Last night I ordered my copies of "Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days" and "Raw for Life".

I, myself, have dabbled on and off with vegan raw food diets.

I started last May when I was desperate for a way to clear my skin of the mysterious acne scars that came out of nowhere. Surprisingly, it wasn't that difficult to eat 100% raw and the most shocking and amazing result I found was that I no longer craved the types of foods I used to crave.

My new cravings became leafy greens, green smoothies, and juicy apples. Now I'll usually eat 100% raw for several days in a row when I feel the need to detoxify my body without the harsh effect of a cleanse. I'll eat 100% raw anywhere from 2-7 days at a time and feel lighter and fantastic afterwards. No Master Cleanse, crash diets or deprivation diets for me. Just delicious, whole foods from nature that nourish as well as detoxify in a safe, gentle way.

I've studied almost every diet out there and know for a fact that no one diet works for everyone.

Raw foodists believe that a raw food diet is the the best, vegans will believe that a vegan diet is the best, vegetarians believe a vegetarian diet is the best, and meat eaters believe that everyone needs to eat meat.

I am going to tell you that the best diet for you is a combination of all the diets out there (take a little from Diet A, a little bit from Diet B...) and through experimentation and eating intuitively, you'll discover what types of foods you thrive on.

That said, I don't think that everyone can thrive on a 100% raw food diet. I think some people can, but not everyone. I thrive on it during the warm months, but once winter hits, I require warming, grounding foods, particularly because I tend to get cold easily (I am known to wear scarfs, hats, jackets, and gloves indoors...and I live in Southern California!)

So while I don't advocate a 100% raw diet is for everyone, I strongly believe that everyone can benefit from incorporating more raw foods into their diets (unless suffering from a health concern where raw foods are not advised).

Fruits and vegetables are lacking in the Standard American Diet (note: fruit juice, canned peaches, onion rings, and french fries don't count).

Adding leafy greens into my diet, for example, changed my life. It became an instant mood lifter for me, as I was consuming living food that was filled with sunshine and nutrients. The more local, organic, produce I consumed, the less refined, processed JUNK I consumed.

And the cleaner my diet, the more I craved clean foods. I am still in complete disbelief that eating a jar of peanut butter in one sitting (or peanut butter at all) is something that no longer appeals to me. Changing my diet to one that is about 70-90% raw (depending on the time of year) has been one of best lifestyle choices I've made for myself. Change your diet, change your life. You are what you eat!

The documentary "Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days" follows around six Americans with diabetes who adopt a raw food diet for 30 days and shows us their remarkable transformations, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Food is a powerful drug and in a society where people are obsessed with finding a "quick fix" in medication, the power of whole, unprocessed, foods often goes unnoticed. Watch this movie and learn about the miracle of incorporating more raw foods into your diet.