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Raw Food Health and Balance with Caroline Cain

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Caroline Cain

Raw Food Health and Balance with Caroline Cain

– Q&A with Caroline Cain, Reflexologist & Naturopathic Nutritionist BA, BSoR

After practicing Reflexology for a couple of years, reflexologist Caroline Cain realized that she needed another tool to really be able to help clients bring their bodies back into balance.

The chemical balance in our bodies is hugely affected by the fuel we give our ‘body machine’ – the food we eat and how it is processed by the body – which affects both physical and emotional health.

Currently studying Nutritional Therapy and Naturopathic techniques so that she can offer a more complete set of tools for you to find harmony in body mind and spirit, Caroline shares with us an intimate Q&A on her own personal journey to raw health.

It is Caroline’s hope, as well as ours, that her raw journey will benefit and inspire your own journey to greater, greener health!

As Caroline herself would say,But oh my how things get better as they get greener!”

Greener is Better! THANK YOU, Green Fairy-Godmother!!

Q.  Tell us the story of how your journey to whole foods, raw foods and/or green smoothies first began.

A.  I’ve always dabbled in whole and raw foods, thinking that sliced brown bread and a big mixed salad or plate of lettuce every now and then was it. I had heard of smoothies but thought they were just something to be had at fashionable beach locations. That is, until about 2 years ago, when I started my education in nutritional healing both due to my personal passion and interest in health and also to complement my business as a Holistic Reflexologist.

I wanted to give my clients more concrete advice to work on in between treatments to help them achieve greater results. Honestly, I didn’t think that my own health would change this dramatically – I wasn’t aware that my health wasn’t as good as it could be. But oh my how things get better as they get greener!

Over the last couple of years I have, seemingly imperceptibly, migrated towards an entirely whole REAL foods (no processed or packaged foods), ovo-vegetarian, mainly often high raw diet with daily green smoothies or juices (depending on my mood and what’s in the kitchen).

Fresh Whole Raw FigsI don’t know how it happened. Thank you, wherever you are, Green Fairy Godmother!

Debilitating Menstrual Cramps Hit the Green Highway

Q.  What are the best things you’ve experienced in your physical health since adding in more fresh fruit and veg, and whole/raw foods?

A.  Along my green journey I have kicked to the curb: debilitating menstrual pains that had me spending at least one day in bed each month, doubled up in pain, swallowing pain killer after pain killer, hating my own body for ‘dysfunctioning’; uncontrollable energy slumps mid afternoon and again in the evening now replaced by an energy full of –green- beans!; yo-yo weight issues, accompanying complexes, binge eating, & hating mirrors.

My weight is consistently stable (I don’t own scales), I have sincere confidence and truly love myself just the way I am. ‘Hate the way I look’ days only last minutes now and are few and far between!

Goodbye Blue Moods…  Hello Green Smiles!

Q.  What other benefits have you experienced?

A.  No more drastic mood swings! (I’m a woman, not a robot, I still get ripples of emotion but they’re not tidal waves anymore.)

Caroline CainProlonged bouts of feeling down, depressed and totally disconnected have been replaced by exponentially increasing joy, positivity and lust for life!

And a more conscious, compassionate connection to nature, the world around and my fellowship of (wo)man.

No more regular visits to the doctor’s office due to colds, flus, bronchitis and headaches, either! I have the knowledge now to support my body through minor ‘healing crises’ when they do pop up.

Raw Heroes, Inspiration, and Information

Q. Let us know some of the people and books that have been an inspiration and source of information for you on this journey.

A.  My gorgeous friend Raw Lou Lou has inspired me no end with her recipes, friendship and encouragement. I used to ‘cook’ cereal for dinner. Raw Lou Lou got me in the kitchen experimenting and enjoying the scrumptious world of raw food.

My tutors at The Nutritional Healing Foundation for their amazing teaching.

My boyfriend, close friends, family and clients for joining me on this journey towards optimal health and for reflecting that making changes is possible and empowers us to create a healthier, happier life. Seeing improvements in the lives of those around me as well as my own is immensely inspiring for me.

Bruce Lipton’s The Biology of Belief. The above changes would not have been possible through food alone, without an increased presence and consciousness of mind. The two are intimately connected. We absolutely create our reality. What a blessing that we get to decide, that we are not ruled by our genes and inheritance. Taking responsibility can be a chore or life’s greatest blessing.

Paul Pritchard’s, Healing with Whole Foods. It contains everything, about everything.

Dr Robert O Young & Shelley Redford Young’s The pH Miracle.

And all the other health books that keep my bookshelf firmly anchored!

A Day In The Life Of A High Raw Food Diet

Q.  What’s a typical day of eating like for you?  What are some of your favourite things to prepare?  What are your must-haves that you enjoy every day?

A.  On waking: lemon in hot water or green juice before meditation.

Breakfast: Either a green smoothie – this is my chance to get all my superfoods in in one go! Or raw soaked buckwheat porridge. I like using superfoods but don’t go crazy with them as there are so many ‘regular’ superfoods to get friendly with, such as broccoli and sprouts.

Lunch: Big mix of raw veggies, sprouted lentils (LOVE sprouting!), sprinkled with nori seaweed flakes or arame (I hide these in the food as my boyfriend isn’t too keen on them ;D.

Fermented Veggies and Cucumber KimchiI lived in Asia as a child and used to eat seaweed during break time), dressing (e.g tahini, olive oil, miso paste, cumin, turmeric, coconut or flaxseed oil) and a spoonful of fermented veggies – we’re addicted to cucumber kimchi at the moment.

Snack: Chia pudding with seasonal fruit, cinnamon, vanilla powder and a sprinkling of goji berries (they’re just so pretty!).

Dinner: Half-raw veggie burgers – we cook beans then add raw juice pulp, herbs and spices served on a bed of baby spinach.

Dessert: I’m half French. Desserts are a big thing and a very hard habit for me to break. This is where I really got into raw foods as I discovered how fast and tasty raw desserts are to make. My favourite is a banana/raw cacao/coconut oil mousse (which I also use as a facemask – try it, you are guaranteed to have super soft skin afterwards. Or use avocado, I just don’t like avocado in a mousse) or ice-(no)cream by freezing the bananas beforehand. I also like to whizz up a raw applesauce with cinnamon in the blender.

What is Reflexology?

Q.  You specialize in supporting people through reflexology.  For those of us who aren’t familiar, how would you describe what reflexology is and how it can optimize health.

A.  Reflexology is a science (not to be confused with foot massage) that deals with the principle that there are reflex areas in the feet that correspond to all the glands, organs, systems and parts of the body. Proper stimulation of these reflexes can release congestion, stimulating individual parts and entire systems to encourage healing.

Reflexology optimizes health by helping the body to regulate itself naturally through increased blood and nerve circulation and boosting the lymphatic system to aid detoxification. It is a gentle yet very effective method, which supports the body’s own natural healing potential.

The Spark of Inspiration and New Life

Q.  You help people to get healthy and in balance before they become pregnant, and offer natural fertility support.  What sparked your inspiration to offer support to people in this way?

A.  Specializing in preconception preparation and fertility support chose me, rather than the other way around.

Quite early on I started having more and more clients choosing reflexology to support their fertility journey, through word of mouth and usually because conception was not happening as quickly as they had hoped. Although I often support couples going through assisted reproductive techniques and believe that reflexology is an essential support on this journey, I am also passionate about helping couples boost or regain their own natural fertility, preferably beginning this process before trying to conceive.

Life is hard enough as it is and there are so many physical and psychological illnesses that we can prevent passing on to the next generation by ensuring that we ourselves are in tip top health, creating the healthiest possible egg and sperm before conception. What greater gift is there for our children than an optimal basis for health and happiness? Not to mention that the business of making babies is also a spiritual one that needs to be nourished and nurtured with appropriate preparation.

My dream is to help and inspire as many couples as possible to regain and maintain their natural fertility and in so doing, consciously create the healthiest, happiest babies possible.

Fresh Fig and Almond Milk Smoothie… Mmm.

Q.  Share with us your absolute favorite smoothie recipe that you’re loving at the moment. 

A.  My latest discovery holds a sweet spot in my intestinal tract at the moment…Fig and Almond Milk SmoothiesFresh Fig and Almond Milk smoothie!  And we hand picked the figs ourselves from a friend’s garden!

It’s grown with love, hand picked with love, blended with love, appropriately chewed and sipped with love, sitting in the summer sun with my love!

Thanks so much for all you’ve shared, Caroline!

To find out more about Caroline and her practice, please visit her blog and web page at http://www.carolinecain.dk.