Kevin Gianni is a health author, activist and blogger. He started seriously researching personal and preventative natural health therapies in 2002 when he was struck with the reality that cancer ran deep in his family and if he didn’t change the way he was living — he might go down that same path. Since then, he’s written and edited 6 books on the subject of natural health, diet and fitness. During this time, he’s constantly been humbled by what experts claim they know and what actually is true. This has led him to experiment with many diets and protocols — including vegan, raw food, fasting, medical treatments and more — to find out what is myth and what really works in the real world.
Kevin has also traveled around the world searching for the best protocols, foods, medicines and clinics around and bringing them to the readers of his blog RenegadeHealth.com — which is one of the most widely read natural health blogs in the world with hundreds of thousands of visitors a month from over 150 countries around the world.
I’ve water fasted a total of 91 days in 21 and 28-day ncrements since 2003. At 50 I was mistaken for 30 afterwards and immediately got regular periods briefly afterwards. Rosalind Gruben PhD told me to use birth control, because I could very well get pregnant.
I love garlic but cannot take it unless over some holiday due to the fact of it’s lingering odor which it worsens over the next day or two. Instead I love all onions especially Vidal onions in salads etc.
I married a guy from India so I have collected many spices to do the Indian cooking and I enjoy adding them to my raw food recipes. Cumin is one of my favorites.
I think water fasting periodically is great. I’ve thought about water fasting one day each week … which is better do you think, very short term but often water fasting, or longer and less often?
Kevin, when you are referring to herbs in this video, are you referring to culinary herbs (aka cilantro, oregano, thyme), or medicinal/therapeutic herbs (cordyceps, maca, shilajit)? What are your views on the use of therapeutic herbs under the guidance of a licensed natural health care practitioner?
Ginger is what I use in so much of my cooking, I adore the smell and the flavor it as well as the it’s versatility. Ginger tea is yummy,too. When it comes to herbs and spices there are so many that are wonderful that it’s tough to single out just one!
Right now, raw garlic grated with my new, how did I ever live without it, microplane over just about everything I eat except fruit. Second and third would be cilantro and basil, both fresh and added right before it goes to table.
How unusual is this? My favorite spice at the momentis berbere (from Ethiopia) too. It’s actually a combination of a bunch of different spices that create a very distinct flavor. I have been using it in shiro (Ethiopean garbanzo bean sauce). It’s spicy and delicious over veggies and rice.
Hey Kevin, when are you going to offer RH t-shirts? I’d be honored to wear one . Let us know. Thank you.
Right now my favorite spice is cardamom – cannot get enough. I cannot decide on a favorite herb, love them all- basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, chives, ramps. Can’t imagine not having spices and herbs in my dishes.
Mouth question: Google “Thrush” which occurs on the tongue.
Favorite herb: Cammomile in a tea
Fresh: Garlic (if eaten within 24 hours of harvest)
Herbs in my garden: chives, onion, garlic, basil, cammomile, parsly, rosemary, oregano, and stevia.
Cooking: I love a curry mix on coconut milk with just about everything. I also blended a mix of herbs I harvest from the garden into a powder and I can use that on everything.
I make my own chicken broth from simmering bones for soup. (Obviously we are not vegan.) Instead of pasta in my chicken soup I use just a few cubed potatoes along with a combination of lots of veggies plus parsley. To my delight I’ve discovered Turmeric (cumin…curcumin). It makes the most wonderfully full flavored soup ever! Turmeric is wonderfully heart healthy too. It prevents fibrinogen in the blood (caused by inflammation in the body), thought by current experts to be the cause of heart attack even in our parents time. For so many years cholesterol has been blamed, but only half of heart attack victims have high cholesterol. Since doctors had no other answer they just continued “singing the same tune.” Now we know!
Thanks on the tumeric, RJ (8). For me it’s been good old parsley. My mom has macular degeneration so I’ve been going over & making her smoothies with plenty of parsley, as it’s heavy in lutein. Not only is it lutein replete: http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-Benefits-Of-Parsley&id=111028 & this one groups it with tumeric as one of the best: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/diet_nutrition/ParsleyBenefits.htm Then this one has a vid, Parsing Parsley telling why to use the flat leaf over the curly: http://hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefits-Of-Parsley –Uh oh, I see in a few of these pages they say you can have too much of a good thing, cautioning not to drink more than a couple ounces of it as a juice. …I don’t think it’s that big a deal, but yeah, to leave room to cover other bases, by taking in other foods, forming the rest of the meal.
Yes, I use spices on lots of things. Cinnamon and vanilla on oatmeal. Curry, garlic, cayenne, black pepper, cumin, etc. on rice. Green superfood powders usually have some spices in them for flavor and nutrition, and to help digest and assimilate other foods.
Ginger, turmeric and lemongrass grow in the garden here in Hawaii. Also basil and cilantro.
It’s hard to see why natural hygiene people don’t allow spices. After all, spices are plants, right? Do they think that we should only eat things that can be eaten as a mono meal? What’s the point of that kind of limitation?
I am grateful for spices, they sure keep food interesting!
More on helping hormonal imbalances please – I also wish the question of the day was about resetting hormones through fasting. So many people have hormonal issues as they get older and it’s not often addressed in any detail. Even though I’ve been eating mostly raw vegan, voiding soy products and taking the right supplements for a few years it’s not helping my multiple hormonal imbalances. What helps the most and what makes it worse?
Right now, cardamom. I had a hard time getting used to the taste of green tea, so I started adding spices to my tea. With cardamom, I also use cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seed and ginger.
Right now it’s Dr. Yanick’s QuantaCondiment. It’s a ferment of different herbs, spices, olive oil and vinegar. It’s soo good for you and tasty. I use it as salad dressing and use it to make hummus. It’s organic and unheated. It’s in a dark glass bottle. http://www.quantafoods.com
Black pepper is by far the one I use most. Cumin, paprika (hey, I’m mostly Hungarian!), and cayenne are also big. Other flavorings we use a lot are ACV, garlic and tamari (though I know those are not strictly spices). And, yes – horror of horrors – I still use the dreaded Sea Salt!
Fresh Coriander (cilantro), which is sprinkled on top of every salad and soup. Fresh chillies and a fresh bay leaf go into my homemade lukewarm (as raw as possible) soups from my indoor plants! When it comes to gardening, I have ‘black-fingers’ as opposed to ‘green-fingers’(most things just die on me!), but CHILLI and BAYLEAF I found out to be so so easy to keep alive indoors – if anybody fancies a try!!! Other than that… dried dill leaf, which has a very earthy aroma.
I am getting hungry looking at all the spices! I like all of them! Cilantro, tarragon, mint, pepper, cayenne (hot sauce is my non-raw fave), garlic, pepper, Thai basil, the Ethiopian spices are fantastic but need cooking as do curries or else they are too hard on the stomach. Those are best combined with fat like coconut oil and heated (maybe soaking would do?).
I really enjoy curry, but also was recently introduced to a spice from Ethiopia called burberry.
I’ve water fasted a total of 91 days in 21 and 28-day ncrements since 2003. At 50 I was mistaken for 30 afterwards and immediately got regular periods briefly afterwards. Rosalind Gruben PhD told me to use birth control, because I could very well get pregnant.
Great answers today! My favorite – all time – herb is cilantro!!! Love it in salads especially and now grow it in my garden. Yum!!
I love garlic but cannot take it unless over some holiday due to the fact of it’s lingering odor which it worsens over the next day or two. Instead I love all onions especially Vidal onions in salads etc.
I married a guy from India so I have collected many spices to do the Indian cooking and I enjoy adding them to my raw food recipes. Cumin is one of my favorites.
Cayenne is my new fave spice!
I think water fasting periodically is great. I’ve thought about water fasting one day each week … which is better do you think, very short term but often water fasting, or longer and less often?
I love all kinds of fresh basil and thyme. YUM!
Kevin, when you are referring to herbs in this video, are you referring to culinary herbs (aka cilantro, oregano, thyme), or medicinal/therapeutic herbs (cordyceps, maca, shilajit)? What are your views on the use of therapeutic herbs under the guidance of a licensed natural health care practitioner?
I’m addicted to Turmeric. Here is why:
http://www.rawmazing.com/recipes/super-food-turmeric/
Fresh Basil is my fav right now. I got a plant a couple of months ago for in the kitchen. It’s doing great even though I snip it almost daily!
fresh basil and garlic.
For the last year I have been craving pesto. Can’t get enough of it.
I FOUND A SITE WITH SOME RESTAURANTS IN CALIFORNIA
http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/restaurants_raw_living_foods/
INN OF THE SEVETH RAY IS A NICE RESTAURANT SUNDAY BRUNCH IS EXCELLENT TRY TO GET A TABLE BY THE STREAM THE RESTAURANT IS IN THE WOODS ITS ROMANTIC
Web site: http://www.innoftheseventhray.com
Ginger is what I use in so much of my cooking, I adore the smell and the flavor it as well as the it’s versatility. Ginger tea is yummy,too. When it comes to herbs and spices there are so many that are wonderful that it’s tough to single out just one!
Right now, raw garlic grated with my new, how did I ever live without it, microplane over just about everything I eat except fruit. Second and third would be cilantro and basil, both fresh and added right before it goes to table.
Black pepper & cayenne are staples for me. Garlic features high too.
What cooking methods do you guys use (boiling, steaming, frying, roasting, grilling etc…)? And are there any that you specifically steer away from?
I love fresh basil, freshly grated nutmeg, and cardamom!
I use fresh garlic, I love it!
I love fresh parsley and basil from the garden. I also love chervil but I’ve only ever found it when I go to Europe.
My food has to be spicy with cilantro, chili, tumeric, cumin, and etc.
How unusual is this? My favorite spice at the momentis berbere (from Ethiopia) too. It’s actually a combination of a bunch of different spices that create a very distinct flavor. I have been using it in shiro (Ethiopean garbanzo bean sauce). It’s spicy and delicious over veggies and rice.
Hey Kevin, when are you going to offer RH t-shirts? I’d be honored to wear one
. Let us know. Thank you.
Ceylon Cinnamon!
Right now my favorite spice is cardamom – cannot get enough. I cannot decide on a favorite herb, love them all- basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, garlic, chives, ramps. Can’t imagine not having spices and herbs in my dishes.
Mouth question: Google “Thrush” which occurs on the tongue.
Favorite herb: Cammomile in a tea
Fresh: Garlic (if eaten within 24 hours of harvest)
Herbs in my garden: chives, onion, garlic, basil, cammomile, parsly, rosemary, oregano, and stevia.
Cooking: I love a curry mix on coconut milk with just about everything. I also blended a mix of herbs I harvest from the garden into a powder and I can use that on everything.
I make my own chicken broth from simmering bones for soup. (Obviously we are not vegan.) Instead of pasta in my chicken soup I use just a few cubed potatoes along with a combination of lots of veggies plus parsley. To my delight I’ve discovered Turmeric (cumin…curcumin). It makes the most wonderfully full flavored soup ever! Turmeric is wonderfully heart healthy too. It prevents fibrinogen in the blood (caused by inflammation in the body), thought by current experts to be the cause of heart attack even in our parents time. For so many years cholesterol has been blamed, but only half of heart attack victims have high cholesterol. Since doctors had no other answer they just continued “singing the same tune.” Now we know!
Thanks on the tumeric, RJ (8). For me it’s been good old parsley. My mom has macular degeneration so I’ve been going over & making her smoothies with plenty of parsley, as it’s heavy in lutein. Not only is it lutein replete: http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-Benefits-Of-Parsley&id=111028 & this one groups it with tumeric as one of the best: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/diet_nutrition/ParsleyBenefits.htm Then this one has a vid, Parsing Parsley telling why to use the flat leaf over the curly: http://hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefits-Of-Parsley –Uh oh, I see in a few of these pages they say you can have too much of a good thing, cautioning not to drink more than a couple ounces of it as a juice. …I don’t think it’s that big a deal, but yeah, to leave room to cover other bases, by taking in other foods, forming the rest of the meal.
Oregano for dishes & cinnamon for desserts!
“Can Fasting Reset Hormon Issues” should be the question today !
Why talk on spices?
Yes, I use spices on lots of things. Cinnamon and vanilla on oatmeal. Curry, garlic, cayenne, black pepper, cumin, etc. on rice. Green superfood powders usually have some spices in them for flavor and nutrition, and to help digest and assimilate other foods.
Ginger, turmeric and lemongrass grow in the garden here in Hawaii. Also basil and cilantro.
It’s hard to see why natural hygiene people don’t allow spices. After all, spices are plants, right? Do they think that we should only eat things that can be eaten as a mono meal? What’s the point of that kind of limitation?
I am grateful for spices, they sure keep food interesting!
My favorite spice for winter is curry. For summer it is fresh purple basil. I use it in many fresh vegetable soups made in a vita blender.
Cummins – love the taste on raw salad (carrots, celery and almonds butter) or in soups, stir fry veggies. Love it!
More on helping hormonal imbalances please – I also wish the question of the day was about resetting hormones through fasting. So many people have hormonal issues as they get older and it’s not often addressed in any detail. Even though I’ve been eating mostly raw vegan, voiding soy products and taking the right supplements for a few years it’s not helping my multiple hormonal imbalances. What helps the most and what makes it worse?
First – you guys are great. I love your short but very informative “t.v episodes.” Thank you.
Spices – I use cinnamon, basil, cilantro, and occasionally some fresh thyme and oregano.
Hmmmm, spice right now has to be cinnamon and herb has to be cilantro.
Right now, cardamom. I had a hard time getting used to the taste of green tea, so I started adding spices to my tea. With cardamom, I also use cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seed and ginger.
tarragon and mint! Also Frankie G’s new spices and CUMIN : )
When I get canker sores, I can trace it to eating too much acidic foods.
Herbs & Spices – Garlic, cilantro, basil, oregano, lavender. ginger.
I use a combo herbe de provence that I love.
Chilies in all kind, especially the “picante” ones, black pepper.
Question of the day should be “resetting hormones through fasting”!
I love ginger. Especially in a banana smoothie.
In salads I enjoy parsley.
With tomatoes I like Basil.
Right now it’s Dr. Yanick’s QuantaCondiment. It’s a ferment of different herbs, spices, olive oil and vinegar. It’s soo good for you and tasty. I use it as salad dressing and use it to make hummus. It’s organic and unheated. It’s in a dark glass bottle. http://www.quantafoods.com
Black pepper is by far the one I use most. Cumin, paprika (hey, I’m mostly Hungarian!), and cayenne are also big. Other flavorings we use a lot are ACV, garlic and tamari (though I know those are not strictly spices). And, yes – horror of horrors – I still use the dreaded Sea Salt!
I use clove, ginger & cinnamon in my chia/fruit mix in the morning. I use cilantro, cumin, tumeric & garlic in my avocado mix.
Black pepper. I have been putting lots of it on my salads lately.
Fresh Coriander (cilantro), which is sprinkled on top of every salad and soup. Fresh chillies and a fresh bay leaf go into my homemade lukewarm (as raw as possible) soups from my indoor plants! When it comes to gardening, I have ‘black-fingers’ as opposed to ‘green-fingers’(most things just die on me!), but CHILLI and BAYLEAF I found out to be so so easy to keep alive indoors – if anybody fancies a try!!! Other than that… dried dill leaf, which has a very earthy aroma.
Right now it’s basil. I am surprised at how many of us don’t know how bad black pepper is for you. Stomach cancer is way up for a reason.
I’ve been using a lot of Parsley recently, in my juices and sprinkled on most everything else.
Saffron! I put it in rice, bread, sweet bread, fish, warm milk. It’s delicious!
CHILE AND CAYENNE PAPPER, CELANTRO, BASIL,AND GINGER!
I am getting hungry looking at all the spices! I like all of them! Cilantro, tarragon, mint, pepper, cayenne (hot sauce is my non-raw fave), garlic, pepper, Thai basil, the Ethiopian spices are fantastic but need cooking as do curries or else they are too hard on the stomach. Those are best combined with fat like coconut oil and heated (maybe soaking would do?).