2005, after a day long spa experience at the Banff Springs Hotel
About me...
I’ve been actively on the raw food path since 1995. Although I had been curious, and was learning bits and pieces of raw food information for several years prior, it wasn’t until I met Matthew Grace at one of his Coalition for Health Re-Education meetings that I felt connected and committed to living a raw food life. Matthew is one of those admirable guys who has a keen sense for discerning truth and then passionately sharing that truth with others.
Back in 1995, the world of raw food eating was quite different than today. There were hardly any raw restaurants in NYC and you couldn’t find the plastic packaged raw treats that you see in almost all “health food” stores today. I only ate raw gourmet food when I attended raw potluck dinners. Back then we talked about the importance of eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. We witnessed people’s bodies heal from disease when they ate this way and lived in accordance with nature’s laws. Raw food wasn’t yet a “fad.”
I don't feel that raw foodism is a fad; I believe that it is a real social movement towards health and that this movement has far reaching effects. I do feel that people are misled when they go to a gourmet raw food restaurant and eat a complex raw food meal that required multiple kitchen staff and hours, if not days, to prepare some of the meal's components, and then they leave thinking that this is what eating a raw food diet is all about.
"Nature’s laws" is a lofty term but it’s pretty simple. When you provide your body with fresh raw food, pure water, sufficient rest, sufficient exercise, sunshine, fresh air, and emotional and mental balance the body responds by exhibiting health. If you are suffering from an illness, your body will heal when you provide it with these factors. I remember hearing that “the same conditions that produce health are the same conditions that produce healing.” This instinctually made sense to me; I had never understood why we inject people with poison, or cut off their body parts in an attempt to make them well. Wouldn’t it be better to identify the cause of the illness and correct that?
In Matthew Grace's Coalition for Health Re-Education and his Accent On Wellness TV show and support group, I heard people talking about correcting causes and not seeking some questionable curing method. I felt inspired, so, off I went on my very individual raw food path. I read all I could find about raw foodism. I read the work of Dr Herbert Shelton, Arnold Ehret, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., Joe Alexander, Dr. Douglas Graham, Victor Kulvinskas, Ann Wigmore and others. Today there is even more to read, and there are countless new writers and thousands of books about raw food. I especially respect the work of Victoria Boutenko and Tonya Zavasta.
In the beginning, I’d eat all raw for a few days and then couldn’t take it any more and I’d go back to cooked. Then I’d try raw again and go back to cooked. I repeated this pattern many times and gradually the raw periods began to grow much longer than the cooked food periods. I don’t recommend this “yo-yo” approach, but I learned a lot. Going back and forth from raw to cooked to raw so many times resulted in my becoming very aware of the difference in how I felt when eating raw food versus how I felt when I ate cooked food. I noticed all kinds of things.
Frequently when I stopped eating cooked food, I’d initially feel very tired, but after a long night of sound sleep I’d have abundant energy. I began to search for the reason for the tiredness and I learned something that made sense to me. Cooked food has a toxic and stimulating effect on the body. When cooked food is ingested, the body goes into a sort of overdrive and increases metabolism so that the body can deal with the toxic matter and get rid of it as quickly as possible. People who are constantly eating cooked food are in a constant state of toxic stimulation and are depleting their innate energy reserves. Each time I stopped eating cooked food, I removed the toxic stimulating substance and my internal bodily functions finally had an opportunity to rest!
I also became aware that when I ate raw food I felt greater elasticity in my emotional state. I’d experience the same ups and downs that unfold in day to day living but I’d more easily return to a balanced state; emotional equilibrium was more consistent. I felt more flexible and things didn’t “get to me” so much. I felt more tolerant of others' differences.
Another thing that I experienced when I had returned to eating only raw foods for a day or two was that my countenance changed. This was confirmed by people who, not knowing anything about my diet, would say things like “your eyes are so blue today” or “your face looks really bright today.” Practically every time I heard comments like this I’d have recently switched back to eating only raw food. Anyone can see this when they observe the faces of people who have been eating a well rounded 100% raw diet for a while. These people have a glow and clarity in their skin and eyes that others generally don’t have. Make-up can never substitute for this glow!
My raw path has been a very personal one with ups and downs. I wish I could say that I've been all raw since 2005, but that is not the case with me. At times it has been a real struggle to stay raw or to return to raw after slipping away from it. I’ve had to do some serious soul searching, sometimes very uncomfortable work. It can be very uncomfortable to face the truth and to ask yourself why am I not eating the healthy diet that I know is best for me and the one that I know gives me a tremendous sense of well-being.
Regarding what I eat, I’ve eaten bland raw food, spicy raw food, dehydrated raw food, fancy exotic raw recipe food, raw dairy, mostly fruit, mostly vegetables, perfectly combined meals, complex meals with countless ingredients. I’ve tried just about all approaches to raw foods.
I’ve discovered that I feel best when I eat mostly simple fruit meals and simple vegetable meals with few ingredients. More often than not, my raw food diet is three meals a day with the first two meals frequently consisting of fruit and the third meal is frequently a mixed vegetable salad with a lot of leafy greens. A diet of high volume mono meals(meals consisting of one ingredient) and a lot of leafy greens works very well for me. Ideally, the variety I need unfolds with the seasons. This is just a general description; in my Raw Blog you’ll read about all the stuff I eat. I’m the first to admit that I love “Miss Lillian’s” Hawaiian Cheese Cake. It’s made with love, it tastes great, its vegan, and it’s raw! In the world we live in we need to find raw ways to treat ourselves. Raw food is not about going without; it’s about eating an abundance of delicious raw foods.
I am blessed in that I came to raw foods because I instinctively knew that it made sense. I was not forced into it out of desperation because I was suffering from an illness. People who are experiencing illness might not have the luxury of a long transition to raw foods and they may need professional help in finding the most helpful raw and holistic solution to their condition.
I believe that adopting a raw foods based lifestyle has far reaching beneficial effects on our individual and planetary wellbeing. To a large degree it is something that can’t be described; you’ve just got to try it and experience it for yourself! I encourage everyone to read, study, ask questions. Identify some raw foodist who exhibits that quality which you would like to have for yourself; find out what they do. Once you discover and really get it that the raw life is right for you, then do whatever you have to do to live it. Seek support wherever you can find it, support groups, raw life coaches, 12-step groups, raw friends, raw therapists, raw food potluck socials, raw retreats and seminars; just stick with it. Don’t give up; there may be ups and downs, personal and social challenges, but it is worth it.
The raw life path is transforming the world. Don't settle for being an observer; jump in and join us!
Namaste.
Stephen