Make a Raw Food Diet Healthy? Isn't it already?

My first experience with a raw food diet was when I was living in Maine, in the northeastern US. I'd just been on a weekend course in New York City with David Wolfe (a "guru" of the raw food diet & lifestyle, and the man with more energy than anyone I'd ever met), and returned home excited and inspired. It was January, and there was 3 feet of snow, yet I was determined to go 100% raw after witnessing the benefits firsthand.

Needless to say, the middle of winter in the frozen north isn't the ideal time to begin a raw journey. I lasted a week, but I wasn't eating seasonally, and my stomach was a mess. And I was hungry ALL THE TIME! So I abandoned it in search of some good soup.

My second attempt to go raw was in Scotland. Still in the north, but in the summer, this time around. It was much easier with all the seasonal salads, sprouts, berries and seeds. I found it much more enjoyable, but I wasn't 100% raw this time. That had felt too extreme, so I'd told myself I'd go 70-80% raw for a few weeks. This meant I basically would eat breakfast, lunch and half of my dinner raw (or as close to it as possible). And I allowed myself healthy cooked food for the other half of dinner. Along with the occasional non-raw salad dressing at lunch, and I also drank teas. This worked for me for almost a month, but then the season began to change, and it started to become socially challenging with so many rooty soups and stews, steamed & mashed squashes, etc etc. I live in a community where lots of meals are eaten together, so if I wasn't eating what everyone else was eating, then I was eating alone and paying more out of pocket for it.

I also found that I couldn't stomach all the sprouts, even though I really wanted to. I had frequent gas pains, and I was spending hours every day prepping raw foods (grating,blending, dehydrating). Perhaps I was just lacking guidance and support, but in that place and time, it just felt too extreme.

I tell you my story here to illustrate that even though a diet may sound like the ultimate way to live, and IT MAY BE for some people, we are all different. This is what I call bioindividuality.

There are some aspects of the raw food diet that I absolutely love. And, while serious raw-fooders will say that climate is not an issue, for me it has been.

In season, I now aim to eat most of my fruits & veggies raw, but I don't stress if the occasional cooked one sneaks into a meal. I find that stressing about it negates all the benefit of eating that way!

In the other seasons (which is much of the year in northern Scotland), I focus on eating LOTS of veggies, but I don't mind how they're prepared. And I LOVE healthy soups.

Kristen Suzanne is a raw chef based in Arizona. I love her ebooks - really easy to follow & great pics. The whole series is great, but the one on transition recipes is especially helpful if you're new to raw foods, or just want try it, but aren't quite ready to jump all the way in yet.

So to sum up, I'd say that if eating a 100% raw food diet works for you, GREAT! Go for it! But if it doesn't, please don't feel bad or guilty about it - you can still be your most vital healthy self.

A message we can take from raw fooders is that seasonal fruits & veggies are a key to health. Just remember to listen to your body, be gentle, and go for moderation instead of extremes.
For some reason, that's often hard for many of us to do! We spend much of our life striving for some image of "perfection," and we kick ourselves when we don't achieve it.

I'd like to propose a novel theory - that YOU ARE PERFECT, just as you are!

Try living as if that were true...because it is ;)

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