One of the questions I often hear is whether or not exercising is necessary since we're already eating a healthy raw food diet.

There is a common misconception that just eating a better diet is enough to gain better health or lose weight. Yes, eating is one main part of the equation, but it's only one part of the big picture.

Read more...

One of the ways I've found to save on your grocery bill (next to shopping at your local farmers market) is to grow your own garden. As I show in this video, you don't need a lot of space to grow just about anything you enjoy. You can dig up a small garden, or use the square foot garden method to grow just about anywhere around your house. You can also use containers as I do if you're short on gardening space. All it takes is getting some compost locally (I found some at my local Whole Foods) and seeds. Here's an update on our home garden:

Read more...

Watch this video for the reactions people have after being offered fresh meat.
Read more...

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

I often get asked what one book I would recommend for advice on eating raw and vegan.

Although there are many excellent resources, there are two I'd recommend today, you can choose the one best for your situation.

The first resource is The Garden Diet by Storm and Jinjee. Storm has been eating raw vegan for most of his life and you can see the benefits by just looking at him. His entire family is an inspiration. He and Jinjee share their research on the benefits of a raw vegan diet, their experiences along with delicious and easy to make recipes. One note, they don't use or recommend a dehydrator (often used by many raw foodists) so their recipes can be made and enjoyed simply and quickly. I would recommend their entire collection of ebooks which includes the Garden Diet, Anti-Aging, Raising Healthy Children, The Orange Juice Diet and several other related titles (ten in all). This collection is all meat, no fluff - direct and to the point. You get to know Storm and Jinjee throughout the books as well as learn about the benefits of a raw vegan lifestyle.

Note, this collection is in online and downloadable format. I would recommend downloading and then printing your copies for reading at your convenience. I've found that printing the recipes, hole punching, slipping them inside plastic sheet protectors and into a 3 ring binder works best for reference when preparing meals in your kitchen. Read more about the Garden Diet.

The second resource I recommend is the The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. Natalia offers a flexible and sensible approach to adding raw food to your diet. The background on the benefits is not extensive, but offers the main one, detoxification, as the primary reason for eating raw. By eliminating the buildup of toxic and unused waste from your system, you regain the balance your body needs. She focuses on elimination, and for good reason. If your system eliminates quickly and easily, there is no ongoing buildup to clog your system and it can deliver and use the nutrition your body needs. Natalia offers different levels of the raw food diet which may be helpful to some. She offers a good set of recipes, and a special section for children and family eating. She is flexible in her approach and offers a plan that most readers can relate to and follow easily. Compared to The Garden Diet, I would describe Natalia's book the "light" and introductory version of learning about how raw foods can benefit your health.

As much as I recommend the book, there are a few issues I don't agree with Natalia on.

First, she recommends the use of Splenda as a sweetner. I don't agree. Splenda (sucralose) is a man-made abomination that has been linked to dozens of health problems including enlarged kidneys and liver, migranes and reduced red blood cell count among others. Read more about the effects at Healthy Living Talk. So skip the Splenda and enjoy the rest of the book!

Second, Natalia doesn't specifically advocate a vegan diet. I believe the benefits outweigh the occassional eating of fish, meat or dairy products and although not for everyone, I highly recommend it. Once you get used to fresh, organic and raw foods, your body no longer craves the processed foods you ate in the past and instead craves more fresh, raw and nutrient dense foods.

This book is a hardback although also available in a download version from Amazon.

Search for The Raw Food Detox Diet at eBay
Search for The Raw Food Detox Diet at Half.com

May your journey to enjoying fresh, raw foods be filled with health and happiness!

All the best for your health,

Mark

Mark
www.RawFoodHowTo.com

by Yahoo News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday.

They lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, according to the report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association.

Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on the standard diet.

"I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs," Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study, told a news conference.

An estimated 18 million Americans have type-2 diabetes, which results from a combination of genetics and poor eating and exercise habits. They run a high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.

Barnard's team and colleagues at George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina tested 99 people with type-2 diabetes, assigning them randomly to either a low-fat, low-sugar vegan diet or the standard American Diabetes Association diet.

After 22 weeks on the diet, 43 percent of those on the vegan diet and 26 percent of those on the standard diet were either able to stop taking some of their drugs such as insulin or glucose-control medications, or lowered the doses.

The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds (6.5 kg) on average while the diabetes association dieters lost 6.8 pounds (3.1 kg).

An important level of glucose control called a1c fell by 1.23 points in the vegan group and by 0.38 in the group on the standard diet.

DROPPING DRUGS

A1c gives a measure of how well-controlled blood sugar has been over the preceding three months.

In the dieters who did not change whatever cholesterol drugs they were on during the study, LDL or "bad" cholesterol fell by 21 percent in the vegan group and 10 percent in the standard diet group.

The vegan diet removed all animal products, including meat, fish and dairy. It was also low in added fat and in sugar.

The American Diabetes Association diet is more tailored, taking into account the patient's weight and cholesterol. Most patients on this diet cut calories significantly, and were told to eat sugary and starchy foods in moderation.

All 99 participants met weekly with advisers, who advised them on recipes, gave them tips for sticking to their respective diets, and offered encouragement.

"We have got a combination here that works successfully," said Dr. David Jenkins of the University of Toronto, who worked on the study. "The message that we so often get with diet is that it is no good because nobody follows it for very long."

Dr. Joshua Cohen, George Washington University associate professor of medicine, said everyone diagnosed with diabetes is told to start eating more carefully.

"That may be among the hardest things that any of us can do," Cohen told the news conference.

The vegan diet "is at least as good, if not better than traditional approaches," Cohen said.

Vance Warren, a 36-year-old retired police officer living in Washington, said he lowered his a1c from 10.4, considered uncontrolled diabetes, to 5.1, considered a healthy level, over 18 months. "My life is much better being 74 pounds (34 kg) lighter," Warren told the news conference.

(Mark's Note: You'll notice that the vegan diet had almost double the success over the American Diabetes Association Diet recommendations. Also a new movie about how changing your diet to overcome diabetes is coming out... check it out at http://www.rawfor30days.com ... very exciting for your health!)