Almost a raw vegan!

Hey guys,

I came across this website while I was looking online for raw vegan info.

A little about myself: I’m from California, in my second year of university.

Over the course of the past five years (my high school years + first year of university), I went from being overweight and eating junk-food diet to leaner but calorie-counting diet, to finally what I am now: no processed foods, huge amounts of fruits, moderate amounts of vegetables, small amount of meats.

This summer, I am away from home, at university doing research and taking classes. I decided to stop eating the dining hall foods and start buying and preparing my own foods. One thing I noticed is how uncomfortable I feel preparing the meats. I’ve also noticed that meat does not taste very good unless I put loads of pepper on it. And plus, meat makes me feel heavy and doesn’t give me that “clean” feeling. Anyway, the point is, I am ready to make the leap to raw veganism!

I’ve done some research, but I still have a few questions I hope some of you can answer for me:

1. What is a good protein source? From what I have been reading, it seems like hemp seeds are very good. What else is there?

2. I am taking a Nutritional Sciences class right now, and one of our assignments was to record our food intake for three days and enter it into their program. Anyway it says I have deficiencies in calcium and Vitamin E. What can I do to help this? I’m not even sure if calcium is something I need to worry about. I’ve read about the “China Study” and the Chinese and other cultures eat way less calcium than Americans do, yet Americans are the ones who get the most osteoporosis. Regarding Vitamin E, I think the program might be right. I have been noticing dry skin lately. I know sunflower seeds are great. Any other sources?

3. What about Vitamin B12? I know it’s only produced by bacteria. whfoods.com only lists animal products as high in Vitamin B12.

4. What about Vitamin D during winter when I’m not getting enough sunlight? Again, whfoods.com only lists animal sources.

5. How do you guys get your essential fatty acids? From what I’ve been reading, it seems like many plant sources that are high in protein are also high in EFAs.

Thanks in advance. And sorry for such a long post!