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Superfoods, raw food and yoga
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Raw food coach Lenette Nakauchi and me at Lululemon.
After sweating it out in an intense yoga class or finding your powerhouse in Pilates, what do you grab to eat? I find that the best foods for sustaining energy, ideal weight and a positive attitude are vegan, raw and superfoods.
It's been less than a year since I began regularly incorporating these amazing, delicious and nutritious foods into my diet, and not only do I feel a difference (I have more energy and never feel bloated or tired after a meal), but this new found joy and admiration for food has changed my outlook on life in a profoundly positive way (and I was no "debbie downer" before)!
I asked Lenette Nakauchi, a Chicago-based raw food coach who shares information on how to go raw, have fun and better your body on her appropriately-titled blog GoRawHaveFun.com (formerly GoRawChicago), to talk about the connection between yoga, superfoods and raw foods.
What exactly is raw food?
Raw food is comprised of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and various other foods like herbs and superfoods that have not been heated above 118 degrees and have had no artificial ingredients or fillers added. They're just pure, living foods with all the enzymes and life force energy from the sun still available when we eat it.
What are superfoods?
Superfoods are plant-based foods with extraordinary properties, and I'm not just talking blueberries. They're food and medicine. They fill nutritional gaps in your body and can also give you therapeutic dosage of vitamins, like calcium, vitamin C or zinc, meaning you can actually reverse a deficiency with them whereas vitamin supplements just keep you going by filling your daily required dosage. You also get more bang for your buck with superfoods and they're highly concentrated sources of minerals and in many cases proteins. Goji berries, bee pollen or hemp seeds have a lot of protein and that's where a lot of raw foodists get a significant amount of protein. Superfoods also satiate you sooner so you don't have to eat as much. Your body feels nourished sooner than it would with a huge cooked meal. A lot of times people can lose weight and just go farther with superfoods.
What are the easiest superfoods to incorporate into a diet?
The easiest and most well-known are probably goji berries and raw cacao or raw chocolate. I see gojis and cacao everywhere now. Raw cacao (raw chocolate) tastes bitter but it's got a ton of magnesium and calcium. Goji berries are really sweet, sort of like a cross between a raisin and cranberry. They taste great together, especially in a raw trail mix.
Another great, easy to incorporate superfood is hemp seeds. You can sprinkle them on a salad or into a smoothie for additional protein and fat.
There are also a lot of great superfood green mixes. I really like Vitamineral green, Revitaphi and Greener Grasses. These powders have over 100 different ingredients in them already, which saves you a lot of time and money when you add them to your smoothie or a glass of water.
How did you get into raw?
I came across this book, probably in 2005, called the Bragg Healthy Lifestyle Book that is all about how to reduce your toxicity. It was kind of saying we're all full of toxins and full of crap because we're eating animal products and processed foods full of artificial colors, artificial flavors, etc. There was no way to get around it. It says you need to stop poisoning yourself with these foods otherwise you'll continue to feel sluggish, lazy and sick. It was such a strong read. I just thought "wow, I definitely could feel healthier than I do now." I started gravitating towards organic foods and farmers market, making sure my plate had a rainbow of vegetables and eating meat less frequently. From there my lifestyle, my diet, everything improved dramatically.
What are some of the benefits of the raw food lifestyle?
Well, most people lose weight when they switch to a raw foods diet, but you also feel lighter, more flexible, clear minded, more connected to other people, more present and more connected to the Earth because you're suddenly eating all of these foods that are provided by the planet. You're sick less, the eyes clear up, have much more energy throughout the day and enjoy a deeper sleep at night...there's so many benefits! People can even cure themselves from serious diseases.
What's the connection between raw food and yoga?
With raw food you're eating all these great, healthy foods, but you can still have a lot of old bad things accumulated in your body. With yoga, you're using the breath and sweat to detoxify and you're squeezing your body in all these directions, moving your intestines and all of the other organs to help move stuff out of you. Also, inversions are great blood purifiers, so yoga is definitely a complement to a long term, stable detox program like the raw food diet.
Advice for people who are curious about raw food but have no clue as to where to start?
Treat yourself to a raw food dessert at a raw food restaurant near you. I think it's so much fun and people have no idea how wonderful raw food can be. I make pies for my friends and they don't know the difference. Going to a restaurant with fun, yummy, gourmet dishes to choose from is a great introduction. Raw food is so much more than salad. Also invest in a good book. For me, it was the Bragg Healthy Lifestyle Book, but a lot of people are finding inspiration in Skinny Bitch.
Have more questions? Need a good book recommendation? Check out Lenette's blog, and if you're ready to dive into superfoods, check out her Element's for Life site, EatSuperfoods.com.
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