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Yoda
USA
284 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 23 2006 : 4:24:34 PM
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Yoda's raw food theory in a nutshell:
Honor your sweet tooth. Rawists believe that humans are designed to follow a diet similar to chimpanzees and bonobos which is mostly fruit, then greens, then nuts, grubs and meat. If you need 2000 calories a day, that's the fruit equivalent to 20 bananas a day!
Keep fat to under 20% of calories. Don't go crazy on nuts and avocados or fatty non raw foods. The belief is that a high fat diet reduces the effectiveness of insulin and sugar metabolism and one is likely to have blood sugar problems on such a high carb diet if fat intake is high. Go to fitday.com for a couple of days to find out how many of your calories are from fat. Again, follow the monkeys on this one.
Eat at least one large salad per day. If you are 70%+ raw, take your multiminerals or really dog your greens. This is the reason why many rawists have great results in the beginning but loose the benefits and experience dental problems after a couple of years: not enough calcium and magnesium in fruits and nuts alone. Eating lots of greens like the monkeys do is a good answer, but why not pop a multimineral pill just to play it safe? Also, don't forget green smoothies are a good resource here: throw a handful of spinach into a fruit smoothie and it won't destroy the taste. Even makes greens accessible to kids.
Dental health: keep acidic fruits and dried fruits to a minimum. Brush your teeth after eating fruit or rinse your mouth with water. Experiment with brushing your teeth with non-glycerin soap and see if that imparts greater tooth strength than regular toothpaste. The theory is that regular toothpaste leaves a glycerin film over teeth which impedes the tooth's natural recalcification process. Or just get in the habit of eating some greens after fruit.
If 100% raw doesn't float your boat, just eat more fruits and salads to gain many of the benefits. If you decide to do some sort of alternate days type program, try to honor the low fat guideline consistently. Also, don't get hung up on the concept of "100% raw" if you do, you'll likely not eat many of the veggies that are more enjoyable if steamed and reduce your variety. Also, don't forget about beans! Good stuff.
Research doshas of foods to get a handle on which fruits and veggies may be more appropriate for your body type. If too much inner heat arises with a raw diet, you might try reducing spinach and increasing cucumber intake in salads, juices, smoothies, etc. Many say that not all body types can handle a mostly raw diet approach. Perhaps they are right. The raw food folks say that a 60%-70% raw diet can be adapted by any body type.
Benefits may include better meditation, greater happiness, less need for sleep, more energy, more desire to exercise, better blood circulation, more powerful energy field especially in the hands, feet, and head, better skin. Some believe even a longer than average lifespan is possible through a raw diet. Difficulties may include mineral imbalance, possible B12 deficiency in long term use (much debate here, but why not play it safe and take a supplement here and there?) cravings for old diet, flat out bodily rejection, detox reactions.
Note on detox: Expect 2 weeks of adjustment period (diarrhea, junk food cravings, etc). If there's any discomfort past a couple of weeks back off or forget about it. Reject the concept of long term "7 year" detox symptoms... many raw foodists have hurt their long term health by pushing through the pain in the name of detox when really there was usually a deficiency of calcium or magnesium going on.
Raw foods are a powerful cultivation tool, not for everyone, and can easily be misapplied. Like everything else: if it feels good, do it.
Best single book on the subject: Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD.
-The Green One |
Edited by - AYPforum on Feb 04 2007 12:19:25 AM |
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Yoda
USA
284 Posts |
Posted - Jul 25 2006 : 11:56:44 AM
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| and if anyone is raw curious... the www.rawhealthmastermind.com just launched and looks to be a great resource. |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Feb 04 2007 : 12:19:25 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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Raw Diet Theory
