Diet for Body, Mind and Spirit
by Janet Allen, NP, Ph.D.
One of the hardest things about being grown up is figuring out what is true from all the conflicting things we are told by parents, teachers, doctors, ministers, the government, TV advertisements, friends, the internet, etc. I have learned to look at the motivation of the “authority,” and that my own heart is truly my best guide. Another guide is to notice what path nature takes, especially since I have been on the live food diet. Nature will heal and resolve when allowed to flow freely. In this article I want to share the truth my heart told me while researching and writing my recent dissertation on the topic of the spiritual effects of eating a live vegan diet. Following nature’s advice has brought astonishing results in my life on all levels, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
A live vegan diet is of all plant origin and still contains the “life force” from when it grew in nature. That means the food is not heated above 118 degrees F, not so old that it has begun to rot, and not treated in such a way that enzymes are killed (chemicals, irradiation, microwave, etc). After years of searching alternative therapies, I asked the life changing question, “Why do I need to wait until I get sick to find wellness?” I was thus introduced to this way of eating in 2003 and immediately began my transition. Yes, this too is usually a path and not an immediate step, because there is strong evidence that cooked food is addictive, much like alcohol. It certainly is emotionally addictive, reminding us of the smells that are often associated with the love of a parent in the kitchen. I have been mostly raw vegan ever since, probably about 98%. I avoid saying 100% because absolutes are so hard to define. I do use a little raw honey (not vegan) and maple syrup (a cooked product).
My literature search took me to the shocking health status of Americans, especially among children. Having been a nurse practitioner for years I saw that the medical system is good at saving lives but functions very poorly at restoring real health. I began to meet people who had been raw for various periods of time and hearing stories of “impossible” physical healing such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease reversing and emotional issues being surprisingly resolved. There are lots of diet books out there that capture part of the story (cut out sugar, for example) but fall far short of nature’s healthy diet.
Our bodies are Divine energy systems and wellness depends on freely flowing energy. We on the spiritual path have seen that physical conditions and emotional issues are improved when one of the energy healing techniques, like Reiki, are employed. The same is also true when there are blocks at the physical level. It makes no sense to expect the body to pump life into the junk food that occupies the many feet of intestinal tract right in the middle of the body. Add to that the toxins that we breathe, slather on our skin and bring home on the dry-cleaning. The body gets choked with unholy substances. Our body is a holy temple. It responds most beautifully when treated as such.
Eating cooked food is like trying to keep warm by burning ashes in your wood stove. There might be some unburned cinders one could coax to burn but it is not what the manufacturer intended for fuel. As Don Haughey, founder of Creative Health Institute in Michigan is fond of saying, “Put me in a pot of boiling water and the life force would go out of me pretty quickly, too.” He does not believe that cooked food is what our maker intended, either.
My heart also told me that there was something unholy about causing the terror and torture of beautiful sacred animals by asking that their bodies be served to me as food. How can that contribute to raising the consciousness of humanity? Besides the spiritual aspects, the book The China Study, and many other materials, completely convinced me that eating meat was not healthy food for humans. I learned that the dead, denatured protein of a chicken bore no resemblance to the living amino acids my body needs to make human tissue. The negative energies of an animal consumed will interfere with growth to higher consciousness of the eater.
So what exactly does a live vegan diet look like? It seems to progress in phases with early devotees preferring a more time consuming (and expensive) menu that looks and tastes more like the cooked versions. Probably one of the most complete (un)cookbooks for these folks is Alissa Cohen’s book Living on Live Food. Although it is possible to make nearly anything in raw form, when one gets further on the detox path the desire is for less nuts and oils and only occasional dehydrated goodies.
And let me mention that there are withdrawal symptoms that occur as a person is weaned off processed food much like an alcoholic. We know that even after a treatment by an energy worker, there are sometimes periods of feeling “worse” in some way. Emotional issues often rise to the surface as well as physical changes such as skin rashes, aches, fatigue, or bowel symptoms.
After almost six years on the live diet a normal day for us starts with a quick blended green smoothie (green leafy veggies like kale, romaine, dandelion greens and fruit like apples and oranges). Lunch is always a large and sometimes elaborate salad of lettuce, buckwheat or sunflower greens (grown in one inch of soil on a tray in a sunny window), shredded veggies, sprouts like lentils and alfalfa, fermented foods like raw sauerkraut with a simple dressing. Supper most days is a shredded vegetable like cabbage, beets or carrots with a little dressing or a simple raw blended soup. I include somewhere in my diet about ¼ cup of nuts or seeds daily, often found in my dessert. All my food is organic and we are working toward growing all our own!
You can throw away your microwave, toaster and stove. Besides a refrigerator the three appliances I use are a powerful blender called a vitamixer, a food processor and a dehydrator with a temperature control. I order a lot of food from www.eatraw.com and from Alissa Cohen. Two other good sites are www.rawfamily.com and www.livinghiho.com (healthy in-healthy out).
Another benefit of this diet is for Mother Earth in less soil and mineral loss, contamination and water use. It is very inefficient to feed vegetables and soil depleting grains to the animals and then eat the animals. There is also an energy saved by not cooking.
But why would one “deprive” oneself and go through the withdrawal from this addiction? For me the rewards were huge. In the first year, while I was out looking for wonderful health, I dropped 40 pounds without noticing. My arthritis, TMJ, restless legs, chapped lips, breast lumps, hemorrhoids and depression disappeared. I feel younger and more connected to the Universe and my hair is returning to its original brown. Now I am satisfied instead of stuffed, I meditate instead of worrying, I laugh and bless instead of getting angry.
We have heard of the new energies coming to earth in this “new age.” They are calling us to spiritualize matter, so therefore matter must matter! Our bodies are more able to withstand these changes when the vehicle is purified. If we purify the matter that is our holy temple we can hold the spiritual light much better - not to mention live in a healthier, “younger” body! Nature heals; energy wants to flow if we just remove the debris. Headaches are not caused by a lack of aspirin.
To those who are skeptics, I say try it for 3 months. Practice self discipline and get past some of the withdrawal symptoms and see how you feel when you are not weighted down with dead material and toxins. It is very easy for a person addicted to any substance to fool themselves into thinking they “need” to eat meat, for example. I have found that is simply habit and addiction — and once free, eating meat becomes a repulsive thought. Many say it takes one month on the pure diet to detox one year of eating the Standard American Diet. But purifying the body is only a tool. We still must do our forgiveness work.
My assistance is hereby offered to anyone interested in learning more. A book will be ready this year for publisher submission based on my findings. I am available to speak to groups, give recipes, advice, information and encouragement. Email me at rawnursejanet@yahoo.com. We plan to build a retreat on our new farm where people can learn about growing, preparing and enjoying healthy food and to manage the issues that arise in the transition.
back to top | Articles Page |
