I first embarked on a raw food diet in September 1993. I had found myself instinctively wanting to eat a lot of fruit and salads, and had heard from friends how health-giving an all-raw diet could be. As the kitchen of the house I was staying in was out of action for three months while it was being renovated, I decided to try it for myself. I took the plunge, and lived on fruit all day, with a big salad and Essene bread and tahini for dinner (neither Essene bread nor tahini are strictly raw, but I didn’t know that then). By the time the kitchen was back in order, I was hooked on my new diet, and have stuck with it ever since. Of course, I have had my ups and downs – it is a huge challenge to stick to 100% raw, 100% of the time. Raw fooders often talk in percentages, claiming to be ‘70% raw’ or ‘90% raw’ but just to achieve 50% long term can make a vast difference in your life.
Although I was convinced of the health benefits, and had experienced for myself how much better I felt, at first the idea that I would stop eating cooked foods altogether was too much, and I would binge on biscuits and crisps. But gradually, I came to recognise that eating these foods didn’t make me feel as good as when I made my raw food choices. However much I would think that I loved a cooked treat, even one as harmless as apple crumble, when I indulged I would be disappointed, as the cooked dishes came to taste lifeless and dull to me. My body was adjusting to the new levels of energy and the sense of liberation that raw foods gave me, and cooked foods left me on a downer. I began to realise that of course I could eat whatever I wanted – but what I really wanted was to feel good all the time. The cleaner my system, the more cooked foods left me with a ‘hangover’; feeling sluggish and irritable. Gradually, the redundancy of cooking food became a reality to me, and the desire to eat it slipped away completely. Anyone who has become a vegetarian, given up smoking, or overcome any addiction in his or her lives, will understand that feeling of a part of your daily life becoming an anathema.
As a teenager I had experienced a very rocky relationship with food. Some people say that raw food diets encourage or even create eating disorders; for me it was the reverse, as discovering raw foods helped me to overcome my problems with food. Since adolescence I had been trapped in a binge-fast cycle, where I would fast for days, and then overeat to compensate. I believe this was due in part to my instinctive recognition that the foods I was eating weren’t right for me: I would reject them, only to be eventually overcome by hunger and greed, which would then be followed by repulsion at all the rubbish I had put into my body. Raw foods were a revelation: at last I could eat as much as I wanted, and not feel terrible. Eating half a dozen biscuits made me feel sick and tired; eating half a dozen apples left me feeling overfull, but not ill. Over time, as my body got used to being fed, nurtured and respected, the desire to overeat slipped away. As food no longer disturbed my internal balance, my fear of it disappeared.
Now I am astounded at how little I need to eat. I rarely feel ravenously hungry, and feel satiated after relatively small portions of food. Because on the raw diet all our foods are nutrient-dense, the body’s requirements are met quickly and efficiently. This in turn means that the body needs less energy for digestion, fighting toxins and excreting poisons, so it is much less demanding in its requirements. If you want to lose weight then stop counting calories and start counting nutrients! Over-eating happens when the body is searching for nutrients – the brain is waiting for the signal to say that the body has what it needs, and it never comes, so you keep ploughing your way through that packet of biscuits, unconsciously looking for the vitamins and minerals you will not find there. In addition, I used to find it very difficult to wake up in the mornings, and needed eight or ten hours of sleep a night otherwise I felt terrible. Now, because my body is working more efficiently, I don’t wake up feeling fuzzy, but fresh, alert, and ready to go, and average just six hours a night.
When I adopted the raw food diet, I found, in common with many others, changes happening on all levels of my life. Primarily, I experienced a great leap in energy levels: my body was no longer expending such huge amounts of energy on digestion, and so I felt an immediate improvement in my vitality. Also quickly apparent was a greater mental clarity and focus. I felt sharper, more alert, and after a long time on the diet I am really conscious of having the resources to be constantly on the go without flagging. Along with these more obvious changes, I also became aware of changes on a deeper level; I am now much happier and lighter, as the positive energy of raw foods fills my being. I am less prone to bad moods and depression, and more satisfied and content. I have a greater tolerance of difficult people and situations, but at the same time know better where my boundaries lie, and what I am prepared to put up with. I notice things in nature that I never did before: the trees look more green and alive, and the changing of the seasons is more apparent to me. All these elements combine to increase my zest for living hugely, leading to a more positive and productive lifestyle. Because I am eating food that is pure and undamaged, I feel whole – more at one with myself and the world around me.
Over the years, I’ve experienced all the different angles on being raw. At the start, I jumped straight in at the deep end, 100% raw, including a two-week apple fast just before Christmas. Then Christmas came, and I went 100% cooked! After a few months I stabilised at about 50%, then gradually built it up over the next few years until I was 100% again by 1995. In 1996 I did nine months on fruit only, which was amazing at first, but difficult to sustain. At the end of that year, I found out I was pregnant and it was back down to 50% again, gradually building back up to 90%. I stayed there for a while, only eating cooked foods on social occasions when I felt it would be too impolite to refuse. Once I’d been raw about ten years, I noticed all cooked cravings had disappeared, and for the past decade I have been fully raw. I don’t like to say 100%, because I’m sure I must eat some things unintentionally sometimes, such as raisins which have been heattreated, and I also consume some superfoods, herbs and seasonings which are not raw. But the last time I sat down to a cooked meal must be well over ten years ago. I can say hand on heart that I feel amazing, and every year it just gets better. Every year my levels of vitality grow, and I experience more and more bliss bubbling through my cells. It’s remarkable to be feeling that my life is still beginning and everything is opening up before me, and though I wouldn’t claim to be reversing the ageing process, I definitely seem to be holding back the years.
Many leading raw foodists advocate 100% raw as the only way to go, but I believe this is too difficult for most people. Undoubtedly, the benefits of being 100% are huge, but we live in a world where we are constantly coming into contact with cooked foods, and to refuse them continually is both challenging and awkward. Holistic health is as much about having a healthy mind as a healthy body, and the constant denial of other foods can be more harmful than the foods themselves. If you can maintain just 50% raw, you will experience a huge increase in your wellbeing. Try eating a side serving of raw food with every meal at first, then when you have got used to this, gradually increase the size of the raw portion to the cooked portion, until you have reached a level that you feel comfortable with (many people find this is around 70%). There are so many borderline foods: nuts, dried fruits, olives, seasonings, and dehydrated goodies, that are not strictly raw, making it difficult to be completely sure about what you are eating. Ultimately, so long as you are eating a diet of fresh, organic wholefoods, with fruit and vegetables as the main elements in your diet, you can’t go far wrong. One word of warning, however: it is not uncommon for raw foodists to have trouble with their teeth. Fruit acids destroy the tooth enamel and cause decay. Fresh fruit is not as damaging, but the concentrated sugars in dried fruits and juices can cause problems. If you are worried about your teeth, avoid ‘grazing’ (snacking throughout the day) and practice good dental hygiene. Make sure you are including plenty of calcium in your diet, and check how you are getting your vitamin D, which is a hard to find nutrient on the raw vegan diet.
Naturally, most of us are unable to incorporate such huge changes into our lifestyle overnight. On a physical level it isn’t hard to do, but food carries deep emotional resonance, and for most of us it is these ties that are difficult to break. Initially, we can be faced by feelings of alienation from our peers, and the sense of missing out on things. But, through perseverance, these feelings fade, and we are left with a vitality and youthfulness that more than make up for anything we may be missing. I still go to restaurants frequently; I usually phone the day before, and state my requirement for a raw vegan salad as my main course. Friends and family may be suspicious at first, but when they see how well you are doing, they usualy take on board some of the philosophy themselves. When I eat at other people’s houses, it’s much easier for them to prepare some fresh fruit and vegetables, than to cater for any other way of eating; it’s equally easy for me to bring a dish myself. If you approach the diet with a positive attitude, others will too; if they see you being guarded and awkward, they are more likely to start interrogating you. If the subject comes up in general conversation, I just say that I am a vegan. If they ask what I do, I say I teach healthy eating. If people are genuinely interested, then I love to talk about raw foods, but I have learnt from experience that if people are not ready to entertain the concept, it is best left alone altogether.
I believe that raw fooders will become more and more accepted over the next few years, to the same degree that vegetarians are now. When I was a child, vegetarianism was still highly unusual and regarded as cranky. Now, every restaurant and café has a vegetarian dish, and people are prepared to accept the fact that it is possible, even preferable, to live without meat on a daily basis. I hope that by the time my children are adults, raw foods will be equally integrated into our culture, and people will see the logic of eating food that has not been killed by the cooking process, just as they can now see the logic of not eating an animal which has been killed.
Raw foods have a long and venerable history, dating right back to Biblical times. In The Essene Gospel of Peace, a reputedly overlooked book of the Bible, Jesus advocates eating raw foods.
‘But I do say to you Kill: neither men nor beasts, nor yet the food which goes into your mouth. For if you eat living food, the same will quicken you, but if you kill your food, the dead food will kill you also. For life comes only from life, and from death comes always death. For everything which kills your foods, kills your bodies also. And everything which kills your bodies kills your souls also. And your bodies become what your foods are, even as your spirits, likewise, become what your thoughts are. Therefore eat not anything which fire, or frost, or water has destroyed, Fire burned, frozen and rotten foods will burn, freeze and rot your body also.’
The raw food movement as we know it today really grew out of America in the early 90s. Raw food isn’t a new concept by any means; I believe historically, we would have always eaten a lot of raw foods, just because it’s easier and more convenient than cooking. Eating organic foods now is seen as a luxury, but until about 60 years ago, eating local, seasonal and organic was the only option most people had! In the same way, our early ancestors would not have bothered to build a fire every time they wanted to eat. But recent interest in the benefits of raw food started with people like Anne Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas in the 80s. David Wolfe and Gabriel Cousens are two of the big names who popularised this way of eating among health-conscious Americans in the 90s, and their ideas spread across the water to Europe.
In the UK, the Fresh network was founded by Susie Miller in 1992 and was the beginnings of the current movement over here. I was an early member, and actually edited the newsletter for a few years around the millennium. Our company Raw Living was founded in 2002, when this book first came out. Originally we sold only a handful of products; now we stock hundreds of products and ship all over Europe every day. The raw food movement has really gathered pace in Europe in the past five years, and now there are many online stores, cafés, restaurants, and teachers all over the continent, with more starting up all the time. It’s a very exciting time to be getting into raw foods, as it is such a vibrant community, and there is so much support and information to draw on. For a long time, the Americans were really leading the way: there were many more books, chefs, educators, restaurants, and convenience products available there than in Europe, where there was virtually none. Now I feel Europe is catching up very quickly, and it’s a huge blessing to meet and work with all these people who have so much energy, passion and joy in what they do.
I would just say, that as it is a movement that is still in its infancy, it’s important to validate the information you receive yourself. As yet there is no raw certification like there is organic certification, so if you are not sure, always question suppliers as to the temperatures their products have been heated at. There are a lot of products labelled as raw which actually aren’t, if you dig a little deeper. Equally, if you’re listening to teachers, ask what their experience and background is; I do believe no-one can fully grasp raw foods and the effects the diet has on the body, until they’ve been doing it at least ten years, and while they might be able to inspire you to find out more about raw yourself, it’s unlikely they will have a full understanding of what the diet is really about. There are a few raw accreditation courses in Europe and the USA (I teach courses myself), but many enthusiastic people set themselves up as chefs or educators when they don’t necessarily have the experience and knowledge such a role demands.
If you are a left-brain dominant person who likes logical and rational explanations, with everything scientifically proven, I’m afraid you are going to be disappointed with the scant research that there is about why raw foods are so beneficial. It’s worth pointing out here, that the pharmaceutical industry is actually the richest industry in the world, with a higher profit than any other sector, way above even banking and arms. There is a huge amount of money tied up in the business of sickness, and subsequently it is very difficult to share information that will help people take their health back into their own hands and liberate them. We sell many products that have been used for hundreds and even thousands of years in their countries of origin, with wonderful reputations for healing specific diseases and keeping the body strong and healthy, yet we are not allowed by law to state what these might be on our website or our packaging because the products have not been tested in a Western scientific laboratory.
What little research we have dates back to the first half of the 20th century, before the pharmaceutical industry really got a stranglehold. I would love to have more evidence at my disposal to back up my testimonial and the thousands of testimonials I have heard from other people as to the efficacy of a raw food diet, but the research simply isn’t there. I think as we understand more about how to create true health, a lot more evidence will come to light, but for now it’s a diet you have to experience to believe. I believe it’s a further testament to its efficacy that so many people choose to explore it and then stick with it, when there is so little understanding of why it really works.
In 1930, Swiss physician Dr. Paul Kautchakoff showed that eating cooked food causes leucocytosis, that is, an increase in white blood cells. Effectively, the body recognises cooked food as a poison, and reacts accordingly, as it would with any poison entering the system. Cooked food is treated as a foreign body, so an immune response occurs; this does not happen when raw foods are eaten. Thus eating cooked foods regularly puts a strain on the immune system that eating raw foods does not, explaining why raw foodists tend to have more energy and be less susceptible to illness. Furthermore, the body cannot just distinguish raw food from cooked, but it recognises how denatured the food is, and produces more leucocytes accordingly. For example, the body reacts more strongly to white flour than to whole-wheat flour, and junk foods such as hot dogs cause a reaction akin to food poisoning. Cooked foods can be eaten without causing leucocytosis if they are eaten with raw foods, and raw foods make up more than half of the meal. This is a great point to understand while you are transitioning. As long as your meal is at least 50% raw, and you eat the raw foods first or with the cooked foods, you will still get many of the benefits of the raw diet. But at the same time, you can still enjoy all your favourite cooked foods, and don’t have to struggle with cravings or social issues.
Another experiment in 1946 by Dr. Frances Pottenger, conducted on 900 cats, showed the degenerative effects of cooked foods. He divided the cats into three groups: one group was fed raw meat and unpasteurised milk, the second group received only cooked meat and pasteurised milk, and the third group was the control group, who got half and half. Over a ten-year period, the cats fed on raw foods thrived, while those on the cooked diet became progressively dysfunctional. Each generation of ‘cooked-food kittens’ had poorer health and died younger, until Pottenger actually had to stop the experiment because there weren’t enough of the ‘cooked-food’ cats to carry on; they were literally dying out. This is tragic, but I believe we can correlate what happened there with what’s happening in our society now. We are seeing the highest levels of all kinds of diseases from heart disease to cancer, diabetes, obesity, autism, and ADHD. As I already mentioned, it’s only in the past few generations that a diet not composed of whole foods has been possible, not alone common. It seems obvious to me that our current levels of chronic illness are directly related to the gradual decline in the quality of our diets over the past half a century.
From an ecological perspective, raw food is an incredible relief to the planet’s resources, and a potential solution to world hunger. Raw food requires little or no packaging, and no processing, saving energy and emissions. No cooking also conserves energy, and saves money on fuels (dehydrators are economical to run). Finally, all the waste is compostable and biodegradable, so we are not adding to the burden of rubbish that must be disposed of. Then there is the convenience aspect – although some of the recipes need time to prepare, it is possible to knock up a gourmet raw dinner in just a few minutes, and as for fruit, it is surely the ultimate convenience food. Furthermore, the NHS would save unimaginable amounts of money in not having to treat so many illnesses: there are thousands of people around who have used raw foods to successfully treat diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and skin and gut disorders. The Hippocrates Health Institute was founded in Boston, USA in 1970 by Dr. Ann Wigmore, and has a long record of successfully treating people with life-threatening illnesses. Of course, diet alone cannot heal the body, but it can go a long way in supporting the body in healing, in conjunction with other therapies, whether conventional or holistic.
When we cook our foods, we lose a lot of the nutrients. Vitamin C and all the B group vitamins are heat-sensitive, and are considerably diminished by cooking. But it’s the enzymes that make the real difference, and where the real magic of raw food lies. Enzymes are a much neglected part of nutrition, but just as vital to health as vitamins and minerals. They are present in every living thing, and can be likened to the lifeforce, the prana or the chi of the animal or plant. We need them for every function in the body, life cannot happen without them. They are completely destroyed by heat; the general consensus is that food heated over 42°C (108°F) no longer contains any enzymes. When we are children our bodies create enzymes all the time, but when we enter adolescence we stop manufacturing them. By this point we have built up a large store, but they gradually get used up by life’s processes. If we do not replace them with the enzymes found in live foods, or with enzyme supplementation, our reserves get depleted, we age more quickly, and it gets harder for the body to maintain good health. The more enzymes we have in our diets, the more we look and feel young, which explains raw fooders’ general youthful appearance and vitality.
I am not exaggerating at all when I say that I feel younger every year. If you look at photos of me from five or ten years ago, I definitely look younger now than I did then. Every year, I understand my body better, and so am better equipped to respond to its needs. I have so much energy and enthusiasm for life; my mind always feels clear, I am always happy, I don’t remember the last time I was sick and I need very little sleep. I have never been this fit and healthy in my life. Every year gets better, and I see no reason why that won’t continue for decades to come. It’s an incredible feeling that we don’t really have words for. I can’t accurately represent this sense of abundance, empowerment, liberation, and endless possibility and potential that comes from really listening to your body and being at one with its needs. It’s a deepening relationship that, like any relationship, becomes more fulfilling over time, and with the more I put into it. Take your first steps on this path, and you will begin to get an inkling of what I am talking about! No matter where you are in your life, including more raw foods in your diet is going to make you feel happier, stronger and more energised.
If you start researching the raw food diet, you may become a little confused. There are so many different approaches to the diet and a lot of people keen to tell you that you have to eat this or mustn’t eat that. You have the 80/10/10 school of thought which advises eating mostly fruits, with small amounts of fat and protein. My understanding is that this is not a balanced diet and is actually dangerously unhealthy in our northern European climate. Then you have Hippocrates, who say no fruit at all, but lots of sprouts and juices. Their regime is very effective, but impossibly strict to sustain in normal everyday life. And you’ve got people like David Wolfe, who advocate consuming a ton of expensive superfoods with long and unpronounceable names; I am also a big fan of superfoods, but think it’s more important to address the basics of the diet first, and just use superfoods as the cherry on the cake, if you like, not as a substitute for a balanced diet.
I think it’s interesting that actually nearly everyone I know who has been doing the raw food diet in this northern European climate for any length of time, comes to the same conclusions as to what works best. My experience is that what gives us the most sustained energy levels and strong immune system is a low-glycaemic, relatively high fat diet, based around local seasonal organic vegetables. I also believe that unfortunately, however well we eat, we cannot get all we need from our food. We lead fast-paced, pressured lives that take their toll on the body. We have to contend with huge amounts of environmental pollution inside and outside the home, that our grandparents and their ancestors did not have to put up with. More importantly, due to intensive agriculture policies, the soil is depleted and even organic produce does not contain the same levels of vitamins and minerals that it used to. To ensure the favourable health of my family, we add to our diet superfoods such as Klamath Lake blue-green algae, bee pollen and maca on a daily basis. None of these are supplements – all are foods in their own right – superfoods, in fact. I would class a plant as a superfood if it has an exceptionally dense nutritional profile, as well as having energetic properties that means it also heals on a spiritual and emotional level, like flower essences or homeopathy. As well as doing a great deal to ensure long term health and increased immunity, they boost energy levels considerably.
My understanding is that there are three principles that are essential for the good health of the body. These are being properly hydrated, being in an alkaline state, and having an abundance of healthy fats in the diet.
A lot of people are scared of consuming fats and oils, but healthy fats form the building blocks of the cells and are an essential nutrient. When we eat plenty of these fats, our bodies recognise that there is no need to store them, and so we convert them into fuel. In fact, fats are the main source of fuel on the raw food diet, and especially important in the cold winter months. There are three types of fat we need: saturated fats, which we can find in coconuts and cacao; monounsaturated fats which we find in olives and avocados; and the polyunsaturated fats that are found in seeds. Out of the seeds, hemp, flax and chia are especially necessary as they are the only vegan dietary sources of the essential fatty acids, omega 3, 6, and 9. I recommend trying to consume one or the other of hemp, flax or chia every day on any kind of vegetarian diet.
I am an avid believer in drinking large quantities of water. Some raw foodists say that water is unnecessary with the diet, but I have always seen it as a food in its own right. Water is an element necessary for life, and the body cannot function efficiently without it. I consume a large amount of fluid every day including juices, teas, and superfood milks. We commonly misinterpret thirst as hunger, and eat when in fact we are simply in need of liquid nourishment. Try gradually increasing the amount of liquid in your diet, and you will quite literally feel your body becoming more fluid. However, it is best not to drink with meals, as liquids weaken the digestive juices; drink half an hour before meals, or at least two hours afterwards.
Our diets need to be composed mainly of alkaline foods. Acidity in the body causes stress and stress causes acidity. In the West, we have a tendency to get locked into acidic cycles. The most common responders to stress are alcohol, tobacco, sugar and caffeine, all of which are highly acidic! Grains, pulses, dairy products and meat are also acidic. The best way to alkalise is to consume large amounts of greens and vegetable juices. The two top foods for alkalising are barley grass and wheatgrass.
Most health-conscious people are aware of the principles of food combining. Basically stated, this involves not mixing different classes of foods, such as proteins and starches, to aid digestion and absorption. These rules still apply when eating raw foods, but on a high raw diet you can be more relaxed about them, as the high enzyme content of the foods helps considerably with digestion. But don’t go overboard, for instance by trying to create a traditional three course dinner, and including lots of nuts, sprouted grains, vegetables and fruits all in the same meal. Many people who are new to the diet experience problems with abdominal discomfort, bloating and flatulence because their digestive systems, which have been weakened by decades of cooked food eating, cannot cope with the powerful action of raw foods. This is one reason why it is best to introduce raw foods gradually, and to consider a course of colonics to help restore digestive health (see page 14). When eating raw foods, the main rule to remember about food combining is to eat fruits separately, and not mix them with other food groups.
I do not recommend the consumption of animal products of any kind. If you do feel that meat, fish and dairy products are something you don’t want to give up, then do your best to source organic foods from farms where the animals have been humanely treated. Few people advocate the consumption of raw meat; it can cause all sorts of digestive problems, including parasites. However, there are a significant number of raw fooders who include raw dairy products in their diets. Dairy products are a good source of vitamin D, which is hard to find on a vegan diet, so this is something you may want to consider. Unpasteurised dairy products are not as mucus-forming as pasteurised dairy products. I don’t believe meat and dairy products are unhealthy per se, but it is modern farming methods, the way the foods are processed, and the amounts they are consumed in which make them problematic to the body.
The foods that people find hardest to give up are wheat, rice, soya, corn and potatoes. Bear that in mind and don’t struggle with your cravings! Instead make sure to enjoy everything you choose and eat it without guilt. Have a big salad with it and minimise the damaging effects on your body. It was ten years before I honestly felt I didn’t care if I never ate potatoes again! Be patient with yourself.
Wheat contains a natural opiate, and many people are addicted to bread because of its sedative effect. Unfortunately, wheat has been intensively farmed for too long now, and many people are finding they can no longer tolerate it. If I think back to my childhood, we often ate wheat at every meal: cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, pasta or pie for dinner, as well as wheat-based snacks in the form of crisps, cakes and biscuits; it is no wonder my body has had enough and rejects it if I try to eat it now. People think of whole-wheat organic bread as a healthy food, but consider how the wheat grain got to the plate: it was harvested, milled, made into bread, cooked, packaged, and then sent to the shops – how much life force can be left in it by then? Far better to buy wheat grain and sprout it – most people who cannot tolerate wheat can eat it sprouted because of the enzymes released in the sprouting process, which turn the starches into more easily digestible sugars.
It is best to avoid large quantities of soya, which contains an oestrogen-mimicking chemical, and stresses the pancreas. Potatoes also cause great stress to the body, as they are so high in sugar. Rice cakes are thought of as healthy, but there is evidence to suggest that the puffed grains may be toxic. Rice is also acidic in the body. If you have an overwhelming craving for a food that you know isn’t going to do you any favours, don’t ignore it. The best way to deal with it is to prepare yourself a large green salad, and eat that first, or as an accompaniment. By filling up on the salad, you will be less likely to overeat on your treat, minimise its negative effects in your body, and maybe even reduce the craving for it.
Although nuts form an essential part of a raw food diet, they should be eaten in small quantities only, and carefully prepared. When nuts are cooked, the fats in them become indigestible. All commercial nut butters are made from heated nuts; the best raw brand that I know of in the UK is the Sun and Seed brand. Nuts that we buy in the shops are more often than not heat-treated to preserve them, even when bought in their shells. Cashews, macadamias and pine nuts are never raw, unless you buy them from a dedicated raw food company such as Raw Living. The only way to be sure about other nuts is to directly check with the supplier; Infinity, for example, have started labelling whether their nuts are heattreated or not. Peanuts are the worst nuts of all and should be avoided completely – highly indigestible and potentially carcinogenic (according to an FDA report), even organic ones – likewise pistachios, which contain a toxic fungus under their shells. All shelled nuts should be soaked before you use them, for 4-8 hours, to release the enzyme inhibitors and make them more digestible. Sometimes it is acceptable to grind them to a fine powder before use, so they are already broken down and more easily utilised by the body. Seeds are much easier on the system than nuts, and should be soaked for 2-4 hours. Dried fruits are usually heat-treated, and for that reason shouldn’t be eaten in large quantities. Olives are another food that usually aren’t raw – try to buy fresh from a deli rather than in a jar or tinned, or one of the specific raw brands such as Olives et Al and Raw Health in the UK.
In summer, raw food eating comes naturally and instinctively, but winter may seem more of a challenge. This is when cravings for cooked comfort foods are more likely to hit us hard. In reality, once you adjust to this way of eating, winter is no more difficult than any other time of year. In fact, you are less likely to feel the cold: when you eat hot food, your body has to work harder at regulating its internal temperature whereas when all your food is eaten at room temperature, it is easier for your body to retain its warmth. Many raw foodists find they revert to that childlike state of not feeling the cold at all. However, bear in mind that it is unhealthy to eat cold food all year round. One of the most common misconceptions about raw food is that it has to be cold. Forty two degrees C is actually quite warm – think hot tubs! So enjoy gently heated soups and stews, and burgers and sauces warmed in the dehydrator. Drink lots of herbal teas, and make extensive use of thermogenic spices such as chilli, garlic, ginger, and cinnamon. I find myself eating more concentrated foods such as dehydrated crackers and seeds. In the summer, I gravitate towards more salads and juices.
Often raw food literature will make claims that children instinctively love raw foods over cooked foods. In my experience this is not true! I believe that their tastes are formed in the womb, so what you eat when you are pregnant is crucial to forming their preferences once they are born. However, pregnancy is not a time to be changing your diet or going on any kind of a detox, so if you are in a position to, I recommend you do your cleansing work before conception in order to give your child the best start in life. This doesn’t mean that we cannot educate our childrens’ palates, just that it’s harder work. My main techniques were bartering – ‘if you eat a banana you can have some soya dessert’, or ‘eat some more cucumber and I’ll give you another rice cake’; and plain sneakiness, for example, blending raw veggies like celery and carrots into a pasta sauce (see page 50) or putting maca and flax oil into a yoghurt. All three of my boys eat a mostly raw diet, and that is what they ask for because that is all we have around the house. But on social occasions I never make a big deal out of it, and let them eat whatever vegan food is on offer, so they do not feel too restricted. I always carry snacks, and if we are going somewhere where I know there will be foods they don’t eat, I will bring their own treats with me. If you are trying to add raw food to your children’s diets, I cannot overemphasise the importance of striking a balance. A disturbing number of children in the West overeat on junk foods and suffer from malnourishment and constant illnesses. If you can encourage your children to eat just a little raw food a day, you are setting them up in beneficial habits for life. But don’t worry if they are reluctant – don’t starve them in an attempt to push the diet on to them! Making sure they have a balanced diet based around whole foods is far more important than whether they eat raw or not. And consider the benefits of a supplement such as Klamath Lake blue-green algae or maca, that you can add to their drinks or favourite snacks, which will act as a safety net and ensure they are getting a dose of all the nutrients they need. I go into much more detail on feeding children in my book Raw Living.
Finally, remember that raw foods alone cannot make us healthy. Exercise is essential and should form an integral part of your life. Yoga, walking, cycling, swimming and rebounding are all excellent forms of exercise that are easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Rebounding is similar to trampolining and can be performed while you watch TV, or in a snatched five minutes between appointments. At the same time, make sure that you include adequate rest and relaxation. Too many of us nowadays are constantly on the go, don’t get enough sleep, and so don’t allow the body time to recover and restore energy naturally. Adrenal fatigue is commonplace, especially in cities. No matter how well we eat, if we don’t give the body time for renewal, we become depleted and run down. Furthermore, research repeatedly shows that our mental state has a more profound effect on our health than our diet. Keep a positive outlook, a balanced, non-judgmental attitude to life, and seek to develop the self in all things. The point of doing this diet is to feel good. Always bring it back to that – it’s about loving your body and having a good relationship with it, not forcing it to eat things that make it uncomfortable.
Colonic hydrotherapy is a useful treatment, especially when you are embarking on a raw food diet. If your stomach is at all rotund, if you experience a lot of gas, if you are tired immediately after eating: you are likely to have impacted matter in the colon, which is often years old, and rots and decays, preventing efficient food absorption. You can have the best diet in the world, but if you aren’t absorbing the food efficiently, it will do you no good. Have a course of colonics initially to clear you out, and then continue with them at regular intervals. I also recommend regular home enemas, which aren’t as deep cleansing as colonics, but can be easily and inexpensively administered in the comfort of your own bathroom. I personally usually have at least four colonics a year, and do a home enema at least once a month.
If you do fall ill, homeopathy and acupuncture are both excellent forms of treatment. Many people choose to make regular monthly visits to a holistic practitioner as a form of preventative medicine, to support their systems and keep everything in balance. This is known as constitutional treatment, which builds up and strengthens the whole person, but can also be used for acute conditions when necessary. Find a reputable homeopath or acupuncturist who can get to know you and your family, and will know the right remedies to prescribe when you need them.
I consider an alkaline diet that is high in raw foods, and includes superfoods and plenty of liquids and healthy fats, as well as daily exercise, sun and fresh air, adequate rest and relaxation, positive outlook, regular naturopathic cleansing, and a sound relationship with a homeopath, acupuncturist, or other holistic therapist, the fundamental precepts of well-being. My understanding is that if everyone made these simple lifestyle changes, levels of disease would drop dramatically as we all obtained superior levels of health. Furthermore, these measures are all inexpensive to implement, and our economy would benefit from a fitter workforce, and huge savings for the health service. When we look after ourselves like this, we are so much less likely to fall sick, and when we do come down with something, our bodies have the strength and resources to fight disease off quickly and efficiently, without too many unpleasant symptoms.
I sincerely hope that you are inspired and empowered by this book. It has come out of over two decades of my experience of eating raw, and finding foods that my family, friends and I enjoy, as well as being easy and simple to prepare in our ever-busy lives. Most people I speak to who are interested in their health, know that eating raw is beneficial, but don’t know where to begin in adding raw foods to their diet. With little or no experience of gourmet raw cuisine, it is hard to move beyond the idea of raw foods being just salads and fruit. My wish is that this book opens a doorway into a cuisine and lifestyle which is fun and exciting, and in doing so brings you closer to your true unlimited potential, granting you the energy and enthusiasm to live a wonderful, joyous, fulfilling and rewarding life that continually surpasses your expectations and leads you along the path of bliss, magic and miracles.