This may come as a surprise to you, but I’ve seen this phenomenon time and time again; people get healthy eating a raw food diet and after some time, they slowly fall back into eating cooked food.
It doesn’t obviously apply to all raw foodists, but it does so to a large number of people.
So I do wonder what the reasons are behind it.
- Is it because raw foods are somehow deficient and they need to complement with cooked foods?
- Is it because they are following the wrong raw food approach?
- Is it to do with hormones?
- Do they get tired of eating raw?
- Is it because of taste?
- Convenience?
- Pressure of family life?
- Social occasions?
Let’s assume in this article that people are following the right kind of raw food approach and they know what they are doing.
Some of the points I listed above may be true but what I noticed through my experience and during the many years of coaching, is that the main reason why do most folks chose to eat cooked food after having a successful spell on a raw food diet is because they forget how sick they were previously to eating raw.
Now that they have regained their health via raw foods, they think it’s OK to incorporate some cooked foods here and there.
So, they start adding cooked foods back into their diet until cooked foods take over their life again, as it inevitably does, due to the addictive nature of most cooked food.
What happens next? All the diseases and illnesses they previously experienced before going raw start popping up again.
It’s at this point that people freak out and start eating raw again.
You cannot overeat bananas, but you can overeat processed foods, which will make you sick. Let’s not forget that all cooked foods are processed foods in essence because the water present in food is removed by the practice of cooking.
Water is vital to our health as it’s our most valued nutrient, second only to oxygen.
And in case you wonder, you cannot replace the water lost in food by drinking tab water or any other water; this is partly why a raw food diet is so rich in nutrients and so important.
How to Get Back On Track with Raw Foods?
There are some helpful steps you can take in order to get back in shape if you go off the rails eating cooked food for a while.
Here is what I advise:
– Water fast
In the broad sense, fasting may be regarded as negative nutrition compelling the organism to subsist on nourishment that it has stored within itself.
You can think of a fast as a way to reset your system in order to appreciate the taste of simple, raw foods again and also as a way to restore your “emotional balance”, which can often send your diet off track and cause you to crave comfort foods.
Water fast is much more effective – and healthier, than any juice fast by the way, or juice “dieting” to give it a proper name.
– Make sure you have a good supply of raw foods around the house so you don’t run out.
Having a wide variety of raw foods available in your house is a big plus when you are looking for something healthy to eat. You should avoid consuming too many dried foods and make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit.
Shopping wholesale always helps in this regard, because you can be sorted for produce for many days in advance.
– Eat slowly – practice mindfulness
Scientists have known for some time that a full stomach is only part of what causes someone to feel satisfied after a meal; the brain must also receive a series of signals from digestive hormones secreted by the gastrointestinal tract.
By chewing slowly, you allow enough time to experience pleasure and satiety, as well give your brain enough time to process the communication signals coming from hormones.
It has been proved that people consume smaller meals if they eat at a slower pace. By contrast, foods that are eaten quickly tend to be consumed in larger portions and have lower expected satiation levels. [1]
How quickly we eat reflects, in most cases, our anxiety levels and the emotions we experience at any particular time.
If you watch the way the Buddhists eat, they eat slowly as they practice mindfulness.
By practicing mindful eating, we take more control of our well-being and enjoy our foods more.
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One Response
Hi Ariel, I am a Type 1 Diabetic of 45years. Was diagnosed on 16/05/74. I’m on long acting (once a day, in morning) and short acting insulin 3 x daily before breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve been researching for years for a cure. When you said your peripheral neuropathy, which is supposed to be incurable, got cured and disappeared, I was sold on going on this 100% RAW, low-fat, plant based way of eating, also your “Health For Life Program.” I want to know where do I begin with my insulin? No doctor here is going to support me in this quest, I know it. Do I delete the long acting insulin, monitor BSLs closely, give short-acting according to BSL? I will be keeping a journal on everything I eat and do. Also, I have a book from America on Autoimmune Secrets, where it tells you to drain your pathways eg. Lymph system, Liver bile duct and kidneys, before you detox for Lyme disease, parasites, Mold, Heavy Metals etc. Tells to go on WFPB diet, but you take it to another level by deleting All oils, which I totally agree with. Makes sense. Can you please advise me, or put me into someone who can? Like you, I walk alone in this quest.
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