Hi there,
I've been settling into a comfortable way with raw food for 3yrs now, and feel that i am on the right path for me, my diet is still changing but i am basically happy.
However, I know a few people in my extended social network who have really struggled with raw foods, got quite sick, and then not been able to tolerate much raw food at all. Why do you think this might be? Can this happen if one takes the wrong approach to going raw? Is there a 'wrong' way? How many people are getting discouraged and giving up after a year or two because they are actually feeling so much worse? It's always encouraging to hear of people doing well on raw....but less common to hear of people for whom it doesn't work.....so i'm interested because my experience tells me that it doesn't seem to be working for everyone i know.
I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on this....
Much love
Shell

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[www.therawkitchen.blogspot.com]

hi shell! i have only been raw for about 3 weeks. i had very bad stomach pains around the end of the 1st week.

however, i got some really good advice about food combinations on this website. since i followed the advice, i have had no more problems. someone also suggested that i blend some of my food at first to decrease indigestion and aide the digestion process. all of these things worked great and i feel better than i ever felt before.

i think that it could work for everyone. but i also think, based on my own experience, that there is a particular way for each individual. and each individual just has to discover their own way. i am still learning and experimenting, but i am so glad i have not given up. the benefits are so amazing!

yeah, i really believe that too....that the benefits are so amazing that it's worth going through a bit of trial and error to find what's right for you. Support and information really helps....

According to traditional Ayurveda, there are certain constitutions that are not suited to raw foods....however, Gabriel Cousens seems to be of the opinion that all constitutions can do well with raw foods if the diet is individualised.

One of my friends who gets sick from raw foods, and now has liver and gall bladder issues, cannot tolerate much fat. On raw, she was eating a lot of fat (nuts, raw chocolate etc), whereas now she eats mainly cooked veggies and cooked sprouted lentils.

It's all relative i s'pose........there are unhealthy ways to eat raw, just as there are healthy ways to eat cooked....although in my experience I have felt the best oon a balanced raw diet!!!

Transitioning slowly perhaps is also a key element to succeeding. Too extreme a shift initially can throw the body off balance and shock the system.
From the chinese medicine perspective, too many raw foods can be weakening to the system. Maybe this could be true if someone from a cold climate eats nothing but salads, for example.

So i guess for some people, it might take more work to find a raw way of eating that suits them and works for them, because there may be other factors at play which make eating raw more challenging (constitution/weather/social/motivational factors for example)

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[www.therawkitchen.blogspot.com]

Hi Tamu, I've been eating mostly raw for 4 years now. I've never been 100% for very long, but I've never eaten much cooked food either. Usually at social functions or at the end of the day after I have a gigantic salad.
Mostly I live on juice, fruit and salad. Not too many nuts really. A couple of avos a week. I've done 4 juice fasts and after the last one, I added green juice to my daily intake. I feel pretty good.
It did take me some work as you say to find a rawish diet that works for me. I feel best eating raw. Of the cooked things I eat, I am finding that more and more cooked tasted awful and I cross it off my list of cravings. I also should add that after eating this way for several years, I found I was able to tolerate a little healthy cooked every now and then without consequences other than a slow down of energy. When I eat 100% raw, I get too high. Like a hummingbird. But, I am learning to be that ecstatic. Just slowly.
My taste buds have become more refined I guess. When I first went raw, some raw recipes tasted awful to me! Now, I gobble them up.
So, to answer your question, it has been a process for me. But raw still works for my body. Oh, I did a few liver flushes and I take herbs and MSM too. Exercise and getting enough sleep become pretty important once the diet is going well. Then, its just a question of living I suppose. Or right living. Or fun living. :]

i am not usually "INTO" food combining... but i can tell you that i certainly avoid certain combos that give me major pain in the digestive tract...

i think that your friend should read some books and do trial and error with food combinations and other "types" of eating...

i can't say 100 percent that raw is what everyone can thrive on ( there is always an exception) but i can say wiht most certainty that the well over 98 percento f the population can and would/will thrive on 100 raw with many benefits.

jmho.... but really, buy this friend a food combinging book or two... and offer to "cook" some meals together and really support her/him through this.....

Love and Light

Tiffntwins

`•.¸¸.•´¯`•.¸.´¯`•...¸><((((º>

SWIM FREE FISHES!

Yes. It's my opinion that SOME level of fresh fruits and vegetables would work well for everyone....health-wise.....and science and nutrition seem to back up this assertion. Each person would have to establish their own level of healthy eating....and the subsequent detox elimination of toxins and deposits being broken down and released back into the blood and system for evacuation and elimination from the body.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

In my opinion yes....but I think it's the other way around...is everybody best for raw because everybody has their own interpretations of what's going on with their detox, etc.

I've seen a lot of raw foodists get sick on the diet and have to quit raw foods. For any kind of diet, there can be a healthy and unhealthy version of the diet. An unhealthy raw food diet will be full of fats and highly processed foods. A healthy raw diet will be mostly fresh produce with low fats and low amounts of processed foods.

Part of the problems is a lot of raw foodists have no idea how much fat they are eating. A persons diet could be 90% fruits and vegetables by volume or by weight, but if you look at the fat percentages in terms of calories, there could be an excess of 50% fat as a percentage of calories.

Also, a lot of raw proponents propose eating foods that aren't so healthful. They can be very fun and stimulating and make you feel good in the moment, but ultimately they are more drugs than food and can lead to a decline of health.

Thanks for all your responses. David, that makes sense about some level of raw food being appropriate for everybody. And also the interpretation thing FO mentions.....my grandparents, for example, can only tolerate a very small amount of raw food. They are both on tonnes of medication, my gran has IBS and a host of other ailments...etc. I once gave her some aloe vera for the IBS which caused a bout of severe diarrhoea....it seems like just the tiniest amount of living food causes a detox reaction....they attributed the sickness to the aloe vera, whereas I see it as the life force in the aloe vera triggering a healing reaction in the body. In her case it's maybe kindest to lay off the raw food, as the toxic burden is too great, and the cleansing reactions are too strong.
So, initially, there has to be a wllingness to go through the detox....and perhaps also enough strength in the body to deal with the detox.
Bryan, you definitely have a good point about not all raw diets being equal. I have seen how too much fat and chocolate can do a person damage.....and also experienced this myself, having worked in the raw chocolate business for most of last year. I always felt happier when I limited my fat intake, and got plenty of water rich food and greens in. I know when I have overdone it, because i start feeling stagnant, and get referred liver and gall bladder pain in my upper back, shoulders and between my ribs on the right side. It seems I am more sensitive to this the longer i am on this raw path.
Thanks again for all your responses.
With love,
shell

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[www.therawkitchen.blogspot.com]