The Ottawa Citizen, a Canadian newspaper, recently published an article profiling a 45 year-old woman who says she has eaten raw (almost exclusively) for the past 14 years. Story excerpt below…

Dining in the Raw
by Louise Crosby

Natasha Kyssa is lean, fit and glowing. At 45, she is a picture of youth and vitality. She says it's the raw food. For the past 14 years, this Ottawa woman has eaten "living foods" almost exclusively. In the vegan raw foods culture, this means only fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and grains, much of which is made more digestible by soaking, sprouting, blending, juicing and fermenting. That means no meat, chicken or fish, obviously. No dairy foods, sugar, coffee or tea. No canned fruit or vegetables or commercial fruit juices that have been heated or pasteurized. No bubbling macaroni and cheese, wood oven-fired pizza or sizzling stir-frys. No steaming, roasting, grilling or baking.

It sounds restrictive, but raw foodists have come up with clever and imaginative ways of turning raw ingredients into gourmet masterpieces.American celebrity chef Charlie Trotter, a huge fan of raw foods (although he is not a vegetarian), has added raw dishes to the menu of his fine-dining restaurant in Chicago. His 2003 cookbook, Raw, has recipes for Bleeding Heart Radish Ravioli with Yellow Tomato Sauce, and Salsify with Black Truffles and Porcini Mushrooms.

Raw foods are also turning up at the world's most luxurious spa retreats, along with the detox and yoga. And at the monthly raw vegan pot-luck hosted by Natasha and her husband, Mark Faul, at St. Giles Presbyterian Church in the Glebe, people bring everything from lasagnas and sushi rolls to mango pie and carrot cake.

Why raw food? Raw foodists say enzymes — catalysts that aid digestion and the absorption of nutrients into the bloodstream — are destroyed at temperatures higher than 118 degrees F (48 degrees C). A raw food diet, along with other good habits like getting lots of sleep, fresh air and exercise, contributes to exceptionally good overall health, increased energy, a strengthened immune system, resistance to colds and flu and better concentration and mental clarity.

Natasha's earliest influence in the whole-foods department was her Austrian-born mother, who for many years ran The Pantry, a mostly vegetarian tea room in the Glebe Community Centre. Today, Natasha and Mark run SimplyRaw, which offers personalized healthy lifestyles coaching and workshops on preparing raw foods. They recently gave a presentation to medical staff at Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre.

Adopting a completely raw food diet is a serious commitment and not for everyone. But if you'd like to increase the amount of raw food you're getting every day, you may want to re-stock your pantry and invest in a few essential pieces of equipment: a high-speed blender and food processor; a jar with a mesh lid for sprouting beans and seeds; a spiral slicer for making "noodle" strands out of zucchini, beets and other vegetables; fine mesh bags for making nut milks; a dehydrator, which gently removes the moisture from foods and turns out things like crackers, pizza crust, granola, cookies, dried fruits and vegetables. Natasha and Mark sell many of these products through their website.

A few weeks back, Natasha whipped up this Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce in my kitchen. It was room-temperature but tasty, with strong, bold flavours. I made the almond milk and it was quite delicious in banana-strawberry smoothies. Despite long soaking and prolonged blending, however, my dates didn't puree successfully. If you don't like chunky bits of date in your smoothies, but want to stay "raw," use a couple of tablespoons of wild raw agave nectar instead. It's made from agave cactus plants and rates very low on the glycemic index.

Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Serves 6
For the marinara sauce:
2 cloves garlic
1 cup (250 mL) sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water until soft, drained
4 dates, soaked in water until soft and drained, or 2 tablespoons raw agave
4 to 6 medium ripe tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/4 cup (50 mL) minced fresh basil
2 tablespoons (25 mL) fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried
1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried thyme
1 teaspoon (5 mL) onion powder
4 tablespoons (65 mL) cold-pressed olive oil
1/4 cup (50 mL) lemon juice or unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Celtic sea salt, or 1 tablespoon (15 mL) Nama Shoyu or Nama Tamari, to taste
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) black pepper
Pinch, cayenne

For the topping:

1/2 cup (125 mL) pine nuts
Fresh basil
Olives

For zucchini pasta:

4 to 6 large zucchini

1. In a food processor or blender, chop garlic. Add soaked sun-dried tomatoes and dates; blend. Add all remaining ingredients; blend, adding filtered water or the sun-dried tomato soaking water for a smoother, thinner consistency, if desired. Season to taste.

2. Slice the zucchini crosswise into quarters. Use a spiral slicer, shred zucchini into thin "noodles." Place noodles in serving bowls and top with marinara sauce. Garnish with chopped pine nuts, basil and olives.

Vanilla Almond Milk

Makes 3 cups (750 mL)
1 cup (250 mL) almonds with skins, soaked overnight
3 cups (750 mL) filtered water
6 dates, soaked until soft
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece vanilla bean, or 2 tablespoons (25 mL) wild, raw agave nectar
Blend almonds and water at high speed until creamy. Strain using a nylon nut bag or fine sieve. Return milk to blender, add remaining ingredients, and blend again. Serve over cereal, in smoothies or alone.

Bradley Saul, a former pro-cyclist, raw vegan and founder of Organic Athlete was recently profiled in The Arizona Daily Star. According to its website, Organic Athlete organizes bike races called Tour d'Organics in which participants race from farm to farm to promote organic foods and athleticism. Upcoming races are planned in Austin, Texas, Portland, Ore., and Santa Cruz, Sebastopol and Santa Barbara, Calif.

Excerpt below from The Arizona Daily Star…

On Pace: Can Vegan Diet Fuel an Athlete? He says yes.
by Jennifer Duffy

What did you eat yesterday? Bradley Saul, a former pro-cyclist and founder of Organic Athlete, stopped in Tucson last week to talk about his organization and told me what he had munched on that day: half of a case of strawberries, two heads of lettuce chopped into a salad, some oranges and about 50 small dates.

The tall and lean but strong-looking cyclist is a vegan, and a raw foodist. He promotes organic living for athletes to ensure personal and environmental health. (Being a raw foodist who eats only whole foods, he doesn't touch things like whole wheat bread or tofu, but will eat some brown rice in a pinch, he says.) Chowing down on a few heads of lettuce for lunch and avoiding all cooked and processed foods sounds a little extreme, but the principles of his vegan raw food diet are based on eating whole, organic foods that provide the vitamins, minerals and fiber that we all strive for in our diets.

Everyone's first question: Where do you get your protein? "Where don't you get protein if you're eating whole foods?" said Saul, who started Organic Athlete when he was living in Tucson in 2003 and now resides in California. "Human mother's milk has only 5 to 6 percent of its calories from protein. And that's for babies growing at a much more rapid rate than we are. We get enough protein if we eat whole foods, fruits and vegetables." He eats nuts and seeds in small amounts because they're high in fat.

Fruits and vegetables have a bit of protein per calorie — some more than others — so as long as you're eating whole foods, you can't not get enough protein, Saul says. These foods aren't as high in protein as meat, of course, but that protein is more difficult to digest, according to Saul. But this guy isn't just munching on heads of lettuce and lounging on the couch — he's an athlete. Doesn't he need supplements or a chicken breast once in awhile?

Nope.

He doesn't use supplements when he races, and when he recently ran a marathon he just ate dates for fuel during the 26.2-mile race. "I was fine." I can't even imagine a long run without chocolate energy gel, but Saul's minimalism is inspiring. Celery blended up in water provides the precious electrolytes athletes are always fretting over, although Saul says he really doesn't worry about whether he gets enough electrolytes. "I used to come out of a race all covered in salt. I'm not like that anymore," he said. "Since I've started this, I can say my recovery times are better. I wake up in the morning ready for the day, and I don't need stimulants or caffeine to keep me going."

He says he went through a transition period for a few months, moving from vegetarianism to veganism (no animal products at all), to eating raw, organic foods. "I had always known fruits and vegetables were the healthiest food and I ate a lot of them, but I had never heard of people that just ate them," Saul said with a laugh. Now he does, although he was raised on "traditional American food — but all made from scratch," and his mother still eats the way she did when he was growing up. "We had homemade birthday cakes, meat and potatoes. His friends were eating a lot of processed foods, but I just made everything from scratch. It wasn't necessarily healthy, though," said Molly Savitz.

"I'm surprised at how simple what he does is," said Savitz, of South Carolina, who will prepare food for as many as 700 cyclists at one of the Tour d'Organics race, put on by her son, this year. I'm a vegetarian, and Saul's principles of eating lots of fruit and veggies appeal to me — but I'm not giving up my organic tofu any time soon. What I am going to glean from his purist lifestyle is a focus on organic produce, locally grown foods and choosing nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables over processed snacks.

In the article below, a Nottingham woman explains how a raw food diet cured her rheumatoid arthritis which she had suffered from since 13. Interestingly, the arthritis developed after a rubella immunization. (The more I read about vaccinations, the more opposed I become to the practice of immunizing children.)

From The Mirror, a U.K. based publication.

Exclusive: Raw Food Diet Has Cured My Arthritis
By Claire Collins

As the Daniels family gathers round the dinner table it resembles a scene played out in many households. An evening meal shared with loved ones, a time to eat and talk together. But there is one significant difference. All the food laid before mum Jatinder, husband Derek and their three children, Raman, 17, Priyanka, 13, and seven-year-old Mohan is raw. And this unusual diet has been credited with saving Jatinder's life and turning her family's fortunes around.

"I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 16 and doctors said my future was bleak," says Jatinder, a healthy 45. "They said I could be in a wheelchair by the end of my teens, that I would be in varying degrees of constant pain for the rest of my life and, due to aggressive drugs, may not be able to have children. It was like a death sentence.

"But look at me now! I'm a mum of three, perfectly mobile and free from the agony I endured for years. And it's all down to my raw food, low-toxin lifestyle." Jatinder's teenage years in Nottingham were dogged with frustration and confusion over her stiffness and pain until, after endless tests, she was diagnosed.

"I was a healthy until 13 when I was vaccinated against rubella in school," Jatinder recalls."My health deteriorated rapidly afterwards. Suddenly I couldn't do any sports at all. I was persistently tired and regularly in terrible pain. There were days when I couldn't walk, dress myself or bathe. Sometimes my jaw was so stiff I couldn't eat at all or just manage soup." Jatinder went to hospital once a week for six months for injections into her joints yet the arthritis intensified and her knuckles and knees began to deform. She became suicidal.

She says: "The injections offered no immediate relief. I felt alone, angry and full of resentment. I was trying to do my A-levels but I couldn't even carry my own books. "My condition worsened during the winter. The cold wind went straight to my bones and was agony. I became very depressed and often thought about throwing myself into the River Trent."

Despite being in constant pain, Jatinder was determined to live life to the full and at 21 went to London to study computing. She says: "I needed a walking stick by the time I went to university but I refused to use one out of pride. I felt so vulnerable. I was adamant that I was going to be independent." Derek, a 43-year-old computer programmer, remembers the difficulties his bride-to-be faced when they met while studying. He recalls: "She couldn't walk for more than five minutes without pain. I felt helpless and desperately wanted to ease her discomfort.

"It was clear to us that the anti-inflammatory drugs she was taking made very little difference to her discomfort. In fact, the side-effects of stomach ulcers and blinding headaches made her feel worse. I fully supported her decision to stop taking them five years later." The couple married the year after she stopped taking the drugs and Jatinder summoned every bit of grit to walk down the aisle unaided. She says: "The days when I couldn't walk at all were becoming more frequent and I was limping more often than not. "But there was no way I was going to let my illness get in the way of a perfect wedding. "I blocked out the pain, held my head up high and slowly walked to join my future husband. It was very emotional."

Jatinder and Derek set up home in London and Raman was born later that year. But with their new baby came new hardships for Jatinder. She explains: "The doctors had warned that I would have difficulty conceiving because of the drugs I'd been taking, so Raman was extra special. But caring for him was the biggest challenge I'd ever faced. "The normal duties that new mums take for granted like bathing their child was like climbing a mountain. But I had no choice but to cope." Their second child Priyanka was born four years later and developed chronic eczema and asthma at eight weeks. The lack of sleep and stress that caused only made Jatinder's condition worse. She said: "I was beginning to think I couldn't go on. I couldn't see myself reaching my 40th birthday and if I'm honest part of me didn't want to if it meant living with constant pain. "I believed it was only going to get worse."

It was during these dark times that Derek discovered the raw food way of life on the internet. He read claims that nature intended us to eat raw, who le food and that it is unnatural to consume cooked or processed foods. Jatinder explains: "Long-term consumption of processed food will lead to toxicity or toxaemia – when the body is overloaded with poisons. These harmful toxins are found all around us – in our environment, treated water, non-organic fruit and vegetables and cooked food.

"Raw foodists believe that major illnesses like cancer, diabetes and arthritis are often a result of toxaemia and can be prevented and greatly helped by a raw food way of life." Jatinder says she realised the importance of food in relation to wellbeing years ago but the idea of eating only raw food seemed impossible. "I had stopped eating wheat years earlier noticing that wheat flour made my joints flare up and I had become vegan the previous year for similar reasons," she says.

"I put the fact that I wasn't already in a wheelchair down to my healthy diet and generally positive mindset. "I believed that food could have a miraculous effects on health, I just didn't believe I could take such drastic measures." When Jatinder conceived her youngest son Mohan, at the age of 37, she knew something had to be done to improve her health. So, at two months pregnant, she changed her diet to 100 per cent raw for one week. She says: "I had diarrhoea but felt the benefit and the pain reduced. "I went back to 50 per cent cooked until the following summer when the whole family began to detox."

The family moved to Spain four years ago where Jatinder is a raw food consultant. They live in beautiful whitewashed mountainside village on the Costa del Sol and the children attend the local school. "We wanted the children to grow up in a natural environment and I believe sunshine is another key to good health," she says. And the family insists the raw food diet is fun and tasty. "Now the kids love it," Jatinder laughs. "There is so much variety. I make biscuits, crackers, sweets and some really tasty desserts. Friends are amazed when I tell them what they are eating is not cooked.

"Just like you learn how to cook, you can learn how to uncook. It is amazing what textures you can achieve by using a blender or the food you can create simply by dehydrating it. It may sound complicated but once you've got the hang of it, the preparation time is actually less.

"Friends who come around for lunch are amazed when I tell them what they are eating is in fact raw." Jatinder is keen to stress that to truly detox, your whole lifestyle has to be adjusted. She says: "Detoxing is not as simple as just eating raw food — it includes being aware of your environment.

"It means changing you hair gel, your toothpaste, the chemicals you use around the house, chlorinated tap water — even your negative thought patterns. They all introduce toxins into our bodies."

After 12 months of raw food, Jatinder's arthritis all but disappeared. She smiles modestly: "I can now walk and ride a bike for miles, prepare amazing meals and look after my family. And I am pain-free. "We are all so much healthier. Neither myself of Mohan has been treated by a doctor since he was born. I don't believe a doctor will treat me again for my arthritis. I am healing myself.

A recent article, published by DailyIndia.com (out of New York) describes eating raw for both humans and pets.

The Raw Food Diet
by Sylvia Riley

The raw food diet is as much a lifestyle as an eating plan; a naturalistic approach which excludes, in addition to cooked and animal foods, processed and refined ingredients. In the ever-hungry quest for new fads and health panaceas, the raw food diet, with adherents such as Woody Harrelson and Donna Karan, is growing in mainstream popularity. Unlike many other bandwagons however, raw foods (also referred to as 'living foods'), offer unarguable health benefits and one can reap rewards even as a 50% dabbler. To be a 100% extremist takes commitment, discipline and education and is best introduced gradually to avoid the overwhelm of inevitable detoxification.

A food is essentially 'raw' if it is kept below 115 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature above which enzymes are destroyed. Eating raw food ensures an opulent intake of nutrients, fibre, healthy oils and life-giving enzymes. Raw food is much more easily digested, taking half to a third of the time of cooked food, around 24-36 hours compared to 40-100 hours. Raw vegetables and fruits, are also predominantly alkaline so help to optmize the pH balance of the body (around 60-80% alkaline foods being recommended for an internal environment resistant to disease).

Whole foods, sprouts and raw juices are favoured in a raw food diet, and dehydrator 'ovens' effectively concentrate the flavour of certain raw foods to assist in the creation of a mind-boggling array of as-cooked dishes. I've eaten a raw food pizza that unbelievably contained no wheat, no cheese and no cooked ingredients! It tasted delicious and I was stumped to figure out what it was actually made of!

Raw Power

Raw plant foods are healthy, regenerative, cleansing, energising, predominantly alkaline, and packed with vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, enzymes and antioxidants that promote health, beauty and longevity. As well as enhancing digestion and protecting against aging and disease, a raw food diet has noted weight loss benefits and promotes clear, beautiful skin. The benefit of raw food becomes even more apparent in view of the effects cooking can have on constituents in food.

The Effects of Cooking

Arthur Baker writes in Awakening Our Self-Healing Body, "Overly cooked foods literally wreck our body. They deny needed nutrients to the system since heat alters foodstuffs such that they are partially, mostly, or wholly destroyed. Nutrients are coagulated, deaminized, caramelized and rendered inorganic and become toxic and pathogenic in the body."

The indigestible end products of cooked foods can linger in the gut, clogging the intestines and interfering with healthy elimination. They can cause a build-up of toxins, mutagens and carcinogens. Carbohydrates ferment, proteins putrefy and fats become rancid, creating free radicals that enter the blood stream. Lipufuscin, the 'aging pigment', is an example of a waste product created from damaged proteins and fats. It accumulates in the skin and nervous system and is visible as brown 'liver spots' on the skin and eyes.

Toxic by-products and excess free radicals from cooked foods can weaken the immune system and accelerate the aging process.

Enzymes

Cooking destroys enzymes in our food. These delicate, heat sensitive proteins can destabilise at temperatures as low as 115 degrees Fahrenheit, hence even light steaming can render them inactive. Enzymes, so abundant in a raw food diet, are highly functional catalysts involved in various health-regulating tasks in the body, such as breaking down food in digestion, delivering nutrients, carrying away toxic wastes and strengthening the endocrine and immune system. All living cells contain enzymes which function in cooperation with other minerals. As there is not an unlimited supply of enzymes, eating them in our food lifts the burden off organs to produce digestive enzymes which allows a greater use of enzymes for other metabolic purposes, freeing up more energy for the performance of other tasks.

More Bio-available Nutrients in Raw Foods

In cooking food we can loose up to 97% of water-soluble vitamins (B and C) and 40% of fat-soluble vitamins (namely A, D, E and K).

Proteins

Heat denatures proteins, modifying their molecular structure and rendering them unusable. The bacteria in the gut feeds upon undigested proteins that tend to putrefy, giving rise to toxins. Raw foods provide healthy, readily available protein in greater supply without undigested residue.

Fats

Oils are heat, light and air sensitive. Heating can destroy the goodness of an oil and alter molecules generating toxins and free radicals. Unrefined oils that are cold-pressed contain all their natural healthy substances (olive oil for example is rich in phytonutrients, flaxseed oil a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and so on). Oils should be kept refrigerated in dark sealed containers.

Fibre

Fibre is essential for health and helps to flush out the intestines, scrubbing them clean and aiding elimination. With cooked food fibre becomes a soft substance, loosing its brush-like quality. It can partially rot, ferment and putrefy in the gut, causing toxins, gas and heartburn.

Raw Superfoods

Eating superfoods enhances a raw food diet even further. Superfoods are the most potent, antioxidant rich, nutrient dense, disease fighting, anti aging, beautifying, mood enhancing, immune boosting foods on the planet. Raw superfoods ensure an optimum intake of nutrients and phytochemicals for optimum health.

Raw Food Diet For Your Pets

A raw food diet for dogs and cats is both natural and species-appropriate. Not only does it provide a rich supply of nutrients, antioxidants and enzymes, but ensures a move a way from the low grade, inappropriate, highly processed and toxic ingredients found in commercial pet foods that can damage your pet's health. If embarking on a homemade raw food diet for your pet (sometimes referred to as BARF–biologically appropriate raw food), thoroughly research the area first as nutritional balance is essential.

Why Raw Food?
An article by David Wolfe of Nature's First Law (published on Alive Foods).

Many have spent lifetimes wondering what caused humanity's "fall from grace." What has caused humanity's disconnection from living in a natural paradise? Why is civilization out of balance with Nature? These thoughts are often triggered by a study of the classical, legendary, or religious stories of a former perfect age. Every culture seems to have a story about how human life began on Earth. Most describe a place where people lived in harmony with the plants and animals. While living this way, the stories indicate that, people experienced happiness and peace.

These stories often indicate that everything was in harmony until something happened. Some stories tell of a great flood, others tell of humans gaining an understanding of good and evil, still others tell of a shift in Earth's alignment, a few even tell of some godly or spiritual powers that drastically changed the state of life on Earth.

Those of us who follow a balanced, thoughtful raw-food diet, believe that we have found the major piece of the answer to humanity's obvious disconnection with Nature. A multifaceted collection of scientists, spiritual leaders, researchers, and grassroots raw-food enthusiasts, have come to understand through experience, that the great change in human life occurred after humans discovered fire, and then began cooking food.

The obvious separation created by putting fire between our food and our mouth, the tremendous amount of time and energy people spend to cook food, the use of massive resources to create today's cooked-food culture (with its billions of kitchens and restaurants), the construction of factories and shops all churning out cooked and processed foods, the packaging and wrappers involved in the whole cooked-food process, and the lack of life energy in cooked food are all major contributing factors in humanity's fall from paradise. Subconsciously, we know this, as our picture of paradise usually involves sun, beaches, mangoes, and coconuts; not gloomy cities, restaurants, and cooked animals for dinner.

All animals living in the wild eat their food raw and, almost always, fresh. Raw is Nature's First Law. Only humans and domesticated animals eat cooked and processed foods. The cooking and processing of foods has become so common that most of us do not even question it. The assumption that cooked and processed foods are as good as raw foods is just an assumption. Most people do not know for sure, because they have never tried a balanced raw-food approach. Einstein once said: "The essential is to get rid of deeply rooted prejudices, which we often repeat without examining them."

Here is a visual experiment to consider: Feed a tribe of gorillas a diet of coffee, donuts, and other processed human foods for a few years. Let us watch what happens. Or consider, a herd of deer who, instead of eating their grass raw, decide to collect it and boil it in a giant cauldron. Picture what would happen in that situation!

What is it that constitutes the basis of human nourishment? Is it refined sugar flowing out of the roaring jaws of factories? Is it the flesh of animals being churned out by combinations of torturous factory farms and horrific slaughterhouses? Is it the milk of factory-farmed cows naturally intended for baby calves? Is it cooked and processed foods containing dyes, flavors, and preservatives?

No. The basis of human nourishment is obvious: it is raw plant foods. And Nature presents this to us in abundance. Raw plant foods are simple, easy to find, fun to eat, enjoyable, contain thousands of health-giving nutrients, and conform to the biological design of the human digestive system. The sun is the source of all life and raw plant foods represent the purest form of transformed sun energy. When one eats an orange, the wrapper (peel) becomes compost. When one follows a raw-plant-food lifestyle, the amount of trash produced by that individual decreases to almost nothing. Test for yourself and see.

An individual who eats the typical foods found in so-called "civilized society" who then changes to a raw-plant-food diet can discover energy they have never known. Eating a balanced mix of raw plant foods restores the body on a molecular level, building strong cells, radically naturalizing the body, raising alkalinity, and grounding the person in the natural world. Of course, the body resists shocking changes and everyone should ease into the raw-food approach at an appropriate pace. Also, everyone should educate themselves on this amazing subject (by further exploring this website, reading raw-food books, chatting on-line with other raw-foodists, and attending lectures), so that the common mistakes are avoided.

As the months and years pass, a person switching to a raw-plant-food approach may notice a greater awareness of the spiritual world, become more intuitive, and feel natural powers they have never experienced (or did not know they had). One will find oneself having more fun in a garden than a movie theatre. A profound new connection will arise with plants and animals.

Every person is a work of art in progress. Either one can become progressively more beautiful, or one can follow the fate civilization has set out (miseducation, wage slavery, decay, illness, and an untimely death). Each action one takes determines which of these two destinies will be achieved. What we eat helps to guide our path. Eating determines what level of health our body will experience. Every bite of food put into the body should add to our strength, spirituality, and beauty. Each meal becomes part of who we are at the deepest level.

"You are what you eat" is a cosmic law. Everybody knows that saying–everybody! It is a concept that has been known in every culture and civilization throughout history. It is written into the fabric of the universe. It is a simple law of Nature that should be remembered each day, and at each meal. Those who wish to heal themselves and the planet, should eat the most healing foods.

What are "Healing Foods?"

"Healing foods" are quality, organic, homegrown, or wild foods and/or superfoods in their raw natural state. Following this principle is not only the simplest way to choose what to eat, but is simply the best way to bring about good health and spiritual transformation. Because of this, this website is dedicated to helping as many people as possible succeed and prosper with the raw-food lifestyle.

We encourage anyone who wishes to experience the bounties of Nature to delve into eating what Nature provides to us. That is: raw plant foods. We encourage people to learn about superfoods, garden foods, and wild plants (herbs), to learn a new way of living, to experience the incredible energy Nature will give to you by accepting the foods she provides, and to live life in a melody with the plants and animals. By doing so, you may experience and reclaim your own little bit of paradise!

New article from RawFoods.com…

Is Cooked Food Good For Us?
By T.C. Fry

In nature all animals eat living foods as yielded up by Nature. Only humans cook their foods and only humans suffer widespread sicknesses and ailments. Those humans who eat mostly living foods are more alert, think clearer, sharper and more logically and become more active. Best of all, live food eaters become virtually sickness-free!

Cooking is a process of food destruction from the moment heat is applied to the foodstuff. Long before dry ashes results, food values are totally destroyed. If you put your hand just for a moment into boiling water or on a hot stove, that should forever persuade you just how destructive heat is. Food is usually subjected to these destructive temperatures for perhaps half an hour or more. What was living substance becomes totally dead very rapidly with exposure to heat!

Cooking renders food toxic. The toxicity of the deranged debris of cooking is confirmed by the doubling and tripling of white blood cells after eating a cooked food meal. The white blood cells are the first line of defense and are, collectively, popularly called "the immune system." As confirmed by hundreds of researches cited in the prestigious National Academy of Science's National Research Council's book, Diet, Nutrition and Cancer, all cooking quickly generates mutagens and carcinogens in foods. Proteins begin coagulating and deaminating at temperatures commonly applied in cooking, and are devoid of nutritive value.

Vitamins are rather quickly destroyed by cooking. Minerals quickly lose their organic context and are returned to their native state as they occur in soil, sea water and rocks, metals and so on. In such a state they are unusable and the body often shunts them aside where they may combine with saturated fats and cholesterol in the circulatory system, thus clogging it up with cement-like plaque. Heated fats are especially damaging because they are altered to form acroleins, free radicals and other mutagens and carcinogens as confirmed in, "Diet, Nutrition and Cancer." Thus you can see that dead foods make dull, diseased and sooner dead people.

The excerpt below was originally published at Raw Food Info.

Cooked Food Versus Raw: Some of the Known Differences

Cooked foods cannot create true health because they are missing some very vital elements needed by the body for its optimal functioning; things like enzymes, oxygen, hormones, phytochemicals, bio-electrical energy and life-force. When foods are heated above 105 degrees Farenheit they begin to lose all of these. By 118 degrees Farenheit, most food is dead. Yes, the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats and proteins are still there, but in a greatly altered state — not at all what nature provided.

Each cell of the body is like a tiny battery, and raw and living foods supply the bio-electricity which charges these batteries. The bio-electrical energy of raw food can be clearly seen in Kirlian photographs of the food. This photographic process shows electrical discharges that naturally emanate from all living things as luminescent, aura-like flares surrounding the subject. The glow is bright and radiant in raw foods, yet almost totally absent in Kirlian photographs of comparable cooked foods.

To me "life-force" means "the energy that is able to create life." The sprouting ability of raw foods demonstrates the presence of the life-force within them. All grains, legumes, beans and seeds sprout. Nuts in the shell sprout. Potatoes sprout and create new potato plants. (Do not eat potato sprouts as they are poisonous.) If you stick the top part of a pineapple into water, it will sprout roots. Apple seeds create apple trees. Avocado pits and mango pits sprout. Now, take cooked versions of all the above, put them into soil and see if a plant will grow. Cooked food rots, rather than sprouts, and a new plant does not come forth. Through observation, you can easily demonstrate for yourself what you are losing by eating cooked foods. A food that is cooked cannot create life and cannot maintain the life-force energy in our bodies.

Cooking food disrupts its molecular structure and kills all the enzymes too. Enzymes are the indispensable catalysts which enable the body to utilize vitamins and minerals. (Think of enzymes as the workmen and vitamins and minerals as the bricks and mortar. Without the workmen, the bricks and mortar don't get put into place.) Enzymes are extremely heat-sensitive and thus do not survive in cooked foods. The vitamins and phytochemicals also are injured, greatly diminished, and left in an altered molecular state. The minerals are made less soluble.

The fats have turned from life enhancing fatty acids to trans-fatty acids, which create damaging free radicals in the body. Trans-fatty acids also interfere with respiration of the cells. The proteins (including vegetable proteins), become denatured; they then coagulate (like the white of an egg) and are very difficult to digest. Some researchers report that unmetabolized protein particles in the bloodstream are a possible cause of allergies.

When you eat cooked (enzymeless) foods, you put a heavy burden on your body, which then has to produce the enzymes missing in the food. One of the reasons you feel lethargic or sleepy after a cooked meal is because the body is diverting its energy to replacing the enzymes that were not supplied. By comparison, a raw food meal leaves you feeling light and full of energy. You can judge this for yourself. Uncooked foods digest in 1/3 to 1/2 the time of cooked foods. The stress of creating and replacing enzymes, meal after meal, day after day, year after year, greatly contributes to accelerated aging.

Ingesting cooked food also causes the body to produce a surge of white blood cells (leukocytosis). These cells normally defend against disease, infection and injury to the body, but their production is a routine effect of ingesting cooked foods (as if the body considers such food a threat or danger). Because leukocytes carry a variety of enzymes, there is another possible explanation for the increase in white blood cells. The leukocytes may be delivering the missing enzymes so that digestion can proceed unhindered.

Leukocytosis does not occur when raw, unheated foods are eaten. According to Viktoras Kulvinskas, "in any pathological condition, including the intoxification of the digestive system with cooked food or other toxic materials, these white cells increase from 5 or 6 thousand per cubic millimetre to 7, 8 or 9 thousand per cu.m.m." Leukocytosis also occurs when additives, pesticides and chemically based supplements are ingested. And, of course, producing these cells creates an additional stress upon the body.

Raw foods are full of oxygen, especially green leafy vegetables which contain an abundance of chlorophyll. The chemical structure of chlorophyll is almost identical to the hemoglobin in our red blood cells. The only difference is that the hemoglobin molecule has iron in its nucleus and the chlorophyll molecule has magnesium. Chlorophyll detoxifies the bloodstream and every other part of the body better than anything else you could eat. When you eat raw green chlorophyll foods, you oxygenate the blood. The bloodstream, through its capillary system, then delivers this oxygen to every cell in your body. And when you eat greens in blended form, such as juicing this process is even more efficient.

Sprouted seeds contain vital elements which nourish our glands, nerves and brain. The hormones needed by the body are created out of the natural fat and other essential principles found in seeds. Think about how few seeds are found in the average diet. The plant breeders are hybridizing most of the seeds out of our foods. Now we can get seedless watermelons, seedless grapes, seedless citrus, and the list goes on. Even if we did find a seed, most of us don't understand the value of eating it and thus, it would be discarded.

When you eat cooked starch, the body absorbs more than it needs. Getting rid of the excess starch then becomes another burden to the body. Those who favour cooked foods often make the point that since the body cannot absorb raw starch, this is a sign the food should be cooked. Another way to look at it, however, is that the body absorbs just enough of the raw starch for its needs and then passes out the rest. (When pig farmers feed their pigs raw potatoes, the pigs stay slender. Since farmers sell their pigs by the pound, they have learned to feed them cooked potatoes, which fattens them up.)

Cellulose — the woody, fibrous part of food — was previously believed to be unnecessary to the body because the body did not absorb it so it was deemed unimportant. Now we know that this fibre is what keeps things moving through our body so that we don't become constipated. Nature is vindicated again! I believe, in addition, that raw fibre has the ability to act as a broom which sweeps the intestinal tract and keeps it clean. Cooked fibre has lost the ability to do this for us. Enemas and colonics serve their purpose, but they are a poor substitute for what nature, by putting (raw) fibre into foods, has provided.

Raw and live foods nourish and improve the body's inner environment. Raw and live foods enable the body to dislodge and expel accumulated wastes. A member of my family had a tiny sliver of metal lodged in his hand as a result of an accident. For two years he tried to get it out by squeezing, pushing, and probing with sterilized needles, etc., but it wouldn't budge. He went to the Optimum Health Institute (to learn about live foods) for a week and, when he returned home, decided he would continue on raw foods. Four weeks later, a bubble formed on his hand and inside the bubble was the sliver of metal. The bubble then burst and the sliver came out. This is an example of what raw and live foods do. If something is not supposed to be in your body, it will be expelled.

Eating cooked food prevents the immune system from working on what is really important in keeping us superbly healthy and young in body, mind and soul. We exhaust and dissipate the body's strength by using the immune system to combat the unnatural cooked foods, chemically based supplements, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones (in meats, poultry, fish and dairy) and numerous other toxins we ingest, breathe in or absorb through our skin. When we really need the immune system to support us (as when a disease or infection develops or an injury occurs), it then lacks the strength to defend us properly.

Eating healthy means giving your body power foods it can easily assimilate and use for regeneration and rejuvenation. Life comes from life. So the more foods you eat which are organic and straight from nature's raw garden, the better you are going to feel.

Raw Food Heats Up Some Pros and Cons
by Marilynn Marter
Knight Ridder Newspapers

Raw food as an alternative lifestyle has been promoted since the '50s. In recent years, the success of raw-food restaurants in California has spread the concept nationwide. With Raw (Ten Speed Press, 2003), two visionary chefs — Charlie Trotter in Chicago, Roxanne Klein in San Francisco — created a landmark volume celebrating raw food, giving it gourmet glam and nudging it into the culinary mainstream.

Certainly, eating some raw food is natural and healthful; raw-food vegetarian diets can promote health and healing. But questions of long-term success, and possible vitamin deficiencies, remain. Face it, the concept runs counter to evolution and thousands of years of cooking. If that's not enough to stir controversy, add the nutritional complexities to the mix and you could have a food war on your hands.

Here are a few of the pros and cons: Raw food contains live enzymes that aid digestion, said chef-author Matthew Kenney. Heated past 118 degrees, those enzymes begin to die, leaving only the enzymes our bodies produce to digest what we eat. When the body supplies those enzymes, some believe, it speeds up the aging process. Research has shown that a raw food diet can have a major effect on health, normalizing weight and increasing energy. Raw foods can be more easily digested, producing less acid and bile. Combining raw and cooked foods at the same meal, however, may cause indigestion.

There is some concern that raw foods have higher pesticide levels than cooked foods, thus use of organic ingredients is recommended for raw food dishes. A small supplement of Vitamin B-12 is suggested with vegetarian diets since that nutrient is found primarily in meat. Nuts, seeds and sprouts are good sources of protein. But because plant proteins don't have the "balanced" amino acid profile found in animal protein, it is best to include a variety of protein sources in vegetarian diets. For essential fatty acids, Omega 3, typically found in fish, is very important. A precursor of Omega 3, alpha-linoleic acid, is found in green leafy vegetables and walnuts.

Take note: While eating most foods raw won't hurt you, the nutritional benefits of eliminating cooked foods, or for that matter, of going vegan and cutting all meat and dairy items from your diet, remains a subject of controversy for dietitians and doctors.

For those interested in learning more about raw foods, here are three books to explore:

Complete Book of Raw Food: Healthy, Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine Made with Living Foods by Lori Baird (Healthy Living Books, 2003) — More than 350 recipes from more than 40 top raw food chefs worldwide, with tips for making elegant and healthy meals, from preparation to presentation.

Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods by Renee Loux Underkoffler (Avery Publishing, 2004) — A comprehensive introduction to a raw-foods lifestyle, including tools, techniques, nutrition and safety tips and more than 300 gourmet vegan recipes from the former chef/co-owner of Raw Experience in Maui.

An article about Glaser Organic Farms, which is one of the largest raw food producers in the U.S. From TheLedger.com …

Farm Finds Success With Raw, Vegan Dishes
Glaser Organic Farms near Miami doesn't use heat or animal products.

Served under a blue and-white tent, the strawberry ice cream at the Coconut Grove Farmer's Market is unbelievably creamy, the tropical fruit pies are rich and succulent and the patestuffed portobello mushrooms are savory. Quite a feat, considering that all the food served here is raw and vegan — no animal products or heat involved.

The "ice cream" is actually made of finely ground cashews, the pies sit on a pecan crumb crust and the pate stuffed inside the mushrooms is devised of almonds and herbs. These raw food dishes, which draw health-food enthusiasts from around the region, are the creation of Glaser Organic Farms, a 15-acre farm south of Miami that has grown into one of the largest raw food producers in the United States.

Glaser farm products, which range from unbaked cookies called "rawies" to a bread made from sprouted whole grains dehydrated at very low temperatures, are shipped across the country and widely found in health food stores, such as national chain Whole Foods Market. "Our business is growing every year," said owner Stan Glaser, who started selling raw products to local stores 25 years ago and is now building a new, 3,000 square-foot kitchen — three times the size of their old space — to keep up with demand. "The volume just seems to increase, increase, increase."

Some think raw foods are healthier because heat breaks down vitamins and minerals in food and kills enzymes, which aid digestion. Others say it's the most natural way of eating. "Raw food was the original food," Glaser explained, pointing to the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. "What were they eating? Steaks? McDonald's?" They probably weren't eating mint and lemon tabouleh or tiramisu either, though both concoctions are a hit at the Farmer's Market, which Glaser Farms hosts every Saturday.

"I like the whole feeling of it," said Arthur Ackerman, a Key Biscayne business owner and yoga teacher who frequents the market's deli. "I like the ambiance, I like the food." Ackerman, 66, isn't a raw foodist, but says he tries to eat a healthy diet and the raw food dishes make him feel more energized and sleep better. "My disposition is more upbeat," Ackerman said.

Sitting at a nearby picnic table, a flight attendant who gave his name as Kachito called the Farmer's Market "the temple." The South Beach resident started eating a primarily raw foods diet after experiencing some health problems three years ago. He now says his allergies have disappeared and his annual physical exams consistently show he's healthier than average. "Raw foods is my life now," said the slim, bright-eyed man who looked younger than his 62 years. "I don't do it to live to 200, I just want to feel good every day."

But nutritionists don't recommend the diet. Although it's great to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, dietitian David Grotto said an optimal diet would include both cooked and raw foods. He said there's little scientific evidence that eating exclusively raw foods is healthier.In fact, cooking foods can bolster the amount of some vitamins, such as beta carotene. "It's not as simple as cooked equals less nutrition," said Grotto, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association and the director of nutrition at the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care in Evanston, Ill. Grotto said he's seen extreme cases of cancer patients on raw diets who have died from malnutrition.

Yet interest in raw foods and demand for such products is steadily growing. Adult education courses offered in Broward County, north of Miami, include a raw foods class called "Change your life: Cook with no heat." And few can deny that most Americans would benefit from eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Glaser said he doesn't expect everyone to give up cooked foods, but he says the growing interest in raw foods is a "positive trend" because people could increase the percentage of their diets made up of raw foods.

A raw food "cooking" show?

It's in the works, according to Paul Benhaim, author of Living Food Recipes and presenter of Not The Cooking Show. Paul, an Australian native, plans to do a 26-series TV episode showcasing raw food preparation.

From the press release…

Raw and Alive!
From Thai Curry to Macadamia Pie—Raw Foods Come to a Kitchen in your Home.

Raw Food Cuisine is regarded as one of the most chic and desirable dietary trends among movie stars, super-human athletes, enlightened gurus and evangelistic vegetarians. Supposed benefits include rapid weight-loss, increased physical vitality, greater mental capacity, balanced emotional disposition, vibrant and beautiful skin, stronger immune system and spiritual peace of mind.

Haven't we had enough of diets and new food fads? How long do they last? Well, apparently this one is the oldest of them all—originating way before we invented fire. Can you smell a roast or fried foods when walking through your local forest? If cooking is so good, then how come insects and animals, which have lived for so much longer than we have, have not chosen to cook their foods?

Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson and Alicia Stevenson are some of today's celebrities who agree Raw Living Foods not only suit their busy lifestyle but provide all the elements for beauty and longevity that we all long for. “If it's raw it contains all the living enzymes, the total mineral content and live nutrition that is destroyed by cooking,” states Paul Benhaim, author of Living Food Recipes and presenter of Not The Cooking Show.

But rather than bore us with his theories, Paul has recently launched the first hands-on episode in a series planned for TV next year. “It's simple, there is no cravings in this diet –- you get to eat what you like, and lots of it. The only difference being, you don't cook!” And having watched the first episode (and checked out the numerous extra recipes found on the new DVD), I am convinced that raw foods can be quick, simple and just as delicious. I particularly enjoyed the topping for his Macadamia Pie with the raw dairy-free ‘ice-cream' (I didn't bother with the pie base).

Paul prefers to share the practical side of Raw Foods. The DVD gives all sides of the story — including interviews with a Natural Hygienist Doctor, a scientist and a psychotherapist as well as an in-depth interview with Paul. The evidence is quite conclusive and, unlike much of the medical profession, the crew is not sponsored by hundreds of chemical corporations. The proof is in the pudding (try Lemon Meringue or Chocolate Cake Supreme on page 36 and 40 of Living Food Recipes).

"It's been said that half the fuel used in the world goes to the cooking of food. We use more fuel for cooking than we do for driving our cars.

"Every creature has foods for which it is biologically designed. In our case, fruits and tender young vegetables are ergonomically designed. A lion's mouth waters when it sees an antelope. When we see cherries or peaches on a tree, we sense food.

"Cooking is not a requirement for healthy eating. I found such amazing health results as an outcome of [raw food] that there was no turning back. Protein is found in the nucleus of all living cells. We know of no such condition as protein deficiency. Almost all conditions in the Western hemisphere are conditions of excess, not of deficiency."

- DOUGLAS GRAHAM, chiropractor, founder Healthful Living International, 100 per cent raw for 30 years, Key Largo, Florida

"In general, heating of food has been associated with the generation of carcinogens and of these compounds that, once absorbed, may over time generate disease. Of course, I am mostly talking about meat. Vegetables create very little of these."

- JAIME URIBARRI, associate professor, medicine/nephrology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York

Excerpts from a raw food news article published in The Kennebec Journal (a local newspaper in Maine)…

Enthusiasts Flock to Raw Food, Saying It Contains Health Benefits
by Mechele Cooper

A cool breeze floated in through the windows as the group of food enthusiasts sat down to a gourmet meal.The breeze was welcome, but not because these food groupies had been slaving over a hot stove. This group — gathered as part of Northern Botanicals Lifestyle Center's wellness retreat — were enthusiasts of raw food. A raw-food diet consists of uncooked vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, and cereals. None of the food is cooked, processed or animal-based. No sushi here. No steak tartare, either. Going raw, when it comes to food, is a growing trend in the United States, but it's relatively new to Maine, according to Bob and Pat Manning, owners of the lifestyle center on Cobbossee Stream.

Raw-food advocates say heating foods destroys the enzymes that aid in digestion and diminishes the food's nutritional value. They claim that raw foods help "detoxify" the body, prevent cancer and fight obesity. But detractors, including some nutritionists, say those who subscribe to a steady diet of raw vegetables and fruits miss out on essential proteins and minerals. And they don't buy the argument that cooking destroy's food's essential value. For some, the diet is no mere lifestyle choice. "I have a health condition, growths growing in my brain and right eye, and I'm hoping to shrink them down," Loran Griffin, 47, of Manchester said.

THE RETREAT

As the West Gardiner table was set and covered in a white linen tablecloth, glass serving bowls were set out, showing off the contrasting colors of the raw concoctions. The menu: apple, carrot and celery juice in stemmed wine glasses; zucchini and yellow squash spaghetti; pesto; fresh tomato marinara sauce; cashew pimento cheese; flax chips; and a mixed romaine salad with alfalfa sprouts, cucumber and red cabbage. For dessert, we can have banana-and-strawberry ice cream topped with a raw sweetener made from the agave cactus, and we have some dehydrated fruit cookies," said Pat Manning, who sat at the head of the table next to her husband.

The ice cream was made from frozen chunked fruit run through a Champion juicer with the solid slide in place. Equipment deemed essential for eating a raw food diet includes a Vita-Mix blender, a juicer and a food dehydrator. All the preparations share a key fascination: Preserve the enzymes. "Enzymes are like the spark that get all the other metabolic actions going," Pat Manning said. "(Eating raw food) helps you lose weight and have more energy. People who go through this program say they have so much more energy."

Besides five-day retreats, the Mannings also open their home once a month to an average of 40 raw foodists from as far away as Massachusetts. For $10, they serve up a raw-food gourmet meal that would command five times the price in a major metropolitan area.

INTEREST FROM AWAY

Friends told Carol Shain, 59, of Haverhill, Mass., about the program. "I used to be a vegetarian and wanted to get back into it," Shain said. "I know this is the way to live, even if I don't do it all the time." Pat Caggiano of Veazie and her 22-year-old son, Brian, a New England Culinary Institute student, came to the retreat together. Caggiano, a registered nurse, thought she could share what she learned with students in the healthy lifestyle classes she teaches in Bangor. "People want to feel better and lose weight," Caggiano said.

"There's a whole phenomenon with vegetables and raw foods that's happening in other states, and I think before long it will catch up here. We do have a high rate of illnesses in Maine,"she said. Raw-food enthusiasts point out that studies in rural China support the benefits of plant-based diets. Christopher Maloney, an Augusta naturopathic physician, said studies of Chinese diets also show proper nutrition could have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity. He said a raw food diet can decrease calories, lower cholesterol levels and improve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms significantly.

"Eating raw foods shows longtime anti-cancer effects and really counter balances the obesity epidemic in America," Maloney said.

–End excerpt–

From News 14 Carolina…

Raw Food Detox Diet

Are you sick of counting carbs? There's a new diet trend on the market — it's called a raw food diet. It consists of eating foods that are close to nature and mainly raw. But can you stick to it? One nutritionist says it's easy and you can even have dessert. Ice cream, dark chocolate, and cookies� You can eat them and still lose weight? Sure, but they have to be raw. It's part of a diet designed by nutritionist Natalia Rose.

"Like most women, I had my own body battles, and I was determined not to have to spend the rest of my life on a stairmaster or counting calories." The Raw Food Detox Diet is about eating close to nature with the belief that easily digested foods are eliminated more quickly. Rose says: "Fruit is one of the easiest things that moves through the body. It only takes 15 minutes in the stomach to digest fruit." Rose says beginners to the diet should start out slowly — eat 75-percent raw foods.

"You can eat avocadoes, you can eat whole grain pasta, you can eat sprouted grain breads — which means breads have been sprouted to become easily digestible." Like many people, Danielle Reda had a hard time losing weight — until she tried the raw food diet. She says: "I lost weight rapidly. I lost about 15 pounds in three weeks. That kept me going. I had a lot more energy. I felt vibrant."

Skeptics say raw food diets may be deficient in certain minerals, but Rose says you can do raw done right. She says juice raw vegetables to get enough calcium. You can also have goat cheese, nuts, and almond milk. "It's easy to stick to because you're satisfied. If you love what you're eating and losing weight, it's a win-win scenario." And many grocery stores carry raw foods in the organic section. Although Rose says this diet is for everyone, you should always check with your doctor first before starting a new diet program. Rose says Reda's weight loss is not typical. It's usually more gradual.

For more information, contact:

Natalia Rose
The Rose Program
natalia@therawfooddetoxdiet.com
Raw Food Detox Diet

From Vegan Society…

Healthy Choices on Raw Vegan Diets
by Stephen Walsh, PhD

A raw food vegan diet may be defined in various ways, but usually entails at least 80% by weight being raw plants. Many people report feeling healthier and more energetic on adopting such diets, but there are too few long-term raw food vegans for direct evaluation of the success of raw vegan diets versus other diets. We can, however, evaluate such diets against known human nutritional requirements to gain a better understanding of the ways in which appropriate raw vegan diets could benefit health. Raw vegan diets comprise three key food groups: sweet fruit, high-fat plants and green leafy vegetables. Raw food authorities differ in the proportions recommended, some suggesting that 2% of calories from green leafy vegetables (about 300 g of lettuce per day) is sufficient while others recommend that about 30% of calories should come from green vegetables. Similarly, recommendations on high fat foods such as avocados, olives, nuts, seeds and cold-pressed oils range from a few percent to about 40% of calories. The Hallelujah diet founded by George Malkmus puts particular emphasis on carrot juice and barley grass, which contribute about 15% of calories.

Getting 30% of calories from green vegetables is probably unrealistic for most people, even with the use of blended salads and juices. For instance, 900 g of lettuce plus 450 g of kale provides just 300 kcal or about 15% of calories. Fortunately, however, such high intakes are unnecessary for nutritional adequacy. Green leafy vegetables and broccoli contain higher levels of zinc, calcium and protein than fruit and are therefore an important part of raw diets, but about 500 g per day of green vegetables, including a mixture of lettuces, broccoli and darker leaves such as kale and spinach, is sufficient to bring mineral and protein intakes into line with general recommendations. Such vegetables also provide vitamin K, which promotes healthy bones. Other raw vegetables can be useful: for instance, carrots are a good source of calcium and peas a good source of zinc and protein.

The best balance between sweet fruit and fatty foods is probably a matter of individual constitution. Some people experience dental problems with a very high fruit intake. This can be a particular problem for young children. Many people will struggle to maintain weight if they do not include significant amounts of high fat foods. More than 10% of calories as polyunsaturated fat is not recommended. Olives, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts and macadamias are all dominated by monounsaturated fats, which are the safest fats to consume in large quantities. Obtaining up to 40% of calories from these foods according to individual energy needs should be perfectly healthful. It is also important to include a good source of omega-3 fats such as crushed flax seed or its oil. Selenium can be low if the food is grown in selenium deficient soil, so a Brazil nut a day provides a useful insurance policy.

In selecting fruits, there is no need to rely on unusual or exotic items. Bananas are a good energy food, being relatively low in fibre and high in potassium. Oranges are rich in calcium, folate, potassium and vitamin C. The high potassium and low sodium content of raw vegan diets reduces the need for calcium by reducing calcium losses and can be expected to reduce blood pressure and risk of stroke.

The various raw vegan dietary schools differ in their approach to B12. Some recommend that B12 supplements should not be taken unless clear deficiency symptoms occur. David Wolfe (Nature's First Law) recommends seven different potential B12 sources, including unwashed or wild plants, nori, spirulina, fermented foods or a probiotic, with a B12 supplement as an alternative if these are not available. George Malkmus has recommended regular use of a B12 supplement since a study of Hallelujah dieters showed signs of inadequate B12 in most of them and showed that a B12 supplement or fortified nutritional yeast corrected this reliably while probiotics did not.

The confusion in this area arises from a conceptual error. Many raw food or natural hygiene advocates believe that our evolutionary diet and that of our great ape relatives did not include an external source of B12 and then conclude that humans shouldn't need such a source. In fact, all the other great apes — even the gorillas — consume insects incidentally along with their normal diet of fruits, shoots, leaves and nuts. Chimpanzees show particular enthusiasm for collecting and eating termites, which have high measured levels of B12. After capture, the blood B12 levels of most primates drops rapidly when they are fed on a hygienically grown and prepared plant-based diet. It is therefore not surprising that humans also need an external source of B12.

Many of David Wolfe's proposed B12 sources have been directly tested and shown to be inadequate. Nori and spirulina failed to correct deficiency in macrobiotic children and did not maintain adequate blood B12 levels in a Finnish raw food community. Probiotics did not consistently correct low B12 availability in Hallelujah dieters. A UK raw food vegan went B12 deficient while growing his own food and eating it unwashed: based on measured B12 levels in soil this is unsurprising. Other proposed sources have not been tested so directly, but the only two published studies of B12 levels in raw food vegans both showed inadequate B12 levels.

Low B12 levels give rise to elevated homocysteine levels with an associated increased risk of many illnesses, including stroke and heart disease, without any classical B12 deficiency symptoms. In children the onset of full-blown deficiency can be very rapid with much greater risk of long-term damage or even death. At least 3 micrograms per day of B12 from fortified foods or supplements is needed to minimise homocysteine levels in adults. Breast milk is an adequate source for infants only if the mother's intake is adequate.

The main argument for the desirability of high raw diets derives from comparison with our evolutionary diet and the diets of our great ape relatives. All the great apes eat diets centred on raw fruit (chimps, bonobos, orangutans, lowland gorillas) or raw leaves (highland gorillas) and including a mixture of fruit (including large amounts of seeds), leaves, shoots, insects and often nuts. Use of cooked foods and large amounts of grains is unique to humans. It is further suggested that a return to a diet more like that of our ape relatives would bring great benefits to health as it is the diet to which we are evolutionarily adapted. This is a plausible argument and the nutrient content of such a diet matches modern nutritional knowledge in many ways: e.g. high folate, vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium and magnesium intakes along with low saturated fat and cholesterol. However, there are important limitations to using the plant content of great ape diets as a model for ideal human diets.

Firstly, insects cannot be part of a vegan diet and are probably the key source of B12 in most primate diets. As all B12 comes from bacteria, the absence of insects is readily compensated for by using B12 produced by bacteria in commercial fermenters and used in fortified foods and supplements.

Secondly, human exposure to sunlight at high latitudes and when spending most of the day indoors is greatly reduced compared with our evolutionary exposure. During the UK winter, vitamin D from foods fortified with the vegan form (ergocalciferol, D2) can help to compensate for limited light exposure. A trip to sunnier climes during the winter allows the vitamin D to be topped up more naturally. Infants are particularly vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency due to the high rate of bone building taking place and should always receive a vitamin D supplement in winter. Breast milk is not an adequate source: we are designed to live nearer the equator.

Thirdly, the human gut is smaller overall than that of the other great apes and the human colon takes up just 20% of the digestive system compared with 50% in the other great apes. This results in a dramatically reduced capability to process fibre, indicating that humans are adapted to a lower fibre diet than the other great apes, who consume several hundred grams of fibre per day. Our palaeolithic ancestors consumed around 100 g of fibre per day. Simply copying the other great apes is therefore not an option.

There are three candidate explanations for this reduced capacity to process fibre: increased reliance on soft fruit, increased consumption of meat, and increased food processing. The former is unlikely to have been the primary factor as it represents a restriction of diet rather than an expansion. Increased meat consumption probably started with homo erectus about 2 million years ago, but may only have become a major factor about 20,000 years ago with an explosion in sophisticated hunting techniques. All the great apes show some use of food processing. Chimps often use stones to crack nuts and chew fibrous foods to remove the juice before discarding the fibre. Stone tool use by human ancestors became common about two million years ago, but most forms of food processing would leave little trace, so it is difficult to verify how big a role such processing played.

However, it is plausible that food processing, including cooking, played a major part in the changes in the human digestive system compared with the other great apes. Humans may have evolved to rely on food processing. Food processing destroys some nutrients, but can also inactivate toxins and increase the availability of other nutrients. Conservative cooking such as steaming or boiling causes only modest loss of some nutrients, such as folate, while enhancing the bioavailability of others, such as carotenoids. Lycopene, which appears to have profound protective effects on health, is better absorbed from cooked than from raw tomatoes. Liquidising or juicing also increases carotenoid availability from carrots.

Cooking increases the energy available from starchy foods such as potatoes and grains and inactivates certain food toxins, thereby increasing the range of foods available to us. Whether such foods belong in an optimal diet remains to be established. The longest-living population in the world, the Japanese Okinawans, make extensive use of cooked grains, sweet potatoes, vegetables and soy products and little use of raw fruit. However, there is no large group of long-term raw food vegans to provide a direct comparison.

There is good direct evidence that large amounts of refined grains are associated with increased risk of heart disease and diabetes in Western populations. However, higher consumption of whole grains is associated with reduced risk of heart disease and diabetes, so this evidence suggests that grain should be consumed in unrefined (whole) form rather than eliminated altogether, at least for most people. A few individuals have life-threatening adverse reactions to gluten (present in many grains but notably absent from rice). The established effects of gluten range from allergies and coeliac disease to varying degrees of digestive discomfort. In addition, some individuals appear to metabolise gluten poorly with high levels of opioid protein fragments appearing in their urine.

This pattern, which also occurs with casein from animal milks, has been found in some studies to be more common in autistic and schizophrenic individuals and the symptoms of such individuals sometimes improve on elimination of gluten and milk. As a raw food diet is often a gluten free diet, it is possible that some of the people finding such diets particularly beneficial may be gluten intolerant in varying degrees.

Raw food has particular environmental advantages in that it often comes from trees (avoiding soil loss from tilling) and requires little packaging and no cooking. These characteristics benefit the health of the planet and all who share it. On the other hand, raw food often requires long-distance transportation and commercial banana production is an environmental disaster with high pesticide use affecting plantation workers and local rivers. The trade-off is not clear cut. It is likely that local sourcing of cooked foods (e.g. Scottish oats) has the environmental edge over Jamaican bananas or airlifted strawberries, but seasonally available local fruits and nuts have the edge over both.

Raw Food & Weight Loss

One universally recognised effect of a high raw diet is weight loss, and many leading exponents of raw diets report being overweight on a conventional diet but achieving a desirable weight on switching to a raw vegan diet. This effect is no mystery as raw plant foods are generally low calorie density high fibre foods which are very filling – ideal for weight loss – and was confirmed by a six-month trial in South Africa. A common reason for abandoning raw food diets, however, is excessive weight loss. Including sufficient tropical fruits such as bananas and avocados, or nuts and seeds and cold pressed oils, is important for maintaining a healthy weight once any desired weight loss has been achieved.

Increasing the consumption of raw fruits, nuts and salad vegetables considerably beyond current UK average intakes can be expected to be benefit individual health and to benefit the environment if locally produced. However, evidence to date does not justify a general recommendation of raw vegan diets in the sense of more than 80% of food being consumed raw, particularly for children who need a relatively high calorie density.

The Vegan Society recommends the consumption of a wide variety of plant foods, including raw fruit and salads and cooked foods including a wide range of vegetables and whole grains. It also strongly recommends the consumption of 3 micrograms per day of vitamin B12 from fortified foods or supplements for all vegans and the use of vitamin D supplements for infants during the winter.

An Example of a 2,000 kcal. Raw Diet For One Day.

• Fruit: 100g red peppers, 200g tomatoes, 300g oranges, 200g apples, 500g bananas, 100g pears, 50g peaches, 50g raspberries, 200g kiwi fruit, 100g strawberries, 50g mangos.
• Green leafy vegetables and broccoli: 200g lettuce, 100g kale, 100g spinach, 100g broccoli.
• High-fat foods: 200g avocado, 30g almonds, 20g hazelnuts, 10g flaxseed, 3g Brazil nuts
• Other: 100g carrots, 100g peas.

This provides 700 mg calcium, 700g magnesium, 9mg zinc, 50 g protein, 100µg selenium, 3 g omega-3 fatty acids, 8,000mg potassium, 1100µg folate, 2 mg vitamin B1, 2.4mg B2, 6mg B6, 1100mg vitamin C, 30mg vitamin E, 6000µg of vitamin A (from carotenoids) and about 1000µg vitamin K. It may be too high (80g) in fibre for some people, particularly the very old or the very young, and it contains arguably too little sodium (270mg).

The iodine content may also be low, depending on the soil where the produce is grown. The balance of fatty acids is excellent. The diet contains no cholesterol or trans-fats and just 4% of calories as saturated fat while providing 5% omega-6, 1.5% omega-3 and 18% monounsaturated fat. Intakes of carotenoids, vitamin C, folate, vitamin K, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium and potassium are all much higher than in conventional diets and can be expected to promote health.

Zinc and protein intakes are adequate. The calcium content has been adjusted for the low availability of calcium from some of the foods, particularly spinach, and is probably adequate. Vitamin B12 and vitamin D must be addressed separately.

A recent raw food article from The News & Observer…

Eating in the Raw

The cookbook section of most bookstores offers a staggering selection of books that show you how to cook. But take a closer look and you'll find a small but growing number of books that focus on "un-cooking," that is the benefits and how-to's of eating raw foods. To most raw-food proponents, "raw" simply refers to food that hasn't been cooked or even heated above a certain temperature. Foods that have been heat-smoked, as well as those that have been heated during processing such as canning or pasteurization–like pasteurized milk or salsa in a jar–are not considered raw foods.

What Happens When Food is Cooked?

You may be surprised to learn that heat above 107 degrees or so begins to inactivate such nutrients as vitamin C and folic acid, and can cause minerals such as calcium to become less readily absorbed by the body. In addition to affecting vitamins and minerals, heat from the cooking process can also destroy enzymes in food.

Enzymes perform many important functions in the body. They act as protein catalysts, help to produce energy to fuel cells and jump-start our digestive process. Our immune cells also use enzymes to attack viruses and bacteria. Although our bodies can make many of the enzymes that we need, raw food supporters contend that we can get "premade" enzymes by simply eating raw foods that are full of their own enzymes.

If you would like to begin eating more raw foods, this is the perfect time of year to start. Area farmers markets are bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables right now.

–End excerpt–

The news article includes a raw food recipe involving cabbage, and advises sprouting beans, nuts and seeds.

An introduction to the world of Raw Foods from Happy Cow…

What is Living and Raw Food?

Plant-based foods in their original, un-heated state are considered raw & alive. Raw foods may include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, grains and legumes in sprout form, seaweeds, microalgae, and fresh juices. These live foods contain a wide range of vital life force nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, oxygen) and live enzymes. Their nutritional properties are essential to the proper maintenance of human bodily functions.

Who Are Raw Foodists?

"Raw-foodists" (also called "Rawists") are those who thrive on live food energy by consuming a diet of mostly un-cooked whole plant foods — usually at least 75% though some say 100% is the only true path. Some contemporary famous raw foodists include raw chef & author Juliano, actress Demi Moore, and raw entrepreneur & author David Wolfe.

Raw enthusiasts proudly proclaim their break from an addiction to cooked & processed foods. They tell us that incorporating a few raw meals a week is a good start that will bring immediate changes to the body to feeling better and having more energy. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can still find easy to prepare raw & whole foods at your local health & natural food markets.

Why Go Raw?

Raw foods are easy to digest, and they provide the maximum amount of energy with minimal bodily effort. Studies have shown that living foods have healing powers that can alleviate many illnesses from low energy, allergies, digestive disorders, weak immune system, high cholestrol, candida, to obesity & weight problems, etc… Research and real life experiences have also shown that a person can prevent a body's healthy cells from turning into malignant cancerous cells by consuming a diet consisting of mostly raw & whole foods.

What's Wrong With Cooked Foods?

Heat changes the chemical makeup of food. Foods that have been heated have lost all of their life force, and their beneficial enzymes are destroyed. The digestive system has to work harder and longer to process cooked foods to get nutrition & energy from it. Once cooked, a food can lose up to 85 percent of its nutritional value. Raw foodists call that "dead food." Since we are essentially what we eat, consuming the dead energy of dead foods make our bodies feel heavy and stagnant, and contribute to increased illnesses.

Below you'll find a press release about the 2005 Organic Athlete Conference…

Vegan Athletes Flex Their Muscles
The OrganicAthlete Conference will highlight examples of successful vegan athletes.

In a recent interview, Olympic track star Carl Lewis, who was a vegan during his best years, says he believes that “most athletes have the worst diet in the world, and they compete in spite of it.” Members of OrganicAthlete’s “Vegan Pro-Activist” team are out to prove that a plant-based diet is the best diet for optimal health and performance, and that they can succeed at high levels in sports because they are vegan.

Many people are resistant about becoming vegan because of dietary myths like not getting enough protein, but elite vegan athletes and health professionals are participating in the 2005 OrganicAthlete Conference to dispel these myths. Scheduled for September 24th, the goal of the conference is to share information about the benefits of a plant-based diet. “At first other athletes told me I should really start eating meat,” says Brendan Brazier, a professional tri-athlete and vegan for six years. According to Brazier, those same friends now realize, based on his outstanding athletic example, that a vegan diet is optimal for high performance athletes.

The conference schedule includes talks from endurance athletes like Brazier and Christine Vardaros, a world class cyclo-cross racer, who has risen to the top of her sport as a vegan. But even in the protein-crazed sport of bodybuilding vegans are finding success. Kenneth G. Williams, a bodybuilder who placed 3rd at the 2004 Natural Olympia, and Charlie Abel, a raw vegan muscleman and personal trainer, will both speak at the event.

Leading nutritionists Dr. Doug Graham, Rozalind Gruben, Dr. Ruth Heidrich and Dr. Rick Dina will join the athletes in explaining the science of vegan nutrition. Dr. Graham, who has trained many Olympic caliber athletes, explains: “Every nutrient known to be essential for human health is available, in proper concentration, in plant foods. This is not so with animal-based foods, as there are many essential nutrients totally absent in them.”

The conference will be held at Sports Basement’s Presidio store. The $65 fee includes all educational seminars, food demos, training sessions, lunch and a gift certificate to Sports Basement. The World Vegetarian Day Celebration will be held the following day in Golden Gate Park.

More information about the OrganicAthlete conference. You can also call 707-360-8511 to find out more information about the event.

The following is from a South African publication about raw foods, including raw meat eating. Seems hard to believe that anyone could even consider eating raw meat. I've omitted the parts of the article that discuss raw meat eating. That's just unsanitary (certainly not hygenic!).

Those Cavemen May Have Been Onto Something…
By Steve Boomfield

Cavemen may have thought nothing of sinking their teeth into the raw flesh of a freshly slaughtered animal, but things have progressed somewhat since then. Boiled, baked, griddled and grilled, almost everything we eat has been cooked in some way before it reaches our lips.
But all that is set to change. The raw food revolution has swept the United States – and now it is spreading around the world.

Forget the low blood sugar GI diet and the fry-up friendly Atkins. The only rule for the raw food diet is that nothing is cooked — whether it be beef or beetroot, lamb or leeks. A-list Hollywood actresses such as Uma Thurman, Demi Moore and Natalie Portman are devotees. A plethora of "cookbooks" is also being launched to promote the advantages of a raw food lifestyle, and several nutritionists and food experts have launched courses in how to make the switch to raw.

The fad became mainstream in the diet-conscious US after the appearance of a raw food restaurant in Sex And The City. There are now more than 30 eateries without ovens across the US — a trend set to take off internationally. The health benefits of going raw are, claim its proponents, numerous. Raw food has live enzymes that help provide more energy. If food is cooked at above 47,8°C, the enzymes die. Raw food will increase your energy levels and, according to those who eat only raw, will cut down the amount of sleep you need each night.

Gillian McKeith, who presents Britain's Channel 4's You Are What You Eat, and has written several books on healthy eating, said more people were beginning to include raw food in their daily diet. "The message is starting to get through because it really works. When you eat only cooked food you do not feel as alive. You will notice a huge difference. I have seen people who have complained of headaches and digestive disorders. They have started eating raw food with their cooked meals and suddenly realise such a difference in their health."

The first raw food restaurant in Britain has already opened, in London's Primrose Hill, and more restaurants are planned in the next two years. Katia Norain, the co-owner of the Little Earth Café, was converted to raw food after spending time in Hawaii with friends who ate nothing but uncooked. "It is an amazingly interesting way of preparing food; it is good to have live enzymes in your system and, most important, it is yummy," she said. "This is not carrot sticks."

Evangelists for the raw food diet are spreading the word through one-to-one coaching sessions and food preparatory courses. Karen Knowler, director of The Fresh Network, an organisation that promotes raw food, said interest in the diet had increased as awareness had grown of the dangers of obesity.

"The word 'raw' puts some people off," she said, "but it is about much more than lettuce or apples. Interest in raw food has increased enormously over the past two or three years. More people have a desire for a healthy diet these days. "The best thing is, you do not need to fuss about calories — you can eat as much as you want."

According to a recent news article, a West Virginia woman placed second in a national recipe contest using a (mostly) raw food recipe. The article below was published in The Charleston Gazette on May 18th. The woman featured in the news article isn't totally "raw," but at least she's headed in a healthy direction.

In the Raw: Local woman’s mostly uncooked recipe places second in national contest

Stacey Angel entered the world of raw foods preparation and dining after a pamphlet caught her eye. It explained the concept and gave a telephone number for further information. She called it and hasn’t looked back. The Charleston woman recently talked about her initiation one year ago into this new way of eating and viewing nutrition: “I took Sally Miller’s raw foods class that she conducts in her home in Sherwood Forest. It was four hours of a broad overview of raw foods. Sally is a wonderful resource and great mentor. I went to her because, after looking at all the food fads out there, I was confused about what could be considered ‘good’ for you. The safest and single–most universally agreed–upon approach seems to be fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Angel acknowledged that she’s not always totally in the raw. She applies some cooked food to a basic uncooked recipe to appeal to a wider range of palates. And to her own. “In winter it’s hard to convert cooked to raw because we all want warm food, especially after a difficult day,” she said. “Everyone loves homey, comfy food and the feeling we get when we enjoy it. My cooked noodles with raw vegetables may offer the best of both worlds.” She developed the recipe after she and her husband, Brooke Brown, had a craving for “something Thai.” She kept playing with ingredients until the dish was perfected. So perfect, in fact, that it’s a recent national award winner.

“My mother, Mary, is a big fan of QVC shopping network,” Angel said. “She got me hooked. I suffer from insomnia and find that QVC is a good cure—it’s repetitive, therefore comforting to me. However it was Mom who saw the cooking contest invitation and encouraged me to enter. It wasn’t one for raw foods, but I sent my Thai recipe anyway and just received the letter from QVC telling me that I placed second.” Angel said as much or as little raw food can be incorporated into your daily diet as you desire. Those who embrace it 100 percent are 100 percent vegans.

Why raw foods? She explained that there are enzymes in raw vegetables, fruits and nuts. When heated beyond 115 degrees, those enzymes are lost and, in order to digest, our body has to produce enzymes, making it work harder. If you cause less stress to your body, there’s more energy for it to perform other tasks. Allowing consumed enzymes to meet the challenge of digestion, giving the body a slight rest, seems in direct contrast with popular cooked-food diets that would have your body toiling to burn excess undesirable stored material. Two of Angel’s three daily meals are raw.

She saves semi-cooked dinners to have with her husband in their East End apartment. He is supportive of her efforts and shares her enthusiasm for the dishes she prepares. Has she totally conquered most no-no cravings? Not quite. She cheerfully confessed her weakness for unsanctioned foods. Her particular downfalls are pancakes, once-a-week salmon, French baguettes and an Endangered Species-brand extreme dark chocolate bar called “Black Panther.” Angel says it’s so good and deeply chocolate that she has recommended it to others and now they are addicted. It’s sold at Healthy Life Market in area Drug Emporiums, along with white and milk chocolate varieties.

She hasn't turned a cold shoulder to commercially prepared hot dishes, either. For eating out, Sitar of India is her most tempting restaurant and the biggest treat. She indulges in their cooked vegetables as her cooked meal of the day. Delish on McFarland Street also gets her nod as having excellent vegetarian items. To prove her cuisine doesn't consist of one salad after another, Angel, a spirited home cook, developed a recipe for chocolate truffles. They're made from raw cocoa nibs, ground to powder and processed with soaked walnuts, dates and coconut. The mixture is shaped into balls and rolled in cocoa powder or coconut. She pointed out that all nuts have to be soaked 8 to 12 hours, then dried before using because they naturally contain enzyme inhibitors. Soaking removes the inhibitors.

From macadamia nuts, she makes a cheese substitute that has the consistency and texture of a ricotta. Her frozen-fruit pie is an amalgamation of two recipes: a raw banana-coconut ice cream to which she adds fresh pineapple; and a maple-walnut crust. Raw zucchini or yellow squash “noodles” may be substituted for the cooked pasta in the Thai recipe. Put the squash through a spiral slicer or cut long, thin strands by hand.

Angel graduated from George Washington High School in 1988, and later from Marshall University with an anthropology degree. She works for Bryan Boyd Creative Group — a marketing and ad agency — as director of client services. She wants to enhance her education and cooking interest by attending The Living Light Culinary Institute in Ft. Bragg, Calif. It's a three-week focus on gourmet raw foods. “If I'm going to do it [raw foods], I'm going to learn how to make it taste good,” she joked. There's only one slight impediment. The 21-day intoroductory course and chef training/certification costs $4,000. Her plans aren't completely funded at the moment, but she's saving to go to the small-town school north of San Francisco.

“Food is a big part of pleasure in life,” she said. “It brings us together. I want to make it pleasant for my friends and family through these classes. I'd like to work as a raw foods chef where I get to be creative and have fun. I think raw lends itself better to experimentation than cooked — no spoiling, no cross-contamination. I introduce people to raw food when I have the opportunity by bringing something to a gathering for everyone to taste.” For those who want to learn more locally about raw foods, there is Sue Miller's $75 basics class. In addition, Miller holds specialty $50 hands-on cooking classes with themes of “Raw Lunches,” “What's Raw for Dinner?” and “Sprouting.” A potluck meal support group meets the first Sunday of every month with a guest speaker each session. Membership is open.

The May discussion was of attempts to start a vegetable co-op and instructions on growing organic wheat grass, an important component of a raw foods diet. Angel gets most of her ingredients from Miller. She says Miller also stocks delicious raw cookies, crackers and snacks at her business, Eats of Eden. Miller's e-mail address is eatsofeden@charter.net. Angel's email is s-angel@verizon.net.

“I want to get the message to others that there are classes, ingredients and a support system for raw food enthusiasts. Even though I don't do raw foods exclusively, I can tell the difference in how I feel when I eat more uncooked foods. I feel better. There's enough of a difference in my body to make me want to continue this eating lifestyle.”

News article published via TimesUnion…

Raw Power: Uncooked Food Diet Blends Health, Taste and Texture Into a Way of Life

Teshna Beaulieu typically starts her day with watermelon or sliced avocados and cucumbers topped with lemon juice, sea salt and tomatoes. Her beverage of choice is fresh coconut milk. The East Chatham chiropractor's routine doesn't change much as the day goes along. She eats a variety of salads for lunch and dinner, often adding fresh vegetables or seaweed. She snacks on nuts. Beaulieu almost never uses her oven or stove. The blender is the kitchen appliance she turns to most.

Welcome to the raw food diet. Beaulieu prefers to call it the raw food way of life, because diet implies a weight-loss program. For Beaulieu, who started eating raw foods 15 years ago, and many others, it's a lifestyle choice. "As the years go by I do it more and more. I feel better with it," she says. "When I eat raw food I don't feel tired after a meal. When I eat cooked food, I feel heavier and more tired." Raw food means exactly that — almost. Proponents of a raw food diet primarily eat uncooked fruits and vegetables. They also consume nuts and grains, oftentimes made edible with soaking that in some cases causes sprouting. However, many raw food enthusiasts use a dehydrator to "cook" certain foods.

Dismissed by some as a fringe fad or extreme vegetarianism, raw food entered the mainstream during the past decade when exclusively raw food restaurants began popping up in California and New York. Raw food received a ringing endorsement in 2003 when heralded Chicago chef and restaurateur Charlie Trotter co-authored a gorgeous cookbook called "Raw" (Ten Speed Press). A celebration of food in its natural state, "Raw" contains 70 color photographs of beautiful, mouth-watering dishes that were prepared without cooking.

"I believe that in the not-too-distant future all serious chefs and home cooks will have a decent understanding of how to prepare raw and living foods and have at least several raw dishes in their repertoire," Trotter writes in the introduction to the cookbook. "This is a way of eating that embraces healthful living, of course, but it is also a wonderfully exciting approach to food preparation that opens up fresh ways to celebrate flavor and texture."

An Alternative

While considered cutting edge, the raw food movement has in fact been around for half a century. Ann Wigmore, a self-taught nutritionist, began promoting it at her Midwest alternative health institute in the 1950s. It wasn't until the past decade, however, that raw food proponents found themselves on the covers of national publications like the Sunday New York Times Magazine. It always helps, of course, when celebrities are on board. Supermodel Carol Alt, musician Wynton Marsalis and actor Woody Harrelson are among the most prominent names touting the benefits of raw food. Raw food is actually more involved than its name implies, especially when the goal is to prepare dishes that are as appealing to the eye as they are to the palate.

The recipes in "Raw," for example, can't be considered easy to replicate. Even if you do have access to fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, try whipping together a dinner of stuffed squash blossoms with curried parsnip puree and tobacco onions the next time you're yearning for a quick meal. In addition to blenders and juicers, most raw food advocates employ a dehydrator to "bake" bread and other foods. Nothing is heated above 118 degrees, however. This is critical to the raw food way of life. The theory is that essential enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 118, and these enzymes need to be properly digested. This is where raw food proponents run into trouble, so to speak. As pure and impressive as fruits, vegetables and nuts are in their unadulterated state, the nutritional benefits of not cooking is controversial at best.

Katherine Tallmadge, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, has called the diet "dangerous." She believes certain segments of the population — pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems — would be well advised to limit their intake of raw foods. "The idea that cooked food is toxic is absurd. There's absolutely no science to back that up," Tallmadge says. "The (raw food) diet is protein-deficient and nutrient-poor." [This is not true or accurate.]

A Long Debate

Try and convince a raw food enthusiast of that and you may be in for a long debate. Alexandra Miller is a private chef in central Vermont who learned the art of raw cuisine while working as a spa chef in the Caribbean. She adopted it for herself, but during a recent pregnancy found that she couldn't maintain an exclusively raw diet. Dry toast was one of the few foods she could keep in her stomach during bouts of morning sickness. Now that she's breast-feeding she's back to a full-fledged raw diet. "I get all of my iron and calcium through seaweed and nuts and nutritional juices. There's a lot of calcium in lemons and yellow and red peppers."

Miller believes she can tell a raw food follower when she sees them. It's that obvious. "When people are all raw they tend to glow. Your energy level is so high because your body's not clogged up trying to process all this food," she says. "You see things and see things clearer." The restaurateur most credited with making raw food popular is Roxanne Klein, the co-author with Trotter of "Raw." In 2002, the Californian opened a high-end raw food restaurant north of San Francisco in Larkspur called Roxanne's. It quickly became one of the most difficult reservations in a restaurant-rich region and was the most serious raw-food restaurant in northern California. The following year, Klein added a to-go outlet to the restaurant which became even more popular than Roxanne's. Last August, she closed "Roxanne's" while keeping open the raw food to-go venture.

Neither Beaulieu nor Miller is actively trying to convert friends to a raw food lifestyle, although each is raising her child on a raw food diet. "When people come to my house, they know they're going to get a big salad," Beaulieu says. "For dinner, I might make some winter squash for guests or some steamed greens. I don't like cauliflower and broccoli raw too much. I prefer them a little lightly steamed. Asparagus, too. But all of these can be eaten raw."

Corn-Jicama Salad with Avocado Puree

Makes 4 servings
From "Raw" by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein (Ten Speed Press)

Ingredients

SALAD:
1/4 cup jicama cut into 1/8-inch cubes
1/4 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup unpeeled English cucumber cut into 1/8-inch cubes
1/4 cup peeled Asian pear cut into 1/8 -inch cubes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

AVOCADO PUREE:
1/2 avocado, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup filtered water

LIME VINAIGRETTE:
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 lime segments, membrane removed and cut into thirds

GARNISH:
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons micro mint leaves
2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Directions

SALAD:
Combine jicama, corn, cucumber, pear, oil, lime juice, jalapeno, mint, and parsley.

AVOCADO PUREE:
In a high-speed blender combine the avocado, lime juice, water and puree until smooth.

LIME VINAIGRETTE:
Whisk lime juice and olive oil in a bowl. Stir in lime segments.

ASSEMBLY:
Spoon a line of puree down the center of the plate. Spoon 2 additional lines, perpendicular to the first line across the plate. Spoon some of the salad parallel to the first line, left on where the lines intersect. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and around the plate. Sprinkle with the parsley, mint and lime zest.

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."

A southwest Florida raw food group was recently profiled in The Herald Tribune. It seems raw food is making more headlines daily. The text of the article is re-printed below…

Eat Your Vegetables

When your mother told you to eat your vegetables, she probably didn't realize just how good they really could be for you.

So believes a new group forming in the South County [Florida] area called The Raw Food Group.

The raw food enthusiasts offered the public a look-see recently at how far raw food preparation has come when it presented a Mexican raw food dinner at the Venice United Church of Christ. Approximately 40 people attended the event to not only learn how raw food can benefit them, but also how to prepare a full course dinner made entirely of raw food.

It was both an amazement and a delight. Chefs for the evening were raw food specialists Johanna Farias of Sarasota and Alice Gilmartin of Venice. Gilmartin is hoping to create enough interest in raw foods in the Venice area to offer monthly meetings and potlucks. The pair prepared the entire meal, which included a salad, soup, entree and dessert without baking, broiling, boiling, frying, steaming or microwaving. "I try to make the foods that people are familiar with such as tacos," said Farias, adding, "only I make them using only raw foods."

Why only raw foods? "It's all in the enzymes," said Gilmartin. "Enzymes are essential to all activity in living organisms. By eating foods raw, you are keeping the enzymes intact for your body to digest and use to regain health and vitality." Gilmartin believes that there are many more people open to eating a raw food diet now than just a decade ago."A hundred years ago, Americans were living much more naturally and eating foods that were, on the whole, acquired locally," said Gilmartin. "As Americans are looking for more ways to achieve better health there is a growing interest in a raw food lifestyle."

Farias, who is raising her three children on a totally raw food diet, is writing a book titled, Raw Babies to help other mothers make the decision to go natural with their children. "I'm not fanatical," said Farias, who is in charge of a raw food group that meets in Sarasota. "It is important for people not to be extreme when changing their lifestyle. Sometimes you have to take things slowly and adjust to the change."

Gilmartin agrees. She has used an 80 percent raw food diet on her mother who was suffering from diabetes, arthritis pain and more. "In just three weeks, I saw her balance her sugar levels, relieve constipation, and even her wrists were symptom free," said Gilmartin, who made raw food soups, salads and smoothies for her mother. "An American diet is a very addictive type of diet, as everyone can attest to," stated Gilmartin, as heads around the room nodded in agreement. "If you start by just eliminating the most toxic foods from your diet and then eat more of the foods that are closest to nature, you can help your body to heal from all kinds of diseases."

Gilmartin continued by telling the audience stories of witnessing people in a macrobiotic class healing themselves from tumors, cancer, diabetes, arthritis and obesity. "I am so impressed with what food can do to help the body heal," she said. "I have seen it do such wonders. I have been in natural foods forever." Gilmartin said she began taking macrobiotic cooking classes when she was 12. "I want to offer workshops and give lectures to help other people make raw food choices for their diet," she added.

Sari Middaugh, owner of Veggie Patch Produce in Englewood, attended the gathering to learn more about raw food preparation. "It is nice to know more ways to prepare raw foods so that when people ask me, I can tell them," said Middaugh. Jean Ost came to the event at the encouragement of her friend Lavon Burtnett. "I came tonight because I like to experience the unusual," Ost said.

Judy Pokras, editor and founder of Raw Foods News Magazine, attended the event to meet other people with similar interests.

"The magazine is growing as more and more people become health conscious and are taking a new interest in raw foods," said Pokras.

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.]

If you're living in Australia, you should sign up for Raw-Pleasure's recipe testing program, where you get to try out new raw food recipes. The text of the press release from kntimes.com. is below…

Raw Food Diet Explodes Across Australia with Startling Health & Weight Loss Results

After a barrage of short term diets aimed more at boosting revenues than improving health, the raw food diet — or living foods as its often known — is a nutritional breath of fresh air. At last, pills, potions and protein powders have been dropped in favour of foods that doctors, nutritionists and common sense have been clamoring to be increased for years: fresh, unprocessed, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

Living foods has taken this age old advice for improved health and taken it to the next level; famous chefs like Charlie Trotter, Roxanne Klein and Cherie Soria create sumptuous, varied feasts entirely from these ingredients -– no cooking required. Ordinary people all over Australia and the world have discovered the flavours and ease of living foods, often reporting a wide range of dramatic health benefits such as weight loss, disease remissions, increased immunity and improved complexions.

Sheryl and Piers Duruz, co-founders of Australia’s leading raw food education website Raw-Pleasure dropped 32 kg (that’s 70 pounds) and halved body fat from 21% to 9.6%, respectively, by changing their way of eating. “The weight loss was a wonderful surprise,” Piers relates “but feeling alive, energetic and alert enough to see the world as a wonderful place instead of tired and negative is worth more than I ever could have imagined before. It’s a truly hidden gift of life. Raw-Pleasure.com is our gift back to say thank you and help make it easy for others.”

Subscribers to Raw-Pleasure.com’s free Taste Tester recipe testing program regularly receive recipes such as curries, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches, cookies, snacks and more and are quickly developing a country-wide support network on their forums with a uniquely Australian flavour. Many doctors, such as Dr Doug Graham, are giving living foods the thumbs up. Dr Graham has trained many sports legends such as tennis Player Martina Navratilova, NBA pro basketball player Ronnie Grandison, track Olympic sprinter Doug Dickinson, as well as the United States Olympic Diving team and the Norwegian National Bicycling team.

Dr Graham states that “People thrive on the raw diet, often telling others how it has improved their health and their lives. Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens not only contain sustainable amounts of carbohydrates, protein and fat, they have them in the percentages, ratios, and quality that are optimum for human health. When people integrate a proper raw diet with other healthful living practices, they rarely, if ever, develop weight control problems, chronic or even short-term illnesses.” Even conservative groups such as the US governments National Cancer Institute concur with living foods, such as fruit and vegetables, anti cancer properties stating “Fruit and vegetable consumption have generally been found in epidemiologic studies to be associated with reduced risk for a number of different cancers”.

“All I know is that it’s the most delicious, time proven way of eating out there… and we feel great!” says Piers. Maybe we would all benefit from taking another bite at nature’s original fare.

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.

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.