Hi All,

With so many raw food leaders now on the scene, i get confused because the diets recommended by different promoters are so different in their approaches to the raw diet.


After just reading Dr. Cousins book Rainbow Live Cuisine, which promotes a 3 phase program, the first level being very strict with any sugary foods, then progressing to 3rd-level where subacid fruits are allowed in moderation and only very strict usage of sweet fruits are allowed, it get's confusing when you compare his recommendations with,for example, Dr. Grahams program, 80/10/10, where all fruits are dominant in diet.

Perhaps we just have to figure it out for ourselves by trial seeing what works best?

I'm transitioning to raw currently, following Dr. Cousens phase-1 due to blood sugar issues, being positive, though I'm still thoroughly confused about the whole raw food movement being so diversified.

Welcoming input here......thanks all

C

I thouroughly understand your confusion, but it helps to remember this: everybody - every body - is different!

No raw food "program" - like everything else in life - is a "one size fits all" deal. They are, at best, only guidelines from which we then have to customise our own individual path; that we have to develop from trial and error. The fortunate few of us know how to listen to our bodies better than most and that is what guides us...

Thank goodness the movement is as diverse as it is...diverse as we all are!

Keep researching, and asking questions; the more you know, the better you should be able to make decisions about this for yourself.

Hope this helps you somewhat!

Hi Coverly,

You're right, it can be a bit confusing. I think you're on the right track when you say we should figure it out for ourselves. Like with all teachings, we need to be the ultimate filters of the information. Keep reading and learning other perspectives and incorporate what truly feels good into your personal program. Don't be afraid to try different approaches. Don't think you've failed if one method doesn't work for you. Once I was able to let go of the idea that I had to follow someone elses idea of "raw", it became almost effortless to find and follow my own path. Pay attention to your body and have fun with this. You will do great!

aloha nui loa,

Greg

Let me tell you, when I first started 6 months ago, I was very confused. I had the same book you're reading by Gabriel Cousins, I loved this book! Then I bought other books that had awesome gourmet foods and couldn't stop making recipes. I soon found out, it was too time consuming, a lot of money spent, made me gain weight, and I was bloated a lot (bad food combining with gourmet). So I read 12 steps to raw foods by Victoria Boutenko and she convinced me to go all raw and I never felt better! But I wanted more info and finally bought the 811 book. I hate to say it, but that book depressed me. There was no way I could do it because I'm not a big fruit eater, I never was! It mentioned other things there that made me depressed, it also made me realize that you have to be extremely active in order to do 811! So I finished the book and will not refer to it like all my others. I know so many people who love that book, but like everyone says; we're all different and stick to what works with you. I love eating a 100% raw foods and how I am doing it now, I could probably combine my foods better but I love to eat my salads!

811 works best for me. a lot of people talk about how it's so hard to eat all the food... but i find it really super easy to get all the cals... in fact it's difficult for me to get under... I'm not a fatty in fact i am thin and short. I just love to eat. yum.

so if you want to be a skinny little piggy go for 811 and eat all day long. =P

The above posts are great. Some cars start out in worse shape....and need different kinds of care. After THAT...the same high-test fuels should work well in just about ANY high-tech car! LOL.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Where did you pick up the 811 book? Who is it by?

www.myspace.com/greeneyedvegangirl
GO VEGAN!

811 is short for 80-10-10, or The 80-10-10 Diet:Balancing Your Health, Your Weight, and Your Life, One Luscious Bite at a Time by Dr. Douglas N. Graham, available at [www.foodnsport.com]

coverley54,

There certainly is a lot of confusion out there in the raw world. A lot of the raw diets will lead people to bad health. Here's one way to look at things: take the a typical daily menu from each of the various diets, with the same number of calories, and enter those daily menus into a nutritional calculator like fitday or nutritiondata, Make it so that each menu has the same number of calories.

Then take a look at the various nutrients. What is the percentage of fat in the diet? Are you eating more fat than high-fat SAD (40% fat)? How much vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water are there in the foods you've entered? Which plan optimizes the nutrient selection based on the daily menu? Which plan is going to need supplementation because the foods don't have enough nutrition in them?

Just food for thought. I can tell you the answer, but that would rob you of your experience of learning this on your own.

Thanks everyone here, for your kind replies

Well, Ive deducted that being confused is quiet alright, accepting that the journey to living a healthy life eating raw foods is an adventure im willing to start confused or not.

Today is day 4 on raw foods, and my blood sugar reading has come down almost 100 pts (now 164 2 hours post-meal), which tells me im doing something right. Using Dr. Cousens Phase 1 program, mostly, for 1 to 3 months, will be testing my sugars along the way. I will be posting my experience periodically here.

Planning to do periodic short green juice/drink fasts.

Have a question about raw Cacao: Doesn't it have high amounts of fungal/mold factors in it? David Wolfe is so passionate about it's health properties, i dont doubt the positives nutritionally, but being raw how would they be able eliminate these properties in transit to us commercially?

Joy and Peace to all,

Christine