This really bothers me

[raweater]

One of my mom's friends is a nurse and she always brings my mom the most deadly disease causing foods thinking it's really healthy (pasteurized cheese made my Kraft, cooked bread, smoked mercury loaded salmon, etc.) and it really bothers me that she's destroying my mom's health (she knows those things are very dangerous).

Since she works in the health care system, she believes their myth that you can eat anything you want and that the diseases you get are 100% bad luck or genetic. Even when I explained to her my crohn's was caused by my extremely toxic diet of the time, she still thinks what I ate had absolutely nothing to do with it and thinks that only I need to watch what I eat because I "have" a disease, but I no longer have it because I no longer eat the "foods" that cause it.

[Raw Yogini]

I'm really sorry to hear this. People will believe what they want to believe and justify their addictions in whatever way works for them.

I'm an RN and it's been my experience that nurses are very open minded to holistic healing and nutrition, of course there are exceptions and many levels of beliefs regarding this. For example, I know I'm not the only nurse in my department that has stated we would not use Western medicine to deal w/ cancer if we got it, but in the same instance, I'm the only nurse in my department that is OK w/ home birth (I work in labor and delivery).

I'm guessing this nurse is older if she's your mom's friend, have hope for the new generation of nurses, they really are different.

[raweater]

I did notice the new generation seems more open minded/skeptical about conventional medicine. I had once gone to talk to her and her husband who's a pharmacist and their son is a friend of mine. I explained how it was caused by sugar, dairy and grain consumption and her husband had the same disease I got and he himself, being a pharmacist, refused conventional treatment and made diet changes and has been fine since.

I had also talked a bit about cancer and said if I had it I would use nutritional/natural treatments and she said "I'd rather go with chemo", yet she sees what chemo does to people regularly.

I'm glad to see you're open to natural treatments.

I'm also slightly afraid to tell her more because I know she sometimes needs to give chemo to patients and if she knew the full story on chemo I'm not sure she'd be able to keep doing that, I personally think I'd almost rather commit suicide than give chemo to another human being which IMO is one of the most inhumane crimes ever commited against humanity.

[raweater]

By the way, she's not trying to justify addictions, she really thinks what she eats is the healthiest food she could possibly eat, I'm absolutely sure she has no idea of the amount of damage it causes.

[lytlsprout]

I was in the hospital for my colitis at abbott northwestern in minneapolis and they offer accupuncture and massage and alternative medicine for their patients. it's amazing. and it's usually the nurses that tell the patients about it.

[Raw Yogini]

I LOVE hearing that :p

[raweater]

What? I can't believe that. Most hospitals/doctors are violently opposed to treatments that actually help patients. I guess they still force the conventional fraud on you before telling you about it? After all, they are there to profit from people's pain and suffering and alternative medicine is normally free of very cheap.

[raweater]

I LOVE hearing that :p

Hearing what?

[Raw Yogini]

I love hearing that alternative treatments are offered at a hospital!! Hooray for progress.

[Seabie]

Raw Yogini

Since you are an RN what do you usually tell people that insist food has nothing to do with their health and/or the progress/cure of a disease?

I have several family members and friends that are RN's and they don't believe that diet is related to disease. With the exception of Diabetes. I would love to know how to communicate on their level to get my point across. They want to see clinical trials that prove long term results or want actual concrete evidence I have other than hear say. I read an article that stated only 4(or 7?)medical schools even require 1 basic nutrition class. No wonder physicians don't put much stock into diet being related to disease. They base their advise only on what they were taught and in that area they are seriously lacking.

[Anastazia]

There are plenty of cancer studies done now that show diet is at LEAST 40% of the cause of ALL cancers (or thereapbouts!) These are government studies (& many others!) that I've read about, & I've seen govt. produced commercials on...(I'm in Canada)...sometimes people don't belive it unless it's official...

I think there's enough info online that you could find evidence (studies, even ones hospitals are involved with) that clearly prove the food connection...

...wasn't it here I read about the entire hospital that went raw (or at least vegan) to see it's affect on their patient's speed of & level of recovery...? (Anyone got that link? I'd like to forward it to the local hopsital here! hey, maybe we ALL should where we live!)

I honestly don't believe they're ignorant, or blind...things about nutrition's affect on different health problems is even on the NEWS daily!

They likely just don't WANT to know, cuz then they'd have to look at their OWN eating...& remember, it's easier for most folks to change their religion than their eating habits! (Though that wasn't true for me, *grin*!}

~Anastazia~

[raweater]

Tons and tons of studies have shown the diet link to almost all diseases (I beleive I read 94% of diseases are a result of a nutrition problem, including 100% of chronic "incurable" diseases).

There are tons of studies showing:
-Dairy causes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, parkinson's, MS, and so much more
-Red meat causes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.
-Sugar causes cancer, diabetes, heart disease

Every disease has a cause and most causes are nutritional. I'd highly, highly recommend Dr. Day's "Diseases don't just happen", "Drugs never cure disease", and "Cancer doesn't scare me anymore" videos, the "Diseases don't just happen is available for free on video.google.com, she explains the diet link to almost every disease.

Also many studies have shown that 50-77% of ALL cancers can be prevented by nothing more than going in the sun daily WITHOUT sunscreen and with a lot of skin exposed (my mom's friend/nurse says the sun causes cancer).

By the way, my mom friend/nurse gave the bagels, cheese and smoked salmon to me to give to my mom and said something like "Don't worry, it won't kill you even though it's not raw!", I felt like answering "Actually it would, it directly causes cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases which are all among the top 5 leading causes of death", I wonder how she would have reacted lol.

[Seabie]

I felt like answering "Actually it would, it directly causes cancer, heart disease, diabetes and many other diseases which are all among the top 5 leading causes of death", I wonder how she would have reacted lol.

Maybe you should have:) Sounds like this lady is a bit pushy and obnoxious. I wonder if printed material showing the diet/disease link would at least challenge people like this to possibly reconsider their limited view on the subject? One of areas I find really interesting is when someone will make the comment that supplements are a waste of time because the FDA has not approved or given credit to the claims made. Usually they will add "That stuff isn't safe" Oh really, just because the FDA hasn't approved it. Well, I don't know if it's the same where you guys live but here just about every single TV commercial brake has one of those class action law suits. They always start out "If you are someone you love has taken the drug__________and suffered...a long list of major problems and/or death." Guess what? All those drugs were approved by the FDA. Why aren't the law suits directed toward them? So I don't put much stock into something being safe or proven just because the FDA was involved. I recently read an article with a statement from the writer that I thought was very funny, true but funny. He said if you ever try some alternative product that helps you over come an illness or even just ease your symptoms the best advise I can give you is to NOT tell anyone. If the FDA didn't have a piece of the pie with the product and word gets out and people actually start getting better from it's use the FDA will surely find a way to put an end to it." It's all about money and the money is in the treatment not in the cure.

Anyway, I was just interested to hear what Raw Yogini tells fellow nurses that insist this is all non sense.

[Raw Yogini]

Seabie,

Since you are an RN what do you usually tell people that insist food has nothing to do with their health and/or the progress/cure of a disease?

As far as patients go I work in labor and delivery and so the patients I work with are normally "healthy" and I'm w/ them through their labor and delivery so the focus is very different than if I was working w/ sick people. I always encourage drinking lots of water, eating fruits and veggies and breastfeeding.

I have found that people will do and believe what they want and I have had only one person in my whole two plus years genuinely ask what foods are best to eat while breastfeeding. I told her to eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as she could. It isn't the ideal setting to do a nutrition seminar.

My focus is to assist in a healthy and loving birth experience for the infant and family. I want the family to bond well and the mother to feel empowered and that's my focus.

The majority of patients I work with aren't in a place where they are interested in changing their eating habits. Remember the saying the teacher arrives when the student is ready? I'm here if they're ready and in the meantime we teach each other about all different levels of humanity and the nutrition piece rarely comes up. I let the patients guide the journey. Just love them wherever they are and if they refuse to believe nutrition causes disease, that's okay, love and accept them where they are in THEIR life journey.

I work w/ drug moms, illegal immigrants that don't speak the language, young teenagers from dysfunctional homes, just the dysfunction so many of the patients are from and living in would absolutely shock you, so that's how they come to me and if they can bond w/ their babies and feel empowered by birthing and have a healthy trusting relationship w/ me while I'm there, I feel some level of healing has occurred.

[Raene]

One of my mom's friends is a nurse and she always brings my mom the most deadly disease causing foods thinking it's really healthy (pasteurized cheese made my Kraft, cooked bread, smoked mercury loaded salmon, etc.) and it really bothers me that she's destroying my mom's health (she knows those things are very dangerous).

Since she works in the health care system, she believes their myth that you can eat anything you want and that the diseases you get are 100% bad luck or genetic. Even when I explained to her my crohn's was caused by my extremely toxic diet of the time, she still thinks what I ate had absolutely nothing to do with it and thinks that only I need to watch what I eat because I "have" a disease, but I no longer have it because I no longer eat the "foods" that cause it.

My mom's a nurse too and she is vegan and said that the other nurses scoff at her and eat donuts every morning. She said too that one of them doesn't believe in germs...she thinks it's all a big hoax thanks to the government or something. Odd...

[raweater]

Actually it is true that germs, bacteria and viruses do NOT cause disease, rather, they are attracted to diseased/unhealthy people. They cannot have any effect on a healthy person, that's why raw foodists don't catch colds and other "contagious" diseases.

I'm never worried around someone with the flu as I know I'm immune to viruses, bacteria and germs.

[babycakes]

This post really caught my attention - I am currently in graduate school getting my masters in advanced practice nursing. In part of our assigned reading last week there was a section on how to assess clients who are at risk for impaired nutrition. The text states that patients who have protein deficiencies should be strongly advised to increase consumption of meat and dairy products, and that patients who eat little or no meat or dairy should be considered at risk for protein deficiency. I was appauled! My plan has always been to go into holistic and integrative practice (I wouldn't have it any other way!) but in the mean time I'm stuck having to adhere to certain nursing standards and guidelines that I know are contrary to patients' best interests. It's incredibly frustrating! I don't understand how the medical community can be so clueless when it comes to nutrition. 99.9% of doctors and nurses I work with eat SAD food but think I'm the weird one for being a raw vegan.

[Seabie]

Raw Yogini - sounds like you are a wonderful nurse and a blessing to all you care for! We need more like you! I was really thinking more of other nurses that you may come in contact with that don't believe in the diet disease and/or raw vegan diet.

[raweater]

I don't understand how the medical community can be so clueless when it comes to nutrition. 99.9% of doctors and nurses I work with eat SAD food but think I'm the weird one for being a raw vegan.

They aren't clueless, it is their intention to "teach" information that makes and keeps people as sick as possible, that's how they make money. If they thaught how to eat raw and prevent and reverse disease they would be causing their own bankruptcy. You make money by telling people to eat in a way you know will make them severely sick, and then telling them it has nothing to do with diet and that they need drugs and surgery. It is the most inhumane and cruel industry the world has ever seen.

[Raw Yogini]

Raw Yogini - sounds like you are a wonderful nurse and a blessing to all you care for! We need more like you! I was really thinking more of other nurses that you may come in contact with that don't believe in the diet disease and/or raw vegan diet.

The nurses I work with are wonderful. I'm the only raw vegan, no other vegetarians even but they are all very open minded and interested in what I eat. I've had several tell me they are more aware of what they eat and eat more fruits and veggies since I started working there. No one has every challenged me on my stance. We have salad and fruit potlucks (many of the salads have meat on the side). They don't believe disease is caused by nutrition issues but they definitely believe the healthier you eat the better off you are.

[patchouli]

This thread caught my attention because my mother has recurrent endometrial cancer--a lot of her friends have given her books on healing diets, alternative cures, etc; my SIL and me have given her info on raw foods, etc--she is happy eating cheese/crackers/ powdered milk, chicken and dumplings, french toast, apple pie--the visiting nurse told her NOT to eat any anti-oxidants because they interfere with the chemo--
For every offering of raw food or information, she either "dislikes bananas and avocados" or just wants her cooked food, saying that her nutritionist told her to get 95 grams of protein a day. My SIL, bless her, has been shut down more than me by the family, who bring her the above mentioned foods. My lesson has been to let go and let God...

To those in the health profession who don't just blindly follow the SAD routine--BLESS YOU! I am watching my mother die slowly while being encouraged to eat white bread, cheese, sugar, and red meat while being discouraged to eat fresh foods because of the anti-oxidants. Knowing that somewhere there is someone who is getting GOOD NUTRITIONAL ADVICE and being cared for by YOU is encouraging.
Wow, I haven't discussed this with anyone--too upsetting--so I guess you guys get to hear my vent! Thanks for listening!

[rawstrength]

This thread caught my attention because my mother has recurrent endometrial cancer--a lot of her friends have given her books on healing diets, alternative cures, etc; my SIL and me have given her info on raw foods, etc--she is happy eating cheese/crackers/ powdered milk, chicken and dumplings, french toast, apple pie--the visiting nurse told her NOT to eat any anti-oxidants because they interfere with the chemo--
For every offering of raw food or information, she either "dislikes bananas and avocados" or just wants her cooked food, saying that her nutritionist told her to get 95 grams of protein a day. My SIL, bless her, has been shut down more than me by the family, who bring her the above mentioned foods. My lesson has been to let go and let God...

To those in the health profession who don't just blindly follow the SAD routine--BLESS YOU! I am watching my mother die slowly while being encouraged to eat white bread, cheese, sugar, and red meat while being discouraged to eat fresh foods because of the anti-oxidants. Knowing that somewhere there is someone who is getting GOOD NUTRITIONAL ADVICE and being cared for by YOU is encouraging.
Wow, I haven't discussed this with anyone--too upsetting--so I guess you guys get to hear my vent! Thanks for listening!

Sometimes it is good to let it out. Your mother will be in my prayers.

[northernstars]

My daughter has been told NOT to eat anything with much vitamin K because she is on coumadin (?). I told her that real foods are much healthier than what they are advising her to eat even if it does have some vitamin K. They told her to specifically stay away from green veggies! What do they think they are doing by telling people to stay away from foods that are known to help with many ailments? She is eating some greens that are lower in vitamin K but trying to eat good healthy foods. I am searching for alternatives that help prevent blood clots. Fortunately there are several things I have found that should help her, too.

[Erika]

I'm a nursing student and even though I still fall off of the raw table sometimes, I still consider myself to be a raw vegan. I'm proud of the way that I eat and I don't care what others think about it personally BUT, it's sad to see health care professionals act so immature about it. Maybe I'm a hippie at heart but I think it would be nice if everyone could just accept others for who they are.

About the germ and virus thing... I don't like to always voice my opposing views but this time I have to. My passion is in bacteria and viruses as well as prions. No one is actually immune to them and they aren't really just attracted to dirty people, that's the biggest misconception. It's like during the salmonella scare with the tomatoes, sure you probably didn't get sick, I didn't sick and many others didn't get sick. The ticket here is that there were some dirty people who got sick and some dirty people who didn't and some clean people who got sick. The bacteria, virus or prior is just a molecule that infects one of our cells and spreads by multiplication... actually that just happens in bacteria because it's alive. Since a virus is never technically alive, it spreads by mutating nearby cells, when those cells multiply, it spreads. I know that this all makes wonderful sense in my own head but it's late and it may sound like gibberish so I apologize. I just don't want people to walk around thinking that they are immune to infections of any kind just because they live a perfectly healthy lifestyle because it's simply not true, everyone is at risk. It is true that if you have a stronger immune system than others then you won't show signs of illness but it doesn't mean that the bacteria or virus isn't there. Sometimes your immune system can clear it out before you ever feel the first sign of sickness.

If I spelled stuff wrong and didn't make sense, sorry... I'm tired!!!
Erika

[patchouli]

Thanks rawstrength-

[raweater]

About the germ and virus thing... I don't like to always voice my opposing views but this time I have to. My passion is in bacteria and viruses as well as prions. No one is actually immune to them and they aren't really just attracted to dirty people, that's the biggest misconception. It's like during the salmonella scare with the tomatoes, sure you probably didn't get sick, I didn't sick and many others didn't get sick. The ticket here is that there were some dirty people who got sick and some dirty people who didn't and some clean people who got sick. The bacteria, virus or prior is just a molecule that infects one of our cells and spreads by multiplication... actually that just happens in bacteria because it's alive. Since a virus is never technically alive, it spreads by mutating nearby cells, when those cells multiply, it spreads. I know that this all makes wonderful sense in my own head but it's late and it may sound like gibberish so I apologize. I just don't want people to walk around thinking that they are immune to infections of any kind just because they live a perfectly healthy lifestyle because it's simply not true, everyone is at risk. It is true that if you have a stronger immune system than others then you won't show signs of illness but it doesn't mean that the bacteria or virus isn't there. Sometimes your immune system can clear it out before you ever feel the first sign of sickness.

If I spelled stuff wrong and didn't make sense, sorry... I'm tired!!!
Erika

It's important to understand that 99% of what you are led to believe in nursing school is false, I know they "teach" you that no one is immune to viruses and bacteria but this is not the case and has been proven false. When you are on a raw diet your immune system works and when it works it "beats" all germs, bacteria and viruses. A healthy person can consume e coli and salmonella and they will never even know it as their immune system will have killed it before it could do anything.

Please remember that virtually everything you are led to believe in nursing school is completely false as many other nurses in this thread have confirmed.

[Raw Yogini]

I must agree w/ Erika on the germ issue.
I definitely believe the healthier you are the better your immune system functions and it's certainly possible that you won't get sick or if you do you will recover much faster.
Erika, best of luck in nursing school. It's such an awesome profession. I LOVE being a nurse!

[raweater]

Don't take this wrong, but what do you like about being a nurse? I personally would never be able to push such inhumane treatments on sick people in need of help. I would honestly rather kill myself than give chemo to another human being, I would never, ever be able to do such a cruel thing.

Again please don't take this wrong, I know you have good intentions, but you work for the most inhumane industry the world has ever seen.

Edit: I just saw you were the one that works in labor so I can understand this is much better than essentially killing people by giving them chemo. And again I'm sorry of this came out harsh but the health care system is responsible for the death of everyone I knew who is dead and they attempted to take my and my mom's lives also but we were saved by learning it was fraud before it was too late, so please understand why I am so violently enraged at these criminals.

[Raw Yogini]

I don't give anyone chemo. I work in labor and delivery.

I love being an advocate for what the patient needs and/or wants, I love being a support person for them and teaching them about the labor and delivery process so they can make informed decisions. I love teaching new moms and babies how to breastfeed and to empower them by allowing them to choose their own path for the birth of their babies. I feel honored to be a part of their lives at such a vulnerable special moment.

A raw vegan all natural lifestyle is great but the reality is that the great majority of people are not in a place in their lives where that is how they want to live. For evidence, just look at the comments people give when you talk about being raw vegan.

I know from my experience most people say "I could never do that" or "I'd never give up meat/candy/whatever" end of discussion.

SO....these people are turning to the medical profession for answers and will gladly take a pill and feel better NOW than change how they eat. It's part of our instant gratification culture. It's part of our not taking responsibility for ourselves culture. We've allowed ourselves to become disconnected from nature and turned our power for healing to others.

It's an extremely complex issue. You can't force people to change their lifestyle. For example, during nursing school in clinicals I dealt w/ many people w/ type II diabetes. They had been told and hounded by their docs/nurses/family members, etc about not eating sugar, taking their meds, etc to keep their blood sugar under control. Even as they are loosing their toe or foot or whatever due to their uncontrolled diabetes they continued to eat whatever they wanted.

[RawHeaven]

I don't understand how the medical community can be so clueless when it comes to nutrition. 99.9% of doctors and nurses I work with eat SAD food but think I'm the weird one for being a raw vegan.

I totally believe this and it's sad since many people are obviously looking to the medical establishment for guidance with regard to their health and diets. When I was recuperating from lengthy surgeries, I had wonderful surgeons and they would often want to treat me to lunch during long hospital & outpatient visits. When I explained I was a vegetarian (which I was at the time), they looked at me confused when I explained just bring me steamed rice and vegetables. They would always inevitably bring back greasy chinese noodles or white fried rice with meat in it! :eek: LOL. They meant well, but they really don't have a clue. Not all, but most.

Don't despair...Edison, Wright Brothers, Marconi, Einstein, Galileo and the others (list too long to mention) were all thought to be stark raving mad at one point. Without them we wouldn't have electricity, radio signals or be flying around in airplanes. Even Bill Gates caught some flak in the early days and hey, need I say more? :D

One day it will shift and people will wake up to the truth about their diets and nutrition.

[RawHeaven]

It's an extremely complex issue. You can't force people to change their lifestyle. For example, during nursing school in clinicals I dealt w/ many people w/ type II diabetes. They had been told and hounded by their docs/nurses/family members, etc about not eating sugar, taking their meds, etc to keep their blood sugar under control. Even as they are loosing their toe or foot or whatever due to their uncontrolled diabetes they continued to eat whatever they wanted.

Very true about the lifestyle chane. My Mom is diabetic and she does very well and is extremely health conscious. I cannot compete with the medical "advice" that she receives, her own research regarding nutrition over the years though and I don't try anymore. She's an academic scholar and this makes my attempts to share even more futile. I simply recommend alternatives every once in awhile to her and sometimes she'll surprise me by asking me what I'm eating. It's painful to watch given what I know about the miracle of raw foods, but you have to let those you care about be where they are in my opinion.

[Raw Yogini]

Very true about the lifestyle chane. My Mom is diabetic and she does very well and is extremely health conscious. I cannot compete with the medical "advice" that she receives, her own research regarding nutrition over the years though and I don't try anymore. She's an academic scholar and this makes my attempts to share even more futile. I simply recommend alternatives every once in awhile to her and sometimes she'll surprise me by asking me what I'm eating. It's painful to watch given what I know about the miracle of raw foods, but you have to let those you care about be where they are in my opinion.

Very true, RawHeaven, people are where they are and you can't force them to change. Best wishes to your mother.

[RawHeaven]

Best wishes to your mother.

Thank you very much Raw Yogini for your well wishes.