What we ALL need to know about cancer treatment
May 18, 2012
"I'm afraid it's bad news. You have cancer."
Let's say the person hearing these words is a woman in her 50s. Though it could just as easily be a man. Or a woman (or man) in any other decade of life.
First point is, whoever they are, chances are good that it doesn't occur to them to do anything other than follow doctors' advice.
After all, to do anything else would be crazy as no one knows better than doctors do how to treat cancer.
If the patient has the money to they may seek second and third opinions.
But either way, they then show up for their surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.
At some point, they might ask their doctor whether there is anything they can do to improve their odds - for example, should they change their diet?
If they smoke they might be advised to give up, and if they are morbidly obese, to lose weight.
But otherwise they're likely to be told there's nothing they can personally do to alter the course of their disease, other than show up for their appointments and take any prescribed medication.
And far from being put on the health-boosting, disease-busting diet
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A shortcut to sprouting success
May 11, 2012
If you think of expensive powders, pills and potions when you think of superfoods, think again.
The real superfoods are certain fresh vegetables and fruits (in that order) - and the biggest superfood superstars of all are sprouts.
They are so nutrient-dense, energising and healing we should all be including them every day. And we'd be fools not to, really.
I don't mean to completely dismiss the other kind of superfoods. I personally wouldn't be without my barley grass powder or my kelp.
But while many packaged superfoods are an expensive habit to maintain, you can load your plate with superior sprouts for just a few pence - if you know how to grow them.
You may have tried it and ended up with sprouts that went mouldy, soggy or too dry - we've all been there. But once you know how, successful sprouting couldn't be easier.
If you've yet to master the art, the best way to learn is in a hands-on class. And today I wanted to tell you about a class that will teach you all you need to know in just two hours, and for just £15.
The class was designed, and is taught,
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Holy Guacamole
May 10, 2012
Guacamole can transform any salad into an event, and also makes a fantastic dip, spread or wrap filling.
Do you like yours smooth or chunky? Mild or spicy? This is a simple recipe you can adapt to your tastes, adding more or less chilli and garlic, and blending for more or less time depending on the texture you're after.
2 ripe avocados, de-stoned, peeled and chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 small piece red chilli, finely chopped
pinch of natural salt (I recommend this range)
1. Place lime juice, garlic, chilli and salt in a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth.
2. Add the avocado and pulse until you get the desired
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The Raw Vegan Village: your reaction
May 4, 2012
Last week's report, about a dream of enlightened eco living that turned into a nightmare, elicited a huge response in the comments section and I also received many private messages about it.
I want to sincerely thank everyone who's taken the time to write in with their words of support and/or advice for those who lost money, and I especially want to thank all who've indicated their willingness to help.
There are tentative moves afoot to set up a fund to receive the donations so many kindly pledged to give. If and when that becomes a reality, I'll let you know right away.
I also thank all those with email lists and Facebook pages who have shared this information with their contacts.
Those who lost money lost it only due to the belief that something like this could never happen in the raw community, so it's essential we're now all aware that it can, because it has.
A leading raw food promoter wrote to me last week to say that when some of the information presented in this report came onto her radar two years ago she was concerned enough that she approached several other high-profile figures in
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A cautionary tale: the fiasco that was/is the “Raw Vegan Village”
April 23, 2012
In early 2008, Gerald "Storm" and Johanna "Jinjee" Talifero, pictured, announced that they were selling homes in a "Raw Vegan Village" - a community they were building in the Upper Ojai Valley in Southern California.
The Taliferos are the couple behind the popular Garden Diet website, and the homes for sale were to be no ordinary homes, but state-of-the-art luxury green homes set in a stunning location on nearly 120 acres of fertile land.
Here was a unique opportunity to live in a community of like-minded people, growing food together, and earning a good income from the Village's green businesses, which would include a world-class raw spa.
As a local newspaper article on the project began, "The dream sounded nothing short of a utopia."
At least 27 individuals, couples and families followed that dream and made home down payments to the Taliferos (average amount: around $30,000) between mid 2008 and mid 2010. The Taliferos also sold shares in the planned spa.
But the dream very quickly turned into a nightmare.
Seven of those who lost their money share their stories below.
Contracts show that those who bought homes were told that the Village would be
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Creamy green juice shake
April 12, 2012
I recently discovered a brilliant and very simple way to make green juices into a gourmet treat. This is a great alternative to adding fruit – though there is nothing wrong with adding some apple, pear or pineapple to take the edge off a potent elixir of dark greens. Add the juice of a lemon too and the interplay of sweet and tart will dominate, leaving the earthy bitter of the greens as a subtle – and decidedly more palatable – background taste.
But bored of that after several years of it I started experimenting and came up with another way to make heavy-duty green juices taste good - even those with broccoli! I’m making my juices into shakes by adding nut milk, and they have never gone down as easily. Here’s an example:
200g spinach or other dark greens
1 small head broccoli
1 red pepper
3 sticks celery
Small piece root ginger
Raw almond milk
Juice the first five ingredients and pour into a glass. Then add almond milk to taste – I find that one part nut milk to two parts juice is plenty.
This juice is loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from the vegetables, and the almond milk gives it an extra infusion of calcium, protein and
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Healing the father-daughter relationship
April 7, 2012
We all know that our mothers had a major impact on how we turned out.
But there is a widespread misconception that how Dad was as a parent is less of an issue, especially for daughters.
The father-son relationship is universally seen as important - the world is aware that a boy needs a positive male role model as he grows into a man.
But many see a girl's relationship with her father as secondary to her bond with her mother.
Here's a little-known fact: for both boys and girls, the relationship with the opposite-sex parent has the profoundest of bearings on whether or not we grow up to be happy, serene, healthy, fulfilled individuals.
The way in which her father interacted with her as she was growing up is a major factor in how a woman's nervous system is wired, which in turn impacts her physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health, her self-image, her view of the world, and the ease - or otherwise - with which she loves and trusts as a woman.
Psychologist Dr Linda Nielsen has been studying the father-daughter relationship for over 15 years. Like researchers before her, she
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Diet guidelines for the Highly Sensitive Person
April 5, 2012
Figuring out what to eat can be a challenge of epic proportions for the Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), because everything we eat affects us so much.
If we don't eat enough we feel light-headed, drained, anxious and jittery.
If we eat too much, or the wrong things, mind fog sets in big time.
We're also prone to digestive issues and to everything else that goes with having a sensitive constitution.
Processed foods affect us more than most - refined sugar and caffeine are powerful mind-altering drugs for us.
But if we strip away all that and eat a super clean raw diet, our emotions can feel far too...well...raw.
While food that's unfired is an essential component of any diet, eating 100% raw is challenging for HSPs, as we need to eat in a way that calms and grounds us.
It's hard to get enough grounding foods on a raw diet without overdoing the fats (though we certainly shouldn't underdo them either; they're essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system).
A whole foods diet is the way to go - experiment to find the amount of raw that works for you, and also the foods that you
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The Highly Sensitive Person’s guide to thriving in an insensitive world
April 4, 2012
I promised you this guide back when I posted my article about Highly Sensitive People. That one got many of you writing in - thanks again to all who did.
If you missed it, you might want to scoot back and check it out first - there's a mini quiz you can do to help determine whether you 're one of the 15-20% of the population that is highly sensitive.
This trait brings with it some challenges, but also many blessings. The purpose of this guide is to help you to manage the former so you can focus on enjoying the latter.
1. Be aware that you experience life through an extra-sensitive nervous system What all HSPs have in common is a hyper-responsive amygdala – the part of the brain that governs both fear and pleasure. This means that for the HSP, everything is amplified; experienced in high definition. "It's like feeling something with 50 fingers as opposed to 10," explains the psychiatrist Judith Orloff, author of Emotional Freedom. You have more receptors to perceive things so you are more sensitive
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Is this potentially harmful substance lurking in YOUR nutritional supplements?
March 30, 2012
If you are taking any supplements right now, I have a mini assignment for you. Step away from the computer for a moment, check the ingredients, and see whether you see "magnesium stearate" (also known as "stearic acid") listed.
If you take anything other than the very highest quality, most natural supplements, chances are that this substance - contained in over 90% of supplements and in most pharmaceutical drugs - will feature on the label/s.
You may have seen it there before and, like me, not batted an eyelid, assuming it was a supplemental form of magnesium, and therefore no cause for concern.
But magnesium stearate is not a substance added for your nutrition, nor for any health benefits whatsoever.
It's machine lube.
No, I'm not kidding, but I wish I was.
Magnesium stearate is what is known in the supplement industry as an "excipient". These are synthetic substances which are added to enable supplement manufacturers to mass-produce their wares more easily and cheaply. Other examples are titanium dioxide and talcum powder (often listed, simply, as "talc").
Magnesium stearate is a flow enhancer added so that production machinery will run at maximum speeds, and require minimal cleaning,
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