Anything sugary that you put into your body – whether it’s a slice of pound cake or a slice of a peach – is bad for you.  It spikes your blood sugar, causes Diabetes, makes your children go nuts, increases belly fat, on and on…

But this hatred of all things sweet is not just limited to the cooked food world.

Most raw foodists are very wary of the sweet stuff and shun eating more than a piece or two of fruit a day.  Some even eliminate fruit altogether, for fear of Candida overgrowth and fermentation in the intestines

In fact, the most sugar-bashing I have seen has come from RAW FOODISTS!

But is this really true?  Is all sugar really created equal and, therefore…evil?!

We Have a Sweet Tooth For a Reason

How many times have you heard someone claim they have a “sweet tooth”?

How many times have you finished a big starchy, meaty cooked meal and wanted nothing more than a big bowl of ice cream or a piece of chocolate to truly satisfy you?

In my cooked food days, a meal was never complete if I didn’t finish off with a cookie, candy, or pastry…or two.

There’s a reason for this sweet obsession and the reason is clear: humans need sugar!

Just look at the way your body processes food.  Every single thing you eat – carbohydrate, protein or even fat – is broken down into sugar (glucose).

This is the only way your cells can utilize the food for fuel.

So…if our cells must break everything down into glucose anyway, wouldn’t it be efficient and make sense to eat food that is already in this form?

And wouldn’t it be even MORE efficient and make MORE sense to get this sugar from a healthy, whole, easy-to-digest source?

But I’m getting ahead of myself…

Refined Sugar vs. Fresh Fruit

Of course, you can’t just eat ANY ole’ sugary substance and become a beacon of health.  Unlike what modern medicine, media, and mainstream raw foodists will have you believe, all sugar is NOT the same.

I’m the first to admit that junky, empty calorie, processed and packaged foods like breakfast cereal, candy bars and fruit gummies are NOT healthy and contain little to no nutritional value whatsoever.

But these foods are not unhealthy because they contain simple sugars glucose and fructose.  They are unhealthy because they contain *refined* sugars!

Even the so-called “natural” products containing “natural fruit flavors” are still completely refined.  They contain nothing more than the concentrated sweetness of the whole, raw ingredient they are meant to resemble.

Fresh fruit, on the other hand, is well…fresh!  When you eat whole, ripe fruit, you are getting all of the simple sugars completely unprocessed, along with the oh-so vital water, fiber, and other necessary nutrients.

No refined sugar.  No nutrient damage.  No preservatives.

Yet another problem only tied to *processed* sugar products?  Many of them are quite fatty.  Just look at some of the ingredients in America’s favorite dessert dishes:

• Apple pie – granulated sugar, butter (100% fat), eggs (63% fat)
• Brownies – granulated sugar, butter, eggs
• Chocolate chip cookies – granulated sugar, butter, eggs

Are you seeing a pattern?

When eating these foods, you get a double whammy: nutrionally-ruined refined sugar AND copious amounts of fat!

And I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the problem with eating a diet even moderately high in fat…

And eating this fat with copious amounts of sugar?!  Oh man, that’s just *begging* for trouble!

Ditch the Processed Desserts, Go for the Gold (Apple)

Moral of today’s story? All sugar is clearly NOT created equal OR evil!

When it comes to refined sweets, most people have it right.  Processed sugary foods provide nutritionally deficient calories and hold no place in a healthy diet.

But when it comes to WHOLE, RIPE, RAW sweets, ignore the hype and use your better judgment.  Our species thrives on simple sugars and the best way to give your body what it needs is to eat a diet high in delicious and nutritious fruit!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Looking for recipes high in delicious and nutritious fruit?  Check out my raw recipe book “Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes” at the link below:

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites

* What’s New: Meet Me in Michigan

* Feature Article: 4 Ways to Improve the Mainstream Raw Food Diet

Meet Me in Michigan

From Friday-Sunday, October 8-10, 2010, Dr. Douglas Graham (author of The 80/10/10 Diet) is going to be presenting five, 3-hour health lectures in Livonia, Michigan.

The schedule is:

• Friday Night – Fasting: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (6-9)
• Saturday AM – Basics and Basis of the 80/10/10 Lifestyle (9:30-12:30)
• Saturday PM – Nutrition and Energy (2-5)
• Sunday AM – Children’s Health (9:30-12:30)
• Sunday PM – Astonishing Case Studies (2-5)

But that’s not the best part.  The best part is that a “market place” will be open for lunch on Saturday and Sunday, with restaurant vendors offering low fat raw vegan food!  There will be fresh fruit offered throughout both days as well!

And guess who’s booked for the whole weekend?  That’s right, ME!

So if you would like to learn more about health and wellness from the undisputed fruit master AND fill up on tasty fresh fruit with yours truly, then make your way over to Michigan this fall!

You can find out more information on the individual lectures and purchase your tickets here:

http://www.livingyoganow.com/dg/index.html

If you order by August 31 you get a $100 discount on the entire event and if you order by July 31 you get a free gift at the door.

I sure hope to see you there!

Swayze

4 Ways to Improve the Mainstream Raw Food Diet

Last week, I reviewed an essay on evolution and the human diet and concluded with 4 main ways to improve the modern human diet:

1. Eliminate Salt Intake
2. Eliminate Grains and Replace with Fruits and Vegetables, with an emphasis on sweet fruit
3. Exercise Everyday
4. Limit Fat Intake

You can find the rest of the article here.

Unfortunately, modern Americans with their SAD diet are not the only ones guilty of ignoring the lifestyle points above. Many health conscious individuals and their so-called nutritious diets fail as well.

For instance, vegans are known for eating tons of grain-based meals coupled with staggering levels of salt and oil. And while many vegans don’t struggle with hyperadiposity, there is definitely no shortage of under-muscled veg-heads.

But what about RAW vegans? Well, it seems that there is much room for improvement amongst this special class of health hobbyists as well.

Salt

The average raw foodist eats too much salt, as well as other spices and condiments. Here’s a raw soup recipe I found while scouring the web:

• South River unpasteurized miso
• Tomato concentrate by Premier Research
• Hijiki
• Goji Berries
• Hemp Seeds
• Raw Honey
• Sea Salt (pink himalayan salt is a great option)
• Other seaweed (optional)
• Nutritional flakes (optional)
• Agaricus mushroom powder (optional)

Can this really be considered a recipe? It seems to be made up of flavorings, rather than actual nutritious food.

Grains Over Fruits and Vegetables

You would think that most raw foodists would naturally favor ripe fruits and veggies over difficult to digest grains.

Unfortunately this is not the case. Many cooked-made-raw recipes, like burgers, wraps, and pizzas, use sprouted grains.

Here’s an example of a raw pizza:

• 400g sprouted wheat (or sprouted buckwheat)
• 2 medium fresh tomatoes
• ½ a medium sized onion
• 6-8 sundried tomato halves (ideally pre-soaked)
• About 10 leaves of fresh basil
• Liberal shaking of Italian dried herbs mix
• 1 clove garlic
• ⅓ cup of olive oil

And while many mainstream raw foodists do eat good amounts of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc., they put WAY too little emphasis on sweet fruit. Some even shun fruit completely!

For more on the problem with eating grains, check out my article here.

Exercise

I don’t know what it is, but mainstream raw food vegans seem to HATE to exercise…not including meditation and low-intensity yoga, of course.

Actually I DO know why: they don’t eat enough calories! It’s impossible to find the energy to work up a good sweat when you’re living on heavy fats and low-calorie veggies.

This is why it’s so common to see super skinny, yet still over-fat and under-muscled raw foodists.

Fat

Here’s the big one: raw foodists eat way too many avocados, nuts, seeds, and oils. They’re used in salads, soups, salsas, sauces, and even sweet desserts!

ESPECIALLY the desserts! Here are the ingredients for an almond cake recipe:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 2/3 cup almonds
• 1 cup pitted, packed medjool dates
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

And that doesn’t include the almond creme…

• 1 cup cashews
• 1/3 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 2 tablespoons chopped almonds

…or the whipped creme…

• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 3 tablespoons cacao powder
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons carob powder
• Seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean
• Pinch celtic sea salt
• 2 tablespoons melted cacao butter
• 1 tablespoons coconut oil

…that go along with it.

Holy Cannoli!

No wonder so many raw foodists have issues with candida overgrowth.

Raw Rules for Everyone

So yea, unfortunately cooked food lovers are NOT the only ones guilty of dietary sin. But that’s okay, because you definitely don’t have to follow the trend:

1. Eliminate Salt Intake
2. Eliminate Grains and Replace with Fruits and Vegetables, with an emphasis on sweet fruit
3. Exercise Everyday
4. Limit Fat Intake

No matter what your current diet, you will see tremendous health gains by adopting the 4 guidelines above.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. You’ve probably also noticed how most raw recipe books out there follow this same unhealthy pattern: lots of salt and other spices and condiments, lots of fat, grains and low-calorie veggies over sweet fruits.

Not this one:

Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes

P.P.S. And yes, the unhealthy recipes I talked about in this post actually exist on popular raw food websites (I’m sure you’ve seen many just like them). I didn’t want to put anyone out by linking to the websites while bashing their recipes!

I know, I’m too cool for school.

Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution is one particular book that I have been reading lately. It’s a collection of essays written by numerous anthropologists, biologists, etc. regarding – you guessed it – evolution and the human diet.

In “Evolution, Diet, and Health” by S. Boyd Eaton, Stanley B. Eaton III, and Loran Cordain, the authors examine dietary evolution from the last common ancestor of apes and humans all the way up to modern men of today.

They conclude the essay with four ways in which intensive agriculture (i.e. farming) and industrialization have changed human health for the worse:

#1: Sodium Intake Has Dramatically Increased

About 90% of current sodium intake results from food processing, preparation, and flavoring: Only 10% is intrinsic to the foods themselves.

Many groups of hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and rudimentary horticulturalists that lack commercially available salt have been studied in this century. These ancestral human surrogates experience neither rising blood pressure with age nor clinical hypertension.

It is also important to note that most of these “ancestral human surrogates” do not consume any rock salt at all (i.e. table salt, sea salt, volcanic rock salt, etc.). They receive all of their sodium from the foods they eat.

#2: Grains Have Replaced Fruits and Vegetables

No primates other than humans ordinarily consume cereal grains, but from the introduction of agriculture onward, grains have been the single most important contributor to human food energy, providing from 40% to 90% of human caloric requirements.

In doing so they have displaced fruits and vegetables that, until the Neolithic [period], had been the dominant energy source for Stone Agers, earlier hominds, and our antecedent primate ancestors for fifty million years.

You may be thinking that this focus on grains has allowed us time to anatomically and physiologically adapt to digesting them. However, the authors make it clear that this isn’t so:

The phytochemicals of grains have interacted with the human genome for only ten thousand years. Hence, substitution of grains for vegetables and fruits in human diets might readily diminish our resistance to development of neoplastic [cancerous] disease.

Some sources do say 30,000 as opposed to 10,000 years. Nonetheless, supporters of evolutionary theory agree that this simply is not enough time for digestive adaption to occur.

#3: Fatter Bodies From Lack of Exercise

For primates and other mammals in natural settings, food procurement is inextricably linked to energy expenditure…The ratio of fat to muscle generally varies with season, but typically lies within fairly narrow limits; hyperadiposity [excess of fat tissue], as it exists for many contemporary humans, is rare or not existent for other primates.

In the present, however, obtaining food energy is no longer dependent on muscular exertion: From childhood on, calories are available at the lowest cost in human experience without reciprocal energy expenditure. The result is relative sarcopenia – deficiency of skeletal muscle.

And here is a dire result of hyperadiposity and sarcopenia (too much fat and not enough muscle):

…a given insulin secretory pulse, in response to a carbohydrate-containing meal, now produces less reduction in blood glucose levels than would have been achieved for prior humans with evolutionarily “appropriate” body composition. Additional, “extra” pancreatic insulin is required to produce glucose homeostasis…the process can proceed to glucose intolerance and overt diabetes.

Essentially, the fatter you are, the harder time your body has of properly assimilating glucose that has been absorbed into your bloodstream.

Sound familiar? That’s because I often talk about FAT as the true cause of sugar metabolic disorders like Diabetes and candida overgrowth, not sugar. As long as you are consuming a low-fat diet, you will have absolutely no trouble digesting the simple sugars in fruit.

For more on the dangers of a high fat diet, check out my article here.

Speaking of too much fat…

#4: Too Much Fat in the Diet

For ancestral humans, the cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids constituted about 5% of total energy intake, and trans fatty acids intake was negligible. For Americans, cholesterol-raising saturated fatty acids approach 15% of dietary energy, while hydrogenated vegetable fats and oils provide an unprecedented quantity of trans fats.

This imbalance of Omega-6 and 3 fatty acids not only affects physical health (i.e. coronary atherosclerosis, the disease characterized by plaque on the arterial walls), but it also has a harmful impact on mental health:

…studies of plasma Omega-6:Omega-3 ratios in patients with depression reveal a direct association: Higher ratios of Omega-6 to Omega-3 PUFAs [polyunsaturated fatty acids] are correlated with more frequent and severe depressive episodes. Early therapeutic trials with Omega-3 PUFAs have shown symptomatic improvement.

These Guys Must Be Healthy Raw Vegans!

Not really, but I was really intrigued by the ramifications of this essay. As a low fat raw vegan, I agree with and encourage all 4 points…with a bit of modification, of course:

1. Eliminate Salt Intake. Raw fruits and vegetables provide all the sodium your body needs. There is no need to consume sodium chloride.
2. Eliminate Grains and Replace With Fruits and Vegetables. Emphasis on the fruit! The bulk of your calories should come from sweet fruit, but don’t neglect tender leafy greens and non-sweet fruits like tomatoes.
3. Exercise Everyday. It doesn’t always have to be intense (in fact, it’s best to vary intensity throughout the week), but you should do something active each day. Even a short walk around the block is exercise!
4. Limit Your Fat Intake. Optimally, overall fat intake should not exceed 10% of total calories. That may sound impossible, but it is really very easy as long as you are consuming enough sweet fruit. And you’ll notice the benefits almost immediately.

Hmmm. Perhaps we fruit defenders are not so strange after all?

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. That first guideline has got you down, huh?  I know, it’s tough giving up on salt for good.  It’s hard to enjoy the simple flavors of fruits and vegetables without the flavor enhancing, yet irritating and weight-retaining salts, spices, and condiments that we are all so used to.

That’s okay, because my low fat and fruity friend Roger Haeske has some delicious dishes that will put the kibosh on your savory salty cravings.  Called Savory Veggie Stews, these completely raw, completely low fat, and completely free of salt recipes are truly tasty.

Check ‘em out here:

http://tinyurl.com/ygwwahs

In addition to all this oil, raw foodists also tend to eat lots of fatty avocados and nuts as well. I think a more fitting name for the mainstream raw food diet would be the oil and avocado diet!

The problem here is that most raw foodists do not see eating all this oil as a negative. I mean, oil is RAW and HEALTHY, right?

Oil Is Not Raw

Many raw foodists will argue that because cold-pressed oils are not heated, they are still raw.

Here is the Merriam-Webster definition of raw:

being in or nearly in the natural state : not processed or purified

Any food that is processed is not raw. Any food that is no longer in its whole state is not raw. Olive oil is clearly a processed food, no longer in its whole state.

Oil is not a raw food.

Oil Is Nothing But Fat

Let’s not fool ourselves here. Oil is 100% pure fat.

A tablespoon of olive oil is about 100 calories, all of which comes from fat. Just because you eat it with a big, healthy bowl of greens and vegetables does not negate the fact that you are eating a tablespoon of fat.

Remember, greens contain very few calories and so a large salad with only a tablespoon or two of oil is still a high-fat meal. And a typical raw food salad includes much more than one measly tablespoon of oil and even *more* fatty ingredients like avocados and nuts.

That’s a lot of fat!

Oil Is Not Healthy

Some will argue that oil is really a health food, providing necessary monounsaturated fatty acids, phytochemicals, and antioxidants.

In reality, oil is a highly refined, highly fatty, *empty* calorie food.

That’s right, oil is nothing but EMPTY CALORIES! All of the good stuff, like fiber and water, has been removed. It is no longer a healthy whole food, but a refined mockery of the original.

Even the fat itself in oil is literally “bad,” as it does not take long for fat exposed to oxygen to become rancid.

Pass the bottle of “healthy” rancid liquid fat, please!

These oil supporters are also assuming the “more is better” fallacy. This belief is held by the vast majority of people, who are taught that if a food has more of a particular nutrient, it is automatically better for us.

The problem? The “more is better” belief does not take into account human nutritional requirements. Just because a certain food has more of a specific nutrient does NOT mean that it is automatically better for us.

In fact, as is the case with fatty oil, too much is often a very bad thing that has some very bad consequences!

To find out more about the dangers of eating a high fat diet, check out my article here.

The Verdict?

Let that oil spoil!

This fatty liquid is doing nothing in terms of fostering health. It will serve you well to get rid of the stuff for good.

If you feel that you must consume oils in your meals, make sure to keep the amounts to a minimum (i.e. 1 tbsp) and to avoid consuming with sweet fruit of any kind.

This food combining rule applies to all overt fats, even healthy raw ones like avocados and nuts and seeds.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. If you find it next to impossible to enjoy your dinner salad without a bit of fatty oil, you may want to check out Roger Haeske’s idiot-proof recipe system, Savory Veggie Stews.

These delicious and completely oil-free dishes (not to mention salt-free as well) will be sure to put the kibosh on all of your dinner time cravings:

http://tinyurl.com/ygwwahs

Enjoy!

It’s a little R.A.W. formula I came up with to help all you struggling raw foodies out there.

“R” Stands for…

*Reduce Your Fat Intake*

Too many raw foodists are eating way too much fat.  As Dr. Graham likes to say, the mainstream raw food diet is an unsustainable diet of “grass and fats.”

And it truly is!

With all the fruit fear mongering going around, raw foodists are only left with a couple of choices: fatty foods like avocado or grassy foods like greens…or even just plain ole’ grass!

And because grassy foods provide very little in the way of calories, it’s up to the fattier fare to pick up the slack.

The result? A food regimen that’s higher in fat than the average cooked food diet!

I experienced this myself when I first went raw. I had been a low fat food person for quite some time, but my cooked vegan diet was failing me and so I wanted to give raw a chance.

I followed a well-known raw food cuisine book (this particular book is one of the top-selling raw recipe books today, actually), but all of the oil and nuts used in 90%+ of the recipes just didn’t sit right with me.

When I finally sat down and calculated what I was eating, I was shocked to find that my daily “healthy” raw food diet was AVERAGING 45% fat!

I didn’t even consume that much fat as a SAD eater!

After a few more weeks of research, I made the switch to low fat raw and immediately saw improvements: no more bloating, gas, or lethargy!

And with all the yummy sweet fruit, I was finally satiated!  As long as I ate enough fruit (yes, this really is THE key), I never felt the need (and still don’t) to fill up on dense fatty foods.

“A” Stands for…

*Add in Some Greens*

While I’m sure you know how important sweet fruit is to a healthy raw food diet…

(And if you don’t, this article may help you out)

…you may be missing out on another important component: GREENS!

While fruits are absolutely vital because they come the closest to meeting our nutritional needs and provide sufficient calories, they do run low in some necessary nutrients (i.e. minerals).

That’s where greens come in!

Tender leafy greens like romaine and bib lettuce – as well as delicious non-sweet fruits like cucumber and red bell pepper – have a higher mineral content than sweet fruits do.

And you know what? It’s just really nice sometimes to have a big savory salad or a Fat Free Veggie Dip at the end of a fruit-filled day, which can really help with cravings and keep you on the raw path.

“W” Stands for…

*Work Your Body Everyday*

Sorry all you lazy raw foodists (a group in which I include myself), but if you want optimal results on raw (or ANY diet), you have to exercise.

You have to get yourself up off that couch and away from your computer/TV screen and move around a bit.

And if it’s *optimal* results you’re looking for, then you need to do this EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Even on my recovery days, I still do light stretching and low impact activities such as walking and biking.

And no, “low impact activities” do not include pushing the buttons on your remote or typing at your computer.

Of course, if you’re new to being physically active, be safe and start slow. A 30 minute walk around the neighborhood 3 times per week is an excellent place to start and can easily be modified (i.e. alternating jogging and walking) as you progress.

Get Great Raw Results!

By following this formula…

Reducing your fat intake,

Adding in your greens, and

Working your body everyday

…you will definitely see some radical (but totally welcome) raw results.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. You’re curious about that Fat Free Veggie Dip I mentioned, aren’t ya?  No problem!  Check out my completely low fat and healthy raw food recipe book:

http://www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites/