Probably a no-brainer, but further evidence that eating more fruits and vegetables reduce your chances of gaining weight and obesity. I've never seen a study that contradicts this, and also have never seen a study that proves eating more meat, dairy or fish and less vegetables reduces your chances of gaining weight.

To enhance your experience and get more benefits from your fruits and vegetables, look for organic as much as possible and eat as much of it raw and fresh, or at the most, lightly steamed. Once a vegetable is warmed over 120 degrees it starts losing enzymes, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. The longer you cook, the more the loss. Enzymes are essential for proper digestion and you want the nutrients as well. So eating overcooked, soggy vegetables do very little good for you, nutritionally speaking. Best choice is raw, second best is very lightly steamed (just a minute or two). Good eating!

National Library of Medicine: "Changes in intake of fruits and vegetables in relation to risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women."

"RESULTS: During the 12-y follow-up, participants tended to gain weight with aging, but those with the largest increase in fruit and vegetable intake had a 24% of lower risk of becoming obese... For major weight gain (> or =25 kg), women with the largest increase in intake of fruits and vegetables had a 28% lower risk compared to those in the other extreme group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that increasing intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce long-term risk of obesity and weight gain among middle-aged women."

Greetings from my first 'raw roadtrip'! I'm currently in Amarillo, Texas traveling from Chicago back to my home in Arizona and the first roadtrip since starting my raw journey.

Many of you have written to share your experiences when traveling and here's how I'm doing it.

My first stop before leaving Chicago was Karyn's, the popular raw vegan cafe, restaurant and marketplace. Picked up a few ready to eat meals (garlic pizza and california rolls... both were great choices) along with some pumpkin seeds, raw crackers and small salad from the buffet. I dropped these into a cooler with some ice packs and went on to Whole Foods Market just minutes away.

At Whole Foods I picked up spring water, 5 bunches of bananas, a quart of fresh strawberries, a bag of dates, and some apples (all organic). Dropped everything in the car and with plenty of food for 2.5 days of driving was ready for my first raw road trip!

In addition to the food I picked up, I had placed an order for the Phi Plus (raw whole food) I've mentioned before and had several bags ready to go.

I started the day with several glasses of water and then several hours later added a few bananas and strawberries. Throughout the day I added dates and grabbed a banana whenever I got hungry. At dinner time I pulled out one of the prepared meals from Karyn's along with some raw crackers. Evening snacks included Phi Plus and dates. I drank less water than I normally do to minimize the stops along the way!

I'm in my last day of travel now, feeling great and still have plenty of food. Eating fresh whole foods I brought along made it easy to eat whenever I was hungry, make fewer stops and gave me lots of energy to be able to drive as long as I wanted.

Share your travel experiences by leaving a comment!

Thanks for reading and all the best for your health...

Mark

A major, comprehensive new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January shows that the less meat is eaten, the lower risk of colon cancer. Previous studies have show similar findings, but this is the longest (20 years) and included a large group of people. In fact, related studies show your risk of colon cancer on a vegetarian diet is 50% less than if you ate red meat regularly. If you need another reason to eliminate meat from your diet, here it is!

Related link:
PCRM Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - News Release

If you live in the Phoenix metro area, you're in for a tropical treat.

As we near the end of the citrus season here, other tropical fruits
are becoming available at local stores. I'm particular to organic
pineapple, and when I noticed it at my local Fry's, I stocked up.
The brand is the same one carried by our now defunct local
co-op, so I feel comfortable with the choice.

Our local Safeway as well as Sunflower Market also have an
abundant selection of organic bananas and mango... all reasonably
priced.

Enjoy these tropical treats!

Mark

During the winter months, some on a raw diet look for warming foods. Normally after some time on the raw food diet, the want for physically heated foods diminishes for most.

For those looking to 'warm' up in the colder months, here's a list of warming foods from raw food coach Karen Knowler:
Read more...

A recent international study found that consumption of animal fats was linked to higher blood pressure.

Lower levels of arachidonic acid, a fatty acid found in animal fats, shows to be linked to lower systolic blood pressure. The study found that reducing intake of animal foods was one of several healthy dietary changes that can be made to lower blood pressure.

A vegan diet, void of animal or dairy foods, has been known to have a large number of health benefits, including lower blood pressure.

Read more at Yahoo News.

To your best health!

Mark
vegandiet.blogspot.com

Tonya Kay, professional dancer, performance artist, actress and raw foodist talks about how she overcame manic depression by switching from a vegan diet to a raw vegan diet.
Read more...