Raw Food Book Reviews

Raw Food Book Reviews

12 Steps To Raw, By Victoria Boutenko. A wonderful book about transitioning to raw by a woman who successfully went raw with her husband and two children. Full of real life stories and wonderfully down to earth, this book was a real help to me.

Detox Your World, By Shazzie. This is a very friendly and approachable guide to transitioning to a raw food diet. She includes plans to follow, and describes her own experiences of various alternative therapies that have helped her.

Raw Eating, by A.T. Hovanessian. This is a book written in the 1960’s by a man who went raw with his child, he did it completely on his own, just following his instincts because his child was ill, and he didn’t know what else to do. This Iranian man died after being imprisoned after campaigning for clean drinking water in Tehran. He never put his book under copyright, he distributed it for free, at his own expense, never charging a penny. The book Nature’s First Law plagiarised it heavily.

Sunfood Success Systems, By David Wolfe. An excellent book. It gives detailed instructions on how much nuts, fatty plants, green leaves and fruits you should eat to balance yourself and make going raw easy. He talks about philosophical things and touches on Spirituality. A great handbook for the new raw fooder and the raw curious.

Raw, The Uncook Book By Juliano. This raw chef to the stars, who’s a star himself!

He opened the world’s first raw restaurant in Los Angeles. He says that he makes junk food that’s good for you! His recipes are Divine.

Warning!: This book contains non-raw ingredients in many recipes. Juliano wrote this a few years ago, he has now stopped using maple syrup, honey, bananas, dates, carrots and other non-raw / hybridised foods. He is currently working on a new book, and I can’t wait to read it!

Living Cuisine, the Art of Loving Food, By Renee Underkoffler. This is where my favourite recipes are. Sweet potato crisps, burgers and various cakes are normally always in my kitchen. This is like Juliano’s recipes - High end Gourmet style. Recipes with long unpronounceable names but all well worth it. People are always impressed when I whip up an Underkoffler!

Warning!: This book contains non-raw ingredients in many recipes. She also uses steaming and blanching which is not raw and totally unnecessary. I suggest you leave out these steps.

Hooked on Raw, By Rhio. There are some great staple foods here. Like Cheddar cheeze sauce, Toona, and Celestial Pecan Pie - but use in shell pecans and shell them yourself. Unshelled pecans are not raw. They’re boiled to remove the shell. Believe me, this pie is worth the effort!

Vital Creations, By Chad Sarno. The best chef I have found. This books is self published. The recipes are simple, purely raw and brilliant. He says his mission is to “Make raw food taste cooked.” My favourites are the Apple Cobbler, and Vegetable Fu Young. He includes charts of spices and herbs so you can make your recipes taste like they are Greek, American, Mexican or Indian. And there’s a chart of cooked foods and how to make them raw. Like “ Use pine nuts for a fried taste..” Chad Sarno has been behind some of the USA’s most successful Raw Restaurant’s menu’s. I’d say this book is definitely a must have recipe book.

Detox Delights, By Shazzie. I fully recommend this because it’s only a fiver and it is worth at least £100,000 for her amazing pizza recipe!
Raw food, real world, By Mathew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. This book uses lots of non raw ingredients, by it’s no problem as there is always a raw alternative. The recipes are spectacular. They are fussy and complex but, blimey they taste good. Samosas, tamarind curry, sour cream, and a brilliant Mexican tortilla recipe are all in here.

Raw Foodists?

Who are the “Raw-foodists”?

“Raw-foodists” (also called “Rawists”) are those who thrive on live food energy. Raw foodists consume a diet of mostly un-cooked whole plant foods, usually at least 75%, though some say 100% is the only true path. Some contemporary famous raw foodists include raw chef Juliano, actress Demi Moore, and raw food book author, David Wolfe.

Raw food enthusiasts proudly proclaim their break from an “addiction” to cooked and processed foods. They tell us that incorporating a few uncooked meals each week is a good start that will bring immediate changes to the body to feeling better and having more energy. Even if you have a busy schedule, you can still find easy to prepare whole and rawfood recipes at your local health foods stores and natural food markets. For anyone interested in making the jump to a 100% fully raw food diet, it is recommended that you take time to research the various foods that you can eat in their raw state, understand their unique qualities, and spend time learning with teachers and nutritionists. Going raw is a learning experience that requires patience and listening to the body’s needs. Over time, a live food diet may help a person achieve a more sensitive body system, and the body will be more sensitive to what it wants that’s good for it (as opposed to one’s ego/mind). Many 100% raw-foodists claim to experience increased energy, deeper states of meditation, and a long and healthy life.

What’s Wrong With Cooked Foods?

What’s wrong with cooked foods?

Heat changes the makeup of food. Foods that have been heated have lost all of their life force, and their beneficial enzymes are destroyed. The digestive system has to work harder and longer to process cooked foods to get nutrition and energy from it. Once cooked, food can lose up to 85 percent of its nutritional value. Raw foodists call that “dead food.” Since we are essentially what we eat, consuming the dead energy of dead foods make our bodies feel heavy and stagnant.

Change Your Life With A Raw Food Diet!

Change Your Life With A Raw Food Diet!

A healthy diet is the key to living a vital life in a disease-free, strong and youthful body. But knowing what to eat in today’s highly commercial and junk-food-oriented world can be challenging. Even if you’ve figured out what a raw diet can do for you, there are plenty of missteps that can be taken.

After spending the early portion of my life trapped in an overweight and sick body, I slowly but surely began to transition away from what was harming me: unhealthy food. Today, after years of research and experimentation, I do not get sick, the last of my maladies have disappeared, and my energy seems boundless.

I know what finally put an end to my problems: achieving health through a low fat uncooked diet centered on fruits but also including plenty of vegetables and some nuts and seeds.

I look around me and see plenty of people suffering needlessly. They want a lean, supple, youthful and healthy body, but are trapped in a diseased one layered with fat. They want the energy to pursue their dreams, but it’s all they can do to lie prone in front of the television. They want to eat better, but they’re always hungry, or tempted by junk food.

Raw Food Detox Diet

Raw Food Diet Study

Raw Food Diet Study

An Investigation of Over 500 People Who Have Eaten a Raw Food Diet for Over 2 Years

BY LENKA J. ZAJIC

Inspired by her own positive experiences going raw, Zajic went on to obtain a Masters in Vegan and Live Food Nutrition from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, where she conducted an in-depth 500-participant survey of raw foodists. The study’s findings showed that people who followed an 80 to 90% raw foods diet for 2 years reported marked improvements in immunity, digestion, allergies, weight moderation, chronic illness, and mental, and emotional well-being.

Says Zajic, “There seems to be no question that, at least initially, eating a raw foods diet can reduce or cure many health complaints.”

The Study

The purpose of this study was to examine the dietary practices, attitudes, and experiences of U.S. and international individuals who have been practicing the raw foods diet for at least two years. The hope was to identify any significant positive and negative trends existing within this segment of the population, thereby furthering the understanding and refinement of the diet for both raw foods leaders and educators as well as for the general public and providing the impetus to conduct more detailed and specific scientific research in areas of concern and/or lack of knowledge regarding the live foods diet.

The study designed was a descriptive survey, using a self-administered, predominantly on-line questionnaire. The primary areas of interest were: respondents’ personal information, their first introduction to and subsequent journey on a raw foods diet, diet and eating habits, overall physical health, weight fluctuations, women’s issues, mental/emotional/spiritual health, and exercise and physical activity. Analysis was text-based and simple descriptive survey statistics were calculated.

In brief, the survey was begun by 864 self-reported two-year plus raw-foodists of various ages and nationalities. For three and a half months, the survey was open to the public on-line. Hard copies were also available and collected. Ultimately, the survey was completed by over 525 people. Results showed consistent improvement in virtually all areas examined, most notably in immunity, elimination, allergies, over or underweight, chronic illness, and mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

The following are the primary improvements observed in the categories of “Personal Information”, “Diet and Eating Habits”, “Weight”, “Overall Physical Health”, “Exercise/Physical Activity”, “Women’s Issues”, and “Mental/Emotional/Spiritual Health” of the Living Examples Survey:

Personal Information

Out of the 864 respondents who began the survey, 66.2% were female and 33.8% were male. Therefore, there were roughly twice as many female respondents as there were male. Although there are other factors that may have contributed to the higher percentage of female respondents, it is relatively safe to conclude that there exist a larger number of female raw-foodists than male. These observations have been confirmed by both long-term live foods teachers Gabriel Cousens, M.D. and David Wolfe.

Diet and Eating Habits

With regards to eating habits, the frequency of overeating among respondents shows a definite and significant decrease since they adopted a live foods diet. Those who reported NEVER overeating increased in number from 7% before live foods to 34% after live foods, and those who reported overeating only once or twice per week increased from 35% to 54%. This may possibly be attributed to the high nutritional and water content of living foods as well an increased visual and taste stimulation provided by fresh living foods. Also, there seems to have been an overall decrease in the number of respondents reporting eating disorders before and after adopting a live foods diet, with the percentage of respondents reporting NO eating disorder on a live foods diet rising from 61% to 82%.

Weight

In terms of dieting and weight changes, the percentage of respondents who reported NEVER dieting since transitioning to a live foods diet rose from 44.4% to 71.6%. The number that reported dieting “very often” before live foods dropped from 24.7% to 12.4% after live foods. 82.5% of respondents lost weight after switching to a live foods diet. 75% of those not already at their ideal weight reported reaching it after transitioning to a live foods diet. 56% reported re-gaining some of that weight, although most of those people (57%) only regained 25% or less of the weight they initially lost. This seems to have occurred primarily within the first two years on a live foods diet (89%). Of the 4% of respondents who gained weight after transitioning to live foods, 57% remained at that higher weight. Most (62%) of those that re-lost weight they initially gained on live foods lost 25% or less. This weight gain seems to have occurred primarily within the first 6 months (65%). Overall, 82% of respondents who were not at their ideal weight before live foods reported being closer to their optimal weight since transitioning to a live foods diet.

Overall Physical Health

The survey results indicate a definite decrease in the overall amount of sleep needed by respondents since transitioning to a live foods diet. Those who reported needing over 8 hours sleep/night dropped from 59% to 19% Those who need 6-8 hours sleep/night rose from 36% from 64% and those who now need even fewer hours (6 or less) sleep/night rose from 6% to 16%. There was also a significant improvement in sleep quality among respondents with the percentage of those who reported no insomnia rising from 40% to 59% since transitioning to live foods.
Respondents reported improvement in all skin conditions surveyed, namely eczema, skin eruptions, dryness, oiliness, and susceptibility to sunburns. An overall improvement was seen in all aspects of hair health, such as increased strength/thickness and luster, and decreased thinness/weakness, oiliness, dryness, dullness, and dandruff. There was an overall improvement in nail health, such as increased strength and decreased brittleness, chipping, ridges, and fungus. The number of respondents experiencing body odor after adopting a live foods diet decreased sharply, with the number reporting no body odor whatsoever rising from 12% to 52%! There was also a significant increase in respondents who reported never or rarely having bad breath – from 32% to 83%! There was a moderate decrease in the number of respondents who reported perspiring easily after transitioning to a live foods diet – down from 51% to 41%.

Results show slightly higher numbers of respondents reporting a “good” or “excellent” sense of sight (from 56% to 69%), touch (from 84% - 97%), and hearing (from 77% to 88%) on a live foods diet, and significantly higher numbers reporting a “good” or “excellent” sense of smell (from 68% to 93%) and taste (from 68% to 97%) on a live foods diet.

Almost half of respondents did not know their resting heart rate before and after live foods but among those who knew that information, the percentage with resting heart rates between 60-70 bpm or less rose from 26% to 42%, and the percentage of those with resting heart rates higher than 70 bpm dropped from 19% to 9%. Again, about half of respondents did not know their blood pressure before and after live foods, but among those who did, there seems to have been a move towards normalization of blood pressure at 140/74 or less. Of the 81% of respondents who were aware of their cholesterol levels before and after live foods, there was a 24% increase in those who reported having normal cholesterol levels on live foods. With regards to circulation, 62% of respondents reported poor circulation before live foods and only 29% reported it after live foods, a decrease of 53%! This indicates the significant benefit of a live foods diet in this important area.

The number of respondents who reported having NO post-meal symptoms rose from 8% before live foods to 46% after live foods. Each of the nine post-meal symptoms surveyed showed a significant reduction on a live foods diet, especially bloating, indigestion, and fatigue/weakness. Results show a significantly decreased number of respondents (from 79% before live foods to 51% after live foods) who felt their appetite was “strong” or “excessive”.

Elimination appears to improve dramatically on a live foods diet, as indicated by the number of respondents who reported two or more bowel movements per day increasing from 25% to 78%! The number of respondents experiencing constipation decreased sharply from 73% to 30%, hemorrhoids from 33% to 18%, bladder/kidney infections from 23% to 7%, and foul-smelling stool from 57% to 23%. The percentage of people reporting diarrhea, however, remained about the same before and on a live foods diet. Laxative usage seems to decrease on a live foods diet, with the number of respondents who indicated they never use them increasing from 68% to 81%. Of interest here is that the percentage of respondents taking enemas rose from 26% to 63% on a live foods diet. The percentage of respondents who reported using over-the-counter laxative products dropped from 36% to 2%.

Immunity to colds, flu’s, and infections showed a tremendous improvement on a live foods diet, with 53% of respondents reporting getting sick easily before live foods and only 3% after live foods, a dramatic decrease of 93.4%!

Exercise and Physical Activity

The survey results show a dramatic increase in energy levels among respondents since transitioning to live foods, specifically from 31% to 88% in those who reported having “good” or “excellent” energy levels! Cardiovascular endurance improved for 67% of respondents on a live foods diet versus worsening or staying the same. Flexibility improved for 73%, and muscular strength for 58%. Again, these improvements were largely attributed to the change in diet (88%) and the natural by-product of that change in diet, “physical health” (54%). Arthritis/joint problems, muscle stiffness, back/neck pain, sciatica, and muscle cramping all showed improvement on a live foods diet. The number of respondents who selected “not applicable” (i.e. did not experience any of these conditions), rose by 88%! Respondents seem to be exercising more on a live foods diet than they did previously. 67% indicated they do so “every other day” or “daily” versus 46% before live foods. Furthermore, they report feeling “good” or “uplifted/invigorated” after exercise in larger numbers (89% versus 56%).

Interesting to note is that the percentage of respondents describing the condition of their teeth as “good” or “excellent” rose from 51% to 68%, with most attributing it to diet (43.5%) and oral hygiene practices (23.6%). Tooth sensitivity also seems to decrease on a live foods diet, indicated by a drop from 73% to 52% in the number of respondents who experience it “sometimes” or “often”. There was a drop from 49% to 25% in the number of respondents who reported receding, inflamed, or bleeding gums.

A live foods diet may have a significant effect on the rate of addiction. There was a 62% increase (from 44% to 75%) in the number of respondents who felt they were “addiction-free” on a live foods diet! There were decreases in all specific areas of addiction surveyed (alcohol, smoking, eating, drugs, sex, and other).

A live foods diet seems to be significantly responsible for a sharp decrease in medication use. Results show a marked reduction in virtually all categories surveyed. Most significant were the reduced numbers of respondents reporting the use of antacids (from 20.3% to 1.3%), antibiotics (from 31.6% to 0.6%), antidepressants (from 15.1% to 6.9%), anti-fungals (from 9.6% to 0.6%), aspirin/ibuprofen (from 34.9% to 5%), recreational drugs (from 20.9% to 11.3%), and tylenol/acetaminophen (from 18.7% to 3.8%). One category that actually showed increased use among respondents after transitioning to a live foods diet was thyroid medication, which rose from 8.5% to 14.5%.

Results show a substantial decrease in the number of respondents reporting allergies on a live foods diet in all categories surveyed (food, animal, grasses/trees/pollen, dust/mites/mold, chemical, other). Overall, 52.5% (from 40% to 61%) more respondents reported being allergy-free after switching to a live foods diet.

There was a decrease in the number of respondents reporting chronic illness on a live foods diet in all categories surveyed with the exception of thyroid disorders which showed a slight increase (however, the small number of respondents for that category makes it difficult to draw any firm conclusions). Most notable was the increase by 68% in the number of respondents reporting NO chronic illness “after live foods”. Also of great significance was the reduction in the number of respondents reporting chronic fatigue (from 16% to 3.6%), candida (from 21% to 5%), depression (from 27% to 7%), anxiety (from 22% to 8%), weak immune system (from 17% to 0.2%), hypoglycemia (from 15% to 2.6%), fibromyalgia (from 5.6% to 1.5%), osteoarthritis (from 4.8% to 2.8%), and cancer (from 2.7% to 0.4%). Asthma, skin disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, heart conditions, and migraines/sinus headaches also showed improvement.

Results indicate a normalization of sexual drive on a live foods diet, with those reporting “high” or “excessive” sex drive dropping from 29% to 26% and those reporting a “moderate” sex drive rising from 43% to 48%.

It is interesting to note that there was a substantial decrease indicated in stress levels among respondents on a live foods diet. Those reporting “a lot” of stress in life after transitioning to live foods dropped from 56% to 20%.

Women’s Issues

Women’s menstrual cycles showed improvement on a live foods diet. In terms of comfort, the percentage of respondents describing their cycles as “alright” to “very comfortable” rose from 27% before live foods to 53% after live foods. Most attributed this improvement to their change in diet (72.3%). All cycle-related symptoms showed dramatic improvement on a live foods diet, including PMS in general, cycle-related depression, moodiness/irritability, bloating/water retention, nausea, headaches, tender/swollen breasts, cravings for sweets, low backache, heavy flow, cramps, and irregular periods, and there was a definite reduction in the use of pain relievers. Furthermore, there seem to have been reductions in yeast infections, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids.

Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Health

One of the most dramatic and encouraging areas of improvement observed among respondents was that of “Mental/Emotional/Spiritual Health.” Here, 68% of respondents felt they had developed intellectually “quite a bit” or “tremendously” since transitioning to live foods. 81% felt they had developed emotionally “quite a bit” or “tremendously”, and 77% felt they had developed spiritually “quite a bit” or “tremendously”. Overall, the vast majority of respondents (87.5%) reported an improved mental/emotional/spiritual state after transitioning to a live foods diet, and, most attributed this primarily to their change in diet (88.2%), followed closely by spiritual/energetic healing (50.5%) and self-inquiry (50.3%). The percentage of respondents reporting a “good” or “excellent” mental/emotional/spiritual state after transitioning to a live foods diet rose in all categories surveyed including: general sense of well-being (36% to 91%), enthusiasm/optimism (43% to 91%), patience/tolerance (29% to 84%), self-sufficiency (54% to 88%), openness to change/flexibility (53% to 89%), non-attachment(32% to 77%), memory/focus/clarity (36% to 82%), creativity (48% to 82%), efficiency/multi-tasking (53% to 82%), relationships (37% to 80%), occupational satisfaction (34% to 71%), faith/hope (47% to 85%), passion (for anything) (53% to 88%), intuition (52% to 91%), compassion/love (55% to 90%), social comfort (36% to 77%), comfort being alone (61% to 89%), depth of meditation (28% to 68%), spiritual desire and interest (50% to 85%), quietness of mind (25% to 74%), non-causal contentment (30% to 80%), non-causal peace (32% to 80%), and non-causal joy (31% to 79%). There was an increase from 32% to 51% in the number of respondents who felt they were experiencing ecstatic bliss “sometimes” on a live foods diet versus before, and an increase from 6% to 31% in those reported feeling ecstatic bliss “often/always”!!

Based on these results, it was concluded that people who have been on a raw foods diet for two years or more experienced and generally continue to experience significant improvements on many physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. There appear to be very few, if any, consistent negative effects or areas of serious concern that can be identified from this preliminary study.

Further research needs to be done to investigate in detail each of the general areas examined in this study as well as: 1) the impact of a raw foods diet on women’s weight and hormones in the long-term; 2) the impact of a raw foods diet on thyroid levels in the short and long terms; 3) perceived and actual nutritional deficiencies as a result of a long-term raw foods diet and their effect on the rate of re-adoption of cooked and/or animal foods and, in general; 4) the frequency of sustained satisfaction with and benefit from a raw foods diet among long-term practitioners (i.e. 3 years more).

A Raw Foods Diet has been agreed to be and defined as consisting of at least 80-100% living (fresh, unheated over 115ºF, unprocessed, unadulterated) foods by the International Living Foods Summit held at The Hippocrates Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida on January 14th, 2006. Leaders and experts from 8 countries convened at this historic summit to establish scientifically based standards for optimum health.

Guidelines of the Raw Food Diet

Guidelines of the Raw Food Diet

1. What can I eat?

Unprocessed, preferably organic, whole foods such as:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Beans
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dried fruit
• Seaweed
• Unprocessed organic or natural foods
• Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables
• Purified water
• Young coconut milk

At least 75% of food consumed should not be heated over 116 degrees F.

2. What cooking techniques are used?

Specific cooking techniques make foods more digestible and add variety to the diet, including:

• Sprouting seeds, grains, and beans
• Juicing fruit and vegetables
• Soaking nuts and dried fruit
• Blending
• Dehydrating food

3. What equipment can I use?

• A dehydrator, a piece of equipment that blows air through food at a temperature of less than 116 degrees F.
• A good-quality juice extractor for juicing fruit and vegetables
• A blender, food processor, or chopper to save time
• Large glass containers to soak and sprout seeds, grains, and beans
• Mason jars for storing sprouts and other food