Victoria Boutenko’s name is familiar to most of those living the raw food lifestyle. We all know Victoria for having launched the “green smoothie revolution.” Her efforts first propelled her family to new levels of health. Then her research, books, seminars and retreats began a worldwide movement that’s brought greater health, directly or indirectly, to literally millions. Every raw foods aficionado, from the beginner to the most advanced, owes a debt of gratitude to Victoria Boutenko.

Victoria’s daughter, Valya, is a talented artist and filmmaker. Valya released a documentary film—Reversing the Irreversible—in which she interviews over 30 people offering stories of radical health improvement and triumph over disease, thanks to Victoria Boutenko’s methods. Beyond informative, it’s genuinely inspiring stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know there is a simple, cost effective way to ‘clean’ your home, and it comes in a 6-inch pot of dirt? Did you figure out what it is? – Houseplants.

Sick Building Syndrome

A 2 year study in the late 1980’s, launched by NASA revealed that common everyday houseplants are highly effective at helping to combat the so called ‘sick building syndrome.’ Originally, these scientists were looking for ways to purify the air in orbiting space stations, but the study proved to have more far reaching ramifications.

They tested a couple dozen common houseplant varieties and found many to be so efficient at capturing and removing pollutants from the air that some plants will be sent aboard future space stations as part of the ‘biological life support system’. The top three pollutants that the scientists tested for were Formaldehyde, Benzene, and Trichloroethylene because of their ubiquity in today’s office buildings and homes. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s possible you might be eating a healthy raw food diet and still be having absorption issues if you’re not producing enough Hydrochloric Acid.

What is Hydrochloric Acid?

Chemically speaking, hydrochloric acid is hydrogen chloride (HCl) in a water solution. It’s found naturally in our own gastric acid.

If your hydrochloric acid levels are up to par, you’ll experience good digestion and good nutrient absorption, and you’ll be protected from harmful pathogens and parasites. But if your HCL levels are low, you may show such symptoms as fatigue, hair loss, impaired digestion, candida, gastritis, slow healing and vitamin B12 deficiency and a host of other maladies. That’s how much HCL effects your health. Read the rest of this entry »

No matter where you live, April should be bringing you a new batch of delicious raw fruits and vegetables to enjoy on your raw food journey. Around here, we will be feasting on juices, salads and creative raw dishes featuring papaya, watercress, strawberries, limes, arugula, beets, spinach and parsley. The possibilities are endless, but here are a few recipes to whet your appetite.

Hearty Stuffed Avocados (by Kelli Haines) 

It’s great for an Easter celebration feast.

Read the rest of this entry »

For good health, you need a bowel movement at least once a day. Twice is better. Medically oriented websites note that merely not having a bowel movement on a particular day doesn’t mean you’re constipated per se. As a raw-foodist of fifteen years’ experience, I’ll say this: Unless you’re fasting, not having a bowel movement daily is constipation.

Regular evacuation of your bowels is essential for being healthy, for maintaining ideal weight (or getting down to it), and for having clear, youthful skin. For more on that, read my article: The Straight Poop. Read the rest of this entry »

The very word parasite strikes horror in the heart of any determined health seeker, bringing a shudder at the thought of your body entertaining these beasties. And how, exactly, do you go about dealing with this issue?

What are parasites?

Parasites are organisms which live upon a host. But we’re not talking about what’s called a symbiotic relationship, in which a living thing lives off the host and provides a benefit in return. This is rarely the case with parasites.

It is estimated that currently in the West at least one out of every six people has parasites of some sort. Parasites are so prevalent that it’s surprising the subject is not more openly addressed in North American culture, as it is in other countries. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently I watched the movie My Sister’s Keeper. The story focuses on two teenage girls, one of which, Kate, has leukemia. She’s in a hospital, where we see her aunt at her bedside painting the girl’s nails with a bright nail polish to cheer her up. The scene proclaims defiantly a girl’s gotta be a girl, deathbed notwithstanding. I squirmed: The doctor’s standing right there not objecting to this procedure.

It’s not that I have no sympathy with the urge to wear nail polish. I’m a girl, too. I used to wear that stuff. No more. Read the rest of this entry »

Testimonial of the Month (March 2012)

Shelly, age 42, wrote us:

Just thought I’d forward my “before” and “after” pix showing the results of doing the chin exercises you’ve shared with us. Thank you, Tonya! I’d been so dismayed about my double chin that I’d begun thinking plastic surgery was the answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

At first glance, March’s seasonal produce might not stir up a lot of excitement or visions of raw potlucks dancing in your head, but wait until you taste some of the refreshing creations you can make with these seemingly mundane fruits and vegetables including dandelion greens, asparagus, grapefruit and oranges, fresh peas and California strawberries. Not only will you be dancing, but your tastebuds will be singing!  Read the rest of this entry »

Testimonial of the Month from Anna Kaminskaya:

Dear Tonya, I’m prompted to respond to the recent comments of yours replying to people who, for one reason or another, have given up their raw food regimen.

Background…I’m from Russia, aged 40, been on a raw foods diet some two and a half years. Early on, I felt quite inspired. I was surprised by the mental clarity and bright spirit raw foods brought me. My hearing improved. I stopped catching colds. I felt proud of these improvements. Read the rest of this entry »