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Ask Shazzie Many of you have many questions! I thought that covering them in my books would stop the flood, but apparently not ;-) So, here's a new section where you can ask away and I'll answer as good as I know how. Please email your questions to Angel with Ask Shazzie in the subject header. They will be forwarded to me. I can't promise all will be answered, and I can't answer any medical questions, so please don't ask them. Questions can't be answered personally, and by emailing your question with Ask Shazzie in the header, you give automatic permission for it to be published here, along with the name you sign off with. We do not publish email addresses or other personal information. We reserve the right to edit questions for clarity and brevity.   6th February 2007 Dear Shazzie After being raw for one and a half year now, I still have a question about drinking tea. Is drinking herbal teas part of the raw food diet? If so, do you make the tea with boiled water? I never drink tea anymore, but sometimes I miss it. I like it to stay 100% raw, so therefore I hope you can inform me. With love, Marjan van Rijssen, The Netherlands Shazzie says Hiya Marjan This is a great question and one that I'm often asked. If you visited my house, you'd see a whole cupboard devoted to different teas, but I once cut them out of my life -- when I first went raw. I reintroduced them because of their amazing healing properties. I realised that I was raw for health reasons, and herbal teas defo fall into the healthy category, so they're in my life. I make the best teas in the world (normally with a base of pau d'arco, purple corn and olive leaf, mixing them with powdered superfoods such as raw chocolate powder, maca, mesquite etc. I then sometimes add hemp milk and agave nectar or yacon syrup. My teas are often meals, as I have to keep well hydrated with breastfeeding, so the superfoods in the tea give me fast and sustained energy. The anti-parasitical, anti-viral, anti-fungal and antioxidant nature of my teas ensures I never get ill any more, too, which is obviously a big bonus! We need to remember, the question isn't "Is it conforming to someone else's dogma?" it's "does it serve me?" Herbal tea defo serves me, and I serve it to everyone who frequents my abode! Love and thanks Shazzie x 17th November 2006 Dear Shazzie I've just got your books Detox your World and Naked Chocolate - which are excellent -- and I'd like to start making some of the recipes. I don't have any equipment at the moment and I wonder if I can ask your advice. What I would like to make is mainly raw cakes / desserts, energy bars, chocolate truffles and crackers, rather than juices and smoothies. Would it be better for me therefore to buy a food processor, or a Vita-Mix. Also, if a food processor would be better, is there a really good one you can recommend that might be able to stand the test of time? Many thanks for you help. Best wishes Elaine Shazzie says Hiya Elaine I usually find that the only thing that restricts people's machine buying is lack of space or money! The Vita-Mix is truly a miracle machine, and is really a food processor and a blender in one. The instruction video explains how to use it as a food processor. However, I personally have the Vita-Mix Super TNC, the Green Power Kempo, a Kenwood Chef food processor with blender and spice mill attachment, a spiral slicer and other gadgets. I use the Vita-Mix every day when at home, at least once. When having raw food making days, I use it about 6-10 times. It's paid for itself in time over and over again. Also, I love the nutritional aspect of the Vita-Mix, as it can shatter the cell walls of the food, which releases more nutrients (and renders cooked nutritionist's arguments useless when going on about raw v cooked tomatoes and lycopene!). Out of all my equipment, I use my juicer the least. I think it's the cleaning of it, but I'm not sure. I love drinking green juice, but it takes me days to work up to it! Again, the thing I love most about the Green Power Kempo is that the juice will stay fresh for up to 48 hours, so you get to clean your juicer less! For what you need, I'd go for the Vita-Mix TNC Super. It'll be your best friend for years to come! Love Shazzie x 17th November 2006 Hi Shazzie, I have been reading your site and I really like it! It is so inspiring. I have been mostly raw for a year now, like 99.9 %. And every time I had cravings and was about to fall off the wagon, I came to your site and read your journal or the before-after stories. Thanks for doing this! I have a question, and I really hope you can give me some idea or support: I have a one year old daughter. She has been breastfed exclusively till she was 8 months old. When she was 8 months, she had her first teeth, and this is when we started introducing some solids. We gave her smashed or blended fruit, mostly banana, avocado, mango and apple. She got very constipated, and I think the problem was that we didn t mix enough water in. We stopped solids again, and went back to breastfeeding, also because we were traveling, and this was much more convenient. Now, we are back, and started on solids again, three weeks ago. She eats mango, banana, avocado, apple, grapes, melon, all blended, but mostly uni-fruit, and some green smoothie. She loves it, and apparently wants to eat more and to try everything. She got terribly constipated again, and we saw a naturopath who gave us some digestive enzymes. These, given twice a day, and Calcium-Magnesium from time to time helps to resolve the problem, but she is still not having regular bowel movements. She has them every 2-4 days. I know that s not to worry, but in between, she is trying, and is having a hard time, and even eats less. Then she has a very hard bowel movement, which is usually quite painful, and she gets it all out. The problem is that she doesn t want to drink water. People tell me she has to drink but I think that with all the fruit, she can t need as much water as a baby you feed pizza or meat (like our friends do it). So, I don t know if this is the problem. And she doesn t seem to be thirsty, because otherwise she would drink. Water is available for her all the time. Also, I know that milk should still be the staple of her diet. The problem is that I am a working mom, and have been pumping at work twice every day for the last 9 months. I have been working part-time, but will have to work more now. Also, there is now some pressure, it is just not that much accepted anymore that I leave a meeting to pump. And if it s a meeting with clients, I just can't leave, so sometimes, I only pump once, which means that my milk supply went down pretty much. Also, she sleeps with me and is still nursing 2-3 times a night. I haven't slept a whole night in a year, and it is really wearing me down. On the other side, I do think that some of this is for real hunger. She is so busy playing during the day, that it is hard to stuff her enough. Also, I can imagine that if you give a baby pizza and meat for dinner (I know, same example but I just find it so terrible), the baby is fuller than a baby that has eaten an avocado. So, I don t really know if I should try to cut out the night time feedings. I don't want to give her formula, and I know that it would be the worst. I don't dare giving her raw goat's milk or another mom's milk either, because it would be all about what the goat or the mom has eaten. And I want her to be raw, because she is so incredible, so much energy, always smiling and friendly. In one year, she only had the typical running nose from the teething and one cold, no fever (I touch wood.) On the other hand, I am really tired and starting to resent the whole situation, which is what I want to avoid. Can you give me some advice? I know that your little girl has been eating raw, and she is so beautiful and gorgeous. How do you make her drink water? Does she need that much water? How did you handle the constipation? How much milk is she still having or how often do you nurse her? Is there anything I can give as a supplement for milk, in case I haven't been able to pump one day? I don't want to stop nursing her, I really enjoy it, and am willing to keep doing this in the morning and nighttime, but can't do it on the day. Also, when did your baby start sleeping through the night? Any advice or idea or support would be very much appreciated. I think I need someone to convince me to keep doing what I have been doing. It is just not the easiest way to feed your baby raw, instead of getting her some prepared food, and sometimes I think I can't do it. But then I see that you do it, and you are on your own, and have a running company, so there must be some hope ;-) Thanks for your time to answer me. I'll send much love and good wishes to you. Keep your web site alive, it is worth it. And please don't stop the journal! Nadja Shazzie says Hiya Nadja Wow. There is so much going on for you right now, I don't know where to start, which I guess is how you feel, too! Bananas are extremely constipating for a young baby. Evie had the same symptoms you described and I just removed bananas from her world until she was a bit older (or I restricted them to a third of one a week for a while). It was too painful to see her suffer. She now eats 4-5 bananas a week and never gets constipated. She does sometimes seem to need a poo for hours before she goes, and if that's at 2am, we're up all night! This gets easier with age rarely happens with us now. Water or other liquid does also help babies poo, and if you're stressed or breastfeeding irregularly (as you are) then there may be an issue with dehydration. Can you feel a dent in the fontanelle (that hole in the skull where the bones haven't yet closed)? If so, then she may well be dehydrated. Evie will rarely drink water, but she has about a litre of coconut juice a day. This has saved my breasts from that constant night sucking and the pain that goes with it. It's also made her super-hydrated. There's a school of thought that certain (crystal and rainbow) children coming to earth now survive more on liquids than solids, and these are likely to be born to parents who won't feed them dense meat, pizza, sprayed food. If your daughter enjoys juice, then get as much as you can down her -- the greener the better, but make it taste great with apples, carrots etc. It's normal for a breastfeeding child to wake 2-3 times a night. Bottle-fed children get artificially expanded stomachs because they don't feel when they need to, so they are oversedated and overstuffed at night. Sleeping through the night isn't normal and certainly shouldn't be desired in a baby. Evie has never slept through the night and probably won't until she's about four. I haven't slept in over two years, it gets easier to handle, believe me! You have to make a decision for yourself. What can you do to get extra rest if you have to work outside the home and you still want to breastfeed at night (which is the best thing to do)? Who can take your daughter for 2 or 3 hours on your day off so you can rest fully and undisturbed? I totally understand you being exhausted, especially as you're expressing your milk. However, there are solutions to every situation if that's what you really want. Try to forget about other people's comments and suggestions and feel your way with your heart through this. You just need to work around your daughter's needs, and then you'll both be happy. Stopping feeding her at night will distress you both, so why try? Regarding the breast pumping at work. It may be worth checking out your country's employment laws. I understand that all breastfeeding mothers are allowed feeding breaks at work, but I don't know the whole story. However, you should be able to schedule this important job into your working day. People who smoke manage to get smoking breaks! Please don't let your milk supply go down as it's hard to get it back up again, and you know that your daughter needs it for some time yet. I think you need to take a few hours out to rest, breathe and gather yourself, as the exhaustion you feel is stopping you breaking down your situation into manageable chunks. Believe that you already have the solution to this, and it will sort itself out. As you say, others manage it, and that's because we're all such strong, capable and loving mothers giving our babes exactly what they need, when they need it. You should be so proud of yourself for doing that! Please let me know how it goes Love Shazzie x 15th November 2006 Hi I just had a question. I am a breastfeeding mother and wanted to know if there were any huge concerns about starting the raw food diet? Lil Shazzie says Hiya Lil I've seen many raw women answer this in many ways. Some say don't go raw because your child will get too many toxins, and others say it's very safe and beneficial to them as they get increased nutrition when you eat better food. I have a wonderful friend who went raw when breastfeeding and she was very ill at the start of her journey. Her son breastfed for four years as she went through deeper and deeper levels of detox. He's the most healthiest child I've ever met -- he's now 8 and mostly raw and very intelligent. If you want to go raw while breastfeeding, then please do it slowly and use detox helpers as much as possible to get the toxins out of your body in ways other than your milk. Colonics, saunas, MSM, clay, green juices, and other helpers will benefit you and your baba. I hope this helps Love Shazzie x 28th June 2006 The following email thread is a lovely success story on how "more natural food" can help a child who isn't flourishing. Published with the mother's kind permission. (30th November 2005) Hello Shazzie (and all the others) My daughter Maya-Li is 10 months old, and since about 5 weeks, she's had one flue after the other, together with coughing and fever and... For 5,5 months, she got breastmilk only, and until 7 months, I breastfed her, together with fruit salads and (cooked) vegetables and potatoes. Later on (under the pressure of family, friends and daycare) she got meat and baby milk (they say it isn't cow, but what is is then?) Since then, the problems started. We already tried to give her milk twice a day, instead of 3 times. Her diet is this now: - morning: 220 ml of baby milk - noon: cooked vegetables, potatoes and meat - afternoon: raw fruit salad + water - evening: 1 piece of fruit and 2 slices of bread + water - before going to bed: 220 ml of baby milk We've already tried to give her freshly juiced apple juice, but she refuses it... Help: what should we do? My question is: you've got a daughter who you feed exclusively raw. What is her diet then? What was it when she was about 10 months? Did you have problems giving her juice? Els and Maya-Li Shazzie says #1 (1st December 2005) Hiya Els I really really sympathise, but I can't offer advice of a medical nature to anyone, let alone a baby. Please go immediately to a natural health practitioner, as you need to identify the cause and make changes immediately so your daughter can feel good and comfortable again. FYI Evie is breastfed primarily, which is very important given her diet. She has a lot of fruit, avos, broccoli, green veg juices, raw food bars, raw chocolate and everything I eat that's not spicy or too hard for her few teeth to deal with. With love Shazzie Els replies #1 (11th December 2005) Thanks for your quick answer! Since about 2 weeks, we changed Maya-Li's diet dramatically, giving her only once a day milk, and giving her a lot of fruit and vegetables. We also started giving her green juice (spinach, cucumber, combined with apple and carrots. At first, this didn't go smoothly, but now she loves it! Thanks very much! She has developed so well since 2 weeks: crawling and being much more happy and healthy! Thank you very much for your advice! Els and Maya-Li Shazzie says #2 (28th February 2006) Hiya Els How's your baby now? Love Shazzie Els replies #2 (1st March 2006)Waw, really great from you to be asking about my daughter! Thanks! Shes much better now! We've stopped giving her cow-milk, and now she gets soy-milk once a day (doctors say that's not enough, but I see that she's got lots of energy, so I don't care what they say). At noon, she does get cooked food (normally vegetables, potatoes and sometimes meat or fish), and in the evening she gets freshly juiced vegetables and fruit, together with some bread. She really loves her juice (about 240cc!) and we make sure she gets a lot of variation. Before she goes to sleep, she gets fresh fruit, in small pieces. Since weve stopped giving her cow-milk, and since weve given her that much fresh fruit and juice, she's been so much better! She doesnt cough anymore, and shes full of energy. She has had 1 child desease already, but she suffered much less that her nieces and nephew (to which she has given the disease: it was contageous ;-) We are so proud of ourselves that we have done what we felt was right, and not what all the doctors said. When I had to bring her to the doctor for a check-up, I told my story, and she believed it, but did not think it was all the raw food that made her well again. She just thought that she would have been better anyway. We didnt argue with her, because we've already experienced that it doesn't matter what we say, western medicine doesnt believe it... But we dont care! I"ve got some more great news: I am pregnant again (10 weeks now!) and I am planning on breastfeeding this baby for a much longer time than I did my daughter (I breastfed her 7 months, until I had to go back to work). If you want, you may put my story on your site, as an extra motivation for parents with younger children. Thanks again for asking! Els and Maya-Li 14th June 2006 Hi Shazzie I just want to say firstly that though you are an inspiration to both men and women, I find the fact that you are such an empowered and insightful women very invigorating. I have read your journals and find the qualities you detail encompass everything I respect and revere. I really tried to embark several times upon a raw journey, but keep slipping back to the familiar comfort eating that has consumed me for the last 10 years. I know that when I eat junk in particular meat, the effect it has on my body is not dissimilar to a poison but I just cannot seem to stop. I feel like such a failure and was wondering whether you could offer me any advice regarding this. Besides the fact that I have gained two stone and feel sanctioned to the house(am only 24), I have no energy, no drive and no motivation and one of the things that shines through your blogs is your zest for life. I long to discover and tap into that energy and relish life. At the moment I just feel fat and worthless. Also I have TERRIBLE pockets of stubborn fat and cellulite and was going to resort to surgery before I found your site...can raw food really rid one of this? Thank you again for bringing this to the mainstream so that people like me may have a chance at a better life - you are truly amazing. Warmest regards Georgia Shazzie says Hiya lovely Georgia Oh, bless you, bless you. I know so many people that felt exactly the same as you do now, yet they found a way out. The way out isn't always about raw food, and for you, you need to really work on your self esteem before altering anything else. Sweetheart, you must start to love and accept yourself, otherwise you're not going to invite change into your life. The great news is that there are many ways you can start to do this today, and I'm sure you've heard of at least some of them. Some people look into a mirror for ten minutes a day, saying "I love you" over and over. Some people do affirmations -- there are many available on the web that you can just print out and read. This web site explains how you can create your own and what language to use. This web site lets you download an affirmation screensaver, to bombard yourself with even more positive information. I have my relevant affirmations on my office door and by my bed, that way I don't allow myself any excuse not to read them! Some people use InnerTalk CDs, a "fast track" way to self love. If they appeal to you, I'd suggets Soaring self-esteem, Freedom from junk food and/or Ending self-destructive patterns. I've been using InnerTalk CDs for about five years now, and to be honest, nothing touches it. My life has been transformed by them over and over again. I'm suggesting all the above before a change in diet because an increase in positive intake, (be it food or thoughts) directly causes a decrease in negative intake. You need to saturate yourself with only good thoughts for a whole week, the actions will just follow with very little effort from yourself. Play positive CDs, success CDs, read books on people who have been successful (in anything, it doesn't matter). Play InnerTalk CDs on repeat at night. Losing weight and feeling great isn't about dieting, it's about attitude, and you can easily alter that when you do the above. It really isn't a struggle. Write down how you feel. Once you've done this week's exercise, continue playing CDs in your sleep, aim to get at least an hour's other conscious positive information in during the day, and keep reading your affirmations. On top of this, treat yourself to a really wonderful raw smoothie at some point in the day. Make sure you put some dark green leafy veg in there, or some green powdered superfood. Do this for a week. Write down how you feel. For the third week, do the same as the week before, but add a large green salad to your evening meal. This may mean that your evening meal is cut in half so you can eat all the salad. Write down how you feel. For the fourth week, do exactly the same as above, and enjoy fresh and dried fruits, especially goji berries each time you want to snack. Write down how you feel. After this week is over, you'll have gone through some major rewiring in your thought patterns. Your outlook will be different, and your body will be reflecting this. Please note that I've never asked you to cut anything out of your diet -- this will happen naturally. Once you've reached this point, I'd suggest you do a short detox from my book Detox Your World. The book explains how to slowly go raw, to the level you want, and offers many detox helpers to get there. Please let me know how it goes. I'm wishing only the best, highest thoughts for you, and have 100% faith that you can love yourself enough to transform yourself. All my love Shazzie x 4th May 2006 Thank you for your wonderful website! I was delighted to find it. I was first inspired to eat raw foods by the 1984 book "Raw Energy" by Leslie & Suzannah Kenton. So my breakfasts have pretty much been raw since then (home-made smoothies or just fruit). But the day goes downhill from there I'm afraid! I have been attracted (and convinced) by a largely-raw lifestyle but being disabled meant that my income was very limited. I couldn't afford a Champion-type juicer or dehydrator and was too ill and non-assertive to deal with my family's doubts about raw food (especially as they often had to make the food for me). I do manage to make nut milks for my children and what they call 'Salad Juice' but that's as far as it goes. However, years of chronic ill-health have convinced me that I have to do something urgently, whether I can afford to or not. I am juicing as regularly as I am able to (physical pain prevents me standing for long) and I have just purchased a Champion juicer from Ebay (been saving for one for years and finally found one I could afford!), which should arrive this week. So I'm determined that I'm going to make the change and start making some 'proper' raw recipes (inspired by your website). Do you think I need a dehydrator? A lot of the recipes I have liked seem to require one. I don't want to go to the expense if it is something I could do with my home oven. If you do think a dehydrator is a necessary part of a raw food lifestyle could you give me some advice on what to look for? I have no idea what the good points and bad points of the various models are. I would be ever so grateful for any advice you could give me. Thank you. Michelle Scott Lancashire, England Shazzie says Hiya Michelle I do admire you for your strength and determination in looking to increase your raw food intake. If you have a garden, please let your edible weeds grow and juice them with your new juicer. The Champion isn't the best for greens, but it will do them. Home grown greens are so much stronger than supermarket and whole food shop greens. They also have the love-home-vibe which is most welcome. Regarding the dehydrator -- no, you don't need one! If you really want to dehydrate foods, you can always use your oven on a low temperature with the the door open. I very rarely eat dehydrated food. I make a fair amount for Evie but she has different nutritional needs to an adult. Personally, I'd spend my money on a good blender. A Vita-Mix or something with the same strength can break down the cell walls of hard vegetables and make all the phytochemicals available to you. If I could only afford one piece of "raw food equipment", I'd go for the Vita-Mix, which may not be what you want to hear after splashing out on a Champion ;-) I wish you luck Much love Shazzie x 4th May 2006 Just wondering your opinions about safe birth control options. Surely pumping one's body full of hormones that didn't grow there in their own cannot be healthy, so that eliminates both pills and the longer-term implants/injections (which just sound so scary anyway). Am definitely not a fan of condoms; it's like getting frisky with a balloon! Plus I find they chafe quite a bit. Chatted with my doc about the assorted options last week and she suggested I consider a new, hormone-free IUD; it is made of plastic with a little bit of copper in it, I guess. This creates a unwelcoming environment for any aspiring little eggies so they won't put down roots; I am guessing it is from a combo of physical presence (the plastic 'T'-shaped item sitting in the uterus) and the copper, maybe changing the pH level? However, I worry about plastic 'leaching' any nasty chemicals on my interior, and the safety of the copper, as well. But perhaps compared to daily hormone dosing, it's still an improvement - ? Would really appreciate your thoughts. Adore your work!!! Love to you and the babe, DC in FL Shazzie says Hiya DC This is a question that many women ask and few raw foodists answer! As you know, a healthy raw diet could make you super fertile, compared to the average person, so you do need to be careful if you really don't want a baby. My lovely poppet was a "mistake" (probably brought on by mega cacao-maca smoothies) though obviously not on all levels ;-) The best contraceptive that I know of is the Persona. If you can be sure that you're going to use the test sticks when required (eight times a cycle), and don't have unprotected sex on "red" days, then you have a 94% chance of avoiding conception (condoms give you a 97% chance of avoiding conception). I honestly believe that all other methods apart from the rhythm method have too many drawbacks to even consider when living a natural life. Er, "getting off and Edge Hill (coitus interruptus)" is a useful method if you can't afford the Persona, but that involves the bloke being aware of this, which is contra to how they're programmed! I'd be particularly cautious of the IUD (any sort) because of the way it lets you accept life, yet doesn't let you keep it. These things cause mini-abortions, which you need to be aware of. If that doesn't ethically worry you, then fine, but if it does, then it rules that method out completely. When talking to women who have IUDs, many of them tell me that they have severe cramping for much of the time it's in there. There are also some horrible side-effects to having an IUD. I personally would never have a piece of plastic or other material sitting in my womb! I hope this helps Love Shazzie x 15th March 2006 Hi Shazzie I hope that you can advise me on what type of foods and supplements you would recommend for a cancer patient. My dad has been diagnosed with renal cancer and has been given 20-40 months to live. I have been scaling allsorts of web sites to find out what kind of things could help prolonge his life. I have looked up a lot of supplements like Cellular Zeolite, Oxy E, MSM, Chinese Mushrooms, CoQ10, Elemental PH, Mps Gold & 3x and Defense capsules the list is endless. Where to get them from is another thing. I don't know where to begin. I attend a college in Hull and a mature lady in my class gave me this address to write too. I do hope you can help me. Sharon, Hull Shazzie says Hiya love Oh, I do so feel for you. It hurts so much when your dad's ill, doesn't it? There are really strict laws about giving information to people about cancer, so I'm really not able to help. However, there are some great web sites and therapists that can. There are also some very expensive treatments that don't help so do be careful. Am trying so carefully to choose my words here, so please read as carefully. If I were you (and I almost am, being another Sharon originally from Hull, too)... I'd start at these places: www.anticancerinfo.co.uk -- a minefield of information on B17 and other nutrients www.ozonetherapy.co.uk -- information and treatment of the oxygen/ozone kind. "Cancer can't survive in an oxygen rich environment" -- Ed McCabe www.thefinchleyclinic.com -- the very lovely, caring and skilled practitioner Mark Lester. Though he also can't and won't make any claims, he can offer therapies and products that may ease your dad's discomfort. These books and videos are really inspiring: Flood Your Body With Oxygen by Ed McCabe Cure for All Diseases by Hulda Regehr Clark Cancer Doesn't Scare Me Any More by Dr Lorraine Day Also, the products you've mentioned are all worth looking into, but you don't need to work out what to do on your own. Please find a practitioner such as Mark to work with, and you may be able to love your father back to health. Please let me know how it goes. Sending you and your dad all my love, healing thoughts and a very special prayer Shazzie x 15th March 2006 Dear Shazzie, I discovered your fantastic, inspiring website after my boyfriend bought me The Complete Book of Raw Food for Christmas, in which your recipes were featured prominently, and I then proceeded to spent the rest of my Christmas vacation reading your old journals and calling the boyfriend up to say "Ooh I just learned something new! Listen to this!" Although it's been nearly impossible to kick-start a raw foods diet with my college student budget and habits, I'm working at it! Anyway, I noticed that your haircolor has gone through stages from light brown to blond to dark reddish-brown (all of which are very pretty on you!), and wondered what sort of haircolor you use. I've heard so much about the damaging chemicals in hair dye, are there natural products that work well? Thanks! Mackenzie Dunn, Connecticut (USA) Shazzie says Hey Mackenzie What a beautiful name! Yeah, I guess I can't just say it's natural can I? I was always a blondie until I turned 11 and I went mousey, which I don't find becoming on myself...! Anyway, it was at that time that I first experimented with hair dye, with the help of my lovely mum. Got suspended from school when we used pink food colouring that wouldn't come out, and had a bee-like stripey effect once which was really unexpected. As time went on I became more sophisitcated, experimenting with that spray in stuff that turns your hair to cotton wool. And I think I even stopped for a few months when I was also growing my body hair. It didn't last long, I like COLOUR! So, here's what I do... If I have time I go to Aveda which is one of the least toxic places. If I don't have time I grit my teeth, do it myself with anything I can find, and eat even more purely in a fruitless attempt to overcompensate for the environmental and ethical travesty that is commercial hair dye. I'm also partial to lemon juice mixed with El Sol, which is how I got so blonde in Spain. Hydrogen Peroxide in small amounts here and there also makes it a bit lighter, but you've got to be careful, as you can go orange and woolly! Much coloured love Shazzie x 8th March 2006 Dear Shazzie i f you have any ideas on this much appreciated because i've been following high raw vegan diet for 22 years and all raw about 6 years and my son is autistic and I have some similar traits, cognitive probs, and as fish oils is one of the things supposed to help but it is supposed to be the epa in the fish oil that is so helpful in these conditions although dha is as well.. do you know which vegan raw foods may contain epa, I know there are some but I haven't been too successful in finding out which ones yet, although I probably will in time I thought you might have some ideas. Thanks Jane Slater Shazzie says Hey Jane Thanks for your question. First of all, please read Jaime's inspiring raw transformation story, where she overcame much of the debilitating effects of autism just by following a raw diet and yoga. You can easily grow the tasty herb purslane in your garden, and that's full of ALA which is converted to DHA and EPA in the body. It's also found in irish moss and wakame, but you'd take in too much iodine before you got enough EPA! Also, about 10% of DHA converts to EPA. The best vegan DHA supplement around by far is O-Mega Zen 3. I've heard that glyconutrients can help autism. There's a good vegan version around now called Advanced Ambrotose. Finally, please check out The Impossible Cure by Amy L Lansky. Amy claims to have cured her son of autism with homeopathy, so I hope the story will be of great benefit for you both. I hope some of this helps you both, I really wish you luck. Much love Shazzie x 8th March 2006 Hi Shazzie I have been doing some research on some changes to my diet and I came across coconut oil. I was wondering what were your thoughts about it. Those who tout it say we should not worry about the high saturated fat content but I am not sure that should be overlooked. I was wondering if you have done any research on coconut oil. Thanks again. Sincerely, Ajit Sakor Shazzie says Hiya Ajit Thanks for this, it's quite timely as I was just having a bit yummy time with a new brand that we'll soon be stocking. It truly tastes exactly like the coconut oil you get when you blend a fresh old coconut up. It's absolutely top! Anyway! Your main concern is about the saturated fat in the coconut. Just as not all cholesterol is bad for you, people are now realising that not all saturated fat is bad for you. Nearly two-thirds of the saturated fat in coconut oil is made of easily digestible medium-chain fatty acids. These are absorbed via the portal vein to the liver, and are then immediately usable by the body as quick energy. This means they're less likely to cause obesity because they have no opportunity to be stored. Long-chain fatty acids have to be emulsified by bile salts in the small intestine before absorption. Continuing with my current breastmilk obsession, check this out. Lauric acid is a main component of human breast milk and it helps protect breastfeeding children from illness. The only other source of lauric acid is coconut! Nearly 50% of the fatty acid content in raw coconut oil is lauric acid. This converts to the fatty acid monolaurin in the body. This is why you'll hear people say that it's anti-viral, anti-bacterial, antii-fungal and anti-yeast. It destroys the lipid membrane of these microbes so successfully, it's currently under investigation for treating AIDS/HIV. When I eat coconut oil, I make sure it's really raw, wild or organic, and is kept out of the light. I store mine in the fridge at home, and have a little bottle for personal use (yeah, I know you can get really personal with it, but I'm actually talking about using it as a face cream, lip balm, hand cream and elbow cream!). You know, if I'm worried about information being false, as you are, I try the products concerned, and feel the effects on my body. You soon get to know what's good for you and what isn't. It's by belief that all the health claims made in favour of coconut oil are true. With love Shazzie x 8th March 2006 Hi there I have been introducing raw foods to my diet for about a year now and wanted to share some history with you and ask for your help if that was at all possible? I am 39, have been food combining since I was 30, started eating organically in 2000, and ate meat very infrequently, say 2-3 times a month, have always eaten fish, a but 1-2 times a week. I attended a Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within event in Feb 05 and went vegan completely then. Since September 05 I have been 80% raw, and since Christmas 05 have been juicing, I have recently been told I am extremely deficient in Vit D, I have had flu and cold like symptoms since November along with 2 ear infections that I have never had before. My skin looks old and saggy and my nails are extremely weak and brittle. What on earth is going on if I have stopped all the awful things in my diet and only eat great food. I will have an ice-cream maybe once a month with my adorable children. I do have a lot of energy, and due to the fact that I have a 16 month old daughter who is not a terrific sleeper and does breast feed, I get very little sleep. I also wanted to know, due to a family member having nut allergies I have been advised by the pediatrician not to feed her nuts until she is older. As so many raw food recipes have nuts, what can I give her to ensure she has all that she needs. (What am I doing wrong?) I really hope you can help me a little. Kind Regards Fiona Shazzie says Oh love! This is a tough one without knowing more about what you eat, so I'll just offer some generic bits of information, and if you've tried them all, then please email me back. If you're deficient in vitamin D, have you now rectified it by taking a supplement? If not, please do. They're really easy to find in wholefood shops. I don't know where you're from, but if you don't get regular sun exposure, then lack of vitamin D could trigger all the symptoms you mention. And if you're deficient in it, then your girl may not get enough to make her teeth form properly, she could have delayed crawling and walking, and she could get an enlarged forehead -- among other things. So please do this immediately if you haven't already. And let's get this "sun exposure causes skin cancer" scare into perspective. The studies our recommendations are based on come from Australia, a hot place with a hole in the ozone layer. Get naked, get outside, and get the sun on all of your body whenever you can, without burning. There's a lot of groundbreaking vitamin D info here. Sometimes when people start eating raw or high raw, they feel so great because of the lack of toxins, that they think their diet must be right, even if it's not great long term. When deficiencies creep in, they just can't understand why. How can someone live on a diet of fast food and not show deficiency signs? The thing is, they do, they're just commonplace deficiencies that we're used to seeing, so we don't think about them as deficiencies. When starting on raw food, you need to make sure you're getting all your vitamins, minerals, EFAs, protein and carbs -- which are all available from raw plant sources. All deficiencies need to be taken very seriously, and acted upon immediately. Obviously it's best if we don't get to that stage in the first place! I personally take Vita Synergy for women, which is fine even when pregnant and breastfeeding. They're the most natural tablets I've found and contain the other vitamin that has people worried: B12. I'm just not prepared to risk becoming deficient in these vitamins, and would rather take those than eat liver and lard or become ill! Your immune system may be battered because of a protein deficiency (you can't make enough antibodies if you don't have enough protein), but as I don't know exactly what you eat, I can't say. If you're not getting much protein, please get some hemp seeds or hemp protein powder and get it down you! If I were you, I'd spend the next few weeks taking some anti-viral products. There are many herbal teas that are great and fine for breastfeeders. I love Pau d'Arco, olive leaf, immunitea and of course mushroom extract. I also take ionic silver, and there are loads more immune boosters out there -- go to your local herbalist or health food shop and ask them. Without much sleep and with a deficiency, please really look at buffering your immune system somehow so you can get back on top form. Regarding your nut question. I don't eat many nuts, and Evie just picks at a few a day, though she has access to as many as she wants. I prefer seeds, and your girl may be OK with these too. In fact there have never been any reports of allergies with hemp seeds, which just happen to be the most nutritious seed available to us! As well as that, you'll get a good quality protein from hemp seed, as well as lots of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll. You can make everything from mylks through to ice cream to burgers with hemp seeds, so talk to your doc and see if they'll be OK to try. Please let him know that there are no recorded cases of hemp seed allergies! I hope some of this helps you, please let me know how you go. With much love Shazzie x 19th February 2006 Dear Shazzie, I eat tons of fruit, veggie juices, soaked nuts and seeds , and salads mostly but I still have very dry skin on my fingers (to the point that little "cracks appear in the skin). Any suggestions? I have "upped" the flax, hemp and Udo's oil and have seen some improvement but perhaps I don't have the right proportions of things? Does this ever happen to you? Love and hugs and kisses, Jean XOXO Shazzie says Dear Jean Thanks for being my first! I'll send you a prize if you email me your address, and that'll help with your question ;-) It looks like you've already worked out what the problem may be, lack of essential fatty acids -- are your heels cracked, too? You may just have to wait for them to kick in, if you've got symptoms such as dry skin on your fingers, you can bet that the rest of your body -- inside and out -- is all going "mine, mine, mine" every time you have some EFAs! You do also need to check that you're getting enough protein. If in doubt, supplement your diet with a raw high-protein powder (Thor's or Hemp protein, for example). Lack of protein can result in dry skin. Several vitamins and minerals are also essential for great skin, but your raw diet will supply all of these amply. However, just humour me by juicing a cucumber a day (mix with apple juice to taste, if you like). Before I was raw, I had such extreme dry skin on my hands that I'd have to wake up in the night to plaster them in cream, and I'd still wake up in the morning with my fingers bent and unable to straighten them! Just before I went raw, I started taking evening primrose oil in quite large amounts, and that really eased it. The EFA in evening primrose oil is quite unique, and certainly helped lots of other bits of me, such as breast tenderness. If I were you, I'd take 2 x dessertspoons a day of Udo's Oil, 5 capsules of evening primrose oil, and add some raw coconut oil to your diet if it's not in there already. In addition, creating a weekly remedial hand mask would be great -- just mix up an avocado with some Udo's oil and E3Live or Crystal Manna, get some rubber gloves, and squish your hands and the mixture inside the gloves. Leave it on for about an hour before washing off and moisturising with more Udo's oil. Me and my mum do this one on our hands, face and feet, and we come out sparkling! I hope this helps, please let me know the outcome! Love Shazzie x 19th February 2006 Hi, I just found out about your web site and saw that Shazzie is a mom of a toddler. I have a 3 months old baby, and although it is still too early to think about her eating solid food, I am looking around and studying what I could feed her once the time has come. For now, I'm breastfeeding. I've been vegan for more than a year now, and at the end, it was around 75% raw. During pregnancy, I got thrown back since I needed more calories. I have been 100% raw for 5 weeks now, and I would like my baby to grow up raw too. But I've heard a lot of critics from other people and have no idea about what to feed a baby/toddler. Can your recommend me books/reading/web sites where I can find more information about this topic? I very much appreciate your answer. Regards, Nadja Shazzie says Hiya Nadja Thanks for this question. I've had many similar requests recently, as my poppet blossoms into a little raw girl. She's been 100% raw all her life, and I'd love it to stay that way. Having a social life in a cooked world is a factor, and I'm constantly thinking of ways around most obstacles! You've done so well with keeping your rawness high throughout such a hormonal time! I know that many women struggle with it, myself included. When I decided to eat cooked food whilst pregnant (because I felt sick when I looked at a salad!), I just thought I should keep away from trans-fats and some other nasties, which was really easy. I also made sure I had lots of vegan DHA and other EFAs, as well as good quality protein. This is equally important when breastfeeding, as the baby's brain needs these things to grow and connect correctly. My good friend and raw mother of 2 raw children, Tish, has just launched a wonderful web site -- full of resources and information for raw parents and children. It's called Radiant Children, and I fully encourage you to read her journal, her ebook and look at the pictures of the children. It's very, very inspiring. There are some lovely natural mothering tips in The Mother, edited by another good friend of mine, Veronika. The magazine isn't 100% raw (it's vegan in its recipe section) , but many raw writers contribute to the magazine (including me from the next issue). A great book on feeding raw children is called Baby Greens by Michaela Lynn with Michael Chrisemer. It's billed as a lively mix of nutrition education, philosophy, recipes and activities for enhancing the relationship between parents, children, and their food. I love the suggestion of growing sprouts in pots around the house for your children to nibble on! Keep an eye on my journal, as I continually write about recipes and foods that Evie's enjoying, so the ideas and inspirations will build up over time. Try not to concern yourself with the comments that other people make. It seems that as soon as you have a child *everyone* has an opinion on how you should bring it up -- even if they don't have one themselves. You are the mother, you have your instinct, you can trust that for your child. So long as your child has enough EFAs, vitamin B12, vitamin D and protein (all possible on a raw diet), and is breastfed for as long as she needs, then she will be healthier than you can imagine. There's something so special and wonderful about being around raw children, that I couldn't imagine it any other way. Mostly, experiment with food textures and shapes for your daughter as she grows. If she turns her nose up at one thing one day, it may just be that she doesn't need it at that time. I offer Evie a smorgasbord of food each day, so she can choose what she needs. She amazes me in that she often goes for marinated vegetables over sweet and juicy fruit! Finally, I've found that making a green juice for us both most days has been happily accepted by Evie. She can drink really bitter ones, and loves them! When she has lots of them, her skin shines so bright, that I feel if I turned the light off, I'd look like I had a little alien in the room! Good luck with this, please keep me updated with how you get on. With love Shazzie x Detox Your World My online shop, based in the UK, sells all over the world. Offers stuff to keep your life lovely! 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