| Dangerous Foods in the Raw Food Diet By Susan Schenck In my book, The Live Food Factor, I state somewhere that raw foods do not contain comfort foods (foods which alter your consciousness and make you addicted). Now I would like to qualify that statement, as I have learned from my experience (and that of others) that there are 3 foods that can become addictive: The first is raw chocolate. I never even LIKED chocolate as a cooked fooder. But I found raw chocolate very addictive. When you lose sleep due to the theobromine, which acts similarly to caffeine, then you know you are eating too much. About 2 tsp. is all my body can handle. The second is kombucha. If you are an alcoholic, you should never drink it, as the stuff is about 1% alcohol. I once calculated that if I had 5 or so, it would be like one beer—but I noticed that if I drank 3 on an empty stomach, I could get pretty buzzed! Then comes the blood sugar crash due to the sugar content. I now reserve it as a treat, specifically when I have to do dreadful chores like clean my condo or calculate my taxes. The third is agave. In my weight loss ebook I wrote about how great raw agave (nectar from cactus) was. It is not nearly as high glycemic as honey or dates, and it is vegan. I have now learned that eating too many desserts with agave can also lower my blood sugar, though more subtly, and make me crave MORE sweets. I now advise yacon syrup or stevia, with only minimal use of agave (such as just a few tablespoons in an entire raw cake!) None of these are accepted in stricter, purist diets. While I am not a purist, I now respect these 3 foods and will no longer abuse them. I know my limits! Raw Food Diet Testimonials: MS, Arthritis, Brain Cancer, Lupus, Severe Arthritis, Bi-Polar Review by Susan Schenck I loved the new book by Joe Farinaccio, Living Food Cures. Though I have read hundreds of books on nutrition, and nearly every raw food book out there (while researching for my own book), I nonetheless found this book fascinating. Why? Because the great testimonials of healing were mind-blowing, even to someone like me who has “heard it all.” Also, the style is a conversational tone that makes it reader friendly. There are many references to science to support the author’s arguments. One of the 11 testimonials that really stood out for me was the woman (Judy Livingstone) healed of multiple sclerosis. She had the condition for decades, with 8 lesions in her brain, and was nearly in a wheelchair. Within a few years of eating mostly raw foods her tests showed a gradual reduction of lesions—to the point that there were none. Now the woman hikes up 6 mountains a year with her husband! In addition to this, we get to read testimonials written by those healed from brain cancer, lupus, severe arthritis, and even bi-polar disorder! In one of the testimonials the doctor didn’t recognize the person, and had tears in her eyes as she saw the complete healing (OK, 98% healed!) of severe arthritis! Scientists may scoff and say these cases are “anecdotal evidence”—but when you have case after case, this documentation is classified as “empirical research” and qualifies as scientific in that numerous observations are made over and over again. At many healing institutions in which living foods are used, there are tens of thousands of cases on file. In fact, the vast majority of the patients either heal completely or regain a huge part of their health, without using drugs or surgery. Why isn’t this healing method making headlines all over the world? Sadly, medicine has been hijacked by the pharmaceutical companies, a trillion dollar business. They pay for the vast majority of advertising in the media. As a result, TV, newspapers, magazines, etc. depend on them to stay afloat. This is why the raw food movement is only a grass roots movement. But when someone heals of a disease (despite being told by their doctor that there is no cure) they want to shout it on the rooftops! Hence, more and more raw food books and websites are being self published. This book is a must for anyone seeking inspiration to heal, or more knowledge about the power of a raw food diet in allowing your body to heal itself. If you would like to get a copy, please go to http://www.livingfoodcures.com/Book/FriendsOfSusan.html | 
(0 vote)