In 1998 working at HP I would gorge myself on massive "vegetarian burrito" stuffed with cheese and sour cream - not understanding the connection to why I'd get so sleepy around 3pm. In spite of the nice "food court" cafeteria, a friend was bringing salad, avocado, dates. When I asked, that was the moment I first heard of "raw food." And initially I thought it sounded crazy.

For the past few years, the books and videos by David Wolfe have been among my key diet influences. He conducts lectures and workshops around the world. So when I learned he would be in Nevada City promoting his new book, I decided to attend.

The lecture was in a "meditation room" at www.shuniaa.com. It was a nice environment with about 60 attendees sitting on pillows on the floor. Plates of a variety of chocolate provided by www.sacredchocolate.com - such as rooibos and ginger flavored - were passed around.  He mentioned that he had driven over 6000 miles during his tours over the past six weeks.

David stresses that he is giving "spiritual advice" because in the USA only licensed physicians and experts can give "medical advice" - advice that is controlled by the lobbyists for medical and pharmaceutical industries. He grew up the child of two physicians on a diet of "fruit-loops and pasteurized..... milk" - like the rest of us.

The first part of the lecture covered the superfoods from the book. This article provides a good summary. He said the goal was to provide a list of options that would be among the best that most people could easily choose from.

Raw cacao is an excellent source silicon and magnesium.

An excellent salad is hemp leaf and malo weed. He said wheatgrass was a transition, but in fact there is more benefit from the grasses that grow wild - and are available for free. Unlike many vegetables, grasses to not have inhibitors (?) found in most other vegetables. Thus, as many mammals instinctively know, grass is non-toxic at all levels. Spiraled mature grass is anabolic while young grass is detoxifying. Chewing grass is among the best thing for your teeth. He recommended a juice of "wild grass, celery, cucumber, lemon and/or pineapple - then optionally adding blue green algae or spirulina.

For a health tea he recommended: "Horse Tail, Nettle, Cat Claw, Pau D'Arco, and Vanilla." The first two ingredients help bone density - calcium and calcium supplements do not. For anti-fungal properties add reishi mushroom.

He showed pictures of the architecture of Machu Picchu. In a reference to a scene from the movie "When Harry met Sally," he asked, "what food did these people eat? I'll have what their having." (YouTube of David in Machu Picchu.)

The Q&A portion was at least as interesting and the lecture.

He cannot discuss "cancer cures." But it seemed he believes that sugar feeds cancer while polysaccharides fight cancer - aloe vera was cited as a key anti-cancer agent.

While oxygen, increased by exercise, is effective against viruses and bacteria, it is not effective against a key aging factor. Internally our bodies are much like the ocean. Just as calcium coral reefs form in the ocean, there are calcium deposits building up in our bodies, leading to most of the fatal diseases. This is amazing information - see additional page on this.

David also advocates the importance of being bare-foot or otherwise grounded to minimize the negative impact of static charge.