A few years ago I had some health problems - nothing life threatening, but a definite impact on quality of life. After 4 surgeries I developed some complications which meant more meds and daily restrictions along with no hope for a cure. So, I began researching alternative options. I kept finding stories about people who cured multiple health issues with a raw food diet. It sounded funky and I had images of raw eggs and sushi. As happens on the Internet, I fell into a site that explained the diet in more detail. Fruits, veggies, nuts, and the like sounded pretty good - especially because I wouldn't have to eat raw fish.
I went to the library and checked out a couple raw food (un)cookbooks. This was a paradigm shift. I didn't understand most of the recipes, the vocabulary was different, and I really didn't know how to prepare any of the food with some of the weird equipment required. If this was going to be complicated, I couldn't try it. I returned the books to the library without trying a single recipe.
As I continued my research I found some "you tubes" with raw food chefs prepping a variety of recipes. This opened up a new world for me. I dragged my husband off to Cousins, a raw food restaurant in Chicago, so I could buy a few ingredients and try some foods- agave, flax crackers, nama shoyu, and "cheesecake". After tasting the cheesecake with no dairy included, I was immediately hooked on raw desserts. I also bought a couple primer books that made a lot more sense for a newbie and had great explanations. Now it was time to experiment and I'll discuss that in my next post.
In the meantime, in 16 days I'll begin this program full-time. I'm committed. I'm preparing by eating more raw than I normally do and beginning to eliminate meat and dairy from my diet. Yup, dairy will be the tough part. I signed up for a service that will deliver organic produce to my home on a weekly basis. Today will be the first delivery. I can't wait!
It sounded funky - It still sounds funky. Also how are you going to get enough protein? What is nama shoyu?
ReplyDeleteMy SIL has rheumatoid arthritis (probably) and her doctor put her on a gluten free diet which is helping her immensely. Maybe this is the real underlying problem?
I am pretty much totally against diets at this point. Restricting foods is no substitute for the gym and a personal trainer. I know you have major knee issues but the gym is the only real cure (as much as a cure can be effected at this point).
Charlotte, thanks for posting a comment. I agree that it's a bit funky. I really enjoy eating this way, though. Actually, I enjoy eating most any way - which has turned into a bit of a problem. Because I like the food I am hoping to stay on the straight and narrow. I'll be posting pix and recipes of some of the foods I make that are really easy and really good.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of your comments:
1) Nama Shoyu is raw soy sauce.
2) Protein comes from germinated nuts, seeds, and grains along with green, leafy vegetables.
3) I used to be very active. However, now I'm doing things like Chair Yoga. I hope I can get to the point where I can again go to the gym for something more strenuous. Or even walk a couple blocks.
Before I launch into my rant, I want to say that I really really want to see you get your health back.
ReplyDeleteArgh - If you are at the Chair Yoga stage - then you need to be in physical therapy! And, being a total (somewhat reformed) couch potato I know how hard it is to get back into any semblance of physical shape, especially for those of us who are almost in the prime of life. Chair Yoga is not going to get you into shape. You need professional help from someone who can take your physical limits into consideration and kick your butt.
No way you'll get enough protein from nuts and seeds - you'd have to eat a metric ton every day. If you don't have enough protein, how are you going to build up those muscles and get into shape? Any vegetarian will tell you that to get complete proteins from non-animal sources, you have to have two kinds like rice and beans. How are you going to eat either of those things if you can't cook them?
And what about calcium? Don't tell me spinach that so won't work. I don't think you can buy a vat of organic spinach at the Jewel.
I'm worried that you've gone into this crazy diet. This is a thousand times worse than the Voodoo Doctor.
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I love any of your rants and I am absolutely certain that you would like to see me healthy.
Let's talk about exercise first. As you know I used to be very active and I wish I could be someday again. In the meantime, I still do my physical therapy exercises. Chair yoga actually feels pretty good. I also do a little upper body work with light weights. I'm going to visit a gym to see if walking in the pool is at all helpful - or at least not damaging.
Now here's the protein discussion. In terms of food, rather than write this myself I'm quoting from an article on rawfoods.com. "The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you ate 2,000 calories per day, and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories from protein, you would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50 grams. This is more than adequate to support optimal well-being. Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as with cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. So raw plant food protein is even a better source than cooked plant foods or animal foods. There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not "complete". This is based on studies done on rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before we discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly health destroying products."
I think the Standard American Diet includes too much of what's bad for me and I eat too much of it. Earlier this year I decided to try being 100% raw one-day-at-a-time. I actually managed to do so for about 2 weeks. I felt great and want to feel that way again. I've done the experimenting and like the results. I wonder if keeping this up for a longer period of time will make me feel better for a longer period of time. It's worth a try.
Let's remember that the voodoo doc actually helped you eliminate your allergies, lose weight, and feel better.
Thanks for worrying about me. Love ya'.