Just beginning for my health..need advice

[ElizabethGrace]

I'm new here on the forum. I just got Alissa's book and am beginning to read it. I have a rare disease called hyperkaelemic periodic paralysis. It is a disease that I was born with and have struggled all 37 years of my life with. It causes muscle weakness throughout any given muscle periodically. There are many things that effect it: too much food; not enough food; extreme cold weather; extreme heat; stress; exercise, etc... They say it has to do with potassium/sodium levels in the muscle walls. I am going to try to go all raw for 100 days and journal the effects on my muscles. My question is, how important is a dehydrater to this way of eating....do I need to invest in one? Would I have enough to eat without having one? What other advice could you give me as I begin my journey? Thanks for your help! :)

[VibraTechJulie]

I know you have made a good choice to go raw. :D A dehydrator is not necessary! I do use one but you can do Alissa's 30 day challenge without one. Although the last week does have recipes in the dehydrator, she says you can just replace some other recipes for the last week that don't involve the dehydrator.

I am anxious to hear of your progress.

Raw Blessings,
Julie

[miachris]

Hi ElizabethGrace,

I have Myasthenia Gravis which sounds a bit similar to what you have and I also just started raw.

I don't have the money to buy a dehydrator right now, but after getting a few raw cookbooks and looking on websites, I've found MORE than enough recipes to keep my happy till I can get one.

And to everyone else out there any and all advice would help out greatly.

I'm specifially interested in the following :

1 - What is the best way to lose weight because due to IVIG treatment I'm
receiving, I'm having an exceptionaly hard time (even on raw).
2 - I'm trying desprately to quit coffee ( right now my only "unraw" vice)
but having a terrible time. I'm extremely exhausted in the morning and
do childcare. With out my coffee I feel like I'm almost endangering
the little ones I watch :)
3 - What are the best and least expensive enzymes for someone with an
autoimmune disease.
4 - Is all coconut oil that says "unrefined" raw?
5 - Anyone out there in the Palm Springs, Temecula area? ( I'm new to
Riverside county and live in San Jacinto / Hemet.)
6 - Any info the raw food & autoimmune diseases connection would be
awesome.

Thanx a bunch :)

[Eveleaf]

Hi there. :) Congrats on starting something so positive for your health!

You surely do NOT need a dehydrator. I do not have one, and probably will not have one for several months. Health-wise, the simpler your diet, the closer food is to it's "natural" state, the better! A dehydrator does help many, many folks go and stay raw, in that many foods just taste better and you can make raw breads, crackers, cookies, etc. However, I've never heard anyone suggest that any of these things become MORE healthy if you dehydrate them. You can just eat other things, find your own favorites, and make this lifestyle work for you. :) There are SOOO many choices!

[Dimond]

I don't have a dehydrator mainly because I need to keep things very simple right now. I buy some ready-made dehydrated foods to complement the items I make. It's more costly, but works for me. A blender is probably the most important and you can even get away with an inexpensive one.

[Denise Nicole]

I don't use a dehydrator. Nor want too. Good luck on your raw journey!

[Gosia]

Worth reading:
http://www.shazzie.com/raw/transformation/helen.shtml
http://www.diagnose-me.com/questionnaire/Q203.html
http://abcinternetmarketing.com/dtgw/ebook/free/rawfoods/DTGW.pdf

Also, see the scientific evidence:
Fibryomalgia and rheumatoid patients helped with living foods diet:
Acta Physiol Hung 1999;86(3-4):171-80
Vegan diet in physiological health promotion.
Hanninen O, Rauma AL, Kaartinen K, Nenonen M. Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, Finland.
We have performed a number of studies including dietary interventions and cross-sectional studies on subjects consuming uncooked vegan food called living food (LF) and clarified the changes in several parameters related to health risk factors. LF consists of germinated seeds, cereals, sprouts, vegetables, fruits, berries and nuts. Some items are fermented and contain a lot of lactobacilli. The diet is rich in fiber. It has very little sodium, and it contains no cholesterol. Food items like berries and wheat grass juice are rich in antioxidants such as carotenoids and flavonoids. The subjects eating living food show increased levels of carotenoids and vitamins C and E and lowered cholesterol concentration in their sera. Urinary excretion of sodium is only a fraction of the omnivorous controls. Also urinary output of phenol and p-cresol is lowered as are several fecal enzyme levels which are considered harmful. The rheumatoid arthritis patients eating the LF diet reported amelioration of their pain, swelling of joints and morning stiffness which all got worse after finishing LF diet. The composite indices of objective measures showed also improvement of the rheumatoid arthritis patients during the intervention. The fibromyalgic subjects eating LF lost weight compared to their omnivorous controls. The results on their joint stiffness and pain (visual analogue scale), on their quality of sleep, on health assessment questionnaire and on general health questionnaire all improved. It appears that the adoption of vegan diet exemplified by the living food leads to a lessening of several health risk factors to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Rheumatoid patients subjectively benefited from the vegan diet which was also seen in serum parameters and fecal analyses.



Best,
Gosia.

[Pailani]

I don't use a dehydrator. I bought one, but then realized it didn't come with the sheets I'd need to do anything besides beef jerky, and they'd have to be mail-ordered . . . and that was too much trouble. The dehydrator is still sitting in the box a year later. I do a LOT of smoothies, mostly green smoothies, but sometimes just fruit, and blended soups. And I do a few things with the food processer. There's a carob/almond butter ball recipe in Alissa's book that's delicious and doesn't need a dehydrator.



2 - I'm trying desprately to quit coffee ( right now my only "unraw" vice)
but having a terrible time. I'm extremely exhausted in the morning and
do childcare. With out my coffee I feel like I'm almost endangering
the little ones I watch :)

I switched to green tea for a year. It took the edge off my need for a jolt of coffee and got me rid of the side effects from coffee - irregular heartbeats, anxiety, sleeplessness, drastic energy swings, etc. It has some caffeine, but a lot less than coffee.

[adrienne]

i would say you don't need a dehydrator at all. when i eat dehydrated food, i often find it has the same effects of when i eat cooked...bloating, gas, heartburn. it can be fun to make some of the recipes but it is really not necessary for your raw journey.
also, coconut water is a great source of electrolytes (it's like nature's sports drink!) you can find young coconuts at any asian market. i hack mine open with a knife and mallet!! make sure there are no purple spots or large cracks on any of the coconuts when you buy them.
good luck to you and way to go for taking care of yourself, your body will thank you! keep us posted on your results :)

[ElizabethGrace]

I don't mean to be ignorant, but what do I do with the coconut once I crack it open? How do I get coconut water? :confused:

[dreamrawalwz]

I bought a dehydrador when I started out. I've made a few batches of dried fruit, cookies, and chips. Taht's about it within the 2 + years I've used it. I don't want to use it anymore. My body doesn't like dehydrated foods, recipes, ect. It just wants simple foods. I'm actually thinking about selling it.

[Lay-Lay]

I love my dehydrator, but mainly because I have a huge garden and apple, peach, and pair orchard. My family and I couldn't possibly eat out the food we produce in the summer. Soooo, the dehydrator for me is wonderful because I can save alot of food and be able to eat it in the winter months, which saves me a lot of money. If this was not the case for me I would see little need for one other then just to have fun with some recipes and make some good travel snacks. If you really do want one try fleamarkets and yard sales. You may just come across one.

In regards to cocunut juice, there should be a small soft spot on top and you get a little crack there to get your juice out and then crack the whole thing open to get your meat. At least thats how I do it. I also just throw my cocunut down on the concrete on my carport to get it to crack.

[Lady Green Jeans]

miachris,

I am in the Hemet area. Try Henry's for inexpensive enzymes or online at eherb.com. for discounted name brands. Raw food diet is the best thing you could do for your body and your health.

Please keep us posted.

[threedogs]

I don't use a dehydrator. I bought one, but then realized it didn't come with the sheets I'd need to do anything besides beef jerky, and they'd have to be mail-ordered . . . and that was too much trouble. The dehydrator is still sitting in the box a year later.

Well, I don't feel so bad now - mine was sitting in the box for several months! I was a bit intimidated with the whole concept. I'm annoying everyone in my house now because I've been dehydrating practically non-stop.

Did you know that you can use parchment paper in the dehydrator? That's what I've been using when I need more than the two sheets that came with my dehydrator.

[juliebove]

I don't have a dehydrator. Still can't afford one but have asked for one for my birthday. I can however get some raw, dehydrated foods at my nearby health food store and they are very good to order whatever I need. The bulk of my diet is and always has been raw veggies. I have started sprouting though and I feel this is a great source of protein. If I had to choose between sprouts and dehydrated stuff, I'd choose the sprouts. And yes, I can buy sprouts at the grocery store, but I prefer to make my own.