Raw Foods?

[Valerie]

Anybody really familiar with the benefits of raw foods as a permanent lifestyle change? I've recently been given a pretty darn good reason to consider eating just raw foods and I'm looking to research it some more.

So if you know something, it would be great if you'd share it here!

[laura bowman]

i do!! i used to be nearly all raw a few years ago...lost too much weight though. caused me to be a little neurotic (or should i say MORE neurotic than i already am).

BUT, it did show my mom the path to raw food...and she really needed it. she's been raw 18 months and has lost over 100 pounds (she was over 300 when she started). she is now on lower meds for everything AND she got off oxygen.

i would say that a totally raw diet is only for someone with a serious health concern. because it is so extreme. that said, it isn't as hard as you might think either. there are a lot of really good books out there. i would recommend starting out slow. maybe 75% raw at first.

here is my mom's flickr set showing her loss up to this past february (she hasn't added pix since then):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritaet/sets/72157603841911207/

[laura bowman]

okay, i got to looking on my old computer files and found some stuff that i had sent to my mom years ago when she had started asking about raw food. i almost freaked out. i had forgotten how much control i used to have over the food in our house. i was insane!! but going insane led me to being able to start healing my food issues...without the insanity i might not have noticed how bad they were. oh my!! anyway, i'm going out on a huge limb by sharing this but i think there is helpful stuff in it. but what it boils down to is if you want to see major health changes, start with 2 simple things: eat only raw fruit before noon, and have a salad with every meal (eat the salad first). those 2 things will make a difference that you won't believe!! okay, here is a list of guidelines for a moderate raw diet that is designed for weight loss purposes but i'm sure is good for other health concerns:

Helpful Dietary Guidelines

1. Eat ONLY raw fruit or raw fruit juice until noon. So in the morning (after you’ve had your glass of water) you will be eating fruit for breakfast and nothing more…but as much as you want up until noon. Give yourself 30 minutes after having fruit before eating non-fruit foods.

2. Never eat fruit that is cooked or pasteurized. Fruit must always be eaten raw.
This is because the beneficial alkalinity of fruit changes to harmful acidity when it is cooked.

3. Do not mix fruit with any other foods! Fruit should only be eaten on an empty stomach. When fruit is combined with other foods in the stomach it spoils and disrupts the elimination process and causes it to stay in the stomach longer than it should along with the other food which will also spoil. Anything that disrupts the elimination process interferes with weight loss and good health.

4. Always eat a salad with lunch and supper-ALWAYS. Eat your salad first.

5. Eat at least 50% of your food intake in the form of live (raw) food.

6. Do not eat protein and starches in the same meal. For example a meal should be a salad and starchy vegetables, grains and/or beans; or a salad and protein with non-starchy vegetables, no grains or bread. Remember that sprouted beans are a protein but cooked beans are a starch. If you are eating no animal products this is extremely simple as you will not be consuming meat or dairy protein.

7. Vegetables can be eaten with everything except fruit.

8. Do not eat after 8 PM. If you do become hungry eat some fruit, but only if it has been 3 hours after eating a cooked meal or 2 hours after having a salad. The occasional late night air popped corn is not going to hurt your “diet” as long as it isn’t every night. Always know that you are doing your best and enjoying yourself in the process. Be flexible. Remember that a little popcorn after 8 PM is better than having fruit combined with other foods any time.

9. A good midday snack is a handful of raw nuts, raw seeds and/or unsulfured, unsweetened dry fruit. While you can eat a great quantity of fruit, dried fruit must be limited as it has no water. Dried fruit is not the same as fresh fruit and can be consumed with other foods whereas fresh fruit cannot.

10. Do not drink any liquids with meals. If you must have something try drinking a glass of water before the meal and if you still need liquid during the meal sip water very slowly so as to not disrupt and flush out the necessary stomach acids for digestion. Drinking too much water during a meal will lead to feeling bloated as your food cannot digest properly.

11. The only fluids you should consume are purified water, fresh juice or herbal teas.

12. When drinking fresh juice or smoothies, never gulp. Always sip them slowly mixing them with your saliva before swallowing.

This all may seem complicated but it is really quite simple once you get used to it. Fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, nuts and dry fruit for a snack, salad and beans or steamed veggies for supper. Even if you only make the change of “just fruit ‘til noon” you are going to feel a big difference in your energy and health. It is the most important change you can make. Most people are unaware that fruit is the most beneficial food they can eat and even if they do know it most people consume it incorrectly.>>

i can't believe i'm going to share this...

[Valerie]

Thanks Laura, this is an amazing amount of information. Some I knew. Kind of sounds like "Fit for Life", some I didn"t know. I'm very thankful for your stepping up and offering the info! You never know who you have touched with it and for whom it will make a huge difference.

Just to clarify, although I don't have any major health concerns except weight loss (LOL), my inquiry and efforts are in support of another family who's living with juvenile diabetes and considering raw foods. They are such wonderful people I committed to supporting them in their quest.

Oh, BTW, i switched to raw last week and have already lost 8# and have drastically improved vision. Huh, who knew?

[Valerie]

Amazing, really amazing. I'm sooooooo rooting for her. Well, and for me too, now that I think of it!

[Kimberly Slage]

I had started raw foods a few weeks ago. I had so much energy, felt positive and was overall a new person. THEN..............the kids went to Orlando for Thanksgiving and I stayed back to watch our animals....................I fell off the wagon BAD...I am anxious to start back up again. Thanks for the discussion. I needed it:)

Peace & Love,

Kimberly

[EL]

I've come across these guidelines before and the reasoning behind them always left me scratching my head. I can only suppose I'm not used to the jargon and the advocates mean something besides the chemical definitions when they say "acid" and "alkaline" because almost all raw fruit is decidedly acidic. Some varieties of very ripe bland apples and very ripe apricots are actually slightly alkaline, but other than those, raw fruits are acidic. This is easily settled by cutting a ripe orange or ripe strawberry in half and touching it with litmus paper. I immediately indicates acidity.

Nor does fruit become more acidic when it is cooked, often just the opposite since some of the acidic components are destroyed by heat and in some cases enzymes that convert the acidity are accelerated as the fruit heats.

Acids are not nutritional bad guys. Many of the vital phytochemicals are acids including folic acid, phenolic acid, ascorbic acid, ferulic acid, and the list goes on and on so far that humankind will likely never know the half of them.

Another factor of a diet composed of all or mostly raw foods is the human digestion is only capable of making use of a very small amount of the vital nutrients in some foods when they are consumed raw. A very great deal more lycopene is absorbed from cooked tomatoes than from raw ones and much more beta-carotene and phenolic acid is available from cooked carrots than raw. The best nutrition comes from some cooked and some raw of most vegetables.

[laura bowman]

The best nutrition comes from some cooked and some raw of most vegetables.>>

this is why i don't recommend 100% for anyone except in extreme circumstances. for the most part i feel 50-75% is best. i don't eat that much raw right now because of the season...but if i were trying to heal something or lose weight i would get more raw regardless of the season.

i don't get the acid thing much either, all that info is from stuff i read in several books that seemed to agree on that fact. i don't know, i'm not a scientist.

i know the one thing i missed was lycopene from cooked tomatoes for the mood enhancing effects...and like the skit from prairie home companion goes, you gotta have your ketchup! LOL. well, i don't care much for ketchup, but i do know that when i make my salsa with canned tomatoes as opposed to raw, i do have a sort of high feeling. i think that goes for all foods with cooked tomato sauces, like pizza and pastas!!!!

so moderation in all things...even moderation =)...unless you're sick!!!

[laura bowman]

you MUST get them this book: Raw Family by the Boutenko family.

check out their website here: http://www.rawfamily.com

their son sergei had juvenile diabetes and here is his story:
http://www.rawfamily.com/sergei.htm

[Jody]

Great discussion! We are raw foodies at our house. My 16yo daughter had a serious health concern and jumped in 100%. Within a month her health started to improve and within 5 months she was totally well, no meds, no wheelchair, etc. Her story is going to be put into a documentary, check out www.bethanysstory.com. We have found the best advice on the following websites (in addition to the wonderful ones already mentioned) www.rawlife.com, www.rawreform.com, www.lovingraw.com. And for Kimberly and others that started, then got sidetracked, it's ok! If you feel inclined to try it again, just jump back into it! I have been 50-75 % raw for about 9 months, have lost 55 pounds, no more prediabetic conditions, no more achy joints, no more ugly dermatitis on my arms, hands, wrists. I feel younger than 10 years ago, and hopefully I still have more youthulness to gain! Still need to lose about 50 more pounds, but I am hopeful. And on days when I don't do so well ( we all mess up occasionally) I just remind myself of my health goals and lovingly kick my butt back into action! ( : It's not impossible, and once you get going it is a wonderful lifestyle, effecting so much more than your food habits.

[Lorrie]

Oh Jody, if I only had your willpower!! I need to lose weight, I need energy, and I NEED to feel good. I want so badly to eat more healthy, but find it so hard this time of the year to eat mostly salads and all. That is awesome that you lost 50 lbs.!!

[Jody]

It would be more awesome if I could be more diligent! And I still have 50 pounds to go! Just start by making 50% of each meal raw. That way you don't have to really give anything up just yet.

[Valerie]

Wow. Jody this is an amazing story. The fact that your daughter is no longer in a wheelchair brings tears to my eyes. I wish we'd given this consideration when my father became wheelchair bound.
Congrats on the weight loss - that's definitely worthy of a round of applause. I'm finding the lifestyle change much easier to maintain because I'm doing it with someone else, who doesn't really have a choice if he wants to maintain his health. Alone would be entirely too difficult for me - I don't believe I would be that committed. "I can borrow willpower from a friend."
I've got lots of pounds to lose (too many to list here) and have lost 10 since Thanksgiving, simply by choosing to stick within about a 75% raw regime. Talking with people like you online makes a huge difference.