The raw-foods lifestyle is becoming more accepted thanks to not only the obvious health benefits, but also the press celebrities are getting when talking about their experiences. High profile chefs have also created menus and restaurants around the concept of raw foods.

A raw foods diet, basically anything that’s not heated over 118 degrees, has been reported to clear your skin, reduce risks of disease, increase energy, improve moods, drop excess weight, eliminate headaches, sinus problems and heartburn, and clear your mind among other benefits.

Eating vegan and mostly raw, I’ve experienced all the benefits mentioned above and more. Before becoming vegan, I would regularly feel exhausted after a meal (consisting of meat, dairy or processed foods) feeling like I needed a nap, had low energy levels, mood swings, and was overweight.

Some of the benefits I noticed most were almost boundless energy, weight loss, a consistently “good feeling” and an incredibly clear and vivid “mental clarity”. It’s hard to explain the “clear thinking” because I didn’t feel “fuzzy” before, but in comparison, there is a distinctly clear difference in being able to focus with a clear mind.

I now taste the difference between fresh, organic foods and regular produce easily (organic tastes fresher, live and much better) and am able to notice the negative impacts of processed foods, meat, dairy, additives and preservatives clearly. I feel blessed to rarely get sick, don’t worry about my weight, rarely get tired and have seen improvements in almost every area of my life.

Now over 12 years into my vegan lifestyle, to say I feel great is an understatement! A true blessing.

Read more at: In the Raw – Newsweek Health Beat – MSNBC.com

BTW, the article above quotes some research that indicates vegans may have low bone denisty and a nutritionist that believes the USDA food guidelines are sufficient. As well meaning as that may be, the research doesn’t support those assertions. The study they refer to indicated that vegans has a lower bone density because they are lighter and consume less calories, not that they have risks of osteoperosis. In fact, the study mentions they will follow the subjects in the study to see if those risks develop. Also, USDA guidelines in the past have lead to our current health crisis and to say they are sufficient is careless and not founded in fact, in my opinion. Follow the links here in previous posts for more details. Of course, research well and make informed decisions.

What are your experiences?

To your best health!

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

If modern civilized man had to kill the animals he eats, the number of vegetarians would rise astronomically.
– C. Morgenstern

If we – that is, society – switched to a vegetarian diet, atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, which accounts for most heart disease, would vanish.
– William Roberts, M.D. editor in chief of the American Journal of Cardiology

From both a moral and health aspect… the benefits of avoiding meat in your diet.

To your best health!

Mark

(quotes from the book ‘Your Right to Be Beautiful’ by Tonya Zavasta)

We know how delicious and good fruit is for you. Here’s a study showing another benefit… seeing.

A recent study published in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology indicates that eating 3 or more servings of fruit per day may lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), the primary cause of vision loss in older adults, by 36%, compared to persons who consume less than 1.5 servings of fruit daily.

In this study, which involved over 70,000 women and over 40,000 men, researchers evaluated the effect of consumption of fruits; vegetables; the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E; and carotenoids on the development of early ARMD or neovascular ARM, a more severe form of the illness associated with vision loss.

Food intake information was collected periodically for up to 18 years for women and 12 years for men. While, surprisingly, intakes of vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and carotenoids were not strongly related to incidence of either form of ARM, fruit intake was definitely protective against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.

To your best health,

All good things!

Mark

A truly inspiring video of an interview with long term raw vegan Storm Talifero and his brother Mike Talifero who recovered from cancer by switching his eating habits to a completely raw vegan diet. What you’ll find interesting
Read more…

Bernando LaPallo just turned 109 years young and credits the raw diet for his long life. He is living proof that eating a mostly fresh, whole raw food diet as the way nature intended slows the aging process and allows you to live a long life without illness. This is uncommon in our world today, but Bernando lives unlike most, he has eaten a mainly raw vegan diet for over 100 years, 2/3’s of his diet consists of fresh greens, he walks daily, drinks pure water and doesn’t believe in stress. He has outlived some of his children, has never been sick and is more alive at 109 years than most others in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s.

Read more…

Another study from Harvard Medical School has linked eating meat with breast cancer in women. This study of 90,000 women found that the more meat women ate in their early years, the more profound was the occurance of breast cancer as they aged the next 12 years. The authors also noted that eating meat was already associated with colon and other cancers and strongly urged the reduction in meat consumption.

This should come as no surprise since, as the authors noted, cancer has already been linked to many other cancers. With this knowledge, the continued increase in breast cancer cases doesn’t make sense, does it? In today’s world there is more funding, both charitable and public, to find a cure for breast cancer, but the cases continue to rise.

Based on these studies alone, the answer has always been right in front of us. Diet. What you eat and how you treat your body will dictate how it reacts. Studies have confirmed this for years. They always find that when you elimated meat from your diet, the occurances of disease drop dramatically. The China Study, one of the largest ever found that people who eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds are significantly healthier.

Why spend millions on new drug research when a simple campaign to educate people will save more lives than any drug could. The answer to better health and near elimination of disease is to change your diet. Eat mainly fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, drastically reduce or eliminate meat and processed foods and watch your life change.

To your best health!

Mark

P.S. To learn more about the vegan raw diet, visit RawFoodHowTo.com where you’ll find articles, videos, recipes, resources and more.

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