Dates My New Junk Food

[zina]

Today is my 3rd day eating Raw....I find that I am drawn to eating fruit instead of veggies....so far my mornings have been fruit or juice.....lunch a small veggie portion.....dinner is a large veggie portion.....fruit as desert.....I find that I cant get enough of bananas and dates....I'll have 2 dates as a snack maybe 3 times during the day......My concern is that I am a diabetic ......i am afraid that my old eating habits will just transfer over to my new eating habits.....basically that dates or any other sweet fruit will now become my junk food....

Does anyone know where I could find a good GI(Glycemic Index) chart for fruits?......

My other fear is eating in the outside world.....I have been home for the last 3 days..If I could have the luxury of working from home I would be in heaven,,...Going to work and making my way through the day Raw could be a challenge....I do have one added benefit...In the same complex where I work is a Booster Juice....So I will be able to get fresh juice and wheatgrass shots.....

[Veganforlife]

...and what would be wrong with dates or other fruits becoming your junk food? A much, much healthier choice, don't you think?

Here you go. Scroll about halfway down.

http://www.glycemicedge.com/glycemicindextable.html

[Asian Pear]

Dates aren't junk food, candy bars (for example) are. If you notice, there's no fat in dates, but there is fat in every candy bar out there, which will promote blood sugar problems, so be sure not to eat any fat before or with the dates if you have diabetes or other blood sugar disorders and you should be great. You can eat greens, like celery, lettuce, etc. along with them if you are concerned.

[rawstrength]

I'd watch how you feel after eating the dates - if you are dizzy or ill, then they are simply too sugary for you. If you feel fine after eating them, trust your body and go for it!

[jacsam]

I know this doesn't go with the thought of not eating any fats with your dates.....but.....I was under the impression that eating some nuts (which would be good fats) with your fruit will help to keep your blood sugar levels more level. Do you have Alissa's book.....I believe it talks about it in her book. Good Luck!

[ArcturusXIV]

Take the dates with raw almond butter. It will help buffer your blood sugar levels, and it just tastes better. :)

[RawKnitster]

For me, bananas and dates were essential during transition. I ate them everyday. Eventually the urge to eat them tapered off. Now I mostly use them in smoothies and recipes.

[ArcturusXIV]

Hey,

I was just reading Victoria Boutenko's book "12 Steps to Raw Food," and apparently craving sweets is linked to a lack of calcium in the body. She recommends drinking sesame milk for two weeks straight on an empty stomach. Your craving for sweets will disappear.

James

[zina]

i was wondering about some link of a craving to a defiency...That would make sense.....thanks for the advice.....

[DeborahB]

I adore medjool dates. They are my treat.

[Veganforlife]

I also think that craving sweets when first going raw is a sure sign of sugar addiction. Look. How long have you consumed a SAD/CRAP diet? LOTS of sugar, which is a horrid addiction, it is in EVERYTHING. So I think it's a natural part of the process. I wouldn't dwell too long on it. Your body's wants and needs will change the longer you stay raw. AND if you are 100% raw, it will really change rapidly. It's fun to listen and yield to your body's needs/wants.

[spicyfull]

Congratulations on your 4th day RAW.

[pixelkatt]

I also think that craving dates has something to do with what your body needs. Since going raw I have gone through a few phases where I crave something for awhile.. one was a nori phase where I couldn't get enough nori, and now while I still love it, I'm not craving it. The next craving phase I had was tahini.. that's over now too.. again, still love it but not craving it.. just waiting to find out what I will crave next, lol.. anyway, my advice is just go with it. If it doesn't make you feel bad then eat it. Listen to what your body wants, because what I have learned so far is craving food on raw is very different than craving food on a SAD diet. It's all good for you so there is no need to limit anything. :)

[Figgy]

Hiya,

I just atteneded a seminar last week with Dr. Gabriel Cousens talking about the film SIMPLY RAW: Reversing Diabetis in 30 days. You can buy the dvd online. It's very good.

He stated that the first 30 days with the participants they were 100% raw and I believe no fruit. It was all greens, nuts, sprouts,etc... (He also made mention of those with cancer to avoid fruit - fruit sugar feeds cancer as it feeds diabetis). The participants made remarkable recoveries/progress with thier diabetis. I don't know your specifics of yoru condition/history, but his advice was sound and it clearly worked. Sometimes better for others, but they ALL saw improvement.

I think fruit should be limited to 2 serving a day maximum, and preferably only in the morning - it is an easy, healthy way to fuel your tank.
Greens are key :-). Eat them at every opportunity.
Sprouts are super and seaweed typically can replenish mineral deficiencies very quickly because they are packed with goodness.

Want sugar? Go for Stevia. It does NOT affect blood sugar levels. nature's perfect natural sweetener.

Figgy

[zina]

Figgy....that is great info.....I have ordered the two videos....cant wait to watch them....


Stevia....I cant handle the taste....way too sweet for me....I prefer agave nectar.....

One of my problems with eating was sooooo much junk food.....licorce by the bags...not much into chocolate.....

I also find that by lunch time by craving for fruit has subsided......only other time I am noticing no energy is from 3 to 4pm......I am thinking that at lunchtimes I will have 2oz of wheatgrass and hope that will help....

[jacsam]

Reading this post made me think.....I need a date.....medjol to be specific.

[MelissaO]

I did research when my Dad was dx with diabetes type 2 and agave is a great sub- low on the GI index. Natural sugar in dates and fruits are also processed by the body differently then lets say a candy bar - I would say sample the natural and see how you feel afterwards.

Best of luck in your rawness :D

[gs4life]

here is an excerpt from an interview with dr. graham: http://www.naturalnews.com/024861.html

i think you'll find it helpful and informative...basically, he's saying the problem is the fat, NOT the fruit. i guess there can be various approaches, but this really makes sense to me. of course, listen to your body...but keep in mind that in a low fat diet fruit shouldn't be causing any problems.

[Bananna]

I'm with veganforlife, I think it's a sugar addiction from the sweet junk you've been hooked on. Plug the fruit, then you'll eat less dates and your blood sugar will be more balanced...that's if you notice a spike in blood sugar on them and you're concerned.

Sugar addiction, I believe, is simply your body wanting more fruit, or more water (which fruit also has a lot of).

[freshlight]

It happens quite often: at the beginning of the raw journey some people tend to eat lots of dried fruit and nuts. I did just the same. Now I can't eat any dates at all: I ate too many of them couple of years ago and that was enough :) Just listen to your body (to the REAL ;) inner voice) and you'll be fine.

[ShantiLove]

I ate yons of dates and bananas too when I just turned raw. It lastet for about a month. Now I eat dates ones in a while, maby one or two, but thats it. And a couple of bananas I have everyday, mostly in the morning as they keep me going for houres.
I think that bananas and dates help me transision from icecream. I was craving them, but only for a while. I actualy dont crave sweets as much anymore, and my blodsugar is really stable now (wasent before raw). Like I said I said I can now go for houres on two bananas (3 month raw), before raw I could go max half an houre :eek:

I think that you should take it easy and eat what your body craves. Dates is so much more that a sweet, it contains lots of minerals and vitamines. The arabs was living for days on dates while in the desert. And the same goes for bananas ;)
Here is just a few of the good stuff you get from the:
boron, copper, iron, magnesium, potasium, niacin, folic acid, vit. B6, vit. C, pectin and fiber.

I would surgest to eat greens with the sweets to balance the blodsugar, not nuts. Nuts and dates get my blodsugar go haywhire, but if I eat the dates alone no problems. I offen make a bowl of fruits and sprinkle grasspowder on it. Tastes wonderful and helps keeping the blodsuger in balance.