Hi Everyone,

I am new to this board. I started eating a high raw diet a few months ago and it has changed my life. I am completely off coffee and for the first time in my life I feel no desire to go back. That is because fresh veggie juice and spirulina provide me with all the energy I need!! Here is the situation I need help with.

If I have had a hectic day or I want to be creative and relax my mind, I reach for wine. I don't like this, because I don't like the side effects that I experience with alcohol. I have tried Kava as a substitute and it is just so nasty, I can't do it! Nature has provided me with healthy substitutes for coffee. Now if I could just find a way to substitute the alcohol habit I would be very happy! Please tell me what you do. Any recipes that work for you?

Thanks!!

The first raw food book I ever bought was back in the mid-80s at a used shop. It was by Dick Gregory, the Black comedian and activist and believe it or not, he was a raw fooder. A fruitarian, to be exact, and this was in the late '60s or early '70s. In any case, his book was printed in the early '70s and he had a juice recipe for anxiety that combined apples and celery. It really works--try it!

First you should address any possible nutritional deficiencies that could be causing your anxiety such as omega-3's, magnesium, B-vitamins, and zinc. It could also be some type of body toxicity and you are most likely going to be going through more phases of detox if you just recently started a raw diet. These bouts of detox can cause temporary anxiety and in fact your alcohol use may be what's actually causing anxiety, creating sort of a vicious cycle. You drink to relieve anxiety but drinking only perpetuates the problem when you're not drinking and therefore it's a never-ending cycle until you stop drinking, which I'm guessing would have temporary withdrawal effects.

Nonetheless, there are still ways to combat anxiety, some of which include reishi, valerian root, passionflower, ashwagandha and turmeric/curcumin. You could also have low levels of healthy gut bacteria so probiotics may offer relief. Exercise is definitely important and any time you start to feel anxiety, try deep breathing exercises. Take a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for 5-10 seconds and slowly exhale through your mouth, and repeat a few times.

no tips or advice

i always feel that people who have a good handle on diet

and have some sort of addiction

its not cuz of their diet

but cuz a REAL issue is in their life, not being properly dealt with