The 15 most effective things you can do to dramatically boost your health and immune system TODAY

by Frederic Patenaude

I noticed that I’ve been talking a lot about raw foods and more “advanced” topics, but without revising the basics. The following is a list of reminders for what I consider to be some of the most important steps you can take to dramatically improve your health starting today.

Make no mistake: if you choose to follow all of the steps listed below, you will completely TRANSFORM your health for the better.

You’ll notice however a lot of “negatives” in my list. That’s because I believe that what you DONT eat is much more important than what you DO eat. This is not a “feel-good”, watered down, “comfort zone” advice like the type that is so common nowadays in magazines and diet books.

Things like “eat some blueberries every day” or “eat some green vegetables” will not dramatically change your health. But follow the steps below, and you can expect some amazing results!

I don’t have time or space in this short article to cover all the details however. For more in depth info on what to eat, check out the Raw Health Starter Kit at www.fredericpatenaude.com/starterkit.html

1- Avoid caffeine. In short: caffeine is a drug and a stimulant. The energy you feel from it is a “fight or flight” response to the drug, not true energy. Overtime, consuming caffeine every day burns out your adrenal glands and leads to having less energy, less concentration, headaches, constant pains, depression, and other problems.

Don’t believe the hype! Drinking two or three cups of coffee a day is not “moderation”. Having a drug every single day is never being moderate. Some people are extremely sensitive to caffeine and even the slightest amount will upset their system.

To get off the bean, do it progressively over two weeks using Teeccino (www.teeccino.com) or another herbal (non-caffeinated) tea. When you’re clean, having an occasional cup of green tea and whatnot and then NOT having any for a while will bring a stimulation that can be useful at times, and if you give yourself enough time to recover you will be okay. Just make sure you never get in the habit of consuming caffeine regularly.

2- Eat green smoothies. It’s simple: eating green smoothies is the single best way to transform your diet overnight! Starting today, whether you’re raw or not, replace your breakfast with a giant green smoothie. Make it mild at first, using more fruit than greens. For some ideas and recipes, go to www.fredericpatenaude.com/greenforlife.html

3- Eliminate dairy products. Dairy is a conglomerate of foreign proteins the body can barely process. Research has demonstrated that dairy consumption is linked to increased rates of cancer, osteoporosis (isn’t that interesting?) and other nasty diseases. And YES, that includes all dairy products, including yogurt. Goat products are better, but still not health foods and are not part of a healthy diet.

4- Eliminate meat, fish, eggs and animal products. Excessive animal protein and saturated fat intake leads to all kinds of diseases. All animal products are a culprit, including eggs and fish. How much is too much? Most long-lived cultures ate meat less than 2-3 times a month, and in relatively small amounts. Any more than that is likely to create long-term health problems. You might find it easier to just say “no” and avoid them altogether.

5- (If you still) Cook without oils — Eliminate ALL oils, including olive oil, hemp oil and flax oil. There’s never any reason to consume pure fat in its refined form, no matter how much it’s marketed as a health food! Get your omega 3’s from whole foods like avocados or hemp seeds.

6- Cut the fat! Too much fat in the diet causes insulin resistance. It lowers your health and vitality, and causes candida and other health problems. Limit quantities of avocado, nuts, seeds and other whole food sources of fat to less than 15% of total calories. Fat is fat, whether it’s raw or not!

7- Avoid fake and industrialized foods — It goes without saying! If it comes from a factory, then it’s suspicious, no matter what it is. This includes raw labeled products that are more than likely not actually raw.

8- Eat more fruit. Take massive fruit action! Become a fruit expert. Learn everything you can about fruit. Become a fruit connoisseur the same way some people are wine connoisseur. Try all the exotic varieties, and decide what you like best. Replace your lunch with a fruit meal, and make sure you eat enough to hold you for several hours (that might be more than you think).

9- Eliminate gluten-containing foods, and watch out for grains. A good percentage of the population is either gluten-sensitive or gluten-intolerant. That might be you. Gluten is a protein found in many grains — mainly wheat. Overall, it’s better to avoid grains entirely and instead have fruits and root vegetables. Most grains are slightly acid-forming, while fruits and roots (including potatoes) are alkaline forming. The best of all grains are: brown rice, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa (if you insist on keeping grains in your diet)

10- Go raw! Try going 100% raw and eliminate all cooked foods in your diet for a period of time. Enjoy the experience by trying out new low-fat recipes every day like smoothies, juices and savory salad dressings!

11- Don’t eat out. Foods at restaurants, no matter what it is, are loaded with salt and fat. If you must eat out, stick with a few simple choices such as salad with dressing on the side, fruit, vegetables, or low fat dishes (rice or potato based).

12- Start a manageable exercise program. Exercise is a necessity! Studies have shown that when we skip even just TWO days of exercise, there is a noticeable and measurable decline in health, especially in your insulin sensitivity (the ability of insulin to carry Sugar to the cells). For exercise to work, it has to be fun! Pick and exercise you like, and remember that doing *something* always beats doing nothing every time.

13- Identify stressors in your life, eliminate them! Stress is a killer, and probably the biggest cause of disease besides diet. A little stress is good (like exercise), as long as it’s accompanied by proper recovery. Identify the unnecessary stressors in your life and work and eliminating them. (This is a topic for another, much longer article!)

14- Optimize your sleep. Most people need at least 7 hours of sleep per night, but rarely more than 9, unless they are training or otherwise recovering. There are several tricks and techniques to optimize your sleep. The most important one is to give yourself enough time to sleep, and don’t abruptly wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle with an alarm clock.

15- Fast! Fasting is often the fastest way to improve your health, but a long fast must be supervised. Fasting should be synonymous with resting, so a long fast is really a long “rest” to give your body all the energy it needs to heal. A short fast of 2-3 days is something most people can do on their own and can quickly jumpstart your health. Any longer than this and you should seek out the help of a trained professional.

Want more information to get started on the raw food diet or optimize your existing raw program? Check out the Raw Health Starter Kit at: http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/starterkit.html Use the coupon code ICELAND to get a discount (coupon expires soon).