Raw diets - ongoing discussion

[wallacesmum]

Is there an ongoing discussion of raw diets here? I've just started one and I need some help!

[remijo]

Hi! I was looking for the same thing and a search didn't pull up anything. I'm surprised we don't have more raw mamas here - I know there are a lot of vegans and some Eat to Livers which is the closest I can find to raw foods. We can start our own though and maybe others will join in! How long have you been raw? How's it going for you?

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by wallacesmum

Is there an ongoing discussion of raw diets here? I've just started one and I need some help!

What kind of raw food diet? I have been on (and off!) the Primal Diet by Aajonus Vonderplanitz for over twelve years. It is a raw animal foods diet and is often used as a therapeutic diet. Although I don't have any specific health issues, I find without doubt I feel so much better on the diet that when I eat cooked foods.

[germin8]

You might like these websites:

rawmom.com
kristensraw.blogspot.com
greenmommyblog.com (same person, kristen)

[tinybutterfly]

Hi! I am just in here lurking. I don't eat raw, but thought I'd post this link. Not all of her stuff is raw now, but she used to post a lot of raw food recipes.

http://happyfoody.com/

[Maine Mama Doula]

I have been playing with raw for months now. I did 43 days of juicefeasting and I was planning a raw pregnancy before I m/c. Anyway, I like www.thegardendiet.com and www.juicefeasting.com. I would absolutely love for somebody to start up a formal raw thread, but I certainly am not qualified to do it!

[remijo]

Definitely raw vegan - the thought of eating raw animal products almost makes me physically sick. But I know for a fact that different things work for different people. I just started my 30 day 100% raw challenge yesterday - trying to stay all raw for a month. I haunt the forums at rawfoodtalk (love Alissa Cohen) and others as well.

Thanks for the links by the way, I am always looking for more recipes and ideas!

Nothing to say we haven't started our own raw thread already.

By the way, just had to share because it was so tasty - for lunch I had a spinach salad with radish, carrot, avocado, tomato, dulse flakes, raisins and some sprouting buckwheat. Super yum!!

[NoTiGG]

Here is my two cents.......

I did the raw diet for over a year. It has some very interesting pro's and cons.

One pro is That....... (disclaimer here don't read if you are uptight.. and i will remove if anyone is offended ) that my erections were really strong. I can only assume that this is because of better arterial health. Before you get your hopes up though I also had a lack of libido. This I cannot tell if it was caused from the raw diet or something I was doing wrong. I am pretty sure I am mildly allergic/intolerant to some foods i was eating... such as dairy. I was eating lots of butter and things to make sure I got enough calories. I ate alot of raw butter... raw nuts.. raw meats.

One con is that I didn't have as much energy as I thought I would. I have since learned that despite raw being better in virtually every way... On paper.. in reality the big difference is the Energy you get from cooked foods is more of a net gain than from raw. Your body takes more energy to digest raw foods than it does to digest cooked ones because heat breaks down the food

Another con is that I didn't enjoy food as much. I mean I could eat raw cheese........ loved raw cheeses. Loved raw sprouted soaked nut snacks like Raweos... and loved raw salads. But thtas about where it stopped for me. Raw meats were not realy enjoyable. But that is not surprising since you really aren't supposed to chew raw meat.. it is meant to be swallowed. At least that i what most carnivores in the wild do. And just swallowing the meat means you aren't tasting it as much so it is just not surprisng to me that Raw meat was not as enjoyable.

The truth though is i didn't put as much effort and money into my raw diet.... as I do now into what i eat on my cooked diet so if I tried again... things might be different. But I plan to stay on cooked food because I believe that low temperature cooking .... sous vide style... will pretty much keep the benefits of being raw.. and cooked at the same time. Sous vide means the food is broken down so you get the net energy gain... and the enjoyment from it. But not being heated to high of a temperature means only the enzymes are gone... and very minimal vitamins and minerals. And nothing is mutated because of high heat. But What I think constantly changes as I learn and grow

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by NoTiGG

One con is that I didn't have as much energy as I thought I would. I have since learned that despite raw being better in virtually every way... On paper.. in reality the big difference is the Energy you get from cooked foods is more of a net gain than from raw. Your body takes more energy to digest raw foods than it does to digest cooked ones because heat breaks down the food

I find the opposite when I am on the raw (Primal) diet, I have more energy and I need less sleep at night. On a cooked diet, I really need 9 to 10 hours straight, but on the raw diet, I can easily get by on 6 hours of sleep, 8 hours is like sleeping in.

Another con is that I didn't enjoy food as much. I mean I could eat raw cheese........ loved raw cheeses. Loved raw sprouted soaked nut snacks like Raweos... and loved raw salads. But thtas about where it stopped for me. Raw meats were not realy enjoyable. But that is not surprising since you really aren't supposed to chew raw meat.. it is meant to be swallowed. At least that i what most carnivores in the wild do. And just swallowing the meat means you aren't tasting it as much so it is just not surprisng to me that Raw meat was not as enjoyable.

You need to be very careful about food combining on a raw animal foods diet. Do not eat raw meat with raw vegetables (including raw green juices), it makes digestion more difficult. If you do eat raw vegetable salads (not recommended) it should be the last meal of the day so that the body has the whole night to digest the veggies. Fruit should always be consumed with raw fats, ie raw cream, butter and (unsalted) cheese, or avocado. You are correct, raw meat shouldn't be chewed, a couple of chews is fine, but that is enough. I tend to eat my raw meats cut into very thin slices with raw sauces which make it much more palatable. Nuts should only be eaten sparingly and again with raw fat. Sprouts count as veggies. To really understand the Primal Diet I highly recommend reading both of Aajonus Vonderplanitz's books (if you haven't already).

[Maine Mama Doula]

I guess I was looking for a raw vegan thread. Maybe I'll start one in the vegetarian and vegan forum.

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by Maine Mama Doula

I guess I was looking for a raw vegan thread. Maybe I'll start one in the vegetarian and vegan forum.

There are many raw food diets, not just raw vegan and the OP didn't specify which kind of raw food diet. Search the vegetarian and vegan forum, there have been many threads on the subject.