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u kno am till new....some confusing things comeup!!! Benefits of full raw vegan compared 2 a cooking

okkay so ...so far i've been eating raw...fruits/veges/nuts etc all raw...now my question is........wats d difference if i jus steam or cook some of these things.....in my own words would dat make the whole thing not raw vegan but instead " cookd vegan"..i kno it sounds funny..lol

But anyone care 2 explain d benefit of full raw vegan compared to a vegan who cooks their food(veges,fruits,nut,beans,etc..)?

thnks!!

Comments

  • thnks hunn...u already an expert in my eyes...thnks 4 d link..i'll check it out

    thnks!!!

  • ras-saadonras-saadon Raw Newbie

    cranberry0, what fun would it be if everything was served to us and we wouldn't had to work a bit for it? we learn&understand the best when we have to work for the information.

    Like bitt I was a cooked vegan for 4 years, after switching to raw Im feeling simply much much better, more energy, more happy, more healthy, no more heaviness ect`, as was said its due to many things, I think the bottom line is though, is just like our body isnt physically\biologically designed to digest animals products so it isn't designed to digest cooked food, the enzymes are killed which makes digestion much harder on us, the proteins, carbs&fats change their chemical structure to a way that we cant use them properly, toxins(literally toxins) are created in food in all types of cooking except with boiling water and the list goes on, except taste maybe(and thats also debatable

    ) there is no real benefit to cooking food in todays world..

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    some of it it due to enzymes, some of it due to things being killed while cooking, other parts of it are just mysterious and can't be proven. most people feel better on raw food if they give it a chance. i was a cooke food vegan for 8 years and was heading down a path to illness. now i'm raw and headed in a better direction.

  • SuasoriaSuasoria Raw Newbie

    Hear hear, Cranberry0. But the "hype" exists in part because of an absence of research. Industry funds scientific research, and eating clean, healthy foods doesn't feed industry.

  • No, but of course it's just wise to use our own heads.. :) But really, would it be so bad if things were different? That we would get this information for granted. If we lived in a world where there wouldn't exist things such as Mc Donalds or Pizza Hut? I think everyone should be able to get this information, SO that they could understand.

    But my concern about available information and raw food is what will my family think about it. I mean I haven't advertised it that much but I'm pretty sure they won't believe me if I try to explain raw food to them. They'll propably send me to a doctor who tells me to eat whole grain bread, low fat animal protein and dairy products. I can imagine that I won't be able to tell about raw food to him/her (I mean the doctor is the one with the medical degree!)

    Anyway, It's really suspicious to me that there are so few cons of raw food stated. Once I only read that consuming too many acid fruit will cause your teeth to fall out.

  • Hi.

    I think it's pretty sad (at least that's what I personally feel) that all this "hype" about raw foods doesn't really provide the beginners (like me) with nearly any facts, or research information, about this whole thing.

    What I mean is that everyone has to do their own research.. It's pretty easy to just say: cooked food is bad for us, or cooked food is poison which unfortunately isn't really reassuring to people who are interested in eating in a healthy way and their overall health.

    I'm by no means an expert but here's something I've found (it's a really nice information package about raw food in general also):

    http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/cooking-our-food/consequences.html

    So.. to put it short; cooking kills enzymes which are essential for our health. I'm sure someone wiser and more experienced can tell you more :)

  • awwww......thnks everyone!!!....i also did alittle research..n i think full raw vegan is d way am going 2 continue......dis comments got alittle heated huh???? lol...but i appreciate al of them.....

    yes am pretty much influenced dat eating as a raw vegan is awesome....but who can jus honestly list its cons if there's any.....

    thnks!!

  • Sassyraw,

    For context first, I want to say I'm vegetarian (not eggs, but still some dairy. Have been trying to give it up sometimes) and generally high raw. (not 100% except for one month at first). I'm trying to really listen to my body (not just during cravings, but after them) to truly find what works for me. I'm just human like the rest of us too. I support peoples choice to be 100% raw if they want and it works for them. Obviously it does for some people. I want to point these things out so you realize I'm not a troll. But, since you are honestly asking for some honest questioning or criticism of raw diet: I can give you a site that you may want to check out for constructive criticisms of the raw, vegetarian and vegan community. I like to check out "opposing views" and sometimes when I do I find some realistic points. The site was started to critique some of the health trends, and to bring to light some criticisms and problems faced by people who have been in the vegetarian/vegan/raw communities. I don't agree with all the articles and essays. That's not the point of the site, I believe. Some of the articles are personal essays (antedotal) and others do site scientific sources. There are some articles about 100% raw vs predominately raw health benefits, articles that call into question the enzyme debate, and toxicity of cooked foods. At least for me, I did not find the site "anti raw"or vegan. But, more "anti-party line." I've found it challenging to read some of these criticisms, yet have found I am comfortable with being vegetarian and high raw even after reading them. I also don't believe the site is fueled by the meat or dairy industry , several of the main site contributors, I believe are vegan. (It's not good to trust the meat and dairy industry to educate us about health. I also believe we need to be careful that just because there is a criticism of our diet choices, we do not automatically blame it on someone being controlled by the meat or dairy industry. That can be too tempting and convenient of an excuse to not listen to a criticism) Anyway. The site is called beyond vegetarian:

    http://www.beyondveg.com/index.shtml

    As I said,I don't agree with all the articles, many of them present conflicting views (that's actually the point I believe). Some you may find offensive. But, since you asked about this type of thing....

    Plus, I think ridgid thinking and not questioning stuff can lead to a extremist way of thinking sometimes. If you choose to check out the site, I would encourage you to travel down to the bottom of their homepage before even looking at their articles in order to check out their "Why Beyond Veg" section- it explains their reasoning for the site (and their intent). It gives you a frame of reference for their site.

  • ras-saadonras-saadon Raw Newbie

    Well I believe there are so few cons because raw food is the way we are designed to eat and hence there is no problem with it, some people don't do well on certain foods and sometimes they don't know it and that what can be the cause of many of their problems, me for example cant stomach Maca, every time I use it I get the most horrible stomach aches and nausea but so many other people bloom on it, but sometimes the effect can be much less instantaneous and strong and it takes you some time to realize what is causing some of the bad effects you feel, another personal example is that when I first started raw I used to binge heavily on fatty nuts&avocado and now I have to watch out for the amounts of fat I eat or else I get runny pops, got kinda sensitive to it from all the binging, but this is took me some time to realize and for a while it seems weird why I was having this problem while eating so healthy, you just gotta know your body and listen to it, also I believe personal experience is much stronger then all scientific theories&"facts", with all due respect to science(and I really do respect it) we know next to nothing especially in the field of nutrition, and all the babble talk a doctor can give me is worth nothing to me when my personal experience tells me I'm feeling the best I ever felt in my life and that I haven't been sick in 5 years while I see people around me who do listen to doctors and they are the ones that are falling apart..

  • I will tell you that I got my first convincing intro to raw foods by a four part interview with Karen Knowler on YouTube. Here's the link to her channel.

    http://www.youtube.com/user/karenknowler

    I will also say that I'm really not convinced that the 100% raw food diet is for everyone. I've been taught all my life that it is wise to maintain a food storage so that in times of financial stress I would still have something to eat. I've heard many times that when people live close to 100% raw changes take place in their minds, bodies and spirits that are wonderful. But it also makes it difficult to go back to cooked food. I've had a hard time reconciling the need for raw food and the need for food storage. I know sprouts are definitely an option for food storage, but I can't live on sprouts alone, at least not yet.

    Anyway, you also have to realize that raw food is a personal and sometimes emotional journey (see Karen Knowler's interview) as well as a physical one. It has been both for me and I'm not even close to 100% raw. Because of the personal element, it is my opinion that you cannot make a blanket statement and say that this is how everyone *should* eat. For one thing it is physically impossible for everyone to eat raw fruits and veggies all the time, because of various production factors. There is simply not enough land. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

    I first heard of the raw food diet 4 years ago, and I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. It wasn't until 3 months ago that I gave it any credence whatsoever. Each person has to decide these things for themselves. And the best way to decide is to seek the information for yourself, and test it for yourself. If you genuinely feel better on steamed veggies instead of raw ones, go for it. Just go back to raw every once in a while to retest how you feel about it.

  • pixxpixx Raw Master

    "There is simply not enough land."

    rainylanie~ While I agree with much of what you said there, I am at a loss on that statement. Do you mean there is not enough land to grow it? I am unable to quote figures for you, but it takes way more land to produce all the feed for animals that are used for food. As in, many *many* pounds of grain, to produce one pound of meat.

    I am not vegan. I agree that there is no one right way to eat. But, I do realize that if no one was eating meat, we would have a *lot* of land for growing veggies and fruit. Think about it- the land the feed is grown on, as well as the land the animals are raised on, as well as the land of the slaughterhouses. (Bear in mind, I'm not suggesting we could stop all this, and have produce growing there in short order. To the contrary. But imagine the possibilities if we hadn't gotten to where things are right now. Undoing where we are now? Likely never going to happen.)

  • Pixx: After I wrote that I got to thinking about how people would react to it, and you said exactly what I expected. I'm afraid that I will have to somewhat retract. Just as you said, if we used all the land that is currently used for meat production, there is plenty of land for growing grains and beans, because they are very hardy and calorie dense. However, fruits and veggies are much more difficult to cultivate on a large scale, because they require more specific environmental and weather conditions. Much of the land that is now used to grow feed for animals is not useful for other things, that's why it was put to that use in the first place.

    However, I think mankind is capable of overcoming these obstacles if the need arises. People are amazingly resourceful and flexible when in comes to filling needs. The problems that concern me the most are really those of logistics. Getting an absolutely enormous amount of fresh food into large cities is extraordinarily difficult. It was those problems of logistics that gave rise to many of the processed foods that are around today, because it was the only way food producers could keep their food from spoiling before it got to the customer. However, I will repeat myself in saying that if the need truly arose for everyone to eat fresh and raw food (and to be honest it is a growing need right now), people would find a way. Sorry about the error on my part, and thanks for correcting me Pixx.

  • kellyannekellyanne Raw Newbie

    how can raw not be for everyone if man survived on it for millions of years as we evolved out of the tropics? cooking is relatively new if you look back at the long history of humans. no other species on earth cooks their food. why is it somehow different for humans?

    if permaculture is put into place, we can feed more people on less land.

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