Raw food Confusion

[myrtlegurl]

Hi,

I am new to the site and have been interested in raw food for some time now. I've experimented on and off and really want to make it a lifestyle choice. I'm slowly increasing my raw food consumption hoping to get to 100% by summer :). I have some very good books on raw food but I'm very confused. Some authors argue a high fat low fruit diet, while others advocate an almost all fruit no fat (nuts...) diet. I'm not really sure which way is better. Are the raw fats bad for you? Will they make you sick or gain weight? I have a tendency to eat both a lot of fruit and nuts, but I find cutting out nuts makes me really hungry. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks :)

[Revvell]

The only book I really recommend, especially for one new to raw books is Alissa's first one along with her dvd's. She clarifies and simplifies the eating of raw.

When I first began, I didn't have all these different books to confuse me. I ate what I wanted, when I wanted, all raw and most of it containing nuts and seeds. There were 6 of us doing it at the same time, about 15 years ago. We all eliminated excess weight; we all felt GREAT!

Enjoy eating food and the freedom that comes with raw ~ when you drop all the rules other than eating what YOUR body wants.

~ Revvell ~

[michigan roman]

here at 17 years vegan / 5th year raw ive never seen diet that specific

ive rather always seen it as theres certain vitamins / minerals i MUST get
then everything else is whats tasting good / whats in season

- vitamin a

- b vitamins

- vita c

- vita e

- calcium

- iron

- protein

are the things im focused on getting on a regular basis

from there i adjust by how i feel . i can tell over winter i eat too many nuts plus fat rich avacado and once spring greens hit im like total salads and berries . after summer / fall vegis come winter i need the heavy fat / protein of nuts / seeds

thats how i roll anyway

but obviously its different for everyone so we all must experiment

[Psychalone]

Hi,

I am new to the site and have been interested in raw food for some time now. I've experimented on and off and really want to make it a lifestyle choice. I'm slowly increasing my raw food consumption hoping to get to 100% by summer :). I have some very good books on raw food but I'm very confused. Some authors argue a high fat low fruit diet, while others advocate an almost all fruit no fat (nuts...) diet. I'm not really sure which way is better. Are the raw fats bad for you? Will they make you sick or gain weight? I have a tendency to eat both a lot of fruit and nuts, but I find cutting out nuts makes me really hungry. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks :)

One simple question will help determine that. What is your reason for eating? Or re-phrased what is your goal through diet?

Many different variations appeared of the raw diet based on the goal of the raw foodist. For example the Wai diet was a result of trying to cure acne and other skin issues, while people like Harely "Durianrider", uses his variety of the raw food diet for peak athletic performance and others yet use it for spiritual transformation and a variety of other uses. So the question is what is YOUR goal in diet?

[myrtlegurl]

Hi,

I want to say thank you for everyone who replied. Your answers are very helpful. In reply to psychalone, I want to make raw food a lifestyle for many reason. My main reasons with changing are for health reasons. When I first became a vegan I began a "health" higher protein diet. However this made me quite ill, and I still have some health problems from that. I also put on quite a bit of weight after stopping that diet. After that experience, and not wanting to give up being a vegan. I decided to look into alternatives. I personally think that raw food id the healthiest diet. I just want to make sure im doing things right and in a healthy manner now. Weight loss would be a plus for me but not my ultimate goal.

Thanks :)

[Psychalone]

Hi,

I want to say thank you for everyone who replied. Your answers are very helpful. In reply to psychalone, I want to make raw food a lifestyle for many reason. My main reasons with changing are for health reasons. When I first became a vegan I began a "health" higher protein diet. However this made me quite ill, and I still have some health problems from that. I also put on quite a bit of weight after stopping that diet. After that experience, and not wanting to give up being a vegan. I decided to look into alternatives. I personally think that raw food id the healthiest diet. I just want to make sure im doing things right and in a healthy manner now. Weight loss would be a plus for me but not my ultimate goal.

Thanks :)

Lol, Piece of cake.

Before I say anything, I'll tell you straight up, worse than any diet you could ever go on (except maybe atkins, that sh**'s dangerous, lol), is worry. Worry tries to distract your mind from the constant love you're being offered and you'll soon be aware of.
Just keep things simple, and don't get caught up in the hype. You don't need "super foods", you don't need to think alot about fat or protein, or calorie counting or nutrient counting or any of that. If you're hungry, eat, if your tired, sleep, if you feeling like moving around then move around. One thing raw food does is raise your awareness which puts you in touch with your body and your intuition. Listen to your body and don't force anything.

That being said, here's my analysis based on experience and plenty of study.....

[Psychalone]

First off in the raw food world the debate is usually carbs vs fat, there's never any "high protein" raw foods diet because it's already been proven that high protein diets ruin your health and that anything over 20% usually ends in kidney problems. Dr Douglas Graham goes even further to show that we don't even really need more than 10% and if you consider infancy, the time when we grow the most of our entire life, our diet then usually consists of mother's milk which is anywhere between 2-6% protein, so even for growth, it's not really needed.

When it comes to carbs vs fat there's many things over-looked. First of all Carbs are our ideal source of energy. Everything is broken down or converted into glucose for ATP. When we have enough ATP, enough carbs, then our body makes fat for padding, structural support, etc from them. For anything other than simple carbohydrates our body has to use energy to break things down into simple carbohydrates, thus simple carbs are the most efficient source of energy. This is why 80/10/10 and fruitarianism are so popular because they provide so much energy, and for people who exercise enough it allows them to do extraordinary things.

Some of the common complaints are never feeling full, getting to skinny, feeling weak, feeling iritable/gittery and tooth decay.

Most people who eat high carb never feeling full because they simply don't eat enough. "Durianrider" (Harley), named his site "30 bananas a day" because when you eat mostly fruit, you have to eat alot of fruit, lol, especially if you exercise. Now you don't HAVE to eat 3000cals a day, but you do have to eat until you're satisfied, even if it takes more than you are used to (mentally). Usually we try to avoid alot of food because we think it gets us fat and unhealthy, the mind gets in the way and says "oh I shouldn't eat this much", but when it comes to fruit, you can eat as much as you want and you'll never put on a pound of fat.

You will get skinny initially. You'll lose water weight first. Your body needs more water when eating cooked foods because it uses water to dilute toxicity then stores the diluted toxins in the cells. When you go raw that toxicity along with the toxicity in the fat cells begin to release. Once your body is done releasing the majority of it's stored up toxins it will then begin to "rebuild" itself. When you see bodybuilders on "mass building" programs...they're not building muscle mass, they're building undigested proteins diluted in water forced into their cells. Thats why they think they have to eat so much protein to "maintain" what they call "muscle", because as soon as they eat right they lose the toxins they call "musculature", lol. Then they think there must be more "nutrition" in cooked food. Rofl, the confusion runs deep.

Another issue is irritability. This will happen at times due to detox, but the main reason it happens on high carb is because you're not exercising. You have to understand the difference in energy you'll have. When I first went fruitarian at 17 I overnight went from taking the train/bus to work to jogging over 30miles a week to and back from work. And at that time I was only eating maybe 3-4 pieces of fruit each day (mostly mangos). You're gonna be able to do ALOT, haha, especially mentally. Your awareness also begins to expand and you begin to feel like you're "feeling" for the first time, it's kinda like being high, lol, but it's a sustained sensation. Your may experience some "emotional" detox and weird dreams. Once you have more energy for awareness you "process" your emotions and feelings better. This means all the "unprocessed"/repressed emotional junk may come to the surface for conscious processing. Some people like to say too much fruit makes you "unbalanced", and if you look at anyone going through emotional detox it may certainly look that way, and after it's over you'll be seen as unbalanced cause you're always so happy and full of energy :D

The "tooth decay" issue was a myth created by the raw paleo community. They like to isolate people who do raw vegan incorrectly and say that the diet doesn't work, lol.


Now as for Fats... Using fats for energy isn't nearly as efficient as using carbs. In fact your body still uses the carbs it gets from nuts/seeds and any other fat source you use for energy, it's very hard to force the body into a state of ketosis unless you do 80/10/10 with the 80 being fat (impossible to do on raw vegan). Fat works by lubricating the body and slowing the digestion, and assimilation of nutrition and energy. If nutrition is your goal or of importance then stay away from high fat, lol. You want the nutrients you digest to go right to where they need to go without interference.

What Fat CAN do is provide comfort for the nervous system and protect from environmental toxins by coating the cells, but as said above when you coat the cells you decrease cellular permeability.

The MAIN reason fats are hailed is for their role in detoxification. Isolated fats, especially when combined with cholesterol (coconuts), detoxify the liver rather quickly. There is something called the "Milk Cure" that I read about where people would heal from diseases, especially of the skin, from drinking large quantities of raw milk (raw egg yolks are also used with great success for the skin). This works because when you take in large quantities of RAW fats it allows the liver a medium to dump fat soluble toxins to bind with the fats and exit the system. Fats and cholesterol are "processed" by the liver, thus the liver can easily use them as mediums for aided elimination. This is also why fats are touted as "good for your skin". Most skin issues are due to an overtaxed liver. However you don't need fats to detox the liver. In fact using fats makes things slower and if you don't use daily enemas toxins will get reabsorbed in the colon.
Chlorophyll it Nature's medicine and potent blood cleanser and is known to work directly with the liver. Also most herbs and highly alkaline greens (basil, celery, cilantro, etc) and citrus fruit, all work in healing the liver and they all work better if you don't have fat slowing down your system, lol. Also if you've ever heard of the "liver flush", that is extremely useful, more-so than any high-fat diet.

Note: If you're going to use oils try to stick with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and make sure it's COLD pressed. Oils are tough because most plant fats are poly and mono unsaturated, which means on a molecular level, they're less stable and especially more heat sensitive, but also go rancid faster. Nature keeps oil within fruits/nuts for a reason ;) While oil isn't needed and you're closer to nature without it, EVOO isn't as bad and can be used without any negative repercussions.

Lastly, nuts and seeds are a vegans main source of fat. Nuts and seeds are very hard to digest. They also contain phytates and enzyme inhibitors which stop your body from breaking it down and prevent any nutrition from being taken out of it (it's a survival mechanism). They are high in fat because the plant uses that store of fat to grow initially until it begins to make it's own food via sunlight. However if you sprout them, the enzyme inhibitors are destroyed, most of the starches, fats and proteins are broken down into simple carbs, fatty acids and amino acids, vitamin content increases (sometimes as high as 500%), and it becomes more of a "carb" food.



So personally I'd suggest you focus on what our body uses and is designed for which is carbs, it uses carbs for energy and it uses energy to do and make stuff, lol.

Now fruit is a great source of potent energy, but due to todays soils they're lower in mineral content then what is ideal. If you buy local and from farmers who remineralize their soils then this isn't a problem. Fruits are also easier to digest for most people. Many plant foods contain harsh plant fibers which our bodies can't break down (cellulose). Sometimes we run into digestive trouble if we eat alot of greens. If you ever find yourself bloated or having gas pain, a simple enzyme suppliment (make sure it's ACTIVE (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showpost.php?p=654536&postcount=4) and contains cellulase) will take care of it.

Greens are higher in minerals but it's nearly impossible to eat enough greens to meet any caloric needs we think we have. UNLESS we use sprouts. When you sprout seeds/grains/beans/ in salt water (using sea salt) you increase it's mineral content. When you sprout it you increase it's vitamin content, enzyme content and the availability of all nutrients. On top of that you've got proven local, organic food raised with love. With sprouts there's no need to worry if they're raw because if they don't sprout, guess what? they're not raw! And since you sprout them yourself they'll be organic and since you love them yourself that love will permeate their cells and return to you when you invite them to merge consciousness and live on as a part of you <3

Oh but make sure you breathe. Regardless of diet, you'll never be healthy and ALIVE if you don't breathe. Think of it as a constant snacking of oxygen and other elements while at the same time a constant detoxification of impurities through the lungs. Also you may notice your flexibility improving on a raw diet. Throw in some yoga and stretching to increase circulation so all your new pure blood can nourish and spread love to every inch of your body.

Anyway, enjoy your evolution :)

[Revvell]

Get Alissa's first book. Easy to read and understand. "Eat what you want, when you want as long as it's raw." KISS ~ Keep It Simple Sweetie. :)

[dime]

Psychalone that's a great post! It should really go into some FAQ, sticky or smth.


KISS ~ Keep It Simple Sweetie. :)

Hehe, Sweetie :D Haven't heard of this version so far :)

[RighteousYogini]

Lol, Piece of cake.

Before I say anything, I'll tell you straight up, worse than any diet you could ever go on (except maybe atkins, that sh**'s dangerous, lol), is worry. Worry tries to distract your mind from the constant love you're being offered and you'll soon be aware of.
Just keep things simple, and don't get caught up in the hype. You don't need "super foods", you don't need to think alot about fat or protein, or calorie counting or nutrient counting or any of that. If you're hungry, eat, if your tired, sleep, if you feeling like moving around then move around. One thing raw food does is raise your awareness which puts you in touch with your body and your intuition. Listen to your body and don't force anything.

That being said, here's my analysis based on experience and plenty of study.....

Is that true? Dont worry about superfoods like E3 live or wheatgrass? I think theyre really good for you . ..

[RawMark]

(Lotsa Stuff)

Dude, thanks for going to the trouble of typing all that out. :)

[myrtlegurl]

Hi,

Thanks psychalone for all that info. It was really helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to type that all out :). I'll try eating more fruit and less nuts (although there so good lol), but I can definatly see what your saying. The fruit does go through the system a lot nicer, I just tend to feel super hungry.

Cheers :)

[dime]

Is that true? Dont worry about superfoods like E3 live or wheatgrass? I think theyre really good for you . ..

What's E3 live? I agree with Psychalone, forget about all those superfoods, powders, and what not. The raw food market is growing and new magic stuff with fancy marketing names (E3 live, yeah right) seem to come up more and more. I look at them in the same way I look at quick weight loss products.

KISS.

[AutumnBreezColordLeavz]

Don't get too caught up in it. If you could pick/pull it off a tree, a bush, or from other earth matter and is edible (not so much bugs, lol) it was probably made for you. If you have to process it to make it a single edible unit, bake it, or if it looks as if it had before arriving to the store...it probably wasn't meant for us to place on our tongues.

Imagine...you're standing in the middle of Eden when a serpent offers you a loaf of baked bread... yes baked bread... because it is made with all natural baking soda with natural aluminum, all natural processed milled flour, and all natural churned butter, as it such a natural mix for his bread pan he created with fire.

Master of confusion used fruit back when Eve was there, but now he uses everything but, to keep us disconnected from the health and happiness it's creator intended.

[Psychalone]

Is that true? Dont worry about superfoods like E3 live or wheatgrass? I think theyre really good for you . ..

Haha, don't get me wrong I'm not bashing Wheatgrass (dunno what E3 is), I'm just saying don't get caught up in the marketing hype. Why just wheatgrass? What about barleygrass, ryegrass, oatgrass, etc? There's no need to focus on wheat just because a study came out that shows that wheatgrass has alittle more chlorophyll than the rest.

What i'm really warning against is getting into a certain mindset. When it comes to health or anything we're passionate about, naturally we want what's best. Of course we have everyone telling us diff things. We hear wheatgrass, goji berry, acai berry, noni, some exotic melon from Francem etc. We want the things highest in everything and the best for us. Of course if we don't get everything ideally we can easily feel discouraged or like we're getting "gyped". The reailty however is that most things are exaggerated for marketing hype. For example, it may be true that wheatgrass has the most chlorophyll, but by how much?

http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/87812.aspx

According to the site listed above:
"For a 100g serving, the chlorophyll content for barley grass powder is 607mg and for wheat grass powder it’s 990mg."

So really to get hype over 383mg of chlorophyll is silly and that doesn't even list the other types of grasses. The point is that in reality it's not so much the different kinds of fruits, the diff kinds of grasses, the diff kinds to sprouts, its just that you're getting what you need. If you look at the nutritional profile of a kidney bean... http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4296/2

This is a typical inorganic dry kidney bean, average serving 1 cup. Now lets say you take 2 cups and sprout them. Well according to this site: http://www.sproutnet.com/Press/sprouts_for_optimum_nutrition.htm

When you sprout, nutritional value increases by quite a bit. There's a chart under "benefits" that shows some common uncreases. Lets apply those increases to the nutritional profile of the kidney bean. Now lets say it's organic and you sprout it with sea salt to increase mineral content...
With 2 cups of sprouted kidney beans you have all the nutrition you need in a day. Whats more is that the RDA of each food is set for the typical unhealthy american who needs to superdose on inorganic supplements just to be able to get enough nutrition. I would say that if you're colon is healthy and if you're taking enzymes and probiotics then you only need ONE cup of sprouted kidney beans to meet all nutritional needs. And thats on'y about 600 calories. Once you've had that you can pig out on all the fruit you want and never have to worry if you have enough minerals or vitamins. So really it's rather easy to be healthy and efficient on a raw foods diet. As long as you keep it simple and ignore the hype you'll be fine. And i'm not bashing things like wheatgrass or other supplements. In fact I take myself and often recommend, enzymes, probiotics and algae. What i'm saying is that while these are good and help they aren't needed, they're like icing on a cake. Fresh whole Raw foods are the foundation, supplements are like delicacies.

Anyway, I wish you all Love, growth and success

[rawnhealthy]

Every body is a little different. It is quite common to sit down to a meal while growing up where basically everyone eats what is placed on the table that night. So we never really develop our own sense of our body and its needs. My husband and I are so much alike in almost every way, that it surprised me when we switched to raw that our food intake was really different. He was drawn to kale and parsley while I love cilantro and romaine. I like my foods separate and he enjoys mixing together things- salads, soups etc. Most of things he eats actually repel me. lol.

In my opinion, the best way to eat is following your own intuition. You can easily develop your intuition, if you aren't already in touch, over time by simply asking yourself what you need. Each time you are hungry, look what you are drawn to. Example: while shopping for produce look around, see what catches your eye, what colors you're drawn to or what types of produce fruits or veggies etc. Let yourself be guided to the things that you need at that moment.
Your needs change constantly so don't worry that wanting cucumbers all day on Monday means you are out of balance. Your body will guide you to what it needs next.

Note that for some people developing that sense of what you need takes time and will happen naturally. In the mean time Alissa has already outlined a sensible diet to get you started in her book. There are no extremes or guess work. The book is really affordable for everything you get in it. She walks you through how to begin, what you will need, how to shop, recipes, how to sprout etc.

Hope that helps:heart

[dgmulf]

Well according to this site: http://www.sproutnet.com/Press/sprouts_for_optimum_nutrition.htm

When you sprout, nutritional value increases by quite a bit. There's a chart under "benefits" that shows some common uncreases.

A lot of the information on that page is erroneous, and makes absolutely no sense. You cannot possibly increase calcium, potassium, iron, or phosphorus content in a seed by sprouting it. If you were to actually increase concentration of these nutrients, nuclear fusion would have to occur in your sprouting jar, which would make your sprouting jar as hot as the core of the sun.

Maybe the availability of the nutrients to your digestive system increases, but the website makes no such reference, and seems to imply that the nutrient levels themselves increase.

[modernmonkey]

Everywhere I read agrees the same. The presence of these nutrients increase due to the increased enzyme activity. I don't think anyone is suggesting it's magic and comes out of nowhere. It's obviously already there lying dormant.

[dgmulf]

^ Yes, but maybe to some that have less education in chemistry, it might not be so obvious... I think that the website should have worded it more clearly.

[ContemptYC]

I just want to up this thread because I have been searching different topics and really soaking up alot of knowledge about the raw lifestyle and Pyschalone managed to answer the majority of my questions in just a few posts. I agree with the gentleman that said hers should be stickied and enshrined in regards to beginners like myself that are like stated, being pulled in dozens of directions by the fight for the market share in this growing community.

[RawBogan]

Yes, Pyschalone's overviews are really fantastic. I'm gonna print them off for people who ask me why I'm so healthy and energetic for a 42 year old. Make's me think of building a ranking website where thousand word 'raw primer' works for us confused beginners can be voted on and even fine tuned.

[evelynf]

Sheesh! You make it sound like at 42 people should be put out to pasture :(

Haven't you heard 40 is the new 25!

:dance:

[blaqberry]

Well said. :)


Every body is a little different. It is quite common to sit down to a meal while growing up where basically everyone eats what is placed on the table that night. So we never really develop our own sense of our body and its needs. My husband and I are so much alike in almost every way, that it surprised me when we switched to raw that our food intake was really different. He was drawn to kale and parsley while I love cilantro and romaine. I like my foods separate and he enjoys mixing together things- salads, soups etc. Most of things he eats actually repel me. lol.

In my opinion, the best way to eat is following your own intuition. You can easily develop your intuition, if you aren't already in touch, over time by simply asking yourself what you need. Each time you are hungry, look what you are drawn to. Example: while shopping for produce look around, see what catches your eye, what colors you're drawn to or what types of produce fruits or veggies etc. Let yourself be guided to the things that you need at that moment.
Your needs change constantly so don't worry that wanting cucumbers all day on Monday means you are out of balance. Your body will guide you to what it needs next.

Note that for some people developing that sense of what you need takes time and will happen naturally. In the mean time Alissa has already outlined a sensible diet to get you started in her book. There are no extremes or guess work. The book is really affordable for everything you get in it. She walks you through how to begin, what you will need, how to shop, recipes, how to sprout etc.

Hope that helps:heart

[RawBogan]

Sheesh! You make it sound like at 42 people should be put out to pasture :(

Haven't you heard 40 is the new 25!

:dance:

My lord you're right! Yay. Now I'm 27 :excited:

[Raw Angel Mom]

I haven't read anyone replies so my apologies if i repeat.

Unless you have a severe health issue and you need to reset your body as quick as possible, my advice to you is to go with ALISSA COHEN philosophy and don't deprive yourself. You truly need to train your mind that this life style is comfortable and you don't feel deprive. It is the mind that make us go back to our old ways. If your mind makes you feel this is too religious, too hard, feeling deprive etc.... then you are at high risk to go back to the choices that made you sick. Speaking for myself, there aren't any way that i would be where i am if i wouldn't follow Alissa's foot step.

In time, your body will naturally guide you of what it needs. At first, i went with raw gourmet food and green smoothie for breakfast. Now, i am in a place where i need most whole food as possible (Wheat grass juice, micro-greens, fresh produces, wild produces, etc..., i can taste the life force and it gives me a high). I tend not to eat much nuts but will get my fat with young coconut and at time avocado. If i crave for nuts or cold press oil i go for it. If i feel like raw gourmet, i go for it too. All is well.

Trust your body, right now you need to train your mind first and the best way, is to go with freedom meaning Alissa Cohen philosophy.

You will hear many advices, read many books and even from us but at the end, you need to trust your intuition and take what feels right and leave the rest. You are as powerful and as talented as anyone that did this journey, you have everything that it takes to be happy, successful and free from this bound of cook food. Trust your body, trust you.

All the best

[MysticTree]

A lot of the information on that page is erroneous, and makes absolutely no sense. You cannot possibly increase calcium, potassium, iron, or phosphorus content in a seed by sprouting it. If you were to actually increase concentration of these nutrients, nuclear fusion would have to occur in your sprouting jar, which would make your sprouting jar as hot as the core of the sun.

Maybe the availability of the nutrients to your digestive system increases, but the website makes no such reference, and seems to imply that the nutrient levels themselves increase.

I think you need to read the information on the basis that the increases and decreases are listed as percentages. As one constituent decreases so another will increase - it doesn't change the number of grams of the constituent just its percentage of the whole. Except the phrase infinite increase ... that defies logic.

I tend to take that page with a pinch of celtic sea salt because it is obviously presented by people with a vested interest.

Georgina

[kaybee]

um... i think sprouted kidney beans are toxic to eat raw. as are black beans, white beans, and various others. there are only a few types safe to eat raw...lentils, chickpeas, adzuki, mung, think thats it!
be careful!