Any striving RAW VEGANS here?

Options
alex8118
alex8118 Posts: 22
in Food and Nutrition
I am about 80% at the moment, but havn't been for very long. I am really interested in the raw lifestyle,.. anyone know much about it or eat that way? I've read afew books on raw food/ live food..

Replies

  • gnme4243
    gnme4243 Posts: 120
    Options
    DH, DS and I switched to raw 3 weeks ago (well, it will be 3 weeks this Thursday) and all of us are loving it! I have actually lost 18 pounds since we switched- crazy. We are doing 100% raw, but not all vegan right now, as we all (me very little) still eat raw, grass fed goat cheese, oh and a very small amount of raw honey once in awhile. Otherwise, we have made the switch. My son is 11 and loves it.

    Have you read "The Live Food Factor" by Susan Schenk? It's a great one. I am in the middle of about 3 different books right now! We -just- got an Excalibur dehydrator this past week, so I have been able to really have some fun making various things.
    Also, when DH and I switched, we did a juice fast/cleanse for about 7 days to make the switch easier. It did help.

    I am in process of sprouting, dehydrating, making nut mylks, etc etc. I actually have 4 things soaking, and 2 sprouting in the kitchen now! :laugh:

    I actually think it's easier eating this way than the conventional way I have my whole life. I have more time (less time spent in the kitchen and eating), I feel better, and have more energy. Plus, other people really notice a difference, even though I am only halfway to my weight goal (all but 18 pounds I lost prior to switching to raw) I have had folks saying I look "radiant".

    Happy to share along the way- feel free to "friend" me! Would love to share recipes, etc if you like.

    Good luck!
  • alex8118
    alex8118 Posts: 22
    Options
    I am in the middle of reading The Raw Food Detox Diet and a couple of other raw books at the moment. I have also ordered in the 80/10/10 diet and can't wait to read it i heard it is good. I always thought there would be alot of food prep being raw, but I guess that means i don't have too cook(which is good because I don't really like cooking)...

    Can we get all out adequate nutrients from a raw diet? Do you know or anyone know if we miss out on any important foods that a vegan can get but a raw vegan cannot?
  • gnme4243
    gnme4243 Posts: 120
    Options
    So far the only 2 things I have come across that you might want to consider as supplements are B-12 and D. If you get alot of sun naturally (at least 20 minutes a day) you wouldn't need the D. Otherwise, you can actually buy RAW B-12 and D from Garden of Life. They have it also sold on Amazon, and Whole Foods typically carries at least the D, and sometimes the B-12.

    The other things I think we have to watch is not overeating fruit and/or nuts, and making sure to eat alot of greens- like kale, collard, dandelion greens, and sea veggies too. We just make a "green smoothie" everyday typically to help get enough greens.

    My son (as he is just 11) will be taking a multi supplement from Garden of Life too, just to make sure he is getting what he needs as I am learning this whole process.

    You might want to check out Garden of Life RAW products- I remember when I was your age I was rarely home and always out and about doing something- Garden of Life has RAW organic meal replacements, raw organic green powders and then the vitamins I mentioned above plus a few other options. Especially as you are just starting out, these things might really help as you get it all figured out too! Reasonable prices too!

    :happy:
  • kickitlarson
    kickitlarson Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    80/10/10 raw vegan here & definitley striving! I don't take any supplements. I get D from the sun and my body makes B-12 when I am nice to it. If you notice many meat eaters are B-12 deficient...how can that be? There bodies are all jacked up and not making it nor can they assimulate it from meat because you can't assimulate anything from cooked carcass meat, pastuerized puss dairy, or fetus eggs. Everyone is told that you can only get B-12 from animals....well where do you think they get their B-12 from? Grass, corn, grains? No because they don't contain B-12. Their bodies make it.

    Now granted many animals that are eaten aren't even eating the diet their bodies are made for. Many of these animals are stressed out, not getting enough water, or sleep. Their bodies probably aren't making enough of B-12 for them so this may be why so many meat eaters don't get what they need. We need to drink enough water, eat the best foods, get sun, exercise and sleep so that our bodies can make B-12 and properly use any vitamins or minerals that we give it. If you can't do this then yeah I would say supplement but even then you can't be sure your using the money your shoving down your throat.

    Check Harley's blood tests out....kind of long but great info (make sure to watch part 2)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O_A6Mh1J48
  • SherahLovesHealth
    SherahLovesHealth Posts: 49 Member
    Options
    So today was the 1st day of getting back to the raw vegan lifestyle and it was such a great day!!! I was vegan and raw vegan for a short period of time then I went back to eating fish and rarely some beef but I decided to get back to living a clean, healthy lifestyle. I am 100% raw. Please check out my journey through being 100% raw vegan.

    http://rawvegannaturalbeauty.blogspot.com/
  • kickitlarson
    kickitlarson Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    Eat more fruit!! If you fill your body with ripe juicey fruit all morning & afternoon long you won't want to poison it with beef. Watch some documentaries so you can kick the addiction!!

    Processed People
    Food Inc
    Food Matters
    Earthlings
    Meet Your Meat
    I Am An Animal
    We Feed the World
    Mad Cowboy
    Forks Over Knives
    The End of The Line
    Planeat
    Fast Food Nation
    King Corn
    Blue Gold : World Water Wars
    The Age of Stupid
    The Secret

    (Some of these are available on YouTube!!)
  • kickitlarson
    kickitlarson Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    I'm definitely following your journey! Looks great & you are beautiful!!
  • alex8118
    alex8118 Posts: 22
    Options
    Thankyou heeps for all your advice, you have been really helpful:)
  • kickitlarson
    kickitlarson Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    The B12 Issue, other vitamins & great general info:

    http://www.living-foods.com/articles/b12issue.html

    This article is cited & an amazing read!

    "If a person is healthy and on a healthy vegan, high-percentage raw food diet and does not habitually over-eat, wrongly combine their foods and abuse their bodies generally, and utilises fasting on occasion, it is unlikely that they will develop B12 deficiency symptoms providing their intestinal flora was not previously deranged. Vitamin B12 deficiency is usually symptomatic of a larger problem i.e. poor intestinal flora, poor absorption and also lack of sunlight."
  • kickitlarson
    kickitlarson Posts: 204 Member
    Options
    Here is another great read http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/vitamins/vitamin-b-12-and-your-diet.html

    And comes from rawfoodexplained.com which focuses on Natural Hygiene - please go to town and read everything here!!!!

    The TRUTH about everything you ever wanted to know!!! http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/science.html
  • gnme4243
    gnme4243 Posts: 120
    Options
    Awesome for posting those links- I will definitely check them out- thanks so much! With having our 11 yr old on raw too, I am wanting to be sure he is getting all the nutrients he needs, and am trying to learn about everything as quick as I can so I don't screw anything up! :ohwell:

Categories