ALcohol

[Queenie]

What's the deal with alcohol and raw lifestyle... most people seem to think alcohol is not compatible with the raw lifestyle. Beer isn't cooked, is it? Just fermented... I haven't read anything about it in the literature, except or the random comment about it not being cool to drink on raw. Just curious. Anyone know of any previous threads or resources please feel free to copy to me. thanks

queenie

[katrina]

I'm pretty sure Alissa's book addressed this issue. And as I recall, you can get raw wine but nothing else is raw unless it's specified on the product.

[fiddler]

I believe Beer is not RAW.

However, Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis have a a book out "Raw Food Real World" whereby they state that certain wines are "acceptable within the raw food guidelines".

FWIW, I no longer drink any alcohol because it deadens my senses and
makes me in less control. I recall Alissa Cohen (who sponsors this site) stated
something to this effect on her DVD and I recall agreeing with her 100%.

Plus, when I used to drink beer I always craved heavy foods and had
the worst hangovers. I certainly don't MISS the hangovers nor the extra weight
around my midsection.

[Queenie]

Katrina, thanks. I don't have Alissa's book yet, it's next on my list.

For some reason, I thought beer was raw. Anyway, that's all I needed to know

[seand11]

Pour alcohol on an open wound and see if it healthful to our bodies. It kills cells on contact.

[Queenie]

FWIW, I no longer drink any alcohol because it deadens my senses and
makes me in less control. I recall Alissa Cohen (who sponsors this site) stated
something to this effect on her DVD and I recall agreeing with her 100%.

Plus, when I used to drink beer I always craved heavy foods and had
the worst hangovers. I certainly don't MISS the hangovers nor the extra weight
around my midsection.

Hi Fiddler - actually I haven't craved alcohol hardly at all. It just doesn't appeal to me that much. It's really more of a "What if" question. I lost interest in alcohol pretty much before I even went raw. I feel like having a beer today and it is so rare I feel that way that I had to ask. thanks (PS do you play a violin? Or a fiddle!!)

[Kris]

Beer is definitely not raw, as anyone who has done home-brew can tell you. The grains are cooked in big kettles, and then it's all fermented. So, it might be "living," since it's fermented and all, but not raw. Don't know if that helps you. Note that many beers are not vegan, as they are filtered through bone char. You can get a good list of vegan beers from PETA or even just by searching online for one.

All wine, in principal, should be raw and vegan. However, in practice, this is not generally true. Many winemakers, in an attempt to salvage bad wine, will add all kinds of disgusting things to wine that has gone bad (or was bad to begin with) to make it drinkable. This is true not just for blends, but all wine. We're talking sugar, sulfites (preservatives that cause those horrible headaches), and all kinds of awful chemicals. Some wineries also use bone char to filter their wines and/or add non-vegan clarifying agents. ORGANIC wines, however, are required by law to contain nother other than uncooked, fermented grape juice. That's not to say that the grapes are not heated at all during the pressing process, which is entirely possible, but they are not purposefully heated or otherwise processed. And they have no added preservatives of any kind, which means you can't store them in your wine cellar for 20 years (most have a shelf life of around 3 years), but you also won't get those terrible sulfite headaches/hangovers.

People have differing opinions about whether alcohol is compatible with the raw food lifestlye. I personally indulge in a glass or two of organic wine occasionally because it helps me stay raw through social occasions without feeling completely deprived. But, to each her own. :)

[Punky]

if you do a search on alcohol or wine there are lots of past discussions on this subject on the forum.
Some raw fooders drink and some don't just like in the cooked world ...
personal preference....
It does effect me stronger when I am raw-ing it.
In general I do not drink that much when raw because it increases my
cravings for cooked food and I don't need the extra calories.
I do *choose* to drink a glass of wine on rare occasion. Let your conscience be your guide on what's right for you
;)

Oh, I have that book by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis "Raw Food Real World"...The book is one of my faves....they do have a small cocktail section in the book and they serve wine at their raw restaurant. Beer is brewed, Wine is fermented and uncooked. Hope that Helps.

[Revvell]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3929&highlight=wine+alcohol+beer

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4488&highlight=wine+alcohol+beer