Raw Diet?

[beelzebubble]

i'm curious to see if anyone has tried a raw diet to help with healing and weight issues. i know there are several different takes on this (with several different dietary implementations), but i am most interested in a predominantly raw diet with raw dairy and cooked meats. any thoughts?

[Guest Viola]

I would really be concerned about raw dairy! Does this mean un-pasturized milk, raw eggs etc? In this day and age that would be dangerous. Cows and chickens are too crowded together to be considered completely free of disease. I also think it is illegal in Canada to sell raw milk.

A lot of people are putting their dogs on the raw diet, but even that cost me $300 at the vet to find out that dogs can get ecoli (sp) just as quickly as humans. Although apparently they can not get samanella and Sheba does get the raw frozen chicken necks to clean her teeth ... but never again raw beef or milk.

[Jnkmnky]

Actually, the dairy farms supplying the unpasturized milks are usually small and also boast hormone free, antibiotic free dairy cows. There's a lot of great information on line about the different farms offering 'raw' milk. There's also compelling information against the pasturization process. My friend has been steering me towards unpasturized milk since I told her I'm going dairy free. I'm definitly convinced it's a good way to go if you want dairy, but I don't want the casein. So, no unpasturized for me, either.

[tarnalberry]

I have a raw foods cookbook, and have done a fair amount of raw cooking, but don't stick to it as a diet. (Just some days, I don't feel like don't any hot cooking. ;-) ) I don't think that it will be any EASIER on the digestive system, however, as it may take *more* work for your system to break down some of the items common in a raw food diet. But different people will respond differently, and you can only give it a try.

[elonwy]

I had some friends that were on the Vegan Raw diet, absolutely no cooked food and nothing from animals. I was sooo sick after eating at thier house. I eat alot of veggies and everything, but my system could not cope with that much Raw food. I would not suggest jumping into that one feet first, especially for us sensitive tummy types. My bf was also sick as a dog ( tummy cramps, really bad diarrhea) and he's as normal as can be.

Elonwy

[ianm]

If you are used to eating a diet of mostly processed junk then your guts will turn inside out if you jump right into the raw diet. Start by slowly adding raw fruits and veggies so you body has a chance to wean itself off of garbage. The fruits and veggies I eat are mostly raw. I occasionally stir fry them for variety. For dairy I only eat cheese, yogurt and occaisionally ice cream. Meats are basically plain with some garlic thrown in once and a while. Oh yeah and hot peppers if you can handle them.

[mytummyhurts]

I understand that the raw diet is similar to paleolithic diets that humans were on thousands of years ago, before wheat was introduced and I think that it makes sense that this would be a good way to eat as humans bodies have not changed to catch up with our new diets.

On the milk thing. I researched buying unpastuerized milk and it's very interesting. It is illegal to sell, so you have to buy part of a cow. I read this on a local dairy's website. You pay a one time fee and then a monthly fee that pays for your cows room and board and it's milking. About 20 people "own" one cow and when you don't want it anymore you sell your share back to the farm. That way you are not illegally buying unpastuerized milk, you are just drinking your own cow's milk.

[sweetp]

i've read a lot about raw diets... one of the main purposes of the raw foods diet is becasue people are concerned with the way that foods loose nutrients and enzymes when they are cooked. I try to eat tons of raw veggies, and steam veggies instead of boiling or microwaving. Some foods have to be cooked for your system to digest. ... if you are having trouble digesting i would reccomend taking digestive enzymes with your meal. the omega-zyme by Garden of Life (from the maker's diet) are super expensive but they help me. Also to aid digestion, if you can not handle dairy, you can take probiotic supplements, and avoid drinking beverages with your meal, wait at least 1/2 hour after eating to drink.

[Guest nini]

I eat a lot of raw foods but as a raw only diet??? NO WAY. The Cafe in the Co Op next to my work has a raw (live foods) menu along with their cooked foods... the people that I see over there just getting only Live foods seem overly obsessed with it in an unhealthy sort of way. I think that a certain percentage of my diet should be raw simply because I do best on simple foods, but I won't do unpasteurized milk or anything like that. Just raw fruits and veggies for me. But I do like cooked foods too, just nothing fried or overly greasy.

[Jnkmnky]

Open Original Shared Link

You can buy raw milk in stores in some states.

[tarnalberry]

Yep - I've seen raw milk here in California.

I did want to add that - particularly as celiacs - we might find it useful to check out some of the live food recipes. There're a lot of cracker recipes (that go through a dehydrator as the key is not to get above a certain temperature) that are gluten-free, as well as some bread recipes. (And honestly, a "raw food" pizza can be REALLY tasty.) For those of us who are CF, it's also helpful that there are a number of "raw" cheese alternatives (mainly using nuts, so even higher in fat that real cheese) for sauces and the like.

I wouldn't follow a live food diet as my sole diet, but they've got useful ideas!

[beelzebubble]

you can buy some raw dairy products at whole foods (here in cali). i really don't have a problem with raw veggies. i already eat about 40-50% raw. fruits for breakie, and veggies for lunch, with some nuts for protein (or cheese-whatever floats my boat at the time). all in all, my digestion is not so bad since going gluten free. it's the other things i'm looking to heal. primarily fatigue and joint aches. i am concerned about vitamins though, as i am still struggling with vitamin issues. so, no one here has attempted a raw food diet?

[misskris]

LOL! I tried to go to a raw diet when I found out about Celiac. I thought I was going to die if I had to eat like that forever. I was constantly hungry and found it really difficult to get all the nutrition I needed. I eat TONS of veggies now, but not raw. My tummy thanks me for it. I keep thinking that eventually I will gradually go raw, but it HAS to be done gradually. I've been reading up on the diet. (There are some great recipes if you have a dehydrator!) I just want to know more about how to get all the nutrition I need when I do it.

[Sueble]

I agree with every comment about eating a raw diet. At first, wow! So hungry all of the time! I have also been doing some research about the eating habits of our forebears, and it would seem that we are in some sort of a bind, since the original lifestyle was hunter-gatherer. Whatever. Probably can't do what the original human race did, so....we adapt. The beauty of a raw diet is obviously the benefit of unadulterated enzymes and protein molecules as nature intended them. One raw diet pioneer calls it the "food enzyme stomach" and cites the habits of digestion among killer whales. The point is to try to make it easier on our bodies. Celiac would seem to be our body telling us "NO WAY!" to humanity's attempt at fixing the food availablity issue. That said, there is a downside to agriculture among folks in the distant past, namely, that there was seen a higher (much) of parasites and disease following the advent of agriculture. (check out the cool article "Don't Eat Like a Neanderthal, But Learn a Lesson from their Diets" by Vaughn Bryant at the Texas A&M.) Good stuff. The other place I visited was to compare the diets of the bonobo (an African chimp who has the closest DNA to humans). They eat a totally raw diet, but some really icky things too. (like worms) Bottom line? Nobody really knows where cooking food came from, but it would seem logical to conclude that the benefit was a reduction in disease due to the heat process killing bad buggies and parasites. People in China have specific beliefs about cooking and hot foods, no doubt due to the issue of close quarters and community....and figuring hygiene out. But humans have also gotten smaller with the rise of agriculture, the Chinese a good example of this phenomenon. And heat processing does alter foods. Humans are the only creatures who cook. As far as raw milk goes, other animals wean their young and then no more milk. The proteins in human breast milk are specially made for humans, period. On the other hand, US law allows raw cheeses to be made as long as they are aged over 60 days. They are available. But calcium is not a reason to consume milk. The veggie kingdom has plenty. (check out the bones on that steer!) Keep searching and thanks for letting me share. Hope my meandering has been helpful!

[PreOptMegs]

Being on a raw diet is severely hard on your digestive system. I am sure most of us do not need to put our intestines in any more stress than they already are.

[VydorScope]

I have a raw foods cookbook, and have done a fair amount of raw cooking, but don't stick to it as a diet.

Umm "Raw Cooking" ? Isnt that an oxymoron???

There are some foods, most fruits and veggies, that are much better raw, but uncook meat/eggs/etc? No thanks! I wont risk my famlies health with that! For veggies, nothing beats GARDEN fresh veggies in a nice salad though.... I have to find money to replant my veggie garden. Even boiled corn on teh cob is soooo much better from my own garden!

[laurichick]

i'm curious to see if anyone has tried a raw diet to help with healing and weight issues. i know there are several different takes on this (with several different dietary implementations), but i am most interested in a predominantly raw diet with raw dairy and cooked meats. any thoughts?

My friend is a raw foodist and her diet is just raw fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains.

Defianlty no dairy or meat.

L