Where's the juice?

So, as everyone well, knows, I am addicted to juicing. I don't, or should I say, won't start my day without a tall glass of beautiful, fresh, green juice. First of all , I love the flavor and even more satisfying is the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing that I have just consumed the nutritious goodness of close to a pound of live, organic love (in the humble form of kale, lettuce, celery, apples and lemons) brimming over with enzymes...need I say more? So, pretty much whatever I eat for the rest of the day I know I've already done alot of good for my body.

Okay, so back to the point, I love fresh juice- which is surprisingly hard to come by these days. I recently spent time in California and Chicago and much to my surprise, I could not hunt down anything more than fresh squeezed OJ, wheatgrass shots and the occasional glass of carrot juice.

Who could believe that in California, mecca to the health conscious and land of the beautiful people, that finding a glass of fresh green juice, or even apple juice would be so hard. In Santa Cruz, we were sent to Whole Foods, then to New Leaf, Trader Joe's and a couple of other establishments whose names I can't recall and still no fresh juice. Jamba Juice scored points for serving up freshly squeezed orange juice, (hey, something is better than nothing.) It wasn't until the last day of my trip, while in San Francisco that I found freshly pressed apple juice at the pier.

A couple of weeks later I headed off to Chicago. Juice, no problem - I could always count on the juice bar at the Whole Foods that I always go to when I'm in Chicago. But, guess what? Yeah, no juice. The polite man behind the counter asked me when I had been in the store last because the juice bar had been closed for a while. Admittedly, it has been some time, but some things should never change.

-Nasirah

Green Lemonade

If you are looking for a tasty, healthy way to start your morning I have just the thing; a tall frothy glass of delicious green lemonade. The recipe by Natalia Rose author of The Raw Food Detox Diet and Raw Food Life Force Energy is full of fabulous, living enzymes and beautiful vitamins and minerals and just plain earth love. I've had this juice every day this week and it is some good stuff. It gave me more real energy than coffee ever could and my skin looks 10 X better. The original recipe and many more great recipes can be found in The Raw Food Detox Diet (a great read by the way).

Just throw some organic romaine lettuce, a few leaves of organic kale, an organic apple or two, organic lemon and ginger in your juicer and adjust to taste. There you have it. An amazingly healthy, tangy start to your day!

-Nasirah

Are you a Skinny Bitch?

Authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin want you to be a Skinny Bitch. As a matter of fact, if these two women had their way, the world would be full of Skinny Bitches. Their New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch is a self described "no-nonsense tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!"

I have read alot of books about what to eat and what not to eat, some good and some pretty forgettable, but Skinny Bitch was a completely refreshing read from start to finish and the perfect how-to-have-a-healthy-body manual for beginners. The naughty, attention grabbing title is just the beginning. The authors successfully marry smart, modern girl style with all things granola; for the girl who drinks wheat grass shots, but still shaves her pits and could run a marathon in stilettos. Think Samantha Jones meets the health food movement. With Chapter titles like Pooping and Don't Be a Pussy this book is not for the faint of heart, but it can help you unlock the beautiful, healthy, conscious, goddess you are inside.

Read this book. I promise you will laugh, you will learn and possibly even make some positive changes in your life. Don't be fooled by the title. This book is about far more than being skinny. It is about being the best, most radiant, harmonious you.

So, here's to being a Skinny Bitch!

-Nasirah

Food Combining for Better Health

So, maybe you've heard about low carb diets, all fruit diets, dairy free, gluten free...the list goes on. You may not know about food combining. The concepts have been around for many years and the ideas have been published in books from the classic Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond to The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. The basic idea is that good digestion is the cornerstone of good health. Different types of food such as fruits, starchy carbohydrates and proteins are digested in different ways, some foods requiring and acidic environment to be digested and others requiring an alkaline environment. When you mix foods from these different groups at one meal it can wreak havoc on your digestive system, slowing down your body's functions and possibly causing weight gain and a host of other symptoms like heartburn and flatulence.

Fit for Life is a more than adequate primer on the benefits and how-tos of food combining. The Raw Food Detox Diet takes these basic concepts a step further and incorporates more raw and living components into the plan. Both books were quick and easy to read and wonderful investments in time. I have incorporated food combining into my daily life and I have experienced weight loss and increased digestive comfort. I really like the principles of food combining because there is no calorie counting and no portion sizes. You eat until satisfied. I have always had a large appetite, so this works for me.

-Nasirah

Raw Beauty

If you are like me at all, you love food, and this menu from Pure Food and Wine in New York City looks like it could satisfy even my appetite. With lots of exotic sounding ingredients and names, you just assume that someone spent a huge chunk of their day slaving over a hot stove so you could enjoy a delicious meal. But there's just one catch, there is no stove at Pure Food and Wine, originally the restaurant love-child of Sarma Melngailis and ex-partner Matthew Kenney. The food at Pure Food and Wine is raw.

Now, you might wonder why anybody would pay someone to not cook their food. But, you might be surprised to know that alot of people would and do. The popularity of raw restaurants is increasing as more people become aware of the countless benefits of eating live foods. The following article from healingdaily.com give us a few reasons why so many believe that eating raw food is a much healthier choice than consuming cooked foods.

-Raw foods are rich in enzymes. Enzymes are needed for the digestive system to work. They are necessary to break down food particles so they can be utilized for energy. The human body makes approximately 22 different digestive enzymes which are capable of digesting carbohydrates, protein and fats. Raw vegetables and raw fruit are rich sources of enzymes.The enzymes in raw foods are destroyed by heat.-

-Most raw food, like our bodies, is very perishable. When raw foods are exposed to temperatures above 118 degrees, they start to rapidly break down, just as our bodies would if we had a fever that high. One of the constituents of foods which can break down are enzymes. Enzymes help us digest our food. Enzymes are proteins though, and they have a very specific 3-dimensional structure in space. Once they are heated much above 118 degrees, this structure can change.

Once enzymes are exposed to heat, they are no longer able to provide the function for which they were designed. Cooked foods contribute to chronic illness, because their enzyme content is damaged and thus requires us to make our own enzymes to process the food. The digestion of cooked food uses valuable metabolic enzymes in order to help digest your food. Digestion of cooked food demands much more energy than the digestion of raw food. In general, raw food is so much more easily digested that it passes through the digestive tract in 1/2 to 1/3 of the time it takes for cooked food. -

So , what exactly does this article have to do with the pursuit of beauty. Obviously, a healthy body is a goal we all want to attain and eating live, raw food gets us one step closer to that reality. But there is something else, that special radiance that comes with being vibrant and in tune. Some call it the raw "glow." What is the glow? For me, the glow is clear skin, bright eyes and an energetic radiance.

One look at the before and afters of raw foodies and you will know what that glow looks like. For a gallery of before and afters visit welikeitraw.com.

The good thing about the glow is that you don't have to be one hundred percent raw to start getting it. Making tweaks your diet here and there will yield tremendous results. Adding a couple of large salads every day and eating fresh fruit instead of canned is a great start. There are countless number of delicious raw recipes available. Recipes can be found on this and other internet sites. There are also many beautiful raw "cook" books such as Raw the Un-cookbook by Juliano, Raw Food/ Real World 100 Recipes to Get the Glow by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis and Eating in the Raw by Carol Alt.

-Nasirah

Not so sweet...

So I have introduced you to a few things that we should be putting in and on our bodies on our journey towards pure beauty. Now I'm gonna give you the really ugly stuff. The stuff, we shouldn't go near with a ten foot pole or should I say, spoon?

We all know that refined, processed, white sugar isn't health food, but I don't think most of know just how detrimental it is to our health and our beauty. It doesn't just pack on unhealthy pounds and rot our teeth(as if that's not bad enough). Sugar ages us and affects our mental state among a whole host of other really bad things.

-Nasirah

Suggested reading:

76 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health by Nancy Appleton, Ph.DAuthor of the book Lick The Sugar Habit.

Fat for Beauty...

One of the most forgotten elements of a good beauty regimen is one you may not suspect...

fat. That's right, good fats help keep your body healthy and your skin soft, firm and supple.

In his G-living article, Author Brendan Brazier explains that there are many health benefits to be gained from consuming good fats. Brazier states that good fats:

"can strengthen the immune system, enhance brain and nervous system function such as mood, intelligence and behavior, greatly reduce cardiovascular disease, increase energy and performance, grow healthy skin, hair, and nails, regulate body weight, and improve organ and gland function."

These so-called good fats, which can be found in foods like avocados, flax seeds, and raw nuts provide the body with Omega-3 and Omega-6 Fatty Acids, the Essential Fatty Acids. Your body cannot produce Essential Fatty Acids. The only way to get them is by eating foods rich in EFA. According to Brazier, Essential Fatty Acids lend:

" support to the healthy function of the cardiovascular, immune, and nervous systems, they also play an integral role in promoting cell health. Repair and regeneration of the cellular membrane is vital for keeping the body biologically young and enabling it to retain mobility and vitality throughout life. Contributing to our cells’ ability to receive nutrition and eliminate waste, EFAs help keep the cellular regeneration process moving. Our body’s ability to fight off infection and reduce inflammation is in part dependent on having an adequate supply of EFAs in the diet. In fact, healthy and efficient brain development in children has been linked to a diet rich in EFAs."

EFA's are also known to help keep the skin soft, supple and young by treating dry skin from the inside out.

Brazier's article also discusses the importance of Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), Medium-chain triglycerides(MCTs), and Antioxidants. GLA's, which can be found in Evening primrose, borage and hemp seed oils boast powerful anti-inflammatory properties. MCT's which are a form of saturated fat, are actually extremely beneficial to your health. The benefits of MCT's, which are found in coconuts and coconut oil have been known for years in other cultures. According to Brazier, MCT's can contribute to, "a healthy metabolism, weight loss and youthful skin."

While many people have heard about the immune boosting properties of antioxidants, they probably never knew that, as Brazier points out, "Plant based oils can also be a great source of antioxidants." and that, "Chlorophyll found in hemp oil has antioxidant like properties..."

So now that you have the basic information, what should you look for? Brazier's article simplifies the answer:

"A good fat should generally come from an organically grown plant based source with minimal processing to preserve their “raw”, nutrient rich state. Look for oils that are cold-pressed and have not undergone a distillation or purification process. Also try to avoid those that are exposed to heat and light as they can result in oxidation."

He lists the following oils as rich sources for good fat:

Hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, antioxidant oil blend (green tea seed oil, pomegranate seed oil, black cumin seed oil, black raspberry seed oil, blueberry seed oil, cranberry seed oil), pumpkin seed oil, coconut oil.

To read Brendan's article in its entirety, please visit:

http://gliving.tv/bodydesign/brendan-brazier-explains-fat/#more-186

photo by Jane Hian


The basic building block of beauty is good nutrition. I know you've heard it many times before, but you really are what you eat. Eat brightly colored, live foods rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes and your body will thank you. According to Doctor Nicholas Perricone author of the Perricone Prescription there are certain superfoods that will enhance your beauty and help you age better.

Acai fruit
This little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world. It can often be found in juice form in health food and gourmet stores.


Anything in the "Allium Family"
Garlic, onions, leeks, scallions, chives and shallots can all help the liver eliminate toxins and carcinogens.


Green Foods
Green foods like wheat and barley grasses can be bought in powder, tablet or juice form, and offer greater levels of nutrients than green leafy vegetables. They also help cholesterol, blood pressure and immune response.


Beans & Lentils
You can reduce cholesterol while beefing up on antioxidants, folic acid and potassium. Try kidney, black, navy, pinto, chickpeas, soybeans, peas and lentils.


Hot Peppers
Both bell and chili peppers contain antioxidants, have twice the Vitamin C as citrus fruit and work as great fat burners.


Nuts & Seeds
You can't go wrong with a handful of nuts a day—walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, macadamia and pistachio nuts contain Omega 3 fats, which are great for your heart. Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds are best.


Sprouts
Numerous varieties of sprouts are great with any meal. They're a great source of protein and Vitamin C. Try adding them to any dish and your immune system will get a boost.


Yogurt and Kefir
These cultured foods contain healthful bacteria that aid immune function, and the calcium helps burn fat. Try using them as a base for a smoothie.


These foods are said to have the following properties,

Prevent or reduce inflammation

Help regulate metabolism and burn body fat

Lower total cholesterol

Lower blood pressure

Help protect against heart disease

Help protect against cancer

Help protect organs from toxins

Promote digestive health

source:
http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/young/life/life_superfoods.jhtml