It’s been a very interesting 8 months! As you may know I’ve been focusing exclusively on raw, whole foods and have avoided most everything else including raw ‘junk food’. This includes high fat avocados, dehydrated foods, processed foods, sauces, oils, bars and other foods that contain raw ingredients but have been processed. Basically I’ve eaten locally or organically grown fruits and veggies with a very limited about of nuts or seeds.

There have been many benefits to this but the one thing that stands out for me has been the ability to feel how everything I eat affects me.

I was fascinated with what I’ve learned.

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In talking with many people that have tried to transition to raw, much research and personal experience I’ve found a central theme around why many people don’t successfully transition to a raw diet.

And that theme is Fruit.

Many that try eating more fruit stop because it causes an upset stomach or digestive tract. Some stop because they get hungry right away and don’t feel full.

Interestingly enough, the reasons for these difficulties are not related to eating fruit, but most often a different reason. They think it’s fruit because it’s usually the last item they ate.

Many transitioning to a raw diet consume a large amount of fat from nuts and oils to get that feeling of satisfaction. A high fat diet combined with fruit is a recipe for failure and one of the reasons for digestive difficulties.

Eating fruit and not feeling filled up is many times because not enough of the fruit (calorie wise) was eaten. Additionally, once you start eating larger amounts of fruits regularly, you will begin to lose the feelings of hunger shortly after eating them.

I’ve found that after a few months of eating mainly fruits throughout the day, my cravings and hunger have gone away. When I am hungry, it’s subtle and peaceful. The important thing is to eat a good amount of fruit throughout the day, not just one or two servings.

Frederic Patenaude discusses this at length in The Raw Secrets and cleared up some questions about hunger, fats and how to choose the best selection of foods on a daily basis.

All the best for your health!

Mark
The Vegan Raw Diet

If your looking for answers about the raw food diet and lifestyle, I’m excited to share a new resource that’s now available.

Mark Perlmutter, the producer of “Raw For 30 Days” has put together an A-Z encyclopedia of Raw Food including living and raw food experts, celebrities, chefs, doctors that are changing the way people approach health and wellness today.

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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.”

A new study of over 55,000 Swedish women who ate little or no meat were less likely than their meat eating counterparts to be overweight.

On average, vegans had the lowest body mass, followed by vegetarians and then meat eaters.

This study again confirms that a plant-based diet leads to better health and less disease. Obesity is one of the top two conditions that lead to disease and death.

Just another reason to consider moving to a plant-based diet.

Read the full article at Yahoo Health.

All the best for your health!

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com

Here’s a brilliant example of what happens when you’ve been eating healthy, choosing a vegan raw lifestyle and then decide to eat ‘normal’, like most of America does.

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You may recall the ads milk, cheese and yogurt producers have been running that claim three servings a day (3 a Day) of dairy helps burn fat.

The dairy producers rely mainly on one study from a University of Tennesse researcher that apparently is suspect because he receives funding from the dairy industry. Well, if you receive funding from an industry that you are conducting research for, then yes, I would call that suspect!

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which advocates a vegan diet and led by Neal Barnard MD, feels strongly enough about the fact this is largely a way to get people to eat more dairy (and feel good about it – in my opinion), that they have filed suit against dairy groups to stop using the ads.

There is more than just one study that concludes that eating dairy keeps you at the same weight or increases it, but also the dozens of side effects and links to health problems. Can these be discounted against just one study?

Read more about the suit at the Washington Post.

Peace, joy and health!

Mark
http://vegandiet.blogspot.com