My Raw Food Experiment

well done Brentnau !! thats exactly what i live on. first wash all your veg and fruits EXTERNALLY, get all the dirt off. then cut all Blemishes off, stalks, ends etc (the kids pets love them, so no waste at all). then cut into smaller pieces, to examine INTERNAL for signs of disease or insects, then into the Blender ! Leave the skins on most stuff, and the Cores - no need to remove, the Blender mashes all the bits, and the resulting drink is more of a MEAL. if too thick, put some Lemodade in (or any other liquid) to give a bit of fizz, and away u go healthy life. can still have Coffee and bacon sandwich when u get desperate for "normal" food ! i used to have Diabetes a few years ago, but now its GONE poof ! weight is down, energy levels have doubled, brain is clear, and plenty of room for Adjusting your mixture of fruits /veg RECIPES. everyone should try to avoid all the contaminations / food "additives" nowadays. Arguably the SKINS contain most of the Insecticide Sprays etc, so cut off any u dont like the look of, but NOT ALL of it, they add to total goodness /nutrients. orange peel can be a bit strong. cucumber skin not good, etc, use common sense to make nice mixtures, and beat "the system" MK

Lemonade - one gallon

12 ounces lemon juice
9 ounces sweetener - honey,agave
1/2 - 1 pound ginger

Melt honey/agave in one gallon container with a little hot water. Pour cold water in hot water once it's melted to cool it off as a heating up lemon juice is not good. Be careful of the ginger root. It's very hard and needs to be cut into very small pieces for the juicer to handle it. Don't smash the ginger through the machine. You may need to clean it a couple of times during this, it can be a bit difficult.

This time of year is great for melons. Use the whole melon, rind and all(no seeds, clean them out). Watermelon is great as one good sized one can give up to two gallons. It'll keep in the fridge for a few days. Use seeded watermelon if possible as the seeds help with digestion.

Veggie juice cannot be kept in the fridge as it breaks down in 24 hours or so. I drink it as I make it. Always nice to throw in a nice piece of ginger in my veggie juice also, I love the stuff.

I have watermelon juice, honeydew juice and agave ginger blueberry strawberry lemonade in my fridge(I was a little wild with the last one LOL) at the moment. I may not eat great all the time(I try) but the juice I make helps even it out. Makes me feel better.

A cold glass of juice on hot days like these is always great.

reply to post by Brentnauer


I am telling you right now dude, DO NOT OVERDUE IT. You can't jump the wagon when your body has been use to eating a certain way for so long or you can make yourself sick. I once went from an all junk food diet to a juicing diet and I ended up having panic attacks until I went back. Just don't rush into it.

There is no gimmick to being healthy.

No soda, no fast food, limit your sugar intake..

And.what no one want to hear,

YOU HAVE TO EXERCISE!
L

reply to post by gambon


Sorry, gambon. You are wrong there. Even cooked food provides enough liquid. Do a little more reading. You'll find out.

Things are not as complicated as medical science makes them out to be.

Exercise is recommended only to prevent inertia. Our "modern" idea of exercise is way off what is really healthy though.

you should eat raw pork and chicken. go out and hunt yourself some birds and boar. guttem and eatem on the spot with blood dripping from you mouth, catch some insects and eat them too.

Good luck OP with your diet change.. it isnt always easy but i would say very worth it..my partner began doing the same some time ago while i was in the background kind of rolling my eyes at it..but he has lost an amazing amount of weight, and is extremely healthy overall.. with an 8 year old boy as well it can be difficult, but currently the main things we have started doing is one big one, reading every package we even consider buying, and cutting out additives and colourings.. and the change with that alone was startling to me. The panic attacks i suffered with for years before this completely vanished (seriously..gone without Big Pharmas chemicals) and our son who once had a very tricky temper when we werent entirely aware of things such as damaging foods like we are now, and it was as though some sort of switch was hit, he is still very strong minded and strong willed thankfully, but he doesnt get worked up about things like he would before this, yes in part its him also growing up, but it has made a huge improvement in our lives here, and anyone saying it isnt beneficial hasnt a clue. Fad diets and such craziness is a completely different world than to just watching what you eat and chosing healthier items On the other side though, i do agree that life is to enjoy, and even the most outwardly healthy and health conscious person can drop dead of a heart attack just as easily as a McDonalds eating smoker, but its still got to be a great deal better to change what one can in any way possible than to not take care of eating habits at all..
I will be very interested to see how this goes for you

I read an article a while ago in which a study was done to see how differently cooked foods affected the lifes of cancer patients that spanned several years. The patients who had a diet of mainly microaved foods had the greatest mortality rate, next were the patients who cooked their food using electric cookers, next were the patients who cooked their food using gas. By the end of the study the group of patients who ate a raw food diet were all still alive.

So it seems the more you cook your food the less nutrients you are getting. I now stay well clear of microwaves. If the food comes out mushy then what is it doing to the food and nutrients at a molecular level?

Originally posted by CosmicEgg
reply to post by gambon

 

Sorry, gambon. You are wrong there. Even cooked food provides enough liquid. Do a little more reading. You'll find out.

Things are not as complicated as medical science makes them out to be.

Exercise is recommended only to prevent inertia. Our "modern" idea of exercise is way off what is really healthy though.

sorry, I have to point out when someone is completely wrong. people don't just drink water for fun, staying hydrated makes your body and brain work better. if you only get liquid from the foods you eat you will probably feel like crap and not be able to act normally maybe even to the point of going to online forums and typing irrational things, who knows.

[edit on 18-7-2010 by beansanmash]

I remember seeing a rather interesting BBC documentary last year that looked into this - 2 groups of people, one eating raw and the other cooked.

Apparently, it IS possible to go the uncooked route with some foods BUT, to gain the maximum nutritional amounts from foods, some form of cooking needs to take place - I can't remember exactly but it had something to do with the way that Human Stomachs assimilate foods etc.

Millions of years ago we could survive solely on raw foods of all types but since fire was discovered, our bodies have evolved to accept only certain foods that are raw.

Also, and as previously noted on this thread - some foods require cooking to kill certain parasites and other bacteria.

As one individual, who has actually tried Raw Foods for extended periods, I have a few comments...

People who go on raw foods feel so much better(except for the cleansing episodes) that it seems like the only way to go.

There is one problem. Most who go on raw foods begin to have uncontrollable cravings, excessive weight loss, and
eventually low energy. While some of the cravings are addictive in nature, others seem to be from missing nutrition.

As usually done(Raw Vegan) it seems to be an inadequate diet. Particularly in children, it is a problem. See Shazzie's Article

Part of the problem is that available foods are usually lacking in nutrients. A good example is iron, which is often lacking
in a Vegan diet. Properly grown(not necessarily organic) vegetables can have 15 times the iron of typical ones making
adequate iron possible.

Another factor is genetic drift. Your ancestors adapted to low quality food and or meat or died. Our bodies don't make enough
DHA or conjugated linoleic acid, etc. Even vegetarian societies like Indians get nutrients from animal contaminants, such as insects.

Few animals are exclusively vegetarian. Even cows eat grass, feed it to Protozoans, kill the Protozoans and digest them. They
also don't carefully pick the insects off what they eat.

Bottom line is be very careful about going Raw Vegan. Only a few have been successful longterm(did they just cheat?) Ann Wigmore
used fermented wheat sprouts and seems to have had long term success without cheating.

Animal foods have their own issues. Pasteurized milk causes plenty of problems. If raw milk comes from properly cared for cows it
is safer. One problem and the FDA is all over it, while health issues with pasteurization are ignored. The FDA is obsessed with sterilized
food. E. Coli strains that kill Americans are endemic in Brazil.
There are people who eat 100% raw meat Raw Paleo Forum and claim to be healthier than before.
It is certainly more nourishing than a cooked Atkins diet. I simply don't believe them when it comes to parasites and bacterial contamination.

Aajonus VonderPlanitz advocates what he calls the Primal Diet. It includes Raw Dairy, Raw vegetable juices, and Raw Meat. He looks healthy
and strong at 60, in spite of nearly killing himself with poisonous mushrooms. He claims to have beat cancer...

He seems about as trustworthy as a used car salesman, though. I highly recommend reading him for entertainment if nothing else!

I personally eat a high raw diet that includes eggs and and fish. I refuse to beat myself up over occasional cooked food. Bacteria
in your intestines create more "toxins" than cooking ever made. Still if I eat a cooked meal I swell up 2-3 lbs for a few days.If I eat
mostly raw food, I lose my taste for cooked. If I eat too much cooked food, I gain weight.
If I don't eat at least some animal protein, I feel bad. I love Ceviche and raw eggs agree with me just fine. I don't eat red meat because
of allergies.

However, if I thought I could be completely healthy long term I would cut out the animal food.

Two years ago I went on a raw food diet and ran every day. I lost lots of weight. I went from 283 to 200 in about 4 months. I caught every cold in the book and I had very little energy. My poops looked like alien life forms.
After eights months I was back on the junk and by ten months I was 290.
Go at this very carefully, a little at a time.
I wore out three juicers and helped Whole Foods market's stock quotes go up. For nothing.
I sat down and really thought it through about a year ago and came up with a great eating method that later found out was called the "Cave-man diet".
Raw fruits, nuts and veggies. No potatoes and NO BREAD! The grain is a real destroyer. I also discovered Kombucha, my only cheat.
I"m down to 198 now , I exercise moderately, my poops are normal, I feel great!
Look it up and good luck.

Well, that's the kind of iniciative people must start to have

I have some contribution, that will help you to assuring you are making the right path towards your body and soul.

Here's a couple of useful links:

Alcaline food chart - It's expected to renewal and desintoxicate our blood, that was so acidified with junk food, since we were born.

Try to rely, or at least maintaing a regular consumption on alcaline vegetables and fruits. Believe me, you'll notice almost immediate positive results


And...

Blood type diet

Ok, It may seems controversial to some, but we should keep focused on learning the general idea and content, and give the benefit of doubt, and start to test that type of diet, consuming more food that gives benefits to our blood type, and avoid those that may harm our body due to our blood type.

I know... I know... most of us have families and have to cook for them (different blood types hehehe), but hey, we don't have to follow strictly the linked website info.
what we should do is to learn the overall info, and try to apply to our own realities.

Just my two cents;

Enjoy


[edit on 18-7-2010 by Aeternium]

I for one am going to be keeping tabs on this thread and I wish you all the best. Stay disciplined and don't fall off the wagon. I began eating healthier about a year ago and I can assure you I never look back. Good luck and keep us posted.

The question would be if it's really worth the effort.
I rather enjoy life with good tasting food and all the "bad" stuff like a good Whisky, then living "healthy" without having great food, just to say "I'm healthy, i may live 5 years longer". It's just not wort it in my oppinion.

But to each his own, i guess.
It would be nice though, if all those "healthy food" and "vegan" propaganda topics could stop. Every week there's at least one person who declares that he basically stop enjoying life and then comes the big armada of "good, you're so awesome, you're now one of us"-vegan trolls who puke out even more propaganda. I mean, you don't see a "eat more meat" or "vegans suck" topics. So why must there basically every week such a topic? Are those people disinfo agents, payed by PETA or who knows who, to put out all that propaganda?

reply to post by beansanmash


And once again, you're going to have to do a bit more research using your own body to know the truth here. Drinking too much washes out water-soluble vitamins, but it also introduces heavy metals into the body quite unnecessarily - because very few places on Earth have really clean water. If you need to retain water in your circulatory system, which is closed I might add, then bump up your salt intake too. Not iodized salt though, use uncleaned sea salt.

As I mentioned above, you drink only when you are thirsty. I never said don't drink at all. But forget that whole thing about drinking eight 8-oz glasses per day. That's rubbish - just bad advice.

You guys probably still believe that spinach has more iron than other leafy greens. Catch up, people.

Originally posted by sirnex
reply to post by ladyinwaiting

 

Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive, obviously.

Not sure if it's area specific, but from my experience, whole fresh produce is much cheaper than prepared garbage.

This is actually quite naive. Perhaps you should spend more time in the grocery store. You can get a hamburger meal, for say $5.00. A bundle of fresh asparagus is 5.00, or more, and that is only one portion of a meal.

A fresh bundle of broccoli is always more expensive than frozen. Please don't take my word for it. Go do your own price comparisons.

I bought three pears earlier this week and they were over $4.00 for the three. You can get a whole can of pears for $2.99.

They are less expensive and more plentiful in the summer months, so I tend to buy and eat more of them.

I will concede that produce in season locally is cheaper than produce not in season that is shipped from areas grown in season there. Yet one would readily assume that such a thing is a given, unless I'm the only one to assume such?

...And you find it compelling to point this out......because, why?

I eat other things too, of course, but it would be so great to have such a nice variety year round.

You can most often buy canned or frozen, with frozen usually being the best option if not buying fresh, for around a dollar. It's quiet easy to buy a variety of produce any time of the year. Sometimes, frozen is actually better than fresh as they are picked when they are ripe compare to "fresh" produce pick prior to being ripe which ripens during the shipping process.

I agree that frozen foods are typically better than canned. But I disagree that any prepared food is better than fresh. Even the frozen foods are loaded with sodium, dyes and preservatives. They are, of course, better than nothing.

ETA: The avocados from Mexico are outstanding this year.

My wife eats those.. Never liked them myself. :/

Thanks for sharing.


In another post you responded to a post I made concerning mental illness.
You want to talk mental illness........That's another thread, however I would be most happy to have a discussion with you concerning MI. Pehaps I could shed some light for you.

You did however respond to my post with the comment that there is nothing mentally ill about wanting to stay clean and healthy.

I agree.

You must understand when someone is referring to a "mental illness", they are not simply referring to an individual who wants only to stay clean and healthy. This is normal. We refer to the person who is obsessed with it.

Consider, for example, a person who spends four hours in the morning cleaning his body. Two of those hours are spent on his hands alone, for he must spend a designated period on each finger, and nail.

After he is dressed and ready to leave the house, he touches the doornob, then realizes someone else has touched it before him. He must then repeat his cleaning process. He does this until it is too late to leave the house. He has missed his appointment.

Now what if this process is repeated for a week?
What if this process is repeated for a month?
What if this process is repeated for 15 years?

Do you know anyone like this, Mr. Sirnex? Because I do. I know several people like this, and the obsessions have ruined their lives. Why?
Because they have a "mental disorder".
This is what we mean when we refer to mental illness.
Not someone who is very normal in the practice of hygiene, as you describe, but then complain that psychiatrists want to call everybody "mentally ill".

They do not.



[edit on 7/18/2010 by ladyinwaiting]