A raw vegan diet is an evolved diet. A raw vegan diet leads to greater mental, emotional and physical health, let me now try and explain why I believe this to be true.

Your ability to see the truth, no matter what you are trying to become clear about is rooted in your ability to observe and your ability to notice correct cause and effect.

For example, I noticed that when I ate meat I felt one way, when I was a vegetarian I felt another way, when I was a vegan I felt yet another way, and when I ate a diet of 99% raw vegan foods I felt another way.

The key to life, as I keep pointing to again and again in my blog posts, is not strict adherence to rules or dogmas, it is self observation, self awareness.

My diet choice has been an evolution, an evolution from the Standard American Diet (SAD) to a more and more evolved diet. In my eyes one of higher and higher energy vibration:

A raw vegan diet contains foods that have the highest type of energy, closest to where most of the energy on this earth originate from, the sun.

When you eat a dead animal, you are literally putting into your body energy that has passed through at least one other animal before it got to you, the energy went through a transmutation step. The energy might have went from the sun to grass to a cow to you, therefor the energy has stepped down a level, it has been transmuted into lower vibrational standing when it went from grass to cow. So you are getting a slower, denser energy vibration when you eat a dead cow (not to mention a cooked dead cow).

Now different plants transmute the suns energy differently, as do animals. A small animal like a fish probably transmutes the energy of the sea vegetables it eats much faster than a cow, and this is probably why many “vegetarians” feel fine when eating fish, it might not be a big step down in energy levels for them to notice.

I on the other hand am very sensitive to my body and how I feel, especially now after being 3 years raw vegan and 5 years vegan.

My diet has been an evolution from eating dense slower vibration foods to one of lighter higher vibration foods.

This is one line of reasoning, not that scientific. But you can’t really argue that there is a transmutation of energy from grass to cow to human, and that going from grass to human (figuratively) does in fact take out one energy transmutation in the chain, what can probably be argued is that transmutation step makes any difference at all, it might even be argued (as it usually) that step is necessary for some reason.

Let me address these claims here. The first being that a transmutation in energy makes no difference. The key here is to define difference, difference in what? When a turkey digests its food and then you digest a turkey there is longer chain of events that take place from the suns energy to get to you, of this fact there can be no doubt. But how does this change of energy affect humans when its consumed? This seems is where most people argue about food, and where scientific literature actually has some interesting findings, so lets look at some here:

So how does eating meat affect humans?

This study from the UK points that those who eat a eat a vegetarian diet or in general more intelligent: Vegetarians are more intelligent, says study

Here is a story from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that says meat eaters are more likely to be obese than vegetarians

Vegetarianism also seems to affect mood positively says this article on Nutrition Journal

And if I really wanted to I could probably find many, many more scientific articles on vegetarianism.

Sadly, there isn’t much literature on veganism, and there is about none on raw veganism so all of my science loving friends, science just hasn’t caught up yet, so you can leave these diets in your black whole of “not enough data” for now.

I can really keep writing about this subject further, and I probably will. This blog is just me getting started laying out my arguments for a vegan diet. Not to make alienate anyone, or make people feel bad, or start some sort of comment flame war. I don’t write this to even change anyone’s dietary patterns. I’m inspired to write about this topic because its a topic that inspires me.

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As you transition to a more pure raw food diet you begin to let go of accumulated toxic chemicals your body has taken in from a cooked diet. As you detox your body you naturally also start to let go of toxic emotions that have accumulated in the body.

Raw foodists know very well that the experience of emotions are very different on a raw diet than compared to a cooked diet. After most of the toxic emotions have been purified from the body you then start to experience emotions in a whole new way.

When I was eating cooked food emotions seemed to last longer in the body and were less intense, like a slow moving small wave. On a pure raw food diet I feel emotion much more strongly and emotion tends to pass much more quickly than it did while I was eating cooked food. For some people this new stronger, more powerful emotion is hard to cope with, and some actually start eating cooked food in order not to feel these strong emotions. I personally love the increased feeling of emotion because it helps me stay true to my heart. As a raw foodist you can’t do what doesn’t emotionally feel good for a long time because you can’t really hide or mask the emotion under heavy cooked food.

I’m so grateful to have such a strong connection to my emotions, they serve me well they keep me going in the direction that I want to go. To be strongly connected to our emotions is such a great gift as our emotions are our guidance system in life. Our emotions let us know if what we are thinking and what we are doing is really the best thing for us.

Let me give you an example of how increased sensitivity to emotions really can really help take your life to the next level. I, not to long ago, was working an office job doing work that I was skilled in but not something that I was really passionate about, and honestly probably could have stayed there for a lot longer if I my hearts emotions weren’t so strong pulling me to really follow what really made me happy. See I just couldn’t stay there any longer because my emotion was so strong, and only 3 weeks later I can honestly say that my life is many many times better that I made that decision. To be connected strongly to your emotions is such a great gift, by following your emotions you really start to follow a life of bliss, a life of real inspired happiness. The beauty of being a raw foodist is that it becomes so easy to follow your emotions because they become so much more apparent.

A life lived in emotion, following emotion is a great life lived, its a rich vibrant life. A life lived without emotion, in fear of emotion, or with little emotion can be a dull montaneous life in which real happiness and fun has a hard time appearing. It does take courage to start living in emotion, but let me tell you its really worth it, and why not? Why not have a life filled with exciting contrast, vibrancy and newness? Living a life with emotions turned on is like watching a movie in high definition. So I say yes to a life of abundant vibrant emotion.

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I have been on a raw food only diet since the summer of 2007 and have never felt better, in fact I never even knew that these levels of clarity, energy, emotional freedom, and strength were even possible until I switched to a all raw diet.

What is a raw food diet?

A raw food diet is one that consists of all raw foods, any food that is cooked over 104 degrees Fahrenheit is not considered raw. By definition a raw diet does not necessary exclude meat and dairy products many raw foodists eat raw goats cheese or raw milk on occasion, and there is a whole movement (called the primal diet) which considers raw meat to be a healing food. I personally do not agree with eating any animal product raw or not and follow a strictly raw vegan diet (the most popular raw diet is raw vegan).

Why a raw food diet?

Raw foodists tend to give varying answers as to why they eat a raw food diet; some quote scientific literature that states when you cook food you loose most of the vital nutrients contained in the food. Generally the scientific raw food argument is that vital enzymes are damaged in cooking food that makes cooked food nearly nutrient-less compared to its raw counterparts and therefor harder to digest and assimilate in the body.

In general raw foodists claim a very significant increase in overall health and well being in all areas of their life: increased mental clarity and increased emotional well being, increased stamina, increased eyesight, increased overall physical health, hightened senses, emotional freedom, weight loss, and a leading cause for the cure of many diseases including cancer have all been attributed to a raw food diet by a significant number of people.

After over two years of eating a purely raw vegan diet I absolutely affirm that this diet has given me physical health, mental clarity, emotional happiness, and a feeling of deep connection that I ever knew was possible. I attribute much of my success in all areas of my life to my diet. I absolutely feel so divinely great every single day that what the general public describes as sickness and dis-ease feel like distant memories to me. Eating a raw food diet is definitely one of the most amazing things to ever happen in my life.

What specifically does a raw vegan eat?

I really like how David Wolfe in his book The Sun Food Diet Success System segments raw food into three categories: fruits, greens and fats. The most obvious raw food is the fruit. Fruits include all the normal things we think of as fruits like bananas and apples and even some things we don’t usually think as fruits like avocados and tomatoes. In fact there are so many different varieties of fruit in the world that you could have a new variety of fruit every day for the rest of your life and not try the same fruit twice! Greens consist of all those green leafy vegetables you see at the farmers market including: spinach, lettuce, kale, collard greens and etc. Fats consist mostly of nuts and seeds including cold pressed virgin oils. Obviously listing all the possible fruits, greens, and fats you can eat is beyond the scope of this article but generally just have at the produce section of your local supermarket or health food store most of the items there are probably raw.

What doesn’t a raw vegan eat?

Generally a raw vegan will doesn’t eat anything processed, at least not in the conventional way. No rice cakes or peanut butter, no ice cream, no pizza, no sugar, no bread, no eggs, no milk, etc. A raw vegan diet is actually pretty easy to understand if the food doesn’t contain whole raw foods then it will not be eaten. A general rule of thumb is if the food you are eating can’t be found in the produce isle or isn’t a combination of things made from the produce isle then it probably isn’t raw.

The key to success in a raw food diet.

My general advice to anyone who wants to experience the magnificent results of a raw food diet is to simply start where they are by adding more and more raw food into their diet until they are eventually eating 100% raw food. As for what types of raw food to eat, how much and how often I usually recommend David Wolfe’s book as great place to look to find these answers. But generally I recommend you follow you listen to your heart and body. Douglas Grahm a very influential raw foodist loves to say that the key to success in the raw food diet is simply more bites. Since raw food generally isn’t as calorie dense as cooked food one simply needs to learn to eat more to receive the same amount of energy they are used to on a cooked diet.

A raw food diet does not consist of a simple apple for lunch and medium salad for dinner, this is the cooked perception of raw food. A raw food lunch might be a salad 3 diced apples 2 pieces of celery, a bag of washed spinach, some minced parsley, some raw almonds with a generous amount of spirulina sprinkled on top with a raw fruit dressing. Or it might be something more simple like 5 persimmons spread out over 2 hours (which is what I had today for lunch). In general the key to success in raw food is to get over the idea of small portions of fruit and vegetables and to eat really as much as you feel good eating (which means a lot).

A raw foodist though most be aware of how many nuts and seeds they are eating as its easy to eat to much of this food. Raw nuts and seeds hold many nutritional benefits but are hard to digest and are easy to overeat.

This post has been very general and should act as an introduction to raw food, I plan on posting much more on this amazing diet including topics such as; superfoods, the raw food diet and relationships, how to be a raw in a cooked world, and other general raw food techniques as they come up. Be sure to check out the raw food category for more posts on raw food.

May your diet uplift you and bring you happiness.

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Cacao Beans, or raw chocolate, is probably the highest quality food available on the earth. Well known for its healing and rejuvenate effects, this nut also tastes fantastic! Make sure you eat it raw.

• The highest source of magnesium of any food.
• Rare MAO Inhibitors allow more serotonin to circulate the brain.
• Phenylethylamine increases focus and alertness.
• Contains Anandamide, a neurotransmitter, also known as “The Bliss Chemical.”

People always ask me what I eat. Raw, organic Cacao Beans are the primary food in my diet. They have inspired me to eat less and live more. Cacao Beans are truly the food of the gods, the best food ever! — David Wolfe

2. Maca Powder

A highly valued commodity to Andean Indians, this root is considered a delicacy and, like Cacao, was once used as a form of money. Maca is known to increase energy and promote hormonal balance.

• Protean rich with 18 Amino acids present
• Vitamins: A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, E
• Minerals: Calcium, Phosphorus, Iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, sodium, potassium, selenium, boron, manganese and aluminum.
• Contain alkoloids which nourish endocrine glands and reproductive system

3. Goji Berries

Used in traditional Chinese medicine for at least 2,000 years, these delicious berries are jam packed with nutrients. Wolf-berries (as they are also known) are known for their antioxidant benefits, immunity building properties, and unique polysaccharides.

• 11 essential and 22 trace minerals including 15x more iron than spinach
• 18 amino acids
• 6 essential vitamins, including 500x more Vitamin C than Oranges
• More beta carotene than carrots
• Very healthy unsaturated fatty acids
• Phytosterols
• 5 Carotenoids
• Phytochemicals

4. Hemp Seed

“The Most nutritionally complete food source in the world.”

• Complete essential amino acid content, including 65% Globulin Edistin (the highest in any plant) which is extremely important in antibody production
• Very high essential fatty acid content
• Lowest in saturated fats and highest in total essential fatty acid volume of any seed

5. Acai Berries

A Brazilian berry from the Amazon. Renown for its antioxidant concentration, omega fat ratio and fibers.

• Antioxidant rate 30x more than red wine
• Helps maintain good (HDL) and reduces bad cholesterol (LDL).

6. Mulberries

This delicious berry is full of edible pigments. Probably my favorite berry to eat.

• improve visual acuity
• antineoplastic (radiation –protective)
• anti-inflammatory

7. Kelp

Any super food list can’t be complete without some seaweed! Sea vegetables have the broadest range of minerals of any food. They are also revered for their lignan content, which have cancer protective properties.

• High in iodine and vitamin K, B-vitamin folate, and magnesium,
• A good source of iron and calcium, and the B-vitamins riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
• A good source of lignans

8. Lucuma Powder

Also known as “The Gold of the Inca’s”

• Excellent source of carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals
• High concentrations of beta carotene, niacin, and iron.

9. Aloe Vera Juice

This nutritionally dense and easily grown cactus has been used for centuries as a topical treatment but is also highly effective in fighting disease inside our bodies. As an extracted juice it has a very nice flavor. I mix little bit on my water for a lime taste. It is highly alkaline forming.

• Sooths and stabilizes the intestinal tract
• Repairs and regenerates damaged cells
• Helps heal internal ulcerations
• Natural analgesic pain reliever
• Stimulates the immune system
• Powerful anti-inflammatory

10. Agave Nectar

Ok, so I through this one in here for fun. Agave nectar is the nectar of the gods. Much sweeter and healthier than sugar. The best raw alternative to sugar and even honey. This is the glue of most raw desserts.

• Low Glycemic Sweetner.
• Less sugar then honey.

11. Durian

Truly the king of tropical fruit. This South East Asian fruit is loaded with beneficial sugars and fats. This fruit is truly magical, and for a raw foodist it is a dream come true. A god send.

• High amounts of vitamin C and potassium
• Contains tryptophan.
• A good source of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

I recommend eating at least one of these amazing foods a day. As always make sure what you eat is of the highest quality. I recommend buying from SunFood Nutrition.

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Definition of raw food

Simply, A raw foodist is someone who does not eat food heated over 115 F. So basically a raw foodist does not cook his/her food, and a vegan is someone who does not eat animal products of any kind.

What it feels like to be a raw foodist

I have been a raw foodist vegan for the past 4 months and have never felt better in my life. Its true, ask my housemates, I don’t eat cooked food. In fact I slightly cringe at the sight of cooked food these days, it might smell good but just the sight of it makes me feel a bit quessy.

Honestly, I have more energy, more mental clarity, more physical health than I can remember. Transitioning to a raw food diet is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life, its absolutely, positively, amazing.

You don’t have to cook your food to sustain yourself

The point of the matter is that you really don’t have to cook your food if you don’t want to. Cooking food is not necessary for nutrition. Most of us are raised with cooked so cooking our food has become something we simply don’t question because we have been accustomed to doing it for so long. Of course there are some food items that you just can’t eat raw, like beans and grains (unless you sprout them). But most, I would say 99%, of whole foods available to us are completely eatable raw.

The truth is, that there is no mineral, no vitamin, no nutrient that you can not get on a raw food diet. All minerals, all vitamins, all nutrients (I would say more) are available to a raw foodist.

There are a lot of “scientific” studies out there that explain why eating raw food is better for you than eating cooked food; a lot of it has to do with enzymes… But honestly that doesn’t interest me at the moment. I don’t feel the need to completely understand the “science” of something that I know so deeply to be true. There is no doubt in my mind that a diet made up of 100% raw food is the best possible diet. I know this to be true, because I can feel it inside my own body. I don’t need the studies, or even the testimonials anymore, I just know.

My journey towards a 100% raw food diet

Of course, I was a little skeptical when I first heard about the raw food diet. The idea that we must cook our food before we eat it is highly hegemonic, so it’s natural to not feel completely comfortable with the idea of a 100% raw food diet at first. It took some time for me to completely digest the idea, it also took actually experimenting with it to truly understand it.

The first time that I tried to go raw was about a year ago and I failed miserably. There are two reasons I failed the first time I tried to go raw.

1. I was trying to eat 100% right away
— I didn’t allow myself to gradually, effortlessly, come into a full raw diet.
2. I had no idea about what to eat
— I didn’t know a thing about nutrition

Gradually, this last summer, I noticed that most of my meals where raw, or mostly raw, so I decided to make it a firm choice and stick to eating 100% raw food all the time. The moment I made that decision is the one of the best moments of my life.

My body truly feels light and extremely energetic. I can’t wait until I have been raw for a couple years and I have completely detoxified my body from all the cooked foods I have eaten in the past.

My diet

I follow the basic diet that David Wolfe lays out in his book The Raw Food Diet Success System; basically its a triangle in which each leg is important. The three legs of the triangle are:

• Greens
— You know dark leafy greens like kale, and salad stuff
• Fats
— Coconuts, Durians, Avocado, nuts and seeds
• Sugars
— Fruits

I try to evenly balance these three a day, not based on overall weight but based on weight minus water weight. So this means I need to eat a lot less nuts than greens in weight, because nuts are so low in water content. I usually eat my sugars in the morning; for example, a mellon or a fruit smoothy. During Mid-day I get my fat needs maybe with a couple avocados or some nuts. Around dinner is when I get my dose of greens for the day which is usually blended for easy digestion.

The raw food community is growing

Personally I know about 5 raw foodists, have and continue to read a number raw food books (recipe and theory) and blogs. I am happily surprised to see that the community is growing; for example check out how many people at eat.rawfood.com has or how many user submitted recipes goneraw.com has. Its nice to have such a big community of raw foodists on the internet about raw food. The two most prominent authors on raw food are David Wolfe (Famous for The SunFood Diet Success System, the book on raw food ) and Gabriel Cousins (Famous for Conscious Eating and his raw food retreat center)

Blogs and Blog Posts on Raw Food LifeCrafting.net : 64 days raw Raw Food Right Now Blog We Like It Raw Blog

Raw food community and resources Living Foods Recipies Gone Raw RawFood.com community

Places to buy Raw food Sunfood Nutrition The Raw food wholesaler

This is the first post in a number on raw food. What should I focus on next? Leave a comment.

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