I have a question concerning a raw food diet. It was about two years ago that I first heard about the health benefits of unprocessed food, and since than I have been trying to eat as much raw food as I can. I have almost completely cut out meat and I exercise 3 times a week, nothing too heavy. The problem is that I haven’t had my period in almost 4 months now and my gynaecologist says that this kind of diet is not good for my age(I am 19) and that I need more fat in order to have my periods. Let me state that I am not anorexic, I have a normal weight, so I really don’t see how eating more fat could improve my health.
Also, I have been reading about other women who lost their periods on a raw food diet, so I wanted to ask if any of you knew more about this.

i just recently came across renegadehealth.com through researching the raw food diet. while i haven’t yet made the switch to raw, i’m trying to collect knowledge and recipes and that sort of good stuff thank you for helping that!

i noticed you mentioned tracking nutrition as part of a 100% raw food diet. i’m not sure how many people are aware, but many longevity diet followers (many of whom are high raw food eaters btw) use a wonderful, free program called CRONoMeter. you’ll be able to find a download if you google it. it’s fantastic – you can track any nutritional aspect you like and set individualized targets. it also graphs your intake over time. it breaks down all the minerals, vitamins, etc, that you could ever possibly want to know. i use it even when not following any specific diet to know what i’m eating and what i need to try better with.

i thought it might be a good thing for people here. have a wonderful day!

I love your show and your food/health loving spirits. I can’t tell you what a gem this show has been in my life for the past few months. I’ve been eating some raw food since January. I went raw for two weeks but I lost so much weight my friends were worried and I didn’t feel very good. I wanted to do it very badly but I found it to be so much work and stressful. I added cooked grains back in a instantly felt better. I would eat more raw food if I could eat out – if we had more affordable restaurants like California does. Thank you for saying that you both eat some cooked food. That is validating. I’m happy being – if I have to name my diet – vegetarian (mostly vegan) very happy. I love knowing I’m doing the best thing for the environment to eat this way and acting politically like Michael Pollin suggests by buying as much organic food as possible. Peace and love, Marty

I’m not sure of the source for this but I’ve tried it and it works. You can use banana peels to get rid of planters warts (take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape.)

It sounds like you and some of the other posters are eating a Hallelujah Acres diet in a way. They eat all raw at breakfast & supper and then a little bit of cooked food (no white bread or sugar of course) with their supper.

Maybe you should research & talk about the Pottenger Cats study in one of your future videos. This is another case of a study that is used wrongly to support raw veganism, because the cats ate milk and meat only – no fruits or veggies. Although that study does show progressive generational deterioration and I do think of that often with infertility rates so high and kids have more and more diseases.

Shazzie (the famous UK raw foodist) recently posted about how being raw vegan is not a natural diet. Even raw ‘vegan’ animals eat lots of bugs and prehistoric humans probably did also. Honey is also a favorite of some animals and some native human societies. She plans to continue the diet herself, but her daughter is just now being weaned and she uses supplements for them both and might even consider goat’s milk in the future. She gets upset every time she hears that another child has been damaged on a raw vegan diet and wants everybody to stop hiding this ‘secret’.

Jinjee and Storm are doing great raising their wonderful kids. But as Shazzie pointed out they are not 100% raw vegan because they include bee pollen and honey in their diet.

http://www.zoo.org/factsheets/gorilla/gorilla.html

Western Lowland gorillas eat this in the wild: Trees and herbaceous vegetation including leaves, shoots, stalks, stems, vines, bark, fruits and berries, and occasionally invertebrates such as termites.

They usually eat this in a zoo: Vegetables, fruits, leaf eater biscuits, browse (cut branches from a variety of trees, herbaceous plants, alfalfa, ferns, clover), non-fat milk and yogurt, and a vitamin and mineral supplement.

But now look at the comparative lifespans: Estimated at 30-35 years in the wild. Average life span is 35-45 years in zoos, with the record being 54 years.

I think the difference is partially due to the natural dangers in the wild. But a tiny bit of cooked food didn’t seem to shorten their lives. Maybe we should take a lesson from them, because most of us are like humans in captivity with the way we live now.

Matt Monarch, who is a 100% raw foodist, does not recommend it to everyone because he says it is hard to stay balanced on a totally raw vegan diet. And it is harder on your body to go back and forth between a 100% raw and then some cooked, than it is just to maintain a high raw diet. He recommends Fred Bisci’s whole foods intermediate diet as more maintainable by most people and very healthy. The idea is high raw, organic, grass fed, unprocessed foods.

Personally, my research and experience is that you thrive at 100% raw vegan. In today’s polluted society, I also believe it’s the only way to get close to optimal health. Yes, you can be healthy, for the time being, eating less raw. But in the long run, I believe you need to be at 100% to counteract all the toxins, pollution and processed and cooked food in our world today.

I was vegan for over 12 years and ate about 50% raw and had health issues the entire time. I never was able to resolve them until I started to eat more raw (naturally) and then soon after decided to go 100% raw overnight. I’ve been 100% for over 3.5 years now and most all the health issues I had before have been resolved.

In my experience, going any less than 100% is a compromise… for your health. 80% raw? 20% less vibrant health. When you’re at 100% you can tell when you eat cooked and the side effects are normally more obvious when your body has been cleaned out. Most everyone can feel a difference.

It’s a choice that everyone has and I’ve found that those that don’t make it 100% normally had already set their mind against it (knowingly or not). It’s quite easy to go 100%… if you want to. Again it’s a choice and you’ll never experience the benefits until you’ve done it for a while. Not just a few weeks or months, but years. I had a detox almost two years into 100%. Some clear up faster, some take more time. It usually depends on the condition of your system.

Many will say it’s not easy to go 100% raw. They’ll also say they do better at a lower percentage. Better than what? How do you know you’re better if you haven’t been 100% for an extended period of time? And how do you know the effects of increased consumption of cooked and processed foods have on your long term health and longevity?

It’s easy to be politically correct and say, yes, it’s hard and challenging to go 100% raw. But it’s really not if you just decide. You figure it out and make it work. You learn and make mistakes along the way until you get there. Just like anything in life, if you want it bad enough you’ll get it. You’ll attain the goal you set in your mind to achieve. If you have doubts, or surround yourself with others that don’t believe in what you’re doing, then it’s easier to break down and give up. Cooked food is addictive and until you give it up for a while, it, along with emotional issues, will easily seduce you back.

And in today’s world, it’s easy to slide back and give up. Rush, rush, rush… pressure, deadlines, things to do. All seem to be more important that the one thing we can’t live without… our health.

I guess it also depends on why you want to go 100% raw to begin with.

For me, it’s simple… I feel best when I’ve been and am at 100%. Health, mindset, thinking, energy, life… it’s all near optimal at 100% for me and those that have experienced this.

And it’s also so much more than just health. Many changes take place in your body, mind and spirit when going 100% raw. Although you may experience some, you miss out on so much by not being at 100% in my opinion. Your life literally changes… your outlook, priorities, perhaps your employment, friends or relationships can change. Some aren’t ready for that, or are afraid of those changes. These emotions can stop you (often unknowingly) from making the decision to go 100% raw.

There have been long term studies on cats that ate raw vs. cooked and the results were quite clear… those that ate raw saw better health and were able to reproduce over many generations. Those that ate cooked suffered and eventually could not reproduce. This actually reminds me of the human race today with all the fertility difficulties and being able to get pregnant. Do you think it could have -anything- to do with how much cooked food we eat and the amount of toxins we’re exposed to today? (clue: yes!)

And the reason there haven’t been long term studies on humans and specifically on raw foodists is most likely that there probably weren’t enough subjects since there are very few 100% raw foodists even today. The number of those interested in raw food has increased dramatically recently which is a great thing. The more the better! and perhaps there will be more people available in the near future to be able to conduct a study like this.

In looking at the research on cooked food, there is no comparison to fresh, ripe, organic living foods. None. All studies show the detrimental effects of cooking. Even the FDA admits that all cooked food contains carcinogens. How could that be considered healthy? I haven’t found one study that shows cooked food benefits over living foods. A few studies show more availability of a specific nutrient in a cooked food, but never analyzes or compares the effects on the other nutrients in the food. It’s statistically not even worth discussing since all research points to the overwhelming health benefits of raw, living foods. I mean, what is the main advice of most dietitians, nutritionists, health coaches, trainers and most anyone you speak with? Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, right?

Knowing this, why would eating cooked foods, in any amount, bring you to better health? Or to a longer life? Or to more energy? It’s just counter-intuitive to think so.

Most often it’s just emotions, social pressure and addictions that bring us to missing the 100% mark. And believe it or not, going 100% can help you overcome those addictions and emotions. As mentioned in the comments above, food isn’t everything and eating doesn’t feed the soul. Well said!

It may not be for everyone, although being 100% is an amazing place to be and personally, I don’t plan to give up the awesome experiences I have every day. And it just keeps getting better. You could experience them as well if you wanted to.

All the best on your search for health and wellness everyone!

Mark

I started transitioning to a raw lifestyle this past May. I also went gluten free in June and have found it actually helps me choose more raw foods. I am feeling better, and have more energy.

Hard for me to say what % raw I am though. I have fruit / smoothies in the morning, usually a big salad at lunch, and have a cooked meal with my husband for dinner.

This past weekend I tried making raw Nori rolls and they were very tasty. I need more practice with the rolling though

Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication. I love being able to go back and catch up on any topics / episodes I might have missed.

oh and by the way kevin, your general discussion forums is inactive and no one helps when i ask questions *sad face*