live well, change the world.

there is a lot of confusion about raw food diets and cleanses. what constitutes raw? can you eat meat? how raw do you really have to be to feel the effects? what are the effects?? if you are not one of those people who can handle a lot of roughage and feel your stomach distending everytime you eat a salad, i am sure the raw food diet scares you off.

as someone who tries to maintain a 70-80% raw diet for most of the year, i have asked all of these questions. and i have days (especially those cold new york days where it seems like the only satisfying dinner option is a steak and potatoes) where i am unsure of my commitment to the lifestyle and don’t know if i am doing it “right.” 

what i find most attractive about the diet is that it is not a diet at all. it is really a way of life. if you like having energy, if you like feeling positive and want to do good, if you enjoy being physically active and social-then eating raw is something i would strongly consider.

the staple foods most of us are familiar with-  nutritionally dense superfoods, enzyme-rich vegetables and fruits- these are just the beginning of the raw food lifestyle. what appeals to me most, and works well with my lifestyle, is the approach to raw food as living and eating SIMPLY. enjoying food in its simplest form, enjoying it, and relishing the ways in which your body repays you for nourishing it in such a clean, holistic way. 

if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. our bodies work really hard for us, but there is only so much damage we can do to it  before we incur a large debt. eating poorly once in a while is not going to kill you, but eating poorly on a regular basis will add up to disease, discomfort, and ultimately, dissatisfaction with life. now, think about the opposite happening. think about how little work your digestive system has to do when you eat foods that are easy on it. the less energy your body has to use moving food through you, the more energy you have to put into all of the other things that are important to you and your daily life.

the easiest tips i have for someone interested in trying a raw diet might surprise you. they are not about fasting or even eating salads for every meal. you don’t have to be stringent- if you want to have a fish or meat, you just need to know how and when to eat it, and try to remain as raw as possible for the earlier part of the day.

if i were to give someone three things to try to dip their toes into the raw lifestyle, i would say this:

–properly combine your foods! mix veggies with anything, but keep starches and flesh foods separate from one another. this means you can eat a potato with veggies or a piece of fish with veggies, but don’t eat either with one another. if you’d like to eggs and dairy (i prefer raw goat’s milk products), make sure you eat them with vegetables only. this means- hold the hash browns with your egg white omelette, and opt for greens on the side instead. sprouted grain bread (ezekiel brand is one of my favorites) is a great alternative to whole wheat toast- it is raw and contains a complete protein. i like to eat this with avocado, lemon juice, and himalayan salt for lunch on the days i don’t feel like eating a salad. this meal contains healthy fats, protein, and carbs and takes very little time for your body to digest, giving you energy without robbing you of any.

–most people think that eating fruit along with their main meals is a good way to stay healthy. without properly understanding the body’s digestive cycle over a 24 hour period, many people consume fruit in a way that will not bring them any nutritional benefit. having lots of fruit with your main meals or eating it as a desert after meals is not the way it should be eaten. you should always eat fruit on an empty stomach. after eating fruit, make sure you leave at least 30 minutes before eating any other food, as it takes that long to digest. don’t mix fruit with any other food– yes, that’s correct. no more strawberry cheesecake, or even fruit with cheese. the reason is this: when fruit is digested in the intestine while you are digesting other food at the same time, it causes fermentation. essentially, fruit will rot the food that you are currently digesting. and no one wants anything rotting inside of them, so try to skip it when you can.

–the third tip for eating according to a raw lifestyle is to try and incorporate vegetable juice into your life. to me, this is probably the most important of all. essentially, vegetable juice delivers the enzymes and nutrition of the veggies we all know to be so healthy for us straight to our blood stream, detoxing our blood and cleansing our bodies without activating our digestive system, which obviously needs a break from all the work we give it. for people that want to give up coffee, i find that this is the very best alternative. there is no better energy than the energy you get from the oxygen of plants going straight into your veins. i promise you, this is more fulfilling than a caffeine high. there is no sweating, racing heart, and best of all, no crash. the big mistake most people make in trying to go raw is that they forget (or opt out of) the veggie juicing, which is a key element to successfully benefitting from the power of detoxified, raw living.

if you incorporate these three elements of the raw lifestyle into your diet, i believe you will want to take it further. for anyone that wants to expand, try experimenting with goji berries and raw cacao, blue green algae, and other superfoods like raw honey. these high vibrancy foods are packed with minerals and vitamins that will leave you feeling full of vitality, glowing, and simply put, just HAPPY. and the other fabulous thing? you don’t have to worry about calories. you can eat whatever you want and as long as it follows the guidelines above (sticking to mostly raw plantfoods, properly combined, fruit on its own, and green juice once a day), you won’t gain a pound. if anything, you will drop weight very quickly. i know it’s hard to believe in this world of psychotic diet regimens that you can eat delicious and nourishing foods in abundance and not worry about calories but it is true!

if you’re interested in deepening your education on the raw lifestyle, please visit www.davidwolfe.com and www.detoxtheworld.com. david wolfe and natalia rose are two of my raw inspirations. another fabulous blog is www.welikeitraw.com, which incorporates a few brilliant personalities into the mix. it is a fun, informative, and creative forum where you can get a lot of valuable information and inspiration.

i encourage all of you to take a ride on the high vibe journey…if nothing else i believe that you will learn to take better care of yourself and appreciate life at least a little more. and who couldn’t use that?