This is a pretty interesting topic in both the raw food and all other types of diets out there. When I talk about the raw food diet I don’t mean diet in the sense of restriction, special rules and being weight-loss oriented, but rather as a ‘way’ of eating. However, just as with other ways of eating, even within raw foods some special diets exist. And they mimic other diet crazes; low fat, high protein, low or high carb…. you name it.
I have never been a fan of diets (understatement) for the simple reason they are bullshit with a good marketing team behind it. All foods are meant for consumption, not exclusion (note; foods =/= products, for the love of God). If you realize that much, it’s just a matter of figuring out how much to eat of what. And although reading up on stuff or consulting with a professional can be very beneficial, only you can feel what’s right for your body!
I personally do not think we should be eating either super high carb, nor low carb, high or low fat, high/low protein, whatever. I think we need all the macronutrients in decent proportions. I am bringing up this topic today because in a few days time I got two inquiries from readers asking about the 80/10/10 raw vegan diet. This means 80 percent carbs (from fresh fruits) and 10 percent fat and protein (from greens, seeds and nuts if I am correct). Basically, it comes very close to a fruitarian diet, eating tons of fruit. On the other end of the spectrum I sometimes get questions from readers wondering if fruit isn’t bad or harmful in some way. Too many sugars, acid-forming, you name it.
A 1300 calorie cocktail of dates blended with water in the morning…
I prefer my juice ;)
I think the first and foremost thing you should always keep in mind is: there is no one right (or wrong!) way to eat! Because if so, we would’ve figured it all out by now and everyone would be doing it, dontyathink? Instead, there are many many ways to eat a healthy diet, and many many ways to fuck it up. I think the basic tenets of a healthy diet are; eating whole foods, eating a lot/mostly organic produce, lots of plants – little animals, lots of fresh/live foods, variety & fun. As you can see, within those parameters is a lot of room for personal interpretation!
I myself am a big fan of eating loads of fruit, especially when it’s a little warmer, and honestly I feel really good on that. This summer I was mainly living of of fruit and salads and felt great; light, energetic, healthy. However, I also still ate many avocados and some nuts and starches here and there (quinoa, sweet potatoes). Also, I could easily see people not thriving on a diet like this at all! I think your constitution, genetics, lifestyle, and environment play a big role in the type of diet that is right for you. I don’t think a 200lbs guy who puts on muscle uber quickly would need the same type of foods as a 5’2 petite girl who runs track. Also, a fruitarian/8-1-1/high carb low fat raw vegan diet might be great living in California or Thailand, but what about when you’re living in Norway or Russia…?
So fruit; yay or nay? Well, I think there is a truth to both, but an absolute truth to neither. I myself don’t think fruits are harmful, not even when eaten in abundance. I think in a healthy body the natural sugars, accompanied by loads of nutrients and a good dose of fiber, are not harmful. But I wouldn’t start living off of fruit anytime soon, I like my omega-3s too much for that. As for eating 2000-3000 calories worth of fresh fruit daily, although it sounds tempting, I honestly don’t know whether that would have some sort of benefit over other healthy ways of eating. Sure there is a theory behind it and it sounds logical at first glance but so do a lot of diets (even Dr Frank can sound like a good idea if you don’t do your research). All I can say is I don’t think eating so little fats is that good, and I prefer not to. And repeat my mantra: figure out what makes your body thrive!
After declaring fruits save for consumption (…) there is two things to consider; a) is your body healthy and b) how much fruit (or insert any other type of food here) is good for you? If you have candida issues or suspect you might, laying off the (sweet) fruits for a while is necessary. If eating fruit causes problems for you (like gassiness and bloating or cramping) you really want to look into candida and check for other symptoms. If not, eat <insert a food group here> as much as you like and see how you feel! Eat a little more or less of it, and see if it makes you feel better/worse. It’s that simple people!
Your body and intuition know better than science!
So that is my two cents on diets both in and outside the are food world. What are yours :)?
Love,
Sabine
This is a pretty interesting topic in both the raw food and all other types of diets out there. When I talk about the raw food diet I don’t mean diet in the sense of restriction, special rules and being weight-loss oriented, but rather as a ‘way’ of eating. However, just as with other ways of eating, even within raw foods some special diets exist. And they mimic other diet crazes; low fat, high protein, low or high carb…. you name it.
I have never been a fan of diets (understatement) for the simple reason they are bullshit with a good marketing team behind it. All foods are meant for consumption, not exclusion (note; foods =/= products, for the love of God). If you realize that much, it’s just a matter of figuring out how much to eat of what. And although reading up on stuff or consulting with a professional can be very beneficial, only you can feel what’s right for your body!
I personally do not think we should be eating either super high carb, nor low carb, high or low fat, high/low protein, whatever. I think we need all the macronutrients in decent proportions. I am bringing up this topic today because in a few days time I got two inquiries from readers asking about the 80/10/10 raw vegan diet. This means 80 percent carbs (from fresh fruits) and 10 percent fat and protein (from greens, seeds and nuts if I am correct). Basically, it comes very close to a fruitarian diet, eating tons of fruit. On the other end of the spectrum I sometimes get questions from readers wondering if fruit isn’t bad or harmful in some way. Too many sugars, acid-forming, you name it.
I prefer my juice ;)
I think the first and foremost thing you should always keep in mind is: there is no one right (or wrong!) way to eat! Because if so, we would’ve figured it all out by now and everyone would be doing it, dontyathink? Instead, there are many many ways to eat a healthy diet, and many many ways to fuck it up. I think the basic tenets of a healthy diet are; eating whole foods, eating a lot/mostly organic produce, lots of plants – little animals, lots of fresh/live foods, variety & fun. As you can see, within those parameters is a lot of room for personal interpretation!
I myself am a big fan of eating loads of fruit, especially when it’s a little warmer, and honestly I feel really good on that. This summer I was mainly living of of fruit and salads and felt great; light, energetic, healthy. However, I also still ate many avocados and some nuts and starches here and there (quinoa, sweet potatoes). Also, I could easily see people not thriving on a diet like this at all! I think your constitution, genetics, lifestyle, and environment play a big role in the type of diet that is right for you. I don’t think a 200lbs guy who puts on muscle uber quickly would need the same type of foods as a 5’2 petite girl who runs track. Also, a fruitarian/8-1-1/high carb low fat raw vegan diet might be great living in California or Thailand, but what about when you’re living in Norway or Russia…?
So fruit; yay or nay? Well, I think there is a truth to both, but an absolute truth to neither. I myself don’t think fruits are harmful, not even when eaten in abundance. I think in a healthy body the natural sugars, accompanied by loads of nutrients and a good dose of fiber, are not harmful. But I wouldn’t start living off of fruit anytime soon, I like my omega-3s too much for that. As for eating 2000-3000 calories worth of fresh fruit daily, although it sounds tempting, I honestly don’t know whether that would have some sort of benefit over other healthy ways of eating. Sure there is a theory behind it and it sounds logical at first glance but so do a lot of diets (even Dr Frank can sound like a good idea if you don’t do your research). All I can say is I don’t think eating so little fats is that good, and I prefer not to. And repeat my mantra: figure out what makes your body thrive!
After declaring fruits save for consumption (…) there is two things to consider; a) is your body healthy and b) how much fruit (or insert any other type of food here) is good for you? If you have candida issues or suspect you might, laying off the (sweet) fruits for a while is necessary. If eating fruit causes problems for you (like gassiness and bloating or cramping) you really want to look into candida and check for other symptoms. If not, eat <insert a food group here> as much as you like and see how you feel! Eat a little more or less of it, and see if it makes you feel better/worse. It’s that simple people!
Your body and intuition know better than science! So that is my two cents on diets both in and outside the are food world. What are yours :)? Love, Sabine