How Much Do Genetics Play in the Aging Process and Disease?

This is a photo of my mother and myself. I was 17 and she was 41:

 

This is a photo of me taken just a few days ago 26 years later at the age of 44:

 

See rest of blog post here:

 

http://www.thefruitdoctor.com/how-much-do-genetics-play-in-the-aging-process-and-disease/



 

Sunny Griffin--Raw Healing-72 year old former super model

Please visit my new website to view this interview:

http://www.thefruitdoctor.com/sunny-griffin-raw-healing-72-year-old-former-super-model/

Uttley Raw Foods--Meet Roslyn

I'd like you to get to know someone that I've had the pleasure to get to know from afar....Roslyn Uttleymoore. I first became aware of Roslyn through her raw classes she taught "Uttley Raw Food".

http://www.uttleyrawfood.com/index

Over the last couple of years I've come to get to know her vivacious spirit and zest for life and wanted to share her with the rest of you and what's possible when you change your diet and live well.

Hey Ros! You beautiful thing you. Let's show you off to the rest of the world and how you get that radiance of yours shall we? ;)

1) How did you come upon the vegan and then raw vegan lifestyle?

My whole life has evolved around food, the love of, the discovery of new tastes, and as many diets as any one woman can try.

I was heading to a more conscious way of eating after moving to Queensland Australia, I embarked upon a course of massage, that involved a live in program that was vegetarian, I found it suited my body, and I felt so good.

That was 12 years ago, and from then I have embraced a plant based fruit and vegetable diet.

How old were you then and how old are you now? 

I was early 40's when I started to eat with more awareness and I am now 56 born March 21 1956

Was it hard to transition? 

Not at all, but I must say, I did move to raw, vegan with all the raw gourmet recipes, that are filled to overflowing with fat. 

I had absolutely no trouble giving up my addictions of dairy and grains, with this process, but I don't  think it was in any way healthy.

I would not recommend any one eat that amount of nuts and seeds in order to replace animal fats with plant fats.

I was also teaching classes of Raw Food preparation using all the raw gourmet fats for 3-4 years. I can say I have done the full circle and eradicated all fats from my diet

except Chia seeds and the occasional flax cracker.

 What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

My greatest challenge was giving up grains, I have eaten wheat, rice, pasta, breads, cereals pretty much every day of my life up until I chose to make the shift.

It took me 4 years to be free of grains, and I will never go back.

2) What does a typical day's diet look like for you?

This changes with the seasons, but typically I eat chia seeds, goji berries and loads of fresh seasonal fruit for breakfast, with Hawaiian Pacifica Spirulina and Maca powder.

I don't usually eat a lunch meal, rather I might graze on fruit, or simply have a cup of tea. As I have breakfast around 10am and my main meal about 3-4pm lunch is not an essential meal for me.

Dinner will be a large salad most of the time, but if I am cold I will have a cooked vegetable soup, which will simply be a blend of fresh vegetables blended.

How about your daily exercise routine?

Exercise is a daily ritual for me, I will always walk at least 1 hour per day, plus depending where I am in the world, it may include a gym work out, surfing, swimming, or any other adventure that I can enjoy.

Do you count calories? 

I used to, but now I have a very good idea of what I eat and roughly how many calories I have each day.

I have at times eaten as little as 1000 calories per day, if I want to drop any added pounds, but I generally eat around 2000 -2500 to maintain my body weight.

At 5' 3" I like to stay around 44 kilos just under 100 pounds.

What proportion of your diet would you say is fat? Fruit? Greens? Guesstimate if necessary.

99.9% is fruit and vegetables the only fat I consume is chia seeds and the occasional flax cracker

4) What made you start Uttley Raw Foods and what do you offer there?

I started Uttley Raw Food, when I realised my clients would benefit from a food co-op and food classes, to show them how to eat.

We currently have our retreat for sale and no longer offer the co-op or classes.

5) Some doubt that raw foods really can help preserve a youthful appearance. You have such a radiant youthful appearance that some might wonder if you've had any cosmetic surgery. Do you mind sharing that with us? If you haven't had any what is your "youth" secret?

Hahahahaha - Definitely no cosmetic surgery - maybe a bit of photoshop !!! 

No secrets !!

6) What are your favorite recipes?

Grabbing some GR8 fruits and veg and eating them as simply as possible. 

Doing the food classes was a GR8 discipline for me as I choose not to follow recipes when I prepare my own meals.

I love tastes and textures and I have learned to listen to what my body wants

7) What do you do for skin and hair care?

Bare minimal :)

I have always washed/ cleansed my face every single night since I was 15. 

I just love the clean feeling a warm face cloth every morning to freshen, before applying a natural no added anything face cream

The one I am using now is Bee Natural, I use their face cream and body lotion every day.

8) How did menopause go for you?

2EZY I only experience light hot flashes, noticeable to me, but quite bearable.

No other symptoms.

Anything that you would recommend that would help?

A clean diet, exercise and maca powder.

9) What are some transformational and/or healing stories you've heard from your clients?

Sorry way to many, can't think of anything right now, other than the typical good feeling that comes from cleansing the body.

10) How long do you think it would take for someone new to raw to see results? 

That can happen within 24 hours

How many results and how far each person wants to go, is totally dependent upon their choices.

What results could they expect?

This is such a big Q. depends on what they are giving up grains, caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, animal products…………

It also depends on how much cleansing they are prepared to do……. Juicing, smoothies, skin brushing, colonics, coffee enemas, raw foods, cooked foods, this has been my lifes journey

I did not do this overnight. It has taken me 56 years to develop and reach my awareness of exactly what my body needs.

11) Anything else you'd like to share with us?

I refuse to be put in a box or labelled for what or how I eat.

I eat a Roslyn diet, and that may change depending on what Roslyn needs at any given time.

I don't eat any typical diet plan, or conform to any one else's idea of what they think I should eat.

When I was consulting with clients on nutrition, it was my goal to empower them to find out what and how they felt after eating certain foods and to react and respond

directly to that information.

Not to depend on me to inform them or give them lists of what I think they should eat.

I was always happy to guide them but never to tell them.

This is great advice and I would agree. Listen to your body as you transition and go at your own pace. Enjoy the process and don't let anyone else define your path for you. Listen for ideas but in the end, it's your journey.

Be well. 

Becoming UNPROCESSED-- Your stomach is not a waste basket...

WARNING: this post is not for those who want excuses. We will be providing some serious motivation here and a healthy dose of tough love. This post is only for those who want nothing less than the absolute BEST LIFE for themselves and are willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get there....

"Your Stomach Shouldn't be a Waste Basket" 

How's that for an opening line? 

In what ways can your stomach become a waste basket? Well, ever heard of JUNK FOOD? What do we usually do with JUNK? That's right, throw it in the GARBAGE CAN...

Then why in the world have we allowed the food industry to convince us that it's okay to put into this beautiful body of ours and that it won't be stored there as TRASH and build TRASHY bodies?

Somehow, we've let ourselves be convinced that junk food, A.K.A. processed food, is an acceptable fuel for our bodies.

I know people, mostly men, who are sticklers for what kind of gas they put into their cars. They insist that certain gases run cleaner and therefore go out of their way to put higher grade fuel into their cars. Then these very same people will jump into those very same cars and drive themselves to a fast food drive through and feast on food that was made in a laboratory factory somewhere near the New Jersey turnpike.

Eric Schlosser, in his book Fast Food Nation, talks about how these foods are artificially produced to taste good with chemicals manufactured to smell and taste like or even better than the real thing. And David Kessler, in his book The End to Overeating, talks about how food processors and restaurants use the combination of fat, salt and sugar and LOTS of it, to make foods addictive so we keep coming back to buy more.

Trouble is, none of those foods offer nutrition and in fact, cause nutritional imbalances and deficiencies which lead to cravings, weight gain, mood swings and illness.

We deserve more. We deserve better. We deserve to put the highest grade quality fuel into these magnificent bodies so that we can maximize our potential to the fullest by having the highest energy, stamina, health and beauty so we can go out and live life and reach our purpose.

So I ask you: How much do you love yourself? How much do you respect yourself and feel you are worth? Shouldn't your food choices reflect that? Or do our food choices reflect low self-worth which shows in conforming to what "everyone else is doing" so that we can fit in and be accepted, but in so doing, our bodies become bloated and misshapen and we end up hating how we look and become sick in the process?

Yes, our friends define who we are and we choose who are friends are, and thus, ultimately we define ourselves by our beliefs about what we deserve. True friends want you to be healthy and happy and will support your health goals. 

We also can learn to manage stress in healthy ways such as stretching and deep breathing, watching our thoughts about stressful situations and not catastrophizing or blowing things out of proportion and by treating ourselves to massages, going for a run, listening to relaxing music or talking with a friend. All stressful situations are temporary, and we need to make sure we are eating high quality food and getting enough sleep so that we are in top condition to meet the challenge.

Friends, I'm going to be blunt. And I put myself in the same category, so it's not my finger pointing at you, but it's all of us. Processed food is as much as a drug in the body and is just as addictive and recreational drugs and pharmaceutical drugs are. Drugs are made from natural substances and are refined and concentrated to the point where it's a mega-dose to the body.  So are processed foods.

In the book The Pleasure Trap, Dr Doug Lisle talks about how processed food, with no fiber to slow down it's absorption,causes this huge serotonin pleasure hit in the brain and is every bit as addictive as drugs. Sugar, salt, white flour--are white powders just as cocaine is....and they all come from something that originally was a natural product, but the refining process created a monster out of it.

There have been studies showing that substances like MSG (monosodiumglutamate) cause weight gain and kill off brain cells by exciting them to death. Some get migraines from MSG, and David Kessler says that MSG is one of the substances responsible for making restaurant food taste so much better than home cooked food and thus so addicting. Just like a crack addict, we get addicted to the next high and we go through withdrawals when we don't eat it.

Then we've been fooled into thinking that this weight gain is all our fault. Somehow, we are supposed to magically be able to moderate ourselves into eating "just a little bit" of this food to prevent weight gain. It's crazy mixed messages and highly manipulative ones, that the food industry is sending. Even the weight loss industry colludes with this message by still giving us portion sized processed meals that leave us feeling starving and we keep on falling off of these "diets".

The exercise industry then steps in with it's crazy messages such as "you can eat as much as you want as long as you exercise it off" or "you can eat what you want as long as you are moderate---"moderation in all things" is one of the most ill-advised and oft-repeated messages and it keeps people from reaching their goals.

This is false. It's as false as me telling you that just a little bit of cocaine or crack or heroine won't hurt you.

Or a little bit of arsenic. Or a little bit of gasoline. 

We have been fooled and dare I say, lied to, about the effects of processed foods on our bodies. And, just as the tobacco companies have known for years how addictive their products were and wouldn't admit it until a whistle blower proved it with e-mails and documents, I can tell you that with the profits that these food industries are making, they know how addictive their foods are as well because THEY DESIGNED THEM THAT WAY ON PURPOSE SO THAT YOU WILL BUY MORE.

I know that sounds cynical, but use your common sense and take a look at the state of your body and that of those around you. How are our bodies handling processed foods? Not well at all

Moderation of these foods is not the answer. Total abstinence is the answer. Eat only foods that you would recognize as coming off a plant, from the ground or off a tree. Minimize or eliminate as much as you can any food that has been reduced to a liquid, had the fiber removed or had artificial chemicals added to it.

I have made this change and I have noticed a difference. I eat only fruit, vegetables and sprouted legumes. 

My skin and the skin of others that eat the way I do is what I notice the most amongst other things. Bodies that are dealing with processed foods do not have clear, glowing skin. Those who put high quality foods into their bodies, do. It's that simple. 

Not to mention better elimination, less allergies, more energy, I could go on. You will feel satiated. There is no craving that you can't fill with whole natural plant foods. You can make ice cream out of frozen fruit. Savory hearty comfort food from grains and legumes. Sweeten your life with dates and an infinite variety of fruits. Be creative. 

Just like a drug addict, you will go through withdrawals and aches and pains. This is to be expected. But you will find a new joy in your food sobriety and it will bubble up from deep inside of you.

I've been totally unprocessed now for almost 45 days. And I won't be going back. Now, keep in mind, I was eating what most would call a "healthy" diet. I was vegan and ate low-fat. So why was I still processed? Well, salsa in a jar has sodium chloride in it. Vegan restaurant food has MSG in it. And, pasta is refined flour. I had to get honest with myself and realize that vegan was not enough. Chef AJ in her book "Unprocessed" helped me to appreciate that refined foods, vegan or not, DID NOT BELONG IN MY BODY and were creating cravings and "emotional eating" when all that was really going on was that my body was not designed to put that kind of fuel into it. So, I made a commitment to go 90 days (I'm half way there and don't see myself stopping) and come hail or high water, I was going to not eat foods that were in any way shape or form processed by a human.

When you lose resolve or are temped by friends or triggers such as holidays or movies or other situations that normally derailed you in the past, here are two motivational pictures that has helped m e to stay on track:

I know most of you have no problems what-so-ever saying no to drugs. I know that you would walk away from friendships if they insisted that you take heroine with them or meth. 

What we need to do is change our mental paradigms in the way we view processed foods and put them in the same categories as illicit drugs and say to ourselves: I DON'T EAT THAT. Not when we are stressed (just like a drug addict would do), not when we are celebrating (just like an alcoholic would do), not when we are lonely or depressed or sad or any other time. But Not EVER.

We need to find healthy alternatives and plan ahead for success by having enough good quality fuel ready for us at all times.

If you feel weak and lose your resolve, come to this blog and reread this post for motivation. Take the unprocessed challenge with me and see if you notice a difference, too. Finally, feel what it feels like to gain control of your life and achieve the body and health you've always wanted. Sure, it takes planning, but you've planned for other things before so you can handle this.

Find your "why" and write it down and start to raise the standard for yourself of what you deserve and what you are worth. As Tonya Kay always says: "This is not a discount body". 

Don't live a discount, processed, junk-food life.

Peace and be well. With love, The Fruit Doctor.

The Vivacious Tonya Kay: living life on HER terms

Please go to my new website to view this interview:

http://www.thefruitdoctor.com/tonya-kay-raw-vegan-dancer-and-healing-bi-polar-naturally/

Man vs Animal: Is it Possible to Meet our Health Needs without eating Animals?

I wanted to bring up this topic as I feel it's an important one. Indeed, I feel it's THE MAIN ISSUE at the heart of many people's reluctance to go or try vegan aside from food addiction of being addicted to certain foods, i.e. dairy (like I myself was).

I am working weekly over the phone with a coach who is trained in Non-violent communication which is an empathy-based way of relating with our own inner needs and those of others. It really resonates with me and I am growing a lot and see the potential for further growth as well.

One of the basic tennets of NVC is that we all have certain common basic needs that we are constantly striving to get met.

Here is a needs list that my coach recently shared with me. I will be going over this list in-depth with her in our next session as I feel a lot of these needs of ours get shamed in childhood and often we don't feel it's "okay" to have these needs, let alone ASK for them, not to mention recognize and validate them in others:

Autonomy:

Choice 

Freedom

Independence

Integrity:

Authenticity

Individuality, being whole self

Healing

Purpose/Meaning

Wholeness

Appreciation: 

Acknowledgment

Admiration

Consideration

Self-Expression:

Creativity

Growth

Purpose

Passion

Work

Interdependence:

Contribution

Community

Consideration 

Cooperation 

Friendship 

Harmony

Mutuality 

Peace

Preservation of life

Respect, seeing one another as whole

Support

Trust

Nurturing:

Affection 

Bonding 

Caring 

Comfort

Empathy

Touch 

The well-being of those we love

Survival:

Air

Food

Water

Shelter

Health

Rest

Safety

Sex

Celebration:

Aliveness 

Birth

Death/Mourning

Fun

Humor 

Joy

Passion 

Play

Connection:

Affinity/ Empathy

Communication

Love/ Intimacy/ Closeness

Friendship/Companionship 

Relationship

Predictability/Dependability

Shared values

Shared history and/or culture

Mental:

Understanding/clarity

Information

Learning

Stimulation

Spiritual:

Beauty

Connection with life

Faith

Harmony

Inspiration

Order

Tranquillity/serenity

Trust

In looking over this list, I would like to open my heart and share with you what needs of mine are met with the vegan lifestyle.

First, the need for connection with life is met as I see in animals a kindred spirit with the range of feelings  that I also have. In having had animals my whole life, they have brought a love, compassion, joy, loyalty and devotion that I have often missed in some of my human relationships.

My need for beauty is met by animal life as I often post pictures on my Facebook page of unbelievably beautiful creatures of varying shapes, sizes, textures and colors that often take my breath away.

My need for harmony is met as I feel that eating plants instead of animals helps animals to live out their full life potential while plants allow me to live up to mine and I am not doing this at their expense.

My need for health is also met because I feel I function and look my best when I don't consume animal products. Dairy foods in particular clog up my sinus and lungs and bloat my tummy while eggs and meat made me constipated and I had fowl stools.

While I have met many of my needs from eating this way, I have to acknowledge and realize that this is not the case for others. Some have experimented with an open heart and mind with veganism only to have some basic needs not met and have felt very frustrated with this experience.

One of the needs that is often not met with new vegans (an even some more experienced vegans) is the need for shared history and/or culture. Unless they are from a part of India that is already practicing a form of vegetarianism, or are of a religious faith such as Seventh Day Adventists who are  more frequently leaning towards a plant-based diet, there is often a feeling of isolation and feeling out of harmony and synch with the rest of society. 

Often the teasing, taunting and ridicule can take away one's tranquility and serenity that we all would like to have around meal times. 

The well-being of those we love is a big need for new parents who may have deep fears about making sure their newborn is getting the best nutrition for their Health. They have a need for reassurance with Information and Understanding/clarity as well as autonomy of choice as well as respect for their choices. 

In fact, pretty much everything in the above paragraph could apply to adults as well who might be considering or have tried a vegan diet for themselves and were not successful. This can create a deep sense of inner conflict of needs when we feel that we are forced to choose between the well-being of our own health versus the well-being of another creature (an animal) if we feel that consuming animal foods is what would effectively meet those needs.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is what needs are being met/not met with vegan activists and those to whom they interact with.

Vegan activists have needs of Empathy, Purpose/Meaning, Contribution, preservation of life, the well being of those we love,  and experience a deep sense of mourning at not seeing the needs of those whom they consider "voiceless".

The frustration of not meeting these needs often creates an outlash of anger of these vegan activists towards those whom they would desire to have shared values with others and Mutuality of Respect and seeing one another as whole.

Those who have experienced health problems from their experimentation with veganism, or those who have not tried veganism yet and hadn't made the decision yet with good Information often feel not heard and that their autonomy of choice or  Respect and seeing one another as whole is not acknowledged by vegan activists. And, their needs of empathy, support, communication, sense of community and other needs are not given consideration.

Thus a polarization develops and needs are not being met on either side. This frustration erupts into angry, defensive, accusatory exchanges which create a form of "violent communication" which are not congruent with the basic foundation of veganism which is compassion for ALL life.

We need a better way.

I have endeavored to share information on my blog in a non-judgmental way showing those thriving and benefiting on a vegan and raw vegan diet and how they are doing it as well as problems they may have experienced and ways that they have overcome them.

I, too, have run into some challenges on my vegan path and have experimented with various foods off and on to see the effects they have on my body.

At one point in my journey I even experimented with animal foods and was grateful I did as it confirmed that they did not indeed benefit me and I learned I could trust my own inner guidance of my body and didn't need to override it by listening to society's "educated" voices. 

There are others, however, that have seen tangible benefits from changing back to including animal foods.

My own observation on the matter, and this is just my own opinion based on my own research that I have done, is that those same needs can also be met by the plant kingdom.

Some times we need to add in more protein from legumes. As much as some vegans would like us to think that not getting enough protein is not an issue, depending on what "form" of veganism one pursues, one can indeed not get sufficient amino acids for the rebuilding and repair of the body.

I have interviewed several vegan body builders, fitness competitors and such to show that we can indeed get what we need in this area with a thoughtful, plant-based diet.

I do feel that we all have a need for more clarity and information, however, in the vegan community, as there is a substantial smaller portion of the human population eating this way than most and thus there are several different "types" of vegan diets that yield different results and this leads to success in some and failure to thrive in others and creates enormous confusion and fear.

For example, too much fat from vegetable sources, white flour, sugar, sodas, smoking, alcohol, or with some people, fruit-based diets that don't include leafy greens, sprouted beans or nuts, can create deficiencies that lead to serious health issues. They are all "vegan" diets, however, thus people blame "veganism" , which is simply the omittance of animal products, and not these other factors, thinking that as long as they don't eat animals that they are "getting everything that they need."

The real issue was either lack of protein (from plant-based sources) or lack of whole food nutrition that led to serious nutrient imbalances that could have been avoided with a more balanced approach. We need to eat WHOLE foods and not junk food vegan foods or SAD vegan foods (i.e. tons of fat just like the SAD diet).

I desire for greater respect, thoughtful communication and shared common values (our health), with vegans and non-vegans so that we can exchange solid information and come to conclusions that meet all of our mutual needs. We don't need to polarize and be pit against each other.

I invite you to share your experience and what needs were either met or not met when you tried a vegan diet, are on a vegan diet, are considering a vegan diet, or are not considering a vegan diet nor want to and perhaps I can share mine with you and we can both grow.

 My ultimate desire is for the well-being of those whom I share this earth with and that includes all humans that I come in contact with to create a sense of community, understanding and connection with all life.