Day 14 - last day of detox!!

The 14th day has finally come and it feels great! I have been looking forward to start earting solid food and start making some delicious life food. I have found so many nice recipies that I want to try. I am also surprised that I have found so many raw food recipe sites and blogs. The revolution has started!

As an award for my detox I made raw hamburgers and chocolate dessert for dinner. And it was soooooooo gooodd and soo filling! Amazing how much it fills you up. I am also eager to have my meat-eating friends trying it!

So what should my conclusion be regarding this 14 day detox?

First of all, it was not a hard as I thought it would be. Eating lifefood is easy. But then I also got used to rawfood by eating only that some weeks before the detox. And I think I already then got detoxed to a certain extent as I went from eating normal (meat etc) to eating only vegetarian for 4 days and then only raw food for 17 days. I have to admit that I did not like raw food too much in the beginning and I had to go to the bathroom a lot and I felt like I have no energy and being a bit dizzy. I have now learned that these are all normal symptoms one can have when starting to eat raw food as the body starts to detox naturally. Therefore, I would recommend to start eating life or raw food two weeks before the detox as it will be easier for you and your stomach.

So what did I really do/take during this detox?

I followed the following remedy as prescribed by Dr David Jubb to treat 1) an overactive upper stomach 2) inflammation of small intestine 3) bile insufficiency:

• Jubb's Lifecolloid 2 times a day
• Jubb's Bluemate 4 times a day
• Jubb's Earthmate 4 times a day
• Jubb's Wildzymes 4 times a day
• Castor oil (ricin oil) 4 times a day
• Epsom salt 4 times a day
• Baking soda 2 times a day
• Castor packs 4 times a day
• 12 tbs olive oil a day (not on flush days)

In addition on flush days (every 4th day):

• 200 ml olive oil
• 100 ml lemon juice

Coffee enema for flush days:

• 1.5 liter body temp water
• 2 tbs organic ground coffee (put in glass of water the night before)

- I made Jubb's electrolyte lemonade and flax crackers. I also daily drank ginseng tea and apple cider vinegar mixed with water.

- 4 stools a day were recommended (if you do not have it take more castor oil or aloe vera) as it is important to have an empty stomach most of the time to do some healing

- I also ate 3 times a day or when feeling hungry (first meal at noon)

- I only ate mixed/blended lifefood (to know what lifefood is and is not check out this link) 

-What you specifically cannot eat during the detox:

• no breakfast
• no cooked food
• no solid food
• no flesh
• no starch

I have lost 3 kg on this detox and hopefully a lot of stones. (I actually do not know as I haven't looked too close). But I feel lighter for sure. I also feel an improvement in my digestion and also the need of not eating so much. I am really happy about not having any breakfast and then make something really delicious for noon like chia almond milk porridge and a fruit-berry smoothie. My skin feels better, I have better breath, my lower back pain has eased and I am more flexible. And I am curious how I will fell in one weeks time :)

All in all, I would definitely recommend this detox to anyone who wants to improve their health and start fresh!

Day 13 - walnutburger

Nothing special today... a bit hungery after the flush-fast yesterday so I made some delicious chia porridge. I usually put it in almond milk but as I forgot to soak some last night, water had to due and that was ok too. I topped it with a fresh smoothie and some flax seeds. And then it took me like an hour to eat. It is funny how slow you start to eat when on lifefood. You just don't want to rush anything and as I have all the time in the world right now I can eat as slow as I want and I like it. Maybe they should call it slow food.

For dinner I made a mixed veggie soup with some quinoa and a flax cracker. After the meal it felt like my stomach was in a knot on my down right side. I think the quinoa was too heavy/hard to digest for my stomach just a day after the flush or maybe it was a humongous liver stone trying to get out! Well that thought did go through my brain at the moment. But I laid down, did a castor pack and everything calmed down.

I also prepared the walnutburgers tonight as they have to dehydrate for 20 h. So for tomorrow dinner time they will be ready. They were easy to make and I hope they will taste as delicious as they smelled. And I hope I will be able to digest them easily (I'll make sure to chew some extra:).

Today I also did not have to take any more olive oil and thank God for that! (I usually took 12 tbs/day).

Day 12 - last flush!!

I am so excited that today was my last flush!! I do not exactly dislike it but I do not love it either. The flushing itself is ok but I really do not like drinking the olive oil...I wish there was something else one could do than to drink a huge glass of oil. Anyhow I took on the same strategy as last time... I took it easy in the morning, did some castor packs and took the daily "magic powders" and then thought about what to clean this time during the "sip-the-oil" hour.

I can proudly present my super organized kitchen... all drawers, cupboards and shelfs got super organized, arranged and tidied. Maybe I should drink oil more often, what a super clean place I would have!!

The enema went soso.... as soon as it got in it wanted to get out... oh well I thought, the body knows best. But I feel great though. I am doing a castor pack right now on my stomach and it is really a good idea to just rest after doing a flush as I do not have much energy. I will also not eat anything today just as I did last, to avoid any vomiting... and I know now I can be without food for 37h!

When doing a flush emotional things can come up, things that you have been holding on to, past stuff. Things that come to the surface and wants attention. And this time memories came to me from my early teenage years when I was around 14. I had problems in the mornings to eat and I often had to go (run) outside and get fresh air to calm myself down not to vomit. I just could not eat any breakfast... usually I forced myself to eat at least one sandwich. I would feel cold, shake a bit and this feeling of yuak-and-about-to-vomit in my stomach. Today I had the exact same feeling. So I went into the feeling and asked myself what it was all about.

I started remember being nervous about 7th grade in high-school, the older cooler people, that I did not want any extra attention and just blend in and not to stand out in the crowd and be the center of attention. I did not have the self-confidence of standing up for myself and be proud of who I was and see the beauty that I had.

I tried to release all the feelings I felt and forgave myself and all others that needed forgiving. The matter might look small today but back then it was everything. I strongly believe that we hold on to memories in our body and that they are stored in our cells and it comes a point in our life when we need to release them to be able to move forward.

I would strongly recommend reading The Journey (Resan) by Brandon Bays if you want to release things. OR do a flush! :) Just be open and it will come to you.

Being on my 11th Day I am really looking forward to Day 15 when I can start living normal again! Yesterday I found the hamburger recipe we had at the festival. So I will celebrate by making raw hamburgers!! Only 2 days to go and no more oil after today!!! Hurray!!

Day 11 - Feeling lighter

While walking outside during sunset tonight I noticed how much lighter I feel. I can move my body more easily, it is easier to jump, to hunch and to do a sun salutation. I have lost some weight (3-4kg) but I think I have lost more than just weight.

I have had a stiff lower back for 3 years now since I strained my back cleaning the (damn!) bathtub. When I've done yoga and pilates twice a week it has been much better but lately for the last year it has been very stiff.... really bad actually... feeling like an old granny in the morning when getting out of bed. Stretching and pelvis rotations help a lot and of course dancing (which I love love love to do!).

And then today during my walk I noticed how much lighter my lower back feels. I could move up and down, side to side without pain. I could only feel a slight tension. I jumped up and down and tried to feel the pain find it where is it? But it was gone, at least in that moment.

I haven't done any yoga during this detox... actually not too much exercise at all.... some biking and lifting my 14 kg nephew...

So I believe that either eating lifefood, being on this detox or having got rid of a lot of garbage in my liver/gallbladder/intestines has improved my lower back pain.

Now when I feel more flexible I also feel more motivated to do some yoga. Maybe yoga will take away the last bit of tension. Let's find out! :)

Day 10 - yet another mixed soup

I have started longing for solid food... I would love to eat just the tomato or just the pepper and not having to mix it for every meal. The smoothies are great to mix but I'd love to have a proper sallad with all the chewing that comes with it ;)

But not many days left now til it is all over.....4 to be precise, not so hard to guess, I just had to say it. It is not that the detox is hard it is just that it takes up so much time of your life that you cannot really have a normal life or leave the house for a longer period of time.

But just 4 days left. Then I have big plans when it comes to eating solid food. I want to make these raw hamburgers and I want to make raw sushi. Sushi is something I am really craving right now!

Otherwise the detox is going fine..no strange stuff happening, 4 stools a day as prescribed, not so much hunger, not so tired (as I was in the beginning)... yeah all ok really.

Day 9 - food and hunger

After having had no food for 37h I felt a bit weak and low in energy in the morning. But at noon today I made the tastiest smoothie ever!! Yum so nice with food!

But it's funny, somehow when you are not on food your hunger kind of goes away after a while and then you are not so hungry anymore so after eating half of my smoothie I was already feeling full. Or what I thought was the feeling of full. It is also funny how living food makes you full but you never have this absolute feeling of full or hunger.. always a bit in between. Actually on my detox so far I have never felt true hunger, like my stomach making loud noises and I just could eat whatever... I never had that. I can drink a coup of tea and I am fine for some hours.

Tonight I was watching the movie/documentary Food Matters and I can really recommend it. It made me think twice, again, about what I eat and that I should make sure that all the products I eat are organic. It is so crucial that to be healthy we need to eat right and as they said in the movie, at least 51% of your food intake should be raw living life food so your body can heal itself. The movie was inspirational and it is good to get some new inspiration after 9 days on the detox and things becoming routine. So after the movie I had to go to my fridge and get something good for my body so I ate a melon and finished my left over veggie soup and felt a bit better.

Day 8 - Second Flush

The days seem to go faster and faster. Today I already had my second flush. This time things went way better. I knew what to expect and was in general more relaxed. I was worried about having to drink all that oil again as I vomited last time and so felt it in my stomach. But this time I decided to keep myself busy while sipping the oil and lemon juice, rather than just staring at it and feel every sip get into my stomach. So I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, and yeah the kitchen got veeeery clean and I barely noticed how fast I drank the whole thing. I also had a half squeezed lemon that I licked on after each sip. Don't ask me why, it just worked!

The enema also went good but I still have a hard time keeping it in for 10-15 min as recommended. I did a whopping 8 minutes! Maybe I'll do better on my 3rd and last flush. I still hope the enema works even though you only do 8 minutes.

I decided not to eat anything the whole day today as I think that it was the food that made me vomit last time. So now I have had nothing to eat for... 27h.. it will be 37h if I don't eat until 11am tomorrow morning....waaaaaah never been away from food that long! So far I am ok, do not feel hungry..maybe a little but.. I have had tea and other drinks during the day.

All in all, I feel good about today. It went smooth and I have been feeling ok. A bit weak but that must be normal. I skipped the afternoon and evening epsom salt and baking soda to rest the body and only took Jubb's powders.

But I have no idea if I have flushed any gallstones down the toilet yet??

Day 7 - half way!!

Cannot believe I am already half way on my detox. 14 days felt long the first couple of days. My body is also getting more used to this detox and behaving like it should - 4 stools a day!! Yeeei! Never been happier about having stools. LOL!

Everything is just more on routine now. It is easier as well to make the food and it goes faster. And it tastes better as well! The fridge is full of colorful veggies and fruit. There is always some seeds or nuts soaking so I am always prepared. I love the almond milk and so easy to make!

Here is a picture of what I made for dinner. It is a vegetable soup, topped with avocado and rosemary and a flax cracker with sauerkraut and avocado. The mixed soups are great, not even heated, which I find ok as it s summer and warm outside. But during the winter I would probably heat it to 40'c. The flax crackers were also easy to make and I love having something bread looking to eat as I still miss bread a bit.

These bags (left pic) are what I call "Dr Jubb's magic medicine", i.e. powders that I need to take 4 times a day. I have four different kinds: Lifecolloid (has 50,000 bacterias), Earthmate (vitamin C, antioxidants, niacin, medical mushrooms and hearbs), Bluemate (oxygen, magnesium, humics, fulvics) and Wildzymes. In addition I take epsom salt, baking soda, olive oil, castor oil and drinking lemon juice, apple cider vinegar juice, ginseng tea, green tea and of course food (smoothies, soups and flax crackers). It is quite a lot to take all of it as you take each thing four times a day. Or the hard thing is to remember to take all of it, that's why I have my schedule I follow otherwise I would be totally lost!

Day 6 - Ann Wigmore & sprouting

Yesterday my mother gave me an old book from 1985 about Living Food by Ann Wigmore. As it was a thin and easy to read I digested it all in 1 h. Ann Wigmore (1909-1994) was the pioneer and founder or "Living Food" which is basically the same as Raw and Life Food.

It struck me while reading the book that eating is really easy, it is just that simple. You eat food that has life, food that is living and food that is raw. Feeding your body with fresh vitamins, minerals, protein, enzymes will help your body to function, to process, to heal, to do what it is good at.

With a good diet the body can heal itself from whatever sickness, health issue, skin problems you might have. But most of all you do not even have to have a problem to eat like this. Eating raw will simply keep your body balanced and in harmony with your mind and soul. And if you feel like having some bread or cooked potatoes with your meal it is ok as a healthy intestinal flora can effectively process it as the main food you eat has life and is raw.

I strongly believe you are what you eat. If I eat tons of cooked eggs I will soon feel like a cooked egg, if I eat a lot of candy I will feel like a jelly bean and if I have a steak I will most likely feel like a heavy steak and if I eat only cucumbers I will look like one.

After being on raw/life food now for 3.5 weeks I do feel lighter, there is no heaviness anymore. Sometimes I feel too light and then I have some more fatty nuts and seeds to get grounded. (I might bring in a cooked potato to get more grounded after my detox is over.) I have also noticed I have better breath in the morning, my skin in "shinier' and less dry, also my hair, my nails are super strong, and my stool is odorless. I hope I can add more to the list after some more weeks on lifefood.

The good thing with raw/life/living food is that you can eat as much as you want!

(The difference between raw and life food is that on life food you should not eat bananas, dates, cashews, peanuts, all grains (except for buckwheat, amaranth, chia, millet), corn , beans, potato, carrot, red beet ).

Ann Wigmore'sbook inspired me to try sprouting. So today I decided to try sprouting buckwheat and sunflower seeds. I found two big beautiful glass jars to sprout in, added a name tag, a wool flannel lid and now the seeds are soaking on the shelf. Now I just have to rinse them twice a day and wait...

Day 5 - lost my energy

Yesterday was not so successful. I had a hard time sipping the oil and drinking the lemon juice.. it took its time and I had to think really happy thoughts to get it down. I drank about 170 ml of the 200 ml. Then I couldn't stand it anymore. I waited for half and hour and then I did the coffee enema.

Doing the enema was ok but I could only hold it for 5 minutes. I guess for being the first time ever doing an enema it was ok. Next time I try harder. I also used almost the whole 1.5 liter bag.... which I think is ok too. And of course there was a flush afterwards :)

However, I was also expecting to have another flush later on to get the stones out... but that did not happen. I also started to feel sick. I had the oil around 14.30-15.30pm, then around 15.30 did the enema. I rested did a castor pack. Then I read that I could finally have something to eat at around 19.00/20.00 so I made a mixed veggie soup. I rested a bit, got some air but then around 22.00 I felt really bad and had to vomit. So there my soup was right in front of me. (I am not trying to make you puke). Not good I thought, something went wrong... then I read on the internet that other had also vomited and that it is usually linked to the food you eat after or before....and the best advice was not to eat during the whole day of a flush. Well, I should of read that before but know I know better til next time.

So today I expected to have to run to the toilet in the morning but that did not happen either. So I had some more ricin oil and a kiwi but still nothing loosens up. Not sure what to do. I think tomorrow I will buy some aloe vera juice to speed things up.

So I am not sure if I flushed out any stones and did I clean anything in my gallbladder and liver? All that oil must have done something, right?? A bit disappointed. Maybe I have too much stuff that needs to come out that it didn't or maybe it is empty (that would be a lucky thing). Hmmm... But then I will do 2 more flushes on my 8th and 12th day, so I get to do it again. I am only worrying about that oil I need to drink... just thinking about it now makes me feel sick. Any suggestions on how to take it is welcome!

But all in all, today I feel ok, I was very week in the morning. I have lost 3.5kg in 5 days, which I think is a lot, maybe too much. Great bikini look though! But I think I need to eat more even tough I am not hungry. Maybe more variety to the food. I will also try sprouting for the first time.

But I haven't felt sick today or wanting to puke as I thought I might. I have had some food. Chia with almond milk (oh so good!), a smoothie and my flax crackers and hazel chocolate mousse (all homemade:). I have more energy than this morning and now I will go and make myself a green smoothie with a lot of fresh stuff to get even more energy.

Day 4 - Flush day

Right now I am sipping on my 200ml olive oil and 100 ml lemon juice, alternating between the two. It's like having a mojito on a hot summer day...not! But I have to tell myself that hmmmm yummie it is soo good... otherwise I would just not swallow it. Have to trick the brain a bit. Wooahahahah. I still have half to go.... Otherwise I am all set up for the coffee enema.

Obviously no food today but around 7-8pm I can have some light stuff. Looking forward to that as I feel just a bit hungry... like a fruit would be nice..just something. I am suppose to drink the lemon juice when feeling hungry, which is not too bad. Jubb call it the Electrolyte Lemonade.

This olive oil sipping seems to take forever... the glass is always half full..lol. Why couldn't there be vanilla tasting olive oil?

Ok time for a visit to the bathroom!

Day 3 - Recipe

Good morning!

I am still feeling great but last night before going to bed my stomach was a quite upset...but then I did a castor pack and things calmed down.

As I am writing this as doing my first castor pack of the day in my bed. I have been browsing the Internet to find some good recipes and I found a very good site called rawfoodrecipes.com and today I will try to make this healthy Hazelnut Chocolate mousse (as it is pureed :). You can find the recipe here. Which me luck!

Day 2 - more castor oil

Today I had more energy that yesterday and it was easier to follow the schedule. The weather was nice with a lot of sunshine so did one of the castor packs outside in the sun :)

I was told when buying Jubb's powder that one of them will make you sensitive to the sun and today I felt like the sun was shining extra strong and bothered my eyes a bit. (I was also told that your eyesight might improve after the detox and that would be good as I have had glasses for years).

I also managed to make tasty food today and the flax crackers I made yesterday (dehydrated over night for 13h) came out really good, so now I have "bread" to eat! I will definitely make more and try different seeds and nuts. I will upload a picture soon.

The bowl movement is staying the same, that is once a day. Today I increased the castor oil by 2 tsp (from 8 to 10 tsp) but I obviously need to eat even more. I am a bit hesitant to take too much as I haven't heard too many good things about castor/ricin oil (like it is poisonous is big amounts...?). Maybe I try to eat more kiwi as that is suppose to be a bit laxative.

Dr David Jubb’s 14 Day Lifefood Detox

Today is the day!

Today I started my Dr David Jubb’s 14 Day Lifefood Detox /Gallbladder and Liver cleanse. (Could the name be any shorter?) I will finish on the 31st August so by 1st September I am hopefully all cleansed, energized, and polished inside and out :) That would be a nice start to the month, wouldn’t it?

I am also lucky enough to be on holiday right now and I have nothing planned for the coming two weeks except for visiting the bathroom now and then.

To keep it somewhat organized I wrote a detox schedule yesterday with times and what to take during the day. It ended up being a very packed schedule with something to take and do every hour. I also wanted to spread the things out so I don't end up taking all the 'magic medicine powder', epsom salt, baking soda, olive oil, etc. at once. If I did that my stomach would just explode! So ever hour there is something.

I think the best part is that you do not eat breakfast until noon so then you have plenty of time to just chill and so far I have not even been hungry in the mornings. ( I have also already been on raw food for the last 3 weeks so my body is used to less food already and the feeling of hunger has almost disappeared.) But today I was wondering if that is because I was eating so much olive oil (12 tbs/day) that it made me full....

Anyways, even though I was suppose to take it easy today, it ended up being a very hectic day. I had to go to the health food store one last time to get some last things like apple cider vinegar, baking soda, and some food before I was all set for this detox. I spent some time shopping and then I got behind on my schedule and then I felt stressed about it and was thinking that I made my schedule just too packed. But somehow I managed to do all of the things in between doing some laundry and trying to figure out what to eat. (I tell ya, this is like a full time job!)

I had a delicious fruit smoothie for lunch, then a less delicious soup for dinner, blaaa I put too much garlic in my soup and it became more of a salad dressing... yuak.... so I ended up chewing on a chopped cucumber. You are only suppose to have mixed, blended, pureed food during the detox for easy digestions. But I had some dried apricots that I decided to puree in my mouth by chewing some extra...not sure if it worked...time will tell.

I still have a lot to learn when it comes to making tasty lifefood. As I write I am making some dehydrated flax crackers and earlier today I made almond milk, which turned out great! I was so proud of myself that it tasted so good.  (I know, it is the most simple thing to do!).

So the day was a little bit stressful with so many things to remember but I'm sure that tomorrow will be better and I have no plans of going shopping again. I will also google some recipes and prepare a bit better for the meals like soaking and stuff.

The best part of the detox, so far, is the Castor packs. (You soak a wool flannel in a lot of castor oil, you lay down, place it on one of the four corners of your abdomen, wrap towels around and put a warm heating pad or water bottle on top. Then you rest with this for 45 min.) I have to do these castor packs 4 times a day, which means I get to do a whole lot of resting! Today I really enjoyed that. I am actually doing one castor pack right now when typing... not sure if it is the best thing to do when you are suppose to heal and rest. So I better get going then.... off to bed and get some real sleep.

But there is just one last thing that is bothering me.... why haven't I had to do several number 2 today after taking all that laxative castor oil?? (8 tsp!) According to my remedy I have to have 4 bowl movements a day. (I had one). Does this mean I will wake up at 3am and have to run to the bathroom? Or is my stomach on a strike? Traumatized? In shock?

Tomorrow there will be some more castor oil!

1 day countdown....

My 14 day detox will start tomorrow and today I prepared my stomach by continuing on my raw, uncooked, meat, dairy and gluten free food diet. Well, I did have cooked blueberry soup for breakfast... I just felt like it and it was already made so.... there you go.

I have marked my calender and highlighted those days when I will flush and do the coffee enema, which will be a total of three times (every 4th day).

Today, I also went to the grocery store to get some organic veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds and then picked some berries for my smoothies. (I am blessed to be in Finland during my detox and right now it is harvest time so it is easy to get a lot of the lifefood recommended). I also found some old towels and cloths that I can use for the Castor pack.

I have decided to commit writing a blog entrance at least once a day during my 14 day detox. Maybe journaling my experience will help me even more, maybe not. Only time will tell :)

Detox Preparation

So what is it really that I need to prepare myself for to do this detox?

I got a long list of do's and don’ts from Dr. Jubb. I can eat this but not that, I need to get this, and that and some more of the other unknown stuff. I felt like I needed a dictionary and a google map of where to get all this stuff. Some things where easy to get as Jubb sold small bags of his own magic medicine, such as Lifecolloid, Wildesymes, and Bluemate and I got it all. I thought that if I will do this detox I need to be brave and do all of it. Jubb’s magic medicine is mainly minerals, vitamins, protein and healthy fats in powder form that is taken x amounts of teaspoons daily to polish and restore the natural flora in the stomach and intestines.

The detox also includes castor packs and coffee enemas. Both new to me and my virginity. Castor packs are ricin-oil-soaked cotton pads that are places on the four corners of the stomach and a coffee enema is entered down below to flush and cleanse the intestines inside and out. I am really curious though how this will all work out. Will I have to put up my tent next to the toilet? Most of the stuff I have to take is actually laxative.... hmmmm...

Anyhow, after spending some time on google map I found all the stores that I needed and while I was in Stockholm I went and bought a whole lot of castor oil (i.e. ricin oil), an enema bag, sundried sea salt, epsom salt, and some delicious lifefood such as coconut oil, tamari, chia seeds, buckwheat, and a beautiful lotus flower for the fun of it and then I also needed a new neem toothpaste and yeah why not that tasty raw chocolate bar and wow look they have organic figs as well.... I got a bit carried away and finally I realized that I can only afford some of it and forced myself to pay and get out of there. (I can really recommend the health food store Örtagubben.se in Sweden and Life.fi in Finland for all your goodies).

But actually you do not need a lot of things to do the 14 day detox. The main things are epsom salt and an enema bag (cheap from the pharmacy), baking soda, organic apple cider vinegar, organic olive oil, sundried sea salt (cheap from the grocery store) and if you want to go the whole way the magic powder medicine from David Jubb (quite expensive but maybe worth it.. will update you on that...) and of course organic lifefood (veggies, fruit, berries, nuts and seeds, herbs).

All food during the detox has to be blended and mixed so it is easy for the stomach to digest everything. There will be no breakfast, just some hydrating tea. Smoothies and soups will be on the menu every day and you can mix and match all lifefoods as you like. Sounds simple doesn’t it?

A New Adventure Lies Ahead

Time has come for a new adventure for Anette. But this time I am not going to go diving in the Caribbean sea or climbing the mountains in Chile, instead I am going inwards, deep inside to my inner stomach cells to say Hello! What’s up! Time for change!

But why?

Two weeks ago I stared eating raw food as that was part of the meal deal when volunteering at the Raw Life Festival at Ängsbacka in Sweden. The festival was about raw food lifestyles and the mind, body and soul stuff, which included 7am morning yoga, dancing around the bonfire, raw food demos, lifefood workshops, nature walks and a lot of gourmet raw food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The raw food part was a totally new world for me with tons of new information about and insight in how food affects us and what we can do about it.

I already did consider myself a healthy eater; no coffee, not so much alcohol, no smoking, meat once in a while and only lactose free dairy. But I knew I had two or three main addictions; sugar, bread and yeah cheese of all kinds! However, I had never really been tested on these addictions until I was only fed raw food for a whole week. It turned out I had a lot of cravings for sugar after each meal and cravings for bread in between and if I saw cheese, I would jump on it! After a couple of days I could state that it was easier to cut out the sugar than the bread. And the cheese, well I just had to simply forget about that and cancel, clear, delete it out of my head.

During the festival we had a superb gourmet chef (Boris from Berlin) that made us gourmet meals all day long. We had everything from raw pizza to hamburgers to cheese cake. Don’t ask me how they made it but it was delicious and everything was raw! But I have to confess that my taste buds did not like all the dishes, like the bitter salad smoothie and some of the dressings. In the beginning it was also odd not to get a single warm meal during the day but as it was summer and +25’c outside it didn’t bother me so much. And you could always have a hot cup of tea with some honey. Anytime!

My stomach was in a state of shock the first couple of days. It was making funny noises, I looked somewhat pregnant as I got bloated and strange stuff came out and hmmm the smell was not like Chanel’s perfume. I think you get the picture.

The good part was that I was not doing this alone. We were about 200 people of all ages sharing this experience at the festival, some were raw fooders, some meat eaters, some vegans and some like me (a mix of everything). Some ate 100% raw and some 70%. We were told that each body is different and that you need to listen to YOUR body.

Mine was of course screaming for bread and potatoes but I knew better not to listen to that and after a couple of days it was starting to whisper for blueberries and later on cheering for the uncooked chia porridge, the tasty pesto on a salad leaf and the yummy coconut butter. Who knew raw food could be so tasty?!

What inspired me the most at the Raw Life festival were the workshop speakers, such as raw fooder Erica Palmcrantz, Kate Magic, Dr. Bertil Wosk, Sören Wolff, and last but not least the controversial Dr. David Jubb.

Dr. David Jubb is indeed a character getting the audience attention with his shaved pony tail head, short cut shirts and his beautiful songs on his Peruvian looking flute. He was also the one having most workshops and food demos. He was taking things a step further and instead of talking about raw food, living food and super food, he was promoting lifefood, which was something completely new to me. I mean, I had barely heard about raw food and now this guy was talking about lifefood. I felt so behind as most people seemed to know about this dude already. So I started to listen to what this Doctor had to say and take some serious notes.

What I learned is that lifefood is all natural food that can be found in nature and still contains energy. It is basically raw food (with a couple of exceptions), all super food, food that is uncooked and contains no runaway sugars and food that has not been man-made such as potato, carrot, and corn. The main point was that what we as humans need to eat is energy and that we can find this energy in what Jubb calls Lifefood. And the best way to start this new life is to do a 14 day lifefood detox to prepare the body for the new you.

Aaaah detox, I thought. Something I had never tried before but been thinking about for some time and now during this workshop it just came to me that THIS is something I need to try. This is it! This is the time! All shit needs to get out! And with a preparation of two weeks of raw food this would be the perfect time to do it and it cannot be so difficult, right?

So this is what my new adventure is about, a David Jubb’s 14 day lifefood detox.

In preparation, I took a private body consultation with Jubb after the workshop and I got a full remedy for my detox.

I’m happy to confess that I feel inspired and are ready to go! So, let’s do it!!