Reprint from Raw Family Newsletter August 2005

[Guest guest]

Is it important to be All Raw?

 

There have been lots of discussions lately on whether it is important

to stay all-raw or not. In his thorough and sincere article, " The

Hallelujah Health Tip (SM) Issue #404: Why Not All Raw? " Reverend

George Malkmus presents an overview of the reasons not to eat an

all-raw diet. While I strongly agree with Rev. Malkmus on the

psychological side of his perspective, where he states that, " Most

people find it extremely difficult to go ALL-RAW, " I would like to

comment on the two main reasons he gave for not eating 100% live

foods: " …too rapid a detoxification and too rapid and too great a loss

of weight. " Then you may decide on your own what works best for you.

 

I agree that it is challenging, almost impossible, for many people to

shift to a 100% raw food diet. We have a saying in Russia: a habit is

one's second personality; meaning that our habits are deeply engraved

patterns of behavior. Not only have our own lives been adjusted to

living on cooked food, but the lives of everyone around us. Every

modern day event revolves around eating. Thus, living on a 100% raw

food diet presents a social challenge. When one decides to go on an

all-raw diet, one has to not only change his or her own habits, but

very often to alter multiple aspects of life such as: changing one's

circle of friends, the places one goes, and sacrificing some favorite

activities. I am aware of cases when families have even separated

because the partners had different dietary preferences. Some people

became lonely and isolated in order to maintain the all-raw diet.

These are the worst-case scenarios. Some, like myself, were lucky to

have their whole family doing this together. Others happened to live

in already existing, strong, raw food communities. There is a growing

number of people who have been raised on a predominantly raw diet and

didn't have much to change, like my office manager Vanessa. I agree

that to be all-raw, or not to be, is not a simple question. It is not

only about diet. This decision encompasses many profound changes in

the whole spectrum of a person's life. I think such a change must be

considered seriously and carefully. Still, the truth is that on 100%

raw food diet, one feels distinctly better. That is why this diet is

most likely to be used by people who have serious health challenges.

 

" To be or not to be [all-raw]? " That was and still is the question. I

believe that it is a matter of everyone's personal preference. I

personally have several close friends and relatives for whom I know

becoming raw would be next to impossible. They would have to

compromise too many of their daily values. From time to time I have

presented them with nice vegan books and even steamers to encourage

lighter cooking. I have observed that they use these books and

utensils and do benefit from better eating. At the same time, my

friends know that if they ever wanted to make further changes in their

lifestyle, I would be there to help them.

 

The part about the difficulty of changing one's lifestyle is true, and

I totally agree with Rev. Malkmus that this could be a real challenge.

However, I do not agree that an all-raw diet is less beneficial to

human health than a diet consisting of some cooked food in addition to

predominantly raw foods. Rev. Malkmus states that, " While this ALL-RAW

diet brought wellness to my body, it also brought about too rapid a

detoxification and too rapid and too great a loss of weight. "

 

I think that a too rapid detoxification happens not as a result of an

all-raw diet but rather a consequence of inadequate fiber intake,

especially when consuming large quantities of juices. Insoluble fiber

is particularly vital for cleaning the toxins through the bowels. It

is found primarily in greens, peels, nuts, seeds, beans and skins of

grains. The human elimination system is very complex. It has been

perfected by nature to every minute action. I'll try to explain this

complicated process with a very simple example. Insoluble fiber under

a microscope looks like a sponge, and indeed it serves us as a

miraculous sponge, because every piece of it can absorb many times

more toxins than its own volume. Have you ever wondered why we always

like to have a sponge in our kitchen? We never use something smooth,

like paper or plastic to wipe dirty counters clean. Sponges are

fibrous. They make the job of cleaning easier by absorbing dirt. So

does insoluble fiber. It grabs the toxins and takes them out of the

body and into the toilet. Insoluble fiber is much better than any

sponge because it can hold several times more toxins than its own

size. I call it a magic sponge.

 

If we do not consume fiber, most of the toxic waste accumulates in our

body. Our body is constructed in such a marvelous way that all the

toxins are directed to the bowels. This is the human body's sewage

system. We need to understand that we have to eliminate many pounds of

toxins regularly.

 

Just as one cannot clean a kitchen without a sponge, the human body

cannot eliminate without fiber. Picture yourself being challenged to

clean some large, dirty space like a garage, with nothing but plastic

wrap. I would give up. The human body won't give up, but if there is

no fiber, the first thing that happens is our skin tries to take on

the elimination " job " and as a result the skin becomes rough and

bumpy. When our bowels are clogged, our body attempts to excrete more

mucus, through our eyes, nose, and throat, we sweat a lot more --the

body uses every possible channel to eliminate, but it's like pushing

the garbage out through the screen window instead of the door. By

consuming enough insoluble fiber we unlock the door to eliminate

toxins from the body the easy and normal way. From my own observation,

I conclude that when we consume enough fiber we do not develop fast

and violent detoxification.

 

The American Food Administration recommends 30 grams of fiber daily.

The average American consumes only 12. If you would like to read more

about fiber, you may read my up-coming new book, Green For Life.

 

Rev. Malkmus also discusses the reasons why some people become too

skinny on a raw diet. He explains this phenomenon as not having enough

calories. To be honest, I also used to think this way for several

years. Only in the recent years, while experimenting with blended

greens in the form of green smoothie, have I developed a deeper

understanding of this subject. I think the main reason that some of us

rapidly lose too much weight on an all-raw diet is because we do not

have the necessary concentration of hydrochloric acid in our stomachs.

When our hydrochloric acid (stomach acid) is low, it is then likely

that we develop multiple nutritional deficiencies. In order to produce

hydrochloric acid, the human body has to work very hard. As we grow

older, our body becomes weaker and cannot produce adequate amounts of

hydrochloric acid. That is why most people have less stomach acid as

they age.

 

As we grow older, we develop gray hair. I have observed that most

people diagnosed with very low stomach acid had noticeably more gray

hair, which is an indirect sign of nutrient deficiencies. On the other

hand, there are numerous well-documented accounts of people's natural

hair color returning as a result of consuming blended greens on a

regular basis, Ann Wigmore being one of them.

 

Blending is similar to chewing, therefore, eating blended food can

make a dramatic improvement to our health. After being broken down in

a high-speed blender, pieces of food become the perfect size for

assimilation. As a result, the body doesn't keep the food in the

stomach as long but sends it right into the small intestines, allowing

the body to produce less hydrochloric acid. Consequently, consuming

blended foods saves us energy and keeps us youthful despite of aging.

 

For many years I couldn't understand why some people quickly loose too

much weight on a raw food diet. These people simply cannot stay on a

raw food diet because they feel uncomfortable living their lives with

constant remarks from their friends and relatives about being too

thin. I agree that humans shouldn't be too skinny. After doing a lot

of research about the impact of hypochlorhydria on assimilation of

food, I asked some of my friends with this weight problem if they had

ever checked their stomach acid level. Several of them got back to me

and reported that they were diagnosed with very low or no stomach acid

at all. Their doctor prescribed HCL pills to take with their meals. A

close friend has been trying to eat raw for several years and became

so thin that her husband became concerned for her health. She went to

a doctor and was diagnosed with achlorhydria (no stomach acid). Her

doctor put her on HCL pills and she continued her raw food diet. My

friend gained all her weight back.

 

In order for nutrients to be absorbed, the food has to be broken in

the stomach, both mechanically and with acids, into very small pieces

of 1-2 mm. Raw fruits and vegetables have the most valuable nutrients

in them, but they are especially hard to digest because their tough

cellulose structure has to be ruptured in order to get all the

nutrients out. If there is not enough stomach acid, the body is unable

to receive all needed nutrients, especially proteins, and deficiencies

start to develop. I have encountered several people with such a

problem who felt as if they were trapped. While eating only raw food

they were able to eliminate symptoms of certain illnesses that they

had, but they became very skinny. Then they would add cooked food to

their diet to gain their desired weight, but their unwanted symptoms

would return. Puzzled, they kept going back and forth not knowing what

to do.

 

That is why I felt great joy when, after teaching a couple of classes

about green smoothies, I began receiving letters like this one:

 

" Though the raw food took care of my arthritis I was never able to

stick to it longer than two months because on raw foods alone, I

dropped weight so quickly, down to 135 lbs, that my wife panicked

thinking that I was dying, so I had to go back to cooked foods which

made my arthritis return. When I started drinking green smoothies, my

weight stabilized! I have been raw now for six months and keep my

normal weight of 155 lbs. Thank you! "

 

(N. H., Canada)

 

I have already witnessed many cases in which people with digestive

problems were able to greatly improve their assimilation by adding

blended greens to their diets. While cooking makes the food softer and

easier to digest, in the process of heating, most essential vitamins

and enzymes in the food get destroyed. Blending is a lot less harmful

than cooking because it saves all the vital nutrients in the food.

 

Based on everything I wrote above, I believe that a 100% raw food diet

is greatly beneficial to everyone's health. Adding one quart of green

smoothies to one's daily food makes staying raw essentially easier. If

you would like to learn more about green smoothies, you can find it

among our previous monthly newsletters on our website:

www.rawfamily.com

 

I would like to mention how grateful I am to Rev. Malkmus for

discussing such important subjects and persistently digging for the

truth. Being a health minister myself, I deeply respect and admire

Rev. George Malkmus for his immense contribution to human health.

 

 

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