Storietime

This is a pretty popular vegan and raw food doctor, seems to be logical and informative. Even though I'm raw I'm going to take b12 if I get to the point where I need it. Rather save my health than try to live to a principle. Right now my b12 levels are fine, I got a blood test, 5 months into being raw, 15 months into being vegan. I'll get another blood test in a while and see how things are.

First of all, his hatching style is rudimentary at best, it's simply random and unthoughtful. The glasses and shorts on the ground in the second frame are unrecognizable and look like apples and a random polygon shape. The artist could have established a setting of some sort and paid more attention to composition (lights/darks, placement of figures, etc). Also, the anatomy of both the man and the bear seem disregarded completely. The illustration is unfinished and sloppy. This cartoon fails simply by formal qualities, not to mention it's comedy and intention.

Hey, I went raw recently, about 5 months back. The only advice I can give is listen to your body, eat lots of fruits (try eating mono meals), and do lots of research while keeping a skeptical eye. Doug Graham seems pretty legitimate and logical, not at all the guru or fanatic type (unlike David Wolfe or other crazy dudes). Do what makes sense to you, and see how your body responds to different things. Pick and choose things from a lot of sources and do what makes sense to you. Bananas and dates are great sources of energy (a pound of dates is usually 5 dollars and about 1200 calories, good half days worth of energy). But get a variety of fruits, explore your tastes. I lost some weight when I started, but it's to be expected when you make that kind of change. But I've stopped losing and am maintaining at the moment. Plus I'm seeing lots of improvement in my strength training, so that's a major plus. That's what I thought too, but in these past months I can't recall having one sugar rush or crash, even after going without food for five or so hours. Sometimes I have 4 or 5 bananas before going to bed and I can still fall asleep pretty well. But I don't know, that's just my experience. Try things out, do what you respond to. Let us know how it goes!(By the way, 80-10-10 are limits, not goals. It's staying over 80 with carbs, under 10 with fats and proteins.)

You're a vegan, get used to them. (p.s. I don't smoke, drink, do drugs, or participate in drum circles, haha)

I agree with Vegan Joe. Those who don't mind GM crops should be able to eat them. But I personally don't want my food altered with, especially on a genetic level. I think if we developed a list of pros and cons of GMO, the pros could be fulfilled by other, less unnatural ways. For instance, if a species of a crop is at risk of disease outbreak, that could be somewhat prevented by diversifying the species of the crop. This is happening with bananas, which are largely one species, and is at risk of being wiped out all together. I'd my rather see more biodiversity than the alteration of genetics. I'm much in agreement with Couture547, nature's blueprint is perfect as is, we shouldn't change it, but rather work around it. Plus, much of the GMO benefits favor grains for the cattle industry. I'm sure if there were a proper distribution of food for humans (it's something like 80% of US grains go towards the cattle industry? correct me if I'm wrong), then we would have plenty more food to distribute amongst the people. GMOs would seem like a less necessary alternative.

I watched some of this documentary about it (sorry, forgot what it's called) and GMO crops seem like really exploitable by the government. Farms that do not produce GMO sometimes end up have it growing on their land because of some pollenation. Now since that specifically rendered (by a government agency) species is growing on their land without permission, they are subject to be fined and put through a storm of paperwork and lawsuits because of no fault of their own. This seems like more evil in government agency than in GMO itself. But I'm opposed to any type of GMO simply because it seems unnatural, that's just my feeling. (high fructose corn syrup is awful)

Hehe, It's essentially volunteering on organic farms in exchange for room and board (usually food too). I got a maybe with one place but they said they have a dairy cow and make butter, milk and other stuff. I don't know if I wanna tug on a cow for 3 months. Fruit farm is ideal, I'd much rather spend my time outside picking fruit or mulching or weeding. Plus to get as much freshly picked tropical fruit as I want would be awesome.

Hey guys, I applied to WWOOF Hawaii and am planning on going there for next summer. I was wondering if anyone could suggest some good fruit farms or vegan friendly farms. Any general suggestions or experiences to share would be great too. Thanks.

Hey guys, So I know I'm a pretty recently registered member here, but I've been lurking for a while so I've seen lots of things happen. I started looking at this site almost a year ago when I ate cooked vegan foods. I've been vegan for 14 months and raw for about 5 months. I had lost a good amount of weight when I went vegan and after browsing the Health and Nutrition forum, it gave me the inspiration and information to gain good muscle back, even 10 pounds heavier than pre-vegan. There was (and still is) a lot of pretty solid information going around. But I was still looking for answers to some of my problems. Seeing a lot of raw foodists really sparked my interest in pursuing eating raw. Right now I'm really grateful that I've gotten into raw foods and I have VBB to thank. Going to other raw forums was just unsatisfying since they weren't entirely focused on the health aspect but the religious, wacky, goofball side of it. VBB's raw section was kept in check by all other members who are really well educated in fitness and are good people, overall. I think that once you omit the raw section, the VBB forum will become anti-raw and shun any mention of it. Many raw fooders are still experimenting and while there aren't heaploads of scientific theory out there, most can testify their experiences, some are negative, some are positive. I think the most that raw vegans can give their experiences. And they should respect people's decision to eat cooked foods and vice-versa. If someone is looking to carbload, I would tell them that I eat tons of fruit for that, but there are tons of cooked food options for that if they want. Most people who come here are looking to discover new things. If I wasn't able to get info on raw foods, I wouldn't have been able to take this step in my life which I'm really happy about. We just need to encourage people to be respectful of people's views. If someone is legitimately trying to go raw, they don't want someone coming in and saying what they're doing is wrong. And that goes the same for people who eat cooked food. We need to realize that both are legitimate forms of eating, people live long healthy lives in both instances. Let's judge by experience and get good scientific information out there, all while being respectful. I don't know how to do this exactly, make a sticky post that encourages this, regulate shit stirrers from stirring shit, discourage people from using unscientific or illogical evidence, hell, make a raw vs cooked battleground section (sort of a punching bag to let out anger, haha). I don't know, I just want people to have the same chance I did to get into vegan fitness or discover eating raw. I think everything can co-exist as long as it's good and vegan.

DUDE YOU ARE SO WAY OFF I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START!!! The Swedish population were suffering a lot from the disease scurvy and we cured it by eating cooked potatoes. You've been totally brainwashed. It's true that some vitamin C is lost when cooking but to say that you can't get it from cooked food is just A LIE. Besides getting the needed amount of vitamin C means eating maybe 5 fruits a day, not 100! I think it's awesome that there's a guy who writes a lot about raw food but you guys should probably read something more. You critizise us for not reading Grahams books, have you read for instance Atkins books just to get some sort of thinking going instead of just blindly following ONE PERSON. I know when I'm eating all my fruit for the day, the thought of getting enough vitamin C doesn't even cross my mind, haha. People who eat cooked foods can get enough of all of their vitamins and minerals. It's obvious that people can live long, happy lives eating a diet of cooked (and some raw) foods, pretty much all of my family and friends do it. I would advocate eating more (or all)raw fruits and vegetables for a variety of reasons... not to get enough vitamin C, or any other micronutrient for that matter. As for Doug Graham... I listen to him because it just seems to make a lot of sense to me. He doesn't try to boast any fancy nutritional product and approaches things in a very logical way. I think this is why a lot of people cite his books. But there are lots of different raw food sources out there, some more ridiculous than others. I dont see why anyone would suggest the reading of Dr. Atkins on a vegan forum. A diet telling people to eat large amounts of animal protein in order to lose weight (not maintain health) would never be a good read for any vegan. There are other readings worth my time. (Besides, it's been debunked by lots of official health organizations) This thread's article basically showed a story of a guy who half-assed eating raw, failed, and used some meaningless theories to try and back up his hankering for cooked foods. Not to mention throwing in a bit about orthorexia, which was completely out of place (plus that 20/20 documentary was completely nuts, it was just a jab a raw foods and veganism, not even an exploration of orthorexia). However, I do agreee with how he said to listen to your own body and consume whatever amount of fruits/veggies you feel is right and not to feel bad if your eating cooked foods.

I wouldn't worry about iron and calcium if your eating enough fruits and baby greens. I would suggest limiting nut and seed consumption to about a handful each day... or one avocado. I follow pretty much the 80/10/10 idea with lots of fruits during the day and a large salad at night with usually a handful of nuts once or twice a week... sometimes none at all. It's been working splendidly for me.

Always the same stupid comment. Just like a person training for strength can comment on bodybuilders, a cyclist can write in my training journal, a person who isn't a politician can write in the politics thread. But most it's JUST LIKE YOU CAN WRITE IN THE REGULAR NUTRITION AND HEALT FORUM. If you guys want to be left alone then leave us alone. And honestly wouldn't it be better to start a own forum only for raw people so you don't have to take the hassle with stuff like science, facts and common sense. Rawfood have turned nutrition into an ism, a religion. I don't like this at all. Hey, I know people like to take raw foods to extreme levels. Those are usually the views that get the most attention because theyre very invasive and controversial. I've been raw for about 5 months or so and its been working out great for me. I try to approach things very rationally and do things that make sense to me. I don't buy into the gimmicky stuff and dont approach ideas on blind faith alone. So to make blanket statements that all raw fooders all think alike and have the same ideas about it is somewhat oppressive and prejudice. People make those kinds of statements on veganism as well, we all should be senstitive to that. I appreciate coming in and sharing your views with us, but to just bash away at an idea with a closed mind is no way to expand yourself or help others. I thought raw foods was ridiculous at first too, it does seem like a pretty radical approach. Just because someone says something about a raw foods, doesn't make it true across the board. And by the way, there are lots of studies done about eating a raw, fruit/vegetable-based, diet. Look at 80/10/10, The China Study, Grain Damage... there is lots of literature and video out there. Just go out there, find as much information as you can, and filter out anything that doesn't appeal to you. (For instance, I don't think going on a calorie restricting diet and drinking magical enzyme formulas is a fantastic idea, but it doesn't sway me away from all of raw foods.) If you don't think it works for you, then don't do it and find something that does. Let everyone else who is happy be happy. But lets have respectable arguments! Once you know your enemy better, they may become your friend.

Organic is best but you can do fine with a mix of both or even mostly conventional. I eat about 70% conventional and I feel great. I'm the same way. I would love to eat 100% organic but it gets difficult to afford and find sometimes. So I do the best I can... usually around 70% conventional also, and I'm feeling good. I found someone who can hook me up with organic bulk fruits without the distributor fee... so that may help. Don't stress out about organics, do the best you can and enjoy.

You misunderstood me. I said it would be ideal to be well over 80% in carbs (around 90-92%) and smaller percentages in fat and protein. We're on the same page.

Hi, I'm new here and I just wanted to make a clarification that 80/10/10 isn't the ideal ratio for someone following the program to shoot for. It's acually a limit for carbs, fats, and proteins. It would be ideal to stay well over 80% carbs, and below 10% in both fat and protein. As for the zinc... I personally don't worry about vitamin and mineral intake. There are long time raw fooders who show no sign of zinc deficiency just from eating raw fruits, vegetables, and limited (or no) nuts/seeds(Rick Dina, Doug Graham, Durianrider). I myself haven't experienced any symptoms of any deficiency. I haven't even felt the need to take vitamin b12 supplements recently(I've been eating mostly raw fruits and vegetables for around 4 months now), as opposed to pre-raw days where I would get into a fog and very tired, then take a b12 pill and feel better. Which must mean that there was a problem not with intake but with absorbtion... which makes me think that my new eating habits are enabling much better absorbtion of all vitamins and minerals. We'll see how everything comes along down the road. So far things are great... not worrying about nutrition calculators or food labels, just listening to my body. It's good stuff, plenty of energy and perfect digestion! If I start falling apart in the near future, it's back to oats, pasta, and quinoa. (and fruits and veg of course)