Many of us raw fooders have fantasised about living in tropical paradise where luscious ripe fruit hangs from the trees and we only have to reach up to pick it, all our needs met in this paradisiacal situation.  It may be that there was a time in humanity’s distant past when his actually was the case and who knows, we may have an opportunity to live like this in the future.  However, for the moment, the situation for most of us is slightly different.   I think happiness comes from creating energetically in the situation we are in rather than any particular set of circumstances. The challenging position we are in regarding getting nutrition in and toxins out and living a healthy, energetically satisfying lifestyle gives us plenty of scope for creativity.  What are the aims?  To me they are to nourish and protect our creative minds and our sense of connection and peaceful oneness; to regain as much feeling as we can so that we can live our lives increasingly through intuitive awareness and energetic feeling (rather than having to try to work everything out with our limited analytical minds); to raise the energy in any given moment as much as we know how.  To raise our energy is the greatest thing we can do for ourselves, all around us and the planet.  It is what we feel as love.  It is what we feel as happiness.

So when it comes to the biochemistry of our bodies and brains, we need to pick through all the pollution and damaged food and somehow get together a way of eating that gives us the nutrients we need, removes the toxins we don’t need and restores chemical balance in the brain, and lifts us energetically.  In an enhanced brain state we will be far better equipped to know what to do next.  We are in an extraordinary situation in our world but with more than ever potential for change.  We may be able to create out of the current situation something even better than we could have imagined in our happiest of fantasies.

Of course nutrition isn’t all about food –there’s obviously water and air, also the light that goes into our eyes and other electromagnetic frequencies, the sounds that we hear, touch, our interaction with the earth’s fields, the mental content we expose ourselves to and our connection to more subtle energies.

Depletion of the soil has not only been caused by the intensive farming of the last half century – much of our land was deforested centuries before everyone started worrying about the Amazonian rainforests.  Even organic food, although grown without agro-chemicals, probably comes from deficient soils. We have been eating depleted diets for centuries.  The modern twist is the elimination of many foods that used to be part of our diets to be replaced by ‘junk’ - over-processed foods and mixtures of refined sugars, wheat, cooked oils and additives. We are now in a very fortunate situation now where new information and many amazing foods are becoming available to us and we can, if we choose, start to rebuild ourselves and feed our children vastly improved diets.  In time our soils could be remineralised and food grown in quite differently – perhaps a mixture of permaculture and just allowing food to grow wild.

Meanwhile we need to replenish ourselves and commit wholeheartedly to the restoration of the consciousness of this planet in the context of our own lives and the moment we are currently in.

Many diseases are thought to be metabolic, i.e. caused by simple lack of nutrients.  Scurvy, for example was caused by severe lack of vitamin C, but it is believed by many that cancer is linked to lack of vitamin B17 and heart disease to lack of vitamin C.  My sense is that the majority of people have forgotten what it feels like to be properly nourished.  When I started to eat in the way I do now I was delighted to discover that comfort eating dropped away.  It was interesting because it was at a time when a number of things were happening in my life that I found extremely distressing yet none of them sent me to the fridge.  If I had had any crutch previously it would probably be to eat something.  I have since concluded that at least a large percentage of emotional eating stems actually from malnutrition – when our spirits are high we can cope with it – just as one would on a fast - but when things get tough it becomes more difficult to cope with a  malnourished state.  The feelings of low self-worth that people feel when overeating are so undeserved.  There simply need to be more information out there on how to get proper nutrition.  Also I feel quite certain that much if not most emotional distress could be alleviated by restoring a good biochemical balance in the brain.

Raw food has the most life-force, the highest energy, the most order in it.  It’s not being raw in itself that is important – it is that it happens that raw food gives us energy and lays the foundations for restoring our consciousness.  It contains undamaged amino acids, fatty acids and fruit compounds needed to rebuild our brains for more expanded consciousness.  There are also foods that can benefit us heated or cooked especially some herbs.

It may be that our one of our most natural foods is fruit.  Unfortunately most of the fruit available to us in civilised society is hybridised to be over sweet and is mineral deficient.  Minerals enter fruits as they are ripening but fruit that is going to be shipped anywhere has to be picked before it is ripe.  Minerals are needed to metabolise the sugars in fruit, and of course there are extra sugars from hybridisation, so minerals are leeched from somewhere else in the body.  Also the food we are generally presented with has little natural insect material left ands we often don’t eat the seeds let alone chew them so it is not really the whole nutritional experience – perhaps this is one reason many people have problems with fruit consumption. That doesn’t mean we can’t eat fruit – the compounds in fruit are invaluable to us, especially in terms of the hormonal balance in our brains.  We can balance it by eating plenty of denser mineral rich food such as greens and other vegetables, nuts and seeds and also choose local wild fruits when they are in season and we can find them such as wild strawberries and blackberries and also wild-crafted and low-glycemic fruits that are increasingly becoming available.  Superfoods such as bee pollen, hemp leaf powder, gojis, maca, purple corn, crystal manna, mesquite, suma and so forth are helping fill the nutritional gaps for many of us and giving us energy that we had never before experienced in our lives.  Many of these foods have almost complete nutritional profiles and are grown sustainably in less depleted environments. As we import most of our food anyway it makes sense to do it in concentrated form.

To eat really fresh food probably means growing our own or foraging. It’s a good idea to do as much of this as we can but for most of us most of us at the moment, most of our food is going to be purchased.  Sprouting seeds – my favourites include broccoli, red clover, alfalfa, fenugreek and sunflower - means we get at least something totally fresh.  Remember animals don’t even put their fresh food on plates – they munch it as it grows!  We had a phase of trying this – the children enjoyed it immensely!  Activating seeds such as hemp by soaking them is introducing some life-force (although be careful how far you let your hemp seeds sprout – you might need a licence! – no, seriously, don’t worry!…and in the USA hemp seeds are treated to prevent people sprouting them…).  We can start to replace nutrients which are easily lost through storage such as vitamin C and MSM by supplementing. Camu camu, with its naturally high vitamin C content has gone into daily use in our house and we also take MSM powder every day, blended into our raw soup.  The lack of sunlight most of the year and air pollution mean that we have to take care to get plenty of vitamin D, crucial for bones, teeth, the immune system, blood circulation and healthy cells in general. Obviously this is particularly critical for growing children. Soaked hemp seeds, raw dairy products and mushrooms are some good vegetarian sources.

Moving on to dealing with toxicity, I think the sheer scale of it can come as a shock. A systematic poisoning of our water, air and earth, out land, sea and sky is taking place. We need to have some awareness in order to protect ourselves as far as possible and appreciate just how much better we feel as a result of doing so. 

Filter drinking water to remove chlorine and fluoride (interferes with the function of the pineal gland) or use spring water.  If possible filter all water including water you wash in though this may be a tall order.

If you are into raw foods you probably already avoid food and drinks containing neurotoxins such as mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) and aspartame. Although I am pretty tolerant of others eating habits I usually mention something when it comes to these substances because so many people simply don’t know. One of the main set of contaminants we have to deal with is heavy metals.  Barium is particularly high concentrations in chemtrails (toxic emissions from aircraft that have appeared since about 1999). Zeolite and potassium rich foods such as bananas, apricots, figs, greens, tomatoes, mushrooms can help.  You can flush out heavy metals in general with zeolite, MSM, camu camu berry powder, green juices and flax oil.  Aluminium in chemtrail spraying combined with magnesium ions can cause the blood to thicken in an unhealthy way.  Ginkgo or ginger can help prevent this (do not use if you are using pharmaceutical blood thinners); they also help get more blood to the brain. Flax oil moves aluminium out of the body into the hair – a better place for it to be! Fungi, bacteria and pathogens are thrown out in the aforementioned chemtrails. Probiotics such as kefir and also zeolite can help break down these pathogens.  Shiitake, reishi, maitake, and cordyceps mushrooms and also turmeric are anti viral.

Our immune systems under attack from electromagnetic radiation, radioactive fallout (e.g. nuclear ‘testing’, the depleted uranium dispersed in the Middle East) and other toxins. Some foods that are particularly useful are mushrooms such as reishi, lion’s mane, shiitake, tremella, maitake, himematsutake, poria, also suma, rhodiola, crystal manna, and zeolite.  Radiation causes a free radical build up which means we need extra anti-oxidant rich food.  Zeolite does seem to be a bit of a panacea at this time because it is anti-oxidant, also takes out pesticide and herbicide residues and xeno-estrogens.  Fruit and vegetables are high in antioxidants, some especially so, for example berries, broccoli, tomatoes, purple corn.

When under electromagnetic stress protein can protect us – one reason why people seem to feel greater need for protein when living in cities. It is important to take in adequate protein even though too much overburdens us.  Amino acids, from which protein is made, are needed to build our DNA.  Obtaining sufficient amounts of the 8 essential amino acids which we cannot manufacture in our own bodies is especially important.  Kefir contains them in particularly good ratios, also hemp, bee pollen, and various combinations such as sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  Kefir is also high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid often lacking because cooking damages it even more than other amino acids.  Also modern farming practices can lead to a deficiency of it in food.  We need to move our bodies vigorously to get it through to brain. Tryptophan makes serotonin in the brain- a lack of it causes depression.  Yet another factor in the low level depression in the population and high level of depression in some individuals?  Exercise is also important for the lymph system to function and get nutrients moving around the body and toxins out.  It also raises endorphin levels.  Avoiding GM food is going to become increasingly important and there is still some debate on what percentage of genetically modified food is going to be allowed on so-called organically labelled products.  GM food can prevent proper organ growth, lower the immune and cause allergic reactions.

For whatever reasons, our brains are not running at their full potential and a large proportion of our brain functioning seems to be taking place at an unconscious level at this time and we are in genuine need of biochemical help - that is why people turn to drugs like coffee, alcohol, etc.  However, there are more effective and sustainable ways of stimulating and relaxing us. For example rhodiola can stimulate our mental awareness and energy without the problems associated with coffee and tea; he shou wu contains natural precursors to ecstasy.  I tend to recommend supplementing DMT in the form small doses of ayahuasca.  DMT is a neurotransmitter that is deficient in our brains due to shrinkage of the pineal gland and supplementing it can help restore lost creativity, intuition, and feelings of inherent ‘rightness’.  It could be considered as a remedy for depression.  Cacao (raw chocolate), hemp leaf power and reishi, lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms are also fantastic for the brain.  Because of the limited mental state and stresses of living in world we live in an accepted state of  perennial low level anxiety, many herbs can help with this whilst at the same time boosting our energy rather than actually sedating us – one of my favourites is ashwagandha.  With better working brains we are more alert and yet calm at the same time.  Also our bodies start to function better including our digestive systems, immunes systems and hormonal systems.

Food can definitely be our medicine – in our family these remedies have become flavour enhancements in our meals.

In terms of electromagnetic bombardment I try to avoid mobiles, masts, cordless phones - it can be tricky to get out of the grid without drastic lifestyle changes but worth bearing in  mind in my opinion.
I like to get out into nature as far away from it as is possible and also to get comparatively fresh air, connect with the life-sustaining electromagnetic frequency of the earth and hear birdsong and the wind, sound frequencies which nourish us.

Notice the effects of the colours you use on how you feel – whether they raise your energy and choose accordingly rather than to reflect your current mood or mental ideas.  Increasing energetic awareness of everything seems to be the key.  In terms of mental content - be aware of how it makes you feel.  The subconscious makes images – the word ‘not’ has no meaning in these terms.  A word creates a feeling in you.  When you speak, think or write you are making suggestions to yourself or others.  Keep them to things you would like as far as you can but let go of the more negative ones with good humour.
Don’t let the ideas of the media or those around you affect you negatively at any level – any thought that induces fear or lowers your energy is not worth having.  Let it go.  Feel disturbing emotions in body until they pass - and they will.  Wherever possible act from a state of equilibrium, from a calm unhurried state.   Follow the flow and the synchronicities.   Simplify and arrange you life so that as much as possible can be done in this manner, there is time to do what you need to do to relax your mind  and there is time to care for yourself and those around you.  Loving touch stimulates oxytocin levels and feelings of love, peace and openheartedness.  Doing something we love to do that connects us to others, that lifts their and our energies has a direct effect on our own hormonal state and makes us more satisfied in ourselves and lifts addictive tendencies.

When we are quiet and close our eyes we still feel something that is nothing to do with this world and a consciousness that is nothing to do specifically with being human.  There is no need to worry about anything just do our best and enjoy it as much as we can.  Stay as attuned to our feelings as we can, create as high an energy as we are able to in any given moment, follow the flow, the synchronicities and remember we are all one. Heightening our intuition is our way to something new and better, recharging our consciousness is our way reconnection with what we really are.

This article first appeared in Funky Raw magazine March 2007