i am afraid to go back RAW after a few years because of the terrible mental/physical effects from the first time around.
but i am also reaping the horrid implications of cooked food (vegetarian) these days...

i can't seem to find a happy medium in the middle of the spectrum.

Before, i had teeth problems (thinning enamel), major b21 deficiency along with others, thin hair/ falling out, wart developed on hand (idk if that's anything), ate constantly just to feel satisfied (mentally), fear of "unraw food", irregular periods, and more

Right now, my skin is bad/really oily (bluh), my hair is really dry and brittle, i could lose 30-40 lbs., excess mucus, an area on the top of my scalp that has become irritated (idk if that's anything either), my digestion isn't at it's best, dehydrated, low energy, dark circles around my eyes, and more

So you see my dilemma.. if i go raw, the cooked symptoms will subside, but in turn i develop new problems and vice versa...

So how can i use food to bring me to high health all around, instead of shuffling problems around and being really overwhelmed and confused and afraid of what to put in my body?

In Need of Answers,
-Kelly

I don't consider myself an expert by any means. I have had a host of new "issues" appear by going raw. This is the lesson I learned: TRANSITION VERY SLOWLY. The reason for the problems I developed is because the sudden transition creates a great deal of toxic waste buildup in the body. All of the effects (or symptoms for lack of a better word) I am observing are textbook "autointoxication." As I added some cooked food back to try and slow the detox, issues related to consuming cooked food surfaced or resurfaced. I feel kinda crappy too. I have an appointment with a local osteopathic clinic which has great success in treating some of the issues I have encountered - namely multiple food allergies. Again, I don't consider myself an authority but some of what you wrote sounds like the same problem - autointoxication. I am sure there are other books out there but I recommend going to your library and getting "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose. I wish I had paid more attention to her recommendations to start but I was too stubborn. She is emphatic about transitioning slowly and I feel that she does a good job explaining how to approach transition and offering examples.

Good Luck.

Patty

Sewraw is certainly correct. Most folks.....even the ones that are eating healthy.......are mixing a lot of foods....eating a lot of processed foods.......oils....salts.....and living a stressful lifestyle....or not pursuing their dreams. The net effect is that they are un-motivated and not very healthy.

-Each person must correctly assess their level of inner deposits.....and un-health.....and utilize the correct level of raw-food eating to speed up or slow down detox. There must be an over-riding goal/dream that NECESSITATES eating well....or the motivation (which is the true power/passion) will simply be superficial.

-Remember to use heavier root vegetables, nuts, avocado, coconut, very fibrous vegetables...etc.....to slow down detox.

-Use light fasting, light exercise, sun-bathing/sungazing, juice fasting, mono-eating, and light eating of single fruits to greatly speed up a detox that is going too comfortably...or slowly.

-Avoid medications, stress, chemicals on the skin/body, and processed foods....which will stop detox altogether and add to internal toxic load.

-I hope some of these tips/experiences/opinions are a little helpful.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Hello, need. Welcome back. Yes the above posts are accurate. We have some great people on this forum.

I initially jumped from SAD to 100% raw vegan and had major detox. So much so that I had to add back in some cooked vegetarian to stop my hair from breaking off by the movement of my head, my nails from breaking when trying to open a drawer, light-headedness, brain fog, etc.

Use fitday.com or other site to keep track of your nutrients and supplement where you're lacking. I took a multi-vitamin suitable for Vegans, Vitamin B-Complex in Veggie Caps, Vitamin C-Crystals, Dr. Gilliam's Natural Calm Magnesium Plain, Calcium in Veggie Caps, Niacin in Veggie Caps. This helps initially and after that, you can gauge your body's reactions to foods. Only you can tell by your reactions whether or not something is healthy for you. I use a muscle-test when I shop and only buy those items that muscle-test strong or at least medium-strong. I don't take much in the way of supplements now and I am now raw vegan with some cooked veggies/fruits. It's taken my almost 3 years. I plan on eliminating the cooking outside of herbal tea, some warmed soups, dehydrating, and emergency situations where I cannot get any raw food. Otherwise, I've proven it to myself and my body that raw vegan is the best for me.

Try to relax and find your center. Yoga or meditation helps if you're able to do those. Sometimes, even when doing something healthy, b/c the mind is so stressed, the body doesn't truly benefit from the raw food, etc. As for the wart, that was due to a mixture of viruses and not necessarily raw. Read Hulda Clark's "The Cure to All Diseases" and parasite zap.

Good luck. Therese

I think these suggestions are good- particularly those about making sure you get your basic nutrients. I had problems from going raw the first time around, including my hair falling out. I wouldn't call what I went through "detox"- it was a lack of proper nutrition. I jumped right into raw 100%, following what the raw enthusiasts said, and didn't think about nutrition because the enthusiasts said that simply eating raw was good enough. This time around I am working with a nutritionist as well as transitioning slowly. My current diet baffles people because of the mix of raw and cooked foods, but I know I have to create a healthy diet for my own body and not expect others to do what I do or for me to do what others do. I hope to be as close to 100% raw as I can be one day. In the meantime, I still reap the benefits of a mostly-raw diet. I wish you a wonderful experience as you transform your diet.

<><><><><><>
Eating raw is a challenge for me, but it's the healthiest lifestyle I know.
See you at Raw Odyssey!
[blog.rawodyssey.com]

Hi!

What were you eating when you were raw before? I think that when people say eat raw food and everything will be all right; is way way way off. And honestly very unresponsible of them to say that. Raw food is just cooked food, but not cooked. So you might still need to eat a wide variety and the right foods for your type.

Love and light to all!

love

thanks EVERYONE!
very insightful... i'm definitely going to look into that natilia rose book, i'm also trying to get into some yoga/meditation classes. really appreciate the responses!

i can really relate to rawallison because like her/you i don't think it was so much a matter of jumping in too quickly (which i did do regardless) but more of quality/quantity i was eating on raw foods. i think this because my problems started showing through gradually and got so bad over time i had to give up the raw way i was living and "substitute" it for the only other way u knew: SAD living. i think it was more nutrition defencies than detox symptoms in my case...

I was very naive when i got into raw foods the first time (originally not even knowing there was such a thing, but wanting complete control over my diet and making up strict rules for myself which paralleled raw foods) which makes it kind of hard for me. i think a part of me feels that by letting myself agree to follow the raw foods regimine i'm allowing myself to go back to that place where i was struggling and troubled and not taking proper care of myself. i sort of see raw foods in a distorted light, subconciously- as quick fix instead of a long highway to health.

I guess I would say I had an undefined eating disorder during that time. I was anorexic without constantly starving myself and i was bulimic without throwing up if that makes any sense. Like I overate a lot, but still felt that sense of control because there was only a certain category of food i ate. I think this could be compared to if a past anorexic person tried to do a fast, it would be very difficult and might trigger past tendencies/feelings. that's how i feel about getting back into raw foodism.

Currently, I eat a pretty SAdiet (vegetarian), but i feel much better mentally than before. It's been a long struggle to adjust to a new body and gradually change my mindset towards life. This time around i have a lot more respect and love towards myself and i want to get into raw foods strictly for health. i wouldn't care if i only lost 5 lbs. as long as i'm living healthy. i really want to experience the true raw foodism, though probably not 100%.

Love brings up a good point that not all raw food is equal, which i ignored/unaware of. that brought me a lot of trouble and pain later on. i defenitely paid the price for not properly caring for myself. so, it's kind of left a bittersweet vision of raw foods with me. i totally agree with what sewraw said about taking it slow. before, my health was not my main priority (yikes i know!) i felt that was just an added luxury to being little & pure? i guess. i thought it was the diet that could do no wrong, but now i know it can. it can do terrible damage to your body if you don't go about it correctly... now i just have to slowly figure out how to do that.

-kelly

It's no wonder we have such a hard time switching to raw (I became really ill from the Wigmore diet), because we're not living in our natural environment.

Transitioning IS very important - we probably have organ damage and malfunction from our former habits.

Natural Hygiene seems the best of the doctrines and they advocate eating mostly fruit.

I admire Ann Wigmore, but that fermented, green-based diet was horrible for me. And it didn't taste good.


Yeah nature knew what it was doing when it packaged and presented ripe fruits to us.