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Pure Health & Nutrition E-Zine
Raw Foods in Ontario, CanadaNatural Hygiene, Massage Therapy & |
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“Who Else Wants to Know the Easiest, Simplest Most Delicious Raw Food Recipes Ever?”
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Here's How You Can Experience Boundless Energy“Dear Frederic, I wanted to thank you for changing my life. I started on the raw food path (or so I thought) in September 2004. I decided it was the right choice for me after experiencing acne and hyperpigmented skin patches over 30% of my body. |
Comments & Questions From the Readers (That's You!)
SPROUTS & TROPICAL FRUITS
“I enjoy your recipes very much. I would like to know how you sprout lentils, mung beans, and wild rice. I noticed that many of your recipes contain mangos and papayas, and I would like to know what is the most convenient place in USA to order them (all organic tropical fruits).”
Divna Unipan
ANSWER: I do not sprout beans very often, because I believe sprouted beans to be basically unsuited for human consumption other than in small quantities. For more information, see “The Raw Secrets.” Occasionally, I'll sprout some lentils or mung beans. To do that, I simply soak them overnight, rinse them in the morning, and then let them sprout in a bowl. Twice a day, you need to rinse them. They'll be ready in a matter of days.
I know one good address in the USA to order organic tropical fruits. All my American readers should definitely check it out: http://www.robertishere.com
COLONICS and ENEMAS
“Any opinion on colon hydrotherapy and enemas? Some raw foodists say these are necessary in the beginning to speed up detox, some say they are necessary for life, and some say they can actually be harmful.”
Monique Sauve
ANSWER: I've never recommended enemas and colonics and believe them to be completely useless and harmful. We had an entire teleconference on that subject during the Perfect Health Program (http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/perfecthealth.html) which will be available next month on CDs.
Hydrotherapy cannot help detoxification which is a process that occurs at a cellular level. All they do is evacuate the contents of only a part of our intestinal tract in a way that is completely unnatural and disruptive to health.
Detoxification is a misunderstood topic. There are no specific foods or procedure that “detox” the body - it's a process only the body can do when placed under the right circumstances.
TRIPPING ON WILD FOODS
“Here at my office, in Northern Virginia, 8 miles from Washington, D.C. I recently found a patch of Mulberry trees behind a hotel across the street. No one else would eat the berries until they saw that I didn't get sick. When they finally tried them, they loved them, and would go Mulberry picking every day. I also can find edible wild onions, clover, dandelions, and wild strawberries just walking around the block.
P.S. I love your new book, Instant Raw Sensations. Not only are the recipes quick to make, but they also don't require expensive ingredients. I've found plenty of stuff to make with bananas, apples, carrots, oranges and lettuce.”
Sean McEligot
COMMENTS: Glad you enjoy the book! Yesterday I went picking wild raspberries, the last ones of the season. Absolutely outstanding! I also eat wild clover, purslane, and other herbs on a regular basis.
PROBLEMS WITH THE DIET
"I have a question for you. I really like your advice, and it makes a lot of sense, but every time I try to go on a low fat, raw food diet I feel like I'm going to go crazy. I've been on a raw food diet for about a year, and feel great almost all the time, and I'd say that 90% of my caloric intake comes from fat and protein. The last time I tried to go on an all fruit diet, I stuck with it a month, eating massive amounts of fruit (at least way more than I ever have before) and massive amounts of veggies and greens. I started to lose all of my strength and after a month I felt weaker than I ever have in my life (although my bodyweight remained the same), also my teeth got really sensitive. I've considered a few possibilities:
I did the diet wrong (I'd think that I should feel pretty good after a month)-actually, I think this is the best possibility. I tend to do that.
You're wrong. A low fat raw food diet isn't the best.
People have different metabolic types, and I happen to be one that requires more fat and less fruit.
What actually is happening is I need more protein or something for some reason than some other people, and what my body is screaming at me for is protein, not fat, and maybe I should consider eating something like spirulina instead of hemp seeds (a major staple in my current diet, which, by the way, I feel pretty good on).
Anyway, I was wondering what you had to say about it, because you know a ton more about this than I do, it seems. Thanks a million!”
Dave Wood
ANSWER: Dear Dave, thanks for considering my point of view. I must say that I've tried many times myself to eat a raw, low-fat diet, only to find myself in the following situation:
- The diet fell apart after a few weeks following a period of extreme cravings for unhealthy foods.
- Out of fear that I was doing something wrong, I gave up completely and did something else.
- I kept trying other diets, which were unsatisfactory, so eventually I always found myself wanting to try eating a low fat raw diet again.
After these many attempts, I have learned some great lessons. First, now I know that I didn't really know how to do it in the first place! I thought I was doing it the right way, but in fact I wasn't.
I thought I had enough information to follow the right diet just because I had read a book on the subject, but in fact it wasn't enough information at all!
I can't really give you that much information in the context of answering your question in an e-zine, but I can tell you that:
1) Chances are great that you didn't do the diet correctly. Often, just reading a book on the subject isn't enough to get the right kind of knowledge. It usually takes more information as well as actually meeting people who are living this kind of lifestyle who can help to coach you. But since you haven't given me any information on *how* you actually did a low-fat raw diet, I cannot really comment on that.
2) It's not really about me being right or wrong. I didn't invent the concept of a low-fat diet. It's what most successful health programs recommend (see today's article). The concept of eating raw is also one that makes sense, but one thing I know for sure is that the high-fat raw diet is a recipe for disaster. You get to make your choice between a high-fat and a low-fat diet. Personally, I see absolutely no reason to choose the high-fat diet in view of the predictably bad results it brings and the amount of research we have to back up the actual dangers of following such a diet.
3) Metabolic types are a fantasy created by those who wish to tell people exactly what they want to hear: “You don't have to change. Just keep on eating the same foods, as long as they're good for your type.” If you open a physiology book you'll understand that difference in metabolism are very small among people with roughly the same size. Generally, less than 5%.
I'm personally someone who's walked around for many years thinking that because of my particular “metabolic type,” I wasn't able to thrive on a low-fat, raw (or mostly raw) diet. I actually started to believe the metabolic typing books and did all their tests only to find out that I needed a high-fat, high-protein diet! This solution proved to be terrible, and the fact is that once I learned to eat properly, I was able to thrive on a low-fat diet with none of the problems I had experienced in the past.
4) Generally, high-protein foods are also high-fat foods. People who say they crave protein actually crave calories. It's been found that protein-foods have the highest “satiation” factor, followed closely by carbohydrates. Fats are last on the list: they're the worst.
What it means is that if you're deficient in energy intake, you'll start craving all sorts of things: usually proteins or carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, etc.). So it's possible that someone craving proteins is actually not eating enough to meet his/her energy needs. Or more likely not enough of the kinds of foods that will provide enough energy to meet her needs.
I would like to add that, unless one is experiencing serious growth (teenagers, training bodybuilders, etc.) the protein needs remain relatively the same for each individual of the same size. I highly doubt that someone could need “way more protein” than someone else because of their particular metabolism.
THE GARLIC ISSUE
“I get your newsletter regularly, but have tried to research further regarding the toxicity of garlic. The only article I can find is the same one you mentioned. Frankly, I don't know if I believe it. There doesn't seem to be any comment or further research on this 10-year-old article. Have you done any personal study on this? Don't know if I'm ready to give up my garlic just yet.”
Chris Shenk
ANSWER: Toxicity is a big word. Garlic contains some compounds which are extremely strong. However, most garlic in the world is consumed cooked, so these compounds are destroyed in the cooking process. In addition to that, people do not generally consume large amounts of raw garlic due to the related problems of breath and digestion.
I cannot point you to specific studies that have been done on the “toxicity” of garlic because they do not exist. There is no point for researchers to spend time researching garlic while there are bigger issues out to research!
My point of view on garlic is based on basic logic that any 5-year old can understand. Garlic is so strong that you would never want to eat it in its natural state. It is used as a flavoring agent to stimulate the taste buds. After its consumption, every pore of the body smells like garlic. The breath is terrible to those who *don't* eat garlic.
Garlic is a “food” that has been avoided by natural hygienists for more than 100 years and for good reasons. We do not need any “study” to prove this.
However, if you want the specific names of the compounds in garlic that are considered to be irritants, the scientific names are: diallyl disulfide, allylpropyl disulfide, and allicin.
In conclusion, the garlic issue isn't a big one. I do not want to make a big fuss about it. It seems to me obvious that we shouldn't eat foods that have a really strong taste - foods that we could never enjoy in their natural taste if we didn't mix them with something else.
Personally, I absolutely hate the garlic breaths and that's the main reason I avoid it: to spare my loved ones of it!
On a more serious note, I also find that when I eat garlic I can tell the fact that it's an irritant by the way my body reacts to eat, but that's because I rarely eat some so I'm not accustomed to it as some garlic eaters are!
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE MONSTER IN THE STOMACH
“I am trying to eat meals only when truly hungry. Do you have any tips on how to ignore the gnawing in my stomach? As I understand the stomach growling, or empty stomach, does not necessarily mean you are hungry.
Of course, I'm used to eating the second my stomach is empty. Is there a way I can make the gnawing sensation go away, like drink water, etc. It's very difficult trying to focus at work/studying when your body is doing this!”
Tina Brooks
ANSWER: The answer is to learn to simplify your meals in order to ease your digestion so that you get less of the growling on an empty stomach.
What I've found is that by eating a low-fat diet with proper food combining, I can easily go several hours without eating without getting much “dissatisfaction” from my stomach. Often when I run errands I won't eat before 1 or 2 in the afternoon.
To receive my article on the subject of food combining, please send a *blank* e-mail to: 3rules@fredericpatenaude.com
HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS
I read your book this weekend (The Raw Secrets). I love it! - it answered my question regarding raw diet. You did mention that household products are not good for you. I have been trying to get information on this subject. Could you tell me where can I get information about the effects of household products and how I can replace my household with non harmful products. I have been looking and can't find anything on this subject.”
ANSWER: When I mentioned household products, I was referring to all the detergents, bleach, dishwashing liquid, “Hertel Plus” and other common household products which all contain strong and toxic ingredients.
If you want a complete list of all household products and their possible toxicity, along with alternative products to use, check out the book called “The Safe Shopper's Bible” available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0020820852/sunfood02
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The Two Sides of the Raw Food Movement
Where Do You Stand?
The newcomer to the world of natural health is often confused by the myriad of different diet philosophies out there that all seem to contradict each other. Every year we hear about a new diet to add to the endless list of those already in existence; Mediterranean, South Beach, Atkins, Blood Type, Macrobiotics and all of the others that have been long since forgotten.
When a person is interested in the raw-food diet, it seems that the confusion is even bigger! In this tiny niche market of the natural health world, the promoters of the raw-food diet haven't even agreed with each other on what really constitutes the raw food diet.
For example, there's the Hippocrates program, which proposes a diet consisting mainly of sprouts, vegetables and very little fruit.
There's the Rainbow Green Diet, which eliminates fruit for a while and focuses on vegetables, seaweeds, spirulina and other “green” foods.
Then there are those who promote a diet that includes lots of “super-foods” such as coconut oil, cacao beans, maca powder, and other such exotic ingredients.
We also have the instinctive eating movement that recommends eating raw foods in their natural state (no juicing, blending, mixing, etc.), but also often include raw meat and fish in the fare.
Some raw-foodists eat raw dairy, insisting that we need some animal foods in our diet in order to thrive.
Then there are those who recommend a fruit-based diet, and a rarer few who recommend an all-fruit diet.
There's natural hygiene, which insists on eating foods in their natural state and avoiding strong irritants such as garlic, hot peppers, spices and salt.
Then, of course, there are those who take no position at all and just recommend that people find out “what works for them.”
So the newcomer, who is faced with all of these different diet philosophies, has no choice but to wonder who's right and who's wrong. It seems like choosing the 'right' diet is such an insurmountable task, that perhaps the best thing to do is just try a little bit of each of these different approaches and come up with a workable program.
In my experience, this approach leads to a lot of frustration, if not sheer failure. That's what I was doing for many years, trying a little bit of each raw-food or diet approach in the hope of eventually coming up with my own program. That's until I realized that there are not actually that many options. The different philosophies give themselves different names when in fact they are basically promoting the same thing.
Before examining diets in the raw world, let's take a look at the other more popular diets out there. One has to wonder: with so many possibilities, who's right?
THE MEDICAL MODEL
For almost 150 years, the medical model for dieting has been recommending a high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. It started becoming popular in 1860 when Londoner William Banting lost 50 pounds on a high-protein diet that consisted of dry roasted lean meat, soft-boiled eggs and vegetables. He wrote a book in 1864 called “Letters on Corpulence” that became an instant bestseller.
By 1880, “Banting” is America's foremost weight-loss program. A little later, another doctor by the name of James Salisbury started promoting a diet consisting mainly of hot water and minced meat patties (the famous Salisbury steak) for health and weight loss.
When Dr. Atkins wrote his “Diet Revolution” in 1972, he didn't invent anything new. He just kept on promoting the medical model for weight loss, which has always consisted of calorie-reduction in the context of a high-fat, high-protein diet.
Since then, most diets are just a variation on the same theme, with a different degree of restrictions and a new gimmick. The Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, and even the Blood Type diet are just variations on the medical model for dieting.
Challengers to the medical model for diet and weight loss have always recommended a low-fat diet. Generally, their books are not as in vogue as the other diet fads I mentioned, but their program is based on more solid science.
Proponents of the low-fat diet include Dr. Dean Ornish. Dr. Ornish was the first to prove through extensive research that coronary heart disease can be reversed, by making comprehensive changes in diet and lifestyle, including a low-fat vegetarian diet.
Other proponents of the low-fat diet include Dr. McDougall, who has recommended a low-fat diet for decades and whose results are well documented (http://www.drmcdougall.com/).
Also, in the low-fat camp we find T. Colin Campbell who conducted The China Study : the most comprehensive nutrition study ever conducted. We also have most of the vegan and vegetarian doctors who wrote books and did their own research, such as Dr. Klaper, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and many others.
When we look at it like that, and if we go past the small differences regarding details, we can roughly see the following picture:
We have the medical model that's promoted through most “research” we hear about in newspapers, popular magazines and fitness centers. This model usually recommends a high-fat, high-protein diet and calorie reduction, or a variation on that theme.
Then we have the “alternative” model, which is promoted by various doctors and serious researchers and is backed up by an extensive amount of data. This model recommends a plant-based, low-fat vegetarian diet.
FOCUS ON RAW
In the raw-food movement, it may seem from the outside that there are many different options available, and this all seems very confusing to the newcomer.
A closer look at the different raw-food diets promoted, however, reveals that there are basically 2 different options presented, with others that find themselves in-between.
1- *The high-fat, raw diet*. This approach generally promotes eating a vegetable based diet. Although the promoters of this diet do not like to say it, it is also a very high-fat diet.
2- *The fruit-based, low-fat diet*. This approach recognizes the problems of eating large quantities of fat, even though this fat may come from natural sources such as avocados, nuts, seeds, etc. Instead of making fat the main source of calories, this approach recommends fruit as being the main source of calories.
In a raw-food diet the foods that provide calories are basically limited to two options: fruit or fat.
Why is that?
The fact is, that fruit is the only real source of carbohydrates in the raw diet. Complex sugars such as bread, pasta, potatoes, etc., are generally avoided. Although some vegetables contain carbohydrates, they cannot be considered to be a significant source of them. They are so low in calories that it would be impossible to eat enough of them to meet our caloric needs. To get 2000 calories, you would need to eat about 50 heads of lettuce, or over 75 raw carrots. It simply isn't gonna happen.
The alternative is to eat fatty foods such as avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds. When a raw-food person says that he doesn't recommend eating a lot of fruit, then by default, it means that he recommends a high-fat diet. There is simply no other way around it!
WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Once you understand that all these endless dietary approaches can really be filtered down into just two, you have to decide where you stand.
Which raw diet are you going to follow? The high-fat diet, or the high-fruit diet?
In my experience, trying to find middle-ground has been a frustrating endeavor. The reasons why are a little scientific. Let me explain:
On a high-fat diet, insulin sensitivity is greatly reduced, meaning that simple sugars do not arrive to their destination (the cells) as rapidly. When a person on a high-fat diet eats a lot of fruit (sugar), they often get symptoms of hypoglycemia, candida, concentration problems and more.
The equation is: high-fat diet + fruit = disaster.
On a low-fat diet, however, we find that all those symptoms disappear, even though a lot of fruit is consumed. Insulin works efficiently to transport simple sugars to the cells. Concentration increases and blood sugar is stable.
Those results are perfectly congruent with all of the research done by the various doctors mentioned earlier, who promote a low-fat diet. Trying to mix different approaches together will end up being disastrous.
Why not choose one and really stick with it?
YOUR TIME TO DECIDE
If you want to eat a raw-food diet, you have the choice between a high-fruit, low-fat diet, or a high-fat diet. The choice is yours, but don't take your decision lightly.
Personally, the answer is obvious. The low-fat diet makes the most sense, is the easiest to practice, the most rewarding in terms of health results and energy levels, and the one that is most congruent with the most progressive scientific research.
To me, the high-fat raw diet is just a variation on the medical model of diet and weight loss. It doesn't make sense and isn't giving the kind of results we would expect from a successful program.
So decide, where do you stand?
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How to Put an End to Confusion About Nutrition“How to put an end to confusion about what's healthy to eat: what everybody needs to know about vegan and raw-food diet, and how to find out a diet that really works for you.” |
Useful Resources
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2- How to get rid of cravings and food obsession in 72 hours or less:
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Coming next week, in the “Pure Health & Nutrition” E-Zine
What should we think about seaweed? Is it a good or bad food? Are there some benefits or problems associated with it? Learn what there is to know about it.
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