Raw Resources

tIn my opinion, the most complete raw foods book with the strongest science behind it is The 80-10-10 Diet, by Dr. Doug Graham.  The dietary approach is incredibly simple, but unquestionably the most effective diet on the planet, either for health or for performance.  Also, for further information on eating raw for athletic excellence, I strongly recommend his book On Nutrition & Physical Performance.

For more insight and support with this way of eating, you can also check out his forum at vegsource.com.  (Check out the Raw Resources links on the right side of this page....)   Of course, there are many raw foods books and sites out there, but in my experience this is the one approach with the most science and by far the greatest success....

The Raw Foods Diet

As mentioned on the main page, I have been a follower and teacher of the raw foods diet for over 14 years.  Like so many, thanks to this way of eating, I have truly experienced a profound transformation of virtually every aspect of my life.  In the following, I'd like to share my experience, some of the science behind the success of eating raw, and a bit about the connection between raw foods, sports performance, and even spiritual growth.

What Raw Foods Can Do....

When you ask raw foodists why they've stuck with this way of eating, across the board, several factors will come up immediately.  They'll tell you about dramatically increased energy and sense of wellness.  They'll speak of reversal of numerous health concerns and virtual disappearance of even minor ailments such as colds or flu.  They'll talk about better mood, better outlook on life, deeper sleep and the need for less of it.  They'll describe better flexibility ... even waking up more alert and cheerful. 

If these sound too good to be true, in a little bit we'll talk about the science that makes this possible.  But first I'd like to share a bit about what led me to raw foods and what I have experienced through this way of eating.... 

The Search for a Healthy Diet

To begin, my childhood and early adulthood were plagued with illness.  Most were minor -- colds and flues and such -- but they were virtually constant.  It was not uncommon for me to be sick a week or two each month throught the winter, and in Michigan where I grew up winter is pretty much six months of the year.  And this continued into my adult life, making first school then work extremely difficult.  These minor challenges were also punctuated by some more serious health issues -- kidney problems, juvenile arthritis, and, by my 20s, chronic back ailments.

One of the good sides of these challenges is that they brought me at an early age to the serious study of nutrition.  I became vegetarian in college and vegan by mid-twenties and explored a variety of nutritional approaches, from macrobiotic to the Zone to zero-fat whole foods to blood-type.  Each brought some benefits and remission of some symptoms, but none reduced my tendency to get ill, let alone gave me the energy and vitality for which I yearned.  As I neared 30, I even returned for several months to the consumption of fish, eggs, and lean meats, wondering if a lack of protein was contributing to my decline.  By then I had begun to suffer from chronic fatigue/epstein-barr -- a condition which haunted me for over two years and nearly cost me my job.  But in spite of that dietary change, my condition continued to worsen....

"Discovering" Raw Foods

At this point, I was near my wit's end, wondering if this was simply how the rest of my life was going to be.  I still had the nagging feeling that somehow changing my diet could "save me," but I felt I had tried everything.  As I wrestled with this issue, a voice inside of me said: "Okay.  Let's back up.  What's the simplest way you could eat -- the most natural?"  To which I, of course, replied: "Well ... raw foods, right?"  And the first voice said: "Well, have you really tried that...?"

That really was the turning point, and it was literally that fast and that simple.  The next day, I bought a raw foods book (Conscious Eating, by Gabriel Cousens), read it non-stop (I actually didn't sleep that night), and the next day changed my diet.

Within a week, my chronic fatigue was 100% gone.

Since then, I have explored many different "types" of raw food diets in the past 12 years.  And I have had my share of cooked food interspersed, here and there.  But I'd say I've averaged 99% raw over that period and believe strongly that I will never return to cooked food as a regular part of my diet.

In those 12 years, I've been sick a total of about four times, and all of those were times when I had gone off raw for a little while.  Even more importantly, I have better energy, better mood, and, from a fitness standpoint, better endurance, better strength, better flexibility, and much faster recovery -- all this at 43.  Again, I still have my "cooked temptations," on which I continue to work, but I honestly can't imagine myself returning to cooked foods as a regular part of my diet.  Again, no other way of eating has come close to making me feel so healthy or so fit....

The Science of Eating Raw

Of course, entire books can and have been written about raw foods.  In my talks and coaching I am delighted to share more of the research behind the healing power of eating this way, and you'll also find some more information on the Articles page.  But I would like to share at least a little bit about how this diet can be so transformative....

• Our Optimal Diet:  To begin, arguably this is the way of eating for which our bodies were "designed" -- that is to say, our digestive systems, muscles, organs, endocrine systems, etc, all evolved on precisely this diet.  By contrast, even in their most "natural" form, most of our dietary staples, including animal flesh, dairy, grains, and legumes, are taxing to the body and are not fully compatible with our digestive system or our metabolism.
• Abundance of Vitamins & Minerals:  A diet of raw fruits and vegetables is incredibly rich in vitamins and minerals, including the antioxidants essential to preserve health amidst stress and activity and the minerals essential to muscular contraction and relaxation.
• Optimal Fuel:  We know that sugar is essential both for activity and for thought, yet our current dietary confusion leaves us perplexed as to how to get that sugar in a healthy form.  Raw fruits offer a perfect form of sugar, easily digested, readily converted to fuel, without playing havoc with blood-sugar levels the way grains and starches do.  And, again, they do all this while also providing healthy amounts of vitamins, phytonutrients, and even fats and protein....
• Enzymes:  Not only do raw fruits and vegetables supply optimal fuel, they also provide their own enzymes -- catalysts that assist the body in breaking down and releasing the nutrients within raw plant matter.  This means we spend less energy processing raw foods and can use the energy they provide for activity rather than for mere digestion and assimilation.  Similarly, raw fruits and vegetables contain the right type of fiber for our bodies, meaning that elimination is also more efficient and effective....
• Hydration:  As opposed to cooked food, which has had the moisture driven out of it, raw foods provide a rich supply of water.  Moreover, fruits contain the natural sugars that help our bodies absorb and utilize that water, while vegetables contain the minerals that contribute to healthy cell permeability, allowing that water to carry nutrients into the heart of every cell of our bodies.  This is part of the reason all raw foodists experience much greater athletic performance -- between the optimal fuel and the natural hydration, we find our diet is that perfect "performance supplement...."
• pH Balance:  Muscular activity naturally produces acidity in our bodies.  In excess, it causes tightness, cramping, and diminished performance, along with numerous health problems.  Where most cooked foods are acidifying, especially grains, legumes, and animal flesh, raw foods are alkalinizing to the body.  This means better endurance, better strength, better flexibility, and quicker recovery, along with less stress and better mood....

The list actually goes on and on, but my hope is that at least that much is enough to get some people considering the possibility that raw foods could make a huge difference in their lives.  If the above speaks to you in any way, I warmly encourage you to explore some of the literature out there.  I personally have yet to meet anyone who has stuck with the raw foods diet for any period who has not found that it has transformed hir or her life....

Raw Foods & Performance

As the above should make clear, my experience is that this is not only an "adequate" diet, it is an exceptional one.  So when the subject of fitness or sports performance comes up, it can actually be pretty amusing to me.  Frequently at my talks, someone will say: "But I'm extremely active -- I could never eat that way...."  At which point I smile, count to five, and try very gently to say the following, once again....

I have more energy on this diet than any other way of eating I have ever experienced.  I have more strength and endurance and flexibility on this diet at 43 than I did as a meat-eater at 13 or a vegetarian at 23.  In fact, numerous athletes -- especially ultra-endurance athletes -- are turning to this diet precisely because it is the very best way of eating for an active lifestyle.  Rereading the points above should reinforce this, but I will briefly address the two "big questions" on the athletic front:

• "Can I really get enough calories eating this way?":  Again, my experience is that people have far more energy eating this way, in spite of consuming fewer over-all calories.  Let's look briefly at exactly how this can be true.  First, a diet that's high in fruit and vegetables supplies fuel in its optimal form -- that means the body doesn't have to waste energy converting it or breaking it down.  The presence of enzymes further aids this process.  All the micronutrients the body needs, and even the water necessary to carry sugar to cells and muscles, are all present.  As a result, when we eat 500 calories of raw fruits or vegetables, that energy is virtually 100% available to the body.  By contrast, we might have to eat 1,000 calories of cooked food to get the same "net energy," simply because it takes the body so much effort to process, breakdown, and alter the components of that food into useable fuel.  In other words, if you're used to 3,000 kcal a day of cooked food, you will probably find you get even more energy from 2,000 kcal of raw foods....
• "But where do you get your protein?":  Obviously, I've gotten this question a lot in the past 12 years.  The fact that I'm healthier and stronger after all this time makes me laugh a bit at the question, but I understand.  There are in fact many, many long and persuasive answwers, but I'll try to be brief but complete.  All fruits and vegetables contain protein.  In fact, on average, fruit contains as much protein per calorie as mother's milk and exceeds the daily recommended allowance of protein established by the World Health Organization.  Again, that's just fruit.  Vegetables on average provide five times that recommended daily allowance.  And, just in case you wonder, that's actually balanced, useable protein, complete with all essential amino acids.  This simple fact is, if you're getting enough calories from raw fruits and vegetables, you're getting plenty of protein.  (And my hope is that after reading the previous section, you don't have any concerns about that!)  The science backs this diet 100%: you can get ample protein and essential fatty acids from a simple fruit and vegetable diet -- even without nuts and seeds.  And, if you still have doubts, just ask an orangutan -- who happens to be about 4 times stronger, pound-for-pound, than the average human -- where he gets his protein....

Diet & Spirituality

The last topic I'd like to address, here, concerns the link between our way of eating and our spiritual work.  I understand this is a pretty tangential topic for most people and would not presume to preach or lecture to anyone, but for those who are interested, I will say I've found a very deep connection between this diet and lifestyle and my own spiritual growth.

Obviously, many religious traditions around the globe have commented on how profoundly our diets impact our sense of connection with others, with nature, and with the divine.  In the yogic tradition, we place great emphasis on the way in which foods impact not only our general health but, equally important, our emotions and our clarity of mind.  We all know how strongly foods impact us -- how they can make us "edgy" or moody or lethargic or spacy.  And yet, amidst all the other factors -- our confusion over what is healthy for us, the way in which different foods play such a profound role in our social lives, and of course the sheer issue of pleasure and even convenience -- it can be hard for us to make the best choices or to be honest with ourselves as to how dramatically most foods affect us....

Again, classically in the yogic perspective, fruits and vegetables are considered to be the most sattvic of foods -- they are considered to be the greatest contributors to ease and health in our bodies as well as the most peaceful and "non-disruptive" for our minds.  My experience with raw foods has very deeply confirmed this.  Both my body and mind are considerably more calm and at ease.  My meditation is deeper, my asana practice is better, and I even wake in the morning feeling both more "alert" and more comfortable in my body.  I also feel more open to and aware of others -- as if there is less "in the way" between me and the people around me.  I feel I can listen better and "emote" better.

And the influence goes deeper.  The more simple and natural my diet becomes, the less of a "buffer" I feel between myself and nature.  The less dependent I become on spices and seasoning and condiments and the more I enjoy things simply as they were made -- by nature or by God, however you prefer to think of it -- the more I feel the simple act of eating is somehow confirming my place in this world. 

Again, I realize this might seem a bit "ephemeral" to many, but if it speaks to you are all, I'd encourage you to reflect on the following.  Consider this for a moment: if you think of the amount of money and time we invest in "altering" the average meal -- the huge expenditure of energy that goes into making most "food" palatable -- perhaps you'll sense the message that is sending to our bodies and heads and hearts: that to have sustenance or pleasure, we must toil and labor (indeed, back to the expulsion from Eden and living by the "sweat of one's brow...").  By contrast, when we can take an apple straight from the tree and enjoy its subtle, wonderful flavor and feel truly nourished, think of the profound message that sends -- again, to our hearts and heads and each and every cell.  Frankly, when I eat this way, I feel "cared for" by the planet.  And that gives me a sense of security and of being loved that makes me, in turn, want to share that love and joy with others....

My Current Diet/"80-10-10"

Of course, there are many different forms of the raw diet, just as there are many forms of vegetarianism.  I've explored most of them -- from sprouts and wheatgrass to high-fat raw.  All have offered me some benefits, but even amidst raw approaches, I haven't found anything like the 80-10-10 diet developed and taught by Dr. Doug Graham.  His book by the same name is, in my opinion, unquestionably the most balanced and practical exploration of the science behind eating raw.  I strongly recommend it -- both to those seeking exceptional health and those in pursuit of peak performance.

In a nutshell, Dr. Graham advocates a diet made up predominately of fresh, raw fruit along with a significant volume of greens and purposeful limiting of fat to less than 10% of the diet.  Again, the book clearly and persuasively explains the science behind this, including the way excess fat (whether cooked or raw) interrupts the function of insulin and compromises our metabolism of sugar.  Again, I can attest this diet has given me better energy and quicker recovery than any other approach I've tried with none of the "ups & downs" I had experienced on other programs.  On top of this, the 80-10-10 diet is unquestionably one of the simplest ways of eating out there.  Shopping, food prep., and even clean up are easier and faster than ever.  And, while it might seem "extreme" or "Spartan" at first, over time you will find it gives all the pleasure of other forms of eating -- again, with far more energy and well-being....

Essentially, my current diet is about 80% fruit and 20% greens and vegetables -- 3-5 fruit meals through the day, each usually made of one type of fruit, with a big salad for supper.  This might seem "insufficient" for an active person, but I simply suggest that skeptical people give it a try.  I've yet to meet anyone who's stuck with it for at least a week or two who hasn't been persuaded that it is an incredibly powerful way of eating ... and of living.  Again, if you're curious about the science behind it, I strongly recommend Dr. Graham's book. 

Raw Foods & Distance Coaching

If you have further questions about eating raw or are seeking guidance in transitioning, as mentioned on the main page, I do offer Raw Foods Coaching, including Distance Coaching, and warmly welcome you to email me to see if your current situation might benefit from guidance and support....