Step 1: Eliminate red meat and pork from diet. Check.
Step 2: Stop eating chicken and turkey. Check.
Step 3: Become vegetarian (with few exceptions). Check.
Step 4: Work toward an 80% raw and organic diet.
You already know what I think about raw milk. Now my horizons have expanded to raw everything else. It’s a concept that’s been brewing in the back of my mind, but one I didn’t really consider until doing a bit of research. This may sound like common sense, but it turns out that a raw diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and superfoods could be THE answer. Raw, unprocessed foods contain all the healthy enzymes and minerals the human body needs to function at its best capacity and prevent illness. Research shows (and I intend to do a lot of that and blog about it here) that if people were to eat a raw diet and supplement that with vitamins and minerals, pharmaceutical remedies would essentially be a thing of the past. Now I don’t want to turn this into a conspiracy theory, but Western medicine is a huge moneymaking business. So having a country full of healthy people wouldn’t exactly be good for business, now would it? It would explain why you don’t hear much about nutritional or vitamin therapy. In fact, the news has recently suggested that too many vitamins are a bad thing. If everyone turned to vitamins instead of drugs, then where would our precious drug companies be?
Not only is raw and organic good for people, but it’s good for the environment. Eating raw and organic means you’re supporting organic and sustainable farming and shunning industrial agriculture and cheap, processed foods. To me, it just seems like the next logical step in my progression toward health for both myself and the planet.
Going raw is a feat unto itself, and it’s one I’m going to take step by step. It will take a lot of work and research, not to mention a different way of thinking. But I’ll keep you posted as I go and let you know how I’m feeling and looking as my diet changes. To start, I’ve purchased a raw food recipe book with tips, tricks, and recipes. I’ve also invested in Green Vibrance to supplement my diet. I’m going to start slow, because this is not a diet with which I can go from 0 to 60 in one second. Getting organic and local produce around here, especially coming into the winter season, isn’t the easiest task, especially when I only have weekends to shop. (Where are all the weekend farmer’s markets?) Finally, I really do love my carbs. Cutting those down to a minimum will not be easy.
After this long diatribe, I feel like I should at least leave you with a couple of superfoods you may want to consider incorporating into your diet:
- Raw cacao nibs. They are very high in iron and antioxidants. Just be warned, they taste like ass. Consider drizzling them with a little agave nectar.
- Spirulina. It contains 70% complete protein (compared to steak which has only 25% once cooked). You can get it in tablet, flake, or powder form. Good thing I drink Spiru-tein every morning!
- Green leafy vegetables. Need I say more?
- Goji berries. They have tons of vitamin C, and also vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E with 18 amino acids and 21 trace minerals.
Okay, I understand what the word “raw” means. I realize in the context of your healthy living diet, it means “unprocessed.” But “raw” also means “uncooked.” So when you refer to raw veggies, are you suggesting uncooked veggies or just organic, unprocessed veggies?
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I mean raw. No cooked foods. Raw fruits, raw veggies, raw nuts, raw chocolate, etc. Obviously not 100% of the time, because that’s nearly impossible, especially here in MA.
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Wow, you guys are full-on hippie now! Good for you 😀 I wish it was easier to buy the raw stuff in nyc….
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Let me know how your stomach does on a mostly raw diet! Actually, considering the problem Jay has with digestion, it might be more interesting to hear how he does with it.
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Gee, when I was growing up, telling someone to “eat it raw” was a pejorative declaration. Now it’s a wish for a healthy lifestyle. Who knew?
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