1: Can you please send me an autographed photo?
2: How can I get a copy of the TV documentary: To Age or not to Age?
3: I am interested in info on GH4 (growth hormone.)
4: Could you give some advice or less on how one can improve sagging breasts?
5: Why is my skin so dry?
6: Did all the things that happened to "Michael" in "Ludwig" were real or made up?
7: A blockage of the bowel
8: What happens to fresh raw vegetables after they have been frozen?
9: I feel I am depressed. Where can I start as it is so hard for me to feel motivated about anything at this stage of my life?
10: How long does my headache and dizziness last during a detox pls?
11: What is your opinion on macrobiotics?
12: I have ME. Have you any recommendations for raising energy levels?
13: What reference material would you recommend for transitional diets to raw foods?
14: I find keeping my energy level up really hard.
15: What is the right amount of protein and carbohydrate in the diet to promote optimal health?

1 My question is: Can you please send me an autographed photo as you really changed my life in a most positive way.THANKS so much for your enormous contribution to HEALTH issues. BEST-JIM in Canada.

1 I have no way of sending an autographed photo as Jim has not sent an address to send it to. So I don’t know what to say about this

2 My question is: How can I get a copy of the TV documentary: To Age or not to Age?

2 I suggest you write to Jennifer Bush at Gibson Group Ltd, PO Box 6185, Wellington New Zealand and ask if it is possible to purchase a copy. I do not myself know if this is possible or not.

3 My question is: I am interested in info on GH4 (growth hormone.) Thanks Leslie , Jo

3 Human growth hormone is an anabolic tissue-building hormone. Produced in the pituitary, a tiny gland at the base of the skull, it is secreted on and off through the day. Its purpose is to bring about growth in children, to repair tissue and to direct metabolism to burn fat instead of storing it and to mobilize your fat stores. In recent years there has been an enormous amount of research into the effect of introducing growth hormone by injection. Doctors use it with patients who suffer severe burns or massive injuries to soft tissue and or for people recovering from major surgery. They also give it to children that lack it and, as a result, are destined to a life of dwarfism. By injecting small amounts of growth hormone (by the way, the stuff costs a fortune) under the skin, doctors promote healing and ensure growth even in children that have not the capacity to produce enough HGH themselves.

Recently researchers have been exploring the use of HGH against aging. In one study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine Dr. Daniel Rudman at the Medical College of Wisconsin discovered that very small amounts of growth hormone injected just under the skin of men between the age of 61 and 81, brought about an increase in lean body mass of 8.8% and a decrease of fat in the body of 14.4%. At the same time bone density increased in the spine as well as skin thickness by an amazing 7.1%. This was in men who, during the period of the study, neither exercised nor changed their diet. In Dr. Rudman’s opinion, so powerful were the transformative and rejuvenating changes, that they were "equivalent in magnitude to the changes incurred during 10-20 years of [reversing] aging."

A number of studies show that athletes injected with growth hormone even for only a month to six weeks, decrease their body fat dramatically and increase their lean body mass. In a very real sense growth hormone is an elixir of youth. It brings about a profound regeneration and rejuvenation in the body. No wonder it is currently being touted as the be all and end all for rejuvenation and is being offered at enormous expense at clinics in Mexico and Eastern Europe.

Before you jump on the growth hormone bandwagon and rush off to have injections at your nearest clinic, you should know that by far the most powerful rejuvenating effects from increased levels of human growth hormone are brought about by changes in the way you eat and live.

Most of what stimulates growth hormone are things over which we have total control:

A carbohydrate restricted diet
A truly adequate protein diet
Deep sleep
Strength training
Ketogenics
Decreasing blood glucose levels
Increasing blood protein levels
Increasing the levels of prostaglandin E

4 My question is: Hi Leslie, I just purchased your book "The new joy of beauty" and find it an amazing book.Thank you so much for writing it. However, I was a little disappointed when I found out that the section on breasts in the book is missing. Instead another section of the book was repeated. Could you give some advice or less on how one can improve sagging breasts? Any exercise or diet regime will be much appreciated! Thank you again, Leslie!

4 Worry over breasts causes a great deal of anguish to many women. Occasionally it is about their being too large, or about cancer; more often it is about their being too small, or about how to restore a beautiful shape to a neglected bosom. For breasts are funny things - and most women's judgments and perceptions about their own breasts are far from accurate. For a woman, the worry that her breasts are too small or that they are beginning to age can be a manifestation of some other underlying fear or insecurity that is masked behind concern over what is supposed to be the archetypal female sex symbol.

There are a lot of things that can be done to improve the less than perfect bust but it is important before you embark on any of them that you ask yourself if it is really the size, shape, or condition of your breasts that is bothering you, or if it is something else. Otherwise, you can work hard to improve things, find that you succeed in developing an almost perfect bust, and wonder why it hasn't made any difference at all to how you feel about it. For although many glossy magazines would have us believe otherwise, some of the world's most miserable women are blessed with exquisite breasts. THE ANATOMY OF THE BREAST

5 My question is: why is my skin so dry? (age 53yrs with Coeilia disease)

5 It could be hormonal and/or you could have a fatty acid deficiency. Try a jar of progesterone cream a month (see Passage to Power for how to use it). Add some Omega 3 fatty acids in the form of fish oils to your diet – quite a lot of them – and see if the dry skin does not improve.

6 My question is:Did all the things that happened to "Michael" in "Ludwig" were real or made up?

6 Most of what happened to Michael in my novel Ludwig is based on well-researched fact. Michael’s character was inspired by Bo Gritz – the most decorated hero in the Viet Nam war who won 62 citations for bravery including two purple hearts. Gritz has also inspired many Hollywood films.

7 My question is: If I have a blockage of the bowel, will a high raw diet cure it without having to use conventional medicine?

7 This is a medical condition which needs expert medical care preferably from someone well versed in functional medicine. (See Leslie Recommends to find a practitioner).

8 My question is: What happens to fresh raw vegetables after they have been frozen? Does the freezing lessen their "value" as fresh, raw vegetables as much as boiling does? Do you know whether supermarket frozen vegs are treated chemically for packaging? Thanks very much! (I am new to your website, but I have been an advocate of "Raw Energy" since 1991.)

8 Yes frozen vegetables are treated chemically so they keep their color and look of freshness. They also lose much of their vitamin content and much of their phytonutrients antioxidants are also degraded. Fresh is best.

9 My question is:I am 65 yr old female, overweight and I feel I am depressed. Where can I start as it is so hard for me to feel motivated about anything at this stage of my life. Please help. Annette

9 The first thing I would do is cut out all sugar and all refined carbs from your diet and anything that contains them and increase the level of good quality protein foods and eat lots of green vegetables high in antioxidants like broccoli, spinach and silver beet. (Read X FACTOR DIET published in January 2002) Also go for a brisk 30 minute walk every day no matter what. It will shift brain chemistry and elevate mood. For most people this makes a huge difference. AGE POWER, which is published in September 2002, has more detailed things to help clear depression but these things just mentioned are fundamental.

10 My question is:How long does my headache and dizziness last during a detox pls?

10 It should last no more than a few days. Most people, unless they are big sugar eaters or coffee drinkers find that detox headaches clear in 24 to 48 hours. If it takes longer than three or four days I suggest you work with someone trained in functional medicine to help give your liver some extra support for the detoxification process.

11 My question is: what is your opinion on macrobiotics?

11 I have seen macrobiotics do some wonderful things for people who have been previously living on the typical Western diet. It is useful in clearing cancer in some people. I think that one’s reaction to it depends to a large extent on one’s genetic inheritance. Some people – particularly Orientals – do so well on large amounts of brown rice and organic vegetables. Others find all this carbohydrate – even unrefined carbohydrate found in brown rice – puts them into a soporific state and undermines their energy, even causing weight gain. It is such a case of individual biochemistry. It is certainly worth a go if you feel drawn to it.

12 My question is:I have ME. Have you any recommendations for raising energy levels? My diet is reasonably healthy but I would like to improve my fitness (mentally and physically)within the limited energy I have. I am 57 years old and have been unable to work for five years. Divorced since 1988.Thank you.

12 ME is one of those garbage can labels for many different conditions all of which are related to lowered immunity and enormous weakness and disruption in your life. The one thing that all of these conditions have in common is low magnesium levels - not in the blood, which is of little consequence – but in the cells themselves. To correct this it takes about 4 or 5 months of supplementation 200-250 mg of magnesium three times a day. Jeffrey Bland – father of Functional Medicine whom you can look up on the net – has done more than any other single person to study ME and how it can be successfully treated. I would find myself a practitioner trained in this kind of medicine and work with him or her if I were you. ME is invariably a life-changing illness on a spiritual level that can lead to higher levels of spiritual awareness. But it doesn’t feel much like that when you are gong through the process. There is a wonderful book on this aspect of ME and other forms of chronic illness which I recommend to you: THE ALCHEMY OF ILLNESS by Kat Duff.

13 My question is:What reference material would you recommend for transitional diets to raw foods, particularly menus which provide variety and flavor, can you also recommend a source for second hand equipment ie juicers etc as most are very expensive.

13 Take a look at RAW ENERGY BIBLE. I am afraid I do not know where to suggest you buy second hand equipment.

14 My question is:As a 37 year old, single mother and mature student, I find keeping my energy level up really hard, this is what I currently do and take to stay healthy, can you add/modify/correct this ?

6 Spirulina in the morning with warm water and lemon.

Breakfast - Smoothies with fresh fruit and bio yogurt, wheatgerm, lenthicin granules and a teaspoon of first cold pressed safflower or sunflower oil, 2 teaspoons of millet and a teaspoon of linseed. I try to stay away from anything white and refined and have salad or steamed vegies with some chicken/ fish or pasta with a non-creamy sauce for my main meal at nights.Lunch is either another smoothie I take in a flask if out. If at home it's sardines on granary bread or tuna on toast with salad and dried seeweed flaked on it, or fresh vegetable juice - your NRG sort of thing. If in a real hurry a bananna.I usually have a museli bar sometime during the afternoon and/or an apple/pear.Apart from the Spirulina, which I have taken for about 10 years and can't live with out, I take 500g Vitamin C and before my monthly a B multi complex, if my skin looks dull I take zinc from time to time, I generally try to give my body what it is asking for, rather than everything all the time....yet I still feel tired, sometimes I end up reaching for a diet coke by 4pm ish, which I know is really really bad, (other than this lapse at about 4pm I drink nothing but water) I have recently started to drink weak green tea instead of diet coke at the 4pm crisis time.Exercise - walks at the weekends and step on saturday mornings, daily 10-15 mins stretch/yoga.Any suggestions for more energy?Been a fan for years and years, great to discover your website.Regards NM

14 I suspect you probably have blood sugar shifts and insulin resistance. Read X FACTOR DIET and get rid of sugar, all refined carbohydrate and coffee, increase your level of fresh vegetables, learn the glycaemic index and eat only low glycaemic foods. Forget the fruit for a while except for melon and berries which are all low glycaemic and don’t turn into glucose quickly flooding your blood and over stimulating the pancreas.

15 My question is:I hear so much conflicting information about what is the right amount of protein and carbohydrate in the diet to promote optimal health. Some authorities say that too much protein is detrimental to health, whereas others say that a high carbohydrate diet causes health problems through disrupted insulin mechanisms.

15 Our bodies appear to be genetically programmed to thrive on the diet we have been accustomed to in over 2.3 million years of humanoid evolution: lots of green vegetables, seeds, low sugar fruits and protein. Read X FACTOR DIET.