Emotional healing begins with research and analysis. Without those two, there is no healing. Emotional techniques like EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) do work, but they do so more like an aspirin. They may give you temporary relief but do not solve the problem (heal). A holistic approach is about delving deep into all of the aspects of the self to arrive at and understand the root of the problem, and then truly begin to heal. Otherwise we are just numbing the pain.

Negative emotions hide in the dark side of our minds, our subconscious mind, and they feed off of more negative emotions. Emotional healing is not about annihilating our emotions, it’s about educating and transmuting them. We need to be in control of them, not be run by them. Remember that everything in the Universe is recycled and transformed. And in order to transform our negative emotions into positive ones, we need  to know all about them, which ones they are, how they work, and where and how they originated. This is where research comes in, where analysis follows, and where healing begins. Fear usually comes from lack of knowledge. Knowledge will allow us to turn on the lights in our minds. This way, when we observe and analyze our subconscious mind, there is nothing to fear as we see everything so clear. It is that darkness  also known as ignorance (lack of knowledge and information about the emotion) that the body will quickly interpret as DANGER. On a chemical and biological level, it sets off a major sequence of physiological events, from increased heartbeat to release of certain hormones, some activating an internal environment for more negative emotions to arise, and some that make you sweat, turn red, and halt the functions of your digestive system. On a psychological and non-physical level, this uncertainty generates in us all sorts of negative emotions like fear, insecurity, anxiety, and nervousness. Research will give us knowledge (light), which will allow us to understand our thoughts and to heal any negative emotional state.

Emotions are chemical and electrical. They are cognitive processes that induce a REACTION. This happens when thought patterns don’t go through the process of reasoning. In other words, we act without thinking. Why do we react? Because we are made up of nerves. We are organic electrical systems, not just machines. And if we don’t know how our organic, chemical, and electrical machine works, reacting can be a negative sequence of Cause and Effect and it can continue from one life to the next, until we break the chain of reaction with knowledge, understanding, and love. Here is the part where we get into the vicious cycle of hurting others. But most of all, since we are all connected, we end up really hurting ourselves. Whatever we emanate (emotions, words, feelings, thoughts) comes right back to us. It is all different forms of energy. Some positive energy (if we choose and work for it) and some negative energy. Regardless, the energy we send out into the Universe will come right back to its originator. This is a huge responsibility, and it is ours to own. This is why we need to do the personal work of research and analysis to transmute our negative emotions into positive ones. Because we want to heal —> to be optimally healthy —> to then emanate positive high frequency energy —> which then comes right back to us <—. And we will do this through knowledge, understanding, and love.  This is called ‘the positive energy feedback loop’. In other words, good food for your WHOLE being.

As far as one emotional healing technique in particular….well, nothing is ever just one way or one thing. When it comes to healing period, there are multiple things to address/work on for our different bodies: mind, physical body, emotional body, etc… You can use EFT as one of your  tools to help you calm down at the moment, but your journey to actual healing begins once you face that emotion head on, break it down, understand it, and transmute it.

Dear Silvie+Maryl, I’m a college student at Sonoma State University California, I only get about $200 a month for food, and it is hard to budget and eat healthy. Do you have any suggestions for healthy eating on a small budget?

First of all, we want to congratulate you on your desire as a college student to take responsibility for your health and well-being. You’re way ahead of the pack already. Now, to the point. The best way to eat healthy on a budget is to cook. And this comes with a reward, which is the fun that you can have getting creative in the kitchen and really satisfying your taste buds because nobody can make what you like as well as you. Also, you will make a lot of friends by being the one guy who cooks both tasty and healthy food!

So, here are some suggestions to eat healthy on a budget:

• - It doesn’t get healthier than a plant-based diet. On a PBD, you have a variety of fruit and veggie options that are not very expensive. For example: Meals that pair up a big salad with a grain (brown rice) and a legume (beans, lentils) are great nutrition, and not very expensive at all. Let’s break that down: For $6, you can buy a 16 oz. container of organic baby spinach, pre-washed. Two of those will last you for a week of salads. A pound of brown rice is $1.99 and legumes will cost from $1.50 to $2.60 per pound. You can get a variety – from all the beans, lentils to chick peas - and a small amount when cooked will increase almost triple fold. So, a small amount of legumes and grains (brown  rice, millet, quinoa) will last you for a while, is much cheaper than meat, and will nourish you with all of the protein you need PLUS vitamins, minerals and a variety of phytonutrients. You can recycle leftover beans into breakfast (most Mexican people I know can’t fathom breakfast without beans!), a burrito on the go for lunch, or a nice dip to snack on with organic chips while studying.

• - Shop with the seasons. Fruits and vegetables that are in season are much cheaper. For example, berries are summer fruits and you can buy a container of strawberries for $3.99 right now – compared to twice that much off season.  Blueberries are $2.99 right now, and $6.99 off season.

• - A great thing is that you live in California, a place that provides the rest of the nation with the majority of the organic produce, and a state known for amazing Farmers Markets where you can get good local produce straight from the farmer, who will charge you a flat fee and you can usually negotiate with. Some, when you get to know them, hook you up with freebies. The Farmers Market is also known for free samples – you taste before you buy and by the time you’re done with every aisle, you’re pretty full!

• - California also has great CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) programs. This is a good way to get a variety of produce for a flat fee. You are also eating with the seasons, and supporting your local farmers, and caring for the planet by getting food that has a small carbon footprint. This is for your health and the health of the planet! Maryl and I both signed up to Farm Fresh To You, and we get a box of fruits, vegetables and herbs for about $30 a month – delivered right to our doors.

• - Start a community garden in your college. You, and other students interested, can plant vegetables, fruits, herbs and more, and eat what you grow.

• - Get together with a group of like-minded students/friends who are also into health, and do a weekly or monthly potluck. Each person can bring one dish, and there will be plenty of quantity and quality (variety), for everyone to get nourished. Be sure to specify the rules of the game: healthy food, meaning organic, local, plant-based and homemade. You can get plenty of ideas from the HKitchen.

In the United States, most people treat their pet as if it were their very own child, yet south of the border, where dogs do not have this kind of treatment, they are actually fed as well as the rest of the family. When it comes to feeding your beloved dog, why should he get the canned and dehydrated (aka cardboard) processed stuff? My rule is, if I wouldn’t eat it, I won’t feed it to my dog.

I’ve had various dogs throughout my life and every single one is a story on its own. I spent my childhood rescuing dogs from the street (tons of stray dogs in Lima, Peru, where I lived), and bringing them home with me. Of course, my mom only allowed me to keep one dog, and the rest I had a week to find them a home to live in. I joined a rescue organization, at the age of 8, when I couldn’t even drive to the meetings held every Saturday. Luckily, my mother supported my efforts and treated me and my sister like respected adults since we were young children, so because this was so important to me, I was driven every Saturday to  the meetings.

One thing that remained the same, however, is how we fed them. All of our dogs were on a whole foods diet, composed of food made from scratch, just like the food for the rest of us. And how did this pan out for them? Our dogs didn’t have nearly as many problems and illnesses as they do here in America, where the staple pet meal comes in a can or a bag. This is a major issue. Have you read, and know all the ingredients that are in those processed foods? Commercial food generally contains very low quality ingredients that are not good enough for human consumption, even diseased animal meat containing high levels of antibiotics. Even if it says “organic”, if you read the ingredients, you will see that they mix so many different types of meat, it’s just too much protein for even an active animal. That’s why we see so many issues with dogs and arthritis, chronic infections, tumors, digestive disorders and even diabetes. It wasn’t like this before. What happened? Processed foods, pesticides and GMOs happened. Most commercial foods are loaded with preservatives and corn, which cause many allergies and health problems for our pets. One of the most perturbing scenarios is that, nowadays roadkill and euthanized pets are making their way into your pet’s food. Moreover, most pet food is cooked, microwaved, canned, and/or pasteurized, leaving it enzyme-free; just like with humans, enzymes are an essential part of your pet’s nutrition. Observe Nature: it is so intelligent. Haven’t you seen, when your dog feels sick, what does he eat? Grass. That’s right: GREENS!! Let the healing begin via the plant kingdom, OF COURSE.

You might say, “Man! I can barely cook for myself and now I have to cook for my pet too?” Choosing to own a pet is a big responsibility. It is like having a child, in the sense that they depend on us to give them their food, shelter and hopefully good manners in the form of training. The dog is there for you, for your company and amusement, but what are you doing for him/her? Love is a two-way street. Look at it this way: Cooking for your pet will also help you to get in the habit of getting in the kitchen and making fresh home-cooked whole food meals that will keep you BOTH healthy. This is the basis of what we call “health prevention”.

Remember, the healthy foods for you also are the healthy foods for your pet. Here are a few recommendations for your dog’s meals:

✽ GREENS!! Salads are rich in enzymes and this makes a huge difference in your dog’s health. Spinach was our last dog’s fave. Mix it with cucumber, green peppers, green onions, parlsey, carrots, sweet potato…Sprinkle some snipped sea veggies in it. If you think it’s tasty, they will too (haven’t you seen them beg at the kitchen table?)

✽ A diet high in vegetables, greens, and quality meats and fish (though not in huge quantities) is the best.  Since I eat a plant-based diet (vegan), I fed my dogs mainly a plant-based diet too, with the occasional smoked salmon for their omega-3 fatty acids. Their intestines are short, which, unlike humans, qualifies them to digest animal protein.

✽ Hearty vegetable soups (stew-like) with lots of sweet potatoes and carrots (this was a staple meal for our pets). Sweet potatoes’ nutrients will keep their fur shiny, just like it does with our hair, and the phytonutrients in the carrots (particularly lutein) will help with eye health.

✽ WATER. Like yourself, keep you dogs drinking plenty of fresh water.

✽ High quality proteins and whole grains (quinoa/brown rice) for better digestion. You can add these to soups.

✽ Not too much fruit, but very little is OK. Every dog is very particular in which fruit is the one for them (I know one that loves mangoes and another that will do all sorts of tricks for bananas). Try apples or cantaloupe, but in very small quantities, occasionally even better.

✽ Omega-3 are as important for them as they are for us. Wild salmon, sea veggies, spinach, asparagus are good.  You can sprinkle the sea veggies in their stew or salad. They’ll even eat it as a snack. I would even pour a little flaxseed oil over their whole grains or salad.

✽ Keep the saturated fats very low.

✽ Do not give your pet your leftover processed foods. No pizza, red onions, chocolate, raisins, grapes.

A dog’s sense of smell is sooo amazing, they know quality when they sniff it. Whenever I want to test if a food is high quality, fresh and truly organic, I have my dog sniff it and if he/she wants to eat it…well, let’s just say we both win.

It is important to understand that dogs, just like humans, become addicted to certain foods as well, especially if they have been eating them for a while. So, since every person as well as every dog is different, see how yours reacts to a quick diet adjustment. You may be better off by introducing new things by hand little by little. You can also put them on a mini liquids fast for less then a day and have their first meal be the new diet. They will be so hungry they will eat it. It might take a little while for their bowels to adjust, but remember that they, too, need to cleanse out all the toxic stuff that might be in their systems. Be patient and have the courage of conviction that you are finally doing the right thing for that sweet canine that loves you so much.

There are many plant-based food styles, with various health benefits. Some of them indicate what you should eat, others what you shouldn’t, others when to eat what, and even others what to eat with what. Let’s explore some of the most popular ones.

Plant-Based Diet: The PBD is what we focus on here at HLife. A PBD is exactly that: eating plants.  This means two things: 1. You don’t eat meat, and 2. You eat what the Plant Kingdom naturally has to offer. Dr. T. Colin Campbell put it best when he talked to HLife in an interview – eat some roots, some stems, some leaves and some flowers (and seeds). You can also see it as eating vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, algaes, and other items that can be classified as plants. Because the Plant Kingdom is so diverse, a PBD implies eating a variety of foods. It also means eating real plants, not some processed franken-flower or quasi-stem.  Processed foods are not a big part of a PBD, as most who adopt it focus on eating what Nature has to offer in its true form.  Because of its focus on natural foods and on diversity, the PBD is very nutritious.

Vegetarian: To be a vegetarian means that you don’t eat meat of any kind (no pork, no beef, no poultry, no fish). Vegetarians include dairy in their diet, and so there are two sub-divisions of this category: ovo-vegetarian (a vegetarian who eats eggs) and lacto-vegetarian (a vegetarian who drinks milk and eats cheese, yogurt or any other milk derivative.) You can be an ovo-latco vegetarian, too. The caveat with the vegetarian diet is that it’s focus is on cutting out meat, and not on incorporating plants. Because of this, you can be an unhealthy vegetarian, who eats only bread, pasta and pizza or processed veggie-meats that are probably more harmful to your body than even real meat.

Vegan: A vegan is a vegetarian that does not consume dairy products (eggs, milk or derivatives). No meat, no dairy. A vegan diet that focuses on eating whole foods is fabulous for health (a Plant-Based Diet is pretty much a nutrient-focused vegan diet)but, just like with a vegetarian diet, vegans can still be called vegans if they eat just bread, pasta, and pizza with soy cheese, so a vegan diet is not necessarily healthy. There is such a thing as a junk food vegetarian and junk food vegan. Veganism sometimes means you also don’t wear leather or consume bee products, depending on why you became vegan (for health or for animal rights) and on how you interpret the philosophy.

Raw: A raw foodist focuses on consuming uncooked foods. For obvious reasons, this mostly includes plants, but it can also include raw meat, raw fish (raw poultry is not very popular but I wouldn’t discount it), and raw milk. This sometimes means eating foods that are dehydrated (“cooked” at a slow rate and temperature) as well as cooked under 105 degrees. These techniques preserve the enzymes in the food, which is a fabulous assistance for digestion, as well as the vitamins, minerals and other excellent phytonutrients. The down side is that some foods, like potatoes must be cooked or they may be poisonous, and unless you know how to sprout legumes and grains, you may be cutting those out of your diet.

Raw vegan: A raw vegan is just that – a person who eats what is available in a vegan diet (plants, no meat or dairy) and eats them uncooked (or slightly cooked or dehydrated under 105 degrees).

Macrobiotic: An Eastern-derived food style, the macrobiotic diet focuses on eating whole foods, preferably locally grown, as naturally as possible (frowns on processed or refined foods), and according to the seasons. Macrobiotic cooking uses mostly grains, beans and vegetables as its staples. No sugar, no dairy, no meat except fish. Many fermented soy products like miso and tempeh are also readily used, and it is said that these are beneficial to immunity, digestion and overall health. One beautiful thing about macrobiotic eating is the awareness of the principles of yin and yang – that foods (cooked or raw, specific foods) have an energy, strong or subtle, masculine or feminine, and that each of us needs a balance of both. Eating according to macrobiotic principles ensures that we get what we’re missing in terms of vitality and nutrition.

Organic: People who eat organic food don’t consume what is called “conventionally grown” food or processed foods made with conventionally grown produce. This means that the food and its seeds are/were in their natural state – they have not been genetically modified (non-GMO), irradiated, treated with synthetic fertilizer, grown in slush water or otherwise unnaturally handled.

Local: Choosing to eat foods that are grown either in your area or in your region. This, like most of these other food styles, is both a philosophical as a nutritional choice – eating locally grown produce benefits your own economy, supports your community and ensure you get the fruits and veggies closer to the date they are picked, which means they have not lost as many nutrients as something that has to be either flown or driven to you from hundreds of miles away. Food grown far away is often picked before it is fully mature, and since most nutrients set in maturity…well, you get my point.

Rainbow Diet: People who adopt a rainbow diet eat according to colors. Based on the chakra system, the basic philosophy is that eating a variety of colorful food will yield a variety of nutrients, and that each color has a frequency vibration that is best suited for a specific meal or time of the day. Your reds, oranges and yellows (think melons, strawberries and bananas) are eaten int he morning, while your greens (think salads) are eaten for lunch and your pinks, purples and whites for dinner (think beans and rice or cabbage).  There is a great range of flexibility here, of course.

All of these food styles can be adopted with a focus on nutrition, for a healthy mind, body and soul.  A combination of these – more raw foods in the spring to cleanse, more of a macrobiotic approach in the fall and winter, for example, can also be beneficial. See what feels right for you, both on a philosophical and on a health level (if nutrition is a focus). Be sure to comment and let us know how it went.

*Above Images from: LifeFood Organics, gourmet.com, bbcgooffood.com, M de Chaya Cafe, and thewitchykitchen.blogspot.com

It is no secret that the plant kingdom delivers a plethora of  physical health benefits, but did you know that it also goes beyond physical benefits? Although we have written about parts of this in different articles/posts, here’s a brief list to address that all in one, for you to keep or share with those who ask you about why you have chosen to eat a plant-based diet.

Body: When it comes to physical health, a plant-based diet is a perfect form of prevention and natural medicine. Plants provide the body with good things like complex cabs and good fats to make long lasting energy and keep us from being sleepy and unproductive. Only the Plant Kingdom contains a load of antioxidants, a group of compounds that protect us from cell and tissue damage. Antioxidants keep your heart strong, your body youthful, your mind sharp, extend your life, rejuvenate an aging immune system, and even improve your sex life. Vegetables are known to have a variety of foods classified as anti cancer, so many different items with anticancer properties and abilities to reverse the disease without killing the healthy cells around the tumor. Many vegetables, especially sea veggies, are higher quality protein that is easier  for us to digest, absorb and eliminate, and don’t have cholesterol, antibiotics or disease-causing bacteria that form in the presence of the acidity caused by animal protein. A plant-based diet prevents and reverses Type 2 diabetes. We have never heard of fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, nuts and seeds giving us deadly diseases or even illnesses that are a big crisis in America, like obesity and diabetes. They are obviously made to be the official food for human beings. Further, from a science point of view, living plant foods in particular are electron-rich foods that act as high power electron donors and also as solar-resonant fields in the body to attract, store, and conduct the sun energy in our body (you can’t get greener then this on all levels, inside and out). Most all diseases/illnesses/imbalances can be linked to mineral deficiencies, but on an unprocessed, whole-foods, plant-based diet, the body is unlikely to be mineral-deficient, especially if you diversify. Real nutrition requires diversity, and variety you will find in this kind of diet because there are so many different options and an abundance of quality vitamins and minerals here – in the form the body is designed to understand.

Mind/Emotions: A plant-based diet maintains the balance of brain chemicals and hormone secretions. According to Gabriel Cousens, flesh food increases the animal frequency in the body and it brings into operation more animal-like tendencies such as the vibrations of anger, lust, fear, aggressiveness and murderous impulses.  He also states that the energy of a flesh food diet adds to the impurities of the minds and the nervous system and it communicates the energy of destruction to the cells, tends to make the mind insensitive, brings the energy of death into our auric fields, reducing the flow of higher life “prana” into the body.  When it comes to disease, genetics actually play a small part. Predisposition to cancer, for example, does not mean you are destined to get cancer. If this were so, all the daughters of a mother with a history of breast cancer would get breast cancer, and we know that this is not the case. So, what happens here? A gene must be activated in order to express that disease. This is the trick. Among the potential activators of a gene are environmental factors like pollution, lifestyle ones like exercise and diet, and more abstract ones like thoughts. Beyond what we know about how animal protein activates cancer on a chemical level, what sort of thoughts do you think are in the subconscious of a person that consumes what others kill? On a very basic level, all of us know that taking another being’s life is wrong. Our minds recognize this, if not consciously, deep down inside. And, deep down, we can’t lie to ourselves. We are bound to reap what we sow.  Not to mention that when we eat animals, we are eating the fear and anxiety that was present at the time of their death. And then we wonder why we are so afraid and anxious. You are what you eat.

Spirit: Spiritual teachings may differ in many things but most concur that a basic respect for life is a good thing. If we stop to make the connection for a minute, and we think about what we are really eating, we will notice that by eating a steak, what we are doing is eating an animal, an animal that someone had to slaughter. Does contributing to the slaughter of a fellow animal-kingdom being sound like basic respect for life to you? We share many of the same genes and systems with these animals. If I say it’s not okay for you to beat or eat my dog, but it’s okay for you to beat, kill and eat another animal with a sophisticated neurological system that allows it to feel pain, one that has offspring just like you, and a defined social structure and behavior just like you and your pet do, does that sound like a bit of a double standard to you?  When it comes to respect for life, is it okay to draw the line where your taste buds tell you to? Or is it a more honest and compassionate answer to say that a basic respect for life translates into a strong effort to not kill other animals (humans being a part of that kingdom), no matter how big or small they are?

On an energy level, a plant-based diet nourishes our spirit with high frequency vibrations. Plants, just like all living organism emanate a vibration frequency that is very elevated.  Through photosynthesis, they are able to absorb and store photon energy from the sun’s rays that comes from the cosmos. This photon energy nourishes our cells on an energy, electrical, and vibrational level, which is essential for the health and survival of our bodies (mind/body/spirit) and especially in helping us connect with our higher Self, which is directly linked to the Source of life and consciousness.

Planet: Burping Bertha is a huge problem for the planet. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, livestock contribute more to global warming than transport, producing 18% of all global greenhouse emissions.  The cow that is raised to provide you with milk and then its flesh in the form of a steak actually causes damage to the environment by burping and farting methane. A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of carbon dioxide. Also, methane stays in the atmosphere longer than carbon dioxide, which means its damage lasts longer. This means your milk and steak cause more damage to the planet than cars on the street do. And that means opting for a plant-based diet is one of, if not the single, most responsible thing you can do to combat global warming. Help a planet out.

The basic case for a plant-based diet is this: We weren’t meant to eat other animals. Our bodies are not best-suited to use animal flesh as food. Neither are our minds or spirits.  And now, our planet can’t even handle that habit. Any way you look at it – once you take the time to really think about it and do your homework – a plant-based diet is the best option for human beings alive on this planet at this time.

The minute something happens to your body, you need to focus on one thing: What is my body trying to tell me?

The physical body is a map to the mental “body”.  Your physical body has many jobs and one of them is telling you exactly what is going on in your mind, which is something that you may not be able to see. The point of connection between the mind and the body are the emotions. There are healers who say that all problems are emotional, and that’s not untrue.  A holistic approach to health looks at all bodies – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – to get a whole picture of what is causing the imbalance.

So, as you have to analyze your particular situation, let’s walk through an example on how to do this.  The first thing you need to do is look at the part of your body that is affected. Let’s say this fibroid is located in the uterus (as many are). The uterus is an area of the body intimately connected to femininity, as it is an organ that only females have. It is also a part of the reproductive system, the place of ultimate physical creation (babies). Let’s say it is located on the right side of your uterus. The right side of the body is governed by the left brain, and the left brain is linked to the masculine, the father, analytical processes.

All of this is beginning to paint a picture: There is an extraneous mass (something that stands out and is not supposed to be there, but is calling attention) located in the feminine, reproductive and therefore CREATIVE center of you, a place deeply connected to you as a woman, relationships, children…particularly placed on the masculine/paternal/analytical side of the body.

All illnesses begin with a thought (in the mind, like you said). And this thought generates an feeling, and then an emotion. This emotion is then expressed physically in your body.  It looks like there was a thought, an idea (“I should already have children), which then funneled down to an emotion like fear (“Maybe I’ll never get to have children”). Perhaps this is a personal fear, pressure on part of your parents (father, perhaps? Patriarchal/societal, maybe?) that has to do with having children, relationships. If you’re single and older, it is normal that this would be on your mind. If you’re not, perhaps this creation or “child” is a project/dream of yours, one that you are not paying attention to but deep down inside needs to manifest – a creation you need to give birth to.

Identifying the idea that started the physical problem is key in treating something. Many women have uterine fibroids that are benign and don’t cause much trouble, and others can be easily treated with alternative or Western methods. But it is your job to treat this WHOLLY, and this means getting to the source of the problem, the place where the fibroid began – IN A THOUGHT.  From there, analyzing how you feel about that idea/thought, and where that thought decided to manifest itself in your physical body will help you treat your condition holistically, so that it is solved on all levels of your being and it will not resurface to call your attention again, as happens oftentimes when just the physical body is treated.

Once you have identified the cause, the negative thought and emotion, you can treat these with opposing (positive) thoughts and feelings that reinforce what you want to CREATE, instead of what you don’t want.  In other words, you need to reprogram your negative programming into positive programming. An example in this case would be thinking: “Creation is a gift that all of the Creator’s children have. I am a creator, too. I have the power to create, and, when the time is right for me, my creations will manifest into the most beautiful of truths.”  Or, “I am confident and secure in the fact that I can create my own destiny, beyond societal expectations of me. I am a unique individual with a unique path, and it is up to me to decide what that path will include. I am safe and I trust in myself.”  Also, “Thank you, fibroid, for showing me what I could not see.  Your job is done.”

You need to get into the habit of interacting with your internal world – your organs, your cells, your thoughts. All of these energy clusters belong to you – they make up who you are, and you need to get to know them and communicate your will to them clearly. The healing process and the self-analysis it requires can only work when you begin to become intimately connected to your inner Universe.

A good book to help you understand this process and how to do it is Louise Hay’s Heal Your Body A-Z guide, which has a “dictionary” of health issues and the probable thought pattern that gave rise to it, along with new thought patterns that you can adopt to help you in the healing process. Another great book is Del Cuerpo Al Espiritu by Dr. Rogelio D’Ovidio, which I highly recommend if you speak Spanish (or if you can find it in English, which I have not been able to do yet.) Louise Hay cured herself of cancer by changing her thoughts and negative emotions as well as her diet – and she has been changing the world for the better ever since.  Dr. D’Ovidio is an MD who discovered a whole-body approach to healing and whose book walks you through every single organ and organ system, to help you identify the source of your condition.

As we always say here at Silvie+Maryl, we don’t processed-sugarcoat ANYTHING.  The answer, straight up and simple, is: A whole food plant-based diet is the best nutrition all around for the human machine, especially when you are training for a race. Just check out my two fave athletes, amazing guys, and whole food, plant-based diet enthusiasts: Running Raw’s Tim Van Orden and professional Ironman triathlete Branden Brazier. Those guys are a great example of dramatically enhancing athletic performance by going raw and vegan. Now, if what you follow now is a Western diet, don’t freak out and attempt to switch over in one sweep to vegan or raw (or both) with no knowledge of what you are doing (I know you want to!) Make the change gradually by increasing the whole food, plant-based portion of your meals and decreasing your animal food intake. The more you increase your plant-based foods, the more your body will naturally start to reject acidic and hard-to-digest animal foods. But it would be to your greater health benefit if you were to eliminate processed/junk foods, refined sugars, and alcohol from your diet.  If the point of nutrition is to give your body quality nutrients to then turn into energy (and by the word “quality” I mean easy to digest, absorb and assimilate) then whole plant-based foods is where quality meets nutrient density.  In order to break down foods, your body needs to produce enzymes to digest them. That requires energy and since your body is already energy-depleted from the workout and runs (yes, exercise is a stressor on the body,) you need to help your body out, give it a break for recovery, and nourish it with easily digestible foods that contain a variety and a load of nutrients to replenish and create more energy. And the best way to get this: The Vegetable Kingdom! For tips and suggestions on how to begin your journey towards health and longevity through the vegetable kingdom, read our post on how to transition into a plant-based diet.

When we are training for a marathon and stressing out the body by working it harder then usual we create lots of free radicals and deplete our mineral/electrolyte count. Free radicals are uncharged molecules with unpaired electrons that are out to damage your cells. Antioxidants (which are only found in plant-based foods) act as “free radical scavengers”, preventing and repairing damage done by these free radicals. Minerals are essential for the optimal health and balance of life. Any sort of stress on the body and mind will deplete them, so we must replenish our minerals and electrolyte count in order to maintain homeostasis (balance) in the body. People who are depressed, or experiencing imbalances both mentally or physically, are mostly mineral-deficient, in other words, they are malnourished. A great way to nourish your body with loads of minerals, antioxidants and replenish your electrolytes is by making an organic, easily digestible, nutrient-dense, post-workout, raw-vegan smoothie. In this video below you will see an example of Running Raw athlete (who currently runs 70 miles a week and is coming in at the top 3 in snow races at 40 years old) Tim Van Orden’s post-workout smoothie, which is pretty similar to what I have every morning. (I add a couple of things for my lifestyle and chemistry, such as spirulina, bee pollen, raspberries and strawberries – all brain foods.)

Tim’s Post Work Out Smoothie:

Now all of us plant-eaters get the same questions asked 50 million times, “But where do we get protein? Don’t we need protein to build muscle? No, you build muscle by tearing muscle down and then allowing the body to grow the muscle through repair. The protein the body needs is not as much as we think – we need more complex carbs and plenty of good fats – and you can get high-quality protein in the Vegetable Kingdom.  An example of a protein-rich plant would be Chlorella, a green algae that has the highest content of quality protein and the most abundant source of chlorophyll on the planet, already broken down into amino acid form. If amino acids (the building blocks of protein, the stuff our bodies actually use) is what you want why go straight to the source and eat foods rich in amino acids (broken down protein) already! Chlorella, spirulina, bee pollen, and quinoa are some examples of high quality protein in amino acid form, containing a complete variety of amino acids. Vegan triathlete and author Brendan Brazier says: “Dark leafy greens are also high in protein, because of the amino acids in chlorophyll. You have to eat more, but it’s much better quality, and you don’t have to do as much work to break down the proteins during digestion. It’s an ‘energy conserving’ versus an ‘energy consuming’ food type. I eat a big green salad every day.” Brendan is the author of Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness.  In the video below, Brendan explains his experience with food as an athlete and provides us with some info about protein, calcium and more.

Elite endurance athlete Brendan Brazier talks about his  plant-based whole food diet and perspectives on optimal performance:

Also, drink plenty of pure water and get plenty of rest. H2o people, it is so important for the balance of the body. Water has hydrogen and oxygen, elements that go right into your cells. Oxygen is vital for fortifying our metabolism, mental functioning, cell regeneration, vitality, and anti-aging. Hydrogen is extremely important for the process of digestion, assimilation, elimination and also carrying nutrients across cell membranes. This is extremely important for everyone, but especially for athletes, because when you work out your body produces additional residual by-products that it must get rid of. We’re not talking about “sports drinks” when we talk about quality fluids. When it comes to health, a good example of a great natural drink is organic coconut water, an amazing electrolyte drink. But if it’s not organic coconut water, or a fresh organic juice, be sure to always choose pure water over any other refined sugar and who-knows-what-else-is-in-there drink. Combining pure water with rest is another great component to add as a habit to regenerate your body and be ready for the race – and ready for life. Cell regeneration (body repair mode) takes place when we sleep. With great quality, plant-based nutrition, mineral/antioxidant/electrolyte replenishment, plenty of rest and pure water, you are not just embarking on a top-notch athletic performance and body maintenance, but on a lifestyle of optimal health.

I’ll leave you with a great video by both Tim and Brendan who are the walking examples of top athletes who live and thrive with plant-based nutrition. To your optimal health, safe training, and conscious life. Enjoy!

Brendan Brazier and Tim Van Orden after a 2 hour run:

The act of choosing what to eat expresses a level of consciousness in a being. A plant-based diet is founded on Love, compassion and respect for our planet, as well as for all sentient beings. It is a step towards a realistic spiritual life (see Spirituality: What A Concept post), taking responsibility for the future of our planet and the continuance of the human race. First, we must understand that everyone is its own unique being, living his or her own evolutionary process. Transitioning to a plant-based diet is a process, but a conscious processes of which your mind and body will determine the speed. For example, some people take away red meat, then gradually stop eating chicken and fish. Others go vegan-raw in one day and never go back. Whichever the case may be for you, you need to do it with Knowledge of what you are doing: Know what your body needs and make sure you provide the right nourishment in order to feel balanced and energized.

What you need to know before you begin:

❇ It’s not about taking things away from your diet, it is about expanding your horizons and replacing some things with better, higher quality, organic whole foods.

❇ Learning, researching, analyzing, studying, reading about plant-based nutrition will become a part of your daily regimen in order to understand what it is that you are doing.

❇ When we say dark green leaves, we don’t mean lettuce. And, no, lettuce is not the nutritional leaf choice for our salads.

❇ Nutrition is about quality not quantity,  And by quality we mean foods that have the highest nutrient count PLUS are easy to digest, absorb and eliminate.

❇ When changing your lifestyle to a plant-based diet your body will be chemically changing right in front of your eyes, eyes that cannot see their micro-universe. You will be changing from the inside out. Don’t be surprised if the you find that you now don’t like things that you liked before and vice versa; this is normal and to be expected.  As you change your diet, you will have a new body, physically and chemically.

❇ Some kitchen tools to make your transition easier in the kitchen: high speed blender, food processor, seed grinder, great paring and chopping knife, mandoline or julienne slicer, lime presser, stainless steel pressure cooker, stainless steel medium size pot, stainless steel sauce pan, mixing bowls, salad bowls, measuring cups, measuring spoons, plastic chopping board (one for veggies and one for fruits).

❇ You are finally taking responsibility for your health and overall well-being by doing what you are doing, consciously exerting your power of choice (with knowledge), now that you choose not just what you put in your body but also WHY.

❇ You are helping our planet survive by not consuming animals that produce gigantic amounts of methane gas, which is a huge contributor to global warming.

❇ Your body is not very forgiving and when you go back to the bad stuff, it will complain  – faster and louder.

❇  If you are not doing this under the supervision or advise of a knowledgeable holistic practitioner, make sure you inform yourself daily and do things gradually to test out your system.  Some people have a bad liver, kidney issues or certain imbalances/allergies, and if you don’t prepare your body for the change you might experience uncomfortable symptoms of cleansing, such as diarrhea or gas.  This is part of the process, as your body tries to get all of the toxins out. Drink plenty of water to help.

Here at HLife we support an organic, whole foods, plant-based diet and especially a holistic lifestyle. So, our recommendations for transitioning into a plant-based diet will be Holistic = Mind, Body and Spirit.

Mind: Preparing your mind for a lifestyle shift is a must. Especially since this change will have such an amazing impact on, not just your body, but also your mind. Remember, our mind and body are one, what we do to one affects the other and visa versa. Having an optimistic, positive attitude, and being open to great change is a wonderful start for the mind. Know that through this change you will be the healer of your own self. You are in charge of your health and it is up to you to care for your cells, neurons, organs; you guys are a team and must look after one another.  That is why we are never alone. It is the beginning of your relationship with energy, with the Source, and the vegetable kingdom is the medium by which you will acquire photonic energy from the sun for your cells, and change the frequency of your body, mind and spirit. Replace your old thoughts with new ideas, thoughts, and mental associations to food.  You need to see food in a different way in order to understand why and what you are doing. Reading HLife can help you, by supporting your plant-based lifestyle and informing you with post about this subject. You Can Do It!!

Also, know that by eating a plant-based diet and healing your body with these foods, you will not only be cleaning out all the crap from your intestines but also the crap from your mind.  Your personal issues ( personal “demons”) will surface, so you can face them, understand them, transmute them and let them go. Remember: Mind and body are one. To heal the body we must also heal the mind.

Body: First step – read The Protein Myth post on HLife, so you can start to understand what protein is, and how you can replace animal protein with plant-based protein. By taking meat away, you need to replace it with other protein from plant sources, of which there are plenty like organic tempeh, bean and grain combos, nuts and seeds, quinoa, spirulina, chlorella, bee pollen, and vegetables themselves.  Don’t just stop eating something without replacing it; being malnourished and starving the body is very similar.  The point of eating is to get the right amount and quality of proteins (amino acids), complex carbohydrates, lipids (good fats), enzymes, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and phytonutrients in order to get nourished and create ATP (ENERGY).  We will be posting the Protein Myth Part 3 next week where we will discuss all our plant-based protein options!!

Bring more veggies into your life. Seventy to 80% of your plate should be veggies. Go to the farmers markets and grocery store and load up on ORGANIC produce. Organic, because it is about NUTRIENTS, and organic and wild produce have more nutrients than conventional as well as a higher frequency energy. You also don’t want to work your liver overtime with the pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in conventional produce. Have fun – there are  infinite varieties and options when it comes to the vegetable kingdom. Remember that the stronger the color, the more antioxidants that fruit or vegetable contains. Antioxidants are what give vegetables and fruits their pigmentation, what keeps you young, and keeps your cells from damage. And you can only get them from the Vegetable Kingdom.

Have a raw, dark green leaf salad with every meal, if possible. Leafy greens are filled with enzymes, vitamins and minerals like calcium, some which lose their potency when cooked. Combine the salad with brown rice and beans (legumes), which make for a complete protein when eaten together (this can be 30% of your meal and your raw salad 70%). You can also lightly steam some veggies like asparagus, or broccoli and either add them to the salad or serve them as a side with some raw cashew cheese. for other meal options. It is delicious. Get some vegan, raw cook books to get some ideas and check out our HKitchen section every week for a new plant-based vegan recipe. Remember the variety of vegetables you have to create nutritious, hardy and delicious meals.  Also, bring in some whole grains like brown rice, quinoa (a complete protein all by itself!), millet, amaranth, buckwheat. I’m not a big fan of wheat because the gluten in it is an inflammatory agent, and many people develop allergies to it.  But, if you do have it, perhaps in the form of bread, have it once a day or once in a while,  and have it whole grain, organic and freshly made. Bread that comes from another state probably had to have a preservative as part of the ingredients to prevent it from molding. Who knows how many days it has been since they actually made it? And the list of ingredients for most of these items is ridiculous.  Bread doesn’t require much to make – so check the ingredients. My rule is: Organic, whole grain, freshly made, no more then 4 ingredients and NO SUGAR.

This brings me to my next point: READ LABELS.  Having a plant-based diet doesn’t mean a processed, boxed, vegetarian junk food diet.  <–NOT NUTRITION, PEOPLE. Processed sugar is poison for the mind and body and, petroleum is not for human consumption, but when you have both from GMO corn turned into a cheap sweetener that the food industry uses any possible way they can, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.  Google it and learn how many names corn syrup goes under, maltodextrin, high fructose corn syrup… hey, they even made a commercial saying “no, its not bad, its just corn!” Yeah, corn mixed with DNA of fish, fossil fuels and who knows what else. DONT BUY IT!  Read labels and read our post/video on Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills You, which will definitely get you to start reading labels, and focused on whole, plant-based foods.  Eat food people…REAL FOOD!

Spirit: Get in touch with nature. Connect. Go to some organic farms, learn about them, what they are doing, and why. Experience the people, the real farmers that take pride and love in what they do, which is cultivate the land and give us nutrient-dense produce. Learn about our planet and how it suffers from the bad and ignorant choices we make everyday with our wallets.  Love your planet; it’s a living being and it needs our help. Get in touch with it, look at it from a different perspective. Earth (Tera) could be just one cell inside a huge body that hosts all of us. Be grateful for the vegetables that bring us only great nutrients with no cholesterol or bad fat, the very veggies that have vibrational codes inside them to activate our divinity once we breakdown the cell walls by chewing and accessing the pure photo energy from the sun.  Think about your energy and how you will be cleansing and raising its vibration by ingesting high-vibration energy from the vegetable kingdom.

Be grateful, for your time has come to prepare for the upcoming cosmic alignment beginning 2012-2014, where our bodies need to be lighter and higher frequency in order to sustain the photonic energy that will come down.  A plant-based diet will help us to acclimate, and enter the alignment with ease.

This is a big question and there is still so much more I want to say, but all in due time.  Baby steps. We need to process the information and take things step by step. Change is a constant and it is a good thing, especially if it comes with positive effects.  We are beings in evolution, and evolution will keep going with or without us. Will you ride the wave or get hit by it?