Any advice for a Raw Food Diet Newbie?

[RCA]

Tonight I'm making the decision to go Raw. I don't cook, which I understand to be a good thing on a Raw Diet, however, can anyone offer some advice on these topics:

1) How often to eat

2) What to drink

3) Organic vs. Conventional

4) Supplements

5) Will Power

6) Addiction withdrawal

7) Budget concerns

8) Books to read/websites to look-up

Thanks!!!

[asgardshill]

Wear a bell around your neck and graze the south pasture?

Seriously, I have no idea other than to advise you to see a doctor before making any big changes to your diet and keep a close eye on your health.

[yongrel]

http://www.chuckwilliamsjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/eat_more_chickensized.jpg

[OptionsTrader]

Any advice for a Raw Food Diet Newbie?

Cook your food so you do not contract disease. Is it really necessary to use your 3 lb brain to undo what millions of years of evolution has made so instinctually obvious?

[asgardshill]

Cook your food so you do not contract disease. Is it really necessary to use your 3 lb brain to undo what millions of years of evolution has made so instinctually obvious?

I did not spend 2 million years clawing my way up the food chain to eat tofu.

[Dr.3D]

Cook your food so you do not contract disease. Is it really necessary to use your 3 lb brain to undo what millions of years of evolution has made so instinctually obvious?

Especially now with all of the bacteria being distributed on the raw vegetables we have been getting, it is important to somehow kill the bacteria. Cooking the food usually does that.

Remember the raw spinach problems and now the raw tomatoes problem?
Maybe if you grow your own you can get away without cooking them. I just don't know how one would go through the winter when nothing is growing.

[buffalokid777]

Tonight I'm making the decision to go Raw. I don't cook, which I understand to be a good thing on a Raw Diet, however, can anyone offer some advice on these topics:

1) How often to eat

2) What to drink

3) Organic vs. Conventional

4) Supplements

5) Will Power

6) Addiction withdrawal

7) Budget concerns

8) Books to read/websites to look-up

Thanks!!!

Raw food in terms of fruit and vegetables......They ARE good for you.....if you are going the vegetarian route......

Meat is also good.....but NOT raw.... (except sushi)

Now I loath sushi....so to get my fill of omega 3 DHA.........I go the fish oil supplement route.....

One thing I never see people talk about on this section is proper food combining.....

So I will go into it here......

I look at the food pyramid in three sections.....protiens....starches....and non starchy fruits and vegetables.....

If you really want to have maximum health........the key is NOT combining starches and protiens within 2 hours of each other........

Proteins require an acidic digestive enzyme to digest.......

Starches require a base digestive enzyme to digest......

If you eat a burger or pizza the base and acidic digestive enzymes cancel each other out....the food you ate is NOT digested and becomes toxic waste in the colon that must be expelled for the health of the body.......

Non Starchy fruits and vegetables can be digested with either starch foods or protein......

When you eat a hamburger (Bun-starch.....burger protein)

or Pizza (Crust-starch....cheese and meat protein) what happens is the body puts out both acidic and base digestive enzymes which cancel each other out) which results in neither being digested......

If you refrain from combining proteins and starches within a 2 hour period, you will see your health improve.......

Don't beleive me? All I ask is try it for two weeks.....

Eat Proteins with non starch fruits and vegetables.....

Eat Starches with Non Starchy fruits and vegetables......

NEVER eat Starches with Protiens......

If you follow this rule....watch the weight fall off...and health improve......Raw food is good.....especially raw water bearing fruits and vegetables as these clean out the digestive track........

I am telling you from experience this works....all I ask is you try it before you mock me.....because as someone who went from 300Lbs to 175.....I know for a FACT it works.....the human body was not designed to digest Starches and Proteins at the same time from what I have seen.....If you follow this advice, I bet you will see it too.......

[amy31416]

Raw food in terms of fruit and vegetables......They ARE good for you.....if you are going the vegetarian route......

Meat is also good.....but NOT raw.... (except sushi)

Now I loath sushi....so to get my fill of omega 3 DHA.........I go the fish oil supplement route.....

One thing I never see people talk about on this section is proper food combining.....

So I will go into it here......

I look at the food pyramid in three sections.....protiens....starches....and non starchy fruits and vegetables.....

If you really want to have maximum health........the key is NOT combining starches and protiens within 2 hours of each other........

Proteins require an acidic digestive enzyme to digest.......

Starches require a base digestive enzyme to digest......

If you eat a burger or pizza the base and acidic digestive enzymes cancel each other out....the food you ate is NOT digested and becomes toxic waste in the colon that must be expelled for the health of the body.......

Non Starchy fruits and vegetables can be digested with either starch foods or protein......

When you eat a hamburger (Bun-starch.....burger protein)

or Pizza (Crust-starch....cheese and meat protein) what happens is the body puts out both acidic and base digestive enzymes which cancel each other out) which results in neither being digested......

If you refrain from combining proteins and starches within a 2 hour period, you will see your health improve.......

Don't beleive me? All I ask is try it for two weeks.....

Eat Proteins with non starch fruits and vegetables.....

Eat Starches with Non Starchy fruits and vegetables......

NEVER eat Starches with Protiens......

If you follow this rule....watch the weight fall off...and health improve......Raw food is good.....especially raw water bearing fruits and vegetables as these clean out the digestive track........

I am telling you from experience this works....all I ask is you try it before you mock me.....because as someone who went from 300Lbs to 175.....I know for a FACT it works.....the human body was not designed to digest Starches and Proteins at the same time from what I have seen.....If you follow this advice, I bet you will see it too.......

What's the point in living if this is true?

If cheese on really good bread kills me, then I'm happy to go.

[RCA]

My first day and I caved and went out to lunch. I guess I'm going to revert back to my "moderation" plan-not too healthy, not too unhealthy. Sigh...

[amy31416]

My first day and I caved and went out to lunch. I guess I'm going to revert back to my "moderation" plan-not too healthy, not too unhealthy. Sigh...

Ya shoulda ordered the chicken tartare. ;)

[Dr.3D]

Raw food in terms of fruit and vegetables......They ARE good for you.....if you are going the vegetarian route......

Meat is also good.....but NOT raw.... (except sushi)

Now I loath sushi....so to get my fill of omega 3 DHA.........I go the fish oil supplement route.....

One thing I never see people talk about on this section is proper food combining.....

So I will go into it here......

I look at the food pyramid in three sections.....protiens....starches....and non starchy fruits and vegetables.....

If you really want to have maximum health........the key is NOT combining starches and protiens within 2 hours of each other........

Proteins require an acidic digestive enzyme to digest.......

Starches require a base digestive enzyme to digest......

If you eat a burger or pizza the base and acidic digestive enzymes cancel each other out....the food you ate is NOT digested and becomes toxic waste in the colon that must be expelled for the health of the body.......

Non Starchy fruits and vegetables can be digested with either starch foods or protein......

When you eat a hamburger (Bun-starch.....burger protein)

or Pizza (Crust-starch....cheese and meat protein) what happens is the body puts out both acidic and base digestive enzymes which cancel each other out) which results in neither being digested......

If you refrain from combining proteins and starches within a 2 hour period, you will see your health improve.......

Don't beleive me? All I ask is try it for two weeks.....

Eat Proteins with non starch fruits and vegetables.....

Eat Starches with Non Starchy fruits and vegetables......

NEVER eat Starches with Protiens......

If you follow this rule....watch the weight fall off...and health improve......Raw food is good.....especially raw water bearing fruits and vegetables as these clean out the digestive track........

I am telling you from experience this works....all I ask is you try it before you mock me.....because as someone who went from 300Lbs to 175.....I know for a FACT it works.....the human body was not designed to digest Starches and Proteins at the same time from what I have seen.....If you follow this advice, I bet you will see it too.......

Seems like logically, if the body can not digest proteins and starches at the same time and they pass through only to be deposited in the toilet, then one would lose weight from not picking up any of the calories from the mixed food.

[buffalokid777]

Seems like logically, if the body can not digest proteins and starches at the same time and they pass through only to be deposited in the toilet, then one would lose weight from not picking up any of the calories from the mixed food.

The real problem is digestions of calories and nutrients are a different ball of wax.....

Calories are always absorbed.....what I am reffering to is the absorbstion of nutrients which is key....

A body that is starved for nutrients....will always be hungry.....no matter how many calories it absorbs.......that is why america is overfed and undernourished.....because americans absorb almost unlimited calories.......while starving for absorbable nutrients.....

[Working Poor]

Have you ever tried juicing? You can find a cheap juicer at most any department store. Don't invest in an expensive one till you know if you are into it. The juicers usually come with a recipe book and of course you have the internet too. This is a very good way to get started with raw diets. Summer is the best time of year to go raw. The body is able to quickly digest and assimilate raw foods.

Cabbage, beets, carrots, spinach, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, ect and most fruits all juice well. I love cold celery apple juice in the hot summer.

Make lots of salads and slaws. You don't want to start out too fast. You don't want to totally shock your body unless you are able to deal with the cleaning out process . Stop adding and eating sugar because raw veggies and fruits have plenty of sugar. Stay away from "refined carbohydrates" and for gosh sakes do not consume anything that has artificial sweetners even Splenda the stuff is total poison and no human should touch it. Artificial Sweetner have made me personally loose all respect or regard for the FDA. I just can't believe it is allowed to be put into so many products that humans consume. To me anything that has it in it can't be considered food. Refined sugar and corn syurp is not good either. I believe artificial sweetners and sugar are the cause of many illnesses including diabetes. I hope Ron Paul people all will all learn about this.... There is a whole lot of political BS behind it.

I agree that combining foods is important. You always want to eat your raw foods first. They can ferment in your gut if you eat them behind something that takes longer to digest I believe this is one of the causes of alcoholism.

I love to eat organic produce sometimes it is too expensive especially imported organics. Go to farmer markets and buy and eat local grown produce. Choose healthy looking pieces that do not have open cuts blemishes are usually alright if there are only a few small ones you can just cut them away. Know how the vegetable is supposed to look when ripe and ready to eat. Usually farmer's markets. have the best prices and a lot of them grow some organic.

Wash your produce well when you bring it home fill up a sink with water and put some baking soda and a small amount of white vinegar in the water throw all the veggies and fruits in at once scrub them with a veggie brush if they need it be careful not to bruise very ripe pieces and let them soak for a few minutes drain the sink and rinse each piece and set them in a colander to drain, bag them up and refrigerate. I like to change the water for potatoes and other root veggies and wash them separately cause they have more dirt on them than most others.

[Alex Libman]

Pre-humans and early human beings ate raw food (including small amounts of meat, fish, and eggs) for millions of years. Their quality of life sucked: they had the life expectancy of less than 20, very high infant mortality, etc. The invention of fire and later agriculture (based on cooking grains and legumes) is what enabled humanity to dominate the world.

But if you want to go back a few dozen thousands of years, here are a few points of advice for raw vegans:


Variety, variety, variety. Don't forget to combine amino-acids, etc.

Take a vitamin / mineral supplements at least for calcium, iron, and B-12. It's possible to get enough of the former two from vegetables, but most vegans don't.

You might actually gain fat and/or lose muscle mass from eating more fructose than you burn. Pay attention to what percentage of your calories comes from protein, and eat foods (mostly greens if you're a vegan) that have >20% of the calories come from protein. Getting below 10% calories from protein could lead an average adult to lose muscle mass, and you need a lot more to maintain a muscular physique. You can get fat eating nothing but fruits! So snack on leafy salads instead.

Untoasted wheat germ is your new best friend.

Eat the right amount of fats (nuts, seeds, olives, etc) every day - not too little and not too much.

Chew your vegetables thoroughly. It takes more effort to digest them raw, and that begins with saliva. Vegetables that are organic and in season (or fermented) are easier to digest.

Don't eat too much of legumes that contain estrogen (i.e. soybeans) or eat them fermented.

Don't leave your house. You'll be farting so much you'll be a public nuisance. :p



After a month or two, don't be afraid to admit that your experiment has failed. I've conducted a similar experiment and found myself having LESS energy and grouchy mood during the process. A lot of smart people I know have tried radical diet experiments like this in the past, but they only people I know who've stuck with them are socialist "animals are better than humans" nutjobs.

[amy31416]

As a caution to people, let me tell you one observation I've made: I've known three people who were significantly overweight who went on extreme diets (one was the raw food diet) and they all lost significant weight, but all three also ended up having to have their gall bladder removed.

Those are the only three people I've known who've had drastic weight loss, so it seems there might be a connection there, especially considering the role of the gall bladder (helps with fat digestion.)

Any docs know more about this?

[constituent]

1) Remember the raw spinach problems and now the raw tomatoes problem?


2) Maybe if you grow your own you can get away without cooking them. I just don't know how one would go through the winter when nothing is growing.

1) I still don't buy it. Have they ever pinpointed the source of contamination w/ the tomatoes?

2) hydroponics.

[Dr.3D]

1) I still don't buy it. Have they ever pinpointed the source of contamination w/ the tomatoes?

2) hydroponics.

So nobody got sick and the 500 some odd people who the media claims got sick never did? Are we talking about another conspiracy here? :confused:

[Ninja Homer]

As a caution to people, let me tell you one observation I've made: I've known three people who were significantly overweight who went on extreme diets (one was the raw food diet) and they all lost significant weight, but all three also ended up having to have their gall bladder removed.

Those are the only three people I've known who've had drastic weight loss, so it seems there might be a connection there, especially considering the role of the gall bladder (helps with fat digestion.)

Any docs know more about this?

I'm not a doctor, but know quite a bit about this. I've had a gallstone attack. It sucks. However, there's no reason to EVER have your gallbladder removed. I really feel sorry for people who have had their gallbladder needlessly removed. They are going to have trouble digesting foods properly for the rest of their lives.

The liver produces bile, and then some of that bile will go straight into the intestine to help digest food, while other bile goes into the gallbladder. The bile that goes into the gallbladder is further concentrated by removing water from it. When you eat hard to digest foods, the gallbladder releases this concentrated bile to help break it down.

Gallstones are formed within the bile, and usually they are made of cholesterol (a fat) that the bile couldn't dissolve. One of the jobs of the liver is to remove waste products from the blood. So, if a person is losing a lot of weight, there will be extra cholesterol in the blood, and the liver cleans it out of the blood. If there is a lot of cholesterol being removed from the blood, then there will be too much for the bile to dissolve. This cholesterol will stick together and form stones. These stones can form in the gallbladder or the liver, and they can get stuck anywhere in the bile ducts, which can be really painful, and restricts bile flow. When you have a bunch of stones in your gallbladder, it's the equivalent of putting a bunch of marbles in a water balloon, filling it with water, then trying to squeeze all the water out of it... the gallbladder just doesn't work as well because it can't squeeze out all the concentrated bile.

Another reason people may have trouble with gallstones while losing a lot of weight is that they eat a super low-fat diet, so they never trigger their gallbladder and liver to release bile. So follow along here: A person is losing weight, so there is extra cholesterol in their blood. The liver filters that cholesterol out of their blood, and releases it into the bile. Because this person isn't eating any fat, this bile containing the cholesterol is never released. Eventually there's so much cholesterol in the bile that the bile can no longer dissolve it, and then stones form. So, you literally have to eat fat to release fat! (Of course, you have to make sure to stick with good fats, because trans fats or other bad fats can make it worse.)

The best, quickest way to relieve pain from a gallstone attack is to mix 1 tablespoon epsom salt with 1 cup of fresh grapefruit juice, and drink it down. The pain will be gone within a half hour. Repeat as necessary. The magnesium from the epsom salt makes the bile ducts nice and flexible so the stone can squeeze through without much pain.

The best way to prevent gallstone attacks is by doing liver/gallbladder flushes. You can find a bunch of different ones with some internet searching (try curezone.com). With the one I do, you drink apple juice for 6 days to soften up the stones. On the 6th day, you eat light, and do some kind of colon cleanse. You drink some epsom salt solution to make the bile ducts stretchy. Then you drink a mixture of olive oil and grapefruit juice, then go to bed. In the morning, you drink some more epsom salt solution, and spend a lot of time on the toilet. I've had more than 500 stones come out in a single day before (they float, and look like little green peas). Then you do another colon cleanse the following day. The reason for the colon cleanse is that these stones often contain a lot of toxins that have been cleaned out of the blood, and you do NOT want any of them to get stuck in your intestine, re-digested, and back in your body.

The liver/gallbladder flush does amazing things for your health and energy levels. I'd recommend it to everybody. It really isn't that hard to do, and it helps your body function better in a lot of different ways... getting toxins out of your body, better digestion, better liver function, and cleaner blood. Not to mention, you'll remove gallstones on your terms when you are prepared for it, rather than have a gallstone obstruction, which really, really sucks.

[lucius]

My first day and I caved and went out to lunch. I guess I'm going to revert back to my "moderation" plan-not too healthy, not too unhealthy. Sigh...

Don't worry your off to a good start. I just try to replace meals and don't think of it as caving. In general eat organic, if there is such a thing. It's cheaper and faster to eat, mostly just blend items with little bit of lime, ginger, almonds, flax/sesame/sunflower seeds, coconut oil etc. This has been one of the best things that I have learned off this forum, lost 50 lbs already, but I also started exercising about an hour a day as well, been at it 7 months.

[constituent]

So nobody got sick and the 500 some odd people who the media claims got sick never did? Are we talking about another conspiracy here? :confused:

i think people got sick. i just can't phathom how all these people ate tomatoes that infected them w/ a bug you get from raw chicken.

the e. coli link through fertilizer i can see... but the salmonella is lost on me.

[youngbuck]

Read the book "We Want to Live" by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. And all you people that haven't really researched raw food diets, shut up. You're speaking out of ignorance.

[buffalokid777]

Read the book "We Want to Live" by Aajonus Vonderplanitz. And all you people that haven't really researched raw food diets, shut up. You're speaking out of ignorance.

Hey I won't argue raw foods are good for you.....

Raw foods provide absorbable nutrients to the body that are ready to be absorbed.......Im a BIG advocate of Spirulina, Chlorella, Flax Seed Oil, and Fish Oil...which are supplements that are whole raw food that will help your body....

My point is you don't ONLY have to eat raw foods to be healthy.....many of the raw food advocates only say raw food is good for you......while in reality cooked foods can be good for you too if you learn proper food combining as in no starches and proteins in the same meal.....and one other thing I might add.....if you are going the raw method (which is actually a much better diet than what the average americain consumes, but not the be all end all to good health).....make sure it is organic raw you are consuming,,,,,so you don't run the risk of your body being overcome with pesticides and chemicals.......the greatest risk from going the raw route route comes from not consuming organic raw......unorganic raw will load your body with unnatural chemicals......

[buffalokid777]

Have you ever tried juicing? You can find a cheap juicer at most any department store. Don't invest in an expensive one till you know if you are into it. The juicers usually come with a recipe book and of course you have the internet too. This is a very good way to get started with raw diets. Summer is the best time of year to go raw. The body is able to quickly digest and assimilate raw foods.

Cabbage, beets, carrots, spinach, lettuce, celery, tomatoes, ect and most fruits all juice well. I love cold celery apple juice in the hot summer.

Make lots of salads and slaws. You don't want to start out too fast. You don't want to totally shock your body unless you are able to deal with the cleaning out process . Stop adding and eating sugar because raw veggies and fruits have plenty of sugar. Stay away from "refined carbohydrates" and for gosh sakes do not consume anything that has artificial sweetners even Splenda the stuff is total poison and no human should touch it. Artificial Sweetner have made me personally loose all respect or regard for the FDA. I just can't believe it is allowed to be put into so many products that humans consume. To me anything that has it in it can't be considered food. Refined sugar and corn syurp is not good either. I believe artificial sweetners and sugar are the cause of many illnesses including diabetes. I hope Ron Paul people all will all learn about this.... There is a whole lot of political BS behind it.

I agree that combining foods is important. You always want to eat your raw foods first. They can ferment in your gut if you eat them behind something that takes longer to digest I believe this is one of the causes of alcoholism.

I love to eat organic produce sometimes it is too expensive especially imported organics. Go to farmer markets and buy and eat local grown produce. Choose healthy looking pieces that do not have open cuts blemishes are usually alright if there are only a few small ones you can just cut them away. Know how the vegetable is supposed to look when ripe and ready to eat. Usually farmer's markets. have the best prices and a lot of them grow some organic.

Wash your produce well when you bring it home fill up a sink with water and put some baking soda and a small amount of white vinegar in the water throw all the veggies and fruits in at once scrub them with a veggie brush if they need it be careful not to bruise very ripe pieces and let them soak for a few minutes drain the sink and rinse each piece and set them in a colander to drain, bag them up and refrigerate. I like to change the water for potatoes and other root veggies and wash them separately cause they have more dirt on them than most others.

I agree with you 1000%.....juicers are a great way to get absorbable nutrients.....most of the nutrients in fresh squeezed juice are absorbable by the body.....

Most of the store bought juice is WORTHLESS due to Pasteurization....(and the added sugar)

Many nutrients when heated above 120 degrees farenheit become unabsorbable by the human body......Juicers are a good way to get nutrients from whole fruit your body can absorb......

[Zippyjuan]

Some foods actually need to be cooked for the body to be able to absorb the nutrients. Too much fiber from raw foods like vegetables and grains can also cause foods to pass through less digested so again you get fewer nutrients. It can also give you gas. Like anything, moderation is a good thing. Overcooking is a good way to destroy nutrients too.

[buffalokid777]

I'm not a doctor, but know quite a bit about this. I've had a gallstone attack. It sucks. However, there's no reason to EVER have your gallbladder removed. I really feel sorry for people who have had their gallbladder needlessly removed. They are going to have trouble digesting foods properly for the rest of their lives.

The liver produces bile, and then some of that bile will go straight into the intestine to help digest food, while other bile goes into the gallbladder. The bile that goes into the gallbladder is further concentrated by removing water from it. When you eat hard to digest foods, the gallbladder releases this concentrated bile to help break it down.

Gallstones are formed within the bile, and usually they are made of cholesterol (a fat) that the bile couldn't dissolve. One of the jobs of the liver is to remove waste products from the blood. So, if a person is losing a lot of weight, there will be extra cholesterol in the blood, and the liver cleans it out of the blood. If there is a lot of cholesterol being removed from the blood, then there will be too much for the bile to dissolve. This cholesterol will stick together and form stones. These stones can form in the gallbladder or the liver, and they can get stuck anywhere in the bile ducts, which can be really painful, and restricts bile flow. When you have a bunch of stones in your gallbladder, it's the equivalent of putting a bunch of marbles in a water balloon, filling it with water, then trying to squeeze all the water out of it... the gallbladder just doesn't work as well because it can't squeeze out all the concentrated bile.

Another reason people may have trouble with gallstones while losing a lot of weight is that they eat a super low-fat diet, so they never trigger their gallbladder and liver to release bile. So follow along here: A person is losing weight, so there is extra cholesterol in their blood. The liver filters that cholesterol out of their blood, and releases it into the bile. Because this person isn't eating any fat, this bile containing the cholesterol is never released. Eventually there's so much cholesterol in the bile that the bile can no longer dissolve it, and then stones form. So, you literally have to eat fat to release fat! (Of course, you have to make sure to stick with good fats, because trans fats or other bad fats can make it worse.)

The best, quickest way to relieve pain from a gallstone attack is to mix 1 tablespoon epsom salt with 1 cup of fresh grapefruit juice, and drink it down. The pain will be gone within a half hour. Repeat as necessary. The magnesium from the epsom salt makes the bile ducts nice and flexible so the stone can squeeze through without much pain.

The best way to prevent gallstone attacks is by doing liver/gallbladder flushes. You can find a bunch of different ones with some internet searching (try curezone.com). With the one I do, you drink apple juice for 6 days to soften up the stones. On the 6th day, you eat light, and do some kind of colon cleanse. You drink some epsom salt solution to make the bile ducts stretchy. Then you drink a mixture of olive oil and grapefruit juice, then go to bed. In the morning, you drink some more epsom salt solution, and spend a lot of time on the toilet. I've had more than 500 stones come out in a single day before (they float, and look like little green peas). Then you do another colon cleanse the following day. The reason for the colon cleanse is that these stones often contain a lot of toxins that have been cleaned out of the blood, and you do NOT want any of them to get stuck in your intestine, re-digested, and back in your body.

The liver/gallbladder flush does amazing things for your health and energy levels. I'd recommend it to everybody. It really isn't that hard to do, and it helps your body function better in a lot of different ways... getting toxins out of your body, better digestion, better liver function, and cleaner blood. Not to mention, you'll remove gallstones on your terms when you are prepared for it, rather than have a gallstone obstruction, which really, really sucks.

12 years ago I had a gallstone attack.....it was VERY painful....I weighed around 300LBS at the time.....the medical folks told me I needed to have my gall bladder out...

I chose to refuse the medical establishments advice.....instead I chose to see a wellness doctor who some of my friends hippy parents swore by.....the wellness doctor they directed me to advice that was correct.....showed me that I was not drinking enough pure water....and my body was not absorbing the nutrients I needed......

I followed the advice I was given,,,,,,Since that time 12 years ago....I never had a gallstone attack......I ramped up nutrients by eating whole food coupled with drinking pure water......While many people who were in the situation I was in choose to remove their gall bladder, I chose to think outside the box....and im glad I did, as I still have my gall bladder, and no longer have the problems i did,,,,,,,,,12 years later........

[Ninja Homer]

Some foods actually need to be cooked for the body to be able to absorb the nutrients. Too much fiber from raw foods like vegetables and grains can also cause foods to pass through less digested so again you get fewer nutrients. It can also give you gas. Like anything, moderation is a good thing. Overcooking is a good way to destroy nutrients too.

Very good points. Cooking is also required for some vegetables to remove naturally occurring toxins, such as eggplant and other members of the nightshade family. High fiber greens like spinach and kale have a ton of nutrients in them, but the body can't absorb them unless they are cooked first.

The best way to cook veggies and keep all the nutrients in a digestible form is to steam them. Also, don't use microwaves to cook, because microwaves break down food to the point of not being usable by the body (go ahead and research it, microwave ovens are banned in a lot of countries for this reason).

The problem I have with the raw food diet is that it jumps back 10's of thousands of years if not 100's of thousands of years in human evolution. Humans have been cooking foods for a long time, and the human body has adjusted to it. There just isn't a need to jump back that far. I'd guess that 99% of all people would do great with a diet from 100 years ago; before processed foods, food additives, chemicals, microwaves, etc.

The other problem I have with the raw food diet is that it's yet another diet that says that everyone just has to eat this way and they'll lose weight, look great, and be healthy. The truth is, everybody's body is different, and every body has different diet requirements. You can have 3 people eating the exact same type and amount of foods and getting the exact same exercise, and 1 can get too skinny, 1 can get too fat, and 1 can be perfect with that diet.

If you really want to find the diet right for you, I'd suggest looking into Ayurveda. Ayurveda is an ancient Hindu system of natural health, with 5000 years of empirical evidence to back it up. For choosing a diet, you first figure out what your body type is, then you can get an idea of what the best foods are for your body type. Google it, and you'll find all kinds of info on it, online tests to figure out your body type, foods to include or avoid, etc.

[TC95]

Tonight I'm making the decision to go Raw. I don't cook, which I understand to be a good thing on a Raw Diet, however, can anyone offer some advice on these topics:

1) How often to eat

2) What to drink

3) Organic vs. Conventional

4) Supplements

5) Will Power

6) Addiction withdrawal

7) Budget concerns

8) Books to read/websites to look-up

Thanks!!!


My first day and I caved and went out to lunch. I guess I'm going to revert back to my "moderation" plan-not too healthy, not too unhealthy. Sigh...

If you want to go raw, I suggest asking your questions on a raw forum. I, personally, suggest rawfoodtalk.com as I like Alissa Cohen's approach to raw foods the best, but there are other raw forums as well. Some others are:

living-foods.com
goneraw.com
giveittomeraw.com


There may be other raw forums out there, but the above are the ones I know of right off the top of my head.

As far as books to read, I suggest Living on Live Food (http://www.alissacohen.com/shop/product.php?productid=37&cat=3&page=1) by Alissa Cohen.

As far as how often to eat, eat whenever you're hungry.

As far as what to drink, you can have water, homemade nut milks, smoothies, or fresh juices.

On organic vs. conventional, I would say that organic is best, but if you can't eat organic, just do the best you can. No pressure.

At least take a b12 supplement in the form of methylcobalmin not cyanocobalmin. I take one by Jarrow Formulas (http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails.aspx?c=1&pid=129).

As far as willpower, make sure you have plenty of food in the house, so you can eat whenever you're hungry, so you're less tempted to go get fast food or something. Also, take food with you when leaving the house in case you get hungry while you're out. If you do fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Just start over.

As far as addiction withdrawl, you might want to try to mimmick some of your favorite foods with raw recipes. Some of the sites listed above have recipes. Here is another recipe site as, well: fromsadtoraw.com

On budget concerns, you might want to get this Frugal Raw (http://frugalrawnews.blogspot.com/) e-book. It might give you some good tips. I've never checked it out myself, though. An obvious budget tip would be to look through your sale ads and shop sales.

[asgardshill]

Also, don't use microwaves to cook, because microwaves break down food to the point of not being usable by the body (go ahead and research it, microwave ovens are banned in a lot of countries for this reason).

Which countries? Can you name any? Microwave ovens were banned in the former Soviet Union from 1976 up until perestroika, but that's the only recent ban I can find.

[youngbuck]

Hey I won't argue raw foods are good for you.....

Raw foods provide absorbable nutrients to the body that are ready to be absorbed.......Im a BIG advocate of Spirulina, Chlorella, Flax Seed Oil, and Fish Oil...which are supplements that are whole raw food that will help your body....

My point is you don't ONLY have to eat raw foods to be healthy.....many of the raw food advocates only say raw food is good for you......while in reality cooked foods can be good for you too if you learn proper food combining as in no starches and proteins in the same meal.....and one other thing I might add.....if you are going the raw method (which is actually a much better diet than what the average americain consumes, but not the be all end all to good health).....make sure it is organic raw you are consuming,,,,,so you don't run the risk of your body being overcome with pesticides and chemicals.......the greatest risk from going the raw route route comes from not consuming organic raw......unorganic raw will load your body with unnatural chemicals......

Hey, sounds totally good. What I said wasn't necessarily in reply to something you said, I was just saying it to people in general who are ignorant or real diet/nutrition info. The same people who want to ban raw milk, don't think organic is any better for you, and think sugar boosts your immune system.