. If you're not familiar with who Markus is and what he is all about, we recommend you see his amazing video before you continue. It will help you grasp what he is about and his passion for the raw food lifestyle:
In fact, Markus has written a very unique raw food book that stands out from all the other raw books out there.
, is a very straight-forward manual written in a conversational style on the raw food lifestyle. Markus pulls no punches in this book and gets down and dirty, telling you *
what you need to do, in what order, how and why.
This is probably the most straight-forward no-holds-barred book on going raw we've ever seen.
We can honestly say that we've never seen a raw food book like this. And we've read almost all of the raw food books published out there. Interested?
The basic information and concepts covered in this book may be what you have seen before. But with anything Markus creates, there is always "the Markus touch" to it.
Markus gets right to the point and his goal is to lay out a simple plan for the reader to follow. For those who want exact instructions, Markus gives them directly, outlining which steps to follow and in what order.
But this book is not just about food! Markus lays out a whole body, mind, and spirit approach by addressing multiple topics including:
- massage
- healing touch
- specific yoga postures
- breathing
- enemas
- exercise
- sex
- and more.....
This isn't a book with lots of pretty pictures and fun gourmet recipes either. Markus has written this book to take you from the very beginning and push you right through to optimal raw health, no holds barred. Sure, there are recipes included in this book but Markus puts his recipe focus on giving the reader what every beginning raw foodist should know: what the hell to eat every day!
Sometimes we want to tell Raw authors: Get to the Point!And Markus actually does it. He gets to the point quickly and with razor-sharp focus the entire time in the book.
We've talked with Markus personally and know that everything he does comes from the fullness of his heart. He can be flashy at times, but he abhors gimmicks and unnecessary products as much as we do. He would not have written this book if he didn't think it was 100% necessary (see the quote at the beginning of this review to see what we mean).
We absolutely love the style of writing Markus has in his book. It is like listening to a long-time friend who gives you an honest and direct set of instructions on health directly from the heart.
Also worth noting is that Markus has a subtle sense of humor that we find extremely endearing. We both laughed out loud multiple times while reading his book!
The Direct, No-Fluff ApproachYou may have heard this before from other book reviews by other people, but we are totally 100% serious:
this is the book we wish we had when we started going raw!One of the concepts that is very clear from Markus's videos and in this book is his approach to health and going raw. A large part of his time is focused on the importance of cleansing. His approach is to strip down and clean out the toxic junk from the body first and then only put the best stuff back in. 'Nuff said, right? A very extreme approach for most people, but definitely works for some. Don't worry, he knows that not everyone is ready for such a drastic change gives support for those wishing to ease into this way of eating/living in this book.
But this book is not going to be the only raw or health book you'll ever need. No book ever will be the
only book you ever need, but with
The Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle, you will get you much further and faster than any other raw book we've run across.
So many other raw books spend so much time "convincing" you that the raw diet is the best diet. Markus doesn't waste your time with a lot of lofty words. You've heard raw food is good, right? Sure, Markus gives you his version of the "raw tirade" in the book, but he blasts right through the crap that most other books spend way too many chapters on and just gets you started ASAP. Amen!
An Author That's Been There, Not One That's PerfectWe all love a good story, especially one that shows the author has been there. Markus is not someone who was healthy, then found raw food and got healthier. He spent the first 30 years of his life extremely sick! And if you imagine
how much this amazing guy accomplished while being sick (beautiful artwork, working on Hollywood movies, special effects for movies, etc.), you would be astounded to find out how sick he was during those years. Compare it to how toned and healthy this man looks now at 47!
"I almost died half a dozen times in my life because of stupid things I did... most of them lifestyle choices. I never drank alcohol, smoked, did recreational drugs or anything like that. I followed all the rules like a good citizen. But my life still came very close to ending numerous times. Why? Not because I played with guns or jumped out of airplanes. No, I had heart disease, liver disease, lung disease, I was hemorrhaging and had a list of medical problems longer than this book... all because I ate what I wanted- the modern American diet. For the first thirty years, I ate candy, hamburgers, florescent sodas, macaroni and cheese, pop tarts, toast, spaghetti, TV dinners, pastries, canned food, cheese, bread, milk, sugar, sugar, sugar and more sugar. I had cysts before I was even out of my teens. I couldn't drive more than a few minutes without stopping, opening the car door and coughing up a gob of mucus so I could breathe. People didn't call me Markus, they called me Mucus." -- Markus describing his health transformation
It's pretty obvious that a huge chunk of Markus's passion for focusing his efforts on raw food and optimal health right now come from his radical transformation. He seems like he's just bubbling with his incredible story of personal healing, that he can barely get it all out.
Reading his book is much like sitting down with him in person and having him genuinely talk with you, passionately trying to help you understand and obtain radiant health, person-to-person. It's as if Markus is trying to speak to you through this book.
It's easy to get swept up into Markus's enthusiasm and passion for living a radiant life. While reading his book, you will probably find yourself feeling and saying...
"Yes! Let's get on this right now! I'm ready to live the best life ever this second and never hold back again!"Personally, this is the stuff we love to read. Instead of reading fiction, we read books like Markus's over and over again.
But making an extreme change very quickly may not be for everyone. Markus isn't necessarily advocating such a quick, overnight change, but you can feel his push for his readers to seriously consider it! I challenge you to watch Markus's inspiring videos and read his book in one day and not to get caught up in the fervor to "change your life right now!"
What, Exactly, is in this Book?When we get interested in a new book, we love being able to either look through it or at least check out its table of contents before buying it. Since right now Markus is only offering "
The Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle" as an ebook, we're going to give you the table of contents right here in this review:
Table of Contents:- Intro - The Healing Starts Now
- Here We Go
- How Bad Can it Be?
- The Transition
- The Shopping List
- Enema - The Miracle Cleanser
- Fasting - The Universal Healer
- Parasites - Everyone Has Them
- The Plan
- Recipes
- Signs of Detox and Level of Health
- Mistakes Many Raw Foodists Make
- Bad Things to Avoid
- Exercise
- Stretching
- Emotion
- Stress
- The Power of Touch
- Make Love for Health
- Alone Time and Place
- Energy Work
- Sleep
- Spirituality
- Sunlight
- If it Isn't Working
- The Biggest Healer of All
- Final Word
- Where to Get Stuff
- Healing Centers
This book, clocking in at 135 pages, is very densely packed. In published book form this book would easily take up 350 pages or more. As we've said before, Markus pull no punches and leaves nothing out except the fluff. And since Markus currently charges $300 an hour for consultations, this book is akin to sitting down with him for a weekend and getting his entire wealth of knowledge and experience in health and nutrition for a fraction of the cost.
"The Plan"The heart of the book is a section aptly simply named "
The Plan", which itemizes in a step-by-step fashion how to put his raw diet lifestyle plan to use...even if you've never done anything like it before. Markus completely breaks everything down and directly tells you what you need to do.
How do you start "The Plan"? Markus recommends starting "The Plan" with a complete cleansing:
- enemas
- juicing
- water fasting
- and other healthful steps...before moving into solid foods to totally clean out a toxic body. This plan is very well laid out and can give someone a clear picture as to what actually needs to be done instead of just talking about lofty concepts of perfect health.
A lot of raw health books we've read spend miles of pages talking about the theory and concept of raw foods. Where else can you find a detailed plan for beginners? We've never seen one so well laid out like this until now.
Other sections include:- There is also a large section on parasites and parasites cleansing. See our review of Markus's Parasite-Free formula.
- Troubleshooting section, a list of bad things to avoid.
- Also includes a lengthy section on bodywork: massage, yoga, stretching, etc.
- As well as the deep, intimate connection our emotions and stress has on our health.
- And of course, the healing power of sex, sex, and more sex!
(Sex...and love. Markus is a total passionate romantic!)
- The last section includes a very simple summary for those times when the reader needs a quick reminder or wants an easy breakdown of what to do and what not to do.
- How do you know if it's working? section. We love this. How many times have you seen crazy ideas in a raw food book and you're always wondering if you're doing the right thing?! Markus shows you the signs to be looking for.
The Buying Guide -How to find high quality raw foods at the best pricesOne of our absolute favorite parts about this book is that Markus gives the exact sources for where he gets his bulk herbs, superfoods, and powders. Nothing is held back for "another product". It's all here. There are even sources we had not seen before in this book. As we like to say about Markus, he's done his homework! Both of us were in total agreement with Markus' suggestions.
So what kind of raw food diet does Markus recommend in his new book?It's no secret that not one raw food advocate, expert, or author completely agree on what the "proper" raw food diet is. So what type of raw diet does Markus advocate? A mainly fresh-food, mostly vegan raw diet. Dehydrated foods and nuts are great, but not the ultimate health promoting raw food diet, in his view. Foods with more water and juiciness are preferred.
He also advocates a lots of greens, giving an ideal daily amount of greens to shoot for 2/3 vs. 1/3 fruit in blended green smoothies.
"So if you need to, then eat the transitional foods - like dehydrated crackers, burgers and cookies etc. But just know that it’s not as health-promoting as fresh fruits and vegetables plucked right off a tree or bush and eaten or blended."
- Markus on the ideal raw food diet
Should You Get this Book?We've been toying with the idea of writing our own "Raw Foods for Beginners" book for years. And we've just celebrated our 5 year raw anniversary. While we may be writing a raw food book in the future, for the time being we will be recommending anyone interested in raw foods should read Markus' book.
Markus has done the research, he knows his stuff, and he is a breath of fresh air as he has written a book that is truthful, honest, and truly informational.
- If you are just starting out with learning about raw food, read this book.
- If you are struggling with "how to go raw", read this book.
- If you have some health problems and want to feel better, read this book.
With total honesty, both Heidi and I can say that this book may change your life forever.
Can you tell we love this book?Find out more about this book here:
The Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle by Markus Rothkranz~ JS Ohlander
Raw Food Right Nowhttp://www.rawfoodrightnow.com
