A followup study on eating habits confirmed the relationship between higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower cardiovascular disease and death.

Specifically, consuming fruits and vegetables 3 or more times a day versus less than 1 time a day resulted in:

• 27% lower stroke incidence
• 42% lower stroke mortality
• 24% lower ischemic heart disease mortality
• 27% lower cardiovascular disease mortality
• 15% lower all-cause mortality

With studies like this, evidence in support of a vegan and vegetarian diet for better health is growing daily. Keep them coming!

Read the study summary at PubMed.

Go Vegan!

To your best health,

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

Looking for a healthy, live-food dish? Try this satisfying and easy to make salad I call "Avo-Veg Delight".

What you'll need:

(all fresh, uncooked and preferably organic)

• 1-1 1/2 Avocado
• 1-2 Tomatoes
• Handful Cilantro
• 2-3 Kale Leaves
• 1-2 Green Onions
• 1/3 Red Pepper
• 1/2 Corn on the Cob
• 3-4 Large Romaine Leaves
• Handful Parsely
• Juice of 1/2 Lemon
• 1 tsp Cumin

Optional:

• Sea Salt to taste
• Flax Crackers (GoRaw makes a great -very thick- original flax variety)
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds

Here's How To Make It:

In a large mixing bowl mash up avocado. Add all chopped vegetables, squeeze lemon, add cumin and optionally sea salt to taste. Mix up well. Lay out 3-4 large romaine lettuce leaves and add one large scoop of salad on each romaine leaf. Eat as a salad or wrap lettuce leaves around salad and eat burrito style! Enjoy with live flax crackers or your favorite veggies.

Makes 1-2 servings.

This is a very satisfying dish! Enjoy experimenting with different veggies and have fun.

Enjoy and all the best for your health...with living foods!

Mark

Are raw food potlucks helpful?

One of the first things I learned about when getting interested in raw foods was the raw food potlucks. They were recommended to me to learn more about the lifestyle, meet other raw foodists and learn new recipes.

After a few months I did learn those things; met others at all points of their journey to better health, learned new recipes, resources and lifestyle ideas.

Over the years, I made an important distinction. Long term raw foodists don't normally eat the foods brought to a raw food potluck.

Why?

I've determined that raw food potlucks are most beneficial to those new to the lifestyle, those looking to make a change for their health, making new friends or those curious and wanting to learn more.

Long term raw foodists can be helpful to those that are new and provide guidance, although do not normally eat much at the potlucks. Since many who attend are new, they create dishes that are high in fat, lack proper food combining principles or are gourmet style recipes (all of course are great once in a while). For those experienced in raw foods, this type of meal is affectionately called "combo mambo" since the food combining is not the best and there are all sorts of foods mixed together when you try a little of this and that.

I noticed after about a year that eating at potlucks was no longer pleasurable. It often brought indigestion, gas and uncomfortable feelings. You see, as you progress in eating raw foods, you start to prefer simpler meals and normally combine foods naturally. Eating a combination of different foods that are normally high in fat (nuts, pates, seeds, avocados, coconut oil, etc) and normally more than just a bite can easily upset a digestive system that has been already cleaned and prefers simpler foods.

In fact, as I now bring simpler dishes, interestingly enough, they are not as popular as the more 'gourmet' meals I once brought. Most seem to enjoy the fancier foods that resemble cooked food dishes - just with raw ingredients.

So are potlucks helpful?

Absolutely!

First, they are a great support network for those interested in learning more about better health, raw foods and recipes. Second, as you learn and become more experienced, you can be helpful to others just starting out and looking for answers. Many long term 100% raw fooders I notice don't eat much at the potlucks and spend most of the time sharing with others. I've learned to do the same, and often eat prior to attending and bring a simpler meal for others to enjoy.

You also make new friends and can build long term relationships with like-minded individuals in your area... which can be very helpful when making changes like this in your life.

You can learn more about the potlucks in your area by visiting: http://www.livingnutrition.com/potlucks.html
http://www.rawfoodnetwork.com/potlucks.html
http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/directories/dir_rawpotlucks.html

To your best health!

Mark

Here's a quick healthy snack.. especially for those times when you're transitioning and hungry for something sweet.

Banana Treat

• 1-2 Ripe Bananas
• 1-2 Soft, Pitted Dates
  or
• Handful of soaked raisins
• 1/2-1 Tbs Raw Almond Butter

Mash the bananas in a bowl, add raw almond butter and dates (cut them into small pieces) or soaked raisins and mix together well. Quick, easy and delicious. Enjoy without guilt!

To your best health,

Mark
Vegan and Raw - The Ultimate Diet For Weight Loss, Healthy and Life

Do I have to eat 100% raw?

It's a question I hear often and there is much debate on the subject.

Personally, it's the right decision for me. Here's the consideration. You see, my experience was when I was eating a mostly raw diet, I would eat a little cooked food and notice that I would then have cravings for more cooked food. But when I eat only raw, living foods, my cravings went away, energy increased, all pains were eliminated, clarity was profound, eyesight improved, slept better.... all major benefits in my experience. If I mistakenly eat cooked food, not only can I immediately taste the difference, I also don't feel my best. I've noted others with similar experiences after eating only raw foods.

Here's a great example... a quote from Gideon Graff, a raw foodist and co-owner of a raw foods center in Georgia:

"The biggest challenge was committing 100% to raw foods. Until you make that commitment, you allow yourself to eat this, eat that, and for people like me--a binge eater--every time I allowed myself to eat some cooked food, it always led to more cooked food and it was very hard to keep raw. Once you've cleaned up a little bit, you feel the damage of eating cooked food much more than you did before. It makes you feel bad. So, committing to 100 percent as really a good experience. "

You can experience great benefits from adding more raw and living foods into your diet, at any level.. and you'll get the most benefits by eating only raw foods. There is no comparison between some and 100%. Listen to your body, it will tell you when you're ready and only you can feel the difference. I challenge you to make the commitment.

For me, committing to 100% raw foods was a blessing and made it easier to experience the benefits of natural and abundant health.

All the best in your journey!

Mark

Just ran across this introductory video of some tasty and healthy holiday recipes. The recipes are made from fresh, raw ingredients and made to satisfy anyone, raw or not. Dorit, the guest chef, shows you how to make a complete holiday meal, from soup to dessert. She also gives you tips on why presentation is important, especially when serving family and friends. This video is one of many raw and vegan health related educational materials from Storm and Jinjee Talifero of The Garden Diet. View the introduction video at RawFoodHowTo.com and to download the complete video, visit Natural Paradigms.

Giving you thanks and joy-filled holidays!

Mark

For a fun break (on a serious topic) check out the video comic below. It was an official selection at the recent Raw Food Film Festival and brings to light real problems including pesticides, air pollution and more.
Read more...