Raw foods are OK for some people, but for those of us that are set in our ways, it is too restrictive. That is why I chose to eat organic as much as possible and to take supplements to fill in the gaps. There are four major deficiencies in the standard American diet that are killing us as we grow older: 1) minerals, 2) enzymes, 3) antioxidants, 4) essential oils. Giving up junk foods and taking those four supplements at each meal removes 90% of the deficiencies for a lifetime of health.
Another tip. The harder the meat is to chew, the harder to digest. I ate some hormone free organic ground beef yesterday with my spinach salad. It did not digest very well. As I chewed it I was trying to break it down to a pulp which is what is needed to digest. It is really hard to break down beef. When I use ground turkey and chicken it is very easy to chew it to micro bits. This means it will digest much easier. My opinion is to avoid beef except for rare occasions.80% raw allows this
I have found people turn to raw because they are sick. We lose digestive enzymes as we age. We combine foods wrong. Meat and potato wrong. Too much cooked food (kills enzymes). Eat 80% raw and 20% clean meat and you will feel so much better. It is simply a digestive problem for most. I only eat spinach and ground clean meat salad now. I chew for minute plus every bite! Feel better health than I ever had, 6 hours sleep only, can run forever, losing fat and getting muscle.
Eat small amounts regulary say every 3 or 4 hours. Even set an alarm on your watch or whatever for every 3 hrs. When it goes off eat something. eg 8am 11 am 2pm 5 pm 8pm 11pm. Do not starve yourself after 6pm (or any time )or your body goes into survival mode and stores fat
Don't know the ins and outs of the raw food thing but every time you eat, eat what common sense tells you is nutritionally balanced.
I applaud your sensible approach. The belief and faith in a promised land of health for being 80/10/10, Natural Hygiene or perfect 100% raw leads to zealotry, idealism, and fanaticism. Under such conditions, if one follows the diets perfectly and experiences poor health, it;s called detox. If one is unable to sustain the diet because of "binging" the fanaticism heaps guilt upon his head. I am zero anti-raw, I am anti-raw dogma and pro raw-facts.
Yes, it would. I do suspect that of the ones that do remain many will have made raw foods a career, a religion or a way to maintain their eating disorders. I have a combined total of five years 100% raw. I wanted to believe in the religion, but the facts won out over faith. I eat high raw and don;t stress on it.
oh it sounds like you're really trying to find the best balance for your needs :) how about trying 80/10/10? many people have been successful for years & i'm trying it for myself ^^ didnt thrive on the raw food diet but feeling so much better after eliminating nuts & high fat sources. oh! and food cravings have massively diminished once on 80/10/10*
Just make sure you eat enough calories so you don't get hungry later. It helps to drink caffeine free teas sweetened with stevia if you get hungry at night when you start daylight eating. Once you get used to it you won't even be hungry at all when night time comes. Good Luck.
Eating late at night is the first thing anyone can do no matter what diet they are on. you should check out Paul Nison's upcoming book 'The Daylight Diet'
You should start by not eating after 6 PM or before the sun starts setting down. After a month or so move up to 5 PM until you get to about 3 PM. Make sure you eat most of your food in the morning and early after noon. You could do 3 meals a day. 9AM-Noon-3PM or a bit later if you are just starting
Any diet your not 100% comfortable with will never work. I have gone on & off the raw food diet several times. I also have chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia. I am back to 100% again. However my husband will never be 100% & he is still healthy. Fit for life(book) or Raw food detox by Natalia Rose include cooked & raw foods and that is a better balance for some & sounds like that might be a better fit for you too! Good luck in your health endeavors. Love & Light to you
think you're onto something when you talk about moderation and sensible changes. have eaten raw vegan for almost 2 years and looking back can't help but wonder if including some wholesome cooked foods (brown rice, fish, sweet potatoes, etc.) would not have been healthier than going "100%": found the raw takes on various cooked foods wreaked havoc on my health - too much fat? poor food combining? processed/chemicalized substances that are being touted as raw condiments, sweeteners?
also, that i ate too much fat in the form of plain seeds/nuts - related to not getting enough calories otherwise. have since learned to eat much more fruits for calories. also, to make sure to eat enough early in the day - find cravings don't really bother me if i do this. eating/drinking greens to meet mineral needs helps a lot, too. lastly, i think that maybe more gradual changes would have made detox less horrible. unfortunately however, like your friend, it's in my nature to do extremes.
You crave what is in your bloodstream. When one is detoxifying a substance (meat for example), then you will crave it. I recommend you stop thinking about raw foods as a diet as simply eat as many raw superfoods as you like. Is raw food extreme to every other creature on the Earth? Everything in moderation...especially moderation.
You never want to go all the way to fast, whether it's fasting or raw food.
I personally thirve on 100% raw food in the very cold winter.
It sounds like you have done really well on a raw food diet. How well are you able to maintain your strength when doing physical tasks on a regular basis?
Honestly I'm shocked that people can maintain a SAD diet. I feel stronger and better than ever before. Detoxification can be really rough...it certainly was for me. But if you do it slowly and wisely, with plenty of colonics and such you can do it a lot better than I did in the beginning. Superfoods are our natural foods. That's really where the rubber hits the road.
Yes. I hike A LOT and often haul around 30 + gallons of spring water for example. I never even think about my endurance anymore because it's never an issue. I can guarantee you though, my endurance and strength is 300% better than when I ate SAD...and getting better every day.
Your experience with raw food sounds very positive and inspirational. It leaves me a bit confused as to why I have had so much trouble doing this, in spite of all the reading and experimenting I have done on the subject. I'm thinking the manner in which I deal with various stresses at work. This plays a big part of it. I can be feeling fine on a raw food diet, and after getting stressed out, I often find raw foods unable to sustain me. Its as if my emotions are not compatible with a simple diet.
Raw foods are OK for some people, but for those of us that are set in our ways, it is too restrictive. That is why I chose to eat organic as much as possible and to take supplements to fill in the gaps. There are four major deficiencies in the standard American diet that are killing us as we grow older: 1) minerals, 2) enzymes, 3) antioxidants, 4) essential oils. Giving up junk foods and taking those four supplements at each meal removes 90% of the deficiencies for a lifetime of health.
JBC814 9 months ago
Another tip. The harder the meat is to chew, the harder to digest. I ate some hormone free organic ground beef yesterday with my spinach salad. It did not digest very well. As I chewed it I was trying to break it down to a pulp which is what is needed to digest. It is really hard to break down beef. When I use ground turkey and chicken it is very easy to chew it to micro bits. This means it will digest much easier. My opinion is to avoid beef except for rare occasions.80% raw allows this
MormonManUtah 1 year ago
I have found people turn to raw because they are sick. We lose digestive enzymes as we age. We combine foods wrong. Meat and potato wrong. Too much cooked food (kills enzymes). Eat 80% raw and 20% clean meat and you will feel so much better. It is simply a digestive problem for most. I only eat spinach and ground clean meat salad now. I chew for minute plus every bite! Feel better health than I ever had, 6 hours sleep only, can run forever, losing fat and getting muscle.
MormonManUtah 1 year ago
@MormonManUtah What your saying sounds like some of my own conclusions about diet and health. Thanks for the comment.
kdaveem 1 year ago
Scrap the idea of three meals a day.
Eat small amounts regulary say every 3 or 4 hours. Even set an alarm on your watch or whatever for every 3 hrs. When it goes off eat something. eg 8am 11 am 2pm 5 pm 8pm 11pm. Do not starve yourself after 6pm (or any time )or your body goes into survival mode and stores fat
Don't know the ins and outs of the raw food thing but every time you eat, eat what common sense tells you is nutritionally balanced.
The trick - eat small, balanced and regular
MrSensible1 2 years ago
Sounds Sensible Mr Sensible.
Thanks for the tip.
kdaveem 2 years ago
I applaud your sensible approach. The belief and faith in a promised land of health for being 80/10/10, Natural Hygiene or perfect 100% raw leads to zealotry, idealism, and fanaticism. Under such conditions, if one follows the diets perfectly and experiences poor health, it;s called detox. If one is unable to sustain the diet because of "binging" the fanaticism heaps guilt upon his head. I am zero anti-raw, I am anti-raw dogma and pro raw-facts.
kimzeynkink 2 years ago
It would be interesting to contact the raw food advocates ten years from today, and see how many of them have remained on such a strict diet.
kdaveem 2 years ago
Yes, it would. I do suspect that of the ones that do remain many will have made raw foods a career, a religion or a way to maintain their eating disorders. I have a combined total of five years 100% raw. I wanted to believe in the religion, but the facts won out over faith. I eat high raw and don;t stress on it.
MotherOfTheETOS 2 years ago
Thank you for your story. Perhaps this diet can work for some people, but apparently not for everyone.
kdaveem 2 years ago
oh it sounds like you're really trying to find the best balance for your needs :) how about trying 80/10/10? many people have been successful for years & i'm trying it for myself ^^ didnt thrive on the raw food diet but feeling so much better after eliminating nuts & high fat sources. oh! and food cravings have massively diminished once on 80/10/10*
PinkCompass 2 years ago
Edit:
'Eating late at night is the worst thing anyone can do no matter what diet they are on'.
I meant 'worst' not 'first'
mbassadorjr 2 years ago
Just make sure you eat enough calories so you don't get hungry later. It helps to drink caffeine free teas sweetened with stevia if you get hungry at night when you start daylight eating. Once you get used to it you won't even be hungry at all when night time comes. Good Luck.
mbassadorjr 2 years ago
Eating late at night is the first thing anyone can do no matter what diet they are on. you should check out Paul Nison's upcoming book 'The Daylight Diet'
You should start by not eating after 6 PM or before the sun starts setting down. After a month or so move up to 5 PM until you get to about 3 PM. Make sure you eat most of your food in the morning and early after noon. You could do 3 meals a day. 9AM-Noon-3PM or a bit later if you are just starting
mbassadorjr 2 years ago
Any diet your not 100% comfortable with will never work. I have gone on & off the raw food diet several times. I also have chronic fatigue & fibromyalgia. I am back to 100% again. However my husband will never be 100% & he is still healthy. Fit for life(book) or Raw food detox by Natalia Rose include cooked & raw foods and that is a better balance for some & sounds like that might be a better fit for you too! Good luck in your health endeavors. Love & Light to you
fastinggurl31 2 years ago
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wish there was a one size fits all way of eating, but I think we all need to figure out what works best for us.
God bless
iamitchey 2 years ago
think you're onto something when you talk about moderation and sensible changes. have eaten raw vegan for almost 2 years and looking back can't help but wonder if including some wholesome cooked foods (brown rice, fish, sweet potatoes, etc.) would not have been healthier than going "100%": found the raw takes on various cooked foods wreaked havoc on my health - too much fat? poor food combining? processed/chemicalized substances that are being touted as raw condiments, sweeteners?
ameliabedelia99 3 years ago
also, that i ate too much fat in the form of plain seeds/nuts - related to not getting enough calories otherwise. have since learned to eat much more fruits for calories. also, to make sure to eat enough early in the day - find cravings don't really bother me if i do this. eating/drinking greens to meet mineral needs helps a lot, too. lastly, i think that maybe more gradual changes would have made detox less horrible. unfortunately however, like your friend, it's in my nature to do extremes.
ameliabedelia99 3 years ago
good luck! listening to your body instead of the "experts" is ALWAYS the best way to go
stevo35972 3 years ago 3
You crave what is in your bloodstream. When one is detoxifying a substance (meat for example), then you will crave it. I recommend you stop thinking about raw foods as a diet as simply eat as many raw superfoods as you like. Is raw food extreme to every other creature on the Earth? Everything in moderation...especially moderation.
You never want to go all the way to fast, whether it's fasting or raw food.
I personally thirve on 100% raw food in the very cold winter.
I wish you great success!
aphrocacao 3 years ago
It sounds like you have done really well on a raw food diet. How well are you able to maintain your strength when doing physical tasks on a regular basis?
kdaveem 3 years ago
Honestly I'm shocked that people can maintain a SAD diet. I feel stronger and better than ever before. Detoxification can be really rough...it certainly was for me. But if you do it slowly and wisely, with plenty of colonics and such you can do it a lot better than I did in the beginning. Superfoods are our natural foods. That's really where the rubber hits the road.
aphrocacao 3 years ago
I'm still curious about your physical stamina if you were doing physical labor on a regular basis. Could you handle that on a raw food diet?
kdaveem 3 years ago
Yes. I hike A LOT and often haul around 30 + gallons of spring water for example. I never even think about my endurance anymore because it's never an issue. I can guarantee you though, my endurance and strength is 300% better than when I ate SAD...and getting better every day.
aphrocacao 3 years ago
Your experience with raw food sounds very positive and inspirational. It leaves me a bit confused as to why I have had so much trouble doing this, in spite of all the reading and experimenting I have done on the subject. I'm thinking the manner in which I deal with various stresses at work. This plays a big part of it. I can be feeling fine on a raw food diet, and after getting stressed out, I often find raw foods unable to sustain me. Its as if my emotions are not compatible with a simple diet.
kdaveem 3 years ago
Superfoods like cacao are our best defense against stress. I would try snacking on cacao nibs with goji berries whenever stressed out.
aphrocacao 3 years ago
Thanks for the tip.
kdaveem 3 years ago