Hi,

I've been vegetarian for about a year and a half (plan to go vegan this summer). I want to try the raw food diet, basically out of curiousity. My friend said he sleeps less, feels better, etc...which is something I want to find out for myself.

I'm gonna try it this winter break (it's a month long). My questions are:

-How strict do I have to be? Ideally, I want to try it 100% but chances are there are gonna be nights ONCE IN AWHILE that my parents will cook vegetarian (or possibly vegan) that I'll probably have to eat.

-How strict on organic? Once again, I wish I could eat 100% organic but it's not happening. My parents won't be willing to give me extra money for groceries to buy more expensive stuff. I'll be eating stuff that's mostly non-organic (but some of it will be organic).

-How fast should one expect "results" on feeling better, sleeping less, etc? A few days, a few weeks, a few months? I'll be home for 1 month and like I said I'm kind of doing this more out of curiousity (and possibly doing it more when I get the chance if I like it) so I'd like to see how it is in within one month if possible.

Thanks,
Kenny

Ha! ha! You are already ON the raw food diet! There is always SOME level of raw food that you DO eat......then it's just a matter of increasing your over-all percentage for a lifetime.

Opinion: I encourage you to make 'lifetime commitments'. If YOU have determined there is something that YOU think is bad (especially if you think something else is better) then I encourage you to NEVER settle for second best. If YOU think eating fresh fruits and vegetables are better for you than cooked vegetarian... then I would encourage you to NEVER violate what YOU have determined to be YOUR goals.

-There are no raw food police. There are only YOUR goals...and getting to them. Don't settle for second best in THAT arena! LOL>

-Eating raw is not synonymous with organic. Just eat the fruits and vegetables that you think you can afford. My own experience is that I rarely eat organic. Most of the time, it is not available or too expensive for me.

-Many people experience significant benefits within 30 days. Others (like myself) require a bit more time and healing to undue perhaps 20 years of abuse! Ha! ha! I took a nice steady 2 years to finish most of my major changes.

-Just my experiences / opinions.

Thanks for the info. Well I mean this is something I just want to experiment with, see if I like it. It won't even really be an option to live it until next school year due to tons of circumstances...

My question about eating all organic vs. very little organic was more about like.......will eating all non-organic have close to the same benefits? I mean I'm only going to do it my way, I just want to know if I'll have the same (or close to the same) benefits as someone doing all organic.

More questions:

-I've heard people say you have to sleep less and you have more energy. Can this have detrimental effects on the body? The body is used to having 8 hours of sleep...

-This might be a dumb question...but do most of you stay full or are you usually hungry? Once in awhile I'll try having an all raw meal and I'm still hungry after eating a decent amount of food. Do you just have to eat more than usual or does your body eventually adjust to what you're usually feeding it?

With regards to strictness, eventually it will be more out of joy than out of restriction that you will eat more and more raw foods. Plus, as I have experienced several times (i guess unfortunately), once you go all raw even for a few weeks, when you have cooked food again, the body reacts in a way that you have never experienced before . You're not gonna die, or even throw up or anything like that, but there is definitely a feeling of something not being right in the body when cooked food is introduced after eating raw foods for a while. Even when you burp you will notice a terrible smell. And it doesnt even have to be from eating cooked meat, it can be just rice or something.... at least this has been my experience.

At the same time, it was awesome to see that my body was actually getting cleaner, which is why it was reacting in such a way to cooked foods :-)

-You are already living it! You are on the raw food spectrum....even if you only eat on overall 1% raw in YOUR diet. Don't think 'all-or-nothing' you know? It's all about what's right for you...and stretching from there (just my opinion).

-In my opinion, eating Organic is a refinement and not a rite of entry. Ha! Ha! I would say that eating a consistent..lifetime increase of fresh (conventional) fruits and vegetables will yield you tremendous short-term and long term benefits over even an occasional cooked vegan diet. That is just my opinion and personal experience.

-My experience is that I sleep about the same or slightly less (7.5 hours per night) while experiencing much more restful sleep.

-I stay full - and am never hungry. If you are used to eating massive quantities of cooked foods...it will take time for your digestive system to shrink...and to better absorb fresh fruits and vegetables. Even after transitioning to all raw....I would eat LARGE quantities of fresh greens and often large quantities of fruit. This tapered off as I learned that eating one thing at a time allowed true satiation and full digestion signals to reach my brain! LOL.

-Hope this answers a few of your questions.

-David Z. Mason

sometimes when shopping i'm faced with the choice, a raw product OR an organic one (both aren't offered)and wonder which to choose. lately i've been choosing raw but i wonder....any opinions? thanks, leila

teapata Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> sometimes when shopping i'm faced with the choice,
> a raw product OR an organic one (both aren't
> offered)and wonder which to choose. lately i've
> been choosing raw but i wonder....any opinions?

David provided a perfect one above, I could not even alter one letter to improve it. It is so perfect that it bears repeating often:

"eating Organic is a refinement and not a rite of entry. Ha! Ha! I would say that eating a consistent..lifetime increase of fresh (conventional) fruits and vegetables will yield you tremendous short-term and long term benefits over even an occasional cooked vegan diet."

Kenny:

I would urge you to do extensive reading before you become RAW. Or you might professionally consult with someone who has the experience and knowledge to lead you through your first stages. Eating raw is like anything else in life - mastery comes with time, focus, education and commitment.

Best,

Anne Kaspar
BodyByBliss.com
bodybybliss@gmail.com
505.690.0169

Sodoffsocks's three step program to becomming raw vegan:
1) Don't cook your food.
2) Place food in mouth.
3) Chew.

;-)

Cheers,
Ian.

My experience has been that when you make a drastic switch, you get drastic results both good and bad. Good because you are eating better foods, bad because you're body simply isn't used to it. I encourage people to be super in tune with their bodies and listen so well that even by making very slight adjustments they can tell/feel how it reacts in the body. If you aren't sure whether raw food is better then cooked food, you don't have to go an it a whole month. Eat one meal completely cooked and one completely raw. If you are listening to your body you will feel a difference. The cooked food meal will completely drain you of energy, the raw one will give you a euphoria. Of course, you have to do the raw one correctly (i.e. qualities, quantities, combining, timing, etc.).

Secondly, organic food doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. I average about $5.50 per meal on about 90% organic. They may be spendy to some, but you just have to decide what your priorities are. If you make it a priority, it's not prohibitive. Considering the fact that organic produce has been shown to contain double and triple the nutrition, this really is not a bad deal. You get what you pay for . . .

Secondly, become acquainted with which product contamination levels. Some have very little contamination and others are loaded.

12 Most Contaminated Buy These Organic

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

12 Least Contaminated

• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet Corn (Frozen)
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Aspargus
• Sweet Peas (Frozen)
• Kiwi Fruit
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Papaya

As far as results, you should notice some immediately, some more later, and as time goes on even more. It's working on different levels of the body over time.

If you want a basic overview on rawfood, I've completed an eBook at radicalvitality.com

If you'd like a copy, let me know and I'll send you one free.

-Ryan



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2006 11:15PM by ryandvan.