FAQ
‘Where do you get your protein?’
Food does not contain ‘protein’ as such. We eat foods that contain amino-acids, and our bodies use these amino-acids to make protein. There are 22 amino acids, and 8 of them are termed ‘essential’. Human beings can get all the essential amino acids required to build and maintain their bodies from exactly the same place that the peaceful, but strong, ox, horse and gorilla get them – from plant foods. No one of any age, sex or physical stature (including body-builders and athletes) needs to eat animals. If you choose to eat animals simply because you enjoy the taste, please…think about the animals!
Some plant foods may contain just one or two of the essential amino acids, but others (e.g. wheat, quinoa, hemp, goji berries) contain them all. So, when we eat a variety of plant foods, we obtain sufficient amino acids with which our bodies can make protein. (But do note this is based only on what scientists have discovered to date – somehow a goat can make all the protein it needs from clover; we could have more to discover about our own bodies’ abilities to make protein if fed whole undamaged foods!) Particularly good sources of amino-acids are grains, pulses, seeds and nuts, although all other plant foods, e.g. green leaves, vegetables and fruit, contribute to our protein needs.
When we eat raw plant foods, the amino acids are intact, and usable by our bodies. People who eat meat ‘for protein’ may be interested to know that the amino acids they are eating have been denatured by heat, which renders them less usable by the body.
Protein deficiency is not a problem in the developed world, despite what meat manufacturers might like you to believe. You may be interested to know that 50 years ago US recommendations for daily protein consumption were far higher than the level recommended today. Little comfort to those who were told to eat plenty of steaks for protein, and then read today’s reports linking the eating of meat with various cancers.
High consumption of dairy food is also linked to a variety of health ailments. Finally, fish is not the wonder food it appears. Fish is often contaminated with mercury and other pollutants, and, as it is an animal protein, makes the body acidic - a state that has been linked with all sorts of illnesses.
All protein needs can be met by a plant-based diet, and any dairy food should be kept to a minimum.
‘What about calcium?’
Many raw fooders are vegan. That is, they consume neither meat nor fish, nor dairy produce (although many take a B12 supplement). But vegans in general are not calcium-deficient. How can this be, when the conventional wisdom has been to eat milk and cheese ‘for calcium’?
It is not necessary to eat dairy produce for calcium. Green leaves and nuts are good sources of calcium. Recent research indicates that osteoporosis could actually be due to the eating of animal protein, such as meat, fish and dairy. Animal protein causes the body to become over-acidic and, when this happens, the body leeches calcium from the bones. It is a sad irony that the very advice that has been given for so many years might have been having the opposite effect to that intended.
For more about raw and calcium, see my blog article here.
‘Don’t you feel hungry just eating salads?’
First of all, remember that when new to raw food, if you find fruit and salads too big a leap from your old cooked diet, there are ‘transition foods’ (raw meals that remind us of cooked foods) that can help.
But, even on the relatively simple raw food diet I follow now – lots of fruit, salads and a little raw fat in the form of olives, avocado, nuts etc, I never ‘feel hungry’ in the way I did when on a cooked diet. But, let’s have a look at that:
If you are a cooked-food eater, do you ever feel a ‘gnawing’ feeling in your stomach, perhaps just a few hours after a cooked meal? Don’t confuse it with true hunger. Here’s William Hay MD on that!
‘…arrange the feeding habits so that no gnawing will ever again occur even when the stomach is entirely empty. Every gnawing feeling is evidence that the stomach contains a very uncomfortable amount of acid, the acid debris that follows the meal…’
An acidic body can contribute to all sorts of ailments, minor and major. Foods such as meat, fish, dairy, alcohol and cooked grains have an acidic effect on the body. Raw ‘plant foods’ are in general alkalising. In the early months of raw, I did sometimes have that ‘gnawing feeling’, as I was still eating some of the acid-forming foods. As a higher percentage of my diet became raw, and my body more alkaline, I experienced those feelings less and less, and now I never experience ‘gnawing’, even when going 24 hours without food! My stomach may be empty (at rest) but no uncomfortable feelings!
There are many accounts that suggest that people can live healthily and happily on a very small amount of food (and only one or two sorts of food), but in the majority of these cases the foods have been whole and raw, i.e. undamaged by heat. People do not generally fare well living on a small amount of cooked food.
‘I’ve heard you need to buy a dehydrator and other expensive equipment.’
In my first six months of raw the only equipment I had was a food processor, and a basic blender (cost around £50) and I managed fine. You can dehydrate by leaving the oven on lowest setting with the door ajar.
Yes, you do get better results with a dehydrator, and it’s great to have an expensive masticating juicer, and the very expensive Vitamix blender will do the job better than your basic one. As you progress on the raw foods journey, you may buy one or more of these pieces of equipment, if you are lucky enough to be able to afford them, but none of them are essential.
‘Don’t raw meals take a lot of planning and preparation?’
Some ‘raw recipe’ meals – the ‘transition’ or ‘rawcuisine’ meals - do take a lot of preparation. If you tried to make these daily, you would soon feel overwhelmed unless you had a lot of time on your hands. Try a simple raw diet of fruit, salads and breads/crackers in the week; save the ‘raw gourmet’ meals for weekends or when you have more time.
‘I’m interested, but not sure that ‘100% raw’ would fit into my lifestyle right now…’
In that case, go raw in stages…I fully appreciate that if you are working full-time, with a spouse and children who may or may not be supportive of your enthusiasm for the raw food diet, it can be difficult to make a sudden switch to all-raw.
Although the most dramatic health benefits will be experienced by those who switch to a 100% raw food diet, ANY increase in the percentage of raw foods in your diet will improve your health.
Whether you’d like to go ‘100% raw’ straight away, or whether you’d simply like to increase the amount of raw food in your diet to perhaps 25%, or 50%, I can help by showing you easy and interesting ways of incorporating raw foods into your lifestyle.