Eating for Health

In 1992 my brother visited for a week, stating that he would do all the shopping and cooking. He had become a vegetarian. He fixed veggie burritos, veggie stir-fry, sandwiches, soups, and such. He also gave me John Robbins "Diet for a New America" book and video. From that week it was easy to drop meat, except occasional fish, for the past 15 years. But from a heath perspective, dairy might be even more harmful, and I've found it hard to give up, e.g., pizza and Mexican food.

In 1999 my vegetarian friend and co-worker Mark Blackburn introduced me to "Raw/Living Food Diet." My initial reaction was skeptical. Why should cooking make a difference? But he explained about how heat above 112F kills enzymes. An apple still contains living cells until it is heated, for example. He cited that white blood count rises after eating cooked foods but not after eating raw foods: Cooked food is toxic, but we have developed an immune response to it - similar to people in Mexico drinking polluted water with no apparent effect.

Going 100% raw is not realistic for most people. Still I've made changes: I start each day with a smoothie, something like:

• raw almonds / flax seeds
  
• orange / grapefruit / apple / banana / pinapple


• frozen blueberries and strawberries


• raw cacao powder & green powder

Recently I stumbled on David Wolfe [profile article]videos on YouTube (in playlist link below), which inspired me to expand on the raw foods that I eat. (David has a law degree, but rather than using it to be dishonest, he is getting rich off his books, lectures, and travel tours - e.g., video in Peru.)

In this article Wolfe cites the many reasons to be a raw food vegetarian.

About three years ago we attended a presentation by the Boutenko Family, that had all reversed significant health issues when they switched to raw food. In this YouTube video (part2) Victoria explains how after several years she discovered the importance of greens (chlorophyl).

June update: We purchased an Excalibur Dehydrator. I was able to pick it up since they are manufactured here in Sacramento. Click on the image to see a large photo of our first batch of plums, kiwi, strawberry, apple, mango, and yam.

REFERENCES

• eBooks at Diet-in-Practice


• Living and Raw Foods: Good FAQ, articles, recipies


• Raw Foods News - good links from homepage


• Sacramento Raw Food Organization


• YouTube Playlist - Health and Nutrition


• YouTube Playlist - Animal Abuse - a reason to be Vegetarian


• Information about Young Coconuts


• Paul Nison website - recipies and information