This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni’s Renegade Roundtable, which can be found at http://www.RenegadeRoundtable.com. In this excerpt, Phillip McClusky shares on being 400 lbs. and what saved him from gastric bypass surgery.
Renegade Water Secrets with Phillip McClusky, who lost 200 lbs. and found health and happiness in a raw food lifestyle. He is the host of www.lovingraw.com.Phillip: Thank you very much Kevin. I appreciate the opportunity to be on the phone with you and for all of your listeners as well. I’m really excited for tonight’s show.Kevin: Awesome. Well, let’s start very simply. Why don’t you just start by talking a little bit about what you went through, in your past, before you started to realize that maybe you needed to change.Phillip: Well, I had been overweight my entire life, so like you had mentioned I grew up being the “cute chubby kid” which everybody liked to pinch my cheeks and such. And then somewhere along elementary school I started to get to be fairly heavy and then junior high school I think it worked into being rather obese. And then high school and after high school I became morbidly obese until finally I reached a point of 400 pounds.
So many people ask me, “How do you get that big?” And the funny thing was is my mom never really had salt or sugar in the house growing up and we didn’t have that much junk food to speak of. But a lot of it tended to be really heavy amounts of food, just large, large portions, eating two and three times the amount that everybody else at the table had, going back for seconds and thirds and just really trying to fill some sort of emotional void that was there instead of dealing with it in other ways. It resulted in emotional eating. So that’s kind of the start of this and really where it brought me up to was an amazing place. It was
very difficult growing up that way.
Many times I didn’t even know there was an option. There were times I just resigned to the fact of thinking that I was never going to be in shape and just actually be happy, and just tried to be happy some how, some way, in shape, form, with being overweight. And I actually tried to do that for a couple of months until I really got to the place where I was like, “That’s just such a terrible attitude. There’s got to be some way…” And I had given up hope. I was researching and just like you mentioned I had tried literally every type of diet known to man. You can mention it and I’ve tried it, I’m sure. Thirty different diets over the course of the time, even some of the other types of things like hypnotism and guided imagery and water fasting and even tried vegetarian and vegan. And for some reason those things just didn’t click in for me, until later on I found raw foods. That discovery really was to be the catalyst to change the rest of my life.Kevin: So you said that you were about to consider, or you maybe even met with the doctor about bypass surgery. Is that correct?Phillip: Yeah, what happened is I didn’t have any…basically after all these different diets I didn’t have any other choice, any other option, I felt, and so I kind of just did what the media was really pushing at the time. And they were really pushing gastric bypass surgery being the only sort of answer for somebody with this type of situation. So literally living and going through all these diets and just feeling hopeless, I thought that that was the only thing for me.
So I went to the hospital and was welcomed in. The surgery was widely accepted and went through literally a month of tests to satisfy my insurance company. Probably eight or nine different tests, sleep apnea, staying in the hospital overnight, heart tests, breathing tests, everything you can think of, to sort of get this approval from my insurance company. And they finally approved it and they said, “Okay, you can have this. We’ll pay for it. You can do it anytime you want.”
I had been going to some of the support groups and had seen people that had already gotten the surgery and found that some people were having complications and there was a chance that people were dying on the table and were dying later on from complications. Even people that were totally healthy, per say, and stuck on the plan very well were still having some complications. And then I had heard about some people who had literally had the surgery and lost 150-200 pounds and then somehow stretched their stomach and gained it all back, which I didn’t even know was possible. Then I actually met a friend’s mother who had lost all the weight, gained it back, somehow convinced another doctor to do the surgery a second time, which I hadn’t even heard of, lost all the weight and gained it back again. So I kind of felt like this wasn’t the answer, but it was the only thing.
As I was about to actually have it done at the very last moment just a still voice inside me said, “Don’t do it.” And I knew at that moment that there had to be some other option. So that’s when I really decided to bypass gastric bypass surgery.Kevin: Wow. So take me through the thought process here. You tried all these other things, literally a Rolodex of different things that you’ve done. They haven’t worked. So you’re faced with bypass surgery, not bypass surgery, oh my gosh…You’re faced with this surgery. How did you make a decision to do what you did? And did you know it was going to work?Phillip: You know, I didn’t know raw was going to work per say, but I had to try something. The last thing I was doing was reading some books about water fasting and somebody in the book had mentioned raw foods. I did a seven-day water fast. It was a very nice experience. It was quite successful. But I heard this word “raw food” and I didn’t know what that meant. So I googled it online and just did a little bit of research and ran across this book called “Raw Family” by the Boutenkos. Each one of the four people in the family had a different disease and they all overcame them with raw food. For some reason when I read this, I mean I literally read the book in an hour, and something just resonated in me. I just felt that somehow, some way, this was the ticket for me. This was what was really going to work this time.
I had no reservations. I literally switched overnight from eating heavy amounts of fast food, basically fast food almost every meal, probably anywhere from two to three times the amount of food the average person eats, switched overnight to 100 percent raw foods. I kind of just knew that it would work and I just made the switch, made a commitment. But more than anything I really made a switch in my mindset, I think, which was the thing that really helped me to make this switch. Because it really wasn’t so much of a struggle this time around, as so many of the other diets were, it was literally like my mind was like, “Okay, you don’t eat this type of food anymore, now you eat this.” And so the process and making the choice was quite simple and I really felt deep down inside that this was going to be the answer for me. Basically I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and I had reached my low.
So many people don’t make change in their life until they’re actually standing in front of their doctor and their doctor says, “Okay, you’re dying. You have a year to live. You have to make a choice about your health.” Then all of a sudden everybody gets excited and wants to make a change in their life. But for me the day that I stepped on the scale and the needle went to 400, that was kind of like my death sentence. So I knew I had to find something and nothing really felt right, it was just what I was doing with the time.
But when I found out and heard and started reading about this raw food thing it just made sense. There was nobody out to make money off of it. There wasn’t any packaged foods I had to make or any cards that I had to move from slot to slot, or any programs or any monthly fees that I had to pay. There was not big mastermind behind this. It was just fruits and vegetables. You could even grow it in your backyard. It seemed simple and it just felt right. And that’s when I went for it Kevin.
Avoiding Gastric Bypass Surgery and Still Losing Weight
The Raw Food Rule for Radiant Skin
Even though this simple 2-step routine will go a long way toward clearing up your dry skin, it’s not the best way to ensure a healthy epidermis.
The absolute best thing you can do for your skin actually has nothing to do with soaps, body crèmes, or exfoliants!
Hydration
One of the biggest problems with eating an unhealthy cooked food diet is the simple fact that this diet is extremely dehydrating.
Why? Two reasons:
1. The food is cooked, meaning that much of the water has been drawn out via heating. 2. Most cooked food staples are full of irritating salt, spices, and condiments that draw the water out of your cells.
This is why dieticians, nutritionists, and the like recommend a staggering 8-12 glasses of water per day. This water is needed to counteract the dryness and toxicity inherent in the standard cooked food diet.
But don’t think raw foodists are off the hook! Unfortunately, the mainstream raw food diet doesn’t do much better in terms of hydration and actually makes the same two mistakes present in a cooked food diet:
1. While not cooked, many of the foods consumed are DEHYRATED, and so much of the necessary water is removed. 2. Raw foodists are known for their love of salt, as well as other irritating spices such as garlic and cayenne pepper.
Again, we see the exact same problems associated with cooked food eaters: dry and toxic ingredients.
This is likely the reason so many raw foodists continue to experience acne (as well as other health issues).
If they would just stop consuming all the dry, fatty, irritating foods and start consuming more fresh, water-rich ingredients, I bet they would see a marked improvement in the condition of their skin.
Which segues nicely into my final point…
How to Stay Hydrated
If you really want radiant skin, you need to stay hydrated. And the best way to stay hydrated is NOT to drink gallons of water a day, but to eat a diet of water-rich foods.
And what diet might that be? Why, a low fat raw vegan one, of course! The amount of sweet fruit you will eat on such a diet has *more* than enough water to keep your skin healthy and hydrated.
And the more simply you eat – meaning the less irritating salt and spices you consume – the less toxic ingredients your body will have to dilute by removing precious water from your cells.
Another benefit of simple eating: no water retention! Again, irritating salt and spices have to be diluted, which means that your body actually holds on to the water to keep the salt in solution.
Sounds counterintuitive, right? You are holding onto more water and yet your body is dehydrated.
That’s because the water is no longer in your cells or bloodstream, but in your skin. This is what gives so many salt lovers that “puffy” look.
It’s Not Just About Diet
Instead of ending on that note, I want to quickly add that it isn’t all about diet.
Perhaps you saw this one coming, but it’s so true!
No matter how clean your diet is, your skin (and your health, for that matter) will never be as great as it could be if you do not take other health factors into account.
Factors such as:
- Exercise - Sunshine - Fresh Air - Clean drinking water - Etc.
All of these have a huge effect on the look and feel of your skin.
Healthy skin comes from within!
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The Pitfalls of a Raw Food or Vegan Diet
In this article, Dr. Jameth Sheridan shares candidly on the pitfalls of a raw food or vegan diet.Renegade Roundtable with Dr. Jameth Sheridan. Dr. Sheridan is a naturopath and nutritional consultant. He and his wife Kim co-authored “Uncooking with Jameth and Kim” and they co-own and operate Health Force Nutritional.Kevin: So you’ve been at this for 23 years now. What are some of the most common pitfalls you see with a raw food or vegan diet?Jameth: I think the number one pitfall that a raw fooder suffers from is, based on my 23 years of experience in raw food with countless tens of thousands of people, is if they’re a regular person, they eat regular foods, and let’s say they’re ill and they go raw immediately and they get well, I actually think that is ultimately a mistake. Because I see people when they “fall off the wagon” so to speak, they fall off hard and they fall back to what they started from. So if I’m eating regular pizza and regular chicken and regular animal products, things like that, regular cookies, I fall off the wagon with raw, do things with family, I’ll just go ahead and eat those and then, you know, “When I do that, and finish with my binge, then I’ll just go back to being raw.” And, I see a lot of people leaving raw foods or just being less healthy by going back and forth between those things. Because in raw the emphasis is so hard, and this is how I was taught too, on raw, that it forgets all the other things that are important, that make a raw food diet successful. And the number one thing that makes a raw food diet successful – all of a sudden, you are a whole food vegan.
If you become vegan, all of a sudden, if you stop eating animal products, cooked or raw – which are not good for you, you had an immense increase in your health. Your likelihood to get osteoporosis has plummeted; your likelihood to get cancer has plummeted; and as a whole food vegan, your likelihood to get heart disease is almost non-existent.
Now whole food meaning, you’re not just eating white sugar, white flour, and hydrogenated oil – all of which are vegan, but all of which are absolutely abysmal for you. A whole food vegan would eat things like millet, amaranth, quinoa, chick peas, you know, grains, beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables – actual food, unadulterated by nature. You’re also eating an organic diet, when you tend to go raw, and organic is huge. These things are just additives, and you don’t just eat a whole food, organic, vegan diet, you also change completely the types of foods you’re eating. For example, you don’t go from eating, let’s say a frozen vegan pizza, cooked, to a raw frozen vegan pizza. You change your food completely. You go from eating, let’s say a frozen vegan pizza, or a regular pizza, to broccoli, and cauliflower, and fruits, and sprouts, and flaxseeds, and actual foods that are completely different types of foods. So the amount of nutrients you are getting by being a raw fooder, unless you’re fruitarian, is dramatically higher. You’re also usually consuming more water, unless you’re doing lots of dehydrated things, or lots of cacao, you’re more hydrated, which is immensely beneficial. Some diets include lots of raw vegetable juice, which is tremendously beneficial. And, you are also eating a lot of your food raw, which there is a benefit to actually having things raw too, but it’s just one of the many benefits.
In raw food teaching, there is often taught, usually taught, that there’s two categories of food: foods that are raw, and foods that are cooked, and there is nothing in between. So if you’re eating something cooked, well it might as well be cheese lasagna, rather than tofu lasagna, because in the raw food world, there’s really no difference. And I’ve seen that information devastate peoples health, and I seen it have people leave the raw foods movement who would be having, let’s say, 80, 90% of their health has improved, and like “Wow, I love this.” And maybe 10 or 20% hasn’t, or 10 or 20% may have gotten worse, for some reason, some deficiency cropped up somewhere. And, if they usually talk to the raw food leaders or look at raw food text, they say, “Well, there’s a problem with you, you’re cleansing, you’re this, you’re that, blah blah blah blah. You’ve got to stay raw, because all cooked food is poison.” Even the, you know, sometimes even with macrobiotic diets, which the healing macrobiotic diet is an all-cooked food, vegan diet, there are many people who have overcome cancer with that. Now you can’t overcome cancer on poison, and by no means am I an advocate of macrobiotics, by any stretch of the imagination, because I think macrobiotics is very depleting long term but far better than the standard American diet.
So I think it’s important to be a whole food vegan at some point, and get a good basis of that. And if raw foods is not working for some reason, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.Kevin: So some of the deficiencies that you encounter, with raw food are, maybe…Jameth: I’m not saying they’re widespread, I just want to make sure it’s clear. I’ve met 20 plus year raw fooders who, for the most part, were following that regime, and who appear to be vibrantly healthy and they’re in excellent health, and I have no interest in trying to change their diet whatsoever. I just want them to live optimally and have the creatures of the planet live optimally and the planet as well. But for those who do, there’s some – there’s a group of raw fooders – I don’t know how to necessarily define the types yet – but it might be, people who tend to be vata, it is, in my experience, don’t necessarily thrive on 100% raw foods. And it could be that there’s possibly deficiencies of a type of protein, because it’s not a deficiency of protein, because on raw foods, if you eat an appropriate amount of nuts and seeds – and I think you can eat way too much of those – but an appropriate amount, let’s say, one handful or so, you can get tons of protein doing that. But there’s some vata types, with my experience, take a long time to recover from working out, and it has a much harder time building muscle, just on nut and seed protein. And you can’t really eat enough broccoli, because broccoli has, I think 20 or 30% – protein, very high. But to get that much grams of protein from broccoli, it’s virtually impossible. To eat that many calories, you would actually have to juice a couple of cases of stalks of broccoli to get sufficient protein – and you would get sufficient protein in that case. But broccoli’s also a cruciferous vegetable, and I love cruciferous vegetables for the liver detoxifying, for their anti-cancer benefits and they have some hormone balancing benefits too. They’re phenomenal foods. But raw broccoli, or any raw cruciferous in a large quantity, is really, really hard to process. It’s hard to deal with. So in cases like that, I’ve seen, if people move over to the legume family, it does not have to be soy beans. Soy beans are one of hundreds of different legumes. If you don’t like soy beans for some reason, just don’t eat them – not necessary. Lentils, chick peas, mung beans, adzuki beans, things like that. Now you can certainly do those raw, but it’s ironic that one of the reasons that soy is indicted amongst the raw foods communities is because research on raw soy shows that it is very difficult to digest. It has enzyme and protein and other inhibitors in it that make it hard to deal with and hard to grow on, but that’s when the soy beans are raw. Now when you sprout any legume, any legume sprouted still has a lot of these anti-nutrients in them and it’s harder to digest and get everything out of a raw legume sprout. Now it’s almost ironic though, when you steam those legumes you do destroy all those enzyme inhibitors and the enzymes as well. But at least you’re enzymatically neutral now. You have not cooked it, or charred it, or burned it so there’s no lucocytosis raising of the white blood cell count, with steamed legumes or any steamed vegetable. For those people who don’t thrive on raw, if they do that, sprouted and steamed legumes, not lightly steamed you’ve got to steam it the whole way. Raw is just hard to digest. Most people don’t even make raw hummus anymore with raw chick peas. Have you noticed that?Kevin: Yes.Jameth: Because they are notoriously difficult to digest raw. I’ve made lots of raw chick pea in my day, lots of raw sprouted things and always the thing I used to do and still do is the stuff that’s left over, a dip or pate or something, well you throw it in the dehydrator and make raw chick pea burgers and eat them the next day for dinner. I did that one time and I ate the things in the morning, the raw chick pea hummus we had the day before, a whole bunch of them, I brought them to my seminar and man, I had a hard time even being in the seminar because I had so much volume of gas, that smelled so bad and I was in so much pain that I couldn’t actually socially be in the actual building. I had to walk outside.Kevin: Wow.Jameth: Now that was because I had a concentrated, dehydrated version. Now if you sprout chick peas, and chick peas can be hard to sprout. Sometimes they just go bad before they sprout. Now I don’t mean soak. So actually sprouted chick peas that are steamed then mixed with raw tahini, no reason in any way shape or form to cook your tahini, is phenomenally digestible. Really, really awesomely digestible and to get back, if you sprout your legumes, steam them and put a little bit of flax oil on them and salt them whether it be Himalayan salt, Celtic sea salt, a little bit of gluten free tamari or miso, some sort of good quality source of organic sodium, in my experience I have never seen that not take away someone’s craving or desire for flesh. That is so much better for you nutritionally than eating a piece of flesh, raw or not. By any measurement that science has currently come up including [indecipherable] photography, it’s far superior to do that than it is to eat raw flesh. So what I’m saying is rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water and being 100% raw, if you’re eating an animal product because you’re better off not. You’re better off eating a whole food vegan cooked food like sprouted, steamed, salted, flax oil, legume that I talked about. That’s my experience.
Raw Food Gourmet For the Uninitiated in the Vegan Way
The raw food gourmet can well be considered the ultimate gourmet. It has everything the body needs and then some more. Raw vegan food gourmets consist of natural raw vegan foods that do not require any kind of cooking whatsoever. If you do not know what “vegan” means then you are probably thinking its some kind of an astronomy term from science 101! But its not and it represents the latest in food and health. Vegan is a term for a lifestyle whereby a person chooses to live entirely on plants and plant based foods, this is different from “vegetarian”, which is a diet where the person accepts animal based products such as milk, eggs and honey while primarily relying on plant based foods.
Another peculiar thing about vegan diet is that it consists of raw food gourmets. That is the dishes prepared are raw in nature and not cooked. Making these dishes is easy and even a 6 year old can be easily explained once into making very delicious raw food gourmet.
Raw food gourmets have many advantages to offer. They are very rich in dietary fiber which is only too **important** for your digestive system. Also they are much, much richer in vitamins, carotenoids, minerals and even protein that other cooked foods.
It is for these reasons as to why more and people are fast opting for the raw food gourmet throughout the world. When going the raw way there really is nothing to loose, in fact the only thing that you may loose is all the dis-eases that you may have had along with other problems such as obesity. So try some raw recipes today and experience the freshness.
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Conquering Health Problems by Eating Raw Food
Health problems, in what ever form they come are becoming all too common these days. However little do people realize that they can be alleviated simply by eating raw food. Cooking (or overly cooking it as is so commonly done these days) destroys the nutritional values of the food. This is exactly whenever you get sick your doctor tells you to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, because they are so rich in the vitamins and minerals that your body so needs. Even health coaches and professionals will tell you nothing different; raw food is as healthy as food gets! What you eat is what you is as the saying goes and it couldn’t be more true. When you eat healthy fresh raw vegan food you not only feel healthy and fresh but also your metabolism increases which means you age less. Not to mention that most if not all of your health problems can be conquered by eating raw healthy food. A raw diet is specially recommended for people suffering with stomach disorders such as constipation, irregular bowel movement, heart burns and gastritis. This is so because raw vegan food is always rich in dietary fiber which is **extremely** important for a healthy and functional digestive system. This is also the single most important reason why people who consume cooked food without eating any vegan food are so prone to eating and stomach disorders. Another benefit that eating raw food more often offers is that it is so easy to prepare. In fact even 6 year old could do it after being explained once. Raw food recipes are very easy to understand and implement which is why they are becoming so popular these days. You should try raw food and see for yourself how it can help you reach a better state of healthy!
Health problems, in what ever form they come are becoming all too common these days. However little do people realize that they can be alleviated simply by eating raw food. Cooking (or overly cooking it as is so commonly done these days) destroys the nutritional values of the food. This is exactly whenever you get sick your doctor tells you to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, because they are so rich in the vitamins and minerals that your body so needs. Even health coaches and professionals will tell you nothing different; raw food is as healthy as food gets!
What you eat is what you is as the saying goes and it couldn’t be more true. When you eat healthy fresh raw vegan food you not only feel healthy and fresh but also your metabolism increases which means you age less. Not to mention that most if not all of your health problems can be conquered by eating raw healthy food.
A raw diet is specially recommended for people suffering with stomach disorders such as constipation, irregular bowel movement, heart burns and gastritis. This is so because raw vegan food is always rich in dietary fiber which is **extremely** important for a healthy and functional digestive system. This is also the single most important reason why people who consume cooked food without eating any vegan food are so prone to eating and stomach disorders.
Another benefit that eating raw food more often offers is that it is so easy to prepare. In fact even 6 year old could do it after being explained once. Raw food recipes are very easy to understand and implement which is why they are becoming so popular these days. You should try raw food and see for yourself how it can help you reach a better state of healthy!
Read more on Eating raw food here.
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Raw Food Cookbook For a Healthy Living
A raw cookbook can be your best guide to making healthy vegan food quickly. When it comes to living on vegan food it will be wise to take it slow and easy while you see what works and what does not work in your case. A raw food cookbook can be your guide into helping you understand how to make such food but also just how rewarding it is to live on it. For the uninitiated, a vegan diet is completely comprised of food that is not cooked so that its original nutrients and nourishment is maintained. You should also know the difference between vegetarian food and vegan food; the former is a diet and allows for animal based food products such as milk and honey, however the latter is a way of life and does not allow any animal based foods. A raw food cookbook will have a lot of such recipes which will not be required to be cooked. There are many raw food cookbooks that can help you understand how to cook vegan food. Many of these are downloadable so you do not have to wait for days to get your copy. These raw food cookbooks will comprise of recipes in entrees, raw desserts, raw salads, raw soups, hemp recipes, raw snacks, to name a few. People are always skeptical when it comes to switching over their entire diet plan, but those who even try some raw recipes just refuse to go back! Yes vegan food takes some getting used to but after your body has acclimatized to the new diet, you will feel younger healthier and far more vibrant. Even doctors and fitness experts always emphasize eating more raw vegan foods, so why shouldn’t you? Try out a few recipes from a raw food cookbook and see the difference it creates.
A raw cookbook can be your best guide to making healthy vegan food quickly. When it comes to living on vegan food it will be wise to take it slow and easy while you see what works and what does not work in your case. A raw food cookbook can be your guide into helping you understand how to make such food but also just how rewarding it is to live on it.
For the uninitiated, a vegan diet is completely comprised of food that is not cooked so that its original nutrients and nourishment is maintained. You should also know the difference between vegetarian food and vegan food; the former is a diet and allows for animal based food products such as milk and honey, however the latter is a way of life and does not allow any animal based foods. A raw food cookbook will have a lot of such recipes which will not be required to be cooked.
There are many raw food cookbooks that can help you understand how to cook vegan food. Many of these are downloadable so you do not have to wait for days to get your copy. These raw food cookbooks will comprise of recipes in entrees, raw desserts, raw salads, raw soups, hemp recipes, raw snacks, to name a few.
People are always skeptical when it comes to switching over their entire diet plan, but those who even try some raw recipes just refuse to go back! Yes vegan food takes some getting used to but after your body has acclimatized to the new diet, you will feel younger healthier and far more vibrant. Even doctors and fitness experts always emphasize eating more raw vegan foods, so why shouldn’t you? Try out a few recipes from a raw food cookbook and see the difference it creates.
Read more on Raw Food Classes here.
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Does Eating Raw Foods Make Sense In The North?
Have you bought the idea that a completely raw food diet is the ultimate, most logical, best diet for all humankind, no matter where they live in the world? (Like eskimos eating watermelon…)
It seems to me that it’s the implied idea transmitted by many raw-foodists, raw food website, books and seminars.
The idea is:
Raw Food is Good, Cooked Food is Evil, and the World Would Be a Better Place If Everyone Ate Only Raw Foods
OK, I may be exaggerating, but often that’s the general tone of many of the raw food gurus’ message.
Is it actually true?
Would it be possible that the resources required to transport those foods would actually make the raw food diet fairly unecological, considering the fact that eating a diet of bananas and mangoes in Northern Canada isn’t the most natural choice?
How much food do you need as a 100% raw food eater?
It’s fairly well-known that anyone deciding to eat only raw foods in a sustainable way (for health) needs to eat a tremendous quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables.
In order to get enough calories from fruits and vegetables, without using too much raw fat (which would be detrimental for health), here’s the average amount of food that’s necessary:
For a 2000 calorie diet: 10 pounds a day (with peels and all)
For a 3000 calorie diet: 15 pounds a day (with peels and all)
I based those numbers on average consumption most 100% raw foodists go through in a typical day (those who are not on a detox program!).
So basically, 70 to over 100 pounds of food per week!
That’s a lot.
Where does your food come from?
If we would want to get a more accurate picture on the ecological impact that eating a large quantity of imported fruits would have versus a smaller quantity of local cooked, animal or grain foods, we would need to analyze a lot of variables. I haven’t been able to get an accurate estimate from the data that’s available.
But just knowing that most imported fruits come from fairly far away, and that large quantities are necessary on a completely raw food diet, I can draw the obvious conclusion that eating this way is not necessarily the most logical, natural and ecological choice.
Consider that:
- Grapes from Chile travel a minimum of 4000 miles to get to you
- Bananas from Costa Rica travel about 2000 miles or more to get to you
- Mangoes from Mexico at least 1000 miles to get to you
- And so on…
All of the fossil fuels used to transport all of these foods leave an impact, which may offset or even counter-balance the possible environmental benefits of choosing a raw vegan diet (which requires less resources when produced locally), versus a local diet that would contain both raw, cooked, plant and possibly even animal foods.
It’s always been obvious to me that a diet of all raw foods in Canada makes less sense on many levels that one that includes some cooked foods, more local foods and fewer imported fruits.
There’s also the fact that these fruits are picked unripe in many cases, the acidity level is too high and the nutrient level too low.
So is the solution for all raw-food enthusiasts to move to the tropics? Certainly not!
My point is:
- There’s no need to demonize cooked food – A diet that includes both raw and cooked food makes a lot of sense on many levels. You don’t have to eat 100% raw. This is really an individual choice based on your health, your location, and your preference.
- A raw food diet can be unnatural – Eating 100% raw foods in the north can be unnatural and unsustainable. And for many more reasons that I can expand on in future articles, it’s certainly not a solution that can be proposed to the entire world!
- If you live in the north, follow the seasons – Many people, as summer approaches, have the desire to include more raw food in their diet. But in the winter, instead of freezing to death, they choose to incorporate more raw, cooked foods. That is perfectly fine, natural and even desirable for most people.
Here’s a list of some additional tips to enable you to eat more ecologically and sustainably, while incorporating more raw fruits and vegetables in your diet, no matter where you live:
1- Freeze Berries and other Fruits in Season – Berries are some of the most nutritious and antioxidant-packed foods you can eat. To avoid the consumption of too much imported foods in the winter, I encourage you to freeze a huge quantity of ripe, local, organically grown (or wild) fresh berries when they are in season. I personally freeze a lot of wild blueberries, which are local. Then, use them throughout the winter in your recipes. You can thaw them in advance to avoid the negative effect of consuming cold foods.
2- Grow Sprouts – Grow some fresh, toxin-free sprouts such as clover and sunflower greens, to get a supply of cheap, fresh, local vegetables in the winter!
3- Avoid out of Season Fruits – Some fruits may be available in your store, but may actually be out of season in your hemisphere of the world. If you live in North America, the season for grapes usually ends in September or October. Grapes during the winter are imported from countries situated in the opposite hemisphere, such as Chile, where the seasons are reversed. Avoid that! Learn the seasons of different fruits and vegetables and choose to avoid foods imported from such far-away places.
4- Make Different Salads and Vegetable Dishes in the Winter – In one of my recipe books, I give different kinds of salads and dressings depending on the season. In the winter, I recommend salads made with cabbage, carrots and other root vegetables. In the summer, I incorporate more lettuce, tomatoes and fresh vegetables. You should do the same.
5- Shun Exotic Fruits – Exotic fruits such as durian, Thai coconuts and litchis can be great to try, but they inevitably come from faraway countries such as Thailand. In addition to leaving a huge ecological impact for being imported from so far, they are also heavily sprayed with toxic chemicals. Durians are particularly notorious for that. Try them for fun, but stick to fruits and vegetables as local as possible – at least from somewhere you could drive to.
Finally, I would like to encourage you to continue making the best choices for your health. Sometimes, that may sometimes mean:
- Eating fresher, locally grown commercial foods instead of less fresh, imported organic foods
- Eating ripe, local commercial food instead of unripe, imported organic foods
- And eating some cooked, warm “local” food instead of just cold imported fruits
Lookt at true consequences of your own choices, and realize that there’s not one size that fits all.
Raw Food Diet
A raw food diet is a diet based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods. Like fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans etc. It is believed that when the food is heated above the temperature of 116 degrees, the enzymes present in it are destroyed. The enzymes are said to be helpful with the digestion and absorption of the food. It’s also believed that cooking diminishes the nutritional value of the food.
It has lately become a lifestyle called Raw Foodism or Rawism. Raw Foodists typically believe that greater the percentage of raw food in the diet, greater the health benefits. The raw food Diet is followed by both Vegetarians and Non Vegetarians.
The benefits of Raw Food 6. increased energy 7. Improved skin appearance. 8. improved digestion 9. weight loss 10. reduced risk of heart attack and many more.
The raw food diet basically contains less amount of trans fats and saturated fats and also they are low in sodium and high in potassium, foliate and health-promoting plant chemicals which are called phytochemicals.
What to eat? (veg) Fresh fruits and vegetables, Nuts, Seeds, Beans, Legumes, Seaweed, Young Coconut Milk, Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables,Dry Fruits And many more.
What to eat? (Non veg) Unprocessed meats/organ-meats/eggs : Raw dairy, And aged, Raw animal foods such as century eggs, Rotting (fermenting), Meat/fish/shellfish/ kefir It should be ensured that at least 75% of the food consumed should not be heated over 116 F.
How to cook the food?? Many foods in the Raw Food diet are simple to cook like fruits, salads, meat, dairy etc. but some other foods may require considerable amount of time and planning. Like rice and other grains, they require sprouting or overnight soaking to become digestible.
Some cook book authors believe that the preparation of gourmet raw food recipes normally requires a blender, food processor, juicer, and dehydrator. A few raw foodists feel that freezing the food is also acceptable, even though it lowers the enzyme activity. While many raw foodists view freezing as harmful but not as unhealthy as cooking.
Caution: With the raw food diet gaining popularity, some unsafe foods have re entered the human diets. The following items should be consumed with precaution. Buckwheat, Kidney Beans, Alfala Sprouts, Raw Eggs, Raw Seeds, Apricot Kernels Raw Meat, Raw Milk and there are many more in the list. It’s advised that one should consult a professional related to Raw Foodism before switching the diet.
Who should be very cautious about Raw Food? Children, Pregnant or Nursing women, People with Anemia, People at risk for Osteoporosis. And before switching diets people should also be aware that that certain nutritional deficiency can occur on the raw food diet. And that include deficiency of Calcium, Iron, Vitamin B12, Protein, And Calories.
My Raw diet book is the quickest and safes way to loss weight fast. You can get all the top models are eating my diet and how much energy you will have if you eat Raw.
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Eat Greens For Fat Loss
When it comes to fat loss and losing weight there is an overwhelming amount of information. If you’re like most people who want to lose weight you may feel somewhat bewildered and confused by all the diet and nutrition advice given by so many different fat loss experts. The tough part is that much of this advice overlooks the basic physiological premise for weight loss and long-term health – alkalinity!
Our bodies operate within a fine pH equilibrium. If we are too acidic, we invite disease and “fatness” to grow rampant. 2-time Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Linus Pauling, was the first to show to that cancer cannot grow in an alkaline environment. Many years later, though, most people have no idea what being alkaline means.
Being alkaline means not being acidic. The most important bodily tissue – our blood – requires a slightly alkaline pH to operate perfectly. If not, red blood cells begin to die, coagulate, and expel their waste into the blood. Oxygen transport to the cells becomes compromised and the body begins removing dangerous acid out from the blood and storing in our fat cells.
The body’s fat cells hold onto this acid as a protective mechanism since acid in the blood or vital organs can be lethal. Therefore, your ability to burn fat is related to your body’s acid-alkaline balance. You will find it very hard lose fat if you are acidic. It’s simple – your body needs to keep the fat around to hold onto to the acid. Once the acid lessens, the fat will follow.
So when you hear “experts” promoting high protein diets or other similar weight loss gimmicks you need to ask yourself if the foods they promote are acid or alkaline-forming in the body. For instance, all animal products (meat, dairy, eggs) are acid-forming in the body. Most grains and refined sugars are as well. A diet high in these foods can only result in an acidic body.
It has been said that our diet should be 80% alkaline and 20% acidic. However, I’m sure you can see that the Western diet – full of its processed, refined, and high fat foods – is the exact opposite. It’s no wonder that obesity is such a problem in Westernized countries.
So what foods are alkaline-forming?
Fruits and vegetables. The reason for this is that they are abundant in alkalizing minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium while possessing lower concentrations of acidifying properties such as sulfur and nitrogen.
The best sources of alkalinity of all foods are greens. Grasses, green vegetables, and sea vegetables are some examples. A diet rich in green foods will not only help prevent the onset of disease but it will keep you thin.
As you incorporate more green foods into your diet you will become more alkaline – displacing needless acid – and improving your fat loss efforts. Think about it…how many overweight vegans or vegetarians do you know? Obviously being vegetarian doesn’t guarantee weight loss because many of these people can also have atrocious diets. However, their chance of staying thin is far better than someone who eats burgers and other garbage foods.
How to alkalize your body?
Eat for health and you will alkalize your body and lose weight. Here are 4 strategies to help you alkalize your body for optimal fat loss (and health) results:
1. Eat more fruits and vegetables and get plenty of greens. My rule of thumb is to consume at least 1 green juice and/or salad each day.
2. Drink plenty of water. You should drink at least half your body weight (lbs) in ounces each day.
3. Breathe! Take a few minutes each day and focus on deep breathing. Oxygen is alkalizing.
4. Minimize and avoid processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and nutrition-deficient drinks like coffee and sodas.
Nutrition Expert, Yuri Elkaim and his groundbreaking book, Eating for Energy, have helped thousands of people in over 80 countries regain control of their health and weight. Watch his new You Tube Video and discover a delicious GREEN smoothie recipe that will keep you energized and nourished. For more on his revolutionary healthy eating book visit http://www.EatingforEnergy.ca.
Raw Food Made Easy For the Raw Vegan Food Enthusiast
Raw vegan food can be made easily by using raw food cookbooks that are easily available online. Most people would have heard of the superior benefits that vegan food provides but can’t seem to know where to get started. In this case it is only best to seek the advice of experts. Basically there are two easy ways you can get started – either you can go to one of the many online forums and talk to the people who frequent there or you can download or order a raw cookbook with which you can try out a few raw recipes. Making raw food is made easy when you have some direction. Also this kind of food can be made easily as there is no cooking involved. In fact making vegan food is so easy that even 6 year olds can make it after being explained once as to how to do it. Most raw food cookbooks are filled with mouth watering recipes that requires next to no preparation and are nutritious to boot. With so many things to gain and so little to loose you really have no reason not to try some raw food. Some of the health benefits that you stand to gain when you go vegan include – a. Fat loss is made easy using raw food. b. High natural dietary fiber intake which is **extremely** important for your digestive system. Indeed most if not all of stomach related problems can be traced to a low intake of dietary fiber in the form of raw foods. c. Boosts your body’s defenses against cold, flu and measles. d. Is extremely high in nutritional content such as vitamins, minerals and even proteins. Making raw vegan food is made easy when you have a guide book for instructions, especially when you are beginning. Try some raw food recipes and see the changes that the vegan lifestyle can make in your life. I have a feeling you will be pleasantly surprised.
Raw food has remained way too underrated however eating raw vegan food is becoming more and more popular these days as it is the most healthiest choice of foods available. try some recipes and see the difference it makes!
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