Is the 100% Raw Food Diet for Everyone?

I am giving a lot advice in this particular post and the information contained in this message is for education only and is not meant to diagnose, prescribe, or treat illness. It is valuable to seek the advice of an alternative health care professional before making any changes.

When mainstream people who are unaware of the 100% Raw Food Diet comes to me to seek healing, I generally recommend they do an intermediate diet. I had an old friend from college - Rosalie - who had a severe case of PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovary Syndrome). She had 2 miscarriages; one single birth and then more recently she lost twins. As she was in the midst of this condition she gained about 83 lbs as a side effect. She desperately wanted a successful pregnancy. The doctor said that the next step would be to have surgery, as there were no other options and that there was a great risk that she could not get pregnant in the future. She discovered a picture of me on MySpace while taking a trip down memory lane. She had never heard of Raw Foodism before. She began doing tireless research and every way she turned, I kept appearing. She knew it was a sign.

I told her to go on Fred's Intermediate diet, while explaining that if she truly wants to heal, she is advised to ONLY eat the foods on that plan and NEVER deviate. I also recommended that she cleanse her colon a few times during her first month of doing this, plus also drink a couple of vegetable juices every day. When people come to me, it isn't very often that they follow all my suggestions verbatim and that alone sometimes makes the difference in healing completely or not. Lastly, I made sure she took masses of Dr. Fred Bisci’s Therapeutic Enzymes, many times a day on an empty stomach. I KNEW that would be the icing on the cake. Those little enzymes have the potential to provide miraculous wonders in healing people's conditions. Read the Therapeutic Enzyme Article I wrote HERE if you want more info on them.

I was talking to her daily for a week or so and then I didn't hear from her for months. I totally thought she fell off the wagon, which commonly happens. HOWEVER, three months later, Rosalie Wrote:

Hi Matt
I have great news!!! I had an ultrasound today to check on my PCOS and it is almost all gone!!!!!!! Before I began on my journey I had so many cysts that my ovaries looked like a galaxy of stars. Today the Doctor counted only ten on my left ovary and eleven on my right. I was so excited I could not believe what a difference changing my eating lifestyle would bring me. I tell my husband and anyone else that will listen that I feel alive again and most importantly I feel like a beautiful woman again. I will never be able to express to you in words how grateful I am to have you back in my life as a mentor and friend. Please share the news with others that there is hope and also with your mom and let her know again I appreciated her kind words a few months back. Next stop, a healthy pregnancy. I'll keep you posted
Rosalie

Rosalie is now pregnant again and HEALTHY. Yes, the diet played a HUGE role. The addition of the enzymes and colon hydrotherapy also sped this process up probably 20-fold. Those little powdered enzyme catalysts, when taken on an empty stomach go to work in the metabolic processes of the body. They speed up chemical reactions and create other beneficial chemical reactions in the body that would not have happened without their presence. They are MIRACULOUS! You may also want to read the Q & A HERE, where I talk a bit more about enzymes.

Teresa Wrote:

Hi Matt, Quick Question. Do you generally peel and or core your apples? I heard reasons both for and against. I'm curious about the opinion of a "purest", if you have the time. Thanks, Teresa

It's so funny to me that everyone is considering me a purest. I never really thought of myself like that but, hey, I guess I am, from some perspectives. The reason I don't eat typical "raw food condiments", such as nama shoyu and spices is because they mess me up and give me a runny nose. I would if I comfortably could. I would even eat Raw Goats' cheese/milk in moderate quantities, if I comfortably could. A few years back I tried a little raw cheese and I got lots of mucus. It's only because of how 'clean' I am now, at a cellular level.

It's funny, I go to some people's houses and they are absolutely DILIGENT about not having ANY household chemicals in the house. However, they eat refined sugars and processed starches. They are literally internally ingesting very harmful substances. Although it could still be a bit of concern, I'd rather see someone take care of what they put INSIDE themselves than the outside factors. As crazy as this may sound, I like to use those Chemical DOVE Soap bars and put it ALL over my body. I love how it just SUDS up everywhere! It's one of my remaining 'vices' ;)

OK... Now to the question. I'll throw the entire apple in a blender when I make food; the core, seeds, skin, and stem. I don't care! It doesn't bother me! ;)

Courtney wrote:

I've been reading your blog with great interest! I looked very carefully at your food blog, and you detailed everything very carefully...everything except your juice intake. It seemed though that you think though that vegetable juices are among the most important part of a rawfoodist's diet though, no? Could you give us readers a sense of how many ounces of juice you drink a day and/or how many pounds of green leafy vegetables and other vegetables you juice a day? Thanks so much! Keep up the great work--really enjoying the blog :)
Best,
Courtney

Yes, I believe that eating/drinking some kind of 'broken-down', assimilable nutrients daily is a necessity to succeed on the 100% Raw Food Diet in the long-run. I just got an email the other day from a woman asking me to take her off my email list because the Raw Food Diet did damage to her health and she didn't want anything to do with it. She said it's just not for everyone. Additionally, she wrote:

I'm following eastern philosophies (Chinese and Ayurveda) and eating only warming foods as I tend to be a very cold person. I guess the cooling nature of raw foods helped to put me out of balance. In that was, I see that it is not for everyone.

My readers, if you do this correctly, !!ANYONE!!, can flourish eating a 100% Raw Food Diet. Many people are unaware of the key details for success, or just don't want to do the extra necessary things to succeed with this type of lifestyle; THOSE could certainly be the reasons why it may seem this is not for everyone. As I stated in this blog HERE, the rules change when you become raw, and the body types/blood types/aryuveda types etc lose their potency. Now don't get me wrong, I think it is TOTALLY ok not to be 100% Raw and that you can still be extremely healthy that way. In fact, with over 50% of the people I consult with, I suggest that being 100% raw is not for them, for varying reasons.

Ok… Now to the question… I feel the optimal amount of vegetable juice for us to consume is two 16oz vegetable juices a day. All vegetables have different compositions of nutrients, so it is important to get a wide variety of them all (even beets and carrots). Greens have chlorophyll, which is the most beautifying element of food that a human can consume. Therefore, it would be in our best interest to make at least half of the juices we drink each day from greens. I personally don't usually mix fruit (the cleansers) with my vegetable juices. I love using carrots (veggies are the nourishers) to sweeten the juice because they are much more rich than fruit in vital elements needed by the body. I go into more depth about this in the blog post HERE.

I personally try to do two 16oz glasses of vegetable juices daily. Sometimes I will drink more than 16oz, if I make extra juice. I generally make about half the juice greens. Sometimes, I'll do a vegetable juice that is excellent for the liver and gall bladder that only has carrot/beet/cucumber in it. They all have different nutrients, just juice them all...

I quoted Norman Walker in my book Raw Success. He states that a 100% Raw Food Diet without vegetable juices is a deficient diet. I agree with him 100%. I keep seeing people running into marginal deficiencies in the long-run on the 100% raw diet. Even people who are balanced out and eating a couple of meals a day. Here is an excerpt from Raw Success:

A 100% Raw Food Diet without juicing vegetables is a deficient diet.

What I am about to share with you is very important and I want it said just right, so I will give a direct passage from Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices by Dr. Norman Walker:

An entirely Raw Food regimen, without the inclusion of a sufficient quantity and variety of fresh-Raw juices is equally deficient. The reason for this deficiency lies in the fact that a surprisingly large percentage of the atoms making up the nourishment in the Raw Foods is utilized as fuel for energy by the digestive organs in their processes of digesting and assimilating the food, which usually requires as long as 3, 4, or 5 hours after every meal. Such atoms, while furnishing some nourishment to the body, are mostly used up as fuel, leaving only the smaller percentage available for the regeneration of the cells and tissues.

However, when we drink Raw vegetable juices, the situation is entirely different, as these are digested and assimilated within 10 to 15 minutes after we drink them and they are used almost entirely in the nourishment and regeneration of the cells and tissues, glands and organs of the body. In this case the result is obvious, as the entire process of digestion and assimilation is completed with a maximum degree of speed and efficiency, and with a minimum of effort on the part of the digestive system.
(Norman Walker: Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, Pg 9)

Juicing a wide variety of vegetables is the optimal way to supply the vitamins and minerals we need. Our bodies love veggie juice! The liquid flows straight into our small intestines, and is easily absorbed. Juicing is the best, most natural way to get vitamins and minerals in their most absorbable form ~ liquid, liquid, LIQUID! Try for a minimum of two 16oz vegetable juices every day.

Lena Wrote:

WOW MATT! That is TOO exciting that you are coming to Melbourne! But, I'm considering leaving the raw food diet :_( I've been having SO many problems with my iron, I don't know what to do? I just got my blood results on Monday and even though my ferritin levels have gone up, my serum iron levels have absolutely diminished. It is below its limits now. I have no idea what to do? I need the iron desperately (my hair has been falling out tonnes and I get very heavy periods, the next is due next week so I'm worried about that too!) but the only ways I actually want to consume the iron is a long, long process in terms of storage or something? Currently I'm taking Floradix and have been doing so for about three months. I guess that's what has bumped up my ferritin levels? Please help me? What do I do? Do I stay raw? (Note: I get minimal amount of ORGANIC fruit and veggies and greens). I went to see a naturopath yesterday, but they just gave me a new diet and said that this raw thing has left me seriously, seriously nutrient deficient. Then they prescribed a whole bunch of supplements. I wrote a plea of help on giveittomeraw. There have been some comments on taking something called Spatone and increasing my Vit C intake. I'm just getting worried, I don't want to be bald at 21! Desperately seeking iron,Lena

I am so glad that you got a blood test. If you are truly 100% raw, then it is normal that our levels are a bit lower than the normal range. If it was WAY Below, then it can be an issue. Molasses is really high in iron. I know it is not raw but if you take that with the raw diet, then that should cover and balance up your iron deficiency.

Additionally, it is important that you drink a wide range of vegetable juices. That is the "raw food eater's" multi vitamin. I would drink two 16oz green juices a day if I were you, for now. I would also cleanse the colon periodically to make sure that you are getting maximum absorption. Also, take a green food powder supplement every day. That will help you get nutrients too.
So, a break down of what to do is this:

2 green juices a day
Green food powder twice a day
Cleanse the colon fully AT LEAST once a month (maybe twice a month just for now)
b-12 supplement
And… The molasses for the Iron.

If you do all those things, you will inevitably succeed with flying colors. In the following post we give more advice on anemia.

I get emails like this all the time! If you do it correctly, then ANYONE can succeed. I personally get my blood test taken periodically and my levels are right where they should be. Drink the vegetable juices and cleanse the colon! I am going to continually preach those two things until I VOMIT! Generally when someone like Lena gets back to me in three months, they either flourish or regress and leave the Raw diet. In both cases they claim that they did these suggestions. However, as I question the ones who regress, I learn that this is not necessarily the case.

Today, January 29th I ate:

11 AM - 8oz of Grapefruit juice (for VITAMIN C - not produced by the body and we need it from outside sources. Crucial for the connective tissue of the body.)
1:00 PM - 16 oz vegetable juice (beets, carrots, cucumber, wild greens, green bell pepper, parsley)

2:30 PM - Meal 1:

3 apples blended into applesauce
1 cup of mulberries and 1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon soaked overnight in the applesauce
3 tablespoons of ground flax &
1 small handful of ground almonds
Swirled into the mixture

5:30 PM - 16 oz vegetable juice (beets, carrots, cucumber, wild greens, green bell pepper, parsley)

6:30 PM - Meal 2:

2 – 3 tablespoons of Sunflower Seed Pate’ (Sunflower seeds soaked overnight, strained, & blended with garlic and kelp powder)
1 cucumber PEELED and grated with cheese grater
1/4 of an avocado
MUSHED together really well
1 large handful of Karengo Seaweed (Similar to Dulse)
1 teaspoon of cut up green onions
This entire mixture put in lettuce leaves as sandwiches to eat

Lastly, Pumpkin seeds and various red foods are high in iron, such as: watermelon, goji berries, cherries, currants, strawberries, rasberries and other foods that are red. Avocado, dried figs spinach, parsley, dates, dried apricots, garbonzo beans, almonds, brazil nuts and sesame seeds have a pretty good iron content also.