Important Life Lesson I Learned From A Trip To The Dentist

trying to smile with anesthesia :)

Hey Maniacs!

Only three days to my flight to Thailand and i had to take an unexpected and expensive trip to the dentist yesterday. 2 years ago I had a filling break on my salad and I wasn't keen on going to the dentist at all. in general I hate doctors and i think that the modern medicine is lacking through and through. I despise the feeling of helplessness I get when I'm in pain or sick and especially I hate when I supposedly don't have the knowledge to heal it, and someone else holds it for me and tells me what to do, as if we're not talking about MY body and MY aches.

I had plenty of times in which I took the courage to head over to a doctor, and got a real bad treatment that usually made me more sick or sick in a different way [for example, the endless cycle of antibiotics - candida], accompanied by a really disgusting approach that the doctor treats me as a straight up idiot who cant fend for herself and they obviously know everything about me and my body. 

With the dentist it's a whole other story. not only the dentist sucks big time and cant get a friggin filling to last for two weeks, but the whole procedure is horrible. having someone stick his stinking gloved hands in my mouth makes me feel completely out of control, and my emetophobia [fear of vomiting] also relates to that feeling [as to everything really]. And if that's not enough, I've had dental issues since birth, because my mother had to take some kind of medicine before my birth and it literally messed up my face. the most recurring response I get on my youtube channel is about my teeth, and it was always like that in school when other kids would make fun of my teeth. having my teeth completely fixed was too expensive for my family and i learned to accept that these are my teeth, and that's how its gonna be. But even now I don't smile with teeth when taking pictures.

Somehow over the years  even developed a specific teeth phobia, not dentist phobia, but the fear and extreme aversion  from teeth and everything related. I got to a point where i wasn't able to watch those toothpaste commercial on tv and youtube. the actual thought of teeth and dental procedures was immensely distressing for me.

A few days ago I was enjoying a guava fruit when a damn seed got stuck in my broken filling-cavity thing going around my mouth somewhere, and it took me forever to get it out. in the meanwhile, the seed made my cavity even bigger and got my remaining amalgam filling to drift from my tooth. 

Being a hypochondriac, I started investigating about amalgam filling and started asking in fb groups about doctors who take out amalgam filling in a safe way, cause they contain mercury which is a seriously dangerous metal that definitely shouldn't be in our mouth and  needs to be taken out in a way that we don't absorb and breath it and get cancer and shit.

So after crying a few hours for feeling helpless from the fact that someone else holds the key to my health, and from knowing that i'll have to let someone touch my mouth and drill my skull, I decided to relax the fuck up and just accept it. from the second I had my resolution on, I stopped crying and I somehow detached myself from the person I was imagining having  a dentist appointment the next day. 

Now I'm not saying dissociation is the way to go, I am way too unattached to my overall being and I don't recommend my way of handling things, but this dental experience was different from other experiences I had. I didn't really feel any fear when I first entered the dentists room, I mean, I was scared, but not anxious. does thas make sense? Anyway, the dentist and assistance were so freaking nice! it shocked me even. I was crying and a bit hysteric at first but they really went through everything they did and I felt like I gained my control back. They even played a daddy yankee video for me on to help me feel more comfortable and relaxed. 

I had 2 amalgam fillings replaces to white ones, and I felt so brave and empowered from going through with that, that I went back after a few hours and got another filling done on the other side. 

I am so so so proud of myself for going through with this, and taking care of my body. I'm very happy I don't have mercury in my body anymore and that my teeth condition is good in general. even though i eat 90% carbs haha! but seriously, taking care of ourselves and our bodies is so important! we don't have any other home to live in! and  even though its temporarily,  its our only place and the only thing we truly own. I definitely rather pay more for a better dental experience with a private doctor and not having a disastrous metal in my mouth.

I  must say, that I don't how I will react if I'll need to go to the dentist again, and I don't think that just deciding to relx and go on with things will cure your phobia or whatever, but it's definitely good to face it. I had other fears like water and vomiting and I did actually try to face them head on, but it still didn't work. even after vomiting and after trying to swim for the first time, I'm still very very afraid of it. nevertheless I'm really happy I could have an experience of coping with a fear and getting through with it like a normal person, and not like it was for me with other fears, that weren't getting the reaction I wanted when facing them. Kind of gave me hope that one day I could get rid of all my phobias. No matter what, I'm gonna fight for my right to live a fearless life.

What I Eat in a Day On a Raw Till 4 High Carb Low Fat Vegan Lifestyle to Stay Energetic and Skinny

Hello Maniacs!

I'm very excited about my new video. I always wanted to do a what I eat in a day video for you guys, but I'm such a lazy mofo, only since I started writing my recipe ebook I got my recipes to look less of a mess. I am a complete slob and nothing in the process of making my food looks aesthetic. but I really wanted to make a video showing what I eat in a typical day, the amounts of food and the calories I eat on this raw till 4, high carb, low fat, vegan lifestyle. especially now because I'll be in Thailand next week and I won't have all the usual fruits that you can get anywhere, and I probably won't be able to cook for myself for awhile.

This is what I ate on Tuesday 11\11\14, which was actually my 26th birthday :)

Morning:

1 liter of water

Breakfast: Fruit salad

500g crimson grapes = 345 kcal

300g pomegranates = 249 kcal

4 kiwis = 168 kcal

1 cup orange juice = 111 kcal

Total of 873 calories

Lunch: 1 liter green smoothie

7 bananas [3 frozen] = 687 kcal

5 dates = 332 kcal

5 lettuce leaves = 23 kcal

1 cup mint = 17 kcal

Total of 1060 calories

Snack: 3 bananas

Total of 315 calories

Dinner: Crispy potato wedges with guacamole dip 

1 kg potatoes = 770 kcal

0.5 avocado = 160 kcal

1 tomato = 22 kcal

1 spring onion = 4 kcal

lemon juice

1 spoon of chili flakes

Total of 957 calories

 All in all, total of 3205 calories, 54g of protein, 757g of carbs, 26g of fat.

Calorie breakdown = 87/5/7

As you can see I get plenty of protein, it's actually more than 0.8g of protein per kg of my body weight. I also get all the vitamins and mineral I need, and I can be sure they are being absorbed well because I don't eat stuff like salt, caffein, and other things that can harm the assimilation of micronutrients in our bodies.
Even though I eat a lot, I don't get fat and I'm even losing body fat and getting leaner. my energy all day was up the roof, only before my 3 bananas snack I got very hungry and I needed my fix. I wasn't really active that day, went for a slow walk in the mountains and met a dear friend of mine. but nothing I would classify as exercise. when I do exercise I will eat more than this.

This is a very typical day for me. I usually have at least one smoothie cause it make smashing in the calories fairly easy, and my other fruit meal a fruit salad or a mono fruit meal. right now my favorites are persimmons and cherimoya <3 I usually have 2 big meals and 1 small snack and a 500-1000cal dinner like I had today, or on busy days I'll have 2-4 huge fruit meals and a 500-1000cal dinner.

I hope you guys enjoyed seeing what I eat in a day, I'll definitely make more of these videos when I'll binge on tropical fruits in Thailand.

My Experience in the Israeli Rainbow Gathering

Well hello there Maniacs!

The preparations for the flight to Thailand are happening as we speak, but this weekend I took some time off to go to the Israeli Rainbow Gathering.

I was really hoping it'll be an experience like the one's I had in the Midburn community events, but it was completely different. the rainbow is a gathering of people for a whole month in some forest, who try to build a community on peace and love and shit. it's a free event and you get food for free so it has a really nice anti consumerism aspect to it.

I took a few hitchhikers with me on Friday and the ride was very nice and the view was incredible. when we got closer to the gathering we went through my favorite grapes vineyards. I was really excited! We arrived at sundown and couldn't see jack. but we still build our own independent tribe and built our tents together. afterwards we started hearing everyone shout "food circle now". this is a call for the major social event that happens twice a day in the rainbow, where everyone gathers around the main fire and chant and sing and do hippie stuff before the food, and then everyone eats together in a bowl they bring themselves, and have a portion of food being poured like in Oliver twist movies.

as most of you guys know i eat Raw Till 4, so I came prepared with my own fruits and some quinoa and broccoli i precooked at home before heading out. so I had that, and a bit of bread my friend made from whole wheat. 

after dinner, as it was apparently full moon, the full moon celebrations started. basically it was a lot of hippies singing and jamming together around a huge fire. it was really nice. a lot of good vibes and shit, but i felt completely out of place.

the following day was great! i went with my friends for a nice walk in the woods, met a few nice people and got to talk to some hippies. I was supposed to get back on saturday night back home but I felt like I still haven't opened up enough to the experience and got out of my shell, which usually takes me a few days. also I wanted to see how I handle the situation and being alone without the friends i came with and got to know through that time. so i decided to stay another day and see whats up.

my friends left at night and i knew a few people from other festivals but i was still pretty lonely, so i went to help in the kitchen. i met some nice dude and we went to pick some sugar cane next to a vineyard. I must say after trying to eat it, it is not food for humans. really inedible and it made me a bit nauseated as well, so i ultimately ended up having a panic attack in a vineyard in a place i don't know with some dude i don't know. he handled it very well, but i was still feeling crappy so i went to sleep back at my tent when we got back.

the day after, i woke up feeling fine but i was a bit sad. i felt lonely cause i wasn't really opening up to the environment and i am certainly not a hippןe. i have  a huge resistance to new age stuff  and some people i spoke with had this thing that they made me feel like they were a bit condescending.

after wandering around and seeing that most of whoever's left in the gathering were asleep i saw a group of people playing a game and i said to myself: "Henya, this is your chance to open up. Your'e all alone and you can just go, say hi, and sit with them", and so I did. they were friendly and let me read a card as soon as i sat in the circle, but afterwards the very loud girl asked my if I'm not underage or something.

Now this got me a bit worked up, cause I know i look young and everything from being vegan and
fruitarian a long time, but It is non of your interest how old I am. I didn't feel the need to answer her saying I'm actually 26, probably older than she was, but the fact that they give a shit about ages in such a place is a bit silly in my opinion. but than again, most of the "hippies" there weren't even vegan or vegetarian so I don't know why I'm getting all worked up over this.

Seriously, all those people claiming to be spiritual and hippie shit is just ridiculous if they are eating dead food. talking about peace and taking part in most cruel industry ever created that terrorizes billion of innocent beings is absurd. i had conversation with the carnists hippies many times, and every time i get so mad. even the one's that are vegan are saying all the time that we shouldn't bother other people with what their eating, but I wonder how calm and shanti they'd be if it were their sister lying on someone else's plate. it's noteworthy that the rainbow gathering's food is strictly vegan.

anyway, after she asked about my age in such a condescending and disgusting way I went to have some dates and pears in my tent, and I got to a point where i felt like i needed to get the fuck out from this place asap. i picked up all my shit and then a new friend, Kiki, came to see if I was heading out and i went with him, and a few more hitchhikers back to civilization.

on the way I could help myself from stopping to pick some grapes from the vineyards all over us, and I got myself a really nice box of my almost favorite grapes - crimson red. as it is "Shmita" here in Israel, a year in which we don't cultivate or pick fruits commercially just so the land could have some time to regenerate itself, the vines were packed with ripe sweet and beautiful grapes just waiting for me to binge on :) seriously, meeting Kiki and picking grapes were actually the highlights of my rainbow experience, but i was happy to spend some time in nature and with friends, and its absolutely great to try something out and just see that's its not for you, so you don't have to wonder what would it be like if you went and tried it out.

to conclude, I really don't have anything against the rainbow, I had a nice time, but i didn't really connect to the atmosphere there and I preffer Midburn and Burning man events much better. It's not allowed to take pictures there because no electricity is allowed, but I took the liberty to shoot some pics anyway :)

Peace,

Henya

the rainbow gathering in israel 2014

my tent and fruits. I had another box of cherrimoyas, pears and kiwis inside the tent. no need to give up on a fruitarian RT4 or fully raw lifestyle when camping.

the vineyard

hippies in the picking!

doesn't seem like much but my guess is that there's 20kg worth of grapes here

me and Kiki :)