce.

Studies have shown that eating more than 5 portions of fresh fruits and vegetables each day can cut down your risk for heart disease and stroke by 25%.

I think these natural antioxidants are working their magick!

Leave a comment

What’s your favorite colorful fruit or veggie? Leave a comment below and let me know!