I think it's a bit alarming that this forum should start off with a thread about eating disorders. Is the correlation that strong? So, for balance, I want to start one about health - what are the health benefits youve found from eating a lot of raw food?

More energy! For me, this is a huge change...

:sunny:

I have found many health benefits from a raw food diet. I have increased energy, no allergies, but the best part of it for me is the mental clarity and connection to the earth. It feels so good!!

There are lots of benefits to eating raw, and the correlation between raw foods diets (by this I mean your way of eating, not a temporary way to lose weight) is NOT a strong one. I asked that question because I wanted opinions on a person with disordered eating starting a raw foods diet, but definatley not because I wanted to jinx this forum! :D I believe that for the people who do it correctly and for the right reasons, it is a wonderful and healthful diet. For people who use it as a tool to fuel an ED, it is not. I don't want to imply that I believe raw foodism is an eating disorder or that it triggers one, I just wanted to ask for some opinions.
Lovenlight,
Linz :up:

Packing lunch is easier. I don't have to worry if the place I'm going has a microwave or fridge that I will be able to use.

Since I have my lunch, I eat healthier than if I have to rely on the hospital cafeteria.

Thanks everyone, and I hope you can find it a healthy way to eat, rainbowmoon.
I've only done four days of eating breakfast and lunch raw, so it' s a bit soon to comment! But i feel really good and healthy so that's positive. I can't see me giving up my cooked tea, but anything that gets me eating more fruit and veg has to be good.

Oh yes, that convience factor is there too. If I want a snack, I just grab an apple and don't have to worry about preperations.

My face seems to look brighter since I increased my raw intake. I know I definately feel better. My nails aren't brittle anymore.

I also crave more raw foods. :lick: And not to mention healthier foods.

I increased my raw foods to about 50-75% (depends on the day) and just with that, I have a TON more energy, and my skin is healing a lot faster (from those cat scratches and razor nicks) I don't have the "afternoon slump" anymore, either.

I've been feeling fabulous too on a sort of 50 percent-ish raw diet. I know what you mean about escaping the afternoon slump too.
However, I woke up this morning feeling fluey and instead of sensibly eating lots of good for me stuff I've been pigging out on crisps and chocolate. hey-ho, I'll get back on track soon!

A long list for me:

No more asthma attacks (not one since about two weeks after going raw) for the last seven months. This is one of the best things that could have happened to me. I developed asthma when I was twenty nine, and it was really hard to deal with after breathing fine for so long.

No more psoriasis (a huge surprise here)

I haven't gotten sick since going raw (watched a lot of coworkers get sick though). This is much better than before. I was sick almost monthly, or worse during the jan/feb flu time.

I see better, more colors, more vibrant

I no longer feel stressed out (I work at an amazingly stressful computer company, it seems to be the way they like to run things...), and have not suffered from depression since going raw (it hasn't been long enough to know for sure)

I've lost 30+ lbs of excess fat, and am gaining muscle mass.

My endurance is way up, I can walk all day (as in eight plus hours) or bike 40-60 miles (okay no racing for me yet). I had a hard time going over thirty miles before going raw.

I sleep eight hours max.

No more toilet problems (I won't go into detail)

That's about it. I just feel better all the time. I had no idea it would be like this. Now I know why some raw sites seem to be run by people suffering from mania...


Disadvantages:

Eh, sometimes I feel a little over-full, It's getting less noticeable though
My sex drive is through the roof (not a good thing when you're single)
People make fun of me even more (especially lacto-ovo-TV-Radio-vegetarians)
When I eat traditional vegan food at restaurants and at friends (who can't bend their mind around the idea that I'm happy with a chunky salad or bowl of fruit) I feel very lethargic and even get a stomach ache. Traditional cooked foods also just don't taste good any more.

Oh, and fruit flies. I need a bigger fridge...

A long list for me:

No more asthma attacks (not one since about two weeks after going raw) for the last seven months. This is one of the best things that could have happened to me. I developed asthma when I was twenty nine, and it was really hard to deal with after breathing fine for so long.

No more psoriasis (a huge surprise here)

I haven't gotten sick since going raw (watched a lot of coworkers get sick though). This is much better than before. I was sick almost monthly, or worse during the jan/feb flu time.

I see better, more colors, more vibrant

I no longer feel stressed out (I work at an amazingly stressful computer company, it seems to be the way they like to run things...), and have not suffered from depression since going raw (it hasn't been long enough to know for sure)

I've lost 30+ lbs of excess fat, and am gaining muscle mass.

My endurance is way up, I can walk all day (as in eight plus hours) or bike 40-60 miles (okay no racing for me yet). I had a hard time going over thirty miles before going raw.

I sleep eight hours max.

No more toilet problems (I won't go into detail)

That's about it. I just feel better all the time. I had no idea it would be like this. Now I know why some raw sites seem to be run by people suffering from mania...


Wow that's very impressive! :up:

(sorry- I'm not raw, just wanted to comment)

A long list for me:


When I eat traditional vegan food at restaurants and at friends (who can't bend their mind around the idea that I'm happy with a chunky salad or bowl of fruit) I feel very lethargic and even get a stomach ache. Traditional cooked foods also just don't taste good any more.




I'm not 100% raw, but I feel this way too when I eat big cooked meals now. For example, the past few weeks, I've been eating mostly raw foods, some cooked, but not for big meals. Yesterday I ate a big bowl of pasta and then veggie tacos in the same day and I felt bloated all day long because of it. And crappy. And lethargic. It certainantly reminded me that I wasn't eating enough raw foods that day.

i feel fine with both raw and cooked foods, but most of my foods are super-healthy whole grain things.

i've recently taken up a lot of juicing, and i enjoy it greatly. Really, i just blend a lot of fruits and veggies into a big smoothie. i love this. :) it makes me feel great--and it's "easier" than eating a lot of fruit (although i love to eat fruits and veggies.

yeah.

Its to the point now, where I HAVE to have a raw thing every time I eat, or else I get really sluggish. The only exception is if I have a stir fry that's all veggies, then I don't slow down, but otherwise...

I can't believe how addicted to fruit I am! I went to the farmer's market and bought 12 apples and 10 nectarines 2 days ago, and I'm half way through them already. Sad, sad day when they're all gone. I was eating 2 apples during the afternoon a couple months ago, and now, if I don't bring 4 peices of fruit with me to work I go through withdrawl!! (this is after a fruit shake of 2 bananas and 1/2 cantelope in the morning, too) Wow. I feel great.

I'm so proud of myself--there was a chocolate cake sitting out at work staring me in the face, and I didn't touch it and said to myself "I'd rather eat my nectarine." [Pats self on back]

i hear ya about the fruit! my husband and i buy something like 20-30 oranges, 10 or so grapefruit, 6-12 kiwi, 2 pts of strawberries, 2 pts blue, black, and raspberries, 10-20 apples (various kinds), 2-4 cantalopes, 1-2 pineapples, 12 or so bananas, 2 bunches of grapes, 6 plums, 8 nectarines, and 2 coconuts just last sunday.

and what am i down to?

3 apples, 2 kiwi (still a bit too hard to eat), 2 plums, and a nectarine.

we eat a TON of fruit. Between my juicing and his six meals a day (two pieces of fruit each meal, one if the fruit is large like a grape fruit or 1/2 cantalope), we go through a lot of fruit. Thankfully, we have "Produce Junction" where we spend roughly $20 on all of that fruit and about $15 on veggies. most of it isn't organic, but it's cheap and we do eat a lot of it! if we bought that much in the grocery store, organic store, coop or farmers market, we'd pay at least double and not have the variety. Anyway, we WORSHIP the fruit gods. It's the cornerstone of my diet really. :)

I also like the convenience factor of grabbing a piece of fruit for a snack, or throwing together a mix of veggies for a meal. It's so simple!

My friends' fast food is candy bars and burgers...mine is apples, bananas, and pears :)

i hear ya about the fruit! my husband and i buy something like 20-30 oranges, 10 or so grapefruit, 6-12 kiwi, 2 pts of strawberries, 2 pts blue, black, and raspberries, 10-20 apples (various kinds), 2-4 cantalopes, 1-2 pineapples, 12 or so bananas, 2 bunches of grapes, 6 plums, 8 nectarines, and 2 coconuts just last sunday.

and what am i down to?

3 apples, 2 kiwi (still a bit too hard to eat), 2 plums, and a nectarine.


WOW. :beer: Cheers to you!

No more headaches.

More energy.

Beautiful Skin.

More trim.

Sharper mind.

I've done a backslid recently and started drinking coffee and drinking cream again and to tell you the truth I feel like sh*^t. Don't know why I went back to my old stupid ways in the first place. Must be because the weather is getting cooler. :help: