I just ate fried potatoes -- Wait, before you jump to conclusions, it was an organic Russet potato diced and fried in virgin olive oil.

The rest of the day was mostly raw, with exception of organic grain bread.

Do any of you believe that the fried potatoes "undid" the enzyme consumption of the rest of the day? Of course not. So what, then, is wrong with an 80 percent raw diet, as long as the cooked portions are natural and organic?

In other words, frying organic potatoes in olive oil does not produce carcinogens, like cooking meat does.

One might argue that the volume of food in those potatoes could have been better served eating raw. However, suppose someone else eats 100 percent raw, but I eat more raw in one day than that person. Don't I still come out ahead?

I'd like your take on this.

nothing is wrong with 80% raw. but if you are wondering if
100% is better, maybe you could do each for a month and then
decide.

all oil ..even olive oil produces some amount of carinogens when heated to high heats

i'll try to find a link for you on that.

"nothing is right or wrong but thinking it maketh it so"

william shakespeare

u call the shots shelbi
no ones gonna tell u if its right or wrong

u decide
however jgunn is correct
heated to high degree the oil goes from its cis to trans form
and trans fatty acids are carcinogenic

and eating cooked foods
mobilizes the leukocytes ( white blood cells)
to that area
as if it were a foreign invader

then it enervates the system

but back to your original question
"what is wrong" with that?

it isn't, unless you think it is
it is, if you think it is

like i said

up to you whatever u wanna think

Shellbi Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In other words, frying organic potatoes in olive
> oil does not produce carcinogens, like cooking
> meat does.

As far as I know, it does produce carcinogens. Contrary to popular belief, olive oil is not good for cooking. If you really must cook with a fat, highly saturated fats, eg coconut oil, are the most stable when heated.

As for the rest of the question, the only answer is to find a diet which works for you. Personally I feel a lot better even going from around 90-95% raw to 99-100% raw. So the about idea to try 100% for a while and see how you feel, although one month may or may not be long enough to experience the full benefits of 100%, depending on how long you have been high raw for.

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

I have a few things to say about the enzyme thing, but before that let me say that I agree that you should continue using these foods if you feel that they are healthful foods if they allow you to continue to add more raw 'enzyme-active' whole fresh foods into your diet.

opinion:

I think the enzyme issue is a somewhat faulty premise for rationalizing or arguing against a raw food diet.

I also think your idea of 'comming out ahead' has more than a few problems.

heres why

the enzyme thing creates somewhat of an umbrella to include all foods that are 'enzyme active' often in any quantities or combinations, there are many unhealthful foods that would fit into this category. for your purposes I would say a whole baked potato would be more healthful than a cup of enzyme-active agave nectar.

it allows this idea that the more raw foods one includes is somehow creating health , and similiarly this idea carrys over to labels like 'organic' and 'whole', that they function in this way also, which they do not.

and, like it your situation, it causes one to think that they are actually getting 'benefit' from eating enzyme rich foods. don't get me wrong, enzyme rich whole foods are the optimal for nutrition and assimilation. but what you are really after is a cleansing diet, a a healing diet, NOT an enzyme rich diet . The enzyme-rich diet will of cource follow if you are eating whole fresh ripe [organic] plant foods (fruits). but the healing will only take place as you slowly remove the cause (heated oils and gluten grains) from your diet completely

There is no tolerance in me for even the smell of grease burning. Wether in stores, restuarants, driving, street fairs, concerts , I have to run from that smell. Same for people burning animals outside in thier animal burners.

elantural_1

As jgunn, la_veronique, and Funky Rob said, there are carcinogens in heated oil.

Food contains both nutrients and anti-nutrients. When the food is cooked, the anti-nutrients (like carcinogens) increase. So while you may eat more raw food than I do in a day, because you are eating cooked foods, you are also eating more anti-nutrients that I do. So your body has to spend a lot more energy removing anti-nutrients than my body does, and this energy could be going towards healing damage that has been occurring during your entire lifetime from a previous diet of mostly only cooked foods.

A healthier way to prepare cooked potatoes is to steam or boil them. This limits their temperature to 212 degrees Fahrenheit, which also prevents the creation of a deadly carcinogen called acrylamide. After cooking the potato, if you want a little bit of fat, spread fresh avocado on the potato, or if you like olive oil, use a bit on the potato.

I agree with Anaken about the faulty premise of enzymes in raw foods. What makes raw foods so beneficial is that they are the highest in nutrients and lowest in anti-nutrients. The nutrients include vitamins, minerals, water, fiber, phytonutrients (anti-oxidants, etc), while the anti-nutrients include carcingens, charcoal, damaged amino acids, etc.

I agree with Bryan. The many qualities of fresh, raw plant food...make it more optimal. YOU have to decide what level of that is consistently right for you. Have a "How much good can I do?" mentality.....not a "How much bad can I get away with." Ha! ha! Don't you think?

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Hi Shellbi,
Acrylamide is a carcinogen formed by heating carbohydrates to a high temperature- for example, baked breads, deep-fried potatoes, potato chips, and pizza crust. The presense of acrylamide in cooked carbohydrates was first publisized by Swedish scientists in 2002. The issue has been considered so important that the United Nations and the World Health Organization established a joint website for sharing inforamtion on the subject: [www.who.int]

Chickory

BE CAREFUL, frying foods with olive oil. IF you must fry,Coconut oil is the best oil to cook with. The high temperature changes the olive oil into a chemical that creates more free radicals in your body. THE RULE OF THUMB;if you can't stick your finger in the pot,it's too hot to cook with olive oil. Don't get me wrong, Olive oil is great source of vitamen E,just use O/O on your foods after you cooked it. Read on www.mercola.com