Anyone here on the raw foods diet?

I know its just a huge fad right now. But I have to tell you that I have been on it for about three weeks now and my blood pressure has dropped dramatically. I used to run 140/145 over 90+. Now my blood pressure is 110/70 and sometimes lower.

I don't know what it is about the diet that is working. It could be the very low salt intake.

Got me - but it is working.

What are the basics of your diet please?

I have a friend who had getten really heavy and her blood pressure was high and her blood sugar was high so she went to a nutrionist for help.

She is like me in that she hates to cook so she was just going out to eat all of the time. I did that, too. My diet had getten really bad.

The nutrionist suggested that since she hates to cook that she should just eat everything raw. She told me and it sounded easy so I decided to just try it.

I still eat my old breakfast of two eggs and a piece of toast - I like to eat that while I read my paper in the morning. But after that everything I eat the rest of the day is just raw fruit and vegetables. I love fruit so I eat a lot of that - all different kinds. And I make myself eat some vegetables every day. I just cut them up and eat them.

And I have some raw milk cheese or a little peanut butter if I feel like I need something with a little weight to it.

Not much to it.

I made a lot of them on Saturday, lard and all. They're sooooo delicious. :)

Not making fun of the raw diet, I just couldn't do it. I do eat bushels of homegrown raw tomatoes this time of year.

My acid reflux is really getting better, I think.

side effects from stuff. Actually, my blood pressure had spiked to 200/110 and that is when I got pills and started watching it. I think it was some medicine I was taking that caused it to go high like that. I have always had low blood pressure. Then it just kind of settled down at about 140/90 - kind of in there.

Right now it just keeps going lower and lower. I might end up with no blood pressure. I think I am also losing weight but I don't have a scales so I can't tell.

I checked Dr. Weil's site to see what he said about this diet. His only complaint was that people miss out on the good taste of cooked foods. And some foods actually release some viamins when they are cooked - like tomatoes. And you need to watch your B12. Most raw food eaters are vegetarians and a lot of them are vegan. But he said eating all those vegetables and fruits is really good vor you.

I do have a lot more energy. And, oddly, I have suffered for years from OCD and that is just going away. I am kind of amazed by that.

Extremely healthy diet. Glad that it's having some positive results for you.

When you go off the diet, and you will eventually, you'll be amazed by how much salt is in most prepared foods.

The low salt component is the best part of that diet. The weight loss is good, too, but it's why the diet is a temporary one for most people.

they used to make.

I don't really care about food all that much. I just kind of eat to survive.

You can eat cooked stuff but you just keep it down to 25% of your diet. I am not a dairy lover so not eating dairy is no big deal for me. And I could care less about meat - in fact, I am morally against eating meat but it was hard for me to finally manage to just quit eating it.

I know people who have been on raw for years.


4. Raw Ice Cream

If you have a sweet tooth or love ice cream especially late at night or have kids that love ice cream, this is a fast and easy recipe. My 4 year old grandson loves to make it whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner or for a quick snack.

Ingredients: Nuts, bananas, frozen fruit
Place a handful of raw (not roasted) cashews or soaked then drained raw almonds in the fruit processor.
Blend until smooth (can leave slightly grainy for more texture in the ice cream
Add a bit of water (1-4 tablespoons) to make into a thick cream
Add chopped frozen fruit (see below for ideas)
Add a banana to make it thick, smooth and sweet (can be frozen or not)
Taste and adjust sweetness, frozenness, creaminess
by adding more of the above ingredients, dates, etc.
Serve right away.
If you want the ice cream firmer you can place it in a container in the freezer until it as thick as you like. If there is any left over, you can store in the freezer in a covered container. Allow time to thaw when you want to eat it again.

http://therawfoodsite.com/recipes.htm

http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2006/08/sample_raw_food.html

I'm all for healthy eating, just not stuff that's raw.

Salt is actually good for your health. You need it. But the way it enters the system needs to be examined. IF you cook your own meals and end up adding salt, i was told by my doc that it was OKAY. IF you eat precooked meals or comes in packaged meals, then that's something that you need to AVOID.

As far as raw food diet, i tried it sometime back and i found it left me very tired by evening. In fact, i even took care of drinking loads of water (4-5 liters/day) and that's something you need to watch out for.

I am interested in learning how you are managing to avoid tiredness. Can you please let me know. BTW, i don't eat any meat.

I have more energy. I work long days - from about 4:30 in the morning to about 9:00 at nite and I seem to be doing OK. But I do eat several meals a day. If I feel hungry I have some cheese. And I still have a couple of eggs for breakfast. I don't do complete raw - just kind of mostly raw.

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