Hi guys

I am new to this but find it very interesting and have started to try to follow an aproximately 50% raw food diet. I now I will not be able to do any more than that, for several personal reasons plus I lack the motivation and the commitment.

I have several questions, probably silly ones:

- Is it true that if I go for raw I should make a meal completely raw "to avoid the digestion process and get more energy as a result? Like, what happens if I have a meal full of vegetables and fruit and I put in my salad, say, a can of tuna? Or I have home-made muesli with say, soya milk?

- When you say you drink "purified water", how do you purify it? I have a "Brita" water jag, is that any good? Or do you refer to bottled mineral water?

- And the most important one, really: I try to make two meals a day out of raw food. I have a big big salad, some avocado, some nuts, and loads and loads of fruit. But someone I know said I should avoid eating too much fruit due to its high sugar content. Is this true? On a diet like this with limited things to be eaten if I avoid fruit I'll be left with not too much variety at all!

Thanks everyone in advance and apologies if all the above sound silly!

Fruit is healthy, just eat various different kinds.

I drink tap water and spring water, but a water purification system or reverse osmosis is good, I think.

What happens if you eat a can of tuna? You've created a demand for some fish and dolphins to die. That's a downside. It has chemicals and is processed, very little nutritional value. But I understand wanting to eat something for taste and comfort - just try, if you can, to take other beings into consideration, and if you decide that it's more important for you to eat tuna, then so be it. It's your decision (probably don't want to talk about it too much because this is a vegan board). You probably won't gain much energy from the tuna.

Muesli with soya milk...I mean, it's not the end of the world, but there are healthIER things to eat, like soaked grains/nuts/seeds with a homemade milk. But if you eat a balanced diet and feel well on 50% raw, I don't think anything will "happen" per se. No worries.

- All foods have to go through the digestion process, raw or cooked.
The result to putting cooked foods together with raw foods is that it can slow down the digestion of the raw food (especially fruit) so that they can cause gas & bloat.
The best tasting milk I have ever tasted is made from fresh raw young coconuts blending the "juice" and the "meat" together until smooth.

- I like drinking clean water. I don't think any water purification system will clean up the water 100%. The cleaner the water the better IMO.

- Fruit is a very good food for humans. Whole fruits have a fairly fast digestion time but the fiber in the fruit slows down the digestion time enough so that you will not will not get too much natural sugar too fast. Enjoy all of the natural foods knowing that God made them as food for you.

Hi guys

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. That is exactly what I wanted to know.

Utopian life, I realize this is a vegan forum, the can of tuna example wasn't a very good one. In actual fact I eat very little fish and meat but I confess to be too selfish to give it up completely, as I like it a lot. But they're actual tiny amounts and I'm not making excuses, really. In any case I do take your point and will avoid mentioning that sort of thing

I read in another post that someone was not a "real raw food-ist" because he ate salt, among other things. Is salt processed as well? So what about olives in a jar (I know they add salt to them). I don't know where I'll find olives that are not processed then... will have to search more health shops. Are rice milk, almond milk and oat milk ok?

Thanks again everyone

Including increasing amounts of raw foods in your existing diet will alway be healthier than not doing it. If initially you need some cooked foods in each meal, and this feels good to you, then definitely do this.

As others have mentioned, mixing certain foods together will cause some digestive distress. You can either read up about "food combining", or learn by trial and error with your own personal experience.

If you are going to include fruit in your meals, I would eat the fruit first, let it digest for a while, and then include your heavier cooked foods.

Don't worry about labels ("real raw food-ist". See how you feel, and how something feels in your body. Salt is an addictive substance, but if it makes your life better, then continue to include it. But you can also have an experience of eating food without it, allowing your taste buds to become de-overstimulated from chemicals and to enjoy the natural un-enhanced taste of foods in their original state.

I don't know about the term "real raw foodist". I think what is important is what does raw mean to YOU. If salting your foods lightly makes you feel good and helps you stick with raw foods then I don't see anything wrong with it. I use salt occasionally and I consider myself a raw foodist. Sometimes I use nama shoyu or certain vinegars when I make dressings and sauces. Some people react badly to it though and do not use it. For the most part, your body will tell you what it likes and doesn't like. For instance, I made a raw squash soup once and while I used to love the cooked version, the raw version was harsh on my stomach.

You can find sun cured olives but most olives in supermarkets are not raw.

It would be a safe bet to assume that the rice, almond and oat milk in supermarkets have been pasteurized. Basically I try to avoid as many packaged things as I can. You can make almond milk (and other nut milks) quite easily at home. It is getting harder and harder to find truly raw nuts but there are places online you can order them such as this site



My website: The Coconut Chronicles