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January
9
Is Cooked Food Addiction a Growing Trend in Raw Leaders? Raw & Beyond by Victoria Boutenko Reviewed
Filed under 80-10-10 and Low Fat Raw by Frederic Patenaude
44
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Have you noticed that many raw food leaders, who once proclaimed that the 100% raw food diet is ideal no matter what, are now coming out of the closet and revealing that they themselves are eating some cooked food?
Raw foodists tend to make a big deal out of it, like when vegans give up and say that eating meat is okay, or politicians revealing that they do some drugs occasionally.
I’ve been looking forward to a new book by Victoria Boutenko. It finally came out today!
The book is called “Raw & Beyond – How Omega-3 Nutrition Is Transforming the Raw Food Paradigm“. You can get it at Amazon.com, or Amazon Canada, or Amazon UK.
The book is actually co-written by three authors: Victoria Boutenko, Elaina Love and Chad Sarno.
Strangely enough, the first part of the book, written by Victoria Boutenko, reminds me a bit of my book The Raw Secrets (published in 2002), where I explained how the raw food diet made me sick and debunked the “raw food is law” paradigm.
It seems that many people, through painful trial and error, are coming to the same conclusion.
I give Victoria a lot of credit, because she’s the one who used to say that eating 99% raw was “not enough.” In her first book “The 12 Steps to Raw Foods,” she talked about her amazing discovery of the raw food diet and the health transformation that her family had following it. She said that even 1% cooked food was enough to keep the cravings alive.
In Green for Life, Victoria acknowledged that raw foodists often reach a “plateau” in their health. But technically, a plateau is when you stop making progress. In this case, she talked about how her family and many people she knew actually got worse on the raw food diet, after a few years of non-stop improvements. She attributed it to a lack of greens in the raw food diet, and recommended green smoothies.
In this new book, she finally says it: I thought 100% raw was best, no matter what, but now I think it’s okay to eat some cooked foods.
I’m paraphrasing, of course.
In her introduction, she reminds me a lot of what I wrote in The Raw Secrets:
“For many years the theory of the raw food diet seemed so flawless to me that I couldn’t find any errors in it . I was following a 100% raw food lifestyle and I was trying to inspire as many others as possible to follow. Years later, to my surprise, I found major flaws hiding in two of my favorite statements:
“Anything raw is superior to anything cooked”
“Raw food is best for humans because all animals in the world consume 100% raw food.”
She then goes on to talk about her experience with green smoothies, and how that made an improvement. But, it was not enough.
“Adding green smoothies to our diet still did not bring us perfect health.”
Finally, she blames her raw food diet as being too high in fat, particularly in omega 6 fats found in nuts, seeds and oils. The book presents some excellent research on the topic.
Finally!
I’m so glad that Victoria finally agrees with the low-fat message, after all these years.
She even agrees that eating cooked foods is better than loading up on nuts and seeds, which is something, honestly, I never thought she would say, given Victoria’s strong stance against cooked foods.
I don’t agree with all of Victoria’s conclusions, such as the raw diet being harder to follow in colder climates due to lower quality produce, but her experience is nonetheless fascinating.
I think the raw food diet IS more difficult to follow in colder climates, but this has little to do with the quality of the produce. It has more to do with the colder temperature. Many people do manage if they find a supplier of imported tropical fruit they can buy in bulk.
In one chapter, she says:
“I still don’t know if it was a coincidence that my family first began to experience difficulties on a raw food diet after we moved from sunny Colorado to rainy Oregon. I think we would have avoided many of our health problems if we had included some cooked food in our diets right then, instead of loading on nuts and nut butters for several years.”
Elaina Love
In the second part of the book, Elaina Love also comes to similar conclusion. She even says “I have noticed that, for whatever reason, I often don’t look as healthy while eating a 100% raw diet. I can’t explain why. When I’ve added some cooked food back into my diet, people often say to me, “You look great! What are you doing?” I find it interesting that when I’m eating some cooked food instead of only raw, I get more compliments on my looks.”
As a side note to this, when I was younger, maybe 25 or 26, I used to be a lot skinnier. My face looked quite thin. Occasionally, I would binge on cooked foods, and not always the healthiest kind. The next day, I would go to a party and people would say, “You look good — stronger.”
In reality, my face was just puffy! But to people, that looked better than a skinny face.
I’m not saying that this is the same that Elaina Love experienced, but I’m just relating some of my experience on how people have perceived my looks based on their own weight expectations.
Chad Sarno: High Cholesterol on a Raw Food Diet
My favorite part of the book was the chapter written by Chad Sarno.
Chad is an amazing chef. I met him in Portland almost 10 years ago, when he was getting started and would design raw food menus for restaurants in London.
At the time, Chad would often eat large salads with kale and oil, and thought it was healthy.
In his chapter, he talks about his first blood test he got done after he was hired to be a chef for Whole Foods Market. He discovered that his cholesterol was high, and that his triglycerides were off the chart.
So what did he do? He decided to go on a 100% whole food diet, with no agave, no maple syrup, no coconut oil, no olive oil. He focused on greens, beans and grains.
In four mouths, his cholesterol dropped by 100 points and his triglycerides went back to normal.
Chad was eating a typical raw food diet with some gourmet dishes, and his blood test was showing him that he was at a high risk for heart disease, even according to American standards, which are not the healthiest in the world.
The he talks about his change in diet, and why he’s living an oil-free lifestyle (I just came up with that phrase!).
He eats beans, grains, whole foods, some avocados and nuts. It was not clear how much fruit he eats now.
Finally, the book includes a ton of great recipes. Most recipes don’t include any nuts and seeds, and the chefs have even chosen to include some lightly steamed foods in some recipes. That’s cool with me. I thought the recipes would be oil-free though, and they are not. So this is a bit strange given than oil is the highest source of fat you can eat. Personally I would omit all of the oil from the recipes. I NEVER use any oil and our food is still delicious.
Raw Food Leaders Coming to Terms With Reality
I think Raw & Beyond is a very positive book for the raw food world. It’s about time that raw leaders wake up and realize that a lot of what they’ve been saying for years simply isn’t true.
I now feel like an old-timer with the low-fat message. I personally went through a similar process, when I first wrote my book Raw Secrets in 2002. That’s almost 10 years ago! Back then, I was already talking about the concept that just because something is raw, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy, and why raw foodists eat too many nuts and seeds.
At the time, I didn’t get it completely. I still used some oils, and did not ban them completely from my diet until 2005 or so.
The list of former raw foodists is growing every year now, and I know many people are confused and wonder why people who used to be strict raw foodists are now eating cooked food.
The reason is simple: They’ve grown up!
If you look at a lot of the advice given by raw food experts, it simply doesn’t hold water.
In my last book Raw Food Controversies, I spent 400 pages debunking many raw food myths. I used to be one of the lone voices on the subject, but now many others have joined. Thankfully, the 80/10/10 Diet by Doug Graham is becoming really popular and many are waking up to the reality of fat and oils not being a health food.
In the end, I still believe that fruits and vegetables are the best foods we can eat, but as I’ve said many times, eating a low-fat diet is more important than eating an all-raw diet.
What About the 80/10/10 Diet?
Someone familiar with the 80/10/10 Diet might read Raw & Beyond and analyze it in a different way. For example, a case could be made that Victoria, Elaina and Chad never tried to eat a true low fat raw food diet, which would be a very high-fruit diet, with no oil and minimum amounts of nuts and seeds.
80/10/10 people eat a ton of fruit to compensate for the lack of nuts and seeds, or cooked foods, and many do extremely well on this diet.
I personally have had great results with the 80/10/10 diet. In fact, I eat an 80/10/10 diet in terms of my ratio of calories (I get less than 10-12% of my calories from fat on average). The only difference is that I no longer eat an all-raw 80/10/10 diet.
That’s my preference. I go through different phases of eating more and less fruit seasonally depending what’s available.
As I’ve explained in my book Raw Food Controversies, there are pros and cons to each approach. Some prefer and feel better eating 100% raw, while others, like me, prefer to also include cooked foods.
Of course, if someone eats both cooked and raw foods, they’re no longer a raw-foodist, according to a true definition of the term, which would be “someone who only eats raw foods.”
So be it.
As I’ve said many times, it’s better to be healthy than stick to a philosophy just for the sake of it and suffer.
On the other hand, you’ll always have many people who will claim to feel a lot better on a 100% raw food diet. That’s okay too.
Here’s what matters:
1) Eat a plant based diet — get rid of the dairy, meats, and other animal products.
2) Get rid of the oil — eliminate all olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil, or other refined oils. They do more harm than good. They’re just refined foods, and can put you at risk of heart disease just as fast as animal products.
3) Limit fats — that includes avocados, nuts, seeds, etc. Eat them in very small quantities, like 1-2 ounces of seeds in one day, or half an avocado. Don’t eat multiple fatty foods a day.
4) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
5) Eat your greens!
6) Exercise.
7) Enjoy your food!
I think the new book Raw & Beyond will wake up some people, thanks to Victoria’s popularity. Make sure to check it out.
It just came out today, so you can already order it:
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/wbR6Y9
Amazon Canada: http://amzn.to/xqaMWt
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/zmvMgA
44 Responses to “Is Cooked Food Addiction a Growing Trend in Raw Leaders? Raw & Beyond by Victoria Boutenko Reviewed”
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Hi Frederic,
fantastic article – thank you! I spent one week with Victoria on a Green Smoothie Retreat Tour in Australia last April and she was already talking about the Omega 3 research back then and that she would bring out a new book soon. It makes a lot of sense! I am currently in Thailand and have no access to raw nuts, seeds or oils anyways, perfect conditions to follow the oil-free lifestyle
Keep up the great work!
Lisa
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Chris says:
I think its too too bad that they’re saying this. On the ‘extreme’ rare occasion – - say I go to a dinner party or some such. . and they have no food for me other than a teeny tiny salad.. if I eat even a plain baked potato I feel “off my game” the next day or more. . and hate myself for doing it. I can tell the difference and it shows on my face.. which promptly shows wrinkles and aging.
No thank you. . I’ll remain raw. I follow the wonderful goddess Anne Wigmore’s program. . and that works wonders for me. . Bless her sweet heart. . I do use nuts and seeds. . and some oils. . and I feel wonderful for it.
I live in a cold winter climate, harsh and gray. . just have to get the blood pumping a bit. Its easy to do when you’re a raw fooder with energy that makes once want to bounce.
I think our writers are missing a huge mark. Too bad. I don’t starve myself. . and I’m older than all of you. For me, raw works wonders!
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Geri says:
Thank you Frederic for this great info and your feedback..here goes on MY thoughts and Self observations for ME no one else.
Whenever I eat anything that is NOT LIVE I am feeling out of control/emotionally..either happy, sad, angry, stressed, dissapointed, etc
It has nothing to do with my Body’s need 4 food.
Ok I am not real active only due to all the pain in my body and 2 hips that need replacement, which will be done at the same time soon with a Anterior procedure..I am so excited 2 b able 2 walk w/o pain and w/o a walker..
I am 67 soon 2b 68.
Fell broke my hip visiting my medicare patients back in 96 never had a total hip back than.. no insurance..However I believe ALL things r 4 as purpose..
I was introduced to Raw food/Ann Wigmore back in the 80′s..etc too long to go there..anyway on and off all these yrs I have KNOWN that I am Supposed to JUICE, Blend and Eat whole live foods..but have NOT been listening to my body and I have suffered the results.
When I was in my 30′s & 40′s , for the most part I was busy with my children and job and bearly ate anything all day long.
I was NOT hungry.
I had a LOT of energy and was very active.
I was not sick.
I remember eating Big salad No nuts, no avos..it was Iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and cukes and for a dressing I used to take Miracle Whip and mixed it with raw garlic to make my own Creamy Garlic dressing and I used it eat that with French bread. ( I was not aware of the RAW food movement and the very little food value of iceberg lettuce..back than, THAT what was what salads were made of).So in present time, in my 60′s I go up & down, live with my youngest’ family of 6, belongings in storage, everything crammed into one room ( my belongings), I am stressed out but still managing to have a green smoothies at least 3 X a week, go on and off 100% raw food eating days and ALWAYS feel great..it is when I eat ANY cooked food I do NOT fee great.
So what I am saying, it is a Personal thing 4 me, I do NOT care what any gurus says. Nuts and oils have always upset my tummy..so I don’t eat them….even the avocados get to me at times..Fruit OH YEAH..they and my body have a Love affair.
I feel light, emotionally and physically when I eat fruit..My problem at times is I do not have the money to have all the fruit that I want to eat, & I don;t really want a salad..so I eat something, cooked & I really don’t want that..
So 4 me it is not about Having to have cooked food for calories or health, it is being Off Balance or NOT having the Fruit in the house.
Another thing, my eyesight is improving with he raw food that I do it, my pain lessens in my legs and joints, sometimes it increases ( think it is detox).
I NEVER ever, ever get sick. no colds, sore throats, flue none of that, nothing to do with being raw..just my mind set…and it cracks me up when I see some of the raw food Gurus and chefs say they are sick. hmmm!! what is that about?Also as in the 80-10-10. I personally do not believe you need to CRAM such large amounts of food/calories into your body for the diet to work.
Has anyone read Arnold Ahret’s work?
We, I believe, need to Listen to our bodies for what they need and follow..different strokes 4 diff folks ( depending where they are in their life).I was not even aware of 80-10-10 at the time I saw all the seeds and nuts used in the raw recipes and KNEW..oh YUK this is NOT healthy. My gut was Screaming out to me and thank God I was listening.
Also there is a lot of BAD food combining out here and that upset in one’s body may have something 2 do w/people wanting DEAD food..which makes the body use IT’S own energy and enzymes to break down that food for the bodies so called energy….
sort of ironic isn’t it…. HA HA eat dead food 2 give the human body more energy..and at the same time the body has to use it’s own precious energy to break the dead food down so the dead food can give the body it’s energy.
OK I will leave it at this point not planned just happened. Thank you Jesus ..
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Ar says:
Thanks for the article, personally I rather follow teachers with 25 years + of experience in the raw food movement than to follow newcomers such as these who constantely change their diet as prove of their ignorance.
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Working as a wellness coach I get a lot of people who experience severe bloating and constipation while following a 100% raw diet. While I love my green juices, salads, and sprouts, in my experience keeping some warm cooked foods in the diet can be beneficial to digestion and general well-being.
We are all unique and different things work for different people. It is always a matter of building a strong communication channel with your body and listening to it. Often we get stuck and attached to our beliefs even when they don’t work for us. It takes courage to re-assess old beliefs and take a leap to try something new. Kudos to Victoria and others for doing that! -
I think its very brave of Victoria to change her mind. She has always struck me as a sensible woman, never taking things from hearsay, she tries out everything, she studies, she comes to her own conclusions, and yes, they are evolving over time. Good for her!
I also think, that 100 % raw can be o.k. for many people, whether healthy or diseased, especially for healing serious diseases, but I also believe in how different people in different climates have different needs. I myself could not live 100 % raw but I feel so much the better on raw breakfast and lunch, and sometimes a (partly) raw dinner. Its mostly the snacks that do me in… still have to get my stuff together there. Anyway, it feels good to me that people like Victoria show that raw is not all, however great it is.
Thanks Fred for your article! -
Great article Frederic! I’m interested in reading this book as well. I have a question connected to the title though… where does Victoria, Elaina, and Chad recommend that we get the Omega 3′s from?
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My two girls and I are raw, have been for 3 years and we just recently (month ago) switched to an 90% fruit with a salad at nite. I am in Alberta Canada and I have noticed that since the switch to mostly all raw fruit, I am not as cold, in fact I am warmer now than I have ever been on the raw diet. Its cold out here also, and we make frozen banana ice-cream and I also noticed that after I have finished it, I am cold for about 5 minutes or less and then bang, my internal heat goes right back up, without doing any exersice.
http://www.robertmorse.com this guy is awesome, talks that are diet is, mostly all fruit, then some nuts and seeds and little greens. -
Thanks for bringing this up! I have started running an online program on mostly raw vegan low fat diet in Serbia and one of the lessons on my program is “Just because it is raw does not mean it is healthy”. If someone wants to steam some sweet potatoes, broccoli or cauliflower, they should go for it! I feel like a cheater myself, since … I have to have something heavy, precisely: rolled oats soaked in water. Oat producers say it is healthy, but I am not sure due to avenin and oxidation… Hm… but, why is it soooo difficult for me to give it up – it is heavy for the stomach!
Any experiences? -
lisa says:
Great information. This is the stuff we need to see. There’s too much out there that’s confusing. Especially when you are new to the change in lifestyle.
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Linda Miller says:
I believe a perfect example of someone who eats 100% but low fat raw and is doing terrifically is Tonya Zavasta. And I thought for several years now that Victoria added way too much fat in their recipes. Lot of their recipes also included those raw nut cakes. I think you are right, Fred, that it is low fat more important than whether eat raw or not. I eat cooked vegan foods as well as raw but I have done way better since removing almost all oils. I do a little flax seed oil on my salads and sometimes consume coconut oil. It’s a rarity to consume olive and other oils. I don’t eat many nuts either.
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artlady says:
Hey I am the queen of gut problems. I so wished I would of been introduced to raw vegan diet before my surgery of removing 3 inches of my colon. I have never been constipated on the raw diet but was on the cooked diet. We are talking bloated and sometimes like 10 days. I have gallbladder issues and thankfully had two internist who said change diet don’t remove. Since the raw diet and one cleanse….no more sludge. No more fatty liver. No more gallbladder issues. Am I 100% raw….no. Mainly, because we travel a lot and it is really hard to find decent salads and decent fresh veggies in all restaurants. We eat 100% organic at home. I have more of a issue about that than eating raw 100%. Yesterday we ate out in a new local restaurant that features many great salads and soups that are veggie based. I ordered their special of stuffed pepper….vegan….cooked. Everything is running through me today. I really believe when your body gets used to one way, it talks to you when you do something different. We do not eat nuts, seeds and oil everyday. We do not avoid them totally….trying to make sure we don’t go over 10% when we do. I really try to avoid oil as much as possible.
I don’t hear anyone talking about probiotics at all. I always take one everyday to help keep the good bacteria up and help with digestion. We also take a B12 supplement and include nutritional yeast in our food. I have had my Bs tested and I am good. We are fortunate to live in FL and I get plenty of sunshine. So, hopefully I am getting enough D. With juicing and not eating past 7pm at night… our way of life works for us. My husband is no longer a dietabetic. His doctor is impressed….no meds…got his A1C down from 8.8 to 6 in a year. He also lost 60 pounds and has stopped losing weight. The body knew what was good for him.
All that said, I ordered 3 copies of the book. One for my mentor who is 100% raw (for 10 years) and follows Doug Graham and Victoria Boutenko, one for my cousin who is a Dr. Esselstyn follower after having a heart attack a year ago (survived after dying on the table) and one for myself. Thank You Frederic for the article.
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Jose says:
Suggested very good, safe, workable, echological, social, not-just-raw-food plan for people living in a temperate climate:
a) Summer, and part of Spring and Fall (hot or warm time, say 4-7 months/year): Raw food vegan diet (80/10/10).
b) Winter (cold time, say 3-4 months/year): 1/3 raw vegan food + 2/3 cooked food
c) Transitions (part of Spring and Fall, say 2-4 months/year):2/3 raw vegan food + 1/3 cooked food
Besides: eat mostly local, in-season, good quality food
Optional but excellent: fast a few days from time to time or 1 day every week -
giselle says:
Artlady, I have a question 4u. U said that ur husband was a Diabetic, can u please tell me what he ate to bring his sugar levels to normal? U c my mom is a diabetic, and how can she do the raw food diet when she can’t eat any fruit? The min she eats fruit her sugar goes up high.
Maris I think Frederic will tell u that u can get ur Omega 3 from flax seeds
Thanks
Giselle -
This is Jose again (I live in the Mediterranean coast):
a) Warm or hot time (6-7 months/year): There are lots of local good fruits and vegetables at the farmer markets. For me it’s Paradise time, when eating raw is easier and healthier. I fast a few days after Easter, and then I start to eat only raw food, and follow until mid november. At parties I will bring the most beautiful baskets of fruits.
b) Cold time (3 months/year, mid december until mid march, more or less): There is not so much good, ripe, local fruit. Just good clementines and apples (oranges are still acidic, not really very good until february or march). So, my breakfast and desserts are local fruits. I eat a green salad every day with lunch (or dinner). But I mostly eat good cooked food (bread, rice, beans, potatos, sweet potatos, other vegetables, and also cheese, milk, eggs, fish, and some meat from time to time). Time to recharge B12 and other nutrientes. Time to share holiday season and meals with others.
From my long experience, I know unripe fruit is really bad for me (and for others). It’s raw, but is no good for the body. I will not eat it.
c) Transition time (part of Spring and Fall): 2 meals of good fruit (oranges are already very good in Spring, and there are lots of good fruits in Fall) and 1 cooked meal every day. -
As someone who’s been a vegetarian (mostly vegan) for 30 years, but only a wannabe when it comes to 100% raw, I welcome the loosening up of the strict dogma. Why make diet into a religion?
The only ‘absolute’ I think we ‘should’ have is to never eat a dead animal. Why would that be an absolute and the other guidelines not so absolute? Because a sentient being must be killed in order to eat meat. That rules it out, in my view.
Beyond that common denominator, there is room for discussion and flexibility, and different lifestyles and metabolisms must be taken into consideration.
We need to all remember that the raw foods ‘gurus’ are all human and they’re just trying to find their way thru this maze. Problems ensue when we put them on pedestals or turn them into authority figures. We can learn from them, but we are each responsible for our own choices.
Another thing to take into consideration (in addition to locale/climate) is timing. I was a raw vegan aspirant 30 years ago, but abandoned the idea when I got pregnant, because I didn’t have confidence that a vegan diet, much less a raw vegan diet, would be adequate for pregnancy. I wasn’t about to be the pioneer with my own baby! (I did, however, stay 100% vegetarian, though not vegan, because I was entirely confident about that.)
But now, in my 50s, I once again feel very drawn to raw vegan. I’m not 100% yet but that is my goal. In fact, I felt a bit of amusement as well as disappointment to hear of some raw foods ‘gurus’ now eating cooked foods. My first thought was, “Aw man, just when I finally am ready to go raw, now they’re saying it might not be the optimal diet after all??” and “oh how ironic! I just read Victoria’s ’12 Steps to Raw’ book and was inspired when she said to just do it 100% instead of transitioning, and I’m finally getting up the courage to ‘just do it’ and now this??”
It can indeed get confusing for us wannabes!
But then I realized, hey, Victoria, Fred et al are all way ahead of me. They went totally raw at certain times in their lives. Well guess what, right now is MY time to go totally raw! Maybe I will be one of the ones who, like some who have responded here, stay with it because I’ll feel so much better. Maybe I’ll avoid some of the pitfalls, because there is so much more info available now. If so, it will be because I learn from the mistakes of those who paved the way before me, and for that I am very grateful!
Or, maybe it will be a stepping stone along the way for me, and, like them, I’ll come back full circle and ‘allow’ a bit of cooked foods again. If so, I won’t consider it a failure, but a learning experience.
But it’ll never be totally full circle, because I’ll never go back to meat or junk foods. So it isn’t a circle. It’s more like a spiral.
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Linda says:
Thanks Fred, for your take on this new trend. I gravitate towards people, like yourself, who recognize that we’re not all at the same place in our diets. Also, not everyone’s goals include a totally raw or vegan lifestyle. Some people just want to add more fruits and vegetables to their diet and cut down on other foods. I especially appreciate you caution on recipies that load up on nuts and seeds.
It took me half a year of juicing before my stomach could tollerate eating raw vegetables and the whites of my eyes turned red. Now, I usually eat raw food until dinner and then cook something. Recently, I participated in a 7 day detox cleanse where my stomach and teeth hurt all the time, so I’m not ready for a 100% raw lifestyle.
I especially appreciate the comments from older adults as I’ll be 62 in a few weeks. I’m unemployed, underinsured, and pay my health expenses myself. My goal is to delay disease and improve on my quality of life for as long as possible. My allergies are debilitating so I’m trying to improve my gut and digestion.
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Lola says:
Thank you.
The raw movement is sadly full of people like these that keep writing books and changing their mind. Avoid wasting more time in reading these authors. -
Amanda says:
Hi Fred,
This is a question a bit off of the topic. What are your thoughts about juicing fruits and vegetables? Proponents say that it is a great way to get more nutrients in your body than you can do by just blending. Not that it is the only thing they do. But I was curious what your thoughts were on this topic.Thanks,
Amanda -
Very good article Frédéric, thank you.
I personally prefer to follow and read people who come accross as honest and truthful, rather than dogmatic.
I am mostly raw with home made veggie soups, grains, and lightly cooked/steamed veggies and find this to be the best balance for me. I did great on an all raw for about 5 years, then things went down hill. Now I love the way I eat. Lots and lots of green and veggies, some fruits, a little oil with my salad. -
Frederic Patenaude says:
I’m not that big into juicing myself. Too much work! You can get all the benefits, and in fact better benefits, from eating whole foods, blending, etc. That being said, I’m not opposed to some vegetable juicing.
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Avoiding fat, exercising and eating a plant-based diet is the best way to bring blood sugar levels to normal.
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Rolled oats have been processed by heat. Because of the starch content, I wouldn’t recommend eating it raw.
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yamina says:
Recently I have returned to a common diet. But I feel stressed, I have no energy to do my favourite martial art because I have cramps. I am always hungry, craving for potatoes. I would eat tons of potatoes if I could, never satiated. And despite the : “Oh ! You look great ! You are not any more skinny, you are prettier…” I feel myself as you said PUFFY (lol !) And most of all, people now says : “Madame…” when they used to say : “Mademoiselle !” Because of my coquetterie, obviously uncurable, I cannot tolerate this change and am returning to the 811, that I consider as the best diet for humans. I am still struggling with the amount of food that I am not used to eat, but I cannot decidedly tolerate those Madame… No way !
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Sari says:
Thanks for the article! I live in Asia where we eat vegetables everyday: spinach, kale, carrot, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, green onion, parsley, green beans, etc. Most of them are cooked (boiled/soup, stir-fried, but seldom steamed). After trying out raw food in December, I find myself eating veggies less and less, ’cause it’s hard for me to eat veggies raw. The natural veggies-eating for me is cooked as soup. So in order to eat more veggies now I just make them as soup.
Also, we have a lot of leaf herbs and spices here. Typical “ground” condiments here include red onion, garlic, pepper and a little salt. There are a lot of other combinations of spices for different cuisine, and all of them come from raw herbs/spices. Originally I tried to omit the condiments in my soup, but then I put them back again. It makes the soup taste better, and it’s from raw herbs/spices, so I thought why not.
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Well said Frederic.
I first got into eating organic food about 10 years ago. I ended up opening my own shop about 7 years ago.
I figured my (and my family’s) health was assured. What’s better than organic huh?
I first heard about the “Raw food lifestyle”about 5 years ago. I started reading some books and it started to sink in that just eating food that was chemical free was not “good enough”.
A couple of years ago I read the 80/10/10 book. To me that made the most sense of any book I’d read so far.
Then a customer suggested reading a book by some guy named “Frederic something or other”
I think I’ve read all your writings and they have certainly led me to change many of my ingrained eating habits.
I embarked recently (again) on the low fat raw diet and, as before with in a few days I was feeling more energetic.
I’m hoping to stick to it this time – not too bad in Summer (I’m in Australia) particularly when you own an organic fruit & veg shop – this morning I had a bowl of blueberries/raspberries/grapes topped with passionfruit for breakfast, how can anyone possibly beat that!
We’re all on our own journey but fortunately people such as yourself and Victoria who share their journeys truly help the rest of us.
thanks! -
Great article Frederic. It’s nice to see some raw food gurus maturing and waking up to reality. I became disillusioned with raw foods after a massive failure on 80/10/10 diet. I still eat a lot of my foods raw and have salads pretty much every day. I just gave up the dogma that’s so prominent in raw food circles.
I still read your articles since you seem to be the most reasonable raw food “guru” I’ve come across. I don’t necessarily agree with you on the need for very low fat diet (less than 20% of your calories from fat). There doesn’t seem to be any credible evidence to back this up – or at least I haven’t been able to find any from medical literature. No doubt it works for many people, such as yourself, but in the name of honesty we should acknowledge it may not be the best approach for everybody.
Anyway, great article!
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Rich Price says:
I’ve been mixing it up with some cooked food and feeling great doing it. I still eat the best of the best raw foods, vegetable juices, salads, green smoothies and fruit + some simple raw dsihes. I eat cooked sweet potatoes, soup made from beans, barley, lentils and vegetables, steamed vegetables. etc. I believe that some cooked foods and more digestible and more nutritious than if eaten raw. I’m also spending time lifting weights and doing excercise that makes me feel great. I live for the feeling I get after a workout. Diet of course is a contributing factor.
One thing nobody talks about here is salt. Natural salt is better than processed salt, but it’s still got about the same level of sodium that is bad news, especially if you tend to have high blood pressure. I started reducing the amount of salt I put in food everyday a couple of weeks ago and have reduced salt consumption by about 75%. I am starting to eat some foods with no added salt and enjoying the taste. Eating raw food is a great but only part of the health equation. Who do you think is healthier and who do you want to look like, Anne Wigmore or Dwight Howard ? -
Barbara Lowell says:
One thing I don’t get. Both Victoria and Nomi write and write and teach and teach, yet they both are obviously overweight and their faces puffy. To me puffy and overweight = toxicity caused mostly by overeating or eating the wrong foods. So what’s up with this. I love Graham’s obvious integrity and tried and true program and also I respect these women and their vast contribution, but it just causes confusion when they don’t look like they walk their talk, and my friends question my recommendations based on this glaring issue. I have written this question to many and no one addresses it, like the emperor’s suit of clothes. Like going to MD’s for help while their belly hangs over their pants and they vaguely smell of tobacco and sometimes alcohol. Seems like hypocrisy to me. Hope you have the courage to print this, it is hypocrisy that is holding this wonderful movement in check.
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Peter says:
Thanks Frederick for keeping us informed!
I am in 80 + , I might look things differently a little. Like Rich Price said – Eating raw food is a great but only part of the health equation. It takes correct body, mind and spirit to be in balance. First the veggies and fruits should be mostly organic. George Malkmus might have interesting ratio – 85% raw, 15% cooked; Omega 3 might be a good question – ALA versus EPA,DHA types. If this is the case then Sardines in small amounts might do the trick? Otherwise, no animal products do any good for us. Personally, I do not take any medicine, just few herbs. So as evolution has been proven scientifically wrong – let us balance with good nutrition and with other factors too. -
@Giselle…..ok my husband was devastated when he found out his A1C was 8.8. We had been doing the traditional way of trying to control his sugar through counting carbs and making sure he was having a protein with a carb. That is what the nutritionalist told him to do. Obliviously, we did a bad job of it. Plus, we both were gaining weight. We had just been given the book The China Study and it had a great section about controlling your diabetes through food. My husband spent over 4 hours going through the book and announced he was going vegan and did I want to join him. That was in October of 2010 and by March of 2011 we were introduced to a local couple who have been raw vegan for over 9 years. We started juicing and eating the majority of our meals raw. That is when everything really starting going well for both of us.
You wonder how we can juice (vegetable), have green smoothies and eat all that raw fruit and not be a dietabetic? We are not eating the Standard American Diet. No meat, no breads, and no processed food. If you still eat white potatoes, flour breads, and white rice…..you might not see the results he did. He eats a huge bowl of mixed fruit every morning after having a 20+ oz of juice that has beets, carrots, apple and several greens.
@Seppo….Dr. Esselstyn has proven that reducing fats and oils can prevent and reverse heart disease. My cousin who walks an avegage of 10 miles a day, had pretty much eliminated all sodium from his diet, was eating red meat and had a heart attack at 53. It was the widow maker and it happened just before he went to bed. He knew what was happening and took asprin and called 911. Since being on Esselstyn’s diet….vegan and no oils or nuts…… his cholesterol is now 110 and he feels wonderful. We took Esselstyn’s one day workshop together and if you are over 21 and eating the standard american diet, you have plaque build up. Some peoples build faster than others. By the way, that same night a triathalon runner had a heart attack too……well he was not as fortunate as my cousin. He survived but with much more damage. He was doing his protien…… chicken, eggs and cheese. Just because you are in shape, it does not take care of the plaque build up in your arteries.
Linda….I am 61 and soon to turn 62….retired…my husband is 72 and soon to be 73. My stomach issues are gone. No more IBS, No more acid reflux, no more gallbladder issues and I can now eat all the oranges, pineapple, tomatoes, and grapefruits that I want. My ph has finally balanced out. My body did a detox and thankfully I had a great mentor who explained what was going on and within a week after what I thought was making me worse…..it ended and within a month I found myself eating all those foods that made me double over in pain in the past. I really enjoy Dr. Norman Walker who has these small books packed with a ton of info. The man was writing about juicing and doing studies back in 1939. His little book on juicing has 87 juice combinations and he has a section in which he makes suggestions of which juice combo to drink for different health issues. Good luck on your journey. Just wished I hadn’t had 3 inches of my colon removed…..hind sight is always better.
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Kenny says:
That’s a good idea to adopt the 80/10/10 parameters of eating, be it cooked or raw. Your honesty rocks Frederic.
Forget about dogma already. Do what works for you. The hard part though might be figuring out what works for you…..ha ha.Peace!
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Mark H says:
Fred, In the first sentence of your article you wrote that many raw food leaders are “not” coming out of the closet. Did you mean to write “now”?
“Have you noticed that many raw food leaders, who once proclaimed that the 100% raw food diet is ideal no matter what, are not coming out of the closet and revealing that they themselves are eating some cooked food?”
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When people shy away from fruit and try loading up on the greens they are either A. going to go to fat as a calorie source, B. maintain incredible discipline and starve themselves, go crazy, and then blame the raw food diet or C. go back to eating cooked food sources of carbohydrates (rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.).
Personally, it’s just a heck of a lot easier to eat SUFFICIENT calories from sweet fruits and bypass that whole mess!!!
Once we cut the excess fat out of our diet and get the majority of our calories from sweet fruits and tender leafy greens, the omega 6:3 ratio is in the ideal- 1:1. The answer isn’t more omega 3, cut out the excess omega 6!
Excellent article Fred!
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I’d like to add a remark about puffying : I notice that only grains have this effect. Not roots. As if we grow like bread or cakes ! But it is not due to gluten because rice has the same effect (on me) and worse than wheat… Therefore, all grains. I notice also that on a plant diet, it is impossible to wear any fat, and I wonder how some rawfoodist are fat or a little coated. I don’t like them, but I experienced having avocado or nuts, and not fatting. Those thick persons eat grains, it is the only explanation. Gluten free or not, cooked or not. I wonder what in grains make the body produce fat. Why their sugar is converted in fat when the same calorie amount, or even far more calories from fruits don’t have this effect ? Are they so nourrishing that the body has enough fuel with small quantities and stores what we have inconsiderably eaten ? Are they so toxic that the body stores these toxins in fat cells, then the other emunctories are overloaded ? Is obesity due to grains rather than fat from meat or dairy ? Maybe grains are the most nutritious food on earth that require to be ingested in very small quantities ? Afterall, birds are from the tiniest animals on earth and deploy tremendous efforts to fly so gracefully… Just imagine for ourselves, just jumping (so miserably) requires so much energy… Would we definitely bannish all the human culinary skills, the so various and thriving traditions ? Are apes models of perfection, physical, sentimental and mental ? Just some réflexions, en passant… Sometimes, I will read all the rawfood and vegan contemporary bibles in bulk and… will not spare you other thoughts on the matter. Promise…
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VilcaGal says:
I live in Vilcabamba Ecuador! We have a growing amount of raw foodies living here!
There are 2 newer couples that are former raw food gurus (according to them they worked professionally promoting the raw food diet), but now they all eat cooked, dairy and eggs! I talked to them about the befits of vegan and raw, and they basically said “been there, done that”.
They had dental problems, B12 problems ect. which has led them to believe the vegan raw diet is bad.
I know of the calcium issues many are having no matter what diet you fallow, and I use horsetail and oat-straw for the silica and magnesium they contain!
I think if people need to realize these problems happen to people across the board, and we need to supplement with herbs to keep our bodies strong and healthy! Look how many suffer with tooth decay, osteoporosis, even a fracture or a broken bone is a symptom, that all is not well with our calcium levels!
This used not to be true, as people ate a diet closer to nature, and many times containing many wild herbs and fruits, this is no longer true, and the longer our parents and grandparents have been away from this type of diet the worse we will suffer from these type of problems! We are now born with the deficiencies our parents where born with only worse! Each generation we can either improve the next with herbs and diet, or if not they will be worse than the last!
I having suffered with low calcium symptoms for most my life! I can see immediate improvements with this formula in 2 weeks! From hair falling out and thin (I have been losing huge amounts of hair since I was 16. and going bald on top around 20), to thick shinny hair, and not losing a single strand! BTW I am a girl!
Eye ticks, heart pains, leg cramps, tooth pain and sensitivity to hot/ cold drinks. All of these things clear up within 2-4 days after I start taking these herbs!
I have started and stopped many times over the last 8 years, so I know clearly this stuff works (even through several pregnancy’s, where my body uses so much calcium, that my symptoms are very sever! My hair falls out and gets thin so fast, if I just stop and take 1tsp of these herbs combined, all symptoms stop, and my hair grows right back and gets thick again!
One note, if I consume coffee or caffeinated tea, the calcium is leeched from my body so fast, that this formula will not work!Remember that silica changes in the body into calcium, and calcium is the catalyst for all other minerals, so obviously it is important!
I know there is a huge problem in the 80-10-10 movement with tooth decay! I met a mother last year, that had a 2 year old son and his teeth where rotting out of his head on the 80-10-10 diet, so the father made her feed him eggs, cheese and meat thinking it was the diet that was the problem, she was heart broken because she really still believed in the diet!
I told her of what I knew about herbs, and that the diet was not the issue.
Many have used these herbs in their children, and have had the cavities in their teeth fill in and heal completely!
I am hopefully in the future, more people can come to understand this issue!
P.S. Sunshine is also a key to bone and tooth health! -
Thank you for this! I’ve had the same experience and “maxed” out on 100% raw food. It is helpful during health challenges and healing but not ideal forever, in my opinion. My body is much happier without the restrictions and repetitive eating, honestly. Less stress = better health!
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An issue worth mentioning is B12 deficiency. This is not just a concern for vegans and vegetarians, a significant percentage of the population suffers from B12 deficiency and it is a very serious problem that can lead to permanent nerve damage. Symptoms include memory loss, tingling in the hands and feet, depression and low energy. I’m not big on supplements, but I started taking a B12 supplement that I get from http://www.mercola.com
It is a subcutaneous spray (under the tongue, and I am confident that it is one of the best ways to supplement B12. BTW this is not a commercial plug, I have no financial interest in Dr. Mercola’s website. In fact, I don’t agree with everything he says or all the products he sells, but he does have some good ones and some great health info on the site. I have been feeling really good since I started the B12 about a week ago, but I can’t be sure it’s from the B12 because I feel really good from the raw chocolate shakes I’ve been drinking, eating papaya and drinking ginseng tea. -
Yes in one day. My life dramatically improved by going 50% raw. All I did was have only raw fruits for breakfast and a smoothie and a salad the rest of the day. In between, I often ate cooked food, so that is why it was only 50% raw. Dinners were mostly cooked as well.
Later on I discovered the higher percentage of my diet that was raw, the happier and healthier I felt and the more benefits I experienced. Overcoming depression is a major benefit. But all the best and multiple benefits of going raw can only be achieved by going completely raw.
Great Post!! Any buddy help me finding out How many calories in a Banana, i got this site How-many calories-in-food.com, which providing complete idea about calories in food. Have you any buddy referring this site.
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Grace says:
Thank you Frederic for the article, also for speaking well of other raw foodists!! You really don’t see that very often. I have enjoyed Victoria’s books, very much. I agree, it is so nice to see the authors come out and update their diet stories. Personally, I prefer your recipies in savory dinners and raw vegan. For the most part I found them easier and I want to stay away from putting a cup of nuts or seeds in a recipe. And, I just have to tell the readers of this blog….If you want a really good book on the subject that is covered in Raw and Beyond (a small book, with a summary from each of the authors, then a lot of recipes). I loved, loved the raw food coach, raw food controversaries (very interesting and had more of a story to it), I am currently reading raw secrets. I enjoy your straightforward way of writing and engaging with your readers. Keep your books coming.
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@Artlady, with all due respect, one doctor doesn’t prove anything. Likewise one anecdote is not reliable evidence. I’m happy to hear that following the program helped your cousin but that alone doesn’t prove anything. To prove something we need studies. Controlled studies. And several of them.
I can offer you a counter anecdote. I did the 811 for 15+ months. My fat intake was 15% of calories or less. I exercised vigorously (1 hour runs 4 days a week). Felt fine for about a year, but after that started getting massive joint pains, was tired constantly (eventhough I slept more than 11 hours per day) and various other issues. First I thought it’s just detox and decided to wait it out.
It got worse over time and by 3rd month I figured something’s amiss. I checked my blood sugar levels and I was almost at diabetic levels.
I do agree that fat plays a role in diabetes, but based on all the studies I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them), there’s no benefit to reducing your fat intake to levels below 25-30% of calories (especially if we are talking about healthy fats). I’m happy to look at more studies if someone can point them out to me, though.
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Thalia says:
I echo Beverly’s suggestion to check out Dr. Morse. What I’ve been learning from his videos is that raw foods detox the body and during detox many things can happen, depending on the individual concerned. But detoxing by simply eating raw will take quite a while (i.e. years); I think that’s why many raw foodists start to see problems like dental issues and hair loss, etc. after being on raw for several years. It’s the body finally getting to the point where it’s ready to shed weak groups of cells (like bad teeth, hair, etc.) before generating new, stronger cells. Unfortunately that’s where people get scared and stop, so they never get to the next level.
One thing I’m wondering about is the physical appearance of some of those who do 811…gauntness is evident, an aged look too. I believe it’s because of the intense physical training they’re doing. Exercise generates lactic acid and if one is ONLY doing raw (without herbal support), then the lactic acid buildup may be causing problems. I know that there are ways to reduce lactic acid after workouts, but I suspect that that’s not enough. So I don’t think the 811 diet itself is the cause of the gauntness and aged look — it’s the intense training added to it that may be the cause (over many, many years). Just my two cents.
I’m not against people eating cooked foods. Everyone is on their own path and learning their own lessons. But if the goal is to fix health problems, then fruit and herbs are the way to go. After that’s accomplished, eat whatever you want (though hopefully it’ll be a healthy diet).
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LG says:
I don’t believe in all this low fat craziness. What about the fat soluble vitamins such as A and D which are vital to the body? What about omega 3′s which are essential to the brain?
The body needs good fats to run on.I’m far more concerned about the sugar addiction rampant in the raw food community.
All this supersweet hybridised fruit that people are addicted to have nothing to do with the natural human diet.The facts are simple: in the tropics, the majority of fruit eaten by primates are fibrous low sugar fruits that few of us could happily eat in large quantities.
Tell your 80/10/10 or fruitarian raw vegans to live on nothing but non sweet fruit such as cucumbers,tomatoes and peppers along with a ton of greens everyday, and raw food would swiftly lose it’s allure.
That’s the raw food controversy I’m waiting for someone to tackle. -
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