Dr. Doug Graham

[tanishamarshall]

I listened to Dr Graham, he said that we should only eat 10% Protein and Fat and 80% carb.

He said that when your Fat levels are to high it can cause problems in your body.

Are any of you concerned about your fat intake? I know Alissa says in her book not to worry about how much you eat of anything RAW but Dr Graham is saying we need to watch our fat intake. I'm very confused.

Why does eating have to be so frustrating and confusing. One person says one thing and someone says another.

He also says that he's seen many cases of heart disease on Raw Diet. Not saying that I think Raw means perfect health but why do we care about eating meat if we can still get Heart problems from Raw?

Tanisha

[tanishamarshall]

Here is a quote from his site:

hey (accurately) observe that raw-food aficionados tend to eat a tremendous amount of fat?more, in fact, than the amount consumed by people who eat standard American junk-food diets! The popular nut-and-seed-based entrees; oily, avocado-heavy salads; and coconut/nut-laden desserts served at nearly every raw restaurant, festival, and social gathering bear testimony to this regrettabale fact. Health-savvy individuals readily recognize the shortcomings of such a regimen and bolt in the other direction?relegating the burgeoning raw-food movement to the status of fad at best, and health destroyer at worst.

[solarliving]

When you are starting on the Raw diet, it's best not to think too hard about that kind of stuff because it's challenging enough for many people to cut out certain foods. In the long run, I think it is important to make sure you are getting everything your body needs to have optimum health. You have to listen to how YOU feel. I personally was eating a lot of fruit for a while and didn't feel too good, very moody. I've been eating more fats lately like sesame milk, coconut, avos and feel better. Everyone has their own opinion about how best to do this diet.

[bodaflower]

Don't worry about what other people say! There are a million opinions out there. Go with your gut feeling (no pun intended! :p) Whatever feels right for you Some people eat lots of potatoes and carrots and what have you, and it may work perfect for them, other people would never go near them. I don't really know why i picked potatoes and carrots.

My point is, do what is right for you :)

[Judy]

Yes, in raw & living foods there are so many possibilities, that it can be quite overwhelming and confusing if you're new to this. Everyone has to learn what works best for him or her though, it's part of the journey.
I've done the high fruit thing, and personally, it really doesn't work for me in the long run. Low fat doesn't work for me either (nor does high fat). But perhaps for others it will.
Everybody is different and has different needs, in different periods of his or her life, that's why I don't think anyone can say that ideally éveryone should eat 80/10/10. I actually remember that at the beginning of this journey, I was quite enthusiastic about Doug Graham and nowadays I'm really not.
Just listen to your body, go with the foods that make you feel good and you will be fine.

[Revvell]

As SolarLiving says, when you first start out, don't concern yourself with all of that. During the transitional stages if you start limiting yourself you'll feel hungry for whatever you're eliminating and it will be harder to stay raw. As your body adjusts, it will tell you what you need and what it wants. As we say in one of our rawkinradio shows, just trust the process and allow it to happen.

If you read Victoria Boutenko's books in one she talks about how her son craved avos. He ate as many as he could for a time then stopped eating them. There was something his body was craving. Once that craving was fulfilled the body naturally came to a balance. Yours will as well.

Revvellicious

[ChaiLife]

Docsharp, For a GOOD read, go get The China Study. It's a terrific book with actual scientific information.

Here is some info about coconut oil and saturated fat that you might find interesting: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/cocgood.html

If raw foods were so bad for you, you would not see so many people being healed of terrible diseases. I have seen photos of clogged heart arteries before raw and after starting raw and the results are amazing. I have heard and read about results that couldn't come form any type of conventional medicine.

And, as always, ask yourelf what this (or any person) has to gain by bad mouthing the raw diet. Is he selling a product? A book? Etc....

In the end, eat raw and see how you feel. Your body will let you know if this is a bad way to eat or not. :)

Be at peace.

[tanishamarshall]

Thanks all for you replies.

I do actually feel so much better now then I did eating meat, the way I feel now I love, and yes it is sometimes challenging but I keep pushing, plus I've just gotten started last month.

I agree we should listen to our bodies and maybe I shouldn't be concerned with what he is saying but I'm so tired of hearing one peron say this and another say that, this can be very confusing for anyone, new Raw Fooders who were already skeptical of the lifestyle change. I know everyone has an opinoin and you can't change what people think but I just wish there was some kind of common ground or agreement about the foods we eat.

I honestly cannot imagine eating a Collard green without putting it in my blender although Dr Grahmn makes a point, by the time we blend it, it becomes a refined food. Urgh.

But I do hear what you guys are saying and I will listen to my body just venting a little.

Tanisha

[Revvell]

I honestly cannot imagine eating a Collard green without putting it in my blender although Dr Grahmn makes a point, by the time we blend it, it becomes a refined food. Urgh.


It is processed but refined? I guess that depends on one's definition. If you read what VeganForLife has accomplished by drinking green smoozies then you'll know how good they are PLUS when one's been eating dead animal carcasses and very little live foods, their digestive systems tend to have been compromised and they cannot digest collard greens without the processing. NO ONE will every agree totally on any diet. You have to really allow your body to figure it out itself. What Dr. Graham does works for him but he learned through his own trial and error. It will happen for you as well. Trust the process and have patience.

Revvell

[NYbutterfly]

I also recommend The China Study... it promotes whole grains (non raw) but also a low fat diet high in fruit and veggies. It is an AMAZING book and practically every statement is backed by scientific evidence.

[Rawkinlocs]

Hey Docsharp,

The conflicting info...OY...yes it can become a bit much at times and enough to make a person simply want to give up on raw.

I think that it's great that there are so many different approaches to raw and that one can fine-tune their diet as/when needed (AFTER they've been raw for a little while) to fit into just about any one of them depending on their situation.

But the way that you felt when you listened to that is one of the precise reasons why (and I know you weren't "touting his method" but rather asking an honest question to clear up confusion) Alissa designed RFT to be about her Living on Live Food approach to raw foods and the reason she doesn't really want any and everyone's "way" being touted here (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=20049)because she 1.) has worked with SO many, many people who have had great success with doing raw without all the restrictions and worry; 2.) healed her own self of many ailments (fibromyalgia, candida to name a couple) without restricting fats, etc.; and 3.) realizes that it can be confusing when we hear so many different things from so many different "experts" and we've seen the confusion overwhelm the new people on the board.

When people come into raw foods, they should not have to worry about so much in the way of cutting out this, properly combining that...then it becomes like any other diet. Alissa and her concept make it all fun and more FREEING and as others have said, overtime once you allow the initial process to take place for your body to adjust and get used to being fed raw foods, THEN you can better determine if you need to cut back on _______.

I mean, to give you a good example, while Dr. Graham is saying eat mostly fruit and a very small percentage of nuts and that blending a green makes it processed and refined - you have Dr. Cousens saying, eat less fruit and more greens and nuts (or something like that). Then there's Victoria Boutenko who has gone out on her own with her own research and is now singing the praises of green smoothies - which have reversed her husband's gray hair, stopped her children's teeth and gums from hurting and so on.

So, who do you listen to? Then you have Alissa Cohen over here who is saying and has always said, JUST EAT RAW and after a while, your body will tell you what you need WHEN you need it.

I like the latter better because let's face it, there may be times when you need more nuts and less fruit and there will be times when you need less nuts and MORE fruit! If my body doesn't want/need nuts at the time, then I won't feel as good when I eat them and I'll naturally gravitate to either fruit or greens or perhaps both! If my body is not really wanting a lot of fruit, then I'll gravitate moreso to greens and/or nuts and if I need fat, I'll crave it. I've found that I NEVER eat a lot of nuts for very long...the season or "phase" comes and then it goes. But this didn't happen by me adhering to any "type" of raw diet or labeling myself as "this kind of raw fooder" or by saying that I'll never have a high-fat day or a high-fat dish. But rather it is from eating raw and allowing my own body to be my guide and I feel fantastic with that!

So this is why I, personally, choose to follow Alissa's approach and I appreciate her for making her book and this board about the "freedom" approach to raw where you can have low fat one day or one week or month and then when the time comes, you can increase that as indicated by your body's needs.

[CaliRaw]

I've been hearing about the China Study for a while now. I'm going to have to read that. Everyone has their opinion about diets, but I think most people would say that SAD is BAD. I say, keep doing what you're doing until it doesn't work for you. For example, I chose to drastically reduce nuts after the second week because they weren't working for me. For the time being, I get the majority of my oils from evoo, avocado and coconut oil.

I have a complete physical in October and I will find out how the change in diet has helped me. My total cholesterol, HDL, and LDL were fine several months ago, but I expect them to be fantastic this time around!

Do what works for you. If you don't know, read and experiment until you do. :)

[CaliRaw]

EXCELLENT POST RAWKINLOCS!!!

[tanawana]

I honestly cannot imagine eating a Collard green without putting it in my blender although Dr Grahmn makes a point, by the time we blend it, it becomes a refined food. Urgh.


You may have misunderstood him a little ;) He is actually not against blending and sees value in it. Just as a preference he prefers the whole food. Seems he was making a point for whatever reason I imagine and probably depends on the context of the discussion??

He is more on the side of being "optimum" at no more than 10% fat and getting plenty of exercise. But as stated, find what works for you. Usually at the 6 month on average I'd say, to a year point, you start realizing how fat may effect you and can adjust from there. May take longer to really zone in on it also.

[tanishamarshall]

Thanks all, I think following what your body needs make sense. Everyones body is different, just maybe the people that got heart disease were not really listening to their own needs and was just eating.

I think we are all unique and our needs change daily and we need to be in tune with our bodies.

I really believe in my heart this is how we should eat and want to train others and help others do the same, I do plan to take Cert 1 and 2, not sure if I want or need 3, but I hate here all of this confusion although I know there will always be confusion, we just have to find what works best for us and stick with it.

Thanks everyone.

[solarliving]

Besides the fact that raw foods have many healing properties, look at all the junk that is elimated just go by going raw:

Coffee
Processed food
Refined sugars and flours
Preservatives and toxic substances
Hydrogenated fats/oils
Hormones and anti-biotics found in animal protein.

[faith4u]

[QUOTE=ChaiLife;316518]

If raw foods were so bad for you, you would not see so many people being healed of terrible diseases. I have seen photos of clogged heart arteries before raw and after starting raw and the results are amazing. I have heard and read about results that couldn't come form any type of conventional medicine.
QUOTE]

I honestly think it is what most people aren't eating that are healing them more than just raw foods. Don't get me wrong, I think raw foods are the best BUT there are many people out there on macrobiotic diets that heal themselves of all kinds of diseases. Same thing with a cooked vegan diet.

Not to mention that there are always people willing to give a testimony of what experiences they have had whether it is high fat or low fat raw. Every body is different and every one needs to find out what works best for their body.

Another thing that I often think of is all of the TONS of research out there that shows that a low fat diet is best for many health reasons. Dr.s Ornish, Esselstyn, Caldwell, Campbell, Mcdougal, Barnard, Fuhrman and others have proven after years of work and research that it is true.

So many people don't last long term on a raw diet so it is hard to find many people that have been doing this for 20 years or more. Those are the people we need to listen to and watch. All of them.