Awww Summer is almost gone...

[RawHeaven]

and I'm freezing! I really was getting used to the heatwaves and three digit temperatures. My body was loving the sun and the heat. It's 80 degrees and my friends think I'm nuts because I'm cold! lol. If I can explain a little better, I grew up in SF and 80 is considered hot & humid there. I used to not even be able to visit my family in the valley because it was too hot for me. Now I love it! I don't know what I'm going to do when I visit SF when it's foggy and low 50's. And yes the midwesterners and easteners you can laugh at me complaining about 50 degrees in the winter. I will need to start increasing the warming foods again I guess - plenty of ginger root in the smoothies and all of that good stuff. Brrrr...I want 100 back.

I think it might be time to move to the tropics!!! :D

Anyone else feeling the change of seasons in their body?

[Raw Joy]

I'm already missing my watermelon and cantelopes. :mad:

[robhealthy]

I live in Florida and I know what you mean. The first year I was here I never wore jacket or swaeter all winter. Second year a sweater, third year a jacket etc. A little cooler here than 50 at times in the winter though, I have actually seen frost on the windows.

[Rrose]

I'm feeling a chill,too. and it's 80 here.

[Eva]

Funny, I wasn't too affected last year, but this year it seemed so sudden! I'm cold. I have a hoodie on right now.

Oh well. I think I need to go back to the hot-cold showers to rev up my circulation!

[magglepie]

Wow, familiar. It is about 80 out here right now, and was in the upper 70's yesterday, but didn't really feel "warm."

[Rrose]

I wonder if it's just with us raw foodies??

[magglepie]

hmmmm.... i wonder.........:)

[Vaclare79]

I noticed that the other day. It was a bit cooler here as well and I needed a jacket although it's been quite warm here this summer and still feels like summertime here.

[RawHeaven]

I wonder if it's just with us raw foodies??

I think it is. I actually remember reading about this phenomenon somewhere, but I wouldn't be able to put that all together now, lol. Don't remember the physiological specifics. Eva do you know? You're smart and knowledgeable. :D

I'm glad I'm not the only one...I had to wear a hoodie today too and I got looks. I only warmed up when I stood directly in the rays of the sun.

[Coconutcutie]

It got down to 80 or so here in Tucson last Friday and I was sitting outside and literally shivering. I had to put on a sweatshirt hoodie...and I used the hood and all :o.

I have never been this sensitive to cold, was always sensitive but not like this. I am looking forward to hearing ideas on why raw foodies seem to be more sensitive to the cold weather changes....

[Eva]

All right, I haven't started working yet, so I'll share as much as I know about this topic.

First, I'll share my personal experience -- last winter, I did NOT have a problem with the cold, and I was raw then too but had already been raw for nearly 9 months. In fact, I was wearing LESS layers than others! I was refreshed by the cold and happy to be outside (in New England, so we're not talking the tropics here, we're talking snowy days!). The differences between this moment and that season?

-Last winter: I was 100% raw and consciously doing LOTS for my circulation -- exercising every day, hot-cold showers (if anyone needs info on this, let me know, but it's just hot for 30 seconds, then cold for 30 and alternating), warming foods, skin brushing and oil pulling, green smoothies, all daily.

-Now: I have had two injuries in the last couple months. One, my friend (but not a doctor! LOL) tells me sounds like a stress fracture from building up my running miles WAY too quickly. I had not run daily in such intensity since before I was in a major accident where I broke my leg and had surgery that included my knee, femur and hip as part of the reconstruction. I should not have jumped into it so quickly, but it just felt SO good to run! Anyways, so that's one injury... the other was 2-3 weeks ago. I whacked my pinkie toe good. I'm not sure if it was broken, sprained, or just bruised -- and I surely didn't go to the doctor. I iced it, taped it up, and hopped around some, have not been bearing down on it when I walk. It still hurts, but it's almost better.

All that to say, I have not been exercising as much. I have NOT been skin brushing daily (GREAT for circulation) and also have NOT been drinking green smoothies for several days since my blender broke. I HAVE been oil pulling. Instead of doing the hot-cold showers, I've been taking a long hot bath daily.

I have NOT been making an effort to stay warm. I deserve to feel cold. :eek: I know better than to have these habits. ;)

[rawstrength]

I live in NE and I have never felt too hot nor too cold. I can wear short sleeves and sandals in below freezing weather in the winter and be fine. I'm also OK in the warm summer months. I've been raw for 9 months and last winter was no different than usual. It is starting to cool down here and I am still feeling fine.
I think for some people it may be more of a psychological thing with giving up warm cooked food than a physiological issue.
All I know is that I'm glad raw hasn't taken away my ability to withstand the cold!

[Eva]

I'm going from memory, but MOST of what I am writing about here, I learned about in a book called "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford. I HIGHLY recommend this book. In fact, even though it's over 600 pages and weighs a lot, I brought it as part of my limited luggage to Hungary! Anyways, here's the list:


New vegetarians become colder for their first several months
There is a big difference between a person who has a temporary coldness (part of the season change) and someone who is chronically "cold" (as in eastern medicine)
Someone who is temporarily cold -- cayenne is GOOD.
Someone who is permanently cold, using cayenne and some other strong spices for warming can make the problem WORSE. See a link below for the full list.
Circulation makes a HUGE difference -- so exercise daily, do the hot-cold showers, dry skin brush, etc.
Emotional health and elimination can make a big difference too. Our bodies can spend more energy keeping us warm when it doesn't have to use its resources to figure out what to do with undigested food and inhibited emotions. Drink those green smoothies, and surround yourself with emotionally healthy situations and people.


I'm going to dig up a post I shared about hot/cold foods. I understand that it can be quite bad if someone has a chronic condition of coldness and eats foods to help with the seasonal change. Vice versa -- there is NO problem. A person will not become chronically cold from eating these foods. All right, here is a list of more food info; please look at this thread if interested: http://rawfoodtalk.com/showpost.php?p=422189&postcount=11

[Eva]

I think for some people it may be more of a psychological thing with giving up warm cooked food than a physiological issue.
All I know is that I'm glad raw hasn't taken away my ability to withstand the cold!

I could have missed something, but I think the question wasn't so much about the psychology, just feeling cold outside as the temperature cools... That is VERY good to hear you are not having problems with the cold. Were you already vegetarian before you went raw?

[rawstrength]

I forgot to mention . . . I was a vegan for 3 years before I went raw, so that could have an effect.
Maybe giving up meat makes one cold?

[Eva]

I forgot to mention . . . I was a vegan for 3 years before I went raw, so that could have an effect.
Maybe giving up meat makes one cold?

I posted some info above about this -- but yeah, going vegetarian (and I don't mean lacto-ovo or whatever, I mean old-school veggie, almost vegan!) makes someone cold for the first several months just during the transition/change. It's not a permanent thing, though.

[Zaphirah]

maybe eating meat makes the body work harder thus increasing the body's temp (like a small constant work out.) Last year I was FREEZING even when it was 60 degrees. I was newly raw and foze my tukus off all winter. This morning it's 53 degrees in the house and all I have on is a light long sleeved shirt and a cheap fleece. I feel fine. I also heard that lowish blood pressure can one to feel cold and I would think that most raw foodies have lower BP than your avg person.

[shine72]

and I'm freezing! I really was getting used to the heatwaves and three digit temperatures. My body was loving the sun and the heat. It's 80 degrees and my friends think I'm nuts because I'm cold! lol. If I can explain a little better, I grew up in SF and 80 is considered hot & humid there. I used to not even be able to visit my family in the valley because it was too hot for me. Now I love it! I don't know what I'm going to do when I visit SF when it's foggy and low 50's. And yes the midwesterners and easteners you can laugh at me complaining about 50 degrees in the winter. I will need to start increasing the warming foods again I guess - plenty of ginger root in the smoothies and all of that good stuff. Brrrr...I want 100 back.

I think it might be time to move to the tropics!!! :D

Anyone else feeling the change of seasons in their body?

It's not just you girl! My hubby laughs at me, cuz I keep saying I want to go where he is now and he can come back here (80 here, 115 there). Summertime has always been my favorite time of the year, but a million times more so since being raw, cuz any other time of year I'm cold! :p I've been trying to figure out how to move us all to the tropics myself! :D

[shine72]

maybe eating meat makes the body work harder thus increasing the body's temp (like a small constant work out.) Last year I was FREEZING even when it was 60 degrees. I was newly raw and foze my tukus off all winter. This morning it's 53 degrees in the house and all I have on is a light long sleeved shirt and a cheap fleece. I feel fine. I also heard that lowish blood pressure can one to feel cold and I would think that most raw foodies have lower BP than your avg person.

I've always had lower blood pressure (even before raw), and I was never THIS cold (cold, but not this bad).;) So for me, it's like a double whammy. I wasn't cold when I first went raw (I started end of December '06). But last winter, man, I was FREEZING!

[Zaphirah]

well, for most raw foodies-we have shed our extra weight rapidly, so maybe that has something to do with it? We aren't used to life without the extra insulation? ;)

[RawHeaven]

Shine hahaa, I'll see you there in the tropics! :D :D

Eva thanks so much for the information. That's exactly what I remember reading! I think it's just a temporary cold feeling for me as today I feel much better. I put a lot of ginger in my smoothies yesterday so this could have something to do with it too. I practice hydrotherapy (hot/cold baths) as well and I think this makes a lot of difference. This morning when I was rinsing with cold water it immediately warmed me up and got my circulation flowing.

Rawstrength wow, that's pretty cool that you can walk around in artic temps with sandals and shorts. It got me thinking about genes and such. My people and ancestors are from the islands and most of them do not even like to go near snow! It's unbearable to them - too cold. On the otherhand, they are cool as cucumbers in weather that would have others hallucinating because it's so hot and humid. lol. A very good friend of mine is from the Netherlands and I swear to God he can walk around in tshirts, shorts and sandals like you do in subartic weather sweating! hahaaa. Above and beyond the raw food cold temperature sensitivity thing, I think in some cases it has a lot to do with DNA perhaps and how we are acclimated to be in certain climates genetically. Maybe someone who's studied anthropology can chime in. Asparaw is it you who is the cultural anthropologist? Anyway, just a thought.