My Ultimate Diet

TheDevastator

Why raw food?

I'd like to get 20/20 vision again. I've heard it's possible on a high raw diet.

How's that?

I'd like to find out. High amounts of beta-carotene, other anti-oxidants and no animal products? Maybe it's not true but I'm willing to try it.

FYI, as a half-blind medical researcher I've looked into this ... there is research to indicate healthy intake of beta-carotene can help prevent deterioration in vision, but there is absolutely no evidence to suggest it can ever reverse it.

Sucks, but true.

I don't think there would be any medical evidence on it. I doubt there are any 100% raw studies going on.

neanderthin

As long as you add foods that are in alphabetical order you should be fine.

albertabeefy

I don't think there would be any medical evidence on it. I doubt there are any 100% raw studies going on.

There are a few every year, but most are raw-vegan studies which (obviously) exclude meat of all kinds, so they don't match your diet anyway. The vast-majority of those raw-vegan studies are conducted by raw-vegan advocates (most are linked to PETA) and tend to have a rather strong built-in bias.

TheDevastator

I don't think there would be any medical evidence on it. I doubt there are any 100% raw studies going on.

There are a few every year, but most are raw-vegan studies which (obviously) exclude meat of all kinds, so they don't match your diet anyway. The vast-majority of those raw-vegan studies are conducted by raw-vegan advocates (most are linked to PETA) and tend to have a rather strong built-in bias.

That's what I mean. Any raw diet studies from biased groups wouldn't be accepted by any medical journals. I found two studies from Germany for raw food, both favorable.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18028575 favourable plasma beta-carotene and low plasma lycopene
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16177198 favorable serum LDL cholesterol and triglycerides but also with elevated plasma homocysteine and low serum HDL cholesterol

Which lead me to this:

http://www.primehealth.net/400240.html

Apples: Everyone has heard of the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Well, apples are also very good for lowering your LDL cholesterol levels. 2 full apples, or 12 ounces of apple juice, if taken everyday, can reduce your risk of heart diseases by as much as 50%.

Garlic: Garlic helps to lower LDL cholesterol and thins your blood naturally. This prevents clogging up of arteries and thus lowers your risk of heart diseases.

Onions: Eating just half a raw onion everyday can increase your HDL levels by 25% and lower your LDL as well.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400474/Handling-High-Homocysteine.html

To lower homocysteine levels, I recommend increasing your intake of B vitamins and moderating stress. The richest food sources of folate (the form of folic acid found in food) are green vegetables, orange juice and beans. I also recommend taking a multivitamin that gives you 400 micrograms of folic acid in addition to what you might get from your diet (Some people might absorb this vitamin better in supplement form, and I consider this good insurance.)

http://www.livestrong.com/article/17505-lower-homocysteine-levels/

Leafy green vegetables such as spinach are especially good sources of the B vitamins that can help lower your homocysteine count. Tomatoes, oranges and grapefruits are also rich in B vitamins.

http://www.bastyrcenter.org/content/view/479/

There is evidence that homocysteine is a toxic molecule, capable of causing damage to arteries and possibly promoting the development of osteoporosis. The body has two major ways of ridding itself of homocysteine: (1) converting it back to methionine, or (2) breaking it down further into other compounds. These metabolic pathways require three vitamins to work: folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. A growing body of evidence indicates that supplementing with these vitamins not only can lower homocysteine levels, but may also prevent or even reverse hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis).

Betaine has also been shown to reduce homocysteine levels. Major food sources of betaine include whole wheat, wheat germ, wheat bran, spinach, and beets.

Raw food studies need to be really planned out well to be successful.

I may try a raw vegan diet for 2 months but I'm still working on adjusting to eating a lot of vegetables and greens. I can't seem to stop eating sardines and meat though.

TheDevastator

As long as you add foods that are in alphabetical order you should be fine.

In that case I may be in trouble because I missed a few.

TheDevastator

Amazing list. :-D

If food is medicine, you're completely set.

Thanks, I hope so.

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. — Hippocrates, father of medicine, 431 B.C.

This quote seems to be forgotten by a large amount of people.

TheDevastator

Not being snarky, your best best is stem-cells.

I'm choosing food and but not pop tarts and ice cream, at least until I'm healthy again.

TheDevastator

Why raw food?

I'd like to get 20/20 vision again. I've heard it's possible on a high raw diet.

Replace all of your foods with carrots.

I'd be a nice shade of orange!

I'm trying to eat my fair share. I'm going for about 1/4-1/2 a pound of carrots a day. I also am trying high amounts of kale, spinach, lettuce and mangoes.