Raw foodism should not be an 'alternative lifestyle'

[lissomllama]

Since finally becomming 100% raw (and since attempting it and failing a few times in the last year before this great victory) I have noticed (how can you not) that it is considered an alternative lifestyle by everyone, even many raw foodists. This strikes me as ridiculous, laughable and very telling of the times we live in. Most of us were started out from after breast feeding on the wrong diet and many of us even feed our pets little colorful pellets of junk when they were meant to consume vegetables and raw meat (if you've got a carnivore pet). Most raw foodists know that a raw, vegan and organic diet is the way we were all meant to live/eat and the first way that humans began eating but so many other people have been brainwashed all throughout history to believe that a cooked diet can nourish the body. This obviously isn't based on the fact that we've got thumbs because we've slowly tried to turn other creatures into eating thiungs they weren't meant to. Now, not everyone agrees that the first way we began doing things is the best way to do them but in this case we've seen more evidence to prove that a raw, vegan, mostly organic diet properly executed is the way to good health and a simple, more natural life. I know that the reason why it has been deemed an alternative lifestyle is simply because we are in a minority and the SAD diet or even the action of applying heat to food is the way that most people do things. Why is this? What changed us and why so early in time? Why did humans feel the need to use fire to heat their food? Was it because they decided that animal meat would be a good thing to consume? Was there not enough vegetation to sustain them? Why do cooked eaters/cooked meat eaters not see that we with our flat nails and non-carnivor teeth were meant for vegetation and that our bodies are not equipped to handle eating raw meat? Most humans seem to have not even given this a second thought. I've always wondered these things. I try to stay positive and I admit that we should be focusing on discussing raw food as if nothing else exists but it does and all over the place we are made to feel strange and we have trouble going out to restaurants (yes I know, that's not a natural thing either). But could you imagine a world where raw, vegan foodism spans the globe and is a very common appearance? Where we can go anywhere and find that the prodouce section in the store is larger than the rest and where restaurants serve gourmet raw, not just in 'alternative' hubs like Berkely and San Francisco but even all over those rural areas. I don't mean to generalize but this is the way it is, at least in my life. I can't wait for the day when millions of people open their eyes and broaden their horizons.

[Dimond]

Well said!

[dreamrawalwz]

I like this post and these questions. I have a question though (just out of curiosity). You mention the teeth to not eat meat, ect, but in my bio class I just learned (well i knew already lol) that humans are "omnivores" and are 'made' to eat meat and veggies since we have small K-9's and the digestive tract is different from herbavores. My point is, are humans the only species considered omnivores? If that's the case I find it's an excuse to eat what we're not supposed to...

[Revvell]

Excellent post.

That's what I've been saying for years about "alternative medicine". Food, conscious movement, awareness, "should" be one's "medicine". Not drugs. Drugs are the alternative in my life ~ if I ever find the need for them. Haven't in 37 years or more.

Revvell

[Faithfullyfit]

How TRUE!!!!!

I am a professional fitness trainer and nutrition counselor and I am contracted by a wellness physician to provide consultations to her new patients when they start her program..... I got a little "hand slap" for talking too much about my RAW diet and that I should not be telling these people to eat more fruits and vegetables- :eek: gasp....they are too follow a "yeast free" diet of artificial sweetener's (xylitol) meat, roasted nuts, fried eggs and a prescription of Diflucan and Nystatin- This raw diet would be harmful to their success and their elimination of candida. She was also fearful that these people could become malnourished following my plan- she just has them all take Juice Plus capsules instead! Am I missing something???? I had to agree and had another consult today where I started to tell a patient about banana ice cream----this is her weakness- because she has ice cream in the house for her kids....well, i stopped and thought why do I feel so great on raw but cannot share this? What is wrong with a world that thinks this way....this is a doctor who left mainstream practice to work on prevention and wellness!!!!

Okay, my vent is over -heehee!

Take Care,
FF

[ljcoolj]

Faithfullyfit....that BLOWS my mind!!! I'm not in the fitness/nutrition industry, but you'd think someone who left 'mainstream' would be very open to hear/know more about raw. How could anyone think that eating more fruits and veggies is somehow going to mess them up? WOW! How sad!!! People seem to always want to argue with me about the way I eat and it use to drive me nuts. Now all I say is this "if I were eating donuts for breakfast, McDonalds for lunch and pizza for dinner, you and no one else would say a word to me about my diet. Why does it bug you that I eat raw fruits, veggies and nuts?" That usually sheds some light on how ridiculous they are. Use to bug me a lot, but now I just let it slide off my back and enjoy the peace in knowing that I'm NOT eating an alternative diet, I'm eating a human diet.

[sevenbravo]

I overheard my 11 year old son talking to my wife, "I don't want to be a raw foodist!" he said.
My wife replied, "You are a raw foodist, you just don't want to eat that way!"

[heabrook]

I like this post and these questions. I have a question though (just out of curiosity). You mention the teeth to not eat meat, ect, but in my bio class I just learned (well i knew already lol) that humans are "omnivores" and are 'made' to eat meat and veggies since we have small K-9's and the digestive tract is different from herbavores. My point is, are humans the only species considered omnivores? If that's the case I find it's an excuse to eat what we're not supposed to...

That's sad. They are even misleading you in a Biology class!! :eek:

Our digestive tracts are not different from herbivores. They have long digestive tracts, just like we do. However, carnivores have short digestive tracts. Also, humans have flat, flexible nails but carnivores have claws (to help kill/catch their prey). Carnivores have long curved fangs. We have short teeth in comparison. We have flat molars and long digestive tracts.... this is quite similar to herbivores, not different.

Our jaws are also the same as herbivores. Notice how you can move your jaw left to right just like a cow does when chewing? :)

[paleogirl]

I hate it when this kind of stuff comes up. :( I think the emphasis here should be on RAW, not on vegan. A person eating a 100% raw diet which includes some raw fish is much closer to a human's intended diet (and thus the raw philosophy) than a cooked food vegan. Please - let us raw folks stick together, not segregate over the details.

[Gosia]

I understand your sentiments, paleogirl (I am guessing that you are neither vegan nor intending to be one). Nevertheless, did you read the mission statement? One would think that on a raw vegan board, one would expect to see such posts. Exploration of vegan-related issues can be very useful and enlightening for those who choose this path. Where else can we discuss those?

Gosia

[chilove]

Humans are actually frugivores. Bears and pigs are omnivores. Check this out: http://www.iol.ie/~creature/BiologicalAdaptations.htm

Take care,

Audrey

[dreamrawalwz]

That's sad. They are even misleading you in a Biology class!! :eek:

Our digestive tracts are not different from herbivores. They have long digestive tracts, just like we do. However, carnivores have short digestive tracts. Also, humans have flat, flexible nails but carnivores have claws (to help kill/catch their prey). Carnivores have long curved fangs. We have short teeth in comparison. We have flat molars and long digestive tracts.... this is quite similar to herbivores, not different.

Our jaws are also the same as herbivores. Notice how you can move your jaw left to right just like a cow does when chewing? :)

See, that's what I thought (and still think too). She showed a digestive tract of a herbivor vs. a carnivore and said the herbavores have sacks or pockets where the vegetation sits to get digested (or something like that, didn't really pay that much attention!).

What bugs me is that there is only one vegetarian besides me (raw vegan) in the class. The class got into a discussion about meat and stuff. One girl said "my best friend is a vegetarian and a nutritionist. She says we HAVE to eat meat..." umm...if a nutritionist says we "have" to eat meat and then doesn't herself...she must know something right? lol. It just didn't make any sense to me! My teacher is going to teach us about what we *need* to be eating, good grief! I just tune out in theses lectures :D

[paleogirl]

Thank you Gosia. I'm 10 days into my 3rd time raw and today will have been my first 100% raw (and therefore 100% vegan) day, this time around. So who knows, I may end up vegan! I have not eaten dairy (due to casein intolerance) for nearly a year, so going raw vegan for me would be easy. Also, I want to add that I have nothing at all against veganism - that's not where my point was coming from at ALL.... I just feel here that, in order to not exclude some of us that are new and finding our feet, the emphasis should be on raw - either because some people are 100% raw and include meat, or because - more likely - some of us are high raw and still including cooked meat, in order to transition successfully and not detox too fast. I want those people to feel accepted and stick to the raw lifestyle rather than fall off the wagon through a feeling of failure (ie: still eating a little meat).

Ok, I'm done! :D

[Gosia]

I totally see your point. Thank you for sharing it.
Gosia.

[aromaticwings]

wishing Faithfully Fit was close to me..would love to be taught exactly what I need... I know raw... but for some times I just feel I am not doing something right.. just seems way to simple..yes, I have Alissa's book and many others...


added note.. sorry the space bar was sticking at work..

[aromaticwings]

I have noticed (how can you not) that it is considered an alternative lifestyle by everyone, even many raw foodists. This strikes me as ridiculous, laughable and very telling of the times we live in.
I totallyagree.... I have felt so much better being the amount of raw I have been.. No arthritis no headaches, clearer eyes, more energy... just happier... but again seems way too simple sometimes...and I do get to where I am overwhelmed with lack of creativity.. Some recipes I can not afford...some are just too detailed for me to deal with... but love it none the less..

But it is funny how I get so frustrated when I see my kids eating the way I taught them long ago.. now I want to reteach them and now they fight me as they are adults now...heavy sigh

[lissomllama]

I like this post and these questions. I have a question though (just out of curiosity). You mention the teeth to not eat meat, ect, but in my bio class I just learned (well i knew already lol) that humans are "omnivores" and are 'made' to eat meat and veggies since we have small K-9's and the digestive tract is different from herbavores. My point is, are humans the only species considered omnivores? If that's the case I find it's an excuse to eat what we're not supposed to...


Yeah, I know what you mean. The teeth thing is a controversial subject. Alot of people say we are herbavores and alot say we're omnivores but if that's true, why can't we eat raw meat? We can eat cooked and prepared meat just fine but if we eat raw meat we would most likely get a disease and it's not too easy for us to take down a live creature to eat without tools that are not part of our anatomy. So I see it this way: If a being cannot consume something with relative ease in it's natural state and have it tolerable in taste and not harmful to their health then that being was not meant to eat said thing. But this agrument will rage on forever, I'm sure. When my father asked me why I was going raw I told him the tooth/nail spiel and the first words from his mouth were "No, we're omnivores, see, I just ate cereal earlier". I was shocked that he basically implied that humans were naturally meant to eat cereal.

[Blu]

Re: the alternative lifestyle thing

I think this happens a lot when people attach dogma or esotericism to something they are doing for their health. I was a bodywork therapist & saw this in that industry as well. People thinking that certain bodywork was alternative & a new age type thing.

Or we can just not take it personally & see that people will call something alternative when its a small fraction compared to the norm. Right now SAD is the norm. We can change that, and by not attaching dogma to it, it could happen quicker.

[lissomllama]

That's sad. They are even misleading you in a Biology class!! :eek:

Our digestive tracts are not different from herbivores. They have long digestive tracts, just like we do. However, carnivores have short digestive tracts. Also, humans have flat, flexible nails but carnivores have claws (to help kill/catch their prey). Carnivores have long curved fangs. We have short teeth in comparison. We have flat molars and long digestive tracts.... this is quite similar to herbivores, not different.

Our jaws are also the same as herbivores. Notice how you can move your jaw left to right just like a cow does when chewing? :)

Exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself. I hate to be paranoid sounding but we live in a world where the advertising industry has told us that the junk they are pedaling is actually good for us. In the 50's one was actually considdered un-American if they didn't drink 3 full glasses of milk a day, you know, for strong bones. and now look at what we know about the dairy industry and how most people with osteoperosis are big dairy consumers whereas those without the affliction generally eat very little dairy. Or take the Wonderbread and Iron kids ads decades ago saying it was filled with good iron and your children need to gobble up this white, processed, bleached "bread" and now the whole industry is raving about the health benefits of ingesting whole grain breads instead of white. Should we honestly believe that teachers in schools are giving us the unbiased facts of the century about health and our bodies? Teachers are average people and they follow a curriculum dreamed up by humans (and humans are not all knowing) as well and I'm willing to bet that alot of these humans are following a standard american diet and it is interesting to look at how much a creature revolves around its diet. Most of us around here know this phrase well but here it is again: "considder the source". This just how I see it though.

[sport]

I hate it when this kind of stuff comes up. :( I think the emphasis here should be on RAW, not on vegan. A person eating a 100% raw diet which includes some raw fish is much closer to a human's intended diet (and thus the raw philosophy) than a cooked food vegan. Please - let us raw folks stick together, not segregate over the details.
I have to say that I do not agree. I choose to be raw. I AM VEGAN that is not a choice, it is what I am.