Sunday, May 18, 2008

What is wrong with this picture?

Just wanted to share this picture I took at the local shopping centre.

It looks innocent enough, however, on close inspections it shows that this bakery chain are selling pink buns, filled with sugar, white flour and artificial colourings and are then giving 100% of the profits are going to Breast Cancer Australia Network. So what is wrong with that picture? Well, for a start they are selling nutritionally dead food with ingredients which would probably feed cancer plus a myriad of other conditions from obesity to diabetes.

It reminds me of a Tim Tam campaign for breast cancer which was happening a few months ago. Well meant intentions no doubt, but to me totally bizarre seeing junk food companies supporting cancer organisations!

I went to the Breast Cancer Australia network website and suggested there was a certain incongruity here. I will let you know their response. I also told them about the free Green Smoothie Challenge which begins this Wednsday May 21st.

Be well

Anand

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

The unexpected, fasting and the flu

Wow, just got home from a 6am Pump class at the Gym and am still shaking! Runi and I joined the Murwillumbah gym last night. It's the first time I have ever been a member of a gym. I always preferred exercise which came from from fun activities like surfing, tennis, squash, never exercise for the sake of exercise. I found that way too boring. Anyway, I really recognise that an amazing raw food diet is not enough for extraordinary health. Daily strenuous exercise is a must.

This photo is from the first class we held in our home on April 6th. We loved being able to do the class from our own kitchen! Runi is presenting a talk on Green Smoothies.

I mentioned in the last post that I was going to build muscle as my weight had dropped since I stopped surfing regularly and adopting a hybridised version of Dr Doug Grahams low fat 80/10/10 diet. Well, that was April 16th. Since then things didn't go as planned. I was reading Paul Braggs "Miracle of Fasting" and decided it was time to experiment with some light fasting (something I have mostly avoided- I love food and don't enjoy how I feel when fasting) Nearly all the health pioneers I respect all agree just on one thing - fasting is the quickest way to heal the body, full stop. So I committed to water fast one day a week to begin with. The first day went well, but when I began to eat the next day I didn't feel well. That night I came down with a fever and aching. I thought I must be detoxing from the fast. So I decided to go back on the water fast - again most of the health pioneers agree that at the first sign of a cold, flu or any illness, fasting is the quickest way to move through it. After 4 days and nights of sweating and aching I realised this was more than detox - I had got my self a good old fashioned flu! I hadn't even experienced a sniffle or cough for 5.5 years so it was a bit of a shock to feel so ill. Anyway the fever stopped after 5 days, and I felt cleansed and weak. I fasted for a total of 7 days the last 3 on green juice and water and my weight dropped to 62.5kg. I am nearly 6 feet tall! So much for building muscle :-)

What I directly learned from the experience is that stress is toxic. I have been working unbelievably hard this year and only exercising spasmodically. I believe this left me open to a virus. After 5.5 years with no illness I thought I was bullet proof and could push my body as hard as I liked without consequence.

I am going go out on a limb here and expose myself - here is a photo of me at 62.5kg after 7 days fasting. It looks bad, I know, however, I am totally sold on the benefits of fasting. During the fast a cut on my forhead healed in record time, my skin and eyes became incredibly clear despite having a virus and I feel transformed on some deeper level. Fasting seems to have a strong spiritual aspect to it, which is very mysterious. Its funny, many people around me were very concerned that I was fasting: as a culture we seem to link fasting to starvation and illness, when in my experience the exact opposite is true!

I am now up to 64.5kg and am aiming to get up to 72kg - on a raw vegan diet. More photos to follow!

(An interesting aside: While there is some great info in Paul Braggs "Miracle Of Fasting" I have to let you know that I did some research into Paul and discovered that he told many lies about his early life experiences and also lied about his age. I always thought that he died in his 90's from a surfing accident. Birth records show he was actually 14 years younger than he claimed and he died at the age of 77!) I was disappointed that he felt the need to lie to promote himself and his business)If you are interested See what Wikipedia has to say about Paul

Green Smoothie Challenge Update
The first free Green Smoothie Challenge will be running from May 21st for 2 weeks. The website is nearly complete. I will let you know when you can officially register. Get your blenders ready!

Love and blessings

Anand