I have posted recently about my struggles with staying 100% raw and cooked binges that I have been struggling with. I thought that maybe I am suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder which I still believe has a part to play but recently have noticed something interesting. I decided to think back on my raw journey and figure out what dietary changes I have made that I can relate to my difficulties staying raw this winter. I remembered that I started having occasional cooked binges in September about a month or so afterI completely stopped salt consumption. So I decided to regress little bit in my diet and added a dressing that is not so raw and not so healthy (IMHO) since it has mustard and salt in it. I opted out for this because I thought that I had made an abrupt change that my body was not ready for because before that I was able to stay raw and happy for 8-9 months without any problems. So an interesting thing has happened since I introduced salt back in my diet I suddenly no longer have these unbearable cravings for cooked and feel just fine and content with my diet. I am very confused about this since I am still of the belief that salt as NaCl is unnecessary if not toxic for our bodies. Why would I have this sudden improvement? Very puzzled. I don't trust my body yet that much as to say that it "needs" the salt but I am trying to find some logic behind this. I have heard of people who have quit meat for a while and then attest of feeling great after tasting meat again and I do not for a moment believe that they "needed" the meat. I would very much appreciate your input.

irena,

Victoria Boutenko advocates consuming lots of green smoothies because she theorizes that cooked food cravings are just mineral cravings, such as for sodium and potassium. You'd have to consume a huge amount of leafy greens to make up for the loss of salt additive. I use a small amount of Portuguese sea salt; which has a good complement of minerals, every day and don't find that I have as many cravings as when I don't. I hope that eventually, my palate and neurology will get sensitive enough to be satisfied with sodium contents in foods. Cross fingers!

Irena,

Perhaps it would serve to see the conversion to raw as a process, one that takes some time for the body to adapt to the new foods while letting go of the old foods. The old foods provided a certain amount of stimulation that when prematurely released, may cause some difficulties (in this case, emotional or mental preferences).

For myself, I might get some salted foods if I go to a raw restaurant or eat a prepared raw food from the store. While my taste buds are stimulated, my body doesn't feel so great after eating those foods (I get really thirsty).

Remember that letting go of the huge varieties of cooked foods down to a smaller set of raw foods can be bit of a denial, and given other difficulties in one's life, it could be hard to accept this all at once.

I am a big fan of taking things slowly, and not forcing myself to deny myself anything. What I found in my experience is that denial gave power to those things that were denied, and soon it led to backsliding. What works better is to just be very conscious as you eat the transitional foods that might not feel so great after eating them, and let the foods slowly fall away by themselves.

I think adding raw seaweed to your raw food diet would probably be a healthier alternative than having dressing with mustard in it.

I like to add a little seaweed to my salads. Seaweed has iodine, plus the natural salt that clings to it.

Some store-bought seaweeds are saltier than others. Seaweeds can be rinsed in water to reduce their salt content.

My favorites are nori (the untoasted Emerald Cove is best IMO) and dulse. Dulse is saltier - too salty actually. It's probably best to rinse it. Nori is just right. Kelp flakes are sometimes very good.

Bryan that is a great post !

I can relate so much to struggling to get to 100% but i kept trying to eliminate so many things at once i kept just failing failing failing

it sounds like you have found your comfortable place for now .. in a awhile try cutting back a bit at a time untill it makes no difference to you anymore

i definately suffer from the winter blues too .. i cant wait for the day when i can pack it up for 4 months of the year an move closer to the sun .. its like the # 1 goal on my list to make this a possibility .. i love vancouver but after 40 years im really feeling the pull of a warmer climate ..at least part time lol .. i dont think i would ever leave here for good

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thank you all for your words of wisdom and support. I guess taking things slowly and making sure that I do not feel deprived is the way to go. This has been quite a growing experience for me on several levels since I do have the predispositon to have "all or nothing" attitude.

Right. The above suggestions are great. Especially for some one with eating or other emotional/psychological disorders, it is their 'over-riding' mind or 'attitude' that perpetuates problems...more so than any particular foods they are/are not eating.

Thus, the priority (for those folks) becomes eating in a way that eating becomes a NON-ISSUE and not something to be agonized over for a period of time. If the brain can do this for 30 days....then eating can proceed form a point of non-crisis from then on.

Just some quick thoughts.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

my own experience is that i was raw for 4.5 yrs prior to really being ready to give up salt. i didn't even realize how deep my addiction was until two months ago. It takes time to change tastebuds. The idea of going to raw foods is a tremendous change for people (especially in western culture), so i would not worry about it in the beginning. The idea is to consume a much higher degree of raw fruits and vegetables than society has taught us to. i like the bible saying 'can anything unsavory be eaten without salt?'...thats the way i felt regarding veggies. Still do. But now, the celery seems to be helping me tremendously.

If you are just going raw recently (like in the last couple of years), make sure you stay raw and eat much of fresh fruit and veggies. If salt helps you do that, then go for it. Try to use as healthy a salt as you can get, listen to your body because eventually it will tell you when its time to get rid of it.


Grace, Peace and love be multiplied.


todd

Hmmm when I switched to raw, I used non-fat/oil dressing and soya sauce. It was the vinegar in the dressing that was making my tongue sore, so I stopped using it. I found that just the soya sauce, which has heaps of salt, was enough to make my raw vegie salads palatable.

It's only been a few months, but I'm finding that my tastes are changing, and I've been using less and less of the salty soya sauce. I'll continue to use it until I fully enjoy the flavours of raw.

Mind you, I've stopped eating vegies that i didn't really like just because they were supposably high in this or that nutrient. I'm just eating the ones I really like, and find I don't need so much soya sauce.

Hi Irena,

I agree with the above post about smoothies. I got V.boutenko's 12 steps to raw this past Dec. while still eating mostly SAD. They have really done the work that she said they would in her book. I'm about 90 -95% raw since 1/1/09.

Bryan is absolutely correct. If we feel 'denied' certain food the attraction to them just gets stronger. It's a MARATHON not a sprint. Even though most of 2008 was spent eating SAD, I did manage to completely eliminate table salt (still use sea salt once in a while) & all sugar. When I started in Jan I didn't feel deprived. I hope this helps....

God Bless....
Joe