Real, Raw and Restorative: Reset Your Lifestyle with Revitalive Health & Wellness in Newburyport
By, Kelly Chadwick
In today’s health-conscious society, there are seemingly endless possibilities when it comes to choosing a diet and making food choices. Here in the states, culturally-accepted models of healthy eating such as choosing organic items, going vegetarian, following the Mediterranean diet, and eating fewer carbohydrates are popular mainly due to their mainstream acceptance as “normal” lifestyle choices. In Newburyport, Revitalive’s Health & Wellness center and nearby café offer the healthy consumer another, lesser-known choice: a raw, vegan, organic, gluten-free diet as well as detoxification services and raw food education classes. If just hearing those words together in one sentence makes you feel overwhelmed or confused, you’re not alone. Read on and see how I discovered that Revitalive’s wellness programs and raw-vegan diet are in fact simple, easy-to-follow, rooted in research…and delicious!
Foods that are 100% vegan contain no animal products, dairy products, eggs or honey. No stove required; everything is eaten raw. The idea behind an organic-raw-vegan diet is that when food is heated, it loses valuable nutrients and is exposed to various amounts of processing. Most cooked foods are also loaded with added preservatives. Consuming these foods on a daily basis leads to the buildup of toxins in our bloodstream, which can negatively impact our organs, potentially causing myriad health problems. Raw, vegan foods are packed with all that nature intended: their full supply of healthy enzymes and nutrients, perfectly designed to allow our bodies to optimally function and thrive. In fact, benefits such as increased energy and metabolism, better mental focus, and reduced allergy symptoms, among countless others, have been reported as a result of the raw-vegan diet.
Revitalive’s café, located at The Tannery Marketplace, provides a wonderful variety of organic-raw-vegan choices. From smoothies to mini chocolate hazelnut cups, there is something for everyone. “Un-tuna” sandwiches, “meetballs” and nachos made with corn “chips” are also featured on the menu and are sure to please the most skeptical of palates. I sampled a delicious vanilla macaroon that tasted like it must have real sugar in it; co-owner Anna Forkan assured me it included only healthy, whole, raw ingredients – no sugar, no eggs. Anna and co-owner Kristen Overlock know that not everyone is ready to commit themselves fully to a raw-vegan diet, and the café is purposely designed to meet consumers wherever they are in their relationship with food; there is no judgment regarding customers’ current food choices. The raw-vegan lifestyle is often perceived as elitist, confusing, and extreme, and Anna and Kristen are combating these myths, educating the public, and making the lifestyle more accessible.
At a separate location, the Revitalive Health & Wellness center is home to Revitalive’s program services such as personal coaching, colon hydrotherapy, and detox ionic footbaths. Newly relocated at 21 Pleasant Street #109 in downtown Newburyport, the center is intended to go hand-in-hand with Revitalive’s café. The program that Anna and Kristen foster is all-encompassing, well-rounded, and deeply rooted in positive health changes. Your journey to wellness may begin with a smoothie, but in order to fully reap the benefits of the raw-vegan lifestyle, you should plan to embrace the well-researched and professionally-delivered services that Revitalive’s center offers. The new Pleasant Street space is soothing and welcoming, and provides perfectly-sized nooks for their specialized equipment, such as the far infrared sauna. The sauna emits waves of energy that are invisible to the eye and that penetrate deep inside the body, causing the body’s cells to vibrate. Benefits of these sauna treatments include improved skin and strengthened cardiovascular system.
Revitalive’s belief that one size does NOT fit all is evidenced by their varied wellness packages. You can choose to follow a 3-, 7-, or 14-day cleanse, which offer chef-prepared meals, a sampling of wellness products, educational materials, and a mixture of the program’s services. Likewise, you may choose to simply explore the raw-vegan lifestyle by stopping by the Revitalive Café and ordering one of the yummy menu offerings. Wherever you are on your food journey, Anna and Kristen are ready to meet you along the path, answer any questions you may have, and guide you to a healthier lifestyle. You’re probably not alone if you think you have ‘dumb’ questions – I probably already asked them: (“Do you serve coffee at the café?” [No.] “Can you drink alcohol on the raw-vegan diet?” [Again, no.] “What is that round thing in the refrigerator display case?” [A coconut.]) Anna described one of her personal beliefs regarding food: “What we put in our mouth is the cornerstone, period. Until you nourish the body on a truly fundamental level, you will never really be self-actualized.” Real food, naturally prepared, inspiring owners: sounds like a recipe for good stuff to me!
Revitalive Health & Wellness is located at 21 Pleasant Street #109 in downtown Newburyport. The Revitalive Café is located at The Tannery Marketplace, 50 Water Street in Newburyport. You can find out more about Revitalive by visiting them on the web: www.Revitalive.com.
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Kelly Chadwick is a freelance writer whose current collection of locally-inspired posts can be read at www.EarthyCrunchyNewEngland.com.
