I’d always considered myself a healthy eater, but wouldn’t you know it? After chatting with Dr. Christy Russell-Shae, of Simply Vibrant, I had decided that at least 50 percent of what I consume daily isn’t even alive. Pretty disgusting, eh? I hate to break the news, but some of what you eat might just be corpselike, too. What am I referring to? Dr. Christy categorizes foods in two groups to improve her clients’ health: dead and live. Which type does yours fall into? Read on…

canvas: Can you explain what you mean by dead and live foods?

Dr. Christy: Living foods are foods that are in their natural state. They contain a full assortment of natural vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, which are essential for life. When you consume these life-giving foods, they provide energy to the body. If you eat foods that are dead, processed, and lacking energy, you will feel lifeless and lethargic. This energy is very real and can be seen with Kirlian photography [see example above], which measures the energy coming from food. If you look at a Kirlian photo of a sprout or green vegetable, the picture will light up with energy; if you look at a photo of meat or processed food, the picture will be completely black and devoid of life energy.

canvas: What are some living and some dead foods?

Dr. Christy: Living foods include raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, greens, fresh juices, sea vegetables, grasses, and super foods such as spirulina and chlorella. When introduced to your body, these foods increase your body’s energy and increase the oxygen and available nutrients in your system. However, these vital nutrients can be destroyed under extreme heat. Most enzymes are destroyed at a temperature of 118˚F, so you want to be sure not to cook these foods past this temperature. Dead foods are foods that have been processed or in essence, killed. These include all forms of animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs, in addition to highly processed foods such as bagels, cookies, candies, and pasta. Although these foods may contain some nutrition, it comes in a form that is difficult for the body to assimilate, and therefore they deplete energy from the body.  We make nutrition too hard and stringent. You don’t have to eat perfectly to be rewarded with vibrant health. The goal is to keep an optimal balance of 80 percent raw, living foods with no more than 20 percent of dead, processed foods.
 
canvas: Why are dead foods toxic?

Dr. Christy: Our body is not designed to digest dead, lifeless foods. When we process food, we kill most of the enzymes and nutrients that are present in these foods. Your body needs these enzymes to function optimally and to absorb the nutrients present in the food. Every time you put something into your body that is not living, it wastes a lot of your body’s energy to break it down. This results in fatigue, illness, foggy thinking, and inflammation.

canvas: What is the benefit of the type of diet you promote?

Dr. Christy: Focusing your diet around living foods gives your body the ideal fuel it was designed to run on. It helps address the three main reasons that we lose health and vitality: too many toxins in our system; lack of what our body needs; and stress . . . including physical, emotional, and environmental. Eating a living diet allows your body to effortlessly cleanse and detoxify itself, reduces inflammation, and provides optimal energy and nutrition to every cell in your body.

canvas: What made you separate foods into categories?

Dr. Christy: My research on this topic started with my quest to help my patients achieve lasting health, regardless of age or their current life condition. I work with many children who have autism, allergies, ADHD, and asthma, and many adults who are overweight or are struggling through chronic disease. Rather than researching medications or conventional approaches, I chose to study spontaneous healings. I started seeing patterns of similarity. Many of these individuals looked to diet as a way that they could empower their body to heal, and 95 percent of those who successfully healed incorporated eating raw, living foods into their diets. Our bodies are meant to heal and do best in an oxygen-saturated environment.

canvas: If we eat this type of “live” food, what changes might one expect and how soon?

Dr. Christy: Changes start dramatically happening once you convert at least 51 percent of what you consume to living food. Once you hit this point, you can expect to feel a surge of energy, weight loss, a decrease in inflammation and achiness, clearing of the skin, and strengthening of the immune system.

canvas: Where can people meet with you for an appointment or to learn more?

Dr. Christy: I have founded a natural family wellness center, located in Rockville Centre, called Simply Vibrant (simplyvibrant.com), and our goal is to empower children and their families in attaining lasting health and happiness. Our team of natural practitioners utilizes technologies and methods from the world’s healthiest countries, and empowers our clients to become their own best doctor. 

 

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EATING RIGHT

“Eating living foods needn’t be difficult. In fact, once you become familiar with foods and find combinations you love, it’s actually much easier than preparing processed meals,” says Dr. Christy. “We are creatures of habit. On average, we each have only10 different meals that we rotate among. So changing your diet can be quite simple. Find 10 recipes that you like, and you’re set!”

Ideas to Get Started
• Upon Waking: Drink 1 liter of water before eating any food—the greatest thing you can do to kick-start your metabolism.
• Breakfast: Energizing smoothie (almond milk, greens powder, frozen fruit, hemp protein, handful of almonds, etc.)
• Snacks: Hummus and carrots, apples and almond butter, raw almonds, coconut date balls, veggies and guacamole
• Lunch: Veggie wrap with romaine, hummus, avocado, peppers, sprouts (small amount of chicken optional); mixed green salad with veggies and olive oil, sea salt and lemon dressing; vegetable soup
• Dinner: Stir-fry with mixed vegetables and Bragg’s liquid aminos; coconut curry veggies with optional choice of meat; always with a large salad
• Dessert: Homemade coconut milk ice cream