You embrace the raw food concept. No other creature on earth cooks its food. This is undisputedly how nature intended us to eat for health.

Do you also embrace:

Mono meals?

Every animal eats one food at a time until it's full. This is incredibly satiating. They wouldn't pick a zucchini over there, a mango over there and then some sea salt over there, because what they eat isn't tasty enough. This is the best choice for digestion as foods with similar water content will digest better. So a piece of water melon together with a piece of water melon will digest better than a piece of water melon and a piece of honeydew.


Whole foods?

My friend says: Maybe in the future man will come up with a pill that gives everything we need. I countered with: That's impossible because you actually need that much carbohydrates, you need that amount of water and you need that much fiber. Then we are at the size and content of a fruit or vegetable. Can one ever argue that a part of a whole food is more nutritious that the whole one? Even if you make One slice with a knife through an apple, the part that is in contact with the air will oxidise and lose some nutrition.

Fresh foods?

Ripe and fresh foods (and whole foods) have the most dense nutrient content. If you worry that you get only 6 mg of zinc or iron per day, this is what I would recommend. If the food is unripe, it contains things we can't digest and chemicals that are hard on the system. If it's overripe, you wouldn't want to eat it either.

I'd like to add that I certainly recommend sometimes, and can easily argue for some supplementation due to the lacking quality of the soils today. The soils are not what they were 100 or 200 years ago. As much as we have developed and destroyed the planet during this short time, the soil has taken some punches. At the end of the day, we can say that we are as good as the earth is. However we can still eat as closely as possible to what we are physiologically designed for, if we are ready.


Organic foods?

There was a guy once who was in his elder days and got this eczema that only smokers or coal miners have. He didn't smoke at all. This was quite strange for him until he realised that he did smoke earlier in his life. Even though he had been clean for twenty years, he had smoked 50 (!). Some health issues can come later in life.

Pesticides and herbicides are chemical killing agents and every small action is a small step towards building health or destroying it. Maybe an eczema will arise when I'm 80 or maybe it will be much more serious for me, but nonetheless, every action has a consequence. It's like asking the question: Do I want to inhale the amount of car gases everyday that will make me function for forty years but after that troubles will arise? You know, a "trouble" for me would even be the heart simply stop beating at 79 or being able to walk but not run at 86.

So what is my point?

I can draw a parallel to what vegetarians say to meat eaters. Some of the meat eaters or most of them don't want to hear it. Because they're not ready to hear it (that's when they argue) or they're just not interested. Some of them actually recognise that maybe the vegetarians are right that it's not natural to eat animals, but that the meat eaters add that they have the right to have their life and eat what they want anyway.

As much as I've heard and read about food over the years, my Profound Realisation is that every diet with meat appears as a transitional diet to a vegetarian diet. Every vegetarian diet appears to be a transitional diet to vegan food. Every vegan diet appears do be transitional to a raw diet. And every raw diet appears to be a transitional diet to 80/10/10 raw vegan fruits and vegetables.

B12 puts a kink in your theory. There are other reasons for eating this diet, what is "most" natural is not always the best reason .

B12 is not present inside fruit. B12 can be present on fruit and most likely on organic fruits, near the stem. The bacteria that produces B12 died out in the soil with the introduction of chemicals in the 1940's. This is one reason B12 supplementation can be beneficial and doesn't contradict with our nature.

Even so eating masses of fruit in those days would likely not meet your b12 needs from what ive read.

We are also not animals either, i cant say im fond of the references of what other creatures do in the wild constantly with raw food and that we should be following suit. Not only is our genetic make-up different we as humans are exposed to so much more toxicity and stressors than creatures out in the wild are. Not to mention most of these eat bugs and as such arent vegan.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2011 06:08PM by powerlifer.

This was interesting and well delineated, Robin--thanks for posting

diatribe aside, you couldn't be more mistaken. Raw vegans as a group routinely rank low in a number of nutrients including b-12,iodine, zinc, omega 3s, others. The more restrictive you get in your selections the greater the risk of deficiencies just as the more you accept without discrimination the greater the risk of excesses. there is a golden mean but 811 ain't it. just my humble opinion. Pub Med is full of case studies on nutrient deficient vegans. Care about animals. just don't die for them. If you are dead, you can't help them.

Paul

Robin-811 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> B12 is not present inside fruit. B12 can be
> present on fruit and most likely on organic
> fruits, near the stem. The bacteria that produces
> B12 died out in the soil with the introduction of
> chemicals in the 1940's. This is one reason B12
> supplementation can be beneficial and doesn't
> contradict with our nature.

There is no raw vegan culture in record in human history. Throughout our history people have eaten cooked food and animal food. We are different. We have a choice to stay vegan and eat raw at whatever percentage. There is no way that a raw vegan diet is a natural diet. Or at best the evidence has not been discovered. Just my opinion. Just think for a moment, how are humans during winter supposed to survive? Where is the banana tree? You see my point. Fruit is seasonal. It never likely sustained humans all year round during our evolution. To think otherwise is just folly. You have a different choice today. Don't get wrapped up in what is "natural". Embrace what is healthy. And if you believe that is 811 more power to you. It's way too high in sugar for me. best
Paul

I say forget about all the dogma and the "shoulds" regarding the "right" way to eat, and do what feels right based on the awareness and consciousness available to you right now. My humble opinion is that this planet is extremely toxic- the soil is delpleted, we are bombarded by emf's, the air is spoiled by chemtrails and nuclear fallouts, and our water supply has all sorts of crap in it. There is no way that anyone can feed their bodies the nutrients they need and at the same time counter all of these toxins that we are constantly being exposed to by eating a simple raw vegan diet. Unless you live in a cave somewhere deep in a remote mountain, you cannot escape this pollution. To some degree or another, these poisons are in your organic raw food.

I also believe that for every problem, there is a solution. Superfoods and herbs and medicinal mushrooms from all over the world are now within reach, and are not only extremely nutrient-dense, but they have many properties that help to detoxify and protect us from this bombardment. I think it is extremely naive and even dangerous to believe that simply eating raw vegan foods is sufficient given our very "unnatural" worldwide pollution challenge.

It is a delicate balance to embrace taking care of ourselves and our planet during present times. Diet and lifestyle is a choice that is personal and different for everyone. Raw and living plant foods for me are life-giving and natural, and are the basis of my diet. And for me, they are only about one third of the whole picture. I also take in a good amount of powerful superfoods and herbs to round out my nutritional needs and give my body extra goodies to make up for the unnatural onslaught of so many environmental toxins.

We can only change ourselves and our own lives, and in that way, have a ripple effect to help nurture this earth to a healthy place again. I think by supporting each other for his/her individual choices is not only compassionate and constructive, but makes us more magnetic to attract those who might benefit from being around us, and then making positive changes in their lifestyle/diet. This approach is inclusive and healing.

I love herbs. I'm recently getting into them for the first time since I started my raw adventure. What a difference. It feels like having a clean(er) body allows my system to allow the herbs to more fully work their magic. Being SAD appears to obscure and/or full-on negate the positives of an herbal routine. I also like the place that they take my imagination. It's like a dark, lush, complex forest with some sun peeking through the trees. There's a kind of mysterious vibe about them that I'm real into. The study of herbs is fascinating too. Definite thumbs up on the herbal experience. And 80/10/10? I'm coming off of a recent experiment with the diet. Hmmmm, I don't know what to say other than I'm glad it works for others but it's not for me. I liked the immediate cleanse and will use it again for that purpose, maybe. Long-term it doesn't jibe with who I am.

Peace.

What herbs are you having good success with heavenhands? Im a big fan of herbs also.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Thanks for asking. Dr. Morse's adrenal and male tinctures (see links below) along with healthy doses of jiaogulan and some lighter doses of rooibos, lemon balm, and dandelion root. I've lately been brewing fresh mint and/or cilantro with my teas too.

[www.naturesbotanicalpharmacy.com]
[www.naturesbotanicalpharmacy.com]

Nice one love my adaptogenic herbs also probably because i had pretty severe adrenal fatigue. Jiaogulan still remains one of my favorite adaptogens and is the richest herbal sterol source. Tincture looks good although american licorice can be stimulating to some whilst chinese licorice is calming.

Rooibos is another of favorite, caffeine free, low in tannins and 30 times richer in antioxidants than green tea.

Watch the lemon balm as it can slow down thyroid function which is why it is good for hyperthyroidism.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Thanks for the tips!

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Even so eating masses of fruit in those days would likely not meet your b12 needs from what ive read.

You don't need to read about this. People like Dr. Graham, even in these modern days are perfectly fine on organic foods without supplements and have been for decades.

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We are also not animals either

We come from monkeys which we share 99% of our DNA with. Our physiology is similar to them and to other animals that eats fruits and vegetables, therefor it is our food also.

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Not only is our genetic make-up different we as humans

Again, we come from monkeys and our digestive systems haven't changed that much. We still have long intestines that slowly absorb all the sugar from fruit, instead of short ones that are meant to get meat out of the system fast for it not to putrefy.

Quote

Not to mention most of these eat bugs and as such arent vegan.

If you would choose, you wouldn't want to eat a bug that's on your fruit. It's like claiming; "No one is entirely vegan, because there accidently come some bugs with our plants, and therefor it's perfectly fine to call us carnivores and eat meat"



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2011 07:06AM by Robin-811.

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Raw vegans as a group routinely rank low in a number of nutrients

First of all, that's raw vegans which likely is not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about 80/10/10 dieters: Fruits and vegetables. Grains and nuts have inhibitors that counteract with the nutrients in the food, along with compromising digestion. Anything other than fruits and vegetables will compromise the digestion more than fruits and vegetables.

"Low" is different than being deficient. And we all know that RDA's don't necessarily match with people eating other stuff than the SAD diet. This is goldilocks nutrition. More isn't better.

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There is no way that anyone can feed their bodies the nutrients they need and at the same time counter all of these toxins that we are constantly being exposed to on a simple raw vegan diet

I hear you. I am absolutely for what your saying and I'm for some supplementation of that reason, whether it is a B12 pill or a medicinal root. And on top of that, we can still eat as closely as possible to our dietary nature if we choose to.

Life is a journey. As long as you allow yourself to evolve, you will.


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

robin,

One quibble: Ape-like ancestor, not monkey. Ape.

Thank you, rawgosia. 100% open-mindedness is the only way to evolve dietarily. Personally, I'm doing better on a diet that's less than 100% raw, though I do go weeks where all I eat is fruit. But we need not be fundamentalists or totally convinced we have the only truth at a given moment.

I fully agree.


RawGosia channel
RawGosia streams

I fully agree. If I come from a position of "I know better" rather than share my experience or explore something together, the message will have a hard time to be heard.

Quote

I'm doing better on a diet that's less than 100% raw.

Can you know that it's really the raw aspect that you're doing better without? Can you know that it's not a different way of being raw that would work even better than what you're doing now? Aware or unaware of that way?

Edit

When I was 100% raw I did not find it something that I wanted to continue doing for many reasons. I don't see a reason to do it ever again aside from dogma and that's just not healthy. To my mind it's far more important to maintain a balance in one's life, to aim for a very high level of health and satisfaction and that is going to be different for everyone. Diet is only one aspect of health after all, there are so many more elements. 100% raw is not even on my list anymore.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2011 12:44PM by coco.

/me sprikels nutritional yeast on fruit

life vs lifelessness

oh, man *facepalm* we are not animals? come on. humans are animals. *facepalm* let's get some basics down!