Hello all,

I recently came across this forum on raw food and it is great to see so many people moving towards a healthy lifestyle.

I went raw about a month back and I am curently 70% raw.

I eat raw during the day and have some cooked food at night. I have been a vegan/vegetarian for 5 years so no meat, fish, eggs, dairy or soy (recently stopped) in my cooked diet.

I have definitely noticed high energy levels and it feels great too. I have lost about 4 pounds during this first month. Reading books on raw food diet have further convinced me to stay on this path.

I had a few questions:

1. Prior to the raw food diet, I used to take a lot of supplements like Multivitamin, Vitamin C, MSM, B-Complex, Digestive Enzymes, etc. After I started the raw food diet, I didnt feel like taking any supplments. The whole high energy experience makes me feel great. However, do you think there are any specific supplements that I should be taking as a raw foodist?

2. During the last few days, I have noticed an increase in my heart rate. It concerns me a little since it happenned last night before sleeping and again right now as I am writing this email. Has anyone had their heart beating faster while on raw food? Any suggestions what I could do?

Any input on the questions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much

Welcome! Great / intelligent questions:

1) My experience is/was that supplements made me ill...after becoming a little more sensitive....so I stopped taking them many years ago and am glad that I did. I think that if YOU are concerned, then you will have to identify supplements to take care of YOUR specific concerns (a typical concern MIGHT be B-12...and I'm sure some of the wonderful folks on this board could recommend a B-12 supplement to you).

2) Racing heart or light-headedness is a normal detxox reaction. Make sure you get plenty of rest, pure water, fresh air....and that you don't alter your diet too quickly for YOUR system. If you feel very uncomfortable, dizzy or light-headed....then you might want to slow down your detox a bit by eating more...and heavier raw foods.

-Just a couple of quick suggestions / opinions / thoughts.

-David Z. Mason

Now keep in mind that I'm not a doctor. This is just personal experience. You may want to check your blood pressure when you feel like that.

Low blood pressure runs in my family and I have it also. When I feel like that I check my blood pressure and it's usually low. I had a doctor tell me that if I have a little sodium it will help to raise my blood pressure a little.

It could be that the raw diet has less sodium in it which can lower your blood pressure.

Again I'm no doctor. Just personal experience.

Thank you David and KelBel,

I am feeling less of the racing heart today. I am going to keep your suggestions in mind.

Thank you very much.

Just curious, why have you stopped eating soy?

I would recommend a B12 spray, from what I have read this product has the best absorption, and you get 175 servings.
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