I found this very interesting article posted today via The Fresh Network, based in the UK, who publish a magazine entitled Get Fresh! highlighting raw foods and holistic nutrition. Apparently some raw food advocates have admitted to consuming animal products or have started to openly promote them! This is very interesting to me, because often when I attend raw food conferences and workshops, I notice some speakers who look, well, frankly ill, if you ask me. Then there are those who actually look exceptionally healthy. My whole thing is, if you aren’t walking the walk, please don’t talk the talk. I tend to ignore the recommendations of someone who doesn’t look like their own advice is working for them.
Everyone’s body is different yes, but the results people have received from incorporating raw foods into their diets is REAL. From healing terminal diseases to shedding pounds, common sense tells us that it has to be a good thing to completely eliminate or avoid as much man-made food in our diets as possible. Now, the issue of 100% raw or not I think is a separate matter which every person has to decide for themselves. I tried 100% and now I’m pretty much 90% because I still eat cooked quinoa, make my own hummus with cooked chickpeas (vegan of course), and very occasionally in winter have lentil soup.
For me raw was a natural extension of my long-term veganism. I can’t comprehend ever going from raw to animal products? That just sounds crazy to me. In the end, each person must do what works for them, and hopefully people can learn to find a personal balance of discipline for the sake of optimal health, without clinging to their diet like it’s a religion.
What I love about the debate presented in this article is that most of the experts interviewed stress that supplementation on the vegan diet is key for long-term success. Not just B12, but also Vitamin D, and other trace minerals. I learned quickly after diving into the raw diet, that mineral deficiencies are very real, and now have transitioned into being more optimally raw by making sure I am taking all the necessary supplements my body needs to function properly.
To read the full article:
http://fresh-network.typepad.com/fresh_network_blog/2010/01/the-rise-of-raw-but-not-vegan.html#more