Question for long time Raw foodies

[janicejourney]

I have been on and off the raw foods lifestyle for quite a while, since before raw chocolate was available and before most of the craze was well established. With exception to the very beginning, I have never really been into super foods or supplements. What are your thought and experiences with adding these things or not adding them to your diets. Do you recommend doing it? Why? Thank you in advance for taking the time to share about this :)

[Dimond]

Yes, superfoods & supplements can be very beneficial for health reasons and to supplement your diet. Plus, if you're concerned about getting enough calories without resorting to high fats or huge amounts of fruit, using powders such as goji, camu-camu, or chlorella can be substituted. It really just depends on your reasons for using them. If one is on the perfect raw vegan diet, they likely need little or none.

[sport]

I never seemed to take to superfoods. I just did not enjoy using them so just never bothered. I think that my body is telling me that it does not need them.
The exception is astaxanthin which I need to help my joints.

[klomasius]

I too remember raw before all these things were available.

To me these things are something that give me variety in my diet, I don't see them as being essential, and to me true superfoods are fresh fruit, veg and greens.

[WanderRA]

Theyre good for variety but not essential.

Raw eating imo is about eating healthy, not eating as healthy as possible.

Its also about eating natural, back in the day.. our ancestors had probably not heard of goji berries.

Its for this reason I avoid seaweed.. Did ancient man ever eat the vegetation growing on the seabed? probably not.

[green jeanie]

i was down with all comments until wander A (no offense) but inmho of course humans ate goji berries and seaweed if they lived on the coast or in a place where goji berries grew! it's food. not "super food"

as an herbalist those 2 foods are 2 of the things that i think are great for our diet and i have seen them totally change a person's health profile

the breast cancer rates in japan are significantly lower than anywhere else in the world and all research points back to seaweed intake (which reduces the growth of masses) as the most likely hypothesis for this

goji berries can build the blood and restore the liver better than any other food. in my acupuncture practice, i have seen them totally change a person's pulse, get rid of headaches etc etc when the person was not willing to regularly take other medicines

i'm not a big supplement fan but foods and herbs are our planetary medicines!!!!

how can we be "for or against them"

they are the gifts of nature!! :)

[RawKnitster]

My thoughts and experiences with superfoods are that these foods (and herbs, too) add a balance I don't get from eating whole fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. I include superfoods in my diet 2-5 times a week. When I feel something is missing, if I'm tired, if I eat too much chocolate or sweet fruits, a green superfood smoothie brings me back to feeling centered.

I don't think I'd still be raw, healthy, and going strong after 2 1/2 years without the variety and nutritional boost provided by superfoods, especially coconut water and Vitamineral Green.

There are lots of other threads about this topic, too. I know because I've posted in most of them. :)

[janicejourney]

Thanks for the remarks :)

green jeanie: What are your favorite resources for the sea veggies and goji berries. Do you recommend a certain green powder or do you prefer having one eat them in another form?

Also, I am a thin blood person. I bruise easily so stay away from blood thinning herbs. I assume the goji berries don't thin the blood?

[janicejourney]

RawKnitster: I will search your posts to read more. Thanks :)

[blaqberry]

green jeanie: Your post got me all fired up! in a good way. :)

I especially love this:



how can we be "for or against them"

they are the gifts of nature!! :)

Hear, hear!

[michigan roman]

i speculate here after 16 years vegan / 5 years raw and feeling im missing something in diet that juicing large amounts of dark greens for a vitamin / mineral / enzyme drink might be the fix

[michigan roman]

www.seaveg.com is a seaweed source many here have lked over the years ,
i get kelp / dulse there and am very happy with product

* i add to dark greens herbs in the raw juice , which herbs beyond parsley
which ive seen many natural healers rave about i cant say for sure .
it has to be determined by eaches supply and body state , plus alot of experimenting

[Wordracr]

I don't use superfoods in the sense of how that term is normally used (powdered down stuff with water and having an awful taste).

what are superfoods (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql6fx6ULQ2g)

superfoods:
any unprocessed food that you love to by itself and tastes amazing.
*Water-rich
*Extremely Palatable
*Whole food
*Easy to gather from nature

:)

[klomasius]

Sorry Michigan Roman,

can you clarify your posts? Do you feel that there's something missing that you have now gotten from juicing greens? Or do you feel you are still missing something that you don't get from juicing greens?

I feel that a lack of greens is a problem for many who experience problems on raw. I know myself that if I go without eating greens (whole juiced or smoothied) for a while that I can feel like something is missing, but that it goes when I drink (mainly) and eat lots of greens.

I don't really have any health problems now, so I don't know about 'superfoods' healing ailments.

For me seaweed is something I adore, I simply consider it part of my diet. And we have been eating seaweed for 100s of thousands of years. It's a wonderful mineral store.

My problem is not with the foods themselves (e.g. maca, cacao, lucuma etc.), but with the 'superfood' label that has been marketed to death and makes some people feel like they need a huge amount of these foods in their diet to be healthy and that they are essential to a raw foods diet.

There are may reasons why people might eat these things other than taste (supplementing mineral depleted local foods, specific nutrients etc) that may assist them in some way.

I just feel that marketing has put these foods forward as being the ONLY solution, which is disengenious and really gives people a lopsided view of raw foods.

[janicejourney]

michigan roman: Thanks for the link :)

You all make really great points. I think for me, adding sea veggies and goji makes good sense. I have not eaten either or these very often. I am not that fond of the nori sheets or dulse for seasoning. I think looking at that highly rated green powder that Alissa sells might be worth it for that reason. The gojis, I can eat in many things, I love the taste of them so feel no need to get them in a supplement form.

Chia seeds are somewhat new to me. I LOVE them in chi puddings, so delicious. I don't feel the "super food" benefits from the raw cacao I eat, but eat it more for the fact that it is yummy.

It seems that aside from the sea goodies and goji berries, there are not that many "super food" items that any of you have really raved about. Is anything missing from this thread that people feel is essential for a fantastic raw food lifestyle?

[RawKnitster]

Essentials for me are young coconuts, hempseeds, dulse, kale, oranges, apples, Vitamineral Green, Manuka honey, bee pollen. Equally important though not a superfood are Methyl B-12 and Vit D-3 supplements.