Ann Wigmore developed the Living Foods Lifestyle® to overcome disease and improve the quality of life. She believed that there are two main causes of disease: deficiency and toxemia. Deficiency means that our bodies are undernourished because we cannot get the nutrients we need from undigestble cooked food. Toxemia is a term used to describe poisons that are stored in the body. These toxins are formed from eating unnatural, processed, and pesticide-tainted foods, as well as through destructive emotions and stress. Living Foods, which are easy to digest and rich in nutrients, combat this deficiency. The Living Foods Lifestyle® also addresses the problem of toxemia: when the body isn't using all its energy to digest food, it can turn to other tasks, such as releasing stored toxins and healing.

Living Foods are preferably organically-grown foods consumed in their original, uncooked state. Living Foods are prepared without cooking because cooking destroys the enzyme life force. The Living Foods Lifestyle® is vegan: it uses no meat, dairy, or any other animal product.

However, Living Foods are not simply raw foods. Because many people cannot digest raw foods, Living Foods are prepared in a way that makes them easy for the body to assimilate and extract optimal nourishment. Living Foods include young greens; sprouted nuts, seeds, and grains; cultured preparations; and dehydrated foods. Fresh wheatgrass juice adds an unparalleled level of nutrition, vitality, and health.

Energy Soup
The cornerstone of the Living Foods Lifestyle® is Energy Soup, a blended mixture of greens, sprouts, vegetables, Rejuvelac, and dulse. Energy soup is a complete meal, containing every nutrient in a balanced form that the body needs. When she developed the Hippocrates diet, Ann Wigmore advocated juicing fruits and vegetables as a way to obtain optimal nourishment. However, in her later years, she became a proponent of blending foods rather than juicing them. The only juices she used were watermelon and wheatgrass. She believed that juices can be too cleansing for most people's bodies. "Blending helps the body to clean itself and thus it restores health much quicker than just eating the foods as salads, yet it does not overtax the system with the rapid cleansing action of juices," she wrote. "Also, juices do not contain fiber. Separating the fiber and other elements from the juice results in a food that is not as balanced as Nature would have it."

Wheatgrass
Another key component of the Living Foods Lifestyle® is freshly juiced wheatgrass. Wheatgrass juice is an effective healer because it contains chlorophyll, all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. Wheatgrass is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein.

As a child, Dr. Ann learned about natural healing from her grandmother, who used plants, grasses, and herbs to heal soldiers injured in World War I. When, at age 50, she learned she had colon cancer, she turned to raw greens, blended seeds, and grains. Within a year, she was cancer-free. She began researching the healing properties of grasses, and soon settled on wheatgrass as her main focus. The Living Foods Lifestyle® uses wheatgrass as a nutritious elixir, as well as for colon cleansing.

Rejuvelac™
Rejuvelac™, a drink made from cultured wheatberries or other grains, is one of the most important elements in the Living Foods Lifestyle®. Because it contains a high level of enzymes, it aids in digestion. Rejuvelac™ replaces the missing enzymes that cooked foods have taken out. It contains friendly bacteria that is necessary for a healthy colon, which helps to remove toxins. It also is filled with vitamins B, C, and E, as well as enzymes.

Living Foods Lifestyle(®): Why the trademark(®)?
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