By Kelly Jad'on

Book Review: The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide To The Ultimate Diet For Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet (Awakenings, 2^nd Ed. 2008) by Susan E. Schenck, LAc, MTOM

Susan Schenck is a raw food coach, lecturer, and author of the award-winning book, The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet, known as the encyclopedia of the raw food diet.

The book has also been referred to as the Raw Food Bible, a classic, and the most comprehensive study of the raw food movement; The Live Food Factor is all that. Centered around nearly 70 studies, The Live Food Factor brings our ancestors’ common sense approach to food for life to the dining tables of modern man. Recent scientific studies show us that it is extremely important to eat healthy foods—vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Once considered radical, the idea of ingesting nature’s bounty in its natural state is becoming mainstream, due to authors like Susan Schenck.

Herself the daughter of an M.D., the author details the history, purpose, and necessity of eating raw in over 600 pages. The Live Food Factor is Susan Schenck’s product of lengthy research and her own search for health after battling anorexia, bulimia, and watching those around her die of preventable illnesses. She defines raw, including those who are strictly vegan, those who are consumers of raw animal products, and the fruitarians.

The Live Food Factor is broken into four main sections:

• Reasons to Go Raw—covers physical and mental aspects, testimonials of those healed of illnesses, and the author’s own story.
• The Science—explains the paradigm shift in disease origins and treatments; research into cooked versus raw diets (extensive); the nutritional breakdown of raw foods.
• History and Modern Day Leaders—highlights historical groups which practiced raw food living and the front-runners in today’s raw food movement.
• Your Journey to Raw Life—includes how to get started, detoxification and healing, fasting, nutritional controversies, and pitfalls. This section also answers common questions, addresses the needs of children in a raw home, and provides many recipes. Ones to try: Tomato Raviolis, Peanut Butter & Carob Cups, Curry Spinach Dressing.

Appendixes—foods to avoid (wheat, dairy, sugar, salt); radical branches of the raw movement (green smoothie diet, instinctive eating, raw animal food diet); nondietary health factors (discusses sleep necessity, laws of life, food combining).

The book also contains a 15-page bibliography, a resource guide, and a glossary.

Most importantly, The Live Food Factor addresses many questions for those wanting to know more.

Examples:

• What conditions can be helped by eating raw?
• How do you get enough protein?
• Why aren’t all doctors recommending the raw food diet?
• Can I drink coffee?

Susan Schenck makes clear her case for eating raw in a concise and convincing argument. She backs up her writing with numerous additional scientific studies from published journals about the benefits of a natural diet versus the standard American diet (SAD). Though the suggestions may be revolutionary to some, it is evident to many, including more and more medical doctors in the medical establishment, that disease has become an invasive part of our society, and the answer lies with prevention.

For Susan Schenck and other raw food advocates, the top ten conditions of health are:

1. Cleanliness—inside the body and on its outside surfaces
2. Pure air
3. Pure water
4. Adequate rest and sleep
5. A nontoxic diet—raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts
6. Right temperatures
7. Adequate sunlight
8. Regular exercise
9. Emotional balance—purpose of life, freedom from addictions
10. Nurturing relationships

Whether you’re part of the raw food movement or not, The Live Food Factor offers compelling evidence for a healthier life from which we all could benefit. With The Live Food Factor, the author is offering 70 bonus gifts.

5 Stars

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