The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual. Natasha Kyssa

      The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program© is for educational purposes only and is not intended to serve as medical advice. The author and publisher disclaim any liability for any adverse effects arising from the use or application of the information contained herein.

      Any medical, nutritional, dietetic, therapeutic or other decisions, dosages, treatments, or health regimes should be made in consultation with a health care practitioner. Do not discontinue treatment or medication without first consulting your physician, clinician, or therapist.

Foreword

      Brian Clement, PhD, LNC, NMD, Hippocrates Health Institute

      Natasha Kyssa’s SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual makes a major contribution to improving people’s health. Her vast personal and professional experience affords her great insight and efficiency on matters of healing and preventing disease. The SimplyRaw approach also provides age-defying tools for those who would like to postpone their golden years. What is most important about her program is how easy it is to employ.

      For decades, I have had the privilege to direct the Hippocrates Health Institute and other like-minded centers in Europe. In my experience, those who adopt a raw and living foods program gain renewed health and vitality. But, all too often, advocates of raw food complicate the subject with misconceptions and overzealous ambition. Natasha’s approach is a breath of fresh air, based on her belief in adopting a lifestyle of integrity. Her leadership in the field of health and sustainability is respected globally and the major events she organizes to disseminate the message of self-motivation has swayed thousands to eat and live more responsibly. Natasha has more common sense than many who purport to be authorities on the subject of food and healing.

      At this time in history, we can no longer afford to procrastinate and must take a stand to live our lives at the highest level achievable. Our food choices not only affect our own well-being, they also determine the future of our planetary environment. Building up our bodies with high-quality nutrients and cleansing them with pure methods improves our physical health as well as our greater emotional and spiritual well-being. The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Manual is easy to understand, easy to use, and a gateway to release all your past dietary offences. Henceforth, I will refer people to this important book and publicly thank this gifted teacher and author for her life’s work, condensed here so that we can all enjoy the fruits of her labor.

Preface

      I created The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program after observing so many people “detoxifying” by taking various herbal and vitamin supplements, but not making fundamental changes to their diets. Detoxifying the body is an effective way to help bring it back into balance and positively impact your health. However, there is a lot of confusion about detoxification and healthy eating, and there are many products available on the market to support this confusion. Detoxification has become an enormous business, and there are hundreds of supplements, pills, kits, and books that make up a multimillion dollar industry. Sadly, consumers wanting a quick fix buy into this marketing hype, believing that a lifetime of toxins can be eliminated quickly with the right pills, while overlooking dietary and lifestyle changes. However, it is these long-term, constant changes that are essential for true health and healing to occur.

      There are no quick fixes or magic bullets. Detoxifying the body does not occur overnight, nor is optimal health created instantly. Good health is an ongoing journey that requires perseverance, patience, and trust. Learning takes time. Stick with the guidelines in this manual, and you will achieve your goals!

      It is important to understand that our bodies are constantly detoxifying. Cultivating healthy eating habits that assist this ongoing detoxification process throughout daily life is much more effective than a brief fast, occasional short-term diet, or use of any superficial products. Eating fresh chlorophyll- and enzymerich living foods will support this natural detoxification. In addition, you will be rebuilding your cells and health by eating these nutritious life-giving foods. By detoxifying and rebuilding the cells, we can achieve vibrant health.

      The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program focuses on health-enhancing practices to incorporate into your daily life. You will both cleanse and nourish your body with alkalizing, living foods, and you’ll learn about many complementary cleansing therapies to help support your body’s natural detoxification process.

      It’s simple, really. Eating live, natural, and whole foods promotes good health, and the more natural you make your diet, the better health you are going to enjoy. The body has an amazing ability to heal itself, and if cleansed and nourished with the right nutrients, it can repair itself. You cannot expect to cleanse and heal the body while eating animal products and other health-damaging foods, as these foods are highly acidic and mucus-forming. In fact, it is often the foods we eliminate from our diets that can influence our well-being more than the foods we add. To achieve optimal health, we must remove the toxins that hinder the healing process.

      The SimplyRaw Living Foods Detox Program is based on my own lifestyle; lifelong dedication to and experimentation with fasting and cleansing the body; my studies with various teachers; years of leading detoxification groups through my practice; my work introducing friends, family, and clients to raw, living foods; and the many books I’ve read on detoxification, nutrition, and health. This manual has been inspired by the teachings of Dr Ann Wigmore, Paavo Airola, Dr Richard Anderson, Dr Norman Walker, and Dr Bernard Jensen, and draws from my years of experience with the raw lifestyle, fasting, and colon cleansing.

      My transition to raw

      Born in Montreal and raised by two very traditional European parents, I grew up on a very wholesome diet. Everything was prepared from scratch. Meals consisted of whole grains, large salads, vegetables, dark bread, and a lot of fruits. White bread, canned soup, and fast foods were simply not a part of our routine. We were not vegetarian but ate meat in small amounts a few times a week. So, as far back as I can remember, I always enjoyed and felt best when eating fresh and simple meals, with fruit, salads, sauerkraut, and olives as my particular favorites.

      During my rebellious teenage years I moved away from home and fell into the trap of processed foods. As a result, I gained a lot of weight and started to feel lethargic, unhealthy, and depressed. Three years later (after gaining thirty-five pounds), I began working in my mother’s vegetarian tea room and returned to eating natural foods. Adopting a macrobiotic diet quickly improved my health and stabilized my weight. It also eased the depression that I had struggled with off and on my whole life. This helped me to launch an international modeling career that would last over seven years, and propel me to a fast-paced, jet-setting lifestyle, globe trotting to exotic places around the world. Traveling between Canada, Japan, South East Asia, and Europe on a regular basis, I became consumed by the demand to maintain my slender model physique.

      I soon developed a debilitating eating disorder that I secretly struggled with for over seven years, and was at one point hospitalized. Suffering from anorexia and bulimia, I restricted my diet to the point of emaciation, living on coffee, cigarettes, carrot juice, and a lot of algae—the latter two foods sustaining me. The effects were crippling, both physically and psychologically, as I was living a dual life of binging and purging. My life was out of control, my body out of balance, and I was lost in a downward cycle. I felt hopeless. This was truly a low point in my life.

      During this period, I began searching for various lifestyles and alternative methods to help with my disordered eating habits as well as the emotional pain I had been numbing with food. I was painfully shy, and had difficulty communicating my feelings—issues I slowly began to address. I discovered meditation and began practicing regularly. I also discovered the writings of Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, Paavo Airola, Victoras Kulvinskas, and Dr Ann Wigmore, whose books validated my strong desire for raw foods. I quickly increased the amount of fresh raw and living foods into my diet and felt immediate health benefits.

      It took