Hi Everyone!

I have seen over and over how people strive to be 100% raw, I am one of those. But, my question today is, what is the importance of it? I do it because I feel better, but also because being a newbie that's what people/sites say you your strive for.

So, what is the real significance of a 90% or 95% raw food diet versus an 100% one?

Thanks! Any answer will be greatly appreciated.

Love and peace out!

Nathalie

For me it is VERY important to be 100% raw because if I try to straddle the fence and have one food in raw and the other in cooked I move rapidly to having both feet on the cooked side of the fence and that puts me back where I started which I do not want to do ever again. When I eat something that is not raw I get cravings for more not raw foods as I have mentioned on this forum before so its something that I have learned to keep my guard up against and not do. The cravings I get when I "slip" aren't for meat or dairy as I never do those but are more for foods like baked potato or steamed veggies which are vegan but have the life force cooked out of them. After I eat even a bite of cooked the cravings start and are hard to resist. I am doing OK now but I don't let my guard down anymore. I envy the people who can straddle the fence.

I eat ingredients that are not raw but often included in raw recipe books. These are the only exceptions that I make, these I have decided to include in my diet. I doubt that I will include them forever, but for now they allow me a more inclusive diet that I am comfortable maintaining. The less rules I have, the easier this feels to me. I once had baked fries, and spiraled out of control on cooked food for a couple months. Now I know my limits, and a not raw ingredient in a meal of all raw foods does not set me over the edge, anything else would.

Sunflower
Raw Food Chef and Writer
Comfortably Raw
[www.comfortablyraw.com]

Nathalie,

It depends if you're just trying to get healthier or you are trying to heal from a serious chronic disease. If I had cancer or a life threatening chronic disease, I would strive for 100% until I was out of danger. But for improving your health, 100% may not be necessary.

But do what feels good for you. Also, as you do it longer, you may find that you like the feeling so much that you want to eat all raw.

By the way, do you mean 95% by volume, or 95% by calories?

A 80% by volume raw diet might actually only be 20% raw as a percentage of calories.

Thanks for your replies!!

Bryan, I meant 95% of your nutritional and caloric intake.

I do try to be as raw as I possibly can, because like I stated above I do feel so much better, energized and "in tune" that way. I understand EZ Rider about having something cook and then setting the cravings in motion, its nearly instantaneous.

But ... I was wondering does eating that one potato, some pieces of popcorn, a piece of (vegan) pizza, non raw ingridients (like Braggs or Nutrional Yeast) ect even slighlty, has some repercussions on a cellular, blood or even spiritual level.

I'm not hung up about it, I just would like to know, objectively.

Thanks again!

[I was wondering does eating that one potato, some pieces of popcorn, a piece of (vegan) pizza, non raw ingridients (like Braggs or Nutrional Yeast) ect even slighlty, has some repercussions on a cellular, blood or even spiritual level.]

It depends on what it is.

Fast food french fries cooked in oil that has been through 100s of cooking cycles: very very bad. It's hard to believe that some people eat these every day! Deep frying exposes the food to temps of 400F or higher.

Lightly steamed vegetables: pretty good, actually, not much damage occurs and the food is still very nutritious. Steaming is around 212F.

Pizza is pretty bad. To get that delicious crispy crust, they have to use high temps, around 450F.

The higher the temperature, the worse it will be.

I agree with the above great posts - of course. Ironically, the NEED to be 100% or 90% or whatever is directly related to YOUR health goals. Personally, my health road was quite bad when I transitioned about 10 years ago. I KNEW (after much prayer and research.......as I am both very religious AND rather scientific) that I would HAVE to eat an all-raw type of vegan diet if I ever hoped to gain my health back.

Side rant: So: I think people that are trying to be healthy by exerting a huge amount of 'control' or 'force' on their diet are attacking the symptom......while the cause is not being laser-clear about one's personal passions and goals/decisions. When one is doing something and pursuing those goals.....then the proper diet becomes clear....and not a burden.

Of note: It is intelligent to know that as one increases healthy living, one becomes sensitive to physical and emotional crap/blockages. This SHOULD be a good thing, but results in what we call detox. Thus, being at like 90% raw....and then eating a bean burrito.....MIGHT have...uhhh....'unexpected' consequences! LOL.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thanks again for replies! Thanks for the temp info Arugula.


[....as I am both very religious AND rather scientific) [that I would HAVE to eat an all-raw type of vegan diet if I ever hoped to gain my health back]

So, for you David, it DOES affect you on a physical level if you are not ALL raw, right?

I know we all have different heath levels, issues, goals etc., but at the end of the day we are human with similar physical compositions, so wouldn't you say that if it affects one person it would most likely affect others?

Hope I'm making any sense!

Nathalie

PS: BTW, David I sent you an e-mail a couple of weeks back about donating $ for an avocado tree on your farm, but I haven't heard back. Can you grow avocados in Central Florida?

cooked food has always had a noticeable negative physical affect in my experience, but it ranges from minor to major, and i can only assume a negative cellular/blood affect.

a major problem with eating cooked is that one does not experience true hunger

eating cooked causes false hunger

overeating

and

cravings, as mentioned.

Oh, I apologize Nathalie! Didn't get the e-mail. How bout I go ahead and plant the Avocado tree right away....and name it Nathalie, and you donate to the farm at your discretion? If you'll e-mail me again at Davidzanemason@hotmail.com, I'll send you pictures.

-In any event, I have been eating healthy so long, that I no longer seem to have any ill effects from eating crap! Ha! ha! (or not much anyway). I am certainly grateful....and this does NOT mean I'm going back to eating crap! LOL.

-Additionally....although science would have you believe we are all the same......I believe that even by appearance.......uniformity of form and function is....uhhh.....not entirely the case. I believe each person is very much their own puzzle....and does not always respond to the same treatments (be they medications, emotional or other physical treatments and interactions).

Personal rant: I don't believe in (what I call) the inner 'Disease of Empiricism'. The idea that there is a 'gold standard of reality'....and people just differ from it or don't. I believe each person is somewhat unique....and those unique qualities overlap....and we say...."Hey! I found a RULE! Ha! ha!"

So: My experience is that there is a spectrum of healthy eating / living tools. The need for any one of them will vary during the course of treatment.....and thus must be intelligently applied. This includes food, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual tools. Your standard list of:

1) Fresh air
2) Sunlight in eyes and skin
3) Light exercise
4) Joyful pursuit of one's goals
5) Pure water
6) Service work to take one beyond one's self
7) Quiet involvement in nature
8) Taking responsibility for one's self - as the one consciousness.
9) A spectrum of healthy foods

-These above items are rather simple, and cost little....yet yield great benefits when utilized.

-Sorry for the long post! I just felt like writing.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Thanks David that's awesome!!! My own namesake tree .. and avocado no less, gotta love it! I will come and visit it next year when I visit my sister in Orlando I will go to the site and make a donation for it.

Thanks again for your great reply and don't apologize for the long post. I've always enjoyed reading what you write, that's one of the things I wrote in the email. You are always very insightful and balanced. I like your personal rant too.


Fresh - that' so true about the the hunger comment. Thats one of the biggest changes I have felt since becoming raw. I hardly feel hunger when I'm doing 100% and the moment I sneak in something cooked the cravings and hunger appear with a vengeance.



Nathalie