To all the loving and courageous people on this planet who are in continual search for the truth about life and its purpose.
Copyright 1992 by Richard Salome & Denise Swann
Revised and Reprinted June 1996
Because there is always some risk involved, the authors can not be responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of any of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures in this manual. Please do not use the manual if you are unwilling to assume full responsibility. Feel free to consult a qualified health professional: it is a sign of wisdom to seek a second or third opinion.
Welcome to what may become the most exciting adventure of your life. Imagine how you feel on your healthiest of days. Now take that day and see it happening every day of your life. Then see at least half of these days improving and being more powerful by 25, 50 and 100 percent. Visualize new levels of health in your life that you can only dream of at this time. Are you ready and willing to take this vision from a fantasy into your reality?
If so, then the Living Foods Program may be just what you are looking for because it makes total health possible for those who really believe in this perfect potential.
This manual is meant to only be an introductory step towards that experience of perfect health attained by turning back to Nature for the fullest healing experience possible. The recipes included open one’s essence to the energy potential of food when taken in its highest life form as provided by the Earth for us.
We encourage you to use this manual every day of your life until it becomes who you are.
We recommend that you do not stop at the end of this book. There is so much more ahead if you have the courage to listen to your body, drop what isn’t working, and examine your true intuition about nutrition and the purpose of food in your life.
Wishing that you discover all the wellness your body cells know, we invite you to step beyond today to where you have never been before.
Richard & Denise
If you have played with this question, you may have reasoned our existence on at least four levels: the physical, the mental, the spiritual, and the emotional. It’s even quite possible that you’ve come up with others. In any case, let’s refer to whatever it is that makes us tick as the Life Force and let it include everything that we experience in life. Next?
A possible follow-up question might be something like this:
At times it seems an impossible task for many of us, as life sometimes pulls and tugs at us from so many different directions and perspectives. The key to achieving perfect health is in seeing the common thread that weaves itself through all of life’s events.
A third question in this series quite logically starts with the word that is the trademark of most three-year olds: why.
Our answer is because you have chosen it to be this way. We believe that health is created by “going within” and learning to listen to the body’s signals. How many of us have developed this life skill?
We hope to help you to work out these challenges with ideas and techniques that have worked for thousands of people who have pioneered and perfected this program before you. All you have to do is be open to question and change your current beliefs on diet and lifestyle, and a selfless desire to act on the simple principles for attaining perfect health, which we are all born with.
Are you excited to get started? Then let’s take a look at two key principles of perfect health and longevity.
The first key principle of the Living Foods Program is that our Life Force is physically nourished and maintained beyond food by enzymes and oxygen. These two elements belong in abundance in every part of our bodies. They are the catalysts which take the raw materials that come into our bodies, and help (in a very big way) to digest, transport and transform these materials into whatever our cells need to maintain optimum health. Without them, potential nutrients would not be able to be used. They also take on the job of helping to remove any waste materials and toxins that result from all the metabolic processes in our bodies.
Think of your enzyme and oxygen levels as “bank accounts. The more of these two elements you have in your cells, the healthier you feel. Researchers have noted that the levels of these two vital elements in your cells are directly linked to what you eat. What they have discovered is that if you eat certain foods, you will keep your enzyme and oxygen banks (and your health) at optimal preferred highs. You ask: What foods keep our enzyme & oxygen levels high?
It turns out that the foods that best support your enzyme & oxygen “daily balances” are living foods. It’s simple: the Life Force in your food supports the Life Force in your body.
But how do we measure the Life Force in our food?
Let’s start by putting some foods into 4 basic categories: living foods, raw foods, whole cooked foods, and processed fast foods. Let’s identify each food group as follows.
Living foods provide the dietary factors that allow for lifetime weight management, healing of incurable diseases, rejuvenation of the body, and life extension. They are rich in the eight essential amino acids, supportive fatty acids, varieties of naturally-occurring sugars, chelated minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll, nucleic acids, hormones, water, and fiber. And they are the highest in enzymes and oxygen.
On living foods, we experience joy, vitality, clarity, love, and trust in the goodness of the universe. The effect of negative factors in our lifestyle and environment are minimized. People tell us about a rejuvenation on all levels when enough of these foods are used in the diet.
The foods in this category include sprout mixtures of non-starchy small seeds, legumes and grains; sunflower and buckwheat baby greens; the fresh juices of grasses (especially wheatgrass & barley); and living sauerkraut. There are also some whole food supplements that are low-heat processed to maintain their enzyme integrity that fall into this category. These include select products containing aloe vera, spirulina, chlorella, and the red Algae called Dunaliella.
Raw foods provide a good base for maintaining a superior state of health when eaten in moderation and in simple combinations with the living foods. They contain moderate enzyme and oxygen banks, enough to maintain your existing health but not enough to actually rejuvenate your body.
The foods in this category include fresh, organic (when possible) vegetables and ripe fruit, spices and herbs (again, best fresh), sea vegetables, raw nuts that have been soaked for at least 12 hours, all raw dairy products, and dried fruit that has been soaked for at least 5 hours.
Whole cooked foods provide lesser amounts of the nutrients than comparable quantities of raw foods. Especially noticeable is the complete absence of the food enzymes and oxygen inherently found in all living and raw foods which allow for ease and completeness of the digestive, assimilation, and elimination processes in our bodies. As a result, our bodies have to work harder to achieve diminishing returns (with additional residual toxins).
The foods in this category include lightly steamed or boiled vegetables and fruits, baked tubers and root vegetables, baked whole grain breads, and cooked whole grains,
Processed fast foods are those foods that are processed, overcooked, impure, stale, chemicalized and/or re-cooked. Their tastes may be doctored to be pleasing, but they have no life-giving nutritional value left in them. Their digestion is next to impossible and an enormous amount of Life Force (your energy) is robbed from your body just in the elimination of their toxic residues.
Carbonated soft drinks, alcohol, toasted or roasted seeds and nuts (unsalted), most vinegar, all animal flesh, pasteurized dairy products, fried food, canned and bottled products, and salted or sugared white flour bakery products are examples of food in this category.
We believe (and have observed) that most disease originates when one eats foods that predominantly fall into the last two groups, and we recommend that everyone try to ease away from these foods in as comfortable a way as possible.
Any individual should gradually make dietary changes by reducing (and eventually eliminating) the consumption of enzymeless (whole cooked and processed) foods and increasing the intake of the rejuvenating and sustaining foods from the first two categories mentioned above. But, do not feel rushed. We realize that there is no one perfect lifelong diet. Dietary changes will happen in your life as you become more sensitive to the vibrations of your food. The more detoxified you become, the more you will move towards the living and raw foods for the power and energy you will come to expect from them.
It’s like spring housecleaning. Moving out the garbage. It might remind you of the morning or evening rush hours in New York or L.A. — congested, slow-going and preferably avoided. And this is the second key principle in the life Program.
Everyone who transitions into the Living Foods lifestyle experiences it to some degree. It will often mean periods of discomfort and reduced energy as the toxins (poisons) that your body has stored up over the years are released into your bloodstream and lymphatic system for eventual release.
As these toxins are eliminated from your body, you will feel better than before the elimination began. This up-and-down roller coaster process will probably go on for months: remember, it took you years to get you to where you are today. But as time goes on, the lows get milder and less frequent, and the highs get more powerful. Bear with your body and our program — it’s what’s best for you for the rest of your life. We’re here to help you during this healing period in your life.
To make the detoxification as easy as possible, consider adopting the following practices:
Ann Wigmore, the pioneer of the Living Foods Program, continuously urged her students to “return to Nature to heal yourself.” She sees that we have so ignored and abused Mother Earth. (Many of our clients actually show a fear of working with soil.) Most of us have lost or never discovered the joy of working with the Earth’s energies, and as a result, have unconsciously brought upon ourselves the suffering and disease that we see in this country and world today. In essence, we have short-circuited our connection to a principal healing source.
As you begin to use more living foods, especially the sprouts and baby greens, you will realize the full power of this remarkable lady’s feelings. You will actually sense the energy of these foods becoming a part of you. When you eat a meal without them, you will feel that you have left out something very special to your life. It’s a remarkable feeling that grows slowly as each cell cleans itself out and becomes capable of holding an increasingly greater electrical charge.
The first step is to spend more of your time in the fresh vegetable and fruit section of your local health food store learning about what’s available. Look for alfalfa, cabbage, clover, lentil, mung bean, onion and mixtures of sprouts, as well as sunflower and buckwheat baby greens. Try to make living and raw foods at least 50% of each meal. The easiest way to do this is to use them in your salads and raw soup creations. For individuals interested in more gourmet uses of these life-giving foods, see the section on recipes in this book and the Appendix at the back of this book.
A note from us at Naturalways: An easy way to add the benefits of greens to your diet is by supplementing with micro-algae and juiced grass concentrates such as:As you progress, you will want to add more varieties of sprouts to your diet. At this point, you should consider growing the sprouts yourself. It’s so easy, much less expensive (15 to 30 cents per pound), and another step towards being in touch with Nature’s energies. Here are some basic guidelines to help you get started.
SUPPLIES:
Sprouting seed (write to us if you can’t find a source), one quart wide-mouth glass jars, nylon or fiberglass screen to cover the mouths of the jars (available at any hardware store), rubber bands to hold the screens over the mouths of the jars, & a “home” where the sprouts can drain & grow.
NOTE: Finally, if you want your sprouts to turn green with chlorophyll, you should uncover them and place them in strong indirect sunlight on the last day or two of their growing. This is usually done with the sprouts of all the small seeds. (If you do this with the larger beans and the grains, you will find that the sprout becomes rather tough to chew — we don’t recommend it.)
Good luck, and get sprouting. For further adventures in sprouting and growing on soil, see Ann Wigmore’s The Hippocrates Diet and Health Program (Chapters 6 &7) and The Sprouting Book.
Prompted by some to be the most balanced nutritional source on this planet, wheatgrass (especially when juiced) has been credited with more healings than any other factor in our program. It is especially high in the enzymes and minerals (over 90 of them) needed to build up our blood and immune system.
For maximum value, the wheatgrass should be freshly cut and juiced (most easily done using a special machine that resembles an oldfashioned meat grinder). As the medicine of this program, we recommend drinking at least 2 two-ounce servings every day on an empty stomach during the detoxification process, as well as implanting 4 to 8 ounces into the colon as often as possible. The results have been nothing short of fantastic.
For more information on this powerful healer and how you can grow it (as well as buckwheat lettuce and sunflower greens), see Ann Wigmore’s The Hippocrates Diet and Health Program (Chapters 6 & 8) and The Wheatgrass Book.
One last consideration before we set you loose in your own kitchens to begin experimenting. It’s an age-old concept that says you shouldn’t mix (eat) certain foods together at the same meal. Why? Simple biological chemistry. When you do, stomach pains, headaches, indigestion or poor digestion, bad breath, lower bowel gas, and reduced energy most often result. Mind you, we learn to live with it, but it’s certainly not a sign of perfect health.
Let’s start by putting an assortment of foods into nine categories.
PROTEINS: Animal flesh, poultry, fish, cheese, dairy products, unsoaked nuts and seeds, miso, yeast, store-bought seed or nut butters.
PRE-DIGESTED PROTEINS: Soaked nuts and seeds.
STARCHES: Potatoes, dried beans and peas, grains, winter squashes, yams, bread, rice.
VEGETABLES: Leafy greens, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, parsnip, fresh peas and beans, sprouts, summer squash, fresh sweet corn, pepper, tomato, onion, garlic.
ACID FRUIT: Grapefruit, lime, oranges, pineapple, pomegranate, strawberries, plums, sour apples, sour cherries.
SUB-ACID FRUIT: Apples, apricots, most berries, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, sweet cherries.
SWEET FRUIT: Bananas, dates, figs, persimmons, raisins, all dried fruit.
MELONS: Cantaloupe, crenshaw, honeydew, watermelon.
NEUTRAL FOODS (go well with everything): Avocado, lemon.
This list is by no means complete, but you can probably "fill in the blanks."
EXCELLENT COMBINATIONS
GOOD COMBINATIONS
FAIR COMBINATIONS
DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS
For optimal digestion, also try to:
With all of this information now at your fingertips, what can you reasonably expect to bring into your lifestyle within the first three months? We want it to be as easy and time-efficient for you as possible. And it should show you the power of this program. Here are our suggestions that have worked so well for others: