The Raw Food Gurus are Lying to You
I’ll just get right to the point. Most raw food gurus are lying to you.
What the Experts Say
#1: Is It Raw?
These “experts” encourage you to eat anything as long as it’s raw. That means toxic foods like garlic, raw cacao, and cayenne pepper can be eaten on a daily basis and in mass quantities. They are even described affectionately as “warming” foods!
#2: Fruit-Phobia
These “experts” claim that a fruit-based diet is dangerous to your health, all the while promoting severe calorie restriction by eating a diet based on low-calorie vegetables.
I won’t name names, but one “expert” in particular claims that the healthiest raw diet consists of no more than 5 ounces of food! 5 OUNCES! That’s the amount I give my 15 pound maine coon!
Are you a 15 pound feline? No? Moving on then.
#3: Fat Fanatics
These “experts” go against all quality independent nutritional research and recommend eating extremely high levels of fat in the form of fatty fruits, nuts and seeds, and even processed oils! These are RAW fats, so you can eat as much as you want!
Again, no naming names, but certain “experts” have no problem eating and recommending 2-4 avocados EVERYDAY! And that’s not including all the nuts, seeds, and oils that are consumed in salads and dehydrated dishes.
#4: Powered, Processed, & Packaged
These “experts” advocate that you spend extraordinary amounts of YOUR money on “necessary” superfoods and supplements, many of which the supposed “expert” undoubtedly sells on his or her own website.
The RIGHT Way to Go Raw
#1: Is It Healthy?
Raw does not equal healthy! You do not need harmful raw foods such as salt, pepper, and raw cacao. In fact, your body is better off without them.
#2: Fruit, Fruit, and More Fruit
Don’t be afraid of fruit! Fruits offer the best nutrition for humans and satisfy your caloric needs. You should be eating as much sweet fruit as you want, until you are satisfied. Low calorie greens and non-sweets fruits are additions to fruit and can never form the basis of a healthy diet.
#3: Fat is Fat is Fat…
Raw fat is still fat and these foods should make up the smallest part of your diet. Think half of an avocado or 1-2 tablespoons of nuts per day. And oils are not raw, not healthy, and nothing but 100% fat!
#4: Fresh, Raw, & Fruity
Superfoods and supplements can never measure up to the nutritional complex of fresh fruits and vegetables.
You do not need Noni juice. You do not need dehydrated goji berries. You do not need yucky green powders and I will *never* sell any of these to you nor recommend that you buy them from anyone! Spend your money elsewhere, like on good quality fresh, raw produce.
Final Words
Ignore these so-called experts and go raw the RIGHT way!
Go raw and be fit,
Swayze
29 comments
[...] The Raw Food Gurus are Lying to You [...]
Excellent article Swayze, thank you!
I must say, I’m SO GLAD that I found your website when I did. I had been in the market for a food dehydrator and a mandolin, and a spiralizer, and a… you get the drift. I’m happy with my blender now – you’ve personally saved me hundreds of dollars.
Will you ever sell us anything though? I guess I’m jaded by having very very very rarely come across a website that wasn’t pushing SOMETHING…and this site seems really well set up and maintained.
I hope that’s not out of line or insulting. Just wondering what your day job is.
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Bonnie Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:55 am
That is funny, I was thinking the same thing!
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Haha, not insulting at all! Yes, I will be selling my own products and promoting others’ work that I think my readers will benefit from. I will be promoting my own ebook on cravings soon.
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Thanks for your efforts in making valuable health information available. I deeply appreciate the common sense perspective of Natural Hygiene with the explicit emphasis on high fruit and low fat. Blessings to you in abundance
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Thanks, Lou.
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Way to call attention to the product peddling gurus, Swayze! I would definitely argue that a higher fat protocol works for some bodies (I do well with high portions of avocado and coconut, for example) and that we all need to individualize. But I love your de-bunking of the gogi/algae/maca madness!
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
“Maca madness.”
Mind if I steal that?
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Hi, i’m raw vegan and i’m wondering about just eating fruit when you are going to be a bodyfitness model… I know that it is not necessary to take a lot of protein, but to built muscles; and i have talk with a lot of people, you need to have some more proteins. In this type of diet, i have lost energy, had sore muscles and lose som of them with my training. Do you have a exemple of a raw vegan bodybuilder or bodyfitness model with is daily plan menu, so I can have a model to follow instead I just confused. Thanks a lot and have a good day!!!
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Lou Finocchario Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Dr. Douglas Graham, a lifetime athlete and twenty-seven year raw fooder, is an advisor to world-class athletes and trainers from around the globe. … He has special book for atheletes- Excellent and the 80-10-10 plan- also read Grain Damage- hope this might be good info for you.
foodnsport.com/about.html – Cached – Similar
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delaney Reply:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I have a high fruit diet and train regularly (close to 811). I trained before on a high-protein diet (before raw foods). This is the first time I’ve trained on fruit and I’m having great results. I do eat nori, bee pollen, and spirulina but not every day. I wouldn’t even say that my progress is slower than when I ate meat.
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Muscular hypertrophy comes from applying some sort of resistance to a particular muscle. In other words, the only way to build muscle is to BUILD MUSCLE!
Food cannot do that for you. As long as you are getting enough calories, you are getting enough protein.
With that said, you will not be as big as cooked food bodybuilders if you are eating raw. These people are often holding excess water and fat from their diets, not muscle.
Here is a link to Charlie Abel’s YouTube Channel. He is a low fat raw bodybuilder. He used to have a website all about raw foods and exercise, but it is no longer active:
http://www.youtube.com/user/charliesgym
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Swayze,
Thanks for that very up front, pull no punches article! As I transition to a raw food diet (still eating fish once a week for now), I have come to realize that all raw food websites are not created equal. Because of you, I stopped shopping for a food dehydrator, got rid of all my spices, and returned $22.00 worth of “raw cold pressed” oils to Whole Foods, discovered the “30 Bananas a Day” website and Dr. Douglas Graham.
Because of you, I no longer feel guilty when I have some all fruit days, and I no longer get frustrated over my struggles with non-sweet fruits and leafy greens. I know that my taste buds are “maturing”, and one day I will no longer desire salt (I haven’t had any this week so far).
So thank you for the “Fool Proof Transition to Raw” mini-course, the Salty No Salt Salsa recipe, the encouragement to eat the fruits I like, and the information on shopping other places besides the high-priced “health food” stores for my organic produce. Thank you also for your no-nonsense approach to eating raw, because after all, it is simple! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
YOU are MY raw food guru!
Carol
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Carol, I really do not know what to say. That is definitely the most rewarding response I have received. Thank you so much.
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I love going raw. Learning to not be afraid of a low fat diet helps me even when I cannot get the fresh food and end up cooking something. Nuts and greens have proteins. And, as Swayze mentioned more than once, we do re-process the proteins already in our bodies, as cells age and such. Who knows! Maybe ou livers or intestinal bacteria do a LOT more than has been noticed. I read once that a healthy intestinal flora creates some of the essential oils.
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Eat as much fruit as you want eh…? Did you know that if you have a low glucose tolerance, which happens to be many of us who are overweight or have followed a shitty diet for a while, your body does not utilize the insulin that it is creating. This is known as borderline type 2 diabetes or in fact type 2 diabetes. So your blood sugar can remain high for a very long time, causing your pancreas to work overtime for a long time and eventually burn out. If you continue to eat like this, you WILL get diabetes and then you will be adding a side shot of insulin to that big plate of fruit you are eating. Before you follow a diet from someone with no educational credentials, talk to your doctor to find out what you should be doing to stay healthy. Talk to your local pharmacist to confirm any advise you take from anyone. They are the master chemists of the body and they know exactly how your body uses anything you put in it.
Fructose from fruit is just one step away from being glucose which is what your body converts it to and pumps it into your blood. Fruit is a carbohydrate containing fructose, which is not as high of a glycemic index as icing sugar, sugar, or brown sugar, but can overload your blood with sugar for a long time. Why is that a problem? You can get gum disease from the inside out, headaches, impaired circulation resulting in nerve damage, and in the worst case amputation of your limbs. Don’t trust what you are hearing? Then go down to your local biomedical center and get a fasting glucose test. You will find out how well your body is using glucose.
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Bonnie Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Well, since you admit to being overweight from bad diets and most definitely lack of exercise….I am not a Doctor either but here is a hint.
1. Step away from your keyboard
2. Take a walk or get on your treadmill…sure to make you feel better and rid your anguish
3. Have a healthy meal and add some fresh fruit
4. 95% of type 2 diabetes is brought on by “bad diets” and lack of exercise, so don’t play the victim, get yourself to a healthy place.
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Mary Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I have been on–and past–borderline Type II diabetes, and keeping the fats down helps me more than does keeping the fruits down, though I was also taught as you mention. Some people might need to transition more slowly, letting the blood levels of fat get quite low before trying this diet. I need a day of low-fat eating and some exercise that gets me breathing and a bit tired before I eat many carbs. It might not be worth it to some people
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Jill Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I know some people that cured or lessened their diabetes with a high-fruit, low fat diet. Dr. Douglas Graham talks about how it’s not necessarily the high sugar that causes diabetes. It’s the combination of high fat and sugar. Also, the sugar in fruit is not the same as refined sugar in pastries and cakes. Fruits are whole foods. They come with natural sugar (what our bodies and brains run on), fiber and tons of vitamins and minerals.
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Raw Fish = Tape Worms = malnutrition
Raw Eggs = Salmonella = brain damage
Raw Chicken = Salmonella = brain damage
Raw Pork = Brain Worms..!!! = brain damage
Raw vegetables = good health if they are clean, E-coli and Lysteriosis if they are not
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Bonnie Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I think we are all curious as to exactly….. what are you talking about?!?
Sincerely,
Confused
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Mary Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Salmonella has never been found in eggs that come from hens who roam around in the sunshine and eat grasses and bugs. Some people claim that any egg is safe if it is washed with soap or dishwashing liquid before it is broken open. I have not tried that, but I have eaten a LOT of raw eggs from my own hens and from store-bought, free-range, organic eggs.
When I was all-but-vegan, I ate a piece of cooked chicken once a week, and that satisfied me; a lot different from what many experts claimed in those years.
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I grow herbs and I love cinnamon. With bananas, I dip the end into ground cinnamon between bites. Sometimes I dip it into ground marjoram. I like basil with almost everything. Peaches are great with spearmint leaves, and I have these fresh in a large pot on my porch almost all year. Peaches aren’t fresh year-’round, but a few other fruits are, and peppermint is great with some of these. There are a LOT more herbs to use, too.
Fresh bell peppers are great with a lot of fruits. I put a tomato in the bottom of my blender, add a quart of watermelon pieces and 1/2–1/4 of a semi-hot pepper. Good stuff!
Yellow summer squashes and almonds (ground a bit first) are good blended up together. I add greens sometimes.
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Vegetables and fruits can be rinsed in an H2O2 solution–1/2 cup and about 1/2 tsp salt to a sink of cold water. Scrub the food lightly and rinse well with clear water–to get rid of viruses and bacterium. Some people soak their meats in a stronger solution, for about 1/2 hour. I don’t know that they then eat them raw, though.
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What about pesticides, eating so much fruit, even though it says “organic” there are still chemicals to be aware of. What are your suggestions?
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Jill Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Tina – I just thought I’d mention that all the other foods are sprayed with chemicals too (rice, grains, beans, the feed for animals) so the worry about pesticides is for all foods, not just fruits and vegetables. I would suggest looking up the “dirty dozen” and trying to buy those foods organic if you cannot afford to buy all organic.
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Swayze Reply:
August 13th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Excellent point, Tina. The ideal is always organic and locally grown produce. Of course, life is full of compromises. In a choice between commercially grown fruit and an organic cooked meal, I choose the fruit every time.
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Hi Swayze,
Could you do a blog on your transition to low-fat raw? i.e. How did you do it? Overnight, in steps, mono fruit?
Thanks for your blog!
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We do all have our own path to follow, I know, but if this can help, it is mine : I haven’t eaten any meat for 30 years or so and any animal products for 18 years I think and the smell of anything animal I find abominable, really strong, milk smells like farmyard manure, eggs also something similar. My senses tell me that us humans are not meant to use animals lives, milk(and all its derivatives) was meant by nature for calves only, eggs are the foetuses of chicken. It can only be admissable during a period of emergency (like the ice ages) for survival purposes but even then it changed our taste buds so we could not tell what what was good anymore and it was the beginning of degenerescence and even decadence. It developped wrong things in the brain, which affected all sorts of things in us like our hormones, which have have an effect on aggressivity, creativity etc, and we need to be vegan rawfoodist for a long time before we can be right again, so the quicker going raw we start the better ! For ourselves and for the future of the planet which is not doing very well, our diet being the main cause of all the trouble.
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