Thursday, June 5, 2008

Another great question I must share...

This was my juice this morning. Pink Radish on the bottom, which
kind of fades up into the green which is cucumber and dandelion,
then I sweetened it up with some yellow pepper and yellow squash that
I had on hand to level out the harshness of the bottom layer.

I juice for the benefits, not the taste. I eat my fruit and enjoy it.
Better to juice veggies, especially radishes...WHEW!!!

So..speaking of fruit. Here is a question I received lately.

Anthony,
I saw a little segment on Raw on E! a while ago. It got me curious. Last semester I wrote my comp II essay on Raw. I used your site, (I cited you!) for some of the information. I still read your site frequently because I am so interested. I have to ask. I am 24 and very pretty but I have one burden to bear. My skin. I am always battling my complexion. I saw lots of research and opinions saying there is an improvement in the skin. I do imagine my diet does adversely affect my skin with the sugar and fried foods and such. My concern, however, is the acidity. Did/does the acidity of the fruits and veggies affect you? Dryness, etc? Your skin is flawless. I envy that.

...

When I read the part about fruits and veggies being acidic, I had to laugh.
Sorry...but its exactly the opposite. Fruits and veggies are very alkaline.

Most people have a hyper-acidic diet, and that just cultivates their diseases.
Acidic blood, acidic thoughts, acidic lifestyles. It breeds disease.
Fruits and veggies are alkaline, especially the leafy greens, melons,
LEMONS (who would have thought) and olives.

Fried oils will destroy your skin. I notice lots of vegan girls who
still eat fried foods and their skin is NOT good. Its just so obvious.
Cutting out that alone should do wonders, but there could be other issues too.

Hormones can play a huge role, especially if youve been on birth control for a while.
Your body is likely pushing toxins out of your skin instead of your colon.
Doing enemas and eating high-fiber foods like fruits and greens will start
to pull stuff out down there instead of pushing it through your skin.

And...cucumbers. Its summer, so you can get them at a fair price.
Seriously, spend $6-8 a day on cucumbers for 2 weeks and see if you notice
a difference. Ill eat one cucumber a day at least.
And really...you need super-hydration to flush out the oils.

A great book to read would be David Wolfe's "Eating for Beauty".
This explains the acid-alkaline balance and suggests lots of good foods for you.
Look into papaya too! Youll really love it.

My skin used to be BAD. My back and shoulders too.
But I was eating cooked oils and consuming tons of NASTY dairy.
Please people...No more dairy. 12 lbs of milk is needed to make one pound of cheese.
10 lbs of milk in needed to make one pound of ice cream.
We are talking about super-concentrated hormones in that garbage.

No dairy, no cooked oils, and that included roasted nuts.
Lots of water and lots of fruit for hydration, and tons
of fiber to get the toxins out through the colon and not the skin.

It has worked for me, hopefully Im not the only one.
Based on other people Ive met, I know Im not.

Best of luck getting to the next level.

"Beauty must be how we define ourselves,
otherwise the concept itself becomes our enemy."
-Crimethinc.com

Lots of green coconut water doesnt hurt either.

-Anthony




21 comments:

Unknown said...

Juice arugula! There is something deeply satisfying about how hard it is to drink.
-Lucy

Anthony said...

Juicy Lucy...youre on point with the arugula. Anything with a high sulfur content is the key. Through pain we grow :)

If you like arugula but cant take the strength, either juice it or blend it WITH pineapple! IM SERIOUS. Its one of my favorites.

Trust me on that one...its a jewel.
Ill make a video of it sometime soon.

Thanks for the idea!

Anonymous said...

Hey Tony, I just thought I would throw out some good info....actually not all fruits and vegetables are alkaline....Blueberries, Cranberries, Currants, Plums, and Prunes are all fruits that are Acidic. For Vegetables....Corn, Lentils, olives, and Winter Squash are also acidic. Corn and Beans are also acidic as well as most of your nuts and nut milks. All of your Hemp items as well as all of your Oils whether it be Olive or Avacado oil, Sunflower, Flax, Hemp Seed....all acidic. You will even find different sources say that Pumpkin seeds. sprouted seeds, Asparagus, Brussel Sprouts, Honey and Tea are also acidic but some sources will list them as Alkaline. People shouldnt think that if something is acidic then they shouldnt eat it but it will be fine if you do. Just make sure you add in plenty of alkaline items in your daily menu.

Charis said...

What a beautiful juice...mmmm, can you mail it to me? :)

Have you ever foraged or juice baby tumbleweed? I really want to try that.

Anthony said...

Thanks for the tips Aaron ;)

Yes, he is right...not all are alkaline...but they arent heavy acidic either. Alcohol and cooked starches and meat is REALLY acidic, blueberries are mildly acidic.

About the sources...there are so many different listings, and it gets really confusing. Here's an idea David Wolfe presented, he just flipped the book around and saw what the author looked liked. That helps a lot.

Nuts and seeds are acidic, but again, not as much as the other items. And you have to have balance...Ive gone really alkaline and it makes you spacey and kind of lazy. Acidic foods will get you going more. Its about balance to an extent, but more alkaline will treat you well.

Ankit said...

I was wondering if I could see that paper that the inquirer mentioned in his/her letter. idk if he/she is reading this, but anthony, if you could possibly get that from him/her, that'd be fantastic. thanks a ton bro

Anonymous said...

Anthony,

You should probably clarify the acid / alkaline issue for those not in the know. Though many fruits and vegetables have an acidic PH, once digested and metabolised the 'ash' that is left is usually alkaline - in some cases very alkaline as with citrus fruits (particularly pink grapefruit). This is what matters.

Margarita R. said...

Hi Anthony,

Ditton on Ankit's request. I would really interested in reading it as well.

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

i love taiwanese green coconuts! the best. where did you find this one in the photo?

Anthony said...

So strange...found it at an Indian spice shop on first avenue. Not a speck of meat inside though...just water. Oh well...still tasted just like they are supposed to. Really less sweet than thai coconuts. Youve gotta try them if you havent yet.

Anthony

Anonymous said...

i was JUST thinking about that coconut you are consuming in that picture. looks so yummy! OF COURSE..you find it in NYC. ^__~

i have a couple questions though: first, i am finding my skin and hair are drying out. not to mention skin breaking out ..seeing i am just transitioning to full raw...you think it could be a side effect of detox? i am not eating alot of nuts/oils..but do love my coconut.
second, with regards to skin breaking out as a way of the body flushing the toxins..you said that enemas may help? i used to get colonics (can't afford them right now) and am a BIT weary of doing a home enema. what do you think about salt flushes? and if home enema IS better..how often to help with detox?
ugh..more than two questions...sorry about that.
but thanks in advance for dealing with the questions.

you really have to write a book, Anythony. seriously.

Anonymous said...

This has nothing to do with this blog post, but just your blog in general. When I read your posts, you remind me of the song by Louis Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World" Don't know if that makes any sense, but when you talk about the joy you experience with nature as a result of being raw, well, it just reminds me of that song.
thank you for all you do for the raw food community!

Anthony said...

Mila! Girl...I have some detox stories for YOU. Crazy stuff. My first round of detox happened in January 05 and I had cold sores and actually fainted once. (Remember that one Aaron??)

Lots of people get pimples when they detox. But as Winston Churchill said..."when youre going through hell...KEEP GOING."

Dont be afraid of the enemas...once a person gets comfortable with them, youll wish you started years ago. Colonics are crazy expensive, and as far as Im concerned, they are no better if you know how to give yourself an enema.

I'll save my personal enema drama for a later time, but trust me...its all good. Once a day. Its a daily habit that will change your life, if you have the discipline for it.

Ive done salt flushes too...but thats not something you want to do all the time, and I dont think it loosens up the mucous in the system like you can do with an enema and massaging your colon.

Do the salt flushes until youre ready for something more? I didnt do any colon irrigation until 3 years into raw...so who knows.

A super-high-fiber diet will help get things going in the right direction too...a person can lose 10 lbs just by that alone.

Write a book??? Hmmmm.... :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Anthony!
So interesting you mentioned "turning the book over and looking at the person" I am always saying something very similar to the ones closest to me. I say " if you look at a person and they look unhealthy don't go asking them questions about health"
Which is exactley how I ended up reading your blog. In my 3 years on my raw journey I have searched and searched and I actually found you through one of your YouTube Videos just searching "raw food"
I believe it was one of you traveling. You looked so healthy and happy and only after searching further did I find out you were a model. (which usually does not score a lot of points with me, maybe I can explain someday)
So far you have been a real encouragement to me. Stay real and keep up the good work.
Thank you
Lana

Alexandra said...

I have never done an enema (just frequent salt water flushes ever since the master cleanse)--Could you please explain the process as well as the equipment that you prefer (if you don't mind)? Thank you

Anonymous said...

Anthony-A personal question and your feelings on this issue. When is your next birthday? I ask because your body is your means of support at this time. I want to know how you feel as you age in the industry that you work in. I feel that as I get older with raw, I get younger. That is a strange way to put it, but my hair, skin, etc. is better than it was 10 years ago. I have a picture before raw and you would think that it was my grandmother. I feel better and better with each day. You being as young as you are, do you see changes that have stopped or reversed the aging process????
Curious...

Anonymous said...

Anthony--
You are just truly a divine soul!
thanks for responding back to me. i am so grateful to you! i know you are so busy!
first. . LOVE the Winston Churchill quote!
second: is buying an enema kit at the local drugstore okay?
third:10lbs loss? i HOPE so! (not that this is my ONLY reason for doing a juice feast or transferring to full raw. . . but what a nice 'side effect' it would be!!)
last: YES! a book!! ^_________^


oh....and on a side note...someday VERY VERY soon i hope i can afford to have you model my eco fashions! Mila's GOAL: to be the ECO Ralph Lauren.
if you are going to dream, might as well DREAM BIG! ^____~

Mila

Anthony said...

Mila...check online for a good reputable enema kit. Drugstore ones might work...but maybe not. Make sure you use filtered water too!

My birthday...hmm....JUNE 14th! Funny you should ask, because its one week away. Summer birthdays...

I could really care less about the whole birthday thing anyways...Id prefer to forget about dates in general...but its nice to have those special days.

Do I see changes so far in my appearance? I dont know...I feel like Im staying steady. Its hard to say. If I would have started all this 20 years later than now, maybe I would notice a more drastic change.

Its really great that you have made such a transformation...so happy to hear that. Send your pic to We Like it Raw if you feel like it :)

-A

Anonymous said...

Hi Anthony,
When I was in Guatemala the family we lived with made the best radish salad. They soaked sliced radishes in lime juice all day and then we ate it at night. It took the bite off and was so yummy.

Also, when you grow them this summer, if you don't leave them in the ground too long, they won't be overly spicy. Radishes grown too big or in weather that is too hot become too pungent and sometimes split.

One more suggestion is to make kimchi... pickle/ferment any of the sulfurous veggies for better digestion of their nutrients and better flavor. If you start getting into natural ferments, you'll never need to use salad dressing again and you'll never have to buy a probiotic. :)

BTW: A fourth day ferment of strawberries or blueberries, honey and spring water is a bubbly heavenly treat! :)

Peggy

Anonymous said...

looks amazing!

-RVS

Anonymous said...

you said "no dairy" ...I drink raw milk, eat raw cheese and butter...do you think that bad? should i stop? You are my role model so please advise me!!!

Sharethis