| COVER STORY
by Lyle Hurd, editor of totalhealth
CAROL ALT
Over the past quarter of a century, Carol Alt has been scrutinized by the cameras of some of the
world’s greatest photographers and by the public eye. Touted as the model who started the supermodel
trend, it is estimated that her face has graced between 600 and 700 magazine covers. Over
the past 25 years of her career, she has also become highly visible through numerous advertising
campaigns, commercials, endorsement contracts, hosting jobs, talk show interviews, television
series, and films. Her work has been recognized by numerous industry groups, including the
Monaco Film Festival for her portrayal of the life story of Rosanna Benzi—a woman with genetic
polio living in an iron lung in the film A Vice for Life.
In her first book, Eating in the Raw: A Beginners Guide to Getting Slimmer, Feeling Healthier, and
Living Longer the Raw-Food Way, Alt explains how we can achieve our goals of feeling healthier, getting
slimmer, and looking younger by embracing a raw food lifestyle. She defines raw food and
explains why eating raw is more beneficial than cooked. She goes into detail on how to buy and prepare
raw foods and how to eat raw when you are dining out. She also provides recipes for breakfast,
lunches and dinners rich with life-improving qualities.
In order to give her readers a comprehensive insight into the
critical imperatives of including raw foods in their diet, Carol
asked her personal physician and totalhealth contributor
Nicholas J. Gonzalez, M.D. to write the forward to her book. The
following is a synopsis of Dr. Gonzalez’s message:
“This book tells the story of raw food—why it is beneficial and
how to begin the raw food journey. Before that journey begins,
however, I’d like to share some insights into the science behind
raw food, explaining just how eating raw affects the body the
way it does. And it all has to do with enzymes.
“Enzymes are protein catalysts, that is, a molecule that
allows a chemical reaction to occur efficiently, with a minimal
amount of energy needed to get the process, whatever it may
be, going.
“Enzymes do many things, both within our cells and without.
They help produce chemical energy to fuel our cells and their
many varied activities. Our immune cells, our neurotrophils and
lymphocytes, use enzymes to attack and kill bacteria, viruses,
and fungi, as well as dangerous cancer cells that some scientists
believe form everyday in all of us. In the nucleus, another
set of these unusual proteins allows DNA to repair itself from the
ravages of free radicals and other toxic assaults, and, in fact,
without certain enzymes our genetic material could not duplicate
itself as needed to cell division. That’s a pretty important
assignment, when you consider that, for example, the lining of
the intestinal tract replaces itself every five days, and without these
nuclear enzymes such efficient turnover would be impossible.
“And outside the cells in the stomach and in the small intestine,
digestive enzymes such as pepsin and sucrase released by
the gut lining help break down proteins and carbohydrates to
jump start the digestive process. And importantly, at the back of
the upper abdomen sits the pancreas, a most powerful gland
that produces insulin to regulate sugar metabolism, and
dozens of enzymes without which efficient digestion would be
impossible.
“It would be helpful, however, if we could get our enzymes
preformed, premade, ready to go to work, without always having
to start from scratch. It would save time, effort and energy.
“There is a way, of course, and that way is from our food. But,
as we shall see, only from raw food. Enzymes are indeed wonderful
molecules, extraordinarily complex in their design and in
their behavior, but like most proteins, they are very sensitive to
heat. At around 106–107 degrees Fahrenheit, enzymes begin
deteriorating, and above 116 degrees, most denature, that is,
they become completely inactive, unable to do anything useful
in the cell. That’s why fevers above 107 degrees F are generally
deadly, because at that point our enzymes start self-destructing
throughout all our tissues.
“So, when you cook food, be it fruit, vegetable, nut, seed,
grain, egg, dairy, fish, poultry, meat—all the enzymes are gone
very quickly. The body can in the digestive tract use its own
enzymes to break these denatured proteins down into the component
amino acids, absorb them as such, then put them back
together into brand new enzymes—a process that is again, time
and energy consuming, and basically reinventing a very complicated
wheel.
“In our office today, we utilize enzymes to establish and
maintain health, as well as for a component against cancer and
other degenerative diseases. We have already completed our
first clinical trial in which we treated patients with advanced
pancreatic cancer with large doses of proteolytic enzymes.
Fortunately, the results were substantial enough to warrant a
National Cancer Institute—National Center for Complementary
and Alternative Medicine grant, to study our approach in a
large-scale clinical effort.
“I was pleased when I learned that my friend Carol Alt
intended to write a book about raw foods, and how a raw foods
approach made such a difference in her own health. Her personal
story is inspiring, and I always think it useful when ideas
that have remained largely hidden are brought into the open for
discussion and review. I admire Carol, as busy as she is, for
taking the time to share, in her own way, what raw foods and
enzymes have done for her. I wish her well with her effort, and
continued good health.”
TH: Carol, welcome to totalhealth. Our mutual friend and medical
advisor, Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez, informed me that Eating in
the Raw is an important guide for any individual concerned with
achieving wellness in our toxic society. Also that we should definitely
consider your journey for our cover story. He was right on
both counts. The book is of real value to anyone interested in
optimum health, and from the engaging photo on the cover it
seems you haven’t aged a day over the past 10 years.
Carol: Thank you on both counts. If I really don’t look much different
than I did 10 years ago, I attribute both my appearance
and my health to one decision: to eat raw food.
It was a necessary decision with some very pleasant, added
benefits. In addition to transforming my health and having a
positive effect on my appearance, eating raw has made me feel
amazing.
I always feel satisfied—something very few people, much
less models, can say. I feel happy and healthy, and I am. I feel a
sense of there being a great deal of variety in my life and a
quality of abundance I didn’t know before. I feel beautiful and
youthful in a way that I didn’t when I was much younger and
eating all the dead garbage that most of us eat. I feel creative,
innovative, clearer, and, yes, different in a way that lets me know
I’m doing something for myself that isn’t ordinary, run-of-the-mill,
or boring. Eating raw just feels right.
And it shows. People remark that they sense a vitality in me
that they didn’t in the days before I began eating this way. They
see a life in me that they didn’t see before because, in fact, it
wasn’t there before.
TH: Please explain the comment “they see a life in me they
didn’t see before.”
Carol: Eating is now exciting for me everyday, and I’m never
hungry.
For anyone in the public eye, and especially anyone who
makes their living in large part based on how they appear, eating
tends to loom large in life. It becomes more than something you
do to satisfy (or sadly, not satisfy) a hunger. Because your diet
can determine what you weigh, how you look, how you feel, and
the image you convey, it all too easily can become a focal point
of your life.
Models and actors are dogged by the food they consume.
Many diet incessantly. And the world follows, yearning to have
the abs of so-an-so or the butt of what’s-her-name.
I‘m one of the fortunate few who no longer find themselves
struggling, and I thank God for that. I never worry about
whether I should eat or not. I never skip a meal, I never crave
food, and I never feel guilty.
Before eating raw I was sick a lot. I mean I really didn‘t feel
well. I struggled with the chronic, bothersome health issues that
most people think are normal. We simply pop a pill and go on
our way. I had acid indigestion all the time and ate Tums like
candy. I had headaches two or three times a week. My sinuses
were a mess. The fear of colds and flu plagued me. The list goes
on and on.
Since I started eating raw all these problems have cleared up.
I‘m healthier than ever. I rarely if ever get sick. And I look different.
Without trying to, I look and feel better, healthier, and younger
than I did when I was eating cooked food. I‘m at peace with food
and eating. I feel entirely different—and it‘s all for the better.
Also I‘m not the only one. Recently, great deal of attention
has been paid to celebrities who have started eating raw food.
You‘ve heard the names Demi Moore, Pierce Brosnan, Donna
Karan, Woody Harrelson, Alicia Silverstone, Bill Cosby, Edward
Norton, Sting, and Anthony Kiedis. Some eat only raw; others
eat raw food off and on as best they can. These are just a few of
the people who are eating raw.
TH: Please give us an overview of your goals for Eating in the Raw.
Carol: Each person has different reasons for eating raw. Some
do it for beauty, some for health, some to live out a personal philosophy.
If you aren‘t a raw foodist, you may simply be curious
what all this talk of raw food is about. In the pages of my book I
tell my story. I‘ll share how I started eating raw and how my life
has changed in the eight years since then. We look at what raw
food is, why I think you should eat it raw rather than cooked, and
what the health benefits can be. I help you learn how to buy and
prepare raw foods, figure out how to eat raw when you‘re on the
road or going out with friends, and I answer some of the
common objections to eating a diet of raw food that wellintended
people have and are sure to express.
TH: How complicated or restrictive is it to make the change to a
raw food diet?
Carol: In case you‘ve been wondering, I don‘t have a personal
chef. I don‘t have an on-site nutritionist. I don‘t have a staff of
raw foodists who surround me everyday. I don‘t own my own
raw restaurant or have my meals catered morning, noon, and
night. I work. I have family and a life beyond the glamour of
movie sets and runways and designer evening wear. And, like
you, I spend much of my time with people who do not eat raw.
You don‘t need to become a hippie or adopt an Eastern religion
to eat raw. People have eaten raw foods throughout the
ages. You probably eat a few simple raw foods now. But because
cooking has become the most common way food is made palatable,
you only eat a small portion of your food uncooked. People
think eating a raw diet is all about having endless boring salads.
Let me assure you, I eat a lot more than salads, and I don‘t go
hungry—ever!
The fact is that we are at a particularly opportune crossroads
with food. Now more than ever we can find fresh, healthy foods
nearly anywhere at any time of year. Yes, there‘s nothing like
nutrition-filled fresh, locally grown foods in season. I think of a
salsa made from New Jersey tomatoes just off the vine or, when
I‘m in L.A., guacamole made from avocados that are bursting
ripe straight off the tree in summertime. My mouth‘s watering
just thinking of them. Now, with speedy transportation, refrigeration,
and vacuum sealing, it is possible to get a wide variety of
really good, fresh, raw foods just about anywhere at any time of
year—if you know what to look for and where. You don‘t have to
live in New York or Los Angeles. Quite the contrary. If you‘re
near farms and farmers, or even a health food store, you‘re near
at least to some raw food. I‘ve eaten raw in Chilliwack, British
Columbia, and had no trouble staying satisfied.
I should also note this is not a book about dieting. Let me
repeat: this is not a book about dieting. Forget diets and dieting.
Diets are about deprivation. I never diet. Not ever. The reason is
simple. I don‘t need to anymore. I can eat all that I want, and I do—
just raw. And, if you take the steps that are set out in its pages, I
believe you won‘t have to starve either. Never again, period.
It is a book about eating “naturally.” I put the word naturally
in quotes with good reason. I believe that eating cooked food is
not natural. Whether you‘re thin or fat, you can‘t expect to be
naturally thin if you‘re eating unnaturally. We take it for granted
as natural, but eating cooked food is merely a convention that
humans in most societies have adopted. One of the common
outcomes of eating cooked food is that in time we become
unnaturally overweight. Call it pudgy, chubby, fat, or even
obese—whatever term you want to use. Whatever you call it,
being overweight is not natural. And from what I‘ve seen, those
who eat raw, generally speaking, do not end up that way. They
end up thin and well fed—naturally.
If you‘re lean and feel good and have a lot of energy, if you eat
what you want, you‘re not hungry and you look great, why would
you need to diet? You wouldn‘t. And you shouldn‘t have to. But
in my opinion you should still eat raw.
So put dieting out of your mind. Forever. No more diets.
Eating raw, to me, is not dieting—it‘s a way of life. It is not hard,
painful, frustrating, full of sacrifice, or unpleasant in any way.
It‘s different from what you have known for most of your life.
Before long you‘ll wonder, as I did, why it is that no one told you
before about something so simple, beautiful, and powerful. But
be warned, I think you‘re going to like what happens. And once
you begin to eat raw you may never be able to turn back.
TH: Thank you, Carol. While most of our conversation has centered
on the health benefits of a raw food lifestyle, I want to
reinforce to our readers that Eating in the Raw is a terrific companion
on a personal journey to optimum health. We currently
eat very close to a raw food diet and have found the book to be
valuable in helping us source, prepare and enjoy what we eat.
Do you have any final comments?
Carol: Yes. Even though there are no known negative health
ramifications associated with a raw food diet, it is always a good
idea to check with your physician prior to implementing a significant
change in your nutritional regime. For individuals interested
in more information, I invite you to visit my Web site:
www.carolalt.com.
Also, thank you for your interest in Eating in the Raw.
|
|
