Namasteman

Living Food Lifestyle

An Interview with Mark Naseck

By Anna Lambert (The Tucson Food Conspiracy Co-op Newsletter, February 1999)

I first met Mark Naseck while doing some volunteer work for the produce department. I was creating recipe sheets to highlight ways to use some of the lesser-known vegetables, and the then-manager, Byron, asked me to include some live food recipes for each of the vegetables. I had not met Mark, but when I called him about my project, he immediately invited me to come to his house with veggies to create some different dishes. We had a great time playing with the produce, creating tastes and textures which were really new to me, and which my body really liked.

Mark’s approach to food is as alive, energetic and joyous as the energy of the ingredients. He’s a great bridge, in that he teaches way in which live foods, and the transition to incorporating more of them into our diets, can be workable and fun. I cook for myself, my husband, and two children, and while as a family, we have been eating vegan, organic foods for some time, I have found it challenging to introduce the new textures, tastes and energies of these foods. For our family, it is appearing to be a gradual process, but what I notice is that each family member is expressing how they want more of it, and each family member is experiencing physical and emotional changes as the result of what we have so far incorporated. My body says, “Yes!”, and so I share the following interview as the first in a series of articles highlighting different individual’s food practices, philosophies and recipes for conscious eating.

How did you first discover live foods?

I was living on the East coast and I was working as a mortgage banker. My hay fever was very intense, and I was getting a lot of bloody noses. A western medical doctor wanted to cauterize my nose, and in my mind I thought, “Great, he wants to cure the symptom, what about the problem that’s creating the symptom? I knew I had to find someone who could help me with the problem. A friend of mine who was into health and nutrition said I should have Vitamin K, which was in dark leafy greens, to allow the blood to coagulate. So I did that and went to a holistic practitioner who took me off dairy, and off all fermented foods. Basically, he put me on a candida diet, to eliminate molds and sugars in my body so candida yeast could not grow. Within 2 weeks of being on this diet, the hay fever and bloody noses stopped and I had a lot more peace of mind. That was the beginning of seeing how powerful diet can be, and yet, so simple. This was the catalyst for my learning more about health and nutrition.

As my interest in health and nutrition peaked, I read an article about detoxifying the body from chemicalized foods and poisoned air and water and decided to do a detox with wheat grass juice, sprouts, fruits and greens. I did this for two weeks, and in that time, I experienced feeling very light-headed, nauseous, a loss of mental clarity, and low energy. After my initial two weeks of dumping toxins out of my body, I maintained a live food diet (fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, sprouts — nothing heated above 118 degrees) and my energy was very strong, my mind became very focused and clear, like never before. I needed very little sleep and my senses became very heightened. Colors became very alive and I had a very deep sense of peace and well-being. I have maintained this diet for the past ten years, and in the beginning, when I began to eat cooked food again, instantly, I had a loss of energy and became sleepy. After including living foods in my lifestyle, I feel like I have added a minimum of ten years to my life, and at the present time, my quality of life is much more enhanced. I have dedicated myself to teaching people how to improve their own health and well being with live foods, yoga and energetics.

What is live food?

Live food is food that is rich in enzymes, vitamins, and life force (i.e., Prana, Chi, Light, Consciousness, Pure Energy, Ki, Free Energy, Cosmic Energy). Foods containing the most life force are organically grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides. Living foods are sprouted seeds, nuts, and legumes, fruits, vegetables, seaweeds and fermented veggie krauts. A very important aspect of these foods is they must stay under 118 degrees F. or 40 degress C to maintain their life force. Foods heated above these temperatures lose their enzymes, vitamins and life force. Some benefits one receives in eating living foods are tapping into higher vibration, and self-healing on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. The healing and spiritual energies in the universe lie within. Live foods enhance and open channels of energy (meridians) to flow freely within the bodies. Other benefits include feeling more energy, needing less sleep, strengthening the immune system, oxygenating the body and its blood, more flexibility, increased libido, feelings of great inner peace, self-love and compassion. Live foods are vegetarian and vegan. Choosing to include Live Foods in you lifestyle will create a very transformational space with the potential to change your life in a very powerful and positive way. Feel your feelings, acknowledge your emotions, breathe slowly and deeply, trust, remember, and know it’s all perfect. Be gentle and love self. Listen and trust intuition. Be open to magic and miracles.

How would a person begin implementing live foods into their lifestyle?

First, I would recommend someone drinking one to two ounces of wheatgrass juice daily (freshly juiced is the ultimate, as the enzymes dissipate within 20 minutes) One ounce of wheatgrass juice contains the same amount of vitamins and minerals as 2 1/2 lbs of vegetables. “In the future, man will use the sunshine elements of plants to regenerate and heal the human body.” -George Crile, M.D. Wheatgrass is believed to be a drink from the fountain of youth.

I recommend fruits, seed/nut milks, and smoothies for breakfast, green salads with avocado for lunch, and seed pates, fermented foods (veggie kraut), and salad for dinner. I’ve included some recipes below for your first days’ journey into live foods.

As director of the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico, I have witnessed many profound transformations of people with lupus, candida, cancer, food allergies, colitis, arthritis, diabetes, AIDS and man other dis-eases. I am available for personal consultations to customize a nutritional lifestyle program for your body’s needs and constitution. Namaste.

Here are some recipes using organic foods to get started with a live lifestyle:

Sunny Smoothie

2 apples
2 bananas
3 pitted dates
1 cup sunflower seeds (soak overnight in water)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup water
Blend water and sunflower seeds together. Add remainder of ingredients and blend. Serve in your favorite large glass and drink outside while the sun shines on you and your sunny smoothie!

Simply Soothing Salad & Sauce

Baby green lettuce, 6 oz
1 ripe avocado

1 ripe tomato 1 green zucchini
1 cucumber
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari
fresh dill and basil, 1 teaspoon each, chopped
Mush avocado in bowl. Add vinegar, tamari and seasoning. Mix.

Creamy Cucumber Dill Soup

3 cucumbers
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/2 bunch fresh dill
1 tablespoon umeboshi vinegar
1 tablespoon wheat-free tamari
In a food processor with s-blade, puree cucumbers and pour into blender pitcher. Blend with remainder of ingredients. Serve room temperature and enjoy!

Pate

2 cups soaked, blanched and peeled almonds
1/4 cup beet juice
1/4 teaspoon celtic salt
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
To blanch almonds, boil 4 cups of water. Shut off heat. Put soaked almonds in boiling water and let sit for 3 minutes. Immediately drain hot water and rinse with cold water. Peels will easily slip off. Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth consistency. With hands, mold into a heart shape and serve with soup.

“Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.” –Hippocrates