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Help with the "Raw Food Diet"


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Hi, I am new to this site. I am currently a vegan, and I'm interested in the Raw Food Diet, maybe not completely converting, but at least giving it a fair try. I really don't have the knowledge base, I was hoping someone could help me, I don't even know where to start. I know that Giacomo Marchese is a Raw Vegan, but can anyone give me some sample meal plans, or at least some examples of how to create a Raw Food Meal Plan for mass building. Also, Giacomo praises Spirulina blends, how would you incorporate these into your diet, and how much is a safe amount to take? Thanks.

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I bought this great book, "becoming raw: the guide for vegan raw diets" - I highly recommend it. However, I don't think you can have an high-protein intake ratio on a raw diet. So you have to eat a lot.

Anyway, since you are interested in raw food diets, you need to read this book to have full knowleadge of what you are doing.

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I recommend Dr. Douglas Graham's book "80/10/10 Diet". Just don't end up eating too much nuts and seeds (more than 100-150 gr a day), because it's too much fat. I tried this diet and I am convinced that it is the most natural diet for humans. But where I live we don't have much fruit all year, and sometimes it's expensive. Basically, this diet is about eating LARGE quantities of fruit, some leafy greens and some nuts and seeds in the evening. One day could look like this:

breakfast: 10 bananas

lunch: 10 mangos

dinner: 2 heads of lettuce, couple of tomatoes and/or cucumbers and about 100 grams of nuts and seeds

It is important to eat A LOT so you have enough calories, and not loose weight.

I follow this diet AM (today eat 8 kg of watermelon for breakfast, and later 3-4 bananas). In PM I eat cooked low fat vegan food, lots of legumes and whole grains.

All best with the LOW FAT raw vegan diet!

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I will second Becoming Raw. The author is very well known and has written other similar books in the past (Becoming Veg, Becoming Vegan). In fact, if you haven't read Becoming Vegan, there is a lot of vital information that many vegans may or may not know (about B12, vegan vit D, omega 3:6 balance, etc.) so give that a read-through as well!

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Raw-Essential-Guide-Vegan/dp/1570672385

 

The 80/10/10 diet is too unbalanced for me (sorry vege!). I don't think fats or proteins should make up such a small amount of the diet (ESPECIALLY for muscle building) and I don't see a reason to put that much fruit in the body either. However it is certainly healthier than the diet of most Americans, so take from it what you will...

 

Personally my favorite 'health/food/diet; book is Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live. He isn't a full raw advocate, but raw foods make a large part of his program. However it is rather costly (for me!) and you have to ignore the emotional aspects of food and focus only on how food can provide you with nutrition. (PM me if you want some related material)

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spirulina seems overrated... I don't know how much it costs in america, but here it's so damn expensive it can't be a good protein source. Also, you still have to take your B12 supplement, so it's not a great deal for nutrition...

 

However I'm very interested by the 80/10/10 diet, I think I may follow it on certain days... I don't think it's suitable for me in the long term but a few days in a month or a few weeks in a year seems a good idea. 'll probably buy the book.

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I've only cooked with spirulina, as in juices made me ill.

 

Goes nicely in miso soup, but I don't buy it any more, due to cost and that I read somewhere it can reduce b12 absorption because it has b12 analogues in it that don't work like b12 but tie up transporter processes.

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I really enjoyed the book 80/10/10.

 

 

I read somewhere (spirulina) can reduce b12 absorption because it has b12 analogues in it that don't work like b12 but tie up transporter processes.

Lean and green had a blood analysis after years as a vegan raw foodist using tons of spirulina, and not supplementing with b12, his b12 level was fine.

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Actually, spirulina is a problem because it looks like B-12, but isn't, so it fools tests.

 

Many processed foods have b-12 in them, which is good because it holds off severe deficiencies, bad because people never get optimal amounts.

 

Everyone's system is a bit different. I wouldn't gamble with my health on a second hand account on the internet of someone else's experiences.

 

veganhealth.org has the best article around on b-12.

 

It is stupid not to take a supplement as it costs less than 50 cents a week and can avoid some severe, irreversible health problems.

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Hi Del! Nice to meet you. I am so glad you are interested in Raw Veganism - You must really care a lot about yourself! To be honest, this site isnt really the best for information/advice on living foods, but its still great for many other things. Try http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/ for your raw food questions.

 

I have been veg for 2 1/2 years, vegan for 2yrs, and raw for 1yr. I have done extremely well on all of them, and have also had plenty of rough patches. Although, looking back on my personal journey I credit my success to my LIFESTYLE more than the particular foods I was eating. What I mean by that is, you can know everything about anything that is considered health and still f*ck up. LOL! More important than spirulina or any food, is SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP(8hours, preferrably on back) and STRESS CONTROL (yoga, meditation, tai chi, good friends, good work, herbs, hobbies, breathing, spirituality, etc...) . If you are on top of those 2 things and can fit in an adequate amount of exercise you will succeed on the raw diet. This is probably true for all people on any diet, but I feel its more relevant for a Rawhead. There are no quick fixes in rawfoodism! Other people have things like coffee, pain relievers, cooked starches to cover up feelings of grogginess, anger, etc. You can sleep 4 hours a day, and live a stressful live and unfortunatly no amount of cacao or bananas will help.

I have found if I sleep well, control stress, and exercise I can eat almost anything on the raw diet and not worry about food combinations, ratio's, nutrient breakdown. Ofcourse I keep a loose running tally of protein, carbs, and fat. If you just eat alot of calories you will hit all your targets.

 

Yes, sprirulina is awesome (but somewhat overrated) and has been a staple in my diet. Sometimes its not, and other times its extinct in exchange some other protein (chlorella, etc). All I'm saying is variety and getting adequate calories is all that TRULY matters. You shouldnt be setting yourself up where spirulina, can make or break you. Sorry, if my approach is too lax for you, but hope it helps a little.

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Hey I just want to mention Becoming Raw again. I just picked it up the other day and gave it a read through. Very thorough with the science, it goes into pros and cons of raw foods, good macros (carbs/fat/protein), raw food debates (fruitarianism, living foods, enzymes, sprouting, etc.), gives meal plans and recipes, and discusses which supplements you need to / should be taking. A++ for that book!

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When I went on a raw 80/10/10 diet I lost weight faster than any other time in my life, and I had more energy. I had a very clear mind and lower stress as well. This is my ideal diet for maintenance, but I do up the protein when trying to put on muscle and lose fat. Plenty of raw vegan protein blends around.

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"Becoming Raw" is a really great book and it's one that I highly recommend. . . if you can resist the temptation of cooked vegan dishes. Unfortunately, I couldn't abide by all of those rules. When I first became vegan, it was a major challenge in itself. While it isn't tempting to eat meat or dairy anymore, I love vegan friendly cakes, cookies and warmed dishes. Cooking vegetables isn't a crime.

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I'm eating high raw again, but I need to watch it as I tend to lose weight very quickly on this diet. Too many raw foods also irritate my stomach (IBS) so I stick to about 70% (ish) rawfood.

I feel really good eating like this. The more raw = the more energy I have. I guess that's why I lose weight?? I start runnin' around hahaha!

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thanks bodhidave85, that site was really beneficial. I'm definitly going to have to put a bit more effort and research into things before I try to go raw. Another thing, in Robert's book "Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness" he gives sample meal plans, and on the sample meal plans for raw vegans he says take Spirulina blends of 32 or 16 ounces.... Spirulina comes in powder form and the entire bottle is 16 ounces! that's a redicilous amount! and Robert has the spirulina blends about 2-3 times a day!?! is that even healthy? that's alot of spirulina, an plus it's extremely expensive. Is this a mistake? can someone clear this up for me, please. btw, everyone has been a great help, thanks for eveyones help and advice.

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That's cool. Honestly I just can't afford it! Veggies are so overpriced (calorie per dollar) compared to 'poor food' that I can't make them a really large part of my diet. Oh college!

 

Yeah I'm totally broke.

 

I picked up some more hours at work, and put my precious spinach, kale, zucchini, apples, bananas, berries etc. on my credit card.

 

I need my daily green smoothies!

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