To live a long, natural, happy and balanced life is your birthright. It is not rocket science or something you can get from a practitioner, doctor, expert or prescription. Somewhere along the way we have been misled, conditioned, and distracted from what is essential; we have lost touch with our innate knowing, naturalness and bliss. Animals (in nature) eat only raw food and don’t consult experts on how to live healthy, active lives, they also don’t suffer the widespread sicknesses and ailments humans do.

My experience is that people who eat a high percentage of living, organic foods are also free of most illnesses, have greater mental clarity and higher energy levels. Our bodies were not designed to be a dumping ground for dead, cooked and processed foods and as such there is a price to pay for ignoring nature’s laws.

From a scientific viewpoint all cooked food is devoid of enzymes which are vital for the absorption and digestion of food. Enzymes are the “life force” or energy contained in living food and are essential for all the chemical processes within the body. Once heated above 45°C enzymes begin to be destroyed and once food is heated beyond 50°C they are totally destroyed. Eating enzyme-dead foods places a burden on your pancreas and other organs, overworking them, and eventually exhausting these organs. Many people gradually impair their pancreas and progressively lose the ability to digest their food after a lifetime of ingesting processed foods.

In 1930, under the direction of Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, research was conducted at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland. The effect of food (cooked and processed versus raw and natural) on the immune system was tested and documented.

Dr. Kouchakoff’s discovery concerned the leukocytes, the white blood cells. It was found that after a person eats cooked food, his/her blood responds immediately by increasing the number of white blood cells. This is a well-known phenomenon called ‘digestive leukocytosis’, in which there is a rise in the number of leukocytes - white blood cells - after eating. Since digestive leukocytosis was always observed after a meal, it was considered to be a normal physiological response to eating. No one knew why the number of white cells would rise after eating, this appeared to be a stress response, as if the body was somehow reactin to something harmful such as infection, exposure to toxic chemicals or trauma.

Back in 1930, the Swiss researchers at the institute of Clinical Chemistry made a remarkable discovery. They found that eating raw, unaltered food did not cause a reaction in the blood. In addition, they found that if a food had been heated beyond a certain temperature (unique to each food), or if the food was processed (refined, chemicals added, etc.), this always caused a rise in the number of white cells in the blood.

The researchers renamed this reaction ‘pathological leukocytosis’, since the body was reacting to highly altered food. They tested many different types of foods and found that if the foods were not refined or overheated, they caused no reaction. The body saw them as ‘friendly foods’. However, these same foods, if heated at too high a temperature, caused a negative reaction in the blood, a reaction found only when the body is invaded by a dangerous pathogen or trauma.

To me a living food lifestyle is about self-empowerment. It’s about taking my health and well-being back into my own hands and returning to an easier more natural state of equilibrium. If this resonates with you the good news is there are now so many amazing delicious living food recipes available you will be able to eat better than ever before without the slightest sense of deprivation – it’s just a matter of changing some habits and saying yes to life.

My Personal Experience with Raw Food

Since going 100% raw, I feel like I am growing younger even though my body is now 44. Many aches and pains I experienced have just vanished and ailments such as eczema, poor digestion and bad breathe have simply disappeared. I have been told I have had hepatitis C for 20 years, though I have absolutely no symptoms and my liver function tests have come back normal for the past year and half. My energy levels are through the roof and I have dropped 2 hours sleep a night so I get an extra month or more of living every year!

Apart from the physical benefits, I am happier and more at ease with myself and this trend is continuing to grow. Another thing is I frequentlyget told how well I look: that I am glowing and clear “and must be doing something right:” The radiance which comes from eating living foods is unmistakeable.

Being totally turned on to living foods and sharing the amazing benefits on a fairly constant basis through our classes and retreats I am frequently asked questions like “what do you actually eat during the course of a day?” or “how do you get your protein?” or “how do you find the time to create amazing food like this?”

To tell you the truth I don’t really follow a formula and it is really an ongoing, never-ending experiment, which is why it is so much fun. Also, what I eat won’t necessarily suit the next person though from my experience I have discovered that eating a high percentage of organic raw foods and juices (100% in my case) will cause dramatic change (for the positive) for nearly anyone who tries it. Not only am I healthier, free of disease and more alive than ever before, I am happier and more in tune with my nature (both inner and outer). The benefits just go on and on and are too many to list here. I am eternally grateful to have discovered an alternative to my conditioned way of eating and thinking which really makes a difference.

My Day Begins with Meditation and a Green Smoothie

Lately my day begins at 6am. I do an active meditation, like Osho’s Dynamic, from 6.30 to 7.30am - We then prepare a large green juice with lots of celery, lettuce, cucumber and then adding other vegies like parsley, red peppers, kale or any thing else green and leafy and in season. We sometimes also add some fresh wheatgrass into the mix. We then blend 1 tablespoon of spirulina, 4 capsules of AFA blue green algae from lake Klamath, 1⁄2 a lid of TJ Clarke’s colloidal minerals and a heaped teaspoon of In-liven probiotic powder in a little water and then add it to the juice. It’s such an awesome hit of energy – my cells literally dance in gratitude after I drink my first big glass and I love the way it froths up like a bright green cappuccino.

I usually then drink another 500ml of green juice (without the spirulina and other goodies) during the morning and I find I have no urge to eat until around 12 noon when I may have a piece of fruit like an apple, mango or peach. It seems to really work for me at the moment to give my digestive tract a long rest from solid food. If I have been doing a lot of computer work (as I often do) I then do around 25 minutes of Chi Gung (deep breathing with coordinated movements) at 1pm which totally chills me out and prepares me for lunch.

Lunch varies quite a bit – the constant is salad. My favourite of late is to add chilli peppers and raisins to a mix of leafy greens (rocket, cos lettuce plus cucumber, red peppers etc) and add a simple dressing made from virgin coconut oil and lemon juice. To add a bit of flavour and saltiness I sprinkle my meal with dulse flakes and kelp powder (both seaweeds with incredibly high levels of minerals) and a few pepita’s (pumpkin seeds) Accompanying the salad I may have some flax seed crackers, living pizza or other dehydrator delights or even some raw hummus or brazil nut butter. The choices are too numerous to list here.

Later in the afternoon I usually have a superfood snack with bee pollen, raw cacao (chocolate), Peruvian maca powder, pepitas, Brazil nuts and some fruit like a banana or mango – I mix it all together with coconut oil – it’s an amazing energy boost and very tasty as well.

In summer, I usually go surfing for a couple of hours after work with one of my best friends Prem. Prem, who is 18, is also eating raw and I have no trouble keeping up with him out in the waves. Surfing is such a blast!! I only really discovered it around 10 months ago and despite my raw diet I have gained 3 kilograms and bulked out nicely from the workout in the water.

We usually get back from surfing around 8pm and have a light meal – similar to lunch and maybe more green juice if there is any left in the fridge. Later on I may indulge in a raw desert or cake. I then often meet with my friends and business partners, Prem & Anshu to dream and plan or sit down and write as I am now. I also love to lose myself in dance andoften DJ at local dance events until the early hours. I rarely get to bed before midnight. Life is too much fun to sleep!