Part 1 (1/2)

12 Steps to Raw Foods.

Victoria Boutenko.

To my mother, Valentina Boulgakova, and my father, Valeri Gladkikh, whom I love and miss deeply, and who continue to inspire me even from the heavens.

Acknowledgments.

I am grateful to my family for their ongoing love, patience, and support that I especially needed while writing this book.

My sincere thanks go to my angel helper, Christopher Sabatini, who took over my entire office work for several months, providing me with optimal conditions for a creative effort.

I am especially thankful to my friend, biochemist Ed Kellogg, PhD, for reading through the chapters containing scientific information.

I feel truly blessed with my friends who volunteered to spend many hours, sometimes at night, editing my ma.n.u.script: Victoria Bidwell, Laura Hamilton, Christopher Sabatini, Robert V. Grater, Verawnika Clay, and Caryne Palmer.

Finally, I would like to express my grat.i.tude to Phyllis Linn, Lonny and Carmen Doi, Graham W. Boyes, and Pamela Joy for providing their generous financial support of my research during the months that I dedicated to writing this book and did not lecture.

Thank you, dear friends. May you always be blessed with health, joy, love, and prosperity!

Foreword to the Second Edition of 12 Steps to Raw Foods.

The first edition of this book (published in 2000) was excellent. The second edition is masterfully outstanding. In the last six years, Victoria Boutenko has established a fresh outlook on nutrition and revealed herself as a live-food woman of wisdom. She offers tremendous insights on the benefits of raw foods. Her studies of the importance of greens in the human diet are particularly interesting and const.i.tute a breakthrough for the live-food movement. Her work using blended greens is valuable both as a transition diet for people with a very poor digestive system, and as general nutritional support for just about anyone consuming the greens at least once a day. Victoria highlights the importance of greens by explaining how she attained a high level of health by adding a sufficient amount of greens to her live-food diet.

Victoria successfully conveys the significance of live foods. The depth of her book is marked not only by copious new research on the benefits of raw foods, but by a clarity that s.h.i.+nes through these pages-the clarity of her own soul. Victoria's wisdom and understanding of the live-foods lifestyle is communicated with enthusiasm and pointedness.

Scientifically, she shares many interesting facts that have only become available in recent years-for example, her excellent research on how humans went from a raw, primarily vegan diet (similar to that of the chimpanzee) to a meat-eating diet.

Victoria's review of the research on advanced glyc.o.xidation end products (AGEs) is particularly relevant because AGEs play a major part in the degeneration process when there is an excess amount of sugar in the system. A high level of AGEs in the diet can lead to neurodegeneration, cardiovascular problems, and kidney failure. As we see with diabetes, the AGEs are literally a form of accelerated aging.

It is really gratifying to see the level of doc.u.mentation and research of scientific journals that Victoria provides throughout her book. Victoria mentions research about acrylamide-a carcinogenic substance a.s.sociated with cooked starches. This is now a global problem, since acrylamide seems to be considered a carcinogen for humans. Cooked and processed meats and fish create heterocyclic amines, along with other mutagens and carcinogens. So obviously we avoid all of these toxins when we eat live foods.

Victoria also brings to light lots of scientific studies that ill.u.s.trate the presence of multiple beneficial elements in living foods, such as phytonutrients and antioxidants, as well as many others. For example, molecules of resveratrol can activate human longevity genes, and falcarinol in raw carrots aids in preventing and healing cancer.

Overall, 12 Steps to Raw Foods is a breakthrough work for the live-food movement. One important point Victoria Boutenko humbly and with great wisdom articulates in this book is the fact that some people are dependent on cooked foods, for the variety of reasons she talks about. Because of this addiction, it is difficult to transition gracefully to a full live-food diet. Victoria outlines a clear solution to this problem with her 12-Step program. People need a lot of support to move into live foods, and they also need a thoughtful and compa.s.sionate program to support them after the initial decision. This book, 12 Steps to Raw Foods, helps significantly. Victoria fills her 12 Steps with really practical information and insight for the transition.

Before reading this book in 2000 and talking with Victoria about it, I did not fully understand the addictive power of cooked foods. I applaud Victoria for this breakthrough. I am happy that this book is on the market, and I recommend it to all who come to the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center (a live-food center and oasis for awakening located in the mountains of southern Arizona where I am Director). This second edition is so much deeper that I am now also recommending it to my staff as mandatory reading so that they can be much more understanding, compa.s.sionate, and insightful about live foods.

Victoria's genuine humility and wisdom make this book even more powerful. By sharing the stories of her own transition and some of the difficulties in her family, the author gives us a very personal and heartfelt book. Victoria takes a good look at cultural attachment, social pressures, programming from birth, and addictive qualities of processed food, then gives people ways to deal with these problems so they can succeed in making changes. The stories of her family's struggles and the growth they have experienced in this process are truly a human inspiration, as well as a live-food one for the community.

While the most important contribution of this book is likely to be the clear insight that cooked food may be an addiction, Victoria also gives an in-depth overview of the importance of live foods for our health and well-being. She shares insights about live-food preparation, particularly her green smoothies. She focuses less on the recipes than on understanding how to play with the food in a way that encourages us to make our own creations, simply and in the manner that best meets our needs. Victoria's raw-food woman's wisdom gives the reader a sophisticated understanding of the ins and outs of transitioning to live foods. Like we try to do at the Tree of Life, she makes the point that raw food should be delicious, particularly in the beginning, because people need the psychological comfort of gourmet quality to make their transition. At the same time, she points out what most raw-food enthusiasts eventually learn: the more we are involved in the raw-food way of life, the less we need the gourmet level except perhaps at parties. Victoria gives people gems to which they can hang on to help them succeed in becoming raw-food people.

Another positive aspect of this book is its support for turning people into their own best expert. As the author points out, there is a lot of confusion in the nutrition field, live food or not, and Victoria's approach is to encourage people-once they are through the detoxification-to trust their own body cravings, because these cravings often tell us what we really need for our specific body health at the moment.

This book is a cla.s.sic. I appreciate the opportunity to write the foreword to the second edition. I emphatically recommend 12 Steps to Raw Foods to anyone who is involved in helping people move into a live-food lifestyle, to any teacher of live foods, and to any live-food friend who needs support. Victoria's book is one of the most supportive, nurturing, and wise offerings in the live-food movement that I have seen in years. I am very grateful for the breakthrough and the wisdom that she shares. Blessings to your health, well-being, and spiritual joy.

-Gabriel Cousens, MD, MD(H).

Diplomat, American Board of Holistic Medicine.

Diplomat in Ayurveda.

Director of the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center.

Author of Spiritual Nutrition, Conscious Eating, and Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine.

Author's Note.

I believe that we are all designed to be healthy, that our beautiful bodies are perfect, and that sickness is not normal. Yet how many people can you name who are absolutely healthy? I understand that our health and liveliness largely depend on nutrition. Most of us have at least some idea about which foods can make us healthy and energized. I a.s.sociate being healthy with feeling an enjoyable lightness in my body, having a pleasant mood, and thinking clearly, but most importantly, having the energy to manifest my dreams. I remember how my former sickness eliminated much of the joy from my life; it drained my energy and kept me from doing the activities that would have made me most happy and fulfilled.

In our society, it is common to entertain the hopeless belief that a lot of illnesses are incurable. I contend that for many people this belief is based in a dependence on unhealthy foods and a feeling of being unable to change our eating habits. Unfortunately, doctors are powerless to compensate for this lack of nutrition, even though they do all they know to help.

Every day I observe people around me who are desperate to improve their nutrition but are still unable to change their habits. They find themselves-time and again-eating what they so resolutely had planned to avoid. Through much experimenting and research, I have come to the conclusion that becoming free from this dependency is possible, and that managing one's diet can drastically improve one's health.

Over the past twelve years, I have taught thousands of cla.s.ses and weekend workshops worldwide. I receive ”Thank You” letters from the thousands of people who have used my coping techniques to successfully eat healthier. In this revised and expanded edition of 12 Steps to Raw Foods, I have updated my research with the latest scientific data; I have added more of my personal experiences; I have addressed historical issues such as how the human dependency on cooked food formed; and I have included my most successful coping techniques, along with my most delicious recipes.

Enjoy this reading-I look forward to running into you at a juice bar!

In Good Health, -Victoria.

Part 1.

WHY RAW.

FOOD?.

Chapter 1.

WHERE MY SEARCH.

BEGAN.

”Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

-Matthew 7:7.