This debate on Fat

[Missrawdiva]

Also, a good source of fat which people forget out are HEMPSEEDS! I eat hemp butter (homemade ofcourse!) every morning! It has 45 percent fat!! And it is a proven fact that coconut oil which is also high in fat, will actually speed up the metabolism and help you to loose weight.
ok.. just my 2cents!

[wisslewj]

mmmmmmmm....homemade hemp butter!!! :)

whens lunch i will be there!!! :P

[Sharon in Colorado]

When I had mentioned that raw fooders initially take in more fat, was because I believe it was in place of the heavy feeling that cooked food gives. I don't think that 50% calories through fat in the long term is terribly healthy - as too much fat can inhibit many of the body's processes.

It is true that certain raw food diets can take in much more fat than cooked.

On cooked most of the calories come through simple and complex although processed carbs. Think of bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc. which are eaten so heavily on the standard cooked diet.

But on the raw diet, because cooked starches and grains are to be avoided, many times the diet swings right off to denser 'raw' foods such as nuts and the heavier recipes, instead of replacing cooked carbs for natural whole plant carbs (fruit).

This tends to be necessary in order to satisfy stomach and mind, and is more of an emotional necessity and in time a fresher, lighter diet with less fat and in less concentrated forms is what many will gravitate toward.

[Kerilyn]

ok, so coconut oil... how do you consume it on a raw diet. I am quite new.. just a few months, I don't make any recipes- just fruit, salads and green smoothies and can't think of how I would get in coconut oil besides staight off the spoon and I can't do that... When I use to eat SAD I would make toast in the morning and would spread coconut oil and honey on it...but now what?! And how much coconut oil are we talkin' about!? One more thing- what about dehydrated coconut flakes- I can snack on those by the cup full...YUMMMM : )

[misslinda]

hmmm. I'm not a big fan of supplemeting with fats/oils. If I happen to crave an avacado so be it but I do not make it an effort to add it in unless it's orders by the inner voice. There are trivial amounts of fats in fruits too. ;)

[Revvell]

Put it in your smoothies.

ok, so coconut oil... how do you consume it on a raw diet. I am quite new.. just a few months, I don't make any recipes- just fruit, salads and green smoothies and can't think of how I would get in coconut oil besides staight off the spoon and I can't do that... When I use to eat SAD I would make toast in the morning and would spread coconut oil and honey on it...but now what?! And how much coconut oil are we talkin' about!? One more thing- what about dehydrated coconut flakes- I can snack on those by the cup full...YUMMMM : )

[Vandy]

why not just eat the whole food? Why eat the coconut oil and not the coconut? You are increasing your chances of losing nutrients, raw nutrients, through such a process.

Personally, I go for the whole food... I don't like the thought that man has "modified" our food. Why no just eat the whole fruit? So many things can get lost in the process, especially the taste.

Personally, I agree that balance is good, but that can only be determined by the individual. We get everything we need from whole, fresh, ripe, organic, and raw vegan foods. This site supports those in their journey to achieve health in this manner...

[Sharon in Colorado]

The one time I put coconut oil in the families smoothies, there was a lot of music going on, of the gassy variety.

As Vandy mentioned, eating your food whole will give you fat, in its natural whole source. You don't need extracted, concentrated processed pure fat since you are already getting fat naturally.

[JinxieKat]

Kerilyn,
One smoothie that comes to mind is one found on greenchefs (www.gliving.tv/greenchefs) for the chocolate banana smoothie by indulge. Hmm.. I think I'm going to have one for dinner tonight. Delish!

Jinx

[LightLover]

I don't get the fuss over saturated fat. We don't even need any kind of other fat to make it. Our bodies make all we need out of carbohydrates. No one who gets enough carbs in the diet should need to supplement with saturated fat.

Craig

* I always thought there are no essential carbohydrates (like fats and aminoacids)

* but when you can make saturated fats.. out of these carbohydrates
* you can say that the carbohydrates have become essential and the
saturated fats have become non-essential
* but if you don't eat enough carbohydrates a saturated fat intake becomes essential.

just to keep it complex.. :)

LL

[LightLover]

wisslewj, I can follow you at this point: often I read that we don't need a certain fat or so, because our body can make it by itself. (transformation)

Don't we forget that this is costing energy etc...?

We always say that digesting is costing to much energy, and that we should eat in a way that digestion goes easy, but I never read that we should eat as complete as possible in order to avoid all this transformations (from
one nutrient into another) and to avoid energyloss, which can't be used for healing. So your story of eating saturated fats makes sense to me.
But a little problem is that overall these come not in whoole foods.

Any opinions...?

LL

[LightLover]

why not just eat the whole food? Why eat the coconut oil and not the coconut? You are increasing your chances of losing nutrients, raw nutrients, through such a process.

Personally, I go for the whole food... I don't like the thought that man has "modified" our food. Why no just eat the whole fruit? So many things can get lost in the process, especially the taste.

Personally, I agree that balance is good, but that can only be determined by the individual. We get everything we need from whole, fresh, ripe, organic, and raw vegan foods. This site supports those in their journey to achieve health in this manner...

--
* whole is the best, but sometimes not easy (for example with red palm oil,
there is no whole food available, only the oil)

* but the emphesis is on the whole food, the oils are second place

LL

[LightLover]

* Another point: the vieuw we only need to eat essential fat's is coming from the SAD world.

The reason is, that the typical "rawfood-arguments", that you have to
try to keep the energycosts of all bodyprocesses as low as possible
(so: not to much nutrient-transformations in your body, but direct supply) is not known in the sadworld.


LL

[wisslewj]

Light,

well I am sure you know that some of these saturated fats come in lots of non vegan raw whole foods. However, I have found coconut oil to be superb as a "whole saturated fat" goes for those on a strict vegan diet. Even though my wife and I are not totally vegan, we use about 1 jar of coconut oil about every week and a half!! Its good stuff lol.

In regard to EFA's I have found we need about 4% of our diet as balanced EFA's. To be honest, other then flax seeds I am not aware of any good whole food vegan sources. (There are sources, but many nuts/seeds contain so many inhibitors and anti nutrients that they need to be soaked to eat. I am not sure what this does to the fat content, ie it oxidizes it all or not?)

I have found from expeience that so long as the fat is raw, digestions is still easy and the energy given far outweighs the energy to digest. What I do like is that since digestion is slow, having enough fat in the diet makes me full all day. I only eat twice a day now compared to the 6 times a day I felt I needed to eat on high fruit/low fat and I have tons of energy.

Also, and many dont realize this, the body is REALLY efficient. It can use proteins, fats, and carbs and turn em into each other as need be. (if biology memeory serves me, only protein isnt "made" from the others, it must be consumed as needed) So one guy may thrive on high protein, another on carbs and still another on fats. Personally, from what I have seen it is genetics (anscestory) that determines what will be best for each. (as well as a myriad of other factors) But point is, we are all different inside!

Anyway, its what works for me, and frankly thats what its all about--what works for each person! :)

Vandy--I agree I prefer the whole food myself as well, but as coconut oil is a fermented food, it is still raw and alive. I was cracking open a coconut a day in the summer, but now the store just doesnt have enough for me! :P

Jeff

[RawNut]

LightLover,

* I always thought there are no essential carbohydrates (like fats and aminoacids)

They are essential in that everyone needs them for energy.

* but when you can make saturated fats.. out of these carbohydrates

Whenever you need them...

* you can say that the carbohydrates have become essential and the
saturated fats have become non-essential

I didn't say that...but, yes! It's always been that way.

* but if you don't eat enough carbohydrates a saturated fat intake becomes essential.

If you don't eat enough carbohydrates or calories period, you aren't getting enough of anything!

Craig