How One Man Cured an ‘Incurable’ Disease With Real Food

Jordan Rubin, the founder of Get Real Nutrition, is one of America’s most respected natural health experts. And, clearly, one of the busiest, too: He’s also a best-selling author, an international motivational speaker, an entrepreneur, a CEO, an organic farmer, and a father of six. But above all, Rubin is a survivor.

We caught up with Rubin to chat about life at 40, his healthy lifestyle, eating raw eggs Rocky style, and the beauty of permaculture.

You’ve written about being diagnosed with a traumatic disease at 19. What did you suffer from?

I had Crohn’s colitis, which led to 18 additional maladies—everything from chronic fatigue to diabetes to parasitic infections to prostrate problems to urinary tract infections. The most devastating challenge was a wasting syndrome, which took me from 185 pounds [at 6 feet tall] all the way down to 104 pounds and put me in a wheelchair.

Doctors told you it was ‘incurable;’ how did you recover?

I visited 69 health experts around the world and nothing helped. Eventually I was led to a man in Southern California who told me if I could eat and live like they did in the Bible, I would be OK. That triggered the most hope.

So, I started to learn about food and nutrition from the ground up. I purchased land and began to farm. It was only then that I understood what it would take to transform my health [as well as that of] future generations.

I look at it this way: I went from tragedy to triumph. From pain to purpose. From mess to messenger.

What is your diet like today, twenty years later, at 40?

At 19, I began consuming an omnivorous diet that involved real foods, including fermented foods, cultured dairy products, pastured meats, veggie juices, sprouted seeds, and lots of eggs. I’ve eaten raw eggs every day for 20 years. Like Rocky.

Share with us what a typical morning looks like.

Well, it’s 11 a.m.; So far today:

I drank 24 ounces of beef broth with a probiotic supplement. Then, I drank 16 ounces of fresh green juice (with celery, cucumber, spinach, and parsley). After that, I had a [detoxifying] Purple Green Fermented SuperJuice smoothie (see recipe below). Then, I exercised. I usually do quick bursts of functional interval training for 20 to 40 minutes. I love kettle bells.

Next, I [sat] in my portable, infrared sauna, and [afterwards] I had a post-exercise Multi Metabolite Mochaccino smoothie (recipe below). Then, I consumed an herbal decoction (boiled water with fermented green coffee, green tea, and purple Peruvian corn, which is packed with antioxidants).

So, what’s for lunch?

A green salad with sheep’s milk cheese, flaxseed crackers, and high omega-3, low-mercury tuna or wild sockeye canned salmon. I make my dressing with apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar mixed with coconut and olive oil.

Many people are surprised to hear you’re an organic farmer on top of everything else you do. Tell us more.

Whether you have 10 feet of backyard or 10 acres, anyone can farm.

I fell in love with permaculture immediately because it embraces all the principles of organic and biodynamic farming, but translates it to the modern world.  [Using] the tools provided by nature, you’re increasing the fertility of the soil tenfold in 5 years.

How is Get Real Nutrition different from run-of-the-mill vitamins? Why is it so revolutionary?

You’re going to find lots of firsts in whole food nutrition with Get Real. It’s the first certified organic encapsulated, shelf-stable probiotic. They’re cultivated from real foods that are grown in-house and never separated from their source. And every formula has fermented aloe vera juice to help with digestive health.

Also,  all Get Real Nutrition products are first of its kind eco-regenerative packaging. This means everything can be composted and then used to grow the products again. So, today’s packaging can become tomorrow’s nutrition.

Get Real products feature an impressive array of ingredients like Siberian ginseng and Indian gooseberry. Tell us about your sourcing.

Every ingredient in Get Real Nutrition formulas is cultivated in our certified organic indoor nutrient farm on the central coast of California. We source the organic herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, and juices from five continents around the world, [supporting] farmers in the region where each ingredient has been developed, cultivated, and utilized by their indigenous people for millennia.

How do you enjoy Get Real on a daily basis?

Two of my favorite recipes are the Purple Green Fermented SuperJuice and the Mochaccino Metabolite Smoothie:

Purple Green Fermented SuperJuice Cleanse

Yield: 4 cleansing drinks

16 ounces fresh apple juice
1 fresh banana
1 cup fresh kale
1 cup fresh spinach
1 ounces frozen blueberries
4 scoops Fermented SuperJuice Cleanse powder

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired texture.

Mochaccino Metabolite Smoothie

Yield: 2 smoothies

10 ounces of yogurt, kefir, coconut milk, or almond milk
1 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil 1 tablespoon flaxseed or hemp seed oil
1–2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup
2 scoops of Multi Metabolite Cleanse powder
2 tablespoons cacao nibs or powder
1 tablespoon organic roasted coffee beans or grounds
1–2 fresh or frozen organic bananas
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired texture.

Check Out Get Real’s powerful collection of probiotics, omega formulas, multi-metabolites, and fermented superjuices to enhance overall health, exclusively at Thrive Market.

Photo credit: Jordan Rubin