Just finished reading Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu. It was a national bestseller (in 1992), and I can see why. The book discusses the Asian mindset with regards to achievement, focus, sacrifice and discipline. The author has too many anecdotes/little stories (in my opinion), but the lessons taught by the anecdotes are important.

I came across this passage in the book, and thought I would share…

"A tough mental state follows a well-conditioned physical body. Hindu teachings tell that the highest Dharma of an individual is the care for his body. This even takes precedence over the spiritual quest. Without the body, nothing can be achieved in the physical world. Put simply, the foundation to a successful life is being physically fit. Through exercise and a good diet, a sharp mental state will follow."

Several people have told me that they believe it's more important to eat organic foods than it is to eat raw. I believe that the best health comes from organic produce eaten in a raw state. However, if you're struggling with the "raw" element, AT LEAST make sure you're eating organic fruits and vegetables. The following article briefly highlights the dangers of pesticides.

Pesticides

The E.P.A, the Environmental Protection Agency, reports that approximately 70 pesticides now in use are 'probable' or 'possible' cancer-causing agents. In addition to being sprayed on fruits and vegetables, they're also used on grains that are fed to cattle, chickens, and other livestock. These chemicals may lodge in the animals' tissues and milk, which are ingested by humans. Some studies have suggested that exposure to low levels of pesticides for long periods of time can cause breast cancer. Women who avoid eating animal products altogether have been shown to have much smaller concentrations of pesticides in their breast milk.

Another way to avoid pesticides or limit your exposure to them is to purchase organic produce. Once available only at 'health food' stores and markets, many big supermarket chains now carry organic produce, grains, and processed foods, such as breads, which are made with organic products. Laws vary from state to state as to what can be labeled 'organic,' so check to find out what your local laws are. To avoid pesticide contamination, peel and wash all fruits and vegetables, although some chemicals can't be washed away. Use a vegetable scrub brush on foods whose outer peel you're going to eat. Even though the U.S. doesn't ban the use of pesticides in agriculture, it does have the highest standards concerning their use, so you may want to limit or avoid consuming produce brought in from other countries.

This article is from The Rocky Mountain News, and it's focused on Doug Walsh's raw food hike (which I've already written about in an earlier entry).

Raw Food Power Behind This Hike
Advocate tackling Great Divide to spotlight eating style

Between the sleeping bag, tent and extra socks in Doug Walsh's backpack, there will be a tiny, 4-ounce food grinder and half-pound seed sprouter. Not your average backpacker's load. But this is not your average backpacking trip, either. Eating only raw foods, with a mission to raise awareness for his alternative diet and money for some of its biggest advocates, Walsh set out last week on Earth Day to hike the entire Continental Divide Trail over the next five months, starting in New Mexico and ending in Canada.

Walsh has been a raw-foodist, someone who does not eat cooked or heated foods, for the past 10 years. He is determined to prove that even the most stringent of regimens can be supplemented with a raw-food lifestyle. "There's no comparison. I feel better at 41 than I did at 24," he said about his health. In addition to raising funds and drawing attention to the benefits of raw foods, the outdoorsman also will be fueling his love of the wilderness and passion for exploring it. "I'm in love with the Earth," he said. "So I like to eat food that's full of the Earth's energy."

Walsh will use his miniature grinder and sprouter to preserve and produce raw foods that have what he describes as the "life principle." He used a sunflower seed as an example to explain the concept. In raw form, the seed can sprout into a plant. After it is cooked, he argued, the seed won't sprout. "There's some kind of information present in raw foods that is no longer there when we heat it," he said. "It's something that's essential to our life."

Walsh, a graduate of the Living Lite Culinary Arts Institute in Fort Bragg, Calif., a gourmet chef's school for raw foods preparation, is walking to raise money for the school's new building. He has raised more than $5,000 and wants to give his alma mater as much money and attention as he can. During the 3,000-mile trek along the trail, Walsh will stop at 30 previously planned resupply points. His food will be shipped to him at post offices at those locations. "I'll just hitchhike into town and pick up my box of new food," he said. Staples for the trip include nuts, dried fruits and sprouts.

Walsh made himself crackers – by mashing nuts and other ingredients into a paste, spreading them thin and drying them out in a dehydrator – as well as raw bread and even pizzas. Walsh will be carrying a digital camera, cell phone and portable e-mail device to send updates to sponsors and fans. Walsh expects to encounter snow and cold, dehydration and heat, unmarked trails, numerous stream crossings and other unexpected wilderness adventures during his time on the divide. While he's taking his raw-food diet to the extreme, Walsh said anyone can enjoy the same without being an adventurer.

Steve Phillips, a raw-foodist and owner of the Longmont Co-op Market, has been eating raw foods exclusively for about a year and a half. He said they are as appetizing as cooked foods, and better for you. The secret is developing proper preparation skills, Phillips said, noting he and his family made a wonderful pizza recently with dried tomatoes on top. "Yes, it takes a little time, but once you figure out how to make a few things, you just go from there," he said.

Did you know that cancer rates are higher for DEVELOPED countries than 3rd world countries? More below…

Worldwide Cancer Rates Double

According to a study by Cancer Research UK, which examined the worldwide incidence of 27 different cancers over the last 30 years, virtually all rates of cancer have increased. Two of the most common, breast and lung cancer, have doubled.

The most striking aspect of the study's findings has to do with the geographic distribution of the disease. John Toy, Medical Director of Cancer Research UK, said, "Statistics show that cancer is still essentially a major disease of the developed world."

And a map that accompanies a BBC News article about the study shows that "third world" countries do indeed have the lowest rates of cancer, while highly developed countries, including the United States and Canada, have the highest rates.

It's been well established that dietary choices play an important role in preventing cancer, and a number of studies indicate that the typical "Western" diet is one that promotes the disease. The results of this study tend to support that conclusion.

A "Western" diet is characterized by a higher consumption of processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts, high-fat dairy products, French fries, baked goods, and vegetable oils.

[My comments: This excerpt is from Early to Rise, a great daily publication by Michael Masterson.]

Would you like to connect with other raw foodists in your local community? Living Nutrition's website has a directory of raw-food potlucks across the U.S.

Find a raw food potluck here.

This is a great way to get support and encouragement from like-minded people.

The BBC just published the results of a U.S. research study that compared people on raw food diets to people on regular, standard American diets. The article is re-printed below…

Raw Food Eaters Thin But Healthy

It has been suggested that eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked or processed might make bones thinner and prone to fractures. But a study in Archives of Internal Medicine found although bones were lighter on this diet, turnover rates were normal with no osteoporosis. The lower bone mass is down to raw food eaters being slim, the authors believe.

The researchers compared the bone health of 18 people who had been following strict raw food diets for up to 10 years with that of people who ate a more typical American diet, including refined carbohydrates, animal products and cooked foods. The raw food diet is different than more typical vegetarian and vegan diets, which do not exclude cooked, processed or otherwise refined foods. The groups were matched according to age, sex and socioeconomic status. To gauge bone health, the researchers looked at each person's body weight, bone weight and mineral density, markers of bone turnover, levels of vitamin D and inflammatory markers.

Bone Health

The raw food vegetarians in the study had lower body weights (BMI) and total body fat than the other volunteers. They also had lower bone mass and bone mineral density. "It is well documented that a low BMI and weight loss are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk, while obesity protects against osteoporosis," said the researchers. But the people who followed raw food diets did not have any other biological markers that typically accompany osteoporosis and had normal rates of bone turnover. Lead researcher Dr Luigi Fontana, from Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, said: "We think it's possible these people don't have increased risk of fracture but that their low bone mass is related to the fact that they are lighter because they take in fewer calories."

Dr. Fontana said the raw food diet group also had higher vitamin D levels than people on a typical Western diet, even though they did not consume dairy products which are known to be a good source of vitamin D. He said this was probably due to sun exposure. Dr Stephen Walsh, nutrition spokesperson for the Vegan Society, said it was to be expected that people who ate only raw foods would be slimmer and that this would in turn have an effect on bone mass.

Balanced Diet

He stressed that raw food vegetarians account for only a minority of people who are vegan and vegetarian, and that some might find it difficult to get enough calories to maintain a healthy weight eating only raw foods. "We recommend a varied, healthy, balanced diet which includes raw fruit and vegetables as well as other foods," he said. A spokeswoman from the Vegetarian Society said the study was interesting, but given that only 18 people were studied, its usefulness to those wishing to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet was very limited.

A spokesman for the National Osteoporosis Society said: "This is an interesting study which highlights the fact that low bone density is just one part of our overall risk of breaking bones. "We would recommend that raw food vegans make sensible food choices to ensure they are taking in an adequate amount of calcium from a variety of foods and ensure they obtain good amounts of vitamin D from sensible exposure to sunlight."

Elaine Bruce, experienced naturopath, homeopath and director of the UK Centre for Living Foods, said calcium was important for building bones, but that inorganic calcium in the form of supplements would not do the job. "You have to have organic calcium as it occurs in fresh green leafy vegetables." What we do in our programme is maximise that intake by having it in juice form." She said that the chlorophyll found in green plants and vegetables also contained right amount of magnesium that is essential for the uptake of calcium for healthy bones. "The chemical composition of chlorophyll and blood is very similar which further facilitates this uptake," she added.

I stumbled across a very interesting site about an all-raw 3,000 mile hike along the Continental Divide. The Raw Food Hike-A-Thon (created by Doug Walsh) wants to spread the message of raw food to the world and demonstrate that raw food can provide all the energy one needs for strenous activity (not to mention, just day-to-day living, which can also be pretty stressful at times).

Way to go Doug for coming up with such a unique idea to increase awareness of the benefits of raw foods. Learn more about what Doug ate on one of his past hiking trips.

Here's an interesting article about how raw foodists are thin, but healthy. Excerpted below from The Times of India.

Raw Food Vegetarians Are Thinner But Healthier

People on strict raw food vegetarian diets are thin but healthy, US researchers reported on Monday. Although nutritionists and the food industry have warned that a diet without dairy foods can lead to the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis, the team at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis found the vegans they studied had many of the signs of strong bones.

Dr Luigi Fontana, who led the study, said they had thin bones but none of the other signs of osteoporosis. "We think it's possible these people don't have increased risk of fracture but that their low bone mass is related to the fact that they are lighter because they take in fewer calories," Fontana said. He said he would continue to follow them to see if they develop osteoporosis later.

"Raw food vegetarians believe in eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked, processed, or otherwise altered from their natural state," Fontana's team wrote in this week's issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Because of their low calorie and low protein intake, raw food vegetarians have a low body mass index (BMI) and a low total body fat content. It is well documented that a low BMI and weight loss are strongly associated with low bone mass and increased fracture risk, while obesity protects against osteoporosis."

Fontana's team studied 18 strict raw food vegans aged 33 to 85. All ate a diet that included unprepared foods such vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sprouted grains. They had been on this diet for an average of 3.6 years. The team compared them to 18 more average Americans. The raw food group had an average body mass index of 20.5, while the average group were slightly overweight with a BMI of 25.