• RawforLife website here
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• Contributions as an individual to raw food forums

• Raw Food Preparation Classes
• RawforLife Support (e-mail)
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• Forthcoming Events: Raw Food Preparation Classes
• Feature Article: What is 'Detox'?
• SUPER Food of the Month: Mung Bean (Sprouts)
• Recipe: Green Wrap-ups with Creamy Citrus-Ginger Sauce
• 'Pick of the Blog': WHEAT: Give (RAW, SPROUTED) wheat a chance
• Shop Around: Maca
• Book of the Month: 'Green for Life' (Victoria Boutenko)

WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAY 14TH?

How about spending it at my home, chatting about raw food with like-minded people, eating delicious raw meals? Perhaps spend a little time in the RawforLife class shop, or simply browsing through my selection of raw food books? And, at the end of the day, come home laden with take-aways and a RawforLife goodie bag, not to mention RawforLife chocolate!

There are just two places remaining. See if you can take a day's holiday and have it at the RawforLife Experience!

This is the last class that will be charged at the introductory rate of £50. All classes after May 15th will be charged at £70*.

All classes are suitable both for those at the start of their raw food journey, and for those more experienced raw fooders who enjoy meeting others and eating their way through a procession of delicious raw food dishes made by someone else!

Recipes (variable by class) include soups, main courses, desserts, crackers, breads, sauces, juices and smoothies. For pictures of food typical of that served, see here (and scroll down)

Please don't worry that you won't know anyone - groups are small, informal and friendly. And, although all food served will be raw vegan, everyone is welcome, whether following a raw, cooked, vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore diet.

This is what Lisa of Cheshire had to say about her day at the last RawforLife class on 24th April:

'Thank you for such a fantastic and inspirational day. You were able to provide such a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for the raw lifestyle. I am fully convinced that this is the right path for me, and am totally re-energised to continue my raw journey. The food was fabulous, so fresh, colourful, vibrant and flavoursome.'

SO, IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN US ON MAY 14TH, BOOK HERE

PLEASE NOTE
The booking system is currently set up so that, if three people book in the same short space of time, it may 'accept' all, even if there are only two places remaining! I'll allocate the places strictly in order of time of booking, and if you have booked but there are actually no places remaining rest assured I will advise you of this very quickly and will offer an alternative date or a refund.


*Bookings made for July 16th RFLE class will be charged at £50 only if made before May 15th.

What is 'Detox'?

Knowledge is power

If we don't understand what's going on, feeling unwell when we've taken steps to follow a healthier lifestyle can be discouraging. And it can be quite easy for the would-be raw fooder to be derailed when loved ones make comments such as 'you just need a bit of hot food in you!' And, worst of all, one can be prey to the various addictions that have accumulated through life. Runny nose - reach for the Scotch. Feeling weak - reach for the choccie biscuits...

But, knowing why the symptoms are occurring can result in our applying quite a different mindset to them.

Brian Clement MD explains detoxification:

'This internal cleansing is a lot like house cleaning. Have you ever walked into a house that had been tightly closed up and left untouched for a few years? Things often look relatively clean and in order - until you take out the broom and suddenly stir up a dust storm. If you then get out a pail of water and a scrub brush and create scattered puddles of muddy water, you might well find yourself sitting in the middle of the room, wondering if your efforts are worth the mess you've created. So it goes with the body. There's no doubt it's worth the effort, but you may experience symptoms that can be discouraging unless you really understand what is actually going on. The toxins being discarded are saving you from more serious disease that would result if you keep them in your body too much longer - possibly hepatitis, kidney disorders, disease, arthritis, nerve degeneration and even cancer.'

So, embrace those symptoms!

Is it possible to experience no symptoms at all?

Yes, if the move to high or 100% raw is from a relatively healthy diet pre-raw (eg low-dairy vegetarian, vegan, with little processed food, nicotine, alcohol or caffeine).

And the switch to raw may be symptom-free if the transition is gradual, ie over a period of months (although of course with a gradual transition the benefits are not as dramatically noticeable, meaning that it is all too easy to backslide...)

What happens to the symptoms if we stop eating raw?

They may well all go away. BUT that's because the body then has to divert its energy back to coping with the onslaught of the 'normal' diet again; the brakes are put on the 'cleaning-out' process.

So - short-term gain perhaps. But long-term...?

Riding out the detox

With the majority of people, where detox symptoms are present it is rare for them to be any worse than that of a bad cold or flu. Now, obviously flu can be serious in a person who is already weak, and some do feel that if detox symptoms are very severe then perhaps a little cooked food should be introduced to slow down the detox process.

However, this would be the exception rather than the rule. Alissa Cohen believes that for most people a switch to a high-raw diet is not a very severe process. Or, as one raw food leader put it in an off-the-cuff remark to someone who suggested detox symptoms could be a barrier to going raw - 'Headache now or brain tumour later - their choice!'

In most cases, the best course of action is to let the body get rid of what it wants to get rid of, through its various organs of elimination.

And 'natural hygienists' such as Arthur M Baker ('Your Self-Healing Body') warn that drugs should not be taken in an effort to alleviate symptoms, in that the clever body is cleaning out, and should not be thwarted in its attempt to do so. We should let colds and fevers run their course.

And of course let's remember that there's lots of good stuff going on as well! Those who do report detox symptoms also find other more pleasant things happening, such as amazing bursts of excitement and energy, a feeling of 'scales falling from the eyes', of seeing the world in a different way...

Having said this, do bear in mind that I am not a doctor and am simply writing from my own experience of discussion with raw fooders, and quoting from leading raw fooders (although some of them are docs!). Very severe physical problems following a switch of diet should always be investigated, as there could be an underlying health problem needing a touch of 'crisis management.'

Can we assist the body in its detox work?

Detoxing takes energy. So, if possible, we should rest, get lots of fresh air, and, if we feel sleepy, sleep. A day of having simply water, or, if that seems too drastic, juice and smoothies only, will assist the body in elimination.

So - welcome those symptoms. They're a sign of good things to come!

Hovannessian ('Raw Eating'), tells it like it is!

'In the initial period of raw-eating food addicts may experience various forms of discomfort, which may leave them with the impression that raw foodstuffs are harmful to them and that they weaken them or make them ill. It must be remembered that all the existing erroneous and disastrous conceptions in dietetics have their origin in such apparent and contradictory impressions. Outward symptoms, therefore, must never serve as an excuse for leaving the work half done. It is necessary to wait for the final results, which may take a few weeks or months to come. But if cooked foods are sometimes mixed with raw nutriments, those results may be very much delayed or they may even become imperceptible.'

So, Joan from Gloucestershire, it was such good news to hear that, on your fifth switch to raw, although you still weren't quite sure why you were experiencing those symptoms, something inside you said, 'THIS time I won't fall...' now the real healing begins!

The mung bean

The mung bean, a little green bean (pulse) from an erect plant with few branches, carrying clusters of pods carrying 8-15 seeds each, is native to India. Nowadays it is cultivated in India, China, the Far East generally, and, I understand, Australia, and Oklahoma USA! In China, after harvesting, the beans may be left to dry on the roads (so a good reason to wash...).

Mung beans are very nutritious

They're a good source of vitamins A, B (including folate), C and E, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and amino acids (20% protein). The fibre in pulses can bind to excess cholesterol in the body and help eliminate it, and the insoluble fibre speeds food through the digestive tract, thereby helping prevent constipation and other bowel disorders. Also, pulses in general have a low sodium and high potassium content - good for anyone with high blood pressure.

And, when raw and sprouted, they're even better for us!

When mung beans are soaked in water, wonderful things happen:

• Enzymes are activated (thus placing less of a burden on our own digestive enzymes.
• They become more alkalising.
• Vitamins increase (the vitamin A content, per calorie, of sprouted mung beans is 2 1/2 times higher than that of the dry bean).
• Protein is broken down into its component amino acids, saving our body the trouble.
• Amino acids increase.
• Complex fats are converted to soluble fatty acids.
• The beans become more digestible (so when people say that pulses 'need' to be cooked 'to make them more digestible', well, yes - that would be the case for the raw pulse in its dry, hard, unsprouted state - but when it's soft and sprouted, it's more digestible than in cooked form. Many people who experience flatulence with cooked pulses do not with raw, sprouted pulses.

Why mung bean sprouts bought from the store may not be optimum...

I copied and pasted this from a site long ago, and don't have the source (but many thanks to the contributor); it's worth bearing in mind:

'Some sprouts are treated with mould inhibitors to keep them fresh-looking as they sit at room temperature. Those long, white bean sprouts seen in the store or at the salad bar have probably been treated with inhibitors so they could be grown to that length and preserved at room temperature. To really get the rejuvenating value of sprouts, you need to grow your own and eat them fresh.'

So...you'll need to sprout them yourself, BUT...it's EASY!

If you've never sprouted anything before, use the little mung bean to put yourself on the sprouting road. It really is one of the easiest things to sprout.

Here's how to do it:

Either buy a sprouting jar from here, or make one yourself, as follows: find a largish wide-mouthed jar (if you don't have one, buy some pickled dill cucumbers and throw or give away the contents). Discard the lid. Secure some netting, or a bit of tights (panty-hose) onto the mouth of the jar with a rubber band. Voila - a 'sprouting jar'! Note it's best to buy/make two, as sprouts do take up a lot of room as they grow.

Put 1/2 cup of dry beans into the jar. Cover with water by at least an extra couple of inches, as the beans swell in soaking. Soak for eight hours (eg overnight). Drain the beans well. Rinse, then drain again. Then place jar upside-down in a small bowl or dish, but prop at a 45 degree angle, to allow any excess water to drain away. Place in the light, but not in direct sunlight, and not anywhere too hot. Ideally, rinse sprouts twice-daily. The sprouts should be ready to eat after 2-4 days, depending on how you long you want the tails. You'll need to split them between jars as they increase in volume.

Then...eat them alone, mix into salads, or use them to fill Green Wrap-ups!

• 2 avocados
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• pinch of sea salt
• pinch of cayenne
• optional: lemon/lime juice

• 4 Medjool dates, stoned (soak 30 mins so soft enough to process but still sweet). Finely chop.
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 3 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• Pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup water

The main RawforLife website, at www.rawforlife.co.uk is the 'base' - full of information about raw food, 'before and after's', and details of classes. The RawforLife Blog, at www.debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com, is the 'newsy' site - updated 2-3+ times a month with news, articles and occasional recipes. As the e-zine and Blog subscriber lists are not identical, I do hope those who do subscribe to both will not mind my reprinting one Blog article here each month. If you would like to see all past Blog articles and receive articles by e-mail as soon as they are published, do visit the Blog site, enter your details in the Feedblitz panel on the Blog site, then follow very carefully the instructions for subscribing.

WHEAT Part I: Give (RAW, SPROUTED) wheat a chance

So why do these raw fooders feel wheat is OK (or even a 'good thing'?), whilst others quite clearly feel wheat should never be invited to the raw food party? Why the divergence of opinion?

One of the things I love to do at RawforLife is to collect conflicting information, try to make sense of it myself, and then save you a little time by putting it into (reasonably) assimilable form and presenting it to you. And, in perusing all the various pronouncements on wheat, one thing did come over quite strongly. It seemed to me that many of the issues connected with wheat may be more relevant to cooked than raw wheat, and that wheat (RAW, SPROUTED), whether or not it should be given an unequivocal 'green light, certainly deserves a better press.

I'll drop the caps now. As, I think I've made my point that there is a difference between raw, sprouted wheat and cooked wheat; and that raw, sprouted wheat will not have the same effect on our bodies as cooked wheat, in the same way that a raw carrot will not have the same effect on us as one boiled or roasted.

Is raw wheat as guilty of the crimes levelled against 'wheat' in general as its cooked counterpart? In dismissing the food that is described in the Essene Gospel of Peace as 'the most perfect among all the seed-bearing herbs' are those raw fooders who reject (all) wheat throwing the baby out with the bathwater? Well, my thesis is that they are. However, I'm not free from bias (I enjoy raw, sprouted wheat), and I'm neither doctor nor scientist, but simply a raw fooder trying to find a path through a maze.

See what you think about some statements commonly made by (some) raw fooders about wheat, and my comments.

(And, to be clear, when I say raw, sprouted wheat I am talking about raw organic wheatberries (wheat seeds) that have been soaked then sprouted for 24 hours.)

'Wheat has little nutritional value; it's mostly carbs.'

I did hear a long-term respected raw fooder say this. And just in case anyone else is of of the same opinion... wheat is a 'complex carbohydrate', providing a slower and more sustained release of energy than refined, or simple carbohydrates. It's rich in fibre. It contains all eight essential amino-acids, as well as other amino-acids (from which our bodies draw to make protein). It contains the minerals copper, iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium and selenium, Vitamin E, and is packed full of B vitamins.

'Wheat is acidic.'

For those of you unfamiliar with this topic - in a nutshell, the various processes our bodies go through simply living from day to day produce acid. However, it is important that our internal environment is alkaline. Cooked foods in general, animal foods, alcohol etc all have an acidic effect on our bodies, and an acidic body can give rise to all sorts of illness, minor and major. Most plant foods are alkaline, therefore helping the body to restore balance.

Consensus is that cooked wheat is acidic. But what about raw, sprouted wheat? Some say that any sprouted seed has an alkalising effect on the body. Certainly, when wheat seeds are fully sprouted and grown into plants, as in wheatgrass, the effect is alkalising. But is this true for wheatberries that have only been sprouted for 24 hours? Certainly, any sprouting, for any length of time, renders any seed more alkaline than it was in its dormant state. But can we go so far as to say that a sprouted seed is alkalising, or is it simply less acidic?

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer to this one. But I did carry out a crude (and fun!) test, munching various foods then testing my saliva with a pH strip. Vinegar on the tongue (not such fun) gave a score of 4 (proved the strip was working!). Packing my mouth with spinach produced a score of 8 (very alkaline). Almonds, olives, celery and carrot produced scores of 7.5 (alkaline). Raw, sprouted wheat (the average of four chews, spread over two hours), produced a score of 7, which is...neutral.

Some raw fooders claim that even raw, sprouted wheat is acidic. Others say any sprouted seed is alkalising. My own crude testing suggests 'neutral'. For me, the jury's out. If you do have any good data on this, please contact me via the RawforLife website.

'Wheat is a cultivar.'

After hearing this a few times, I looked up 'cultivar' in the dictionary. It means 'a variety produced by cultivation', and 'cultivation' means 'prepare and use soil for crops'.

The vast majority of the plant foods eaten by raw fooders will be 'varieties'. Our apples will be 'varieties', our carrots are hybrids, and our bananas derive from a hybrid mutation, bearing little resemblance to the wild banana. I'm not sure that anything in my raw food diet is quite the same as it was several thousand years ago.

To what extent has wheat been more hybridised than other foods? There are some strains of wheat that have been bred specifically to suit the processing, the 'refining', that goes with cooked flour products. For example, special high-gluten strains have been developed for bread. But, the raw wheatberries that raw fooders buy are unlikely to be these 'varieties'.

'Our wheat is genetically modified.'

Not according to my sources. GM wheat does not seem to have been afflicted upon us (yet?), thanks to the efforts of protestors around the globe. Wheat certainly has been genetically modified on an experimental basis in the past, and there have been tales of it being fed to animals with resultant ill effects. Companies such as US agri-chemical company Monsanto have developed GM strains, but, as far as I understand it, have not been able to market them as food for us due to consumer resistance, and commercial resistance from farmers.

'Wheat is not a food we would eat naturally.'

Why not? Most raw fooders are happy to eat sunflower and sesame seeds, so why is it 'unnatural' to eat wheat seeds?

Susan Schenk ('The Live Food Factor') is an author I much admire, but I can't agree with her on wheat! Susan believes that wheat is not a foodstuff that we would instinctively eat, as 'even if you sprout it, it won't taste that wonderful.' Well, I find raw sprouted wheat tastes pleasant, and sweet. Maybe I'm just odd. She says 'grains need a lot of processing to become tasty and edible.' Well...to me, that's 'cooked-food-speaking'. Our taste buds do become perverted by a lifetime of cooked food to the extent that, sadly, we find the pure food 'lacking in taste'... Susan goes on to say that the wheat of today is so hybridised that it will not produce a 'taste change' among instinctive eaters. Of course, I had to try this! After the sixth mouthful I experienced an unmistakeable taste change - the wheat was no longer sweet and I didn't want to eat any more. Perhaps this is because, as I suggested earlier, the organic wheat I buy is not 'over' hybridised.

'Wheat contributes to diabetes, hypoglycemia' (etc)

One reason for this is that processing of wheat produces sugars that the liver cannot recognise. This should not happen with raw wheat. Studies linking the consumption of wheat and various illnesses do seem to be talking about processed wheat, ie wheat as used in flour in bread, biscuits and cakes.

'Some people are allergic/intolerant to wheat.'

Yes, they are. Many people have problems with gluten, and problems may well have arisen because of the use of specially-bred high-gluten varieties of wheat in the processing of cooked wheat products. Again, I would suggest that raw organic wheatberries are unlikely to come from these high-gluten varieties. Also, when seeds are sprouted, both starch and gluten reduce. Kate Woods ('Raw Living') says that when raw oat groats are sprouted, the gluten content becomes negligible. As I know wheatgrass is gluten-free, I would assume that the gluten in sprouted wheat must be significantly reduced after even 24 hours of sprouting.

This would suggest to me that those who are sensitive to gluten may better tolerate raw, sprouted wheat. Elaine Bruce (UK Centre for Living Foods): 'It is noticeable that people with sensitivities to a whole grain may well be able to use it when sprouted.'

'Wheat is addictive.'

Some say that all grains are addictive because they contain opioids - a group of addictive substances causing food cravings. Investigating this, I found that opioids result from the partial digestion of gluten. See above!

'Wheat produces mycotoxins.'

Mycotoxins are a health hazard, and are produced by fungi. Commercially- stored grains can ferment in 90 days, during which time mycotoxins are produced. But many foods will grow fungus if they're kept too long and/or in incorrect conditions. The simple answer to this is to buy wheatberries from a reputable supplier and store them at home in a cool place. I store mine in a bucket in a kitchen cupboard, and have seen neither mould nor fermentation in a year of doing so.

So...

if you've never tried raw, sprouted wheat, and would like to do so, here's a little advice from a seasoned raw, sprouted, wheat-eater!

(NOTE - if your reactions to cooked wheat in the past have been life-threatening.....leave the raw wheat - just in case!)

Eat raw, sprouted wheat with alkalising (raw) plant foods.

As to whether raw, sprouted wheat is acidic, neutral, or alkalising, I'm sitting on the fence with this one! But it's certainly the case that if we eat raw, sprouted wheat with green leaves (highly alkalising), or in fact with any alkalising raw plant food (I like my raw wheatbread spread with mashed avocado), the alkalinity of the foods with it should balance any acidity in the wheat, ensuring that the overall effect of the meal is alkalising.

Don't eat sweet fruit with or within 3-4 hours of raw, sprouted wheat.

Fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach. It digests quickly, often in 1-2 hours or less. If you eat fruit with or on top of wheat (or in fact with or on top of any longer-to-digest food such as pulses, grains, nuts) the fruit will want to exit. But it won't be able to, as its way will be blocked by other food. Result: fermentation, gas, bloating...

Do buy organic, from a wholefood/raw food source.

Firstly, because I believe this maximises the chances of the wheatberries not being an over-hybridised strain. Secondly, because, as with all organic produce, as well as being free of pesticides, it will be richer in minerals than non-organic. Bob Smith, a trace minerals lab analyst, in his 1993-5 studies, found, 'Organically-grown wheat had twice the calcium, four times more magnesium, five times more manganese, and thirteeen times more selenium than the commercial wheat.

To date, I haven't found anything that persuades me I shouldn't be eating raw, sprouted wheat. In fact, the net effect of my investigations has been to reinforce my feeling that it's a good part of my raw food diet. Let's not be too quick to blame the raw wheat for the problems that may have been caused by certain varieties of wheat used in processed, cooked products.

In Wheat Part II, I will be giving step-by-step instructions for making my 'daily bread' - Essene bread - which is bread made from raw, sprouted wheatberries, and...nothing else.

Maca

Maca, one of the most popular products on sale at the shop at the RawforLife April 24th class, is a root from South America. It looks rather like a turnip and can be bought in powdered (raw) form. Maca has hormone-like qualities; small-scale clinical trials have suggested it improves male libido, and it is said to give energy, and ease PMT/menopausal symptoms. Many people in the raw world swear by it; although I haven't noticed any significant 'effects', this may be because I don't have it regularly. But I do love the smell, quite like the taste, and blend some into smoothies occasionally. So here are your maca 'best deals':

This time I've excluded postage, but do be aware that, on average, on-line shops charge £2.50-3.00 postage, and some* have a minimum postal charge of £5-6.00 which kicks in on products over a certain weight, which may be no problem if you're buying several items, but can raise the price of a single item significantly. So do check.

Prices are for 500g.

Funky Raw - £9.50
Rawliving - £12.60*
Total Raw Food - £14.49
Detox Your World - £14.95
Fresh Network - £14.95
The Raw Greek - £14.95

So it seems once again Rob Hull at Funky Raw gets the accolades. And, if you do order from Funky Raw, here, if you get a chance, do tell him I told you!

'Green for Life' (Victoria Boutenko)

Victoria Boutenko healed herself, her husband and children of a range of illnesses, including her son's diabetes, with raw food. She's a well-known figure in the international raw food world, and has written several books, including 'Twelve Steps to Raw Food', which contains a program to support people in their transition from cooked food to raw.

Victoria's research on primates, whose physiology has certain similarities with ours, led her to conclude that we should be eating far more green leaves than we do. And, in fact, the one thing that everyone in the raw food world seems to agree on, be they low-fruit, high-fruit, no grains, whatever...is that green leaves get the thumbs up!

Victoria observed that, although her family understood the benefits of eating green leaves, they lacked the inclination (or even the ability?) to consume large quantities of them. So she came up with the idea of the 'green smoothie'. This is basically handfuls of leaves blended with water, often with a little sweetener such as fruit, so that relatively large amounts of greens can be consumed easily, in a drink, and, unlike juices, smoothies retain the fibre.

This informative and very readable book covers all sorts of related topics, such as protein sources, fibre, stomach acid, alkalinity, and includes some figures on the mineral content of organic food that should not leave any reader doubting that organic food is way more nutritious for us than non-organic, as it's not just about the pesticides - the mineral content of our food depends on the quality of soil the food is grown in.

The book concludes with recipes for green smoothies, most of which I've tried, and I'll leave you with my favourite - 'Minty Thrill': 4 ripe pears, handful of kale, 1/2 bunch of mint and 2 cups of water. Yields one litre (quart).

• During WWII, doctors discovered the water in young coconuts could be used as a substitute for blood plasma, because it's sterile, cool, easily absorbed by the body and doesn't destroy red blood cells.

• According to the 'doctrine of signatures' foods give us clues as to their function by their appearance. A walnut, rich in omega-3, looks like a little rain, complete with left and right hemisphere.

• The food that received the most votes in a 'least liked food' poll of raw fooders on the international giveittomeraw.com forum was... cilantro (coriander leaves).