Healthy living is a lifestyle that many of us need to get into, but not many can afford. Not because it’s not accessible, but mainly because we do not have enough education about it — what we need and what we have to do. And then, there are people who live passionately by it, with a stronger force than most, helping them help us mere folk to realise that we need to take care of our well-being more.

My mum is Pauliina Salmenhaara. She is a raw food chef and educator. When I was born, I was always sick and at the hospital a lot. After some time, my mum realized what was causing all the sickness; it was the sugar, gluten and dairy. We were living in China at the time, and consumed large amounts of MSG, sugar, gluten and dairy in every meal, and this was making it all worse.

We moved to Singapore and had a fresh start. My sister and I were on a strict no sugar, dairy or gluten diet. We were healthy and fine. I wasn’t going to the hospital anymore. After some time on the diet, my mum wasn’t so strict about it anymore. She wanted to see what would happen if we ate sugar, dairy, and gluten again.

At school, our friends have sugar, gluten and dairy in almost every meal they eat. We still bring fruits and gluten-free foods to school, simply because sugar, gluten, and dairy are bad for you whether you have a reaction to them or not.

There is a thing called ‘skinny fat’. It simply means that you appear skinny, but inside you are fat. There are tons and tons of these people. They are the ones who don’t physically react to it. Then, there are the ones who physically react. My point is that, whether you see it or not, something is slowly killing you.

You don’t have to be that. It’s your choice. My family made that choice. My mum became a raw food chef and makes raw food. Raw food doesn’t have to be just boring salads. Almost any food you think of can be made raw. Raw cakes, raw chocolate, falafels and dried fruits can all be made raw and yummy. And those examples are only the beginning.

I am designing a 2016 Spring Bali Retreat. This retreat is for women by women. Let me know what an ideal retreat in Bali would be like for you below!

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