Introduction to eating a raw food diet

My dad was always ahead of his times, interested in integrated health regimes including preventative medicine and food as medicine and exercising in open air. My own first experiences with eco-healthy living was practicing yoga with Dad at an early age–my favorite was and still is tree pose–and living on his home-grown vegetables and fruits and natural meat sources.

Dad experimented with French intensive organic farming (bio-dynamic gardening) on our one-quarter acre yard in suburbia. It was the marvel of the neighborhood, and as kids we would sometimes eat from the vine, it was so delicious. Mom cooked for us all just the way he liked, low fat with the produce either raw or lightly steamed.

Dad also insisted that we eat whole grains and rice, and our protein side dishes, which were his own catches, were mostly fish high in omega 3 fatty acids or natural game poultry and other range free animal meats. He also gave us supplements and didn’t allow us to use sugar. He told us it was a drug, and this was way before all the books came out to teach about its addictive properties.

I owe my good health to his ability to find cutting edge information and creating his own resources for us to live well on less. We had such a good beginning, Dad even coached Mom through her pregnancies. From the womb our diet was way beyond the SAD or standard American diet of most of our other family members, neighbors and friends. Dad started his family close to mid-life, yet he always looked younger than the fathers of my friends who started families a lot earlier in life. Mom always looked young too. People say its heredity, but I can see the difference even in their immediate families.

After school I moved to a commune where we also had an organic garden and participated in a food co-op. There I became a vegan, and also began experimenting with raw foods diet recipes. I eventually committed to an eco-friendly lifestyle including eating a raw food diet exclusively.

I unfortunately became anemic twice over the years that I was eating either a vegan or raw food diet. It was necessary but a shock to my system to begin reintroducing other proteins back into my diet.

The first time was worse, as I was no longer living in an area where I had community support or help with adjusting my vegan diet. I was on my own and not a lot was available then in finding good raw foods diet recipes and resources. No internet, and not all areas had health food stores with bookshelves. Fortunately, I was still practicing yoga (and still do), including the poses given in the Tibetan rites, so I was able to stay strong.

The second time I became anemic was due in part, I believe, to drinking reverse osmosis water and not having enough minerals to help me assimilate what I needed from my food. And the food was cooked by others and was not organic or as healthy as I was used to. The first change I made, after my health started to become an issue about 15 or so years ago, was to choose and to prepare my own meals. There’s something magical about putting my own energy into my meal preparation that really works  for me.

Now I am looking for more ways to increase my strength and stamina. I ‘m considering transitioning back to eating a raw food diet from the mostly vegan diet I now follow so I’ve been doing some reading and looking around on the internet. A good resource for me to start with has been the Raw Spirit Festival. They just held their annual event at California in June, with two more planned in other US locations before the year’s end

I also ran across an interesting video that got me started on some of the current knowledge on the benefits of making the switch to eating a raw food diet. I’ve posted its preview below. It gives a brief introduction to the full DVD, Raw for Life, which might be inspiring to anyone interested in learning more about the Raw Food philosophy. It gives some of the current wisdom of following the raw food diet, plus other facts including medical and nutritional information.

If you want to get this 2- disc DVD documentary, it has raw foods diet recipes and resources to help you get started. There’s a lot more to eating a raw food diet than just having salads, so if you’re ready to make the switch from your present diet to that of a raw food vegan, you’ll want to learn more. Here’s the preview: