From longtime rawfoodist.. ur thoughts plez..

[Missrawdiva]

I just went to a seminar from a famous rawfoodist. I think he is a great guy, however I did not agree with everything he said. When I asked about raw cocao, I was told the guy who introduced it to david wofle no longer eats raw cocao because if its bad health effects. Is this true??? Also, a lady came up to me, and asked me about being raw. After speaking to her for a long period of time, I told her she could either do the research on the net and books, or that I offer what I call the Raw Food Basics Class. She said, I will attend your class but I could not go raw cold turkey. The "speaker" was there and looked at her and said, " most people dont." I looked at him and said, that is not what I was taught by Allisas training. He told this women no raw food avocate says to go 100% overnight. I said yes Allisia does. Cooked food is an addiction and that is the best way to go! Needless to say I was standing there looking like the green gremlin to him. lol (ok.. I think I just had to vent saying that!) That is what I tell every one that is it best to go 100%. Please tell me I did not hear read or listen incorrectly on that.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I personally don't subscribe to the thought that cocoa or cacao (same thing) is health-promoting.

While surely it's not going to kill anyone, I believe it has some addictive qualities like caffeine and theombromine (sp?).

I personally have problems with cocoa/cacao as others may have with coffee and tea and find it difficult to eat 'in moderation'.

It has made me shakey after not having it for some time, so I believe there are natural chemicals in there which humans don't really need in their bodies, no matter how many "healthy antioxidants" there are in there.

As for the 100%...to some they may need to go vegan before going 100% raw which may be gentler. To some they may want to slowly add raw food or increase their raw meals. To others they can do it right off the bat. Some will backslide, others won't. Everyone's different.

I think it is more effective to say "xx worked for me" that way you don't get into a big debate about it. The speaker isn't all-knowing, and neither is any raw food author or lecturer.

[Nimmanu]

You did not misread or mishear. Alissa advocates 100%.

The reason behind this is very simple, typical human reality.

For the vast majority of people (and there are always the anecdotal one or two who are different), the slippery slope is excessively attractive. To the point of self-destruction.

"Well, I had a cookie, I just as well have two and get back on it tomorrow. Well, I had 8 cookies yesterday, I can have 2 chips today- at least it's not 8 cookies." And so on, down the merry path to SAD eating again. Or smoking again. Or overspending again. Or....

[Dj 247]

I do not have Alissa's book, but I would never follow an all or nothing plan. That is just not how I am. I like to stick my toes in before jumping in. I am not 100% raw, but I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I have been 100% vegan. I do think all the recipes seem like they contain way too many nuts. I know they are natural, but it seems un-natural to eat so many. Also I would never eat so many SAD desserts so I will probably not eat that many raw ones. When I introduced myself I wrote "not just nuts" but in some ways that is exactly what eating raw is a lot of nuts. I think I am going to stick to mostly fruits and vegetables with a few handfuls of nuts for protien and fat. I do like the vegan part of eating raw. My skin does look better and my stomach is much flatter and I find myself much calmer.

[DavidZaneMason]

-REALLY eating well is often cutting edge stuff. Is it any wonder that the folks who do it don't always agree? Do cutting-edge quantum physicists always agree? Ha! ha! Far from it.

-You've definitely got the right idea though. Just share positive experiences with those who are happy and successful...and have been doing it a long time.....and those insights will be invaluable to yourself and others.

-Rawkinlocs.......and the other folks on this wonderful board will have some great support, insight, and experiences to share with you.

-David Z. Mason

[Ariannah]

I'm not good at the slippery slope thing at all. For me, staying 100% is the best way to go. I don't do "percentages" well.

If I have the mindset of "Oh, I am not 100% yet, so this (cooked food I'm being offered) is part of my diet plan. Why offend my friends by being extreme?" - then I would NEVER get back on raw.

I also don't eat chocolate anymore. My raw diet is high-fruit, high antioxidant anyway, so why do I need more? I don't believe chocolate is beneficial or healthy. It's a stimulant. Nothing against people who eat it. If it helps them stay raw, then that's a good thing! But my own personal choices reflect my personal ideals.

[muse]

I do think all the recipes seem like they contain way too many nuts. I know they are natural, but it seems un-natural to eat so many.

Totally, utterly agree.

And I've posted here before with lots of links (a no-no) about raw chocolate. Long term raw foodists (such as Storm) do not think this raw chocolate 'revolution' is a good health idea at all.

I feel shakey on raw cacao, but not raw carob. When I read that a particular raw foodist who is one of The leaders in the community, 'practically lives on the stuff' (raw chocolate), that isn't something I can support. I think it is a bad example.

I'm not sure one would notice a massive difference between 96% raw and 100% raw. Depends what the 4% comprises.

And lots of spiritual teachers view 'addiction' in a completely different way than the standard american psychological view. Not in a 12-step way, certainly, with repeating to oneself about being an alcoholic or whatever! Talk about staying in the addiction. Creating one's reality is a key component of awakening in this life, whether one is raw or not. Telling oneself, or others that 'cooked food is an addiction' makes for one kind of reality. I'm not interested in that reality, so I don't go around saying that.

The more one focuses on these things, they increase in their power. Best to be careful about one focuses upon. :-)

[Sharon in Colorado]

For some it may be easier to let go of one addiction at a time instead of every single cooked thing all at once.

For instance, there are some eating all raw out there who still drink coffee and/or eat chocolate. Everything is raw except for that one thing. Going 100% may be too extreme and can set up some up for failure.

On the other hand, it can be more difficult to stay raw when you allow a potato chip or another kind of trigger food in the diet.

Besides that, there are some recipes in LOLF that aren't 100% raw, like some of the condiments that are used have been denatured by processing and/or heat.

I have been back and forth in this so much, that the plan that works for me presently is better staying low fat than staying raw, because I can just as easily have problems with the higher fats and dehydrated recipes which in the long term is less healthy for my own health status. Some of the cooked food may trigger more cooked, however the raw fat triggers more fat just the same.

[rawnora]

There truly ARE universal absolutes, but how to get healthy is not one of them. The goals are the same for all human beings, because we all share a common physiology, but the journey is different for everyone.

I went 100% virtually overnight too and that worked for me but that doesn't mean it will work for everyone. It's actually more harmful physically and psychologically to go 100% and keep slipping back into cooked foods because it's too sudden a change. I had a long build-up before I went raw -- 13 years of being a fairly strict vegan -- so I already had many of the skills and had made the shifts that have to take place when a person goes raw. I'm thinking of the social aspects particularly -- being thought of as 'different', being prepared in social situations so that they don't undermine your goals, etc. I had made being healthy a hobby and even if I was on the wrong track (cooked vegan), this laid the foundation for further change and learning in the future. Someone who is coming from being totally clueless about food and health will have a very difficult time going 100% raw quickly. It's actually very common for these kinds of people to not succeed (success being defined as staying raw long term) and most who fail end up convincing themselves there's something wrong with them because of it. Those who don't blame themselves blame the diet (ala Tom Billings).

There are many ways to recover from addiction; total abstinence is only one. In addition, it's arbitrary in my opinion to draw the line at cooked food addiction. That's like stopping alcohol by adopting a smoking habit. After we've recovered from cooked food addiction by replacing our drug of choice with raw food, why not continue on and seek recovery from food addiction in general?

Kind wishes,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com