A close friend of mine once asked me why I eat a raw food diet. That question has always stuck with me because it was a simple enough question, but it needed a good answer. Another friend recently told me that eating a raw food diet is a “hippie thing”. I can understand his views as I see some people in the raw food movement looking like a hippie, but being a hippie or pretending to be elitist is not the reason why I eat this way, the truth could not be farther from it.

The massive benefits of eating raw foods, such as increased energy, better looks, mental clarity, perfect weight and so on, are consequences of eating in this way, but my decision of going on a raw diet was not based on these facts. There are two reasons why I choose to eat this way:

Reason 1: “I independently studied nutrition”

I take pride in using the word “independently”, because I studied nutrition with the sole purpose of finding solutions to my health problems, and not by adhering to any dogma. I don’t care who is right, I only care about what is right.

I strongly believe that any reasonable, intelligent person, who takes some time to research the area of nutrition, reads books and studies human physiology like I have done for the past 8 years, will arrive to the same conclusion as I did: we “thrive” on a diet of fruit and vegetables. This is what biology also says..

Let me clarify the “thriving” aspect- I feel that I have to, as someone mentioned to me that monkeys also eat meat. We can eat any kind of food because our bodies are equipped to survive and process whatever stuff we push down our throats, but that doesn’t mean that meat, grains or other foodstuff are our “optimal” food.

You are probably thinking: and what about the message from the nutritional “establishment” that disagrees with the views of eating a raw food diet? Well, there is no conspiracy here, but the simple truth is that the establishment’s main interest lies in making a profit, and that is not necessarily in line with what is good for you.

For instance, in the UK, McDonald’s and PepsiCo help to write the UK health policy, (see here). Corporations also influence nutrition courses. Bearing this in mind, it is obvious that McDonald’s and PepsiCo are not going to reinforce the message that eating a raw diet is extremely beneficial for you.

Reason 2: “I studied natural health”

I studied Natural Hygiene, to be more precise, and this is very important, because during all my years in the raw food movement and in the wider world of health, I realized that most people don’t fully understand the laws of nature.

Natural Hygiene is a science that came to existence over 200 years ago. It was created by medical doctors who found that medicine was the wrong approach to health care and they rediscovered natural laws that govern human life. When those laws are adhered to, we can recover and maintain our health. Dr. Herbert M. Shelton (1895-1984) took the old essays on hygiene and organised into over 40 books, renaming it “Natural Hygiene”. By the way, the word “Hygiene” is derived from the name of the Greek goddess of health “Hygieia”, and it simply means health.

I suffered many health problems in the past. My legs were so debilitated I could hardly walk normally; I suffered tremendous digestive issues, ear infections that lasted for months at a time; I stopped going to the gym and doing exercise because I just didn’t have the energy to do it anymore. All these health complications vanished completely from my life after I adopted Hygienic principles. I enjoy better health today than ever before.

Is the literature on Natural Hygiene 100 % perfect? Probably not. And the reason behind it is that instead of investing money and resources in perfecting Hygiene and preventing diseases, our society wastes humongous amount of money in looking to “treat” diseases by searching for “cures”, without understanding that there are no cures in nature, as only our bodies have the real capacity to heal. Understandably this is one message that pharmaceutical industries do not see as welcome. Literature on Natural Hygiene is most certainly more than adequate to save your life, as it saved mine.

Should you go on a raw food diet?

You must adopt Hygienic principles in your life that will benefit you greatly; this will include making some changes to your diet. You don’t have to eat 100% raw to get the benefits. Just bear in mind that the more healthy raw food you eat, the less intoxicated your body will get, simply because you are not eating the wrong food. Our natural state of being is healthy, living ‘hygienically’ will make you realize that being sick is not normal.

Dr. Douglas Graham puts it well when he says: “Natural Hygiene is not anti-medicine; Natural Hygiene is about making intelligent decisions”

Enjoy This Article?

Check out the real-world-tested recipes in The Raw Dinner Recipes eBook. Get 14 quick and delicious recipes that help you look and feel years younger!

You can get it right now – for FREE! – by clicking the banner below.