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Making Salad the Star<br />
Why Maximize Raw Food?<br />
I have many friends who eat only raw plant food, and they are the healthiest people I know. I have several times<br />
eaten a 100% raw diet for a few months at a time and never felt better! But for most of the past 15 years, I have<br />
eaten a 60-80% raw diet, and I have noticed something interesting.<br />
The 60-80% raw goal is rather easy <strong>to</strong> achieve. The differential between 60-80% and 100%, however,<br />
represents an enormous leap in terms of time spent. It reminds me of getting a B+ or A- in college, versus<br />
getting an A: the time/commitment differential is most significant at that level. It’s especially hard <strong>to</strong> feed an<br />
entire family 100% raw. Even my kids—who have been fed whole foods their entire lives—resist it. I believe<br />
part of the reason is that eliminating bread is terribly hard when you’re feeding teenagers, because bread is so<br />
filling and requires less time than most all-raw recipes. So when you’re making one thing for yourself and<br />
another for your family, you may find you’re spending <strong>to</strong>o much time in the kitchen.<br />
Since I am interested in teaching things I believe <strong>to</strong> be achievable by anyone, I don’t set the bar that high. If<br />
you wish <strong>to</strong> do that and are capable of it, I applaud and encourage you, and I have listed my favorite raw books<br />
in Appendix B <strong>to</strong> help you continue.<br />
But, <strong>to</strong> you who want a very manageable plan, I believe that a 60-80% raw diet is adequate <strong>to</strong> supply the<br />
enzymes needed <strong>to</strong> break down the 40% of the diet that is cooked whole food. Most of the healthiest<br />
populations of the world do eat cooked food along with raw food. But some caveats come along with this<br />
counsel <strong>to</strong> get 60% raw.<br />
First, you should aim for 60% raw in every meal or snack. Remember that a fully cooked meal will draw on<br />
your body’s enzyme reserves. So, if you are drinking a quart of green smoothie every day, you may wish <strong>to</strong><br />
drink half of it before the cooked part of your lunch, and half of it before the cooked part of your late-afternoon<br />
snack, for instance. This would be preferable <strong>to</strong> drinking nothing but the entire quart of smoothie for lunch, and<br />
then three hours later eating a cooked snack. Then, eat a big green salad as at least 60% of your dinner. You<br />
have supplied your daily enzyme needs and lengthened your own life (and/or supplied your existing years with<br />
more vitality). Breakfasts that are largely raw are a step we will take later in the year. Getting a raw breakfast is<br />
easier, since people often want a “hot meal” for lunch or dinner.<br />
Second, if you are suffering from serious illness, including cancer, you may wish <strong>to</strong> undertake a 100% raw diet.<br />
I have a large handful of friends, including my grandmother, who eliminated “deadly” cancers with an all-raw<br />
diet. Cancer cannot live in the presence of oxygen, and raw plant foods oxygenate the blood and tissues.<br />
Third, if 60% of your diet is raw and the other 40% consists heavily of dead, denatured foods rather than whole<br />
foods, that 60% may be insufficient for you <strong>to</strong> experience vibrant health. The 60% advice assumes that your<br />
consumption of the very worst foods (meat—especially processed meat, soft drinks, sugar, white flour, and<br />
refined oils) is minimal, and that the other 40% of your diet is mostly whole grains, legumes, etc.<br />
Try <strong>to</strong> keep animal products and refined foods like white flour and white sugar under 10% of your diet, if you<br />
feel you must eat them occasionally <strong>to</strong> live in the “real world” and avoid feeling deprived. Also consider that<br />
you can live a “normal” life while still having a few foods you simply never eat.<br />
At my house, we never eat (even at a party) three foods: (1) processed meat like hot dogs and bacon, (2) sodas,<br />
and (3) pork. Processed meat is full of the most carcinogenic food additives ever approved by the FDA<br />
(nitrates/nitrites). The risk is not worth it. Sodas, as we have mentioned before, are full of nasty ingredients:<br />
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw <strong>12</strong> <strong>Steps</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>Whole</strong> <strong>Foods</strong> 57