The Fresh Network Blog

Feel Good Show

Are you free next weekend? If so, why not come and see us at The Feel Good Show in Brighton? We'll be selling irresistible raw gourmet treats, top quality ingredients, the best supplements and superfoods, plus a range of life-changing books and labour-saving kitchen equipment.

As is our policy at events, you'll get 10% off books and kitchen equipment and an insane 20% off everything else!!

Why not make a weekend of it and also attend the David Wolfe lecture in nearby Hove from 6:30 to 10:30 on Friday night? This is the once-a-year opportunity to hear this uniquely inspiring and knowledgeable speaker on UK turf. But hurry on over to Detox Your World now and secure your ticket – they're almost sold out!

Changing seasons

This year the autumn equinox 'officially' falls on September 23, which is tomorrow. It marks the transition between summer and autumn though of course this doesn't happen in a single day; it's a process which takes around 2-3 weeks. This whole period is one of the times of year when the body naturally goes into a super-powdered detox mode. Many holistic practitioners believe (from observation of their patients) that it happens more powerfully at this time of year than at any other.

What is actually going on? In simple terms, the external forces that usher out one season and bring in another cause a massive surge of internal energy. The body eagerly uses this for house-cleaning and this is why so many people come down with colds, sore throats and other acute illnesses at this time of year.

It is actually a good sign if this happens because unless yours has been a 100% healthy, stress-free, pollution-free life, chances are your cells contain residues that are better out than in. If the body can't muster the energy to cause some movement at this time of year it can be a sign of a very sluggish, clogged-up system.

I always get a sore throat around the time of the autumn equinox. This time it only lasted a day. Two years ago I had one that lasted for three weeks and made swallowing anything, even water, sheer agony. The fact I had done a 14-day juice fast that September after a summer of a little too much over-indulgence was surely not incidental to this!

If you are healthy and everything inside is flowing as it should be you will experience a cleanse at this time of year whether you do anything to help it or not. But if you choose to help it along that is better still. What to do? Eat lightly and get plenty of rest. Use the time to take stock of the season that is ending and get clear about your intentions for the new one just beginning. At the same time as your body is busy 'autumn cleaning' your cells you may get the urge to de-clutter your living environment and get rid of anything that no longer serves you; as inside, so outside. Go for a holistic treatment if you can: massage and acupuncture are both excellent choices at this time of year. But most of all go easy on yourself, sleep lots, and when awake remember to relax and smile : )

So let's see...who's crazy?

Last week a company that specializes in testing for food allergies and intolerances issued a press release stating that of the 12 million Brits who avoid certain foods they believe they react badly to, less than a quarter have been formally diagnosed with a problem. Cue the mainstream media with story after story about fussy eaters and what annoying dinner party guests they make, together with the requisite quotes from nutritionists about the 'dangers' of cutting out 'vital food groups' such as dairy and wheat.

Most of these self-diagnosed food intolerances are mere figments of the imagination, was the general gist. But while we're talking imagination, what about the tens of millions of people who will eat more or less anything put in front of them and imagine what they put in their mouths is in no way responsible for the the fact they are overweight, bunged up and/or tired most of the time? And who imagine further that although the majority of people they see around them also eat anything and everything and also suffer from some variation of the same problems, there is no link between the two!

And why is it so easy to imagine this? Because it is what the media and medical establishment have been telling us for years!

Tune in tonight!

There will be a raw food segment on chef Anthony Worrel Thompson's show People's Cookbook tonight. Suz Evasdaughter, author of The Raw Route To Perfect Health and Weight, will appear and AWT will make her raw Solstice Cake with Cashew Cream. There will also be footage of members of the Leeds Veggie Vegan Society enjoying a raw feast at Suz's home.

Says Suz: "Last year I used 'Reality Creation' to further my work with bringing raw food to the nation. One of my expectations was appearing on TV. About eight months later I was put in touch with a TV production company, out of the blue, who were interested in finding people to appear on The People's Cookbook this autumn. I submitted a couple of raw recipes and this is the result."

The show will air at 9pm tonight on the UKTV Food channel.

Get Fresh! - Get it NOW!

A big thanks to everyone who's approached us with feedback about the Autumn 2007 issue of Get Fresh! magazine, out last week. Of course, we're no strangers to praise and appreciation from our readers, but we've never had a response quite like this one. In fact, we're blushing! If you haven't come across our magazine yet here is a little taster of what's contained in the current issue.

Interview with David Wolfe

How would you summarize the difference between living on cooked food and living on raw?

First, there is no better directive than raw food. It's almost impossible with the choices available today to avoid processed food unless you have a strong directive that guides you.

Once you know about the benefits of eating natural, raw foods you can guide yourself much better in any restaurant, store or forest much better than if you didn't know.

Raw food not only transforms people's health; it also reconnects them to the earth. The major reason people have lost connection with the earth is because they don't eat foods that come from the earth. It helps people reconnect with what's valuable.

So many people are so lost they think their car is more valuable than their body! They'll take better care of their car or other possessions than they do their body. It's an epidemic in our society.

What, specifically, do you eat?

I live on superfoods but you have to go through a lot of cleansing, detoxing and green juices before you can do that. Once you're alkaline the whole picture changes. The foods I eat often include honey, bee pollen, royal jelly, blue green algae, chlorella, noni and aloe vera. My goal is for everything I eat to be super-loaded with nutrition and consciousness in as few calories as possible. But the key is I want to eat this way and don't feel I am denying myself.

You are a leading advocate for the power of superfoods. What do you consider to be the number one superfood?

To read the rest of this interview, go here and take advantage of one of our great subscription offers.