When John arrived at the Prama Wellness Center a few years ago, he had been diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease which can be quite painful and debilitating. Working a busy IT job during the week, John had very little time for family and friends on the weekend. Not because he could not fit quality family time into his schedule, but simple because he was too tired to get up from bed.

Juicing is definitely healthy as it is one of the best ways to ensure that the body gets a high dose of vitamins and phytonutrients, which most people in the West are lacking in their diet. But is juicing for everybody and can it be done at any time of the year? To answer those questions, Ayurveda, the ancient healing system of yoga, can be very instructive.

The cold season is upon us. Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the leaves are turning bright red and yellow. The winds are chilly. Smoke can be seen from early morning chimneys. This is the time for reduced immune systems; the time for chest colds and flu fevers. But these cold season maladies are not inevitable. Not if we take charge and build up a strong defense by bolstering our immune system.

Ayurveda instructs us not only to live in tune with our individual body type, but also the seasonal environment. During the colder vata season, it is important to maintain a regular routine with our meals and to eat warm, soupy foods.

In 2016, the Japanese cellular biologist Yoshinori Oshumi won the Nobel Prize for proving the process of authophagy, the way cells utilizes and recycles unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components. In other words, I was able to heal my chronic condition during my 14 day juice fast because the fast allowed my cells to detox, regenerate and rebuild themselves.

The Prama Wellness Center recently organized a one-day seminar entitled “Eat to Live: A Lifestyle Program for Health and Longevity” with Dr. Joel Fuhrman. More than 120 enthusiastic participants attended this thought-provoking one-day program on Saturday, March 16, 2019, at the Jubilee Church in downtown Asheville, NC. The Vegan Society and Edible Musings were sponsors for the event.

Have you ever heard of the term adaptogen? An adaptogen is an herb which helps the body adapt to stress in a more balanced way. These herbs have been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for thousands of years. But it is only recently, however, that scientists have begun to study these potent plants.

Many plant-based food experts claim that fresh fruit juices contain too much sugar and are therefore unhealthy. One of the latest of these anti-fruit-juicing messages comes from the book, The Whole Foods Diet by John Mackey, the CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market. What are the facts?

I never realized how important fresh and clean water was to my life before I, as a young man, spent time in poor and dry parts of India, where fresh water was not always easy to come by. Especially not clean water. One day, in the sweltering heat of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I sank to my knees of exhaustion due to dehydration. Water is indeed essential for keeping us energized and alive.