What is your take on a Fully Raw Vegan Lifestyle?

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Danielle721007
Danielle721007 Posts: 41 Member
in Getting Started
I am newly vegetarian and I feel so great I think I am ready to make the change to a fully raw vegan lifestyle ... what is your take on this lifestyle ? ... This would not be some diet for a few months, this is an obvious commitment and I hear it is so much healthier. Is anyone on here a fully raw vegan, I'd love to hear your opinions :smile:
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  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Before you take the leap, please watch this video (nine minutes long). I would love to hear your opinion on this scientist's findings.

    https://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain?language=en
  • Danielle721007
    Danielle721007 Posts: 41 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    Before you take the leap, please watch this video (nine minutes long). I would love to hear your opinion on this scientist's findings.

    https://www.ted.com/talks/suzana_herculano_houzel_what_is_so_special_about_the_human_brain?language=en

    I'll check it now. Thanks.
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
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    You are welcome to eat and live the way you want.

    But since you asked for opinions: I think it would be a miserable way to live. Not only does it exclude many of the wonderful things there are to eat, it eschews food preparation methods developed over millenia to increase palatability and flavor. Along with that it would make everyday life much more difficult.
  • Rhumax67
    Rhumax67 Posts: 162 Member
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    Danielle, you are more likely to find answers on one of these groups:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/105674-vegan-health-fitness
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/45-happy-herbivores
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/46-team-vegan
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    My take?

    That it's completely unnecessary for health and weight loss, annoys the HELL out of restaurant workers, is extremely limiting in terms of what you can eat, is terribly expensive to maintain, and can be a setup for otherwise easily avoidable nutrient/vitamin deficiencies.

    Basically way more effort and hassle than any (few they may be) benefits the lifestyle offers. Personally it sounds like a living hell.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    Danielle721007 wrote: »
    I am newly vegetarian and I feel so great I think I am ready to make the change to a fully raw vegan lifestyle ... what is your take on this lifestyle ? ... This would not be some diet for a few months, this is an obvious commitment and I hear it is so much healthier. Is anyone on here a fully raw vegan, I'd love to hear your opinions :smile:

    Sorry to tell you this, but whoever you heard this from is wrong. There are healthy omnivore diets as easily as there are unhealthy vegan diets. Just cutting out animal products does not inherently make a diet healthier. There is so much more involved in it, and you'll have to meticulously plan every meal every day for the rest of forever to make sure your vegan meals aren't missing nutrition that is more readily available in animal products.
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
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    completely unnecessary and extremely expensive

    why not just commit to a healthy lifestyle of eating the foods you enjoy in moderation
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
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    It is an option for someone else

    Rock on
  • LadyNips
    LadyNips Posts: 1 Member
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    I would be weary of going "raw vegan" as it has some potential negative side effects. You would be putting a lot of strain on your digestive tract and spend much of your day chewing your food. This has been shown to actually lead to some mouth and teeth issues down the road. By not cooking some of your food, you would reduce the variety of vegetables and grains available to you. Also, in some cases, cooking makes nutrients more bioavailable for your system, such as tomatoes. Cooked foods you'd be missing out on would be steel-cut oatmeal, whole grain brown rice and pasta, artichokes, squash and pumpkin, potatoes, quinoa, and other grains and hard starchy vegetables. Those are so awesomely healthy and delicious!

    Another note: my boyfriend and I when we were vegan had a very difficult time of getting enough protein to support our weight lifting regiments and we both lost too much weight and strength. (For background, we don't eat processed foods and cook/prepare everything we eat). For us it didn't work and now we eat a whole food plant based diet with oils and seafood two-three times a week. If you are considering raw vegan for the moral issue, consider including bivalves (clams, mussels, oysters, scallops) as they have no head to get some more protein and nutrients into your diet. I'm sure raw vegan can be done right but just take a look into the nutrients you'd be missing out on and make sure to take to your doctor about adding dietary supplements. Good luck!
  • skbrodie
    skbrodie Posts: 81 Member
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    If you are NEWLY vegetarian, I would recommend waiting for awhile before switching to vegan... It can be too much to make such drastic changes so quickly. I have been a vegetarian for almost 6 years, and it's still annoying trying to go out to eat. If you want to switch to a raw vegan lifestyle, it's going to require a lot of planning/preparation to make sure that you are receiving proper nutrients. It's not healthier, and neither is being a vegetarian.
  • allbarrett
    allbarrett Posts: 159 Member
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    Make sure you tell your health care provider about your dietary changes. There are vitamins and such that are easier to get through eating meat or other non-vegetarian/non-vegan products and you'll want to make sure that you aren't developing any deficiencies (usually entails slightly more detailed blood work when you have your normal check ups).
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    edited June 2015
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    allbarrett wrote: »
    Make sure you tell your health care provider about your dietary changes. There are vitamins and such that are easier to get through eating meat or other non-vegetarian/non-vegan products and you'll want to make sure that you aren't developing any deficiencies (usually entails slightly more detailed blood work when you have your normal check ups).

    Sorry this is just a myth as a Vegan (not a Raw one) for 20 years plus the only thing that is difficult to get through a Vegan diet is Vitamin B12 which is easily available via fortified foods or a supplement.

    As for talking to a health care provider most are pretty clueless about any Non meat eating diet and will be pretty useless

    As for the Raw Vegan lifestyle I have no issues if it works for people but my opinion on it is the same as a normal Vegan diet it is not some panacea to health. You can have bad Vegan diets the same way you can have good ones containing animal products. I am a Vegan for ethical reasons and would live this way no matter what.

    I would caution about starting a diet that you do not plan living that way for the rest of your life.

    Why not just eat a varied vegan/vegetarian diet based mainly around wholefoods but without depriving yourself of things. That to me is a much more sustainable long term way of thinking about food

    Good luck
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I would personally be miserable. Why raw? There's nothing wrong with cooking food...that would be the worst part for me...I can do some raw veg here and there, but nothing but raw would suck. I also assume no traditional vegan fair like legumes, lentils, grains, etc...those have to be cooked...yeah...this sounds sucky to me all the way around.
  • FitForL1fe
    FitForL1fe Posts: 1,872 Member
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    isulo_kura wrote: »
    allbarrett wrote: »
    Make sure you tell your health care provider about your dietary changes. There are vitamins and such that are easier to get through eating meat or other non-vegetarian/non-vegan products and you'll want to make sure that you aren't developing any deficiencies (usually entails slightly more detailed blood work when you have your normal check ups).

    Sorry this is just a myth as a Vegan (not a Raw one) for 20 years plus the only thing that is difficult to get through a Vegan diet is Vitamin B12 which is easily available via fortified foods or a supplement.

    As for talking to a health care provider most are pretty clueless about any Non meat eating diet and will be pretty useless

    As for the Raw Vegan lifestyle I have no issues if it works for people but my opinion on it is the same as a normal Vegan diet it is not some panacea to health. You can have bad Vegan diets the same way you can have good ones containing animal products. I am a Vegan for ethical reasons and would live this way no matter what.

    I would caution about starting a diet that you do not plan living that way for the rest of your life.

    Why not just eat a varied vegan/vegetarian diet based mainly around wholefoods but without depriving yourself of things. That to me is a much more sustainable long term way of thinking about food

    Good luck

    don't worry bro for every animal you don't eat I probably eat 5

    so I'm like -5 vegans
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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  • Danielle721007
    Danielle721007 Posts: 41 Member
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    Well thank you all for your opinions ! I personally love to eat raw veggies and of course yummy fruits and nuts so it doesn't bother me as far as eating goes. In terms of the "healthier" mention, what I should have clarified was referring to it is healthier in terms of most people don't eat as much or even half veggies and fruits as a person should based on the nutritional daily amount. Of course grains and meats are consumed more (by those who do not adapt an evenly nutritional lifestyle) that is. My reason for excluding meat is merely because my body feels better and I don't feel so lethargic after meals.
    While I am on a weight loss journey, this is not a diet or ploy to lose my weight. I am simply eating this way because I enjoy the way my body feels eating these delicious fruits and vegetables.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Danielle721007 wrote: »
    I am newly vegetarian and I feel so great I think I am ready to make the change to a fully raw vegan lifestyle ... what is your take on this lifestyle ? ... This would not be some diet for a few months, this is an obvious commitment and I hear it is so much healthier. Is anyone on here a fully raw vegan, I'd love to hear your opinions :smile:

    The ultra runner and author Scott Jurek is vegan and in his biog talks about trying raw food vegan for a year or so. He walked back from that, as it was becoming very time consuming and restrictive, so was affecting his performance.

    Largely it depends on your rationale, and fwiw there don't seem to be any discernible benefits over a straightforward vegetarian diet. If you have ethical reasons to be vegan, then do it. If you don't have ethical reasons for it then I don't see any compelling reason to adopt a vegan lifestyle.

    Note that my partner is vegetarian, I'm not. When I started eating a diet with much less meat then it did have a number of benefits for me, in terms of mood and general health. I'm not sure that I'd attribute that to lower meat intake, but it was a contributor.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
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    My colleague has a raw vegan diet and is very healthy and educated about it. She didn't adapt that for weight loss though, more for health and ethical reasons. She doesn't eat out- its too hard for her to find things to eat. And if she goes to a family dinner she brings her own food- doesn't expect anyone else to cater to her restrictions. Its can also be quite expensive (especially if organic) So I'd say be aware of what that will mean to your lifestyle. Maintaining good gut bacteria and probiotics are even more important for this diet- fermented foods like sauerkraut and kombucha. And of course be sure to get sufficient protein and vitamin B12.
  • Jaxxie1181
    Jaxxie1181 Posts: 138 Member
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    There are two types of raw vegan diets - high carb/low fat and low carb/high fat. Neither are inherently healthy or sustainable. One relies on eating your weight in fruits, mostly, and some veggies, nuts, and seeds. The other relies on loading up on coconut, avocado, nuts, and seeds. It is very expensive, very difficult to maintain, and over the long term can impact your health (I did 80-10-10 for about a year and it was miserable after the first month). I mean, if you ever watch YouTube videos of people doing a more fruitarian based diet go back and watch their videos from around the time they first started and then look at how much they look "aged" in their more recent ones. And I'm talking people in their twenties.

    At the end of the day if you're looking to use this diet as a quick fix, thinking the fat will just melt right off, don't. Just eat what you love, mind your macros, and follow CICO. If you want to be vegan for ethical reasons, I completely respect that. But being a raw vegan isn't inherently superior to eating good healthy cooked vegan foods, in terms of your health, not weight loss.

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