My story....long!

[Guest guest]

Hi, folks,

 

A few folks in a couple of groups I am in asked for more detailed info on my

history with raw foods, and so I share it here. It is lengthy, I apologize! I'll

be glad to clarify anything that seems unclear.

 

Peace, Valerie

 

 

______________________________

 

 

For the first forty years of my life, I was totally immersed in the standard

American diet, depending a lot on processed foods, and as time went on, the fast

food world as well. After the birth of my children in my mid-twenties, my body

weight gradually increased, but my overall health was okay, at least to my way

of thinking at that time. Sure, I would get colds and flu now and then, and yes,

I wasn’t as eager to run around in the park after my kids, and yes, the stairs

seemed to be more of a challenge, but overall I saw myself as a fairly healthy

person, even though the excess weight (at this time 70 pounds over my lowest

adult weight) did not please me.

 

 

 

Just before turning 40, I married my second husband, and his children were

attempting to be vegetarians, of the egg and dairy eating variety. As a way of

connecting with the kids, I began to investigate this way of life, and decided

it wouldn’t really be that hard to change. So, for the next five years, we ate a

mostly vegetarian diet, during which time I put on another 70 pounds. I also

began to have problems with my health.

 

 

 

During this time, I also saw my husband dealing with several health issues which

included high blood pressure, Type II diabetes and gastric reflux. I also

witnessed the severe side effects of the various medications he began to take to

deal with these issues, and found myself wanting to avoid the same kind of

experience. However, as time went on, my health problems began to multiply. I

became asthmatic, which was very frightening. I also began to have problems with

gastric reflux and a hiatal hernia; for the first time I had problems with blood

pressure, and when I was 41 or 42, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and had to

start using a CPAP machine at night to control my breathing. I had very little

energy, began to have fairly regular anxiety attacks, felt very low emotionally

much of the time. I had perpetual head congestion, and was continually having

to clear my throat. I began to have problems with my skin, increased dryness and

brittle nails, and then psoriasis began to

appear. I began to break out with hives fairly regularly, but could not find

out what was causing them. My hair began to thin very noticeably.

 

 

 

Then, about five years ago or so, I had a period of time when I had intense

itching all over my body, but especially in the extremities, combined with

intense swelling of my hands and feet. Then there was extreme joint pin in my

knees and ankles. This went on for about a year doctor could not diagnose the

problem, and sent me to a rheumatologist who suggested that I might have

something called psoriatic arthritis, and that I should try a certain

medication. I can’t remember what it was called, but I do remember that he said

that it would require monthly visits for blood work, since the medication was

highly toxic to the liver. So, I made a choice—I thought I could better deal

with the itching and swelling than I could deal without a liver---so I just

said, no thanks!

 

 

 

I began to seriously investigate the area of nutrition at this time, and some

friends encouraged me to consider going vegan, and dropping the dairy and eggs

that had continued to be part of my diet. I LOVED cheese, but I hated what was

happening to my body, so I tried it out. I ate mostly fruits, veggies, grains,

legumes, some raw and some cooked. I began to see some improvement almost

immediately; the psoriasis began to fade away, I was able to use the CPAP less

and less, and I began to lose some weight. I was feeling pretty good about what

was happening, and continued to research in the area of vegan nutrition. That

was good, but what was not good was that I began to increase my use of vegan

processed foods, and I began to think I needed certain kinds of supplements. My

cupboard began to fill with various powders, pills, etc., all guaranteed to be

good for me. I also began to experience increased anxiety trying to find the

‘right way’ to become healthy. I also gained another 20

pounds.

 

 

 

I then connected with some folks who were following a modified raw diet,

averaging about 85%(15% fruit, the rest veggies, seeds and nuts) raw and 15%

cooked; they used supplements, but minimally, and juicing was a large part of

the diet, as well as making mock cooked foods, often with the help of a

dehydrator. I was intrigued, and gave it a try; I bought a juicer, I bought the

dehydrator, I bought the books, I bought the special supplements. I dropped

processed foods entirely, drank a lot of juice, at a lot of salad, and cooked

food portions would often be potato based or brown rice, whole grain pasta or

bread. I began to see improvement again; the weight began to come off, I had

increased energy, I was able to get rid of the CPAP completely, my gastric

reflux disappeared. I still had problems with itching, but it had decreased.

The problem I ran into with this way of life, however, is that I began to have

days of weakness and hunger, which I would assuage with nuts and dried

fruits, or dense foods like hummus, other legumes, tahini, almond butter, etc.

And I found I was beginning to feel some of the old heaviness and apathy that I

remembered from my SAD days. I couldn’t understand it, because I thought I was

doing everything right. The other thing was, I was simply tired of working so

hard to make the right kind of food for me to eat, especially since I was still

cooking SAD food for my husband.

 

 

 

Then, I became familiar with the world of the 100% raw foodists; initially, it

was the writings of Victoria Boutenko and her family, Alissa Cohen and Frederic

Patenaude that initially opened the raw food door for me. Their enthusiasm,

their stories, their sincerity—all of this inspired me to at least give it a

try. So I bought books, milk bags, slicers, got myself already to go….and ran

into another wall. The more I read, the more confused I got, because there were

even more voices out there in the raw food world, and it was hard to find folks

who would agree constituents parts of the optimal diet. And I was really afraid

of not doing it “right.” I might get sick, I might fall apart (funny how I

didn’t worry about this so much when I was eating Twinkies and Ding Dongs!).

Again, anxiety was my friend!

 

 

 

Finally, through a friend, I became familiar with Dr. Doug Graham and his work

in the area of raw food and natural hygiene. At first, I thought, “This is just

way too extreme,” but the more I read, the more I was attracted by the

simplicity of and common sense in his information. (At least it seemed like

common sense to me!) It was hard to picture eating mostly fruit as being good

for me, and the whole 8/1/1 thing was pretty intimidating at first (I am the

almond butter Queen!), but I came to believe that it just might work for me;

while some other paths had helped, I had always seemed to come back to some

basic problem with all of them.

 

 

 

The other part of his program that made a huge difference in my thinking was the

other parts of hygiene; as Dr. Doug says, you can eat all the right foods, but

you are only as healthy as your weakest link—sleep, rest, water, sunshine,

movement, etc. I could see that I was looking at what I was eating to heal me;

and I was totally ignoring the other aspects of my health. I was trying to

function on five hours of sleep each night, no rest during the day, not enough

water, very little exercise or activity, no time outdoors in the sun at all (I

didn’t want to get cancer...go figure). I had never come across such a

comprehensive program, and decided to give it a try.

 

 

 

Well, it has been several months now; I am slowly losing weight (about a pound a

week on average, I still have over a hundred pounds to lose, but I’m not

worried…it’s coming off). My skin has improved, I am more alert, no more anxiety

attacks, no more swelling and itching of my hands and feet. No more gastric

reflux at all, my mood is generally positive, no more joint or neck pain, and my

head congestion is minimal at best (I can sing again without going into spasms

of coughing, much to my relief).

 

 

 

I am trying to establish a more regular schedule of sleep, and I use my lunch

hour for rest, sitting in my car and listening to soft music for an hour each

day. I don’t juice as much, and while I sometimes have mono meals, I still find

myself depending on smoothies for a good portion of my food intake. I am not

100% consistent, but I have come a lot closer to the 8/1/1 ideal for my intake,

and it was easier than I thought. And it is definitely easier to eat a pile of

clementines for dinner than trying to make a raw vegan version of the cooked

food I am preparing for my husband! When we go visiting, I just pack a couple of

boxes of fruit, and eat that wherever we go; most of my family and friends are

used to this by now. If I go out for dinner, I just call the restaurant ahead of

time; if they can accommodate me, great; if not, I eat before we go out, and

just go along for the company.

 

 

 

Things that I used to think would be hard about this way of life no longer seem

that way to me; I am so tired of being so limited, so sick, of having to deal

with so much pain, that I am no longer willing to compromise in the name of

‘peace” with others; it is a false kind of peace that demands that I do

something that would ultimately hurt myself. I am going to turn 50 in 2005, and

I hope to be even healthier and more energetic than I am now. Every day seems to

be better than the day before, and even the hard things I find easier to handle.

I would not go back for anything!

 

 

 

 

 

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