 Today's episode of the Anthony Anderson Show is brought to you by SunWarrior, SunWarrior.com and MtGox, that's mtgox.com. You're going to see everything coming in. Greetings everyone. This is Anthony Anderson, coming at you live from New York City and we're here today with a really special guest. Her name is Andrea Cox and she is a raw food coach, health strategist, and a former fitness model. Welcome Andrea. How are you? I'm great. Thank you for having me. Thanks so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it. This is great. My pleasure. So you have been, you've been in the modeling world, you're really well known now. How did you get into conscious eating and like the whole foods lifestyle, the raw food lifestyle? How did that all come about? Well I actually started out as a pin up girl before I was a fitness model, very young, 20 and did that for a few years and then went over to fitness and graced the cover of over 60 magazines. I got into conscious eating and organic and local and things of that nature because I got very sick eating a high protein diet. I had a blockage. It was probably the worst time in my life. I was 28 years old and just could not get up and down the stairs, couldn't work out like I was doing and kind of an autoimmune thing. And so that, it was, that's what drove you into this lifestyle. So how did you first hear about raw foods? Well I was reading a raw food book and the author lived in New York and I don't really want to bring up the name because I don't believe in what she has to say now, now that I have the knowledge I do because she's kind of a, you know, you're 100% or you're not, not and I believe more in no percentages and just listening to your body but my mother actually suggested I fly out to meet her and so I did. I flew out to Manhattan and I soon found out that it was her colon hydrotherapist that had all the answers and so I went and had a session with him and it was amazing and basically everything I learned about food I learned from him. He's a plethora of knowledge. So after that I came back and I'll tell you what, it was overnight. I didn't do a transition, I didn't do, you know, graduating down, I cut all animal products out of my diet and I quit cooking my food and I like to call that section of my life raw done wrong Anthony because it was just a mess, it was a mess. I was, you know, juicing things like broccoli and eating a lot of things raw that really don't digest well and the gas factor was high back in those days. Yes. Were you doing a lot of salads as well? Was there a lot of fiber in that diet? You know, I always had done salads. One thing I didn't do as a fitness model in a model, I would not touch fruit or any type of sugar. I was misanti-sugar for years. I wouldn't even eat an apple. When I went raw, and this is a true story, I mean I actually had to have a friend come over to kind of help me get over that the first time I ate fruit. Now I eat fruit every day, it's not a big deal to me. I don't subscribe to the low fat or the, you know, fruitarian or the either one, I, I, I, or the high fat, I don't prescribe to either of those notions. I honestly eat high fat, I eat a lot of fruit, it kind of goes back and forth depending how I feel by the day. So what is your diet style like at the moment? What are you currently, what's it like? What's the style? Well, I, you know, I think we talked about before as a fitness model I had an eating disorder. I had bulimia for years and I really healed myself on a raw vegan diet. You know, I adhere to a principle like I said earlier. I'm not, you know, high fruit, I'm not high fat, I'm not low fat. I really prescribe to the Andrea Cox listen to your body diet and that's basically just assessing how I feel when I wake up in the morning with everything I do. I'm finding it, it has so little to do with what we eat and it's more now about, you know, our relationships with others and, and, you know, exercise plays a role and, and sun and getting your vitamin D and so diet is a very small part of it. You know, I'll generally have a green juice. I'm a huge proponent of vegetable juice. I've not missed a day of juicing in eight years. So I'll have a big juice like 32 ounces. Sometimes I'll have like chlorella or whatever. Okay. Today I, you know, for, you know, skip the juice and did a ton of sapotes and I might have a juice later and a big avocado salad. It all depends on how I feel. I definitely eat fat. I definitely eat a lot of sugar with fruit. Okay. And yeah. And what would you like to put in your green juices usually? What's the mix? Oh gosh, you know, it varies. I'm big into medicinal herbs like nettles, stinging nettles, you can just pop those right in the juicer. Purse lane, purse lane is amazing for, it's so high in omega-3s, so it's amazing for inflammation. So is turmeric. I do, you know, base of cucumber and celery and, you know, put a lemon to cut the green, kale, beet, you know, beet greens, great for the liver, parsley, great for, you know, a good diuretic. Cilantro is a great key later. So I'm big into the herbs. Very cool. Very cool. Not juicing a lot of fruit here. I mean, occasionally, part of an apple, maybe, you know, lemons, limes, I'm not into, I will do watermelon juice if I feel like I need to cleanse. Okay. Will you juice the entire watermelon or just the inside? Who are you talking to, Anthony? Absolutely I'll juice that whole watermelon. The rind, the rind has so many nutrients, it's high in chlorophyll, absolutely. Are there certain juicers that you would recommend to the audience? The Green Star is my favorite, yeah, I would say the Green Star. And I've been working on a juicing book now for the past year, where I've recorded all my recipes. People kept emailing me after I wrote Rolicious Recipes, my uncooked book, and they said, you know, would you work on a juice book, a smoothie book, but I'm really not into the smoothies. I'm into the juices, the herbal teas, the elixirs, and the soups, not really a smoothie girl. Yeah, yeah. Well, I have to say you look really radiant, your skin looks great, your hair looks great. Have you noticed a change with the diet? I mean, you were modeling when you were in your 20s as well, and now that you're in your early 30s, have you noticed that? I feel like you're looking better than you did when you were in your early 20s. Well, you know, if I was there, I'd give you a big kiss, and I feel the same way about you, but I'm not. You know, I have noticed a difference. I had horrible acne the whole time I was in high school, and as a model, I had terrible cystic acne. My skin is amazing now. I've had nothing done to my face, no Botox, no anything, and my skin is really the best it's ever been. My hair, and this is a true story, when I was a fitness model, I wore hair extensions for years, and this is all my hair. It's my beautiful hair, and I literally have to get my hair cut at least every three weeks because it grows so fast, the same with my fingernails. So I really think it's a combination of diet and juicing, but the herbs I take, the Chinese herbs, I prefer dragon herbs, are a huge part of my regime. And what would be some favorite ones from that line that you like the best? Hoshu Wu, I mean, there's your hair growth right there, Hoshu Wu will grow your hair and turn your hair from gray to its natural color or whatever. I like pearl powder for skin, it's a beauty herb. Yeah, Guinness Stemma, the big proponent of Guinness Stemma. And with the pearl, you're putting that topically on your skin, you're not ingesting it or both? No, I'm ingesting it, I'm ingesting it, I don't put anything on my skin, I mean, I make up on today because I was going to see you, but I don't put anything on my skin makeup as far as, you know, when I go work out or when I run on the beach or whatever. I like to actually, I live right in front of the ocean, so I like to go and wash my face with the ocean water. I do use a Kangan water system as well and clustered water. I also use clustered water. I saw a news piece that you were on and you were telling him about grounding, the grounding technology. And how long have you been doing that? When did you first hear about that kind of stuff? You know, I first heard about it from David Wolfe years ago and you. I heard you say it one time. I don't remember, I think it was a video clip before I moved to California. And so in Ohio, I'm a native Ohioan and I just moved to California a year ago. I used to go in the winter, stand in the snow, or in the summer I'd stand in the grass and try to ground myself that way, not on the concrete, not on the carpet, but you know, on real ground. And now I just walk across the street and stand on the beach. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. So you've been working with young women with eating disorders. Have you, what's your experience with that? Like are they really, are they open to the ideas of the juicing and the raw foods or is it a little bit more difficult with the younger crowd? Well, the one thing about eating disorders, it doesn't, there's no age discrimination there. A lot of women I work with are older. A lot of them are young that have eating disorders and you'll find that women with eating disorders, they have such a vast knowledge of nutrition because they read so much about it because they want to get well. I think the first thing I would tell any woman, and yes, they are open to juicing and eating raw living foods, the first thing I would tell any woman that's struggling with an eating disorder, two things. Number one, have their zinc levels checked. Low zinc is such a sign of binge eating, bulimia, anorexia. Low zinc is what anyone will tell you. And number two, I try to teach women that they don't cut calories, they don't count carbs, they don't, you know, watch their sugar. They can eat abundantly of living foods to get their bodies back in balance. Don't watch the portions in the beginning. I didn't and I still don't. I mean, I've been, been raw for seven, going on eight years now and I never look at portion sizes. I mean, big huge shallots should be the norm. It's fine to do, you know, it's okay if you're sitting down to a raw meal. And these women are so corroded in the mind from all these images that have been airbrushed. I mean, as you know, being a model, I mean, I remember being airbrushed one time and my eyes, they had my eyes brown and my eyes are green. So, I mean, women are so, you know, jaded by these images and, you know, low carb and cut the fat and it's nonsense. Yeah, yeah. You're also a large proponent of colon hydrotherapy. What would you, how, how would you recommend someone get into that? I think a lot of people are kind of scared at first or almost maybe a shame because just the art of culture and all that kind of stuff, it kind of scares people. But what would you say to someone that's looking to get into it? Would you say once a week, once a month, maybe like a few days in a row, do some enemas at home, go to a professional? I'm going to get slammed for this. I know the emails, you know, just let them come. I honestly am a huge cheerleader for colon hydrotherapy. I would put it on a bumper sticker if I had one. I think when you first start out, especially transitioning on to raw, once a week is fun. My own personal opinion. You do have to watch your flora. I mean, you can wash all your good bacteria out. Yes. But we are so toxic right now. I mean, from what we inhale to what we're eating, what's on our food to everything, we're so toxic that to just do it, even doing it once a month is beneficial. I really feel like I didn't start absorbing food until I started getting colon hydrotherapy. And I don't have to do it as much now. You know, I mean, once a month is fine, once every three months is great. But I would say, you know, test practitioners, because you really need a good colon hydrotherapist. I think I have the best one in the world. But if you don't go to a good therapist, you can get a bad view of colonics. Yeah. Are there any that you'd like to recommend? I mean, maybe the person in New York or the person in California that you're working with? Any plugs you'd like to make? If OK, I'll tell you what. Dana, with Refresh Yourself in San Diego, she is amazing. She would be my pick for San Diego, definitely. In Ohio, it would be Betrobuck. In New York, it would be Gil Jacobs. That would be it. Those would be my recommendations. Because I've had colonics where I've not really resonated with the therapist. You really have to go to a therapist who knows about nutrition, knows about food, can assess what's coming out. And you know, I really think humic and vulvic acids are a huge, huge part of the whole cleansing process. Interesting. OK, we'll get right back to that. I really want to talk about those especially. Let's do a quick little sponsor break. And we'll talk about our lovely sponsors. And the first one would be Sun Warrior. And that's sunwarrior.com, a well-known superfood company. They offer rice proteins, really nice green powder, actually, vulvic acids, a lot of really good stuff. They're actually coming out with the warrior blend in, I would say, about two weeks. And that's a blend of three different things. It's the full spectrum of amino acids. I'm a huge fan of Sun Warrior protein. I use their vanilla rice protein pretty much every day. I use about three scoops a day. It's great stuff, sunwarrior.com. And Mt. Gox. Mt. Gox is the number one trade site on the net for bitcoins. It's available in Canadian dollars, Australian dollars, British pounds, and US dollars. And franchising is also available. And in 16 currencies now, I've just been told. Mt. Gox.com. So if you're interested in bitcoins, these are the people to go through. That's Mt. Gox.com. OK, so we're back. So you've had a lot of experience with the humic and vulvic acids. You want to tell us about that? Absolutely. And again, I want to go back to, with the women I help, it's more about just getting them to quit sticking the finger down their throat or what have you. It's more about just transitioning on to a more living foods diet or way of life, I like to call it. I don't push humic and vulvic acids on anyone, at least not in the beginning, nor do I push colonics on anyone. It's really about listening to your body. But I really didn't get the results until I started cleaning my system out with humic and vulvic acids. I then developed my own products that are in a base of humic and vulvic acids with over 400 ayurvedic herbs, medicinal mushrooms. And I use those on a daily basis prior to my meals. Great, great. How long have you had that line? It's been about a year and a half. And it's doing great. I sell them in one pound tubs. And it's my breakfast formula, my PM formula. And I do anywhere from three to six tablespoons, mixed in a little coconut water or coconut oil with a little stevia or honey in it. And it tastes like amazing. And I love it. Yeah, it's great. Great for hormone balancing. There's nettles. There's alfalfa in there. There's hoshuwu, medicinal mushrooms, humic and vulvic acids. I also like omica. I do like omica health. They've sent me some products. And I like their products as well. OK, OK, great. Yes. Have you experienced, do you have a shower filter as well? You know, Anthony, I'm going to be honest. What's up with that? Because I know they have a shower filter. Omica does. Oh, really? Yeah, he told me about that. Ralph, he told me about that. You actually told me about the shower filter. In Ohio, I had a reverse osmosis system. And here in California, I don't. And we have the worst water in San Diego. So I'm going to get on the shower filter. I do use Kangen water. OK. Not to drink, but I'm going to get on that. Yeah, I think a shower filter is really one of the first things I recommend for people, just because of the steam and everything. Yeah, personally, I went through a needing disorder as well. And it happened when I actually got into raw food, because there was such a disconnect from what I was reading and what I was still craving. And so I was bulimic for about a year. And I really didn't tell people until maybe about a year ago, because I was kind of ashamed about it. And I was telling people all this stuff. And I was actually bulimic for a time. And I feel like I just kind of wanted to maybe bury that story a little bit. Have you come across any young men that are bulimic? Absolutely. I've had several people who have contacted me that are male. And thank you for sharing that, by the way, because most people don't. That have had bulimia, anorexia, binge eating disorder, bed, that's a big one. Yeah, that's what it was for me. Yeah, I treated all the same. First thing, the zinc. Second thing, really addressing the emotional aspect of it, because a lot of times when we're stuffing it in, we're really stuffing down our feelings. And I'm sure you're familiar with that. So our issues lodge in our tissues. That's why I'm such a big proponent of colon hydro therapy. When you clean all that out, you're cleaning a lot of emotional toxicity out with that. It's not just the last week's lunch. There's a lot of emotional things that get bound up as well. Yeah, it goes deep. Do you ever do enemas at home? Of course. OK, you're so transparent. It's awesome. Come for a week's stay. I'm such a coffee enema. And not all the time, you can do too many coffee enemas. But I've experimented recently a lot with amino acid enemas. Those are kind of big now, and especially being vegan. It's hard to cross all your T's and dot your I's. Do you have any events coming up? Like, are you planning? I know you do some public speaking. Is anything going on in Southern California coming up? Are you traveling around the states? Yes, I'm going to start putting on classes at the Harvard Cooking School in La Jolla, Harvard Girl Cooking School in La Jolla. So I'm excited about that. BB, the owner, I'm working with her to put on classes. My first one is Saturday, October 1st from 2 to 4. And space is limited. So I'm doing that. I'm working on getting my second book. I have one book I've written already, Relitious Recipes. My second book, Juicing for Beauty, is coming out. I'm excited about that. And then I'm working on a second DVD series. I did a DVD series a few years ago. And the recipes and the juices were great in this series. But it's really not what I represent today. So I start shooting that next week. And I'm really excited about that. So have you noticed an evolution in your raw food diet obviously when you started? You were doing the gassy cruciferous stuff. So since that time, have you noticed the change, obviously? I'm sure this has happened. But can you share with us the evolution that you've experienced in the past five years? You know, the number one tip comes from my mother who I would call her endlessly. The first two years I was raw and, oh my gosh, what do I do? And I don't know what to eat. And this gives me gas. My mom who's not in raw food, she knows more about raw food than anyone on the planet now because of me. And she always said, listen to your body. And that's what I do because we can get so wrapped up and there's a lot of people putting videos out there now, giving advice that some of them know a little bit and some of them don't. Let's be honest here. So you can get really caught up in watching other people's videos and things like that. And saying, oh, well, so-and-so does a 40-day juice bath. So I'm going to do it. Or so-and-so works out on an empty stomach. So I'm going to do it. Or so-and-so won't eat fruit. Or so-and-so cuts the fat. And you really have to listen to how you feel. Because if you're cutting fat and your brain's not functioning right, tune into that. Or if you're cutting fruit because you think it's candida or causes candida or whatever. And you're not feeling like you have any energy. Tune into that. It has the right answer. We all have the right answer within our hearts. And I think you have to align yourself spiritually, too. I mean, in my world, it's God first, family and friends second, career third. And that's my motto. Yeah, yeah. So on the other side of the coin, how about exercise? What do you do to stay in shape besides the healthy diet? I'm so glad you asked that, Anthony. That has changed a lot over the years. I used to really beat myself up. And I had a running coach in the morning on an empty stomach for an hour and lift weights for an hour and a half. I worked as a fragrance model during the day at Saks Fifth Avenue in Neiman's. And right after I'd go to the gym for an hour and a half, it was horrible. I had no energy. I looked old in the face. It was awful. But now I get up. I'll jump on my rebounder. I'll get my infrared sauna for 20 or 30 minutes. I'll do a chi machine. Anything to move the lymphatic system, because it's all about getting the lymph system moving. I only work out for about 30 or 45 minutes a day. I take off one to two days a week. I'm getting to the point now. And just recently, where I really want to be around people, instead of it all being about my workout schedule, my eating, and my juicing, I really want to be around people. So workouts have taken a back seat. However, I think they're very important. I think we have to move our body, even if it's just getting out and taking a walk every single day. And you can tell a difference once you're moving around. And I remember when I go back home to visit family, and I'm not moving so much, my knees start to get a little stiff. And it's like, when you're in that routine of movement and you stop, you can really feel it, the body speaking. Well, I mean, you have a great physique. And I mean, I've seen some of your videos of you working out. And it's impressive, quite frankly. I mean, the crunches and things like that. I think women and men are different, too, in what they need. I actually feel that men need even a little more movement than women. And the only reason, as far as weight-bearing exercises, but I think it's important for women, too, because we've got to build that bone mass, especially as we start to age. It's really important. However, I really feel like every day when you get up, first thing in the morning, 30 to 45 minutes, if that's what feels right to you, is great. But we don't need to be pushing it for an hour and a half, two hours, three hours. I mean, it's nonsense. Yeah, I think. And I think when someone sets it up like that, how long are they really going to stick with it? I think a method like yours, it's so much easier to stick with that routine and then see the long-term results. I agree. Yeah. Are there any books that you've been reading recently that you'd like to recommend to the audience? You know what? Yeah, there is. I don't want to get up. You know, two of them would be, I think, the ones called Train Your Brain. OK. And hang on. Yeah, no problem, no problem. Let me see. For me, what have I been reading? Oh, I've read a book recently called Smile, Exclamation Point, The Secret Science of Smiling by Elan Sunstar. It's called Smile with an Apostrophe. Check that out. It's amazing. It's changing my life. Like, smiling, if you walk on the street smiling, it's like you're in a bubble of blue light all of a sudden. And things start coming to you. Anyway, sorry. OK, you're back. Well, that's OK. One book, it's in my infrared sauna right now, so I can't get it, but it's Beth Moore. Don't be put off by the, it's called Praying God's Word. A friend gave it to me years ago. And it just has little prayers in it from when you're struggling with things, decision making, things like that that you can go to. So I like that. I love Evolve Your Brain. I love this book. Great. Very good. Very helpful. Louise Hay, You Can Heal Your Life. I have my little markers in there. Big thumbs up. That's awesome. This is my food Bible, Arnold Arrett, the Muculus Diet System. We love you, Arnold. And then this one's really good, Michael Pollan Food Rules. And I like it because it has simple things, like buy your snacks at the farmer's market. Yeah. Just every page is a different, you know, if it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't. We love that. Yeah, that's great. I love that. So can you tell the audience how to get a hold of you online, like Facebook, your website, anything that they want, like YouTube? It's up to you. I have three websites. The main one is thehealthyhaven.net. It's thehealthyhaven.net. I also have Alkalice with Andrea. Occasionally I run juice-fasting retreats and raw food retreats. I've got coming up in January that I'm very excited about. That'll be a five-day retreat. And where will that be? That'll be in Southern California. OK, OK. Yeah, that's really booking up fast. So I would ask people to email me at andriahatthehealthyhaven.net or on Facebook. I think I'm almost to my cut-off, but it's Andrea Elcox. And yeah, that's basically it. Great, great. Well, I want to thank you for coming on the show. I think people are going to get a lot from this because it's super inspirational. It's good to see a real radiant young woman talking about this stuff because it really gets people tuned in and they can just see the results. So I really want to say thank you for coming on the show. And it's been a real honor sharing your story here. It's an honor. I look up to you. Like so many, I think, men and women do. I mean, you've been such an inspiration in so many people's lives, including mine. Oh, thanks. You're too kind. Likewise, likewise. All right, well, thanks so much. And I'll see you online. And hopefully we'll see you in Southern California pretty soon. Hope so. Take care. Take care. Bye-bye, thanks. Thank you. All right, everyone, that is episode 12 for the Anthony Anderson Show. Thank you for tuning in. And remember to check her out at thehealthyhaven.net. It's a really great website. A lot of cool books, a lot of good resources. You'll learn a lot. So my name is Anthony Anderson. And this is the Anthony Anderson Show. And we will see you next time. Take care. Peace.