We're in a mess...

[cheri]

Glad to find this site. Jan 2 my husband and I will meet with nutritionist to discuss transition to all raw diet. Our situation is critical. Husband had quadruple bypass three years ago, stint and angioplasty six months ago, worsening angina since then and last week received news of total clogging on right side of heart and recommendation of consideration of another bypass. Going raw seems our very best immediate course of action. I’m emotional eater and have gained a disgusting 75 pounds . We plan to make 2007 – our 60th year – our healthiest year! My biggest concern is making this way of eating simple and workable for us while living our very busy lives. Hope to order Alissa's book next week.

[raw-siobhan]

The book will be very helpful in the transition from the standard American diet to RAW. Do the best you can and make it an enjoyable experience all around. I find that when I lose my motivation just coming to this site to read the posts and associated with people who share my enthusiasm and health goals does a lot to get me through any bumps in the road. Best wishes to you and your husband. :)

[Conscious Midwife]

DITTO REGARDING the helpfulness of Alissa's book.

My daughter just met a man today who's 75 year's old had the same heart condition and subsequent surgery in his late forties. Changed his diet ad started running. He is now a masters level state champ in the 800m
(3:10min) at the age of 75. His doc said there are no signs of the condition apparent on any of his test.

I'm confident the RAW diet and tolerable/ moderate movement/exercise will yield the results you both desire. KUDOS to you and your future "bill of health"! :D

[cheri]

Thanks for the supportive and encouraging words. Have purchased a food processer, juicer and regular blender. Will be looking for a dehydrator. Any suggestions for enduring the initial days of beginning raw? I think if we can get through the first week or two we should be on our way to adjusting.

[mysticalend]

I copied certain inspirational pages from my favorite raw books and taped them to the cabinets of my kitchen.

I also put a cutting board over my stovetop.

For work, I just pack a cooler full of raw food and snack the day away.

Good luck with this path. I will admit, it will not be easy.

Ian

[Raw Venus]

best of luck to you!

[luckitri]

Alissa's book will help you alot. New to raw usually eat more high-fat foods like avocados and nuts while transitioning. Some people do a fast before starting raw and they think that really helps them alot. Many times on a weekend I will do alot of juicing and just not eat all weekend. I suppose that is a mini-juice fast. There is much help to be had by reading the old threads here. However it is very time-consuming. I would recommend purchasing the dehydrator from Alissa also. It seems to me that most of the recipes are for that type of dehydrator rather than the round one I have. The recipes in her book and variations under the recipe section for flax crackers and raw onion bread are 2 dehydrator recipes that really help people alot.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hey Cheri - welcome to the message board and to raw food. The easiest and simplest way to eat raw is to eat fresh fruits and veggies as much as you care for. With your hubby's heart and clogged artery condition, I'm sure you know he needs to be mindful of his fat intake, which is really easy to overdo on the raw diet.

Raw doesn't have to be complicated. Lots of fruit, smoothies and big salads to keep you going. You may want to have hubby's levels checked before and during to make sure he's doing good and showing improvement - I have genetic high cholesterol with heart attacks in family history so I do still check my levels, with the lower fat my levels do get lower, which also means I have to take in more fruit to make up for my calorie needs.

Please keep us posted with your progress - I'm so excited for you!

[cheri]

Hi Luckitri,
Thanks for the suggestions and information. Unfortunately, I already purchased (set up and threw away the packaging) a round Nesco dehydrator. I noticed reading the book that came with it they recommend blanching veggies before dehydrating......that seems contrary to what I've been reading here. Hope I haven't thrown my money away but will try to make the best of it until, if necessary, I can do something different.

[cheri]

Thanks Sharon for the suggestions and info. Hubby just had levels done two weeks ago so we have good baseline. Plan to start on Jan 2 but he has already implemented some beginning changes. He also needs to watch his sugar - he's diagnosed "borderline diabetic" to which he says, "That means I'm not diabetic!" I'm hoping that increased fruit won't mean increased sugar levels. I rather suspect that if all other dietary choices are raw and pure he won't have any trouble with sugar level.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Eating whole fruit regulates sugar levels, because you are taking in the fiber, so they will digest at a normal rate without causing the sugar levels in the blood to rise.

Juicing fruit and things like carrots, will make the sugars go up since the sugars are concentrated, or eating fruit with fat may keep them in the system longer, causing sugar levels to rise. There's an excellent food combining chart in Alissa's book that you can refer to.

You can look at some glycemic tables and see that fruit is very low while things like cooked grain products are high. Watermelon is the highest of the fruits, but bananas are relatively low.

Hmmm...this info is a little bit different than what Alissa may advocate but with your husband's current health condition, maybe there's an exception to the rule. Because if he doesn't get enough fruit, he will be hungry and veggies aren't very satisfying by themselves.

Are you going all raw at once? Or transitioning? What is his current diet like?

[cheri]

Our plan is to go raw all at once. Currently we both have a SAD diet which is probably SADDER than most SAD diets.

[spicyfull]

RAW is Looking for you, RAW came to your house and found no one home. Again I am just the Messinger.......RAW is Looking for you........RAW wants to make all your Prayers and Dreams come true. Please be Home when RAW comes by again........

I wish you everything you need to Stay RAW.....Welcome to MY World.......

[Stina]

Dr. Sherry Roger's book Detox or Die (she's a macrobiotic practicioner) has a lot of information concerning heart patients. Of particular interest are the infrared heat saunas.

[carolg]

A cousin, haven't seen or spoken to in about 40 years, just heard is in a coma. I'm assuming he was doing SAD like the rest of all my large group of cousins. He was at gym, in steam room, had a heart attack, and body is badly burnt, in hospital two weeks now.

Maybe the stress of his law career created some factors, but I have to assume the diet played some role.

Cheri, may 2007 be your best year on the health journey with hubby.
carolg

[Mieke Benton 2]

Good for you!
I hop that the nutrition person will be suportive in this. Follow your inner guidance would be my advice, listen to your body what feels good and taste good in the moment.
Now, if for whatever reason you do not succeed immediatly, do not make yourself wrong. Do not give up from the first time, if you eat something you planned not to eat. Be gentle with yourself. And if you do feel those strong emotions eating you inside, just sit down and allow yourself to feel those emotions, just feel and allow them to be there. Have water or something with you so you can drink if you need the urge to take something in.
Anyway, that is what I am trying at this moment.

Keep talking on these forums you can get a lot of great support.

[luckitri]

Smoothies can be filling but for me I have to keep them simple. Right now I am in love with banana orange smoothies. I peel the oranges so they still have lots of that white stuff that is supposed to have lots of vitC and C complements . . . juice them and put the juice in the blender with the banana.

When okra is in season and not too woody (pick the little ones or go to farmers market) I like to make green juices and throw it on top of the okra in the blender and that is filling also.

Personally I don't like to mix fruits and vegetables very often. Perhaps my history of heartburn, IBS etc makes me more vulnerable to gas and flatulence with improper food combining.

I will make a salsa smoothie with avocadoes for filling however. (Juice lemon, tomato, cilantro and bit of onion or garlic and blend with avocado.)

I do get ravenously hungry and then I am likely to cheat - slip to SAD.

Cilantro is known to cleanse toxic metals from the body so I like to juice that with perhaps a lemon. Many of these conditions have body toxicity as a primary factor of aggravation if not causation.

I often use purified water run through the juicer to get the last of the good juice out as well as keep it from sticking to the equipment when I want it to stick to me.

Young coconut and avocados really help the hunger. There are many threads here that will help you with the young coconut. . . .how to buy, how to open . . . . best use of. . . . . .as well as the cholesterol/fat issue.

I like to chew and don't care for alot of smoothies or juice although they are good when in a rush and I will often green-juice all weekend and not eat as a way of maintaining my energy - getting stuff done and purifying at same time.

Many healing regimens start with a fresh glass of lemon or lime juice in a.m. These 2 help to alkalize the body as well as cleanse and purify.

There is so much helpful information on old threads on this site. It takes alot of time to look but it is worth it.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Another thing too, but specific to your hubby with the clogged artery. I think in his case it would probably be better to have steamed veggies with lemon juice or some other type of seasonings or herbs than something high in fat - if he had a craving that he couldn't overcome.

[luckitri]

Yes, some cultures believe in light steaming for the ill person. I was very ill recently and the only way I could get something down was to steam it lightly. Now I am back to raw. The raw will cleanse his system more thoroughly and more quickly. For myself I have learned to slow down my massive detox with cooked but most people do better staying raw. I am older and very toxic and am detoxing some major chemicals with the raw weight loss so I don't have the luxury of staying home so I cannot just tough it out.

[cheri]

Thanks for all the suggestions and moral support. We met with the nutritionist which is my title for her. She is Seventh Day Adventist and owns and operates a health food store and vegan cafe (which is wonderful) and frequently teaches classes on healthy lifestyle. I've learned a lot from her. I have my kitchen set up and even started sprouting beans tonight. We have been raw today and have exercised so feel we are heading in the right direction.

[anyanyapie]

There are a bunch of great suggestions on here. One thing to add. Notice what you are craving (and don't beat yourself up if you give in). Keep track of the SAD items you are craving and find a replacement. I craved sweets a lot. I know some are against dates, but that became our new candy. I also made a lot of raw desserts. Now if I am craving something sweet, I get a banana or apple. Although the raw substitutes aren't the best raw food, it can help you overcome your cravings when you first start out. Your body will naturally adjust and start craving different things. Now, I find that I am craving apples a lot and I don't give candy or other SAD treats a second thought. The key is to really pay attention to what your body is telling you.

[Randolyn]

Cayenne is great for circulation! Google it:) For application. Wishing and your husband a healthier 2007.

[rawpriestess]

welcome to the board