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survive without superfoods

Okay when i first went raw a fewmonths ago the 1st book i read was David Wolfes’ Sunfood Nutrition book and he is really BIG on all the superfoods…So every morning i make my superfood smoothie with bee pollen, hemp protein, greens, maca, mesquite powder, raw cocoa, and of course gogi berries. I add in fruit to make it taste great. I love my smoothie. But do i need all these superfoods or can i survive raw without them? I mean i want to feel amazing, can i achieve this without the superfoods? The only advantage to eating them that i can think of is superior nutrition, right? Tell me if i’m wrong!!!

Comments

  • Sure, you can survive without them, but is just surviving enough? When I eat lots of raw cacao, maca, wild greens, garlic, hempseed, matcha, spirulina, etc., my body feels incredible, and way above “healthy” or “normal”. I also feel that eating super nutrient-dense foods affects consciousness, like when I have a late morning superfood smoothie, I feel happy and “connected” with life all day.

  • kauaigirlkauaigirl Raw Newbie

    I totally agree with K8lish! I’m sure SoCal or other Natural Hygienists will get on here and say NO! you do not NEED them and they are a big waste of money or something like this so before they do….I feel AMAZINGLY great on superfoods versus regular. Remember we are replenishing our bodies after years of mineral-deficient, enzyme-dead, life-force stripped CRAP. The first few years AT LEAST need to be spent rebuilding these stores. After many years of this, then perhaps we would be balanced enough to eat more simply and still feel great. You certainly don’t need every single superfood that Sunfood puts out all the time. I like to try each one at least once and pick and choose which ones resonate with me the most. I think greens will always be important but things like Maca and Mesquite can be rotated out as your intuition guides you.

  • Raw_ChocoholicRaw_Chocoholic Raw Newbie

    I use hemp powder and Brendan Brazier’s Vega formula (it has spirulina and maca in it). Personally, I feel better after drinking a Vega shake. I think you should listen to what your body feels is right. If you feel poorly after eating cooked food, why ignore the same logic when you eat a superfood and then feel great? Right now I’m drying a bunch of rosehips I harvested and am going to turn them into powder.

    . . . And of course life just isn’t the same without raw cacao ;)

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    I have to share my experiences with maca. I was a doubter of this product because it was so hyped up and it is a dried food that has undergone processing. I have since changed my mind. I’ve had it twice and both times have had the same results. I have tingling/burning feet from MS. This maca root has taken away the pain. I don’t know if it’s the iron or the ingredients that are called maca something or other. My numb hands have also improved. It really makes me wonder about the other superfoods, like goji berries (which I just ordered). I’ve had green Superfoods for years, but this is different.

  • newbienewbie Raw Newbie

    where do you all order from? (best sources)

  • I get my maca, matcha, hempseed, local bee pollen and spirulina in bulk from one of the local health food stores. I’ve found goji berries at an Asian market for $6/lb (they’re also called lycium, wolfberries, and medlar berries-but it’s all the same fruit). Raw cacao powder I usually just get from whole foods (the Navitas brand). Has anyone tried the whole beans?

  • Thanks for all the wonderful responses! I started out raw with superfoods and just wondered what it would be like without them BUT am too scared to try. Once and a while i will skip my superfood smoothie and just have a fruit salad for breakfast and just don’t feel the same but wondered if it was allin my head. I am from Canada so i’ve just discovered a company based out of Toronto that i order my superfoods from.

  • Raw_ChocoholicRaw_Chocoholic Raw Newbie

    nspanky, what company is this? Do they also sell lucuma powder?

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    I just got some whole beans. You peel them to eat them.They have a chocolate taste but somewhat bitter. When you chew it up it has a grainy feel in your mouth. I think they would be OK in a recipe crushed up because they need some sweetening to taste good! I also read where you can dip them in agave or honey and eat them that way, too. I would say they are an acquired taste eaten as is.

  • kauaigirlkauaigirl Raw Newbie

    rawfood.com has the best of everything!

  • NuttgirlNuttgirl Raw Newbie

    What does maca taste like?

  • I like to use superfoods too, but I don’t think they are really necessary from a health standpoint. Organic raw veggies & fruits are so good for you, & if you’re 100% raw, your body/mind should be very happy.

    However, it’s fun to experiment with new & exotic foods (if you’re okay with the added expense). A sprinkle of hemp seeds on a salad can give it a whole new taste! I think that I mainly find emotional comfort in superfoods, rather than super nutritional benefits.

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    Maca doesn’t have much taste. It’s like flour. You only use a teaspoon to a tablespoon at a time. I put it in green smoothies. It didn’t change the taste.

  • The name of the Toronto based company that i order from is upayanaturals.com. Everything i ordered was a couple dollars cheaper than at my local healthfood store.

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    Hi Ron4540, Hempseed has an optimal balance of omega 3 and 6 fats. I eat it for its nutritional benefits. Same with kelp. Goji berries don’t do anything for me though, tastewise. They are supposed to be good anti-oxidants.

  • Another way of getting superfood nutrition is to eat wild foods and local edible weeds. Right now we have dandelion, garlic shoots, plantain, mint and soursob growing in our backyard. For some reason, eating wild, super-mineralized wild food gives me the same electric charge-like buzz as store-bought superfoods. It also supports sustainable agriculture!

  • Raw_ChocoholicRaw_Chocoholic Raw Newbie

    Thanks nspanky! I’ll check it out.

    I’ve actually been looking for a book or course about wild edibles. Organic, local, and free. What more could you ask for? Don’t forget about rosehips. You can harvest a bunch of them in fall, dry them and turn them into powder. They have a mild fruity taste to them and are very high in vit-C. I wonder if it’s safe to harvest wild seaweed from the beach, or would it be better to get them from deeper waters?

  • BluedolfinBluedolfin Raw Newbie

    Hi Raw_Chocoholic~ I would be very cautious about harvesting wild stuff in public populated areas. Take into consideration the exposure to pollution and not knowing if it has been sprayed or otherwise “dumped” on. As to harvesting seaweed at the shoreline, I would be cautious doing that also. I don’t know where you live, but here in SoCal, many beaches are off limits to swimmers right after rains for a few days. There is tons of polution that comes from the drain off. Also in general, lots of sewage is dumped there (some known about and some illegally dumped). If you have a large aquarium and/or a university doing coastal research near you, check with them about the safety of harvesting the local seaweed. Also they might be able to tell you which species is edible. Happy hunting… Re: local vegetation, Check with a Botany department if there is someone who specializes is local flora. Someone like that may enjoy the company when exploring.

  • I don’t agree with eating any special foods like those mentioned on this thread. If we were meant to eat them they would be readily available growing on trees most everywhere. Of course David Wolfe wants everyone to want to consume these as he is one of the biggest importers and sellers of them. I doubt that superfoods were available to every human from the beginning of time until today. Humans have all survived at least long enough to create the world we have now from then until now. If we have to consume superfoods then they would be cheap and growing everywhere like grapes, oranges, lemons, dates, pineapples, etc. They are in fact no more than natural pharmaceuticals which explains why people who use them are saying these things about them. They will make you feel high and great while you are under their influence but the law of nature will be sure to balance that feeling with negatives when you are least expecting it.

  • SocaL—While I agree with you on superfoods (in terms of why they’re promoted as such AND what they really may be), I don’t understand the logic behind foods “growing everywhere” if we’re meant to eat them. There are lots of places in the world, or even just here in the U.S. where grapes, oranges, lemons, dates, pineapples, etc don’t occur naturally, or aren’t able to grow well or at all. They weren’t available to every human, and still aren’t. Did I misunderstand the theory?

    Some of the less conventional theories behind what to eat and why are fairly new to me, so please bear with me. :)

  • rediscoverrawfood, I will explain further what I meant by growing everywhere if we were meant to eat them. Logically man arrived on earth at very temperate areas (we are born without clothes, hair, heaters, etc.). This means that we are not really suited to most of the places we live like the UK, Canada, northern US, etc. If you keep that in mind and think about what is readily available in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the planet there is a huge abundance of sweet exotic fruits like mango, papaya, watermelon, grapes, oranges, etc. Superfoods in most cases are processed to start with, for example cacao is the fermented seed of the cacao fruit, maca is a root that needs to be ground into a powder to consume, goji berries only grow in certain areas, etc. etc. If we were meant to consume these (i.e. they are essential to our health in any way) they would be easy to get (no need to process at all) and abundant in all tropical and sub-tropical areas of the planet.

  • Thanks for taking the time to give a well thought out explanation. It makes sense, especially in terms of claiming a food is essential for us to maintain vibrant health.

  • Raw_ChocoholicRaw_Chocoholic Raw Newbie

    Superfoods do not need to be, and probably should not be eaten is huge quantities anyways. So it stands to reason that they wouldn’t be found growing abundantly everywhere. If so, they would be overeaten. Plus, I’m sure each different area has it’s own type of superfood just as different areas have their own array of herbs to be used. At least, that’s my theory.

  • debbietookdebbietook Raw Master

    Agree with Socal’s point. I see superfoods such as goji, cacao, maca etc as fun, expensive luxuries, and it does appear that they’re particularly dense in nutrients – great! But I’m also sure that we can live in optimum health on the foods we can obtain locally (although I’m in the UK and do also enjoy imported fruits and also defend my eating of these on the grounds that they’re from our ‘natural habitat’!). At a recent David Wolfe talk, I asked about the algae that can only be found at Lake Oregon,and suggested that perhaps the algae in that lake was designed for the creatures that live in it? I don’t remember getting an answer that really satisfied me (much as I am a fan of David’s!).

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