Did you know that plants can grow fresh air?

How to Beat Stress?

My blog posts and articles are always inspired by my clients, friends, and the community I serve when they email me their questions about their health and their diets. I always feel so inspired to help and write and serve and so I wanted to write this blog post about conquering stress since a good friend of mine reached out to me and asked me about what he could to help him with his stress. Stress can be extremely detrimental in our lives. This is one of the reasons why many people can't and won't heal from disease as it can block your means to healing.

I've had a lot of experiences with very stressful situations when I was running my own restaurant and catering company by myself without a lot of support. I felt all alone and by myself when I came across challenges that seemed bigger than life itself. However looking back there were some simple things that I could have done that could have relieved my stress and my situation. So here are some keys to conquering those stress demons and creating a more pleasant and peaceful life.

• Gain perspective on your stressful situation.

When the earthquake hit Haiti, my perspective on my life changed enormously. Experiencing a major earthquake in an already impoverished country with very little food, medical help, clean drinking water, and adequate housing is an extremely stressful situation. I used to say to myself that if you have food in your refrigerator, access to clean drinking water, a roof over your head, and clothes and shoes than you are living better than half of the world. Missing a car payment, yet you have a job, dealing with a medical issue yet you have health insurance, or losing a boyfriend yet you have great friends are not stressful situations. Stressful situations are do or die so gain perspective on your situation and really see it for what it is, a temporarily uncomfortable situation that can be and is being remedied as soon as you take action consistently.

• Learn to meditate

The greatest gift we were given to by God was the gift of breath. The breath has enormous healing power. The breath releases up to 70% of the body's toxins through the lungs. Not only that but the breath has the ability to calm us down in stressful situations, center us, help us to deal with racing thoughts, and it helps us to gain perspective, thus enabling us to remedy our problems rationally.

• Learn to sleep.

Sleep is very healing for the body and the mind. When we are sleeping, we are healing our bodies and our bodies and minds are transforming. This is why it is so important to sleep as often and for as long as our bodies desire. I used to think there was something wrong with me because I like to sleep for something like 8-10 hours a day and sometimes if I so care to, I even like to lay down in the middle of the day for a quick 45 minute snooze. But now I realize that this is the way my body processes thoughts and experiences. We all have different ways of processing and coping. You are not unhealthy if you sleep for a long or a little bit of time.

• Get physical.

I do Bikram yoga a lot. It not only relaxes me, softens my joints and bones, but it also helps me to sleep, elevates my heart rate and works me out to the point of exhaustion, but it also gets me real clear and helps me to deal with problems that I thought I may have. Any form of rigorous movement for an extended period of time releases endorphins in the brain, gets the chi in your body moving, and promotes overall healing and well-being. Even if your stressful situation is still present in your life, you know have the gumption, the tools, and the ability to deal with it like a champ.

• Find an activity that brings you ultimate pure joy and do it everyday.

Find an activity that is easy, simple, doesn't cost a lot of money, and doesn't take much energy or effort to do and do it everyday. It could be as simply as praying, meditating, reading a book, talking to a child, calling a friend, laughing to yourself, making yourself some food. I noticed that when I started doing this years ago, that I started to make all the activities that I do in my life fun. So now even the things that I used to loathe to do actually now bring me sheer joy. Sometimes just driving in my car makes me happy, cleaning my bathroom, making food for family and friends, and making my niece happy by playing with her brings me a lot of joy. Remember taking baby steps allows for transformation to take place not taking quantum leaps.

• Listen to music

Music is the ultimate band-aid. Pleasant sound vibration boosts the function of the immune system which of course if your immune system is smiling, then your health is improving.

• Reach out and ask for help even if it hurts or goes against everything you believe in.

This is extremely important and very healthy. We have to learn to reach out and ask for help. We cannot do everything alone and we were not designed to do everything alone. God created billions of beings for the planet so that we all can take part in the miracle. Learn to ask for help constantly. You may not always get it and don't let that stop. You may get help from people who may be looking for something in return. That may not be the type of help that you need but understand that asking for help is about you, not the other person. Its about finding the humility and the love inside of yourself to know that you need help and you need help from another person. It also teaches you how to trust other human beings which is extremely important as well.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Nwenna Kai is the author of The Goddess of Raw Foods available for purchase at www.amazon.com and the upcoming children's book, The MoreLove's coming September 2010. You can get the FREE e-book Nwenna Kai's Holiday Recipes at her website www.nwennakai.com by signing up for her weekly e-newsletter at her website. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, one of LA's pioneering organic raw food cafes. She is the 2007 winner of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Scholarship sponsored by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness entrepreneur. Visit her website at www.the-guide-to-raw-foods.com and her blog at www.theguidetorawfoods.com/blogspot.com.

Foods that Feed The Pineal Gland

Our pineal gland otherwise known as our master gland or the gland that governs over our third eye is the center of psychic awareness in the human mind. It is about the size of a pea and sits inside a cave located behind the pituitary gland. It naturally produces a hormone called melatonin which regulates human daily body rhythms that deal directly with the day and night cycles. Developing and expanding the function and the energy of your pineal gland is extremely important as it affects every system in your body physically and it has the potential to determine the expansion or the contraction of your psychic awareness, consciousness, and experience.

Sunlight is extremely important for the pineal gland and yes sunlight is a form of food as food is any substance that nourishes the body. Sunlight can be taken in and digested through the eyes, skin, hair, nose hairs, and ears and should be consumed for at least 30 minutes a day. To fully engage the pineal gland, sunlight should be taken in through the pupils.

Seaweed vegetables that are sun-dried by the sun contain high amounts of vitamin D, many vitamins in the B-vitamin family and iodine. Those vegetables include and are not limited to kombu, arame, wakame, dulse, nori, etc.

Dark leafy greens like our kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, bok choy, collard greens etc are
extremely nourishing for the pineal gland as this gland absorbs the properties of the green color of the vegetables and properly distributes them to the appropriate systems of the body so that the body is thoroughly nourished.

Consuming meats including fish that has high amounts of mercury, carbonated beverages, fluoride in our water and our toothpaste and access to smog negatively affect the pineal gland and can block its ability to function properly. When you consume meat from an animal, you are ingesting the DNA of that animal and therefore taking on the negative and positive experiences of an animal which could interrupt the ability of the pineal gland to take on its own psychic awareness blueprint of the individual.

The proper foods can positively affect your pineal gland but you can also activate your pineal gland by eating more of a raw foods, vegan, or vegetarian diet, running an ozone machine in your home to clean up the air in your home, and drinking filtered water. As much as the pineal gland needs sunlight, it also needs to produce enough serotonin to be activated so that it can increase its psychic awareness therefore serotonin is produced when the brain is asleep and therefore sleeping in a very dark room is extremely nourishing for the pineal gland as well. Foods that produce serotonin are almonds, bananas, hot peppers, rice, potatoes, and black-eyed peas and when consumed can also nourish and feed the pineal gland as well.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Nwenna Kai is the author of The Goddess of Raw Foods available for purchase at www.amazon.com and the upcoming children's book, The MoreLove's coming September 2010. You can get the FREE e-book Nwenna Kai's Holiday Recipes at her website www.nwennakai.com by signing up for her weekly e-newsletter at her website. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, one of LA's pioneering organic raw food cafes. She is the 2007 winner of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Scholarship sponsored by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness entrepreneur. Visit her website at www.the-guide-to-raw-foods.com and her blog at www.theguidetorawfoods.com/blogspot.com.

7 Ways to Lose Weight on a Raw Foods Diet

I get this question about losing weight a lot from women who eat mostly raw or who are vegan and vegetarian. I have actually heard of women gaining weight on a raw foods diet and the reasons could be anywhere from consuming too many calories as when most people start eating raw, they tend to overeat or we tend to gravitate more towards the nuts, oils, and raw desserts.

Overall losing weight is so much more than about eating the right diet but here are some helpful tips and suggestions for losing weight on a raw foods diet.

• Eat in tiny portions, but more meals throughout the day.

Its a wonderful feeling to eat as many times a day without having to worry about weight gain, however sometimes even though we are eating raw and extremely healthy, we still tend to overeat as overeating is an addiction to food whether it is healthy or not. Practicing the art of moderation and balance is key to eating healthy and especially when eating raw. Eating more throughout the day also does not feed into the eating less fad diets as they body does not miss food when you are eating all day, but just eating in tiny portions. For example, my dessert last night was eating a handful of wine grapes and I was extremely satisfied.

• Cut back on nuts and oils.
  

Even though all foods that are left in their natural state meaning unprocessed, unfired, and uncooked are always healthy and sustainable for the body, anything in excess can add weight and not be helpful to one's weight goals. Therefore if you find yourself not losing weight, try eliminating some of the oils and nuts from your diet as most raw food recipes calls for nuts and oils in spreads and salad dressings. You can make oil free salad dressings by blending tomatoes and peppers with herbs to make salad dressings and you can use seeds instead of nuts.

• Increase your water intake.

Increasing your water intake will assist the body in helping your foods to assimiliate and it can also increase your bowel movements. Remember excess unnecessary weight is nothing but built-up waste in the body and removing it is the key to losing weight and shedding pounds. One client of mine who recently lost 20 pounds now says that she is losing weight without even thinking about it as her body is doing the work now as opposed to her doing the work.

• Do a juice fast.

Fasting on natural vegetable juices will not only help you to shed the pounds as you detox your body, increase your bowel movements and thus shed more and more waste and pounds by the day, but it will also help you to get mentally and emotionally clear about your health and weight goals. It can also help with any cravings that you may be having that may be adding weight to your body. Fasting is an ancient practice designed to heal old wounds that may be associated with your weight. It also declutters the mind and returns the body and the palette back to the simple, easy, and light foods that our bodies naturally enjoy and can digest easily.

• Increase your daily intake of greens particularly dark leafy greens.

Greens, greens, and more greens will fully nourish your body and assist in the elimination process.

• Cut down on the raw desserts.

We all know that raw food desserts are the best and even though they are made with the loving natural sweeteners from Mother Earth herself, they still can add weight to our bodies if eaten more than often. Just because your eating mostly raw doesn't mean you have to have a raw dessert everyday. Substitute a mango or slices of kiwi instead of having a slice of a macadamia nut cheesecake.

• Drink wheatgrass.

I recently spoke with a non-raw foods chef who lost over 170 pounds while taking classes at the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico. He's not even vegetarian but he swore that drinking two shots of wheatgrass everyday helped his body to detox naturally and thus drop the pounds easily.


Nature will assist you greatly when you align your body back into vibrant and optimal health, so therefore if you stick to your diet and you still notice that you haven't lost a pound or you may even be gaining weight, you might want to take other measures such as increasing your physical activity, monitoring your portions, or really getting to the root of the weight problem. Weight is nothing but waste and waste collects mostly in the colon area. Getting regular colonics could help in losing the weight, but also investigating your issues around food, health, and your self-esteem will help as well.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Nwenna Kai is the author of The Goddess of Raw Foods available for purchase at www.amazon.com and the upcoming children's book, The MoreLove's coming May 2010. You can the FREE e-book Nwenna Kai's Holiday Recipes at her website www.nwennakai.com by signing up for her weekly e-newsletter at her website. She is the previous owner of Taste of the Goddess Cafe, one of LA's pioneering organic raw food cafes. She is the 2007 winner of the Elizabeth Dole Young Entrepreneurial Scholarship sponsored by Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) for her work as a health and wellness entrepreneur. Visit her website at www.the-guide-to-raw-foods.com and her blog at www.theguidetorawfoods.com/blogspot.com.

7 Myths of a Raw Foods Diet

The more I travel, talk to people, answer their questions about raw foods, I find that there is a block or a challenge when it comes to eating more raw foods. Most of the time, people have bought into the myths of a raw foods diet and therefore they avoid it all together. Once when I was in Chicago, one woman told me that fresh food costs too much money and she could only afford to eat canned fruits and vegetables. So here are the 7 Myths of a Raw Foods Diet and the Real Truth of a Raw Foods diet.

• Myth #1 - A raw foods diet is too expensive.

Everything is perception and at first when you eat more raw foods, it may seem expensive because you are shopping more for fresh, organic, local produce or because you are buying different equipment and tools for your kitchen and different pantry items to concoct your recipes, but you can actually save money on a raw foods diet. What I've found to be true is that the more raw foods I eat, the less portion size I consume and also I've found great produce markets and farmer's markets where the local organic produce is very inexpensive. Shopping at high-end gourmet health food stores and supermarkets will break your bank. I also instead of buying my nut butters which I use to provide bulk and substance to my diet as well as protein, I make at home in my food processor by adding the nuts, olive oil, and some salt and then I store them in containers and snack on them during the week. I'm not sure if I spend more money on food than the average person or not, but I do know that I don't take any medications which cuts down on costs and I haven't had the need to see a doctor in over 7 years which also cuts down on costs and because I eat so simply, other areas in my life have called for that same simplicity and moderation which also cuts down on costs.

• Myth #2 - A raw foods diet is too cumbersome and hard to maintain.

The more I embraced raw foods, the less cumbersome and easy I found it to maintain. Also because I eat more simply than I have ever eaten before, I have found that having a really organized kitchen by having ample storage containers, a compost container, and a place to store everything makes it not only easier to maintain the diet, but it makes a very pleasant experience. Eating more living and fresh foods brings joy to my life. I now look forward to taking trips to the produce market and seeing what new fruits and vegetables are available and I also enjoy experimenting with recipes. It only becomes cumbersome and hard to maintain if you are not embracing the food and surrounding yourself with people who eat like you as the influence of others can hinder your joy in embracing this diet.

• Myth #3 - Raw foods is dangerous because of the bacteria on food.

All food should be handled carefully, with clean hands only, and prepared on clean surfaces. Its also important to consume fruits and vegetables as soon as possible when they are really fresh as this can cut down on the possibility of the growth of harmful bacteria on them. There is the case of fermented vegetables which is when vegetables are kept at room temperature in a sanitary container for a number of days to ferment so that it activates the lactobacilli which is naturally present in raw cultured vegetables as well as in our digestive tract but this bacteria is beneficial for your body. There are friendly bacteria necessary to break down foods in our digestive tract. It is also not necessarily true that when food is cooked that it kills the bacteria.

• Myth #4 - A raw foods diet does not supply enough nutrition.

This is exactly the opposite. A raw foods diet supplies the body with all of its necessary vitamins, nutrients, and minerals it needs to thrive. It as well naturally hydrates the body with its high water content which means that you don't have to drink as much water and it is also a natural detox diet which means that it it constantly detoxing the body of toxins. As far as protein is concerned dark leafy greens are known to have the most digestible protein on the planet.

• Myth #5 - Raw foods does not taste good.

This all depends on the creator of the dish. Raw foods can taste just as good, if not better than cooked food and with just as much or as little or no seasoning at all. What is great about raw and living foods is that because the natural juices in the food are so scrumptious for the body, you don't always have to season the food. It all depends on one's palette.

• Myth #6 - You have to eat a 100% raw foods diet to enjoy the benefits.

Absolutely not true. I've experimented with a 100% raw foods diet and I've enjoyed many of the benefits such as flawless skin, a high energy level, and a higher immunity to disease. But I've also gone 80/20, 50/50, etc with raw and cooked food and I've noticed that I still maintained the benefits. Getting more live and raw foods is important for the overall health of the body because it naturally detoxifies our bodies and supplies the body with enzymes but its not necessary to eat 100% raw. Everyone's body is completely different and some people just can't eat a 100% raw foods diet.

• Myth #7 - There is not much diversity in a raw foods diet.

There are more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains on the planet to eat than there are animals to eat. There is so much diversity in a raw foods diet. The reason why people believe this myth is because as humans we tend to eat the same food over and over again and we tend not to experiment with different foods. We also tend to shop in the same place and therefore we are only going to be exposed to what the market is asking for. Its important to read about different food, venture into other neighborhoods to shop for food, try different ethnic and exotic fruits and vegetables, and experiment with different herbs and spices to season your food. I've been playing around a lot with caraway seeds which is a spice that I probably would have never heard of if I didn't eat a raw foods diet.

A Communal Salad

Yesterday was my sister's 37th birthday and I made all the food, but what I wanted to share with all my readers was the communal salad that my family found to be the greatest treat! Its amazing how nourishing a simple, colorful, salad can be for your family. It has jicama on top, beets, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, arugula, mixed greens, purple cabbage, and red peppers in the salad. We had a creamy tahini and chive dressing with it and it was just fabulous. It went faster than the veggies pizzas I made also.

Making pretty shapes with your vegetables, putting them in a big wooden bowl, and topping it off with a great dressing adds to the eating experience of sharing it with family. Enjoy!

Last Day of My Master Cleanse

I just finished wrapping up a radio interview with KJLH FREE Radio 102.3 in Los Angeles with Dominique DiPrima talking about raw foods and all the benefits and this is the 10th and the last day of my master cleanse as well. I haven't done the master cleanse in over 5 years and even though this was probably the easiest one of the cleanses that I have done in the past, I'm ready to move on to the next phase of my 40 day cleanse and detox which will consist of The Full Body Detox by Dherbs.com along with eating a 100% Live Foods Diet. For the next five days or so, I will slowly transition into eating solid foods as I will be juicing and making smoothies and occasionally have whole piece of fruits.

I must say this time around the cleanse has been awesome. Even though I was a bit more tired than I expected, I'm glad that I listened to my body and slept as often as my body wanted and needed. On this cleanse, I think I benefitted more mentally, spiritually, and psychologically and I attribute that to probably years of eating a mostly live foods diet and cleansing my body on a regular basis so my body didn't necessarily have to do so much work to physically remove toxins. But mentally I felt sharper and more clearer than ever on this cleanse and during the last four days of my cleanse, I even noticed myself being able to absorb information and ideas more easily.

Cleansing is a powerful tool for the mind, body, and spirit. Taking a break from digesting solid foods and taking it easy on your body and your life is so important in order to rejuvenate ourselves and to remember that our bodies are meant to feel and look healthy and light.

I look forward to sharing more of my experiences with all of you at a later date as I move into the next phase of my cleanse and share with your tips and advice on how to have the best cleanse possible for your budget, your lifestyle, and your health as I strongly believe that being healthy and feeling healthy contributes to the greater good of all living beings ont this planet.