Heartthrob? Sure! Rock star? Not quite. Natural-health extraordinaire? Absolutely. And he’s a yogi.

He has appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, VH1, MTV, CBS, ABC and NBC affiliates in every major market, NPR’s Marketplace, Coast-To-Coast and now elephant journal!

He’s 42 years old. He’s got curls, he loves chocolate, he travels the world on a mission to spread the word of natural health and I was just lucky enough to get an interview with him (over Skype, my first video chat ever!). It took over two months to plan, given his busy schedule, but after spending hours in his garden planting sea buckthorn and saskatoon bushes in Ontario, Canada, he took the time (dirty sweatshirt and all) to share some of his passion and wisdom with me. He even gave me a glimpse of his drum set to the side of his computer desk. Rock it!

So before we begin. What do I love most about David Wolfe? Could it be his colorful ponchos? Indeed. The curls? For sure. But more than anything, I’m drawn to his energy and the way he shares his expert knowledge with relentless passion and charisma. Combining the vibes of the crazy professor and the bohemian guru he is often heard mixing sentences like “H- ions stimulate the production of telomerase” and “It’s on like Donkey Kong”.

How do you not love it?!

He offers what he practices, communicates what he has found both scientifically proven and spiritually effective and leaves us with some expert advice to decide what is best for each us.

David Wolfe believes, that if you are trying to heal yourself (e.g. repair tissue, trying to find a feeling of hope or wanting to gain energy) eating at least 80% raw food can help do the job. Eating raw food also goes hand-in-hand with yoga!

My first question: in your opinion, what’s the ideal body weight?

David: Where were you in high school? Generally where you were when you were 16 or 17 is the ideal ‘natural’ weight zone. I believe this is where you should be or aim to be later on in life.

What are the essential raw foods/super foods that support an optimal yoga practice?

David: Really good olive oil, avocados and anything from the cruciferous vegetable group (most raw foodist eat kale, for me it’s broccoli). Cruciferous vegetables come from the cabbage family. (In addition to broccoli and kale there are Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes, rutabagas and turnips). And then you gotta find some sort of fruit that works for you wherever you are—find something local.

If it’s available, eat wild coconut and drink coconut water (nothing better for re-electrolyte-ing/re-hydrating yourself after your yoga practice). I’d also throw in a super food like aloe vera (blend it with orange juice—it tastes delicious). I’d also include goji berries due to their adaptogen factor. Goji berries (number one in Chinese medicine) are a complete source of protein, are packed with anti-oxidants and polysaccharides (that help to correct tissue quality imbalances). Goji berries are extraordinary! Put goji berries in tea or in your drinking water and enjoy all the natural beta-carotenes.

If you really want to have fun and want to party, then bring cacao in. A powerful food in many different respects—especially magnesium, it’s so full of it that it alkalizes your system.

And then you have the superfood—superherb combo. Use the appropriate liquid (tea, coconut water, aloe vera, reishi coffee), combine it with chlorella, bee pollen, honey and then add tonic herbs like asparagus root (one of the top three in Chinese medicine), ginseng, nettle, horsetail, the list can go on and on and on.

And, a whole other research project for any yogi: chlorella (a green algae), spirulina (a micro-algae), marine phytoplankten (contains every known mineral in it and possibly the best form of chlorophyll—transformed sun energy), blue green algae and hemp seed.

What do you recommend for balancing hormones and sharpening intellect?

David: I’m big on iodine. Iodine is not only necessary for overall health but it is a crucial component of the detoxification process and it can help protect the thyroid and glandular systems against radiation damage. It’s productive of the endocrine and reproductive systems, it’s anti-cyst for the reproductive system,and iodine is one of the highest of the halogens—iodine shields you and protects you from things like chlorine in water, protects you from bromine and radioactive iodine.

Another thing I’m big on indole 3 carbinal (concentrated broccoli)—one of the greatest products out there (EstroGuard) which helps to improve the balance of good to bad estrogens in the body. We acquire and accumulate bad estrogens through an improper diet/food, environmental toxins such as DDT, BPA and plastics and from the natural process of aging.

Berries are also high on my list, root vegetables and the skins of fruit (high in Quercetin–a powerful and natural aromatase inhibitor, an enzyme. When we age, aromatization of good hormones to bad hormones occurs and eating fruits and vegetables help to stop that).

Others on the list: olives, olive leaf, olive leaf extract. These are longevity substances. I am also a fan of grapes (grapes are the bomb-dot-com).

What do you recommend for enhancing and promoting flexibility?

Any vegetable juice, celery juice in particular. It’s alkalizing and it’s good for newbies and oldies. One of my favourite combinations: celery-cucumber or celery-cucumber-lemon.

I’d also recommend micro algae (spirulina), chlorella and blue-green algae.

What would you say are the travelling yogi essentials?

Chocolate, in particular cacao beans—this is the way Native Americans travelled across America for thousands and thousands of years. Cacao beans are easily ten times more nutritious than an almond of equal size (extremely high in anti-oxidants). Goji berries are another good one—they are so dense!

I travel with a little glass container–I fill it with vanilla beans, chunks of cacao butter, cacao beans, almonds/cashews, goji berries and some other super foods that I can fit in there—that’s emergency back up food. With that you can travel anywhere! A jar of super foods! If you are going to India for a month, bring a suit of super foods with you!

I also recommend cayenne pepper and cinnamon–they detoxify water. Also, if you can, travel with cucumbers–if not by plane, put them in your suitcase.

How often should a yogi juice fast?

The changing of seasons is the best time to fast–winter to spring, spring to summer and summer to fall. Juice fasting for a week is a really good idea, or longer. Sometimes when you start juice fasting, you want to go longer than a week. You can really come to a place where you can get off solid foods for a period of time. It’s typically what happens. If you feel like your body is run down, juice fast any time.

What is your favourite yoga pose? 

David: Crow pose.

What is your favourite mantra?

David: Today is the Best day Ever!

What are your top five favourite foods?

David:

1. Blueberries
2. Cacao
3. Grapes
4. Extracts of blue-green algae (phycocyanin)
5. Saskatoon berry (a native berry of western Canada)

Read more: Eating For Beauty.

David Wolfe—Health, Eco, Nutrition and Natural Beauty Expert. Co-founder of TheBestDayEver.com, online health magazine and president of The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. To try some of David’s exotic chocolates here. David’s extraordinary line of raw foods, superfoods, and superherbs are available exclusively the Longevity Warehouse.

In Europe? Visit David at these places:

May 5-6, 2012: Amsterdam 

May 8-9, 2012: Hamburg, Germany

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