What Do You Eat? When I tell people I don't eat anything cooked or processed, they usually get a puzzled look on their face and say "Well, what do you eat?" Now that I am 100% raw, I eat mainly fruit and leafy greens often in the form of green smoothies, and a few nuts and seeds. You do have to make sure you eat enough fruit and greens because, although they are nutrient rich, they are low in calories. However, I have found that the longer I am away from cooked food the less I need to eat because my body is absorbing the nutrients from the raw food so much better. I eat four to six bananas a day and however much other fruit I need to satisfy my hunger. I add greens to my smoothie and also have a fairly big salad every day. I also eat a small amount of nuts and seeds and occasionally an avocado. Once in awhile I will eat dehydrated food or gourmet recipes but not on a daily basis. Before I was 100% raw, I did eat more dehydrated foods, dried fruit and nut butter. These are considered transition foods and people can be in transition for many months or years, depending on their reason for going raw. [ Back to top ] Why Eat Raw? There are many reasons for eating raw, living food. It is the natural way to fuel our body. Cooking and processing food destroys the enzymes and many of the nutrients, making it a dead food, and eating dead, lifeless food can only lead to poor health. Our living body and cells need living, life-giving nourishment to thrive on. I have found, especially since going 100% raw, that I have much more energy, I sleep better and wake up refreshed and ready to go. I don't have night sweats anymore and I have no problem maintaining my ideal weight. Many women find on the raw food diet their periods are lighter and less painful. I really love the simplicity of it, it doesn't have to be complicated, my theory is, "if I can't harvest it naturally from nature, I'm not meant to eat it". [ Back to top ] Do You Eat Raw Meat? I've been a vegetarian for about ten years so I don't even think about eating meat anymore. There may be a few raw foodists who eat raw meat but I personally don't know any. From what I have read and heard, humans are not meant to eat meat. Our digestive tract is very long, 29'6", compared to a meat-eating animal's that's much shorter, so when a human eats meat it's in the digestive tract too long and putrefies releasing toxins into the body causing all kinds of discomfort and disease. Also, the majority of our teeth are molars, meant for grinding nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables, and our jaw is designed to move sideways for grinding as well as up and down. I am also horrified at the cruelty inflicted on animals raised on factory farms for human consumption. A number of years ago I read John Robbins' book "Diet For A New America" and decided at that time I would not support that industry. If you do eat meat, I would encourage you to find a farmer who treats his animals with the love and dignity they deserve and raises them organically. [ Back to top ] What About Protein? The one question almost everyone asks me is "Where do you get your protein". This seems to be the greatest fear for the new vegetarian or raw foodist. Most people believe we need to eat protein to make protein. This is not the case. Just consider where all vegetarian animals get their protein, from plants of course! All foods, including fruits and vegetables, contain amino acids, so as long as you eat enough of these foods to meet your caloric needs and eat a good variety you will have no problem meeting and/or exceeding your protein requirements. [ Back to top ] Does It Work For Weight Loss? The raw-food lifestyle definitely works for weight loss if it's done the right way. There's a tendency when you first start eating raw to overeat high fat foods such as nuts, nut butters and avocadoes to get that full feeling you had when you were eating cooked food. There's nothing wrong with eating a few nuts and seeds but they should be kept to a minimum and not eaten every day. Green smoothies are a great way to feel full, get the nutrients you need for energy and well-being and also lose weight. As the old debris from cooked food is cleared out of your colon, you will begin to lose excess weight. Exercise is very important and a minimum of 20 minutes a day will go a long way to losing weight, keeping it off and feeling so much better. [ Back to top ] Why Eat Organic? There are so many reasons to buy certified organic! I definitely notice the difference in taste; organic food has so much more flavor!! Also, I feel good knowing I am eating food that hasn't been sprayed and fertilized with toxic chemicals and not genetically modified. There have been many studies done showing that food that is grown in well-balanced soil contains higher amounts of nutrients than food grown in chemically fertilized soil. It makes perfect sense that healthy soil will produce healthy plants that will in turn give us better health. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency now considers that 60% of all weed killers and 30% of all insecticides to be potentially cancer causing and I believe many other illnesses as well. Groundwater pollution is a growing problem and organic farmers are not contributing to this. They also use less water because the humus in the soil retains moisture. I definitely feel its important to support the organic farmers by buying organic! [ Back to top ] |