At first I did not want to comment on the media buzz, but since it is Halloween why not dig out some bones? And believe me, I have a bone to pick with those who declared raw food diet dead.
On October 15, 2013 a well known raw food advocate Frederic Patenaude posted an article on Renegade Health website in which he declared the raw food movement as defunct. This morning, however, I opened an email from Frederic in which he promotes Raw Kickstart as The Best High Raw Food Program! I find this hypocritical, but who am I to judge others. In his defense I must say that the program also includes cooked dishes.
Renegade Health also posted another article in which a guy named Kevin Gianni confirms the demise of raw food diet. Both men, Kevin and Frederic, witnessed famous raw food gurus stuffing themselves with cooked food. They also mentioned the dangers of fully raw vegan diet.
In my article Raw Food for Everyone? I discussed the negative side effects of a fully raw, vegan diet. You may want to read this article if you are not quite certain whether raw food diet is good for you.
The raw food movement is not a recent fad. It can be dated back to the 1920s. The movement grew with the growing understanding of the correlation between enzymes and health, but it never became a mainstream diet.
I was introduced to raw food by my parents in the early 1960s when I was a child. I am dating myself for the sake of the argument and I don't mind it at all.
My parents were never fanatical about their choices. They were omnivores who ate raw and cooked food. They picked the best the seasons had to offer and prepared our meals with passion. And passion is the word.
To my astonishment the recent raw food movement often lacked true passion, but was full of strict rules that were not always logical to me. I can really understand that many raw foodies felt frustrated and some of them gave up raw food, hopefully before they got seriously sick.
I can understand that after years of misleading their followers some of them now embraced cooked food. At least some of them are brave enough to admit the mistake. But it is not the raw food that is dead. It is their way of doing it that perished together with their enthusiasm.
To all those who are not quite sure what to do now I can only suggest to embrace raw food with passion and reconsider their choice to remain 100% raw vegans. 100% raw is good, 100% vegan - raw or cooked - is not. But understand that to enjoy raw food you do not have to be 100% raw. You are not going to die when you eat cooked food. Simply make sure that you are eating enough live foods and take digestive enzymes when you are eating cooked food.
And whatever you do, do it with passion! If you feel like having a real nice pumpkin soup, make one! Cook it instead of blending pumpkin with a lukewarm water if you feel that this is the right way to enjoy pumpkin on a cold November day.
Raw food diet is not dead simply because someone declared it so, but there is a lot of confusion about it. Raw food “diet” was never meant to be 100% vegan. The "old school" still thrives on raw eggs, raw meat, raw fish, raw milk, raw milk cheese and yoghurt, raw honey, cold pressed oils, nuts, seeds, herbs, and raw fermented foods. Raw fruit, berries and vegetables are eaten in abundance according to seasons. The original raw food diet is very low in sugar and avoids all artificial additives that are normally found in commercially produced foods. But just as I said before, you do not have to be 100% raw to enjoy raw food. Some foods are better for you when they are cooked; some simply taste better.
To all those who announced that raw food diet is dead I can only say that they are all wrong. The raw diet fad may have died the way so many other fads died when some “prominent” people discovered that the whole thing was a mistake. The real raw food diet of which most people have absolutely no idea will survive with those who embraced it far away from the spotlights of the media.
And last, but not least, if you think that your lifestyle prevents you from living, there must be something wrong with the lifestyle you have chosen. Be honest and reconsider your choices.
In radiant health - passionately raw - Dominique
Dominique Allmon ©2013
P.S.
If you are on raw vegan diet for a long time and have noticed that your health is deteriorating, have your blood tested. You may be lacking vital nutrients!
*Information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or cure a disease.
Images source here