When veganism hits the mainstream media, you can almost hear the collective cheer from the global vegan community. Tweeters tweet and Facebookers, well, post. People who hadn’t even considered veganism, will begin, perhaps, to understand why they should. Ellen flies the vegan flag regularly, while Oprah flirts with it every now and again. All the while, their audiences begin to understand why being vegan helps animals, the planet and our health.

The most recent media personality to explore veganism is Martha Stewart, who, only last week, invited some fabulous vegan types onto her show to talk about animals, health and good vegan food.

The woman who takes pride in making animal roasts and other such meals wanted to explore the trend that’s growing in popularity for ethical and health reasons. With Farm Sanctuary president and co-founder Gene Baur, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Veganist author Kathy Freston, Martha put on her vegan hat, with the show educating millions as to why being vegan is a very good idea.

I’m excited to bring you a guest post (below) from Farm Sanctuary‘s Gene Baur, who wanted to share his thoughts, post-show, with Diary of a Vegan readers. If you have a question for Gene, please post in the comments…

This week marked an important milestone for farm animals. Martha Stewart, America’s domestic icon and the woman who wrote the book on modern living, devoted an entire hour-long episode of The Martha Stewart Show (Hallmark Channel, 10 AM ET/9 AM C) to the pleasures and benefits of living a compassionate vegan lifestyle. I was honored to be a part of this groundbreaking show, along with my good friends and fellow vegans Twitter Co-Founder Biz Stone, who will serve as the Honorary Chair of Farm Sanctuary’ s 25th Anniversary Gala in Los Angeles on September 24, and health and wellness guru Kathy Freston, author of the New York Times best-seller Veganist.

Millions of viewers watched as Biz showed Martha how to prepare one of his favorite vegan dishes — Seitan Bourguignon — and  told her about how his life changed after visiting the New York Shelter of Farm Sanctuary and looking into the eyes of a cow. They listened as Kathy explained why our bodies are better able to process plant-based foods rather than animal-based ones. With humor, personal anecdotes and factual expertise, Biz and Kathy showed Martha — and the people watching at home across the U.S. — how fun and easy veganism can be.

For my part, viewers were introduced to Persia, the sheep who Martha adopted through our Adopt-A-Farm Animal Project back in February, and the life she’s enjoying at Farm Sanctuary. I talked about the horrific treatment of animals on factory farms and how eating plants instead of animals is the best way people can protect them from this abuse. I told Martha about my dear friend Opie, who I found as a calf dying of hypothermia at a stockyard with a temperature so low it wouldn’t even register on the thermometer. Viewers saw incredible “before” and “after” photos of Opie, who with proper care and support pulled through and grew up to weigh nearly 3,000 pounds and to enjoy a long, happy life at Farm Sanctuary.

When programs like “The Martha Stewart Show” devote valuable air-time to the plight of farm animals and the benefits of veganism, a powerful message is planted in the public consciousness demonstrating that these issues are important and worthy of our consideration.  Stewart has built a media empire based on her uncanny ability to influence the tastes and opinions of consumers. When she speaks about the importance of showing compassion for farm animals, millions of people — many of whom may never have considered these issues before — listen. Some might decide to go vegan right on the spot while others may decide to “lean into” veganism — as Kathy so wisely puts it — by reducing the amount of animal products they consume. All of this is progress and means that less animals will suffer. Martha Stewart’s vegan show was a major event, as a mainstream audience was exposed to compassionate living ideas, and that’s a very good thing.

Gene Baur, pictured above, is the president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization. A vegan since 1985, he lives in Washington, D.C. and campaigns to raise awareness about the negative consequences of industrialized factory farming and our cheap food system. He has initiated groundbreaking legislative action to raise awareness and prevent factory farming abuses, and is author of the best-selling book Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food.

Photo (above): Derek Goodwin/Farm Sanctuary
Main photo: David Russell/The Martha Stewart Show

When celebrities look to a nutritionist for ultimate health advice that will not only give them a toned, slim physique but also radiant, glowing skin, they look to Kimberly Snyder (pictured below). The yoga instructor and clinical nutritionist spends her time between her homes in New York and LA — when she’s not working on set, whipping up organic green smoothies for the likes of Drew Barrymore and Owen Wilson.

I met Kimberly a couple of years ago and was amazed at how present, vibrant and happy she was — a portrait of perfect health thanks to her raw vegan diet, yoga and spiritual practice. Since then, the sought-after wellness expert has been busy working with her high profile clients to help them achieve great health. She has also been working on her book, The Beauty Detox Solution, which is due to hit the shelves this Wednesday (March 30) — it’s an invaluable resource, packed with the very knowledge she passes onto her celebrity clients.

Kimberly is a joy to know and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to achieving true health and beauty. I asked if she could have a quick chat with me in the lead up to her star-studded book launch…

It has been a few years since we met in LA. What have you been up to since then?
I’ve been pretty busy! For the past few years, my focus has shifted to all things related to my nutritional philosophy and work. I’ve been working and traveling with celebrity actors worldwide, creating customized dietary programs for them, and making specialized meals for quite a few of them on a regular basis. I now have an apartment in LA as well as New York, and well, it’s been an exciting ride!

I know you’ve been working tirelessly on your new book, among your many projects. What’s it all about and why did you decide to write it?
My first book, The Beauty Detox Solution, is launching on March 29th! There’s so much confusing information out there, and being beautiful and reaching your perfect weight isn’t about micromanaging, or complex and confusing calculations that revolve around carbs and calories. My plan is simple, proven, and allows inner beauty to radiate from the inside out. My motivation in writing my plan out was to share the information with women and people everywhere that had helped me and my clients so much.

You’re a nutritionist to the stars now. Can you chat a little bit about how you got started?
Word of my program spread through LA and New York, and I was put in touch with a celebrity to work with. Then it grew to a few and then more and more… the inner circle of Hollywood is extremely tight and small. I didn’t plan to work for the “stars”, but I guess it’s my karma!

Are there any star secrets you’re allowed to reveal?
I respect all my clients’ confidentiality. But I will say that the principals that  I explain in my program are the same ones I explain to everyone,  celebrity or busy mom alike.

What is your definition of beauty?
My philosophy is that beauty and health are synonymous. Healthy skin is beautiful skin. A healthy body is a beautiful body. And no matter how many products we slather on, or diets we follow, true beauty must begin from within.

What pitfalls do you think some people fall into when it comes to trying to maintain and preserve the idealized Western idea of beauty?
There’s so many myths out there and confusing information. The most alarming and common thing I see is that people don’t even realize that the foods they think are healthy are actually aging them at an accelerated rate. I bet if I looked in someone’s fridge, and they had foods like organic yogurt and free range chicken, they would think they were doing pretty good. But when you see their skin, you can see those acidic foods show up on their faces in the form of wrinkles, lines, and dull and sagging skin. It is a vicious cycle. What good is it to be a size 4 or a size 2 if you look 10 years older than you really are?

How can a healthy diet, spiritual practice and positive thoughts help to achieve natural beauty?
Our minds and bodies are intrinsically connected, and therefore loving and peaceful vibrations emanate out of someone’s being in an inexplicable radiance. Mediation is in my opinion, the highest form of union with the infinite, which creates an inner and outer beauty in a way nothing else can.

Who are, in your opinion, some of the most beautiful people and why?
People that have the following characteristics: kindness, cleanliness — externally, in their diet and in their speech and thoughts, compassionate and thoughtful eyes, a genuine smile, a natural, not-overdone style and confidence.

What’s next for you?
Over the next few weeks I’m focusing on all things book launch-related, including a huge launch party hosted by some of my celebrity clients. At the end of this month I head to New Orleans for a few months to work as the nutritionist on a major film. And there are many other exciting projects in the works!

To get your own copy of The Beauty Detox Solution, click here.

For the complete interview with Kimberly, and some of her beauty-fying recipes, sign up for updates at the soon-to-launch EcoBeautyEditor.com

Guest post by celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder

Low-level radiation is a silent killer, because we can’t see it, feel I, hear it, taste it, or smell it. I am not talking about just nuclear weapons, but rather the low levels of exposure we are continuously exposed to on an every day basis. This post is dedicated to a friend of mine, and was born out of my concern for her, as she flies often.

Firstly, what is radiation? In the broadest definition, it is the process in which the energy in the form of, for instance, light or heat, is sent out through space. The different types of radiation are classified according to the electromagnetic spectrum by their wavelength and frequency. One end of the spectrum is the “low energy” forms of radiation, which include radio and television waves. These forms have long wavelengths and low frequencies. As we go up the spectrum and the wavelengths become shorter and the frequencies higher, the spectrum expands to include microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultra-violet light, x-rays, and gamma rays. When me move towards this high end of the spectrum, the radiation energies have a special power known as ionization. X-rays and gamma rays, when they pass through a cell, can separate electrons from their atoms and endow these runaway electrons with higher amounts of energy. The result may be tissue damage in many different forms—from cancer to genetic and birth defects.

What are sources of radiation in our lives? Nuclear weapons and nuclear waste is one obvious source. Radon is another. But what I want to really talk about today is everyday, low-level forms of radiation, which emanate from such devices as microwaves, high-voltage power lines, radio transmitters, and cell phones. For years, our society has maintained that exposure to low levels of electromagnetic waves are harmless, but evidence is mounting that all this exposure to low-level radiation is indeed much more harmful that previously thought.

There is no safe level of exposure and there is no dose of radiation so low that the risk of malignancy is zero… the genetic risks, and especially those associated with recessive mutations, may be as harmful and debilitating to the human race as the increases of cancer.

What is also a major source of radiation exposure? Flying in an airplane. The higher up the plane goes in the atmosphere the more radiation we are exposed to. In a flight from (only!) Los Angeles to San Fancisco there is said to be a tenfold increase in radiation (as  measured by a mini-Geiger counter) that jumps from 12 to 125 radiations per minute when the plan is leveled off at the maximum flight pattern.

What does this really mean? An airplane flying coast to coast will expose the flyer to several hundred milliards (1/1000 of a rad). The average dose for medical X-rays is 300-500 millirads for pelvic X-rays, 100-1000 millirads for a full facial dental X-ray, and 10-500 millirads for chest X-rays. That means that one single flight may expose us to the same or possibly more radiation than a full chest X-ray(!).

This is a big problem because as we know, continual exposure to low-level radiation produces free radicals, a major cause of premature aging and health problems. Free radicals can cause cross-linking among tissue proteins (wrinkles!), inflammation, disrupt and/or deplete the immune system, and can produce mutations. Many researchers in the field of aging agree that free-radical destruction is the basis of aging, or at least always goes along with the aging process.

Dr. Abram Petkau stated (reported from the Radiological Physics Dept. at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine) that the free-radical effect from chronic low radiation exposure to be 1,000 times greater than a single large exposure (!). John Gofman, Ph.D., M.D writes in Radiation and Human Health, “Harm in the form of excess human cancer occurs at all doses of ionizing radiation, down to the lowest conceivable dose and dose rate.” Perhaps the most succinct summary is given by Dr. Karl Z. Morgan, who was the director of the Health Physics Division a the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for 30 years:

“There is no safe level of exposure and there is no dose of radiation so low that the risk of malignancy is zero… the genetic risks, and especially those associated with recessive mutations, may be as harmful and debilitating to the human race as the increases of cancer.”

THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO

Okay, sorry for all the doom and gloom! But I say these things as we should at least be aware of radiation exposure.

And I am happy to say that there are things we can do in our diet to help minimize the effect of radiation. How can food help? Firstly, if we have enough minerals in our system, the cells become saturated with minerals and there may be less opportunity for the radioactive  minerals to be absorbed into our systems. Second, there are certain specific foods which can actively help draw the radioactive materials to them and pull them out of the body (chelation). Thirdly, if we eat foods very high in antioxidant nutrients and enzymes, it will help squash out the free radicals created by radiation exposure.

Anti-Radiation Foods that Fit into Our Above Criteria

• Swiss chard
• Turnip greens
• Watercress
• Mustard greens
• Kale
• Spinach (no surprise here, all greens!)
• Kelp
• Dulse
• Chlorella
• Nori
• Beets
• Bee pollen (note: non-vegan)
• Garlic
• Apples
• Chaparral
• Siberian ginseng

What else can we do besides loading up on these foods? Don’t smoke! Don’t live near nuclear plants, avoid unnecessary diagnostic X-rays, and use infrared saunas whenever possible. Check out my post on cell phones, and wear that wired (not Bluetooth) headset.

It is critical if you fly often that you eat only the best food while flying on the day. You want to give your body the best to help combat the radiation as much as possible.

Diet Tips to Help Minimize Radiation Effects by Kimberley Snyder. Photo courtesy of Stewart.

Kimberly Snyder’s work as a clinical nutritionist is rooted in a holistic approach that works to heal the body from the cellular level up, increase energy, and achieve overall balance naturally. Her main protocols include increasing the body’s alkalinity, consuming an individualized diet largely consisting of natural foods, increasing efficient digestion, and intelligent, guided and ongoing cleansing. Snyder’s philosophy is that Outer Beauty is a Reflection of Inner Health.

The following is a guest post from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’s and HGTV’s Desperate Spaces’ Daniel Kucan…

Changing your mind is hard, make no mistake. In particular it’s very nearly impossible when the entire world is telling you how correct you are, that you are on the path, doing the right thing, valid. But even so, the little voice is powerful, the tiny, whispering spirit that pokes at the folds of your grey matter and slowly insinuates itself into your consciousness, telling you that you are completely, utterly, ferociously astray.

It’s gotten easier as I get older, I guess. I don’t say that because it actually feels more effortless, I say that because I seem to change my mind a lot these days. It’s a little disconcerting, actually, the vast array of things on which I’ve swung: I like plaid now, for instance. I used to dig cats, now I’m squarely a dog guy, I like gardening (too boring for me before), I love my scars, and I don’t eat animals.

It’s really just a different way of looking at something that I didn’t completely understand formerly. Sometimes, I find that I need to flip something on its head in order for me to see it right, stare right at it until my retinas burn into clarity and yes becomes no, up becomes down.

The first time I met Maldanado, the guy who’s going to throw down with me tonight, we were maybe 19 years old. He was a little guy, thin, whipchain arms, long braid down his back to his waist. Everything was point style back then, which meant you never went to the ground and if you got in a clinch, the referee would stop it and separate you.  It wasn’t like the continuous brawls that you see now in the UFC. But at the same time, in point style, you could have five, six fights in a day. Nowadays you have a fight, and then recover for three weeks. I’ve already cleared the next several days to ice my bones and sew on anything that gets knocked off.

Maldanado is taping his hands. He’s sitting in a full split, wrapping each finger, gung-fu style. He’s a Chinese stylist from a Taekwondo history, so his kicks are faster than my internet connection.  One time, back at a club tournament fight at NYU, Maldanado threw a round house kick at me that was so blindingly quick that he tapped my nose with his big toe and set his foot back down on the ground before I even raised my hands. I spent the next seven days explaining my two black eyes to classmates and had to take handfulls of pills until my shoulder worked again.  No one ever said these lessons come easy, but they come all the same.

But tonight, I’m way more ambitious. So much so, in fact, that I’m hoping to be able to walk home without a limp.

I’m a vegan, haven’t eaten any meat since ‘89. It’s funny ‘cause I get all this guff for it, right? The grand master of our school was a Chinese National Living Treasure named Chan. He was, I don’t know, four, maybe five hundred years old and mean as a snake. The only words in English I ever heard him say were, “wrong ” and my favorite, “idiot ”. He used to teach class with a glass of whiskey in one hand and you could smell the cigarette smoke on him. Chan used to call me Lo Han Jai, which sorta means “vegetarian,” but also means “guy who eats like Buddha” but in that ineffable way that Chinese phrases always have several levels of meaning, is more like calling me “Spicy Tofu with Veggies.” That used to make me crazy, ‘cause he was basically calling me a wimp. The Chinese language can do that, call you four different things with one name.  No one ever caught the irony in all that; up was still up for them, I guess.

So keep your blase’ hipster bacon references and your outdoor meat-fest cookouts, ladies. You all just look like cowards to me, silk-skinned scaredy-cats too fragile and wavering to resist your own appetites.

Maldanado climbs into the ring and rolls his head. It’s three rounds tonight, three minutes each, and let’s be honest, nobody expects me to win. If I could take him to the ground, I’d be preaching the painful gospel all up in here, but tonight is all stand-up.  Now I have way more knockout power than Maldanado does, but in order for that to matter, I gotta hit him, and trust me when I tell you that I’m not optimistic on landing anything.

We step up into the ring and the ref gives us a quick once-over before shooting me a look through cowboy eyes that kinda says, “Wow, do I feel bad for what’s about to happen to you” and someone rings the bell. Now I’d like to tell you that I shoot in all full of fire and razor wire but sometimes you know you’re gonna take a beating and anyone who says otherwise is delusional. But I aint making it up when I tell you that oftentimes the delusional cats are the best fighters; they think they can take ANYBODY. Maldanado was like that, would step in the ring with guys three times his size and walk away without a mark on him, and right now, I’m envying his myopic badassery.

When I was about 11, having stumbled onto the momentous discovery that the dance studio was packed with unbelievably hot girls, I began an epic ballet career that lead to two things: the first was that I determined that chicks really liked guys who could dance, the second was that I was called a faggot pretty much every day of my life up to, and including, today. But it got me jacked and ultimately lead me to gung fu and then Jujitsu and finally MMA. But those ballet dancers I learned from in the beginning, no lie now, they were some of the biggest toughguys I’ve ever known. They could jump higher, kick faster and had better balance than any of the guys I’ve fought with since. I’m not saying they could take a punch, and, yeah, pretty much all of them were gay, but I never equated those things.  I always saw them the same as the fighters I knew.

Somewhere along the lines, we made the same mistake about vegetarians; we decided as a nation that they are soft, effeminate. That never made sense to me either. Not just because I am one and I never thought of myself as particularly soft, but more so because I’ve seen the alternative.

The only difference is that one group likes to make stuff, and one group likes to destroy stuff.  Go watch a Jujitsu class and see if you can tell the difference between a bunch of half naked, sweaty Brazilian guys rolling around together on a mat and your average West Hollywood rave scene.  Not kidding, same thing.

Somewhere along the lines, we made the same mistake about vegetarians; we decided as a nation that they are soft, effeminate. That never made sense to me either. Not just because I am one and I never thought of myself as particularly soft, but more so because I’ve seen the alternative. Burger fiends, pork hounds, you trying to tell me that those guys come down on the butch side of the spectrum? You gonna try to sell me on the hunky masculinity of the huge pot belly, the mullet, the wheezy lungs, heart disease? Go try it right now, go spend some time at the KFC and try to pick out one guy, one effing guy, who embodies virility. Hunters in particular strike me as especially anemic and cowardly, packing gigantic weapons to take down the world’s less dangerous species. In my rubric, kid, killing weaker critters comes down squarely in the box marked “pussified.”

Maldanado goes to work with some stiff jabs and plants a roundhouse kick under my arm that shatters my breathing into shards of jagged rasps. I tuck in one elbow to hold my ribs in place and switch sides. I can fight right or left handed, so I still have a shot at landing a big hammer to his beak, but right now I’m more worried with catching my breath.  He knows I’m rocked and he starts using a long, flicking kick to my kisser to keep me off balance; every time I move in, he sticks me in the teeth with it.

Now don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind the taste of blood and meat, even my own.

My mouth fills up with the iron flavor, and every time he nails me again, I get that slick, metallic syrup shoved down my throat a little more.  And don’t think for a second that he doesn’t know.  He can smell the disquiet comin’ off me like cold sweat and he’s predator enough to know when to press his advantage. His legs are so long and fast that I can’t get inside, I simply have no answer to his speed; and two minutes into the first round, I already know how this thing is going to end, so settle in, bitches, ‘cause I won’t hesitate to splinter your preconceptions.

Hunters, predators, bullies, they’re all the same, man. They all believe that power grants absolution or at least, immunity, but it doesn’t. Power grants culpability, the ethical onus of restraint.  Restraint, kid, see that’s a valorous concept, that’s masculinity. We have dominion over this world, that power is ours and at some point, the world will demand to be paid back. Immunity is a myth, man, trust me on this.

You know what?  I miss meat every day, every damn day. And you want me to think that ceding to that craving is all beefcake?  I don’t get it, since when is doing what’s easy as opposed to doing what’s right the one way ticket to valorous manhood?  I covet all sorts of stuff, that doesn’t mean I go take it. I’ve dreamt the impossible dream, I’ve fought the unbeatable foe (I’ll show you those scars if you ask me kind) but unlike the venerable Lord of La Mancha, I don’t glean any satisfaction merely from the struggle; I glean satisfaction from the fact that I didn’t fucking eat anybody.

Quite honestly, I’m tired of your assumptions, so back off and let me tell it. We end the round with Maldanado sauntering to his corner, fresh as a dang daisy, and I stumble to my stool and miss it by a good six inches. Climbing back up, my corner man is spitting instructions at me but I’m not really sure which one of his faces I should be listening to.  I’ve already got it worked out, so he’s wasting his words anyhow.  Just give me some water and don’t let the ring doctor know I’ve got a cracked pin on the left side.  I know how to deal with predators.

Maldanado flies out of his corner, right at me.  I shrug off his hands, not enough brawn there to end this thing.  But he keeps driving me back with those crazy bolts of lightening that he walks on.  I step back again, trying to sidestep and keep my back off the rope, and manage to avoid the majority of his spleen.  I can feel his frustration as he tries harder and harder to land something substantial, and right when he’s off his nut with ire, I go right at him.  Off his back leg, his power leg, he throws guan men, which means “slam the door” and I tuck my head and block it full on with my face.

Hunters, predators, bullies, they’re all the same, man. They all believe that power grants absolution or at least, immunity, but it doesn’t. Power grants culpability, the ethical onus of restraint.  Restraint, kid, see that’s a valorous concept, that’s masculinity. We have dominion over this world, that power is ours and at some point, the world will demand to be paid back. Immunity is a myth, man, trust me on this. And what Maldanado never learned (predators never do) is that sometimes the boot to the brainpan is its own justification. Not only is the shock of a cracked bean worth the hurt if it lets you get inside, but the throes of that pickle bring a sort of clarity, a transcendent epiphany that heals your wounds and resolves your bleary vision.

So keep your blase’ hipster bacon references and your outdoor meat-fest cookouts, ladies. You all just look like cowards to me, silk-skinned scaredy-cats too fragile and wavering to resist your own appetites.

Maldanado can’t believe it.  He can’t get his head around the fact that I just traipsed right into his kill shot. And even worse, that I’m still standing there, way too close for his comfort. And in the whisper quick moment that he hesitates, I drop an overhand soup bone right out of nowhere and lay it across his gob. As his back hits the mat, the thing I’m most aware of, besides the ache in my elbow, is the baffled look of confusion on Maldanado’s mug as his eyes flicker dim like a bad neon bar sign; and I drag my battered carcass out of the ring.

The humor doesn’t guise it, really. Every time my manager tells me, “Don’t worry, Kucan, this cow was suicidal,” as he tucks into a t-bone with a self-conscious giggle, it’s really like Maldanado’s weak ass jab, a carefully placed barb trying to perpetuate that illusion of moral exculpation. I’ve learned now to step into those shots, block ‘em right on the dial. And every time you call my dinner rabbit food, or ask me if I’m a vegetarian because I love animals or because I hate plants, or tell me that God intended for us to eat animals because he made them out of meat; I can feel my rib go squishy again but I’ll step right into it just the same.

After Maldanado wrestles back his lucidity, he comes over to my corner and smiles and points at me, “I’m gonna need that,” he says. Stupid me, I’m thinking he means my courage, or skill, or something internal that he sees now but had missed before. He clears it up for me when he takes hold of my arm, the one that just put his lights out and pulls from my elbow a long, bloody incisor. “Thanks,” he says, holding up the jagged tooth, and he grins wide enough for me to see the space where it belongs.

Ah well, I’m thinking.  No one ever said these lessons come easy, but they come all the same.

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Share your own vegan journey at www.thevegandecision.com. Also, check out Daniel’s view on “eating right for your blood type” here.

Obtaining optimal health, eating living foods and detoxifying isn’t as difficult as it may seem, says New York-based clinical nutritionist and yoga instructor to the stars, Kimberly Snyder. It’s all about knowing how and having fun with it. The result—radiant beauty that glows from within—is well worth the effort.

I was fortunate to meet with Kimberly while she was in LA last year. During our chat (and snack of delish homemade raw cacao balls she brought with her) Kimberly shared all sorts of great tips about veganism and the raw food lifestyle.

Below are some of her top tips for staying young and healthy. For more fabulous vegan and living food insights head to Kimberly’s blog at www.kimberlysnyder.net. Enjoy!

1.    Max out on raw greens. Uncooked greens and vegetables are a powerful beauty secret.  The living enzymes in uncooked greens and vegetables contribute to skin health by acting as catalysts that assist body processes like digestion, detoxification, and rebuilding.  For example, by assisting the body’s energy-intensive digestive process, enzymes free up energy for other tasks, like repairing and rebuilding the skin- the largest organ of all.  Unfortunately, the valuable enzymes, proteins and vitamins found in plants are heat sensitive and can be damaged or destroyed by normal cooking temperatures.  In fact, cooking can easily destroy a food’s entire enzyme reserve.  So pack as many completely raw greens, salads, veggies, sprouts and fresh herbs into your diet as you can! An easy way to get a large amount of easily digestible greens is from a green smoothie.  The simple recipe is available online at www.kimberlysnyder.net.

2.    Add açai to your diet. Açai is loaded with beneficial nutrients and antioxidants, including Omega 3 fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, key vitamins and fiber.  The Omega 3 fatty acids found in Açai maintain the structure and fluidity of cell membranes, facilitating the inflow of nutrients and the outflow of waste products, promoting youthful, smooth and radiant skin by keeping skin cells hydrated and strong.  Acai is a key component of The Solution, as it is also extremely beneficial when applied topically.

4.    Drink detox tea. Our bodies are constantly exposed to toxins from the environment, our diet and chemicals from products we put on ourselves.  Over time, these toxins promote illness and can accelerate skin aging.  The liver is the blood’s filtering system, and when it becomes overloaded, the liver stops effectively filtering and neutralizing the toxins that enter the body. These excess toxins continue circulating and are deposited in fatty tissue, building up over time. The long-term effects of toxic overload are manifested externally in the form of wrinkles and spotted, leathery skin.  One of the easiest and tastiest ways to promote healthy liver function is to drink detox tea 2-3 times per week.  The recipe is available online.

3.    Switch to Celtic sea salt. Celtic sea salt is unique among salts because it is a sun-dried – a process that allows 70 minerals and trace elements, enzymes and even marine microorganisms to remain intact.  Other sea salts are kiln-dried, which causes valuable magnesium and most other minerals to evaporate.  Normal table salt is the worst of all, being irradiated and denatured sodium chloride.  It not only has no nutritional benefit, it depletes the skin’s natural hydration.  So make the switch to Celtic sea salt!

5.    Eat more onions. This everyday food has a considerable amount of sulfur, which helps cleanse the skin and liver and rebuild connective tissues like collagen. Onions are also an exceptional source of usable quercetin, which works to eliminate free radicals, protects and regenerates crucial Vitamin E and decreases capillary fragility.

6.    Add sea vegetables to your diet. Sea vegetables are about 12 times richer in minerals than average vegetables.  They are an especially good source of iodine, which regulates the metabolism by feeding the thyroid, iron, B6, B12, and magnesium, which opens over 300 different detoxification pathways in the body. You can throw sea vegetables such as dulse, hijiki and arame in salads or make nori wraps stuffed with salad.  All are available at any health store.

7.    Sprout your seeds and nuts. A raw, dry nut is dense in calories and encased in inhibitor enzymes, which keep it from sprouting before it is in a safe environment.  The sprouting process changes the constitution of the nut, making it more like a plant.  The nutritional benefit is that the proteins in sprouted nuts are more easily assimilated by the body.  Here is a simple method for spouting almonds: Cover almonds in filtered water in a bowl and place in your refrigerator for 24 hours. Rinse well several times. You should peel off the outer coating of the almond before eating.  A handful is a wonderfully nutritional, filling snack. Throw a few in a bag and take them to work!

8.    Snack on figs. Figs are an excellent blood purifier. Since blood transports nutrients to cells throughout the body and face, the cleaner the blood the more beautiful the skin. The tiny seeds in figs are not only packed with nutrients, they help draw out and dissolve waste, mucus, and toxins from the intestinal tract. Raw and dried figs both give these great benefits.

9.    Eat olives and olive oil. Olives are the most mineral and calcium-rich fruit of all. They are high in magnesium, amino acids and beneficial omega fatty acids. Olive oil is a superior source of squalene – an unsaturated oil and an oxygen carrier that smoothes the skin and is an excellent antioxidant.

Photos courtesy Kimberly Snyder

One of my fave vegan celebs, Ellen Degeneres will debut as the new judge on American Idol tonight. It’s a long season ahead, especially for the star hopefuls who will hang on every word she utters, funny or otherwise. How will she do? Have your say below!

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I’ve always loved old Hollywood. There was always certain glamorous innocence that appealed to me, even as a child.

I still love the music, the actors and the acting. I’m all for stars bursting out in song or dance mid sentence. Girls with perfectly set hair, men treating women like ladies.

As I thought about watching one of my favourite oldies today, I wondered if there were any old Hollywood stars who used their star power back then to actively promote not eating animals. An olden day Alicia Silverstone. A Casey Affleck in black and white.

My never-fail Google search lead me to 1920s glamour girl Gloria Swanson, who became vegetarian in 1928. She was known as an early advocate of healthy eating—to the extent she even brought her own meals to functions in a paper bag. She had also recommended a macrobiotic diet to actor Dirk Benedict, after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Benedict had refused conventional therapies and later said his recovery was due to his healthy diet.

Swanson also used her Hollywood connections and her natural health know-how to help promote the classic health book, Sugar Blues, written by her husband William Dufty.

She only bought organically grown food and tap water wasn’t acceptable. In 1976, she told People magazine: “If you looked at it (water) under a microscope, you’d be horrified.” Instead of refined sugar, Swanson recommended natural sugar boiled off from organically grown raisins.

My favourite quote from Gloria Swanson?

“Why do people treat their bodies like garbage pails?” … It seems that question still remains valid, many years after glamorous Gloria asked it.

To read the 1976 People article in full, click here.

Main photo:
Gloria Swanson by Edward Steichen 1924 Vanity Fair, February 1928 Bequest of Edward Steichen by Direction of Joanna T. Steichen, Courtesy of George Eastman House © Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy George Eastman House.

Read on to see why it’s so important to bring laughter into your life, for health and for happiness…

I heard something about a swine flu the other day. And what’s this of a recession?

Sure, I have a television just like everyone else, but I’m very selective about what I watch. If a program doesn’t lift my spirits, positively educate me in some way or give me a good belly laugh, then I’d prefer the remote to stay tucked under a cushion somewhere, along with the loose change, thank you very much.

Daily newspapers and mainstream news websites have lost my interest too, thanks to their incessant reporting on war, crime, manufactured diseases and the like.

So why is it many of us glue ourselves to the six o’clock news for our daily fix of depression and fear? Is it that we’ve become so hypnotised that we no longer realize what we’re actually doing?

Jamie Masada, founder of the world-famous Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, thinks so.

“The problem is with every news you see its ‘so and so got shot, police killed somebody, somebody killed police’,” he says. “I one day want to do a Laugh Factory channel and make all of the news fun. Let’s give people good news!”

“You see people going out of their houses, they’ve got to wait in the traffic, then they go to the bank and line up or the post office and line up for a long time, then they go to work, then they want lunch they have to stand in line for half an hour … they waste their life. They go to the airport; they have to go two or three hours early to go through security. These things all cause people a lot of stress.”

If you’re not ready to part with your remote or the Sunday paper, there’s something you can do instantly to improve your emotional wellbeing, says the comedy king who works closely with comedic favorites including George Lopez, Bob Saget, Damon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Adam Sandler, Roseanne, Paul Rodriguez, Jamie Foxx, Richard Pryor, Jim Carrey, Chris Rock and Rodney Dangerfield.

“Laughter is the best medicine. It really is,” he says. “The government should open clubs like The Laugh Factory all over the country to help people forget about this recession.”

Jamie’s not the only one who is getting the word out about the benefits of a good giggle. Oprah also promotes laughter as medicinal and good for the soul. She recently featured a story about “laughter yoga” on her show, which is a complete wellbeing workout and daily exercise routine that combines unconditional laughter with yogic breathing.

Its founder Dr. Madan Kataria, who also hosts laughter vacations, also caught comedian John Cleese’s attention for a documentary that’s focuses on the healing power of laughter. Dr Kataria started the first Laughter Yoga club in a Mumbai park in 1995, with just five people. It seems laughter not only good for you, but contagious.

Dr Norman Cousins, whom Masada worked with often, was well known for incorporating laughter into the life of his patients and his own to overcome disease and illness. He developed a recovery program incorporating megadoses of Vitamin C, along with a positive attitude, love, faith, hope, and laughter (helped by watching Marx Brothers films).

Cousins was quoted as saying: “I made the joyous discovery that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anaesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep. When the pain-killing effect of the laughter wore off, we would switch on the motion picture projector again and not infrequently, it would lead to another pain-free interval.”

Masada remembers Cousins unorthodox approach to recovery well.

“He used to bring a lot of cancer patients in here and we would make them all laugh,” he says. “He had research going on, showing how much laughter makes endorphins in your body and make people think that they can be cured.”

So strong is his belief that laughter is essential to wellbeing, Masada has dedicated his life to bringing laughter to the young and old, through free comedy nights and camps for children. Each Thanksgiving and Christmas the Laugh Factory hosts free dinners for struggling artists and the homeless. He also started Comedy Camp in 1984, which has helped over 800 underprivileged children in the Los Angeles area learn the ropes of stand-up with the help of volunteer instructors such as Ellen DeGeneres, the Wayans Brothers, and Chris Rock.  For his work with underprivileged kids, he received the NAACP Freedom Award in 2003, and in 2006 was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

“I bring a bunch of old people in to watch the show for an hour and a half, two hours. When they walk in you can see their faces, they look like they are really miserable, they don’t want to be there. But as soon as they sit down and spend an hour and a half, two hours laughing you see man and woman holding each other’s arms, smiling at each other. That makes my day.”

Head to www.laughfactory.com/content/Petition.html to sign a petition that will bring laughter to everyone.

A Great Guide to Giggling (courtesy of helpguide.org)

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.

Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.

Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.

Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.

Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When in a state of sadness, we have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.

Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life:

Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is talk about times when we took ourselves too seriously.

Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, the irony and absurdity of life. This will help improve your mood and the mood of those around you.

Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.

Keep things in perspective. Many things in life are beyond our control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy, and even egotistical.

Deal with your stress. Stress is a major impediment to humor and laughter.

Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.

Despite this, the reality is, every single person can be the change that can turn things around. Yet, sometimes the reality we need to see in order to “get it” is downright heart-wrenching.

As eco-consciousness is spreading, so to are the numbers of people opting to go vegan (and vegetarian). Still, more needs to be done to get the word out.

I came across this video (below), which is a collection of celebrity PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) videos—celebrities who have spoken and are speaking out, about what really goes on behind the scenes in slaughter houses and in the fur trade. Whether you love or loathe PETA, you’ve got to appreciate their ability to get attention-grabbing celebs to promote living meat and fur free (such as Khloe Kardashian pictured above).

From Alicia Silverstone and Paul McCartney to The Golden Girls and Forest Whitaker, it’s a good video to send to friends and family who may not know the truth about what’s on their dinner plates and in their closets. While a couple of the scenes, albeit short, may make you (or your friends) cry, it’s just one reminder of why it’s so great to be vegan.

As 2010 approaches tomorrow (or the day after for the Northern Hemisphere folks), I’m all about going with the flow. Letting go. Trusting in what lies ahead.

Sure, I know what I’d like to achieve, goals I want to reach and places I want to see. But this year, I’m going to recognise my dreams then simply turn up, kick back, relax and trust.

I’ve decided life is a journey we’re not always meant to be in full control of. An apple doesn’t force itself to grow on a tree. I just lets go and trusts that it will reach its full potential. Whether it does or doesn’t is really up to the flow, not to the apple.

So next year, starting right now, I’m going to take my lessons from that apple. Hang in there, soak up the sunshine, live as nature intended. That means seeing the blessings in everything, loving others as you want to be loved, not judging anyone or anything and being grateful for whatever comes, and goes.

With that said, sending you love and blessings for a magical 2010. Thanks for taking time to read this little blog. May the vegan love spread far and wide