Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home

From:	Alice (166.129.231.151)
Subject:	Message from longterm (23 years) raw vegan
Date:	November 6, 2009 at 2:29 pm PST

My routine has been very successful for me, so I thought it might be worthwhile to share with others. I posted something similar further down, but not sure if anyone is still reading the older stuff.

I'm 59, 5'1", and weigh in the range of 85 to 90 pounds. I run several days a week, do an hour of yoga 5 days a week, and have a regular aerobic routine with handweights.

Sorry, but I don’t follow 811. I eat more than an ounce of nuts and seeds a day, averaging in the range of around 20% fats. If I eat less fat than that on a regular basis, I begin to obsess about food. I don't think that's healthy for me personally, as I was an overeater in the past.

I lost my desire for cooked food long ago (finally, after much experimentation); but until I relaxed a little about my nut/seed intake, I was binging on cooked vegan food about every 3 weeks.

My protein intake is around 6% - 7%, which is the protein intake recommended by Dr. Campbell in The China Study (not 10%).

I believe the bigger picture of whole raw food adds up to something much more than just carbs, fats, and proteins; and again, Dr. Campbell agrees. Please read Dr. Campbell's comments in “The China Study” on "Reductionism" where he regrets having isolated the term "fat" as the bad guy. He stresses that his studies showed that "MEAT fat" and "MEAT protein" are the true bad guys.

Studies finding that a low-fat vegan diet has superior health benefits over higher fat vegan diets are based on cooked food vegan diets that include an abundance of starchy carbs.

Taking COOKED food studies and applying them to a RAW food diet is not scientific, especially when we're simultaneously claiming that cooked food has an entirely different effect on the body than raw food!

RAW sources of proteins, carbs, and fats DO have a different effect on the body, and they supply a different range of micronutrients (calcium, iron, etc.) from the same category of COOKED food proteins, carbs, and fats.

Anyone who has been raw for a while knows there's a big difference between how the body reacts to a bowl of starchy carbs, and how the body reacts to a bowl of fresh fruit carbs.

A similar difference could apply to cooked processed fats VS raw whole nuts and seeds, and my own experience appears to have confirmed this.

It’s worth noting that there are absolutely no studies whatsoever that link consumption of raw nuts and seeds to poor health or unhealthy weight gain, and there are many studies that link consumption of nuts and seeds to superior health and weight control.

For myself, occasional short-term cleanouts with no nuts/seeds/avos/cocos have been very helpful. But long term consistent success has required a more inclusive approach to all raw vegan foods - and, of course, an open mind.

Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home