Raw Food

[Pizzaguy]

Thinking of something.

First, I quit caffeine.
Then, I took up Ashtanga Yoga.

Now, thinking of zipping past vegetarianism and jumping right to an all-raw-food diet. (Well, as closely as I can, anyway).

This book: http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Awakening-Your-Ultimate-Guide/dp/1452106495 ... was recommended to me back in November.

I tried it for one day, and I think I may be on to something. Our food is way too processed and full of stabilizers, preservatives, etc. Also, on raw food you have little to worry about concerning cholesterol.

I'm really thinking about this.
http://www.amazon.com/Raw-Awakening-Your-Ultimate-Guide/dp/1452106495

 

[evenifigoalone]

My dog is on a raw diet--made species-appropriate for dogs, of course. He's been on it for four years now. I swear, he eats better than I do. xD Certainly his diet is more balanced than mine is.

 

[faeriecat]

My old beagle, Winchester Beaglesworth, he lived till about 17 or so and for the last 1/3 of his life he ate raw. His meals were ground beef or stew meat and two chicken wings.

Personally, I don't know that I could do raw. I tried going vegetarian once but couldn't give up my fish/shrimp. I do agree folks need to pay better attention to WHAT they are consuming though. I've slowly been making changes over the past couple of years, learning how to make things folks normally buy in a box and microwave, stuff like that.

Dunno.

 

[Pizzaguy]

The man who has urged me to "go raw" is essentially agnostic. He made the case for raw based on evolution.

But, oddly enough, as he spoke I asked him, "Do you realize that your argument works in Biblical Christianity?" He asked, "HOW SO?"


I went back to Genesis. Adam and Eve started out on a raw diet. Total vegetarian, total raw (at least, I read no implications that they cooked anything, and I KNOW they ate no meat.)
I just ask myself: "Why do I want to continue like I am and end up clogging my arteries, if there is a way to greatly reduce the chance of that happening?"

Like I said, I'm not there yet. But I'm thinking about it.


And to clarify: The raw diet is essentially an all fruit/vegetarian plant-based diet. I'm not talking about eating meat raw, I'm talking about not eating meat at all.

 

[evenifigoalone]

Yeah. I realize that humans can't, or at least shouldn't, eat raw meat.
Dogs can, though. Most vets will tell you that they shouldn't eat raw meat for the same reason humans shouldn't, but actually they have a carnivorous digestive system that is designed to handle the bacteria. (They'll eat a lot of things that are worse than raw meat, after all.)
I'm not dissing vets, but I don't go to them for nutritional advice. A general practitioner vet doesn't get much of a nutrition course, and what they do get is provided by the companies that manufacture commercial dog food, such as Hill's, the company that sells Science Diet. (Not dissing kibble, either, as it has it's place. I just think a well-balanced raw diet is healthier.)




I know of some people on another site who feed a raw diet for themselves as well as their dogs. So I've heard of this before. I don't think I'd eat a diet with no meat, but I do think that the processing on our food does take away a lot of nutrients. Obviously I'm no expert, though. I know much more about a raw diet for dogs. (Note: I don't recommend feeding a raw diet to your dog unless you're willing to research it first. It's not too hard to balance, but if you don't balance it then you could be in for trouble. You'd probably be better off feeding low-grade kibble than a poorly balanced raw diet. Also there are some things you'd need to know about it for safety's sake, such as what not to feed.)


Haha, sorry, getting off on a tangent here. ^^; I'm a dog person, and since I have a raw-fed dog this is a subject I know some things about.

 

[Milk-Drops]

If it works for you Pizza, go ahead. I would just suggest that you consider that with removing meat from your diet will make it harder to get vitamin B12 and protein without supplements. Raw also doesn't necessarily mean that the food is better, especially if you go the organic food route because, unlike the regular food market, there isn't nearly the regulations on organic food, nor the guarantee that its actually organic. Just thought I'd let you know. ;)

 

[Pizzaguy]

Agreed. But to continue down the path of high cholesterol, preservatives and processed, seems like a worse proposition.

I'll do anything to stay off stuff like lipitor.

 

[farouk]

Yeah. I realize that humans can't, or at least shouldn't, eat raw meat.
Dogs can, though. Most vets will tell you that they shouldn't eat raw meat for the same reason humans shouldn't, but actually they have a carnivorous digestive system that is designed to handle the bacteria. (They'll eat a lot of things that are worse than raw meat, after all.)
I'm not dissing vets, but I don't go to them for nutritional advice. A general practitioner vet doesn't get much of a nutrition course, and what they do get is provided by the companies that manufacture commercial dog food, such as Hill's, the company that sells Science Diet. (Not dissing kibble, either, as it has it's place. I just think a well-balanced raw diet is healthier.)




I know of some people on another site who feed a raw diet for themselves as well as their dogs. So I've heard of this before. I don't think I'd eat a diet with no meat, but I do think that the processing on our food does take away a lot of nutrients. Obviously I'm no expert, though. I know much more about a raw diet for dogs. (Note: I don't recommend feeding a raw diet to your dog unless you're willing to research it first. It's not too hard to balance, but if you don't balance it then you could be in for trouble. You'd probably be better off feeding low-grade kibble than a poorly balanced raw diet. Also there are some things you'd need to know about it for safety's sake, such as what not to feed.)


Haha, sorry, getting off on a tangent here. ^^; I'm a dog person, and since I have a raw-fed dog this is a subject I know some things about.

questdriven:

Yes, I agree about generally avoiding raw meat.

Some of the Japanese sushi stuff does involve saw meat, though. Or if not sushi, something similar. If I'm remembering correctly.

Blessings.

 

[Knotical]

Something you will quickly discover when going completely raw, or organic, is that your grocery bill will increase exponentially. A number of years ago we tried to go to a more natural diet. Cutting out processed sugars and the like. We ended up having to go to stores like Trader Joe's, Mothers, Henry's, etc... Not exactly cheap.

You might have to find a balance.

One thing to avoid is if you want to cut out processed sugars is to go the honey route. Stay clear of anything with aspartame or sucralose in it.

 

[tim-from-pa]

Agreed. But to continue down the path of high cholesterol, preservatives and processed, seems like a worse proposition.

I'll do anything to stay off stuff like lipitor.

First of all, you can throw out your Lipitor now, bogus medicine it is. Lowering cholesterol will not prevent heart attacks because oxidation and inflammation and similar is what causes it. if you have a 300 cholesterol and die of a heart attack in 2 years, then if you take Lipitor and lower it to 170 you will still die of that heart attack in 2 years except your numbers will just look nicer --- but the root cause is not removed, thus you will still have that heart attack but fooled yourself into thinking you are "healthier". Over a hundred years ago very few people died of heart disease --- it did not exist then.

Raw foods, or I should say, foods more in their natural form is the right path and is indeed the key. I don't think you have been visiting the medical forums often enough here where I get anywhere from accolades to downright flak for stating the things I do. Also, tons of vitamins and minerals help, too. Most people (even those who take many tablets daily) can use more of something or the other, but yet that's usually the last thing they try before medications.

So yes, forget about that processed "put a little love in your heart" margarine and the "healthy" low fat yogurt you see some smiling, smug and self-assured anorexic lady eating (I heard she died of cancer later anyway 2). Go back to the way our ancestors ate and both your health and taste buds will thank you for it.