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

The individuals who believe this are simply not examining the whole picture when it comes to determining a foods absorption rate.

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is used as a way to measure how quickly particular foods are digested and how quickly the sugars in those foods enter into the blood stream.

For example, pineapple rates 59 on the glycemic index.

A glycemic index rating of 1-55 is low, 56-69 is medium, and 70 and above is high.

By only relying on the glycemic index, it appears as though many fruits are medium-to-high glycemic foods.  In other
words, the simple sugars in these foods enter your bloodstream very quickly.

The problem here is that the glycemic index only measures the rate at which the sugar enters the blood, not the amount of sugar in a particular amount (let’s say a serving) of food.

That’s where the oft-ignored glycemic load comes in.

Glycemic Load

In The 80/10/10 Diet, Dr. Graham explains the glycemic load and how it is necessary to truly make sense of sugar
digestion.

The glycemic load is calculated by multiplying a food’s glycemic index value by the amount of available carbohydrate per serving (grams of carbohydrates less fiber), then dividing by 100.  Thus, fruits, which are, mostly water, have a low glycemic load even though they rate high on the
glycemic index.

For example, watermelon rates high on the glycemic index at 72.  However, its glycemic load is low at only 4.

A glycemic load rating of 1-10 is low, 11-19 is medium, and 20 and above is high.

As it turns out, all fruits rate low to medium on the glycemic load scale.

So stop worrying about eating “high-glycemic” fruit and go EAT MORE FRUIT!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

* Feature Article: Are Raw Sweeteners Really Raw And Healthy?

* Your Questions Answered: Is it Okay to Consume Macadamia Nut Oil?

Are Raw Sweeteners Really Raw And Healthy?

I find it quite ridiculous interesting that so many raw foodists are completely fruit-phobic and yet they have no qualms about eating tablespoon after tablespoon of refined sweeteners like agave and honey.

You would think that someone who severely limits their consumption of sweet fruit because the simple sugars “cause Candidiasis” would be even MORE careful about his or her use of concentrated sweeteners.

And now that we’re on the topic, what about raw sweeteners?  Are they really raw?  Are they good for us?  Are they even that tasty?

Agave Not Really Raw?!

There’s been some controversy over the past year or so about raw agave nectar.  Apparently, some manufacturers were not being completely honest about the “rawness” of their product.

For those who don’t know, agave nectar comes from the agave plant (usually the Blue Agave) growing in Southern Mexico.  It is a succulent (adept at storing water) similar to Aloe Vera and looks like this:

The plants are harvested, crushed and the resulting sap removed.  The sap is then heated to create the concentrated liquid known as agave nectar or syrup.

Fun little fact: Agave is actually the plant from which tequila is made!

Anyway, wanna know my first reaction to the whole agave scandal?

Ummm, DUH!

Agave nectar (even if it is not heated over 115 116 118 oh hell, whatever the temperature is!) is a refined product and, therefore, is NOT a raw food!

And this applies to ALL refined “raw” products, not just agave.  Dried fruit, dried nuts, even sun-dried tomatoes are not truly raw (i.e. unprocessed) by definition.

But Is It Good For You?

There are many ways one can define “good for you” or “healthy”.  Some people view those foods that make them feel good as healthy, while others simply follow the current health trend (one day eggs are full of cholesterol and bad fats, the next they’re rich in vitamin k and low in calories).

I classify healthy foods as those that are health promoting.  These are foods that are easy to digest, absorb, assimilate, eliminate and most importantly…delicious!

There is nothing present in agave nectar that cannot be found in fresh fruits and vegetables.  You can live your entire life without touching the stuff and be perfectly healthy.

In fact, since agave is a refined food, there is very much missing from the product.  Just as I brought up with regard to Fruit2Day a while back, processed foods have had much of the water removed and many vital nutrients along with that water.

You may hear raw agave nectar being touted as a low glycemic food, but as long-term raw foodist John Kohler mentions in this article, agave nectar has an…

…unusually high concentration of fructose (90%) compared to the small amount of glucose (10%).  Nowhere in nature does this ratio of fructose to glucose occur naturally. One of the next closest foods that contain almost this concentration of glucose to fructose is high fructose corn syrup used in making soda(HFCS 55), which only contains 55% fructose. Even though fructose is low on the glycemic index, there are numerous problems associated with the consumption of fructose in such high concentrations as found in concentrated sweeteners:

Kohler then goes on to list some of the various problems with consuming high concentrations of fructose, such as an increase in uric acid, blood lactic acid, and mineral loss in the body.

So is really raw agave really a health food?

No, not really.

What About Raw Honey, Sucanat, Yacon Syrup, etc…

Same deal.  None of these ingredients are truly raw and some of them, like evaporated cane juice, yacon syrup, and maple syrup, are heated above the 118 degree threshold.

And if remaining vegan for ethical reasons is your issue, then honey isn’t a viable option anyway!

So Raw Sweeteners Are Evil?!

Okay, time to cut the not-really-raw sweeteners some slack.

While I continue to stand firmly behind fresh fruit as the best sweetener of all, I see no problem with including small amounts of agave, honey, what have you in some raw recipes.  They can be a great way to add sweetness and help balance out a savory meal without changing the overall taste and texture of the dish.

The key, of course, is “small amounts.”  Think 2-3 spoonfuls at the max.

Personally, I rarely ever use these raw sweeteners.  I can’t remember the last time I used agave and I don’t eat honey.

Why?  Because I think they’re yucky!  They just taste overly sweet and fake to me.

Plus, they can be pretty expensive.  Why pay for a refined product out of a bottle to sweeten your food when you have much tastier, healthier, AND cheaper ingredients on hand all the time…

SWEET FRUIT!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

Is it Okay to Consume Macadamia Nut Oil?

I received an email just this morning from reader Erica.

Erica asks:

I’m of the mentality that a small amount of fat is vital for our bodies, and often try to get that fat from avocados. I do, however, love to add 1/2 T of macadamia nut oil to my salads just for it’s wonderful taste. Do you think this is detrimental to my health? I try to use oil as sparingly as possible, but I can’t get enough of my macnut oil drizzle on my salads.

Just like the raw sweeteners discussed in the above feature article, oil is not truly a raw product and is not a health food.  There is nothing in macadamia nut oil – or any cold pressed oil – that is not present in the whole, fresh food from which it originates.

And because oil is a refined product, much of the vital nutrients have been REMOVED in the process.  That means you are actually receiving LESS nutrition than you would if you simply ate the food (macadamia nuts, in this case) in its fresh, whole state.

Plus, oil is 100% fat!  One measly tablespoon of oil contains about 100 calories of pure fat.

That said, it certainly will not kill you to eat it sparingly.  Having 1/2 tablespoon with your salad is not a large amount.  As long as this is the only overt fat you eat for the day, you will still be well within a healthy fat intake range for the day.

Hope that answers your question, Erica!

Swayze

P.S. For more information about the dangers of eating a high fat diet, be sure to check out my article:

The Truth About a High Fat Raw Food Diet

P.P.S. If you have any questions for me about living a healthy raw food lifestyle, feel free to leave a comment below or email me at swayze@fitonraw.com.

* What’s New?: Busy, Busy & Raw Recipe Ebook Update

* Feature Article: Is Your Raw Fruit Causing Candida Overgrowth?

Busy, Busy & Raw Recipe EBook Update

Whew! I’ve just started up my FINAL semester in college and it looks to be another busy one! Not nearly as hectic as last year, thank goodness, but still pretty tough.

No worries, though! I’ll still have plenty of time for posting, emailing and preparing delicious raw recipes.

Speaking of recipes, I’m sure you know that I recently released a raw recipe book entitled:

“Low Fat, Fruit Filled, High Fun Raw Recipes”

AND…I also gave out a $9.95 coupon to those subscribed to my list.

Unbeknownst to me, the coupon code expired a few days ago. Some of you may have tried to purchase with the code and received an error message instead.

Sorry about that! To make amends, I have decided to extend the code to this Monday, January 25.

So if you still want the e-book for a $9.95 discount (you pay a “whopping” $5.00!), you can get it by visiting…

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

…clicking on the order link and typing the coupon I sent you into the ‘Coupon Code’ box.

Didn’t receive the coupon? That’s because it was only promised to those who subscribed to my list BEFORE Monday, January 11 (when I released the e-book).

Sorry.

But hey, you can still purchase the book for $14.95. For over 35 recipes – all low fat and salt-free – as well as tips from me and a 7-day meal plan, that’s a pretty sweet deal!

Here’s the link again:

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

And don’t forget the coupon if you’ve got it!

Swayze

Is Your Raw Fruit Causing Candida Overgrowth?

I get soooo many emails from people wondering how in the world they can eat so much fruit when they have Candida.

The fact that this question is so often asked tells me that the majority of people are ignorant as to what candida actually is, what it does, what causes candida overgrowth, and how to fix it.

And since I’m just plain sick of replying to the same question over and over again, it’s time to settle the issue here and now!

Let’s start with the basics, shall we?

What Is Candida?

Candida, or Candida albicans, is a bacteria present in the human body’s intestinal tract.

What Is Candida’s Job?

The candida colony feeds on glucose and serves to keep blood sugar levels in check.

So…Candida Is Normal?!

I have made it a point in this article to distinguish between “Candida” and “Candida overgrowth.”

Why?

Because the presence of candida in the human body is completely normal.  In fact, if you did NOT have candida, you would be in some serious trouble.

From Dr. Graham’s 80/10/10 Diet:

The size or population of the candida colony in the blood is directly determined by its food supply.  If blood-sugar levels are always at a normal level, so is the size of the candida colony that lives in the blood.  When the sugar we eat leaves the blood to be distributed and used by the cells of the body, any excess yeast quickly dies off, as it is supposed to.

Sounds pretty normal, right?

So it is not the presence of candida that is the issue.  Like so many other dietary issues, it is the presence of TOO MUCH Candida that presents a problem.

What Causes Too Much Candida?

The commonly held belief is that candida overgrowth is caused by an excess of sugar in the body.  Raw and cooked foodists alike, as well as modern medicine as a whole, all point to simple sugars (refined in pastries or fresh in fruit) as the culprit.

On a shallow examination of the facts, this conclusion is understandable.  Since we know that candida feeds on sugar, simply limiting your sugar intake makes sense.

Except for the fact that when consumed under healthy circumstances, the simple sugars do not remain in the bloodstream long enough for any overpopulation of the bacteria to occur.

After consumption, the fruit is almost immediately (within minutes) converted into glucose and transported out of the bloodstream and into the cells.

Of course, that’s sugar consumption *uninterrupted*.  So then what would cause an UNhealthy, INterrupted circumstance?

*Fat*

Here’s the deal:

When a person consumes too much fat, the excess fat in the bloodstream blocks insulin sent out from the pancreas; the insulin has a hard time reaching the sugar and transporting it to your cells.

Not only does the pancreas become fatigued from producing extra insulin, but the blood-sugar level becomes elevated because the sugar cannot be transported to the cells.

In order to get rid of the sugar – since too much glucose in the blood is a serious threat to the body – the candida multiplies and eats it away.

If the fat is then reduced, the excess candida will quickly die off (Candida’s lifespan is less than 24 hours) and the colony will return to a normal size.

If the individual continues to overeat on fat, then the excess sugar will remain in the bloodstream, providing continual fuel for the candida and starving the cells.

Now this explains why so many raw foodists are still experiencing (or perhaps just recognizing) candida issues such as yeast infections and chronic fatigue.

If you are consuming a diet high in fat (like so many raw foodists do), while also eating simple sugars such as fresh and dried fruits, agave nectar, or even honey, it is likely that you will experience candida overgrowth.

And it does not matter if the fat is raw or cooked.  Too much fat is too much fat and there will be consequences to consuming such a diet.

How to Stop Candida Overgrowth

Now that we know the cause of Candida, the “cure” becomes quite clear.

Since the cause is merely a presence of too much fat in the body, the cure would simply be to reduce the fat intake.

If the body is not overrun with fat, then all of the sugar and insulin problems listed above will no longer occur.

That’s why it’s so important to make sure your diet is not only high in fruit, but LOW IN FAT as well.  As long as you limit your diet to around 10% of calories from fat, you will have no problem eating all the deliciously sweet fruit your heart desires.

We All Need Candida!

I want to end by quickly reiterating not only the importance of candida, but the importance of candida *overgrowth*.

Here’s another quote from Dr. D:

The candida microbe in our blood is actually a life-saving organism, one that we do not ever want to eradicate.  It functions as another backup system – a safety valve that helps to bring the blood-sugar level back down to normal in the event that the pancreas and the adrenals fail at doing so…

Outbreaks of candida are your wakeup call – warning that your system is rapidly approaching diabetes, and that you would do well to drastically curtail your fat consumption or face dire health consequences.

So thanks, candida, for keeping me alive when I so naively thought that a diet of fatty meat and refined sweets was good for me.

And always remember…

Blame the fat, not the fruit!

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. Don’t mind my tone in the beginning of the article.  I really don’t mind answering question after question about candida, fruit, fat, etc.  In fact, I could talk about the essentials of a low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet all day!

So if you have a burning question, will free to shoot me an email anytime at swayze@fitonraw.com.

* What’s New?: New E-Book Update

* Feature Article: Go Green, The Raw Food Way!

New E-Book Update

As was mentioned in a recent email, I have been busily working on my very first e-book, titled:

“21 Days to Conquer Your Cooked Food Cravings”

A Guide for Ending Cravings on a Raw Food Diet

The writing phase is finally done and I’m now working with the wonderful web designer Amy De Wolfe (designer of this site, btw) to make everything pretty and professional.

I’ll be sending another email update out to all of my subscribers later this week.  It will include more details on the book itself, as well as bonuses that will be offered, pricing, and the launch sale.

Feel free to send in any questions that you would like answered to swayze@fitonraw.com.

Swayze

P.S. If you would like to receive updates about my new book on cravings, as well as get your own copy of my free 24-page report The 4 Principles of a Raw Diet, I encourage you to subscribe to my newsletter Peachy Keen Ezine.  To sign-up, simply enter in your name and email address in the box at the top right.

Go Green, The Raw Food Way!

I’ve received a handful of emails lately concerned with the amount of sweetness on a low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet.  As expected, several of you aren’t quite used to the sweetness of so much fruit

To solve the problem, many beginner raw foodists substitute savory greens and/or nuts, seeds and avocado for sweet fruit.

Big Mistake

There are 2 problems with this approach:

1. Greens and vegetables have few calories
2. Nuts, seeds, and avocado are high-fat foods

In terms of greens, these foods are simply too low in calories.  Even a large salad of 8 ounces of romaine, one large cucumber, a whole bell pepper, and two medium tomatoes is under 200 calories!  The only way to increase the calories in this meal would be to add in fruit or fat.

Which brings me to the second problem: fatty nuts, seeds, and avocado.  Contrary to what people (raw and cooked foodists alike) like to believe, nuts are NOT a high protein food.  Take an ounce of walnuts (14 halves), for instance.  With only 9% of calories from protein and whopping 83% from fat, it becomes clear that nuts and seeds are really a high FAT food.

Avocados are in the same boat, with 4% protein and 77% fat.

SIDE NOTE: I’m referring to the Hass avocado here.  There are avocados with lower percentages of fat, such as some Florida varieties, but these are not as readily available.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with this fact, it becomes a problem when these foods are substituted for fruit and eaten in mass quantities.  While it is perfectibly acceptable to eat a pound (or two) of fruit in one sitting, this is a recipe for disaster in terms of fat.

Too much fat has been linked to obesity, heart disease, atherosclerosis, and even depression.

To learn more about the problems associated with eating a high fat raw food diet, check out this article.

This is why I side with the numerous doctors and health institutes – including Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Douglas Graham, Dr. Dean Ornish, and The Pritikin Longevity Center – in recommending a low fat diet for optimal health.  This works out to about 1-2 ounces of nuts or ½ – 1/3 of an avocado per day (depending upon your caloric needs).

This means that if you decide to substitute sweet fruit for fat you will need to keep the quantities low.  Say you add 1 tbsp of nuts to the salad example above.  This still only gives you about 350 calories!

And that’s assuming that you can actually consume such a mountainous salad in one sitting.  I’m pretty proud of my eating prowess when it comes to fruit.  But 8 ounces of lettuce and a slew of veggies?

No way, Jose!

With the low amount of calories in this dish, you’ll be back in the kitchen looking for more fuel (probably in the form of simple carbohydrates) within the hour.

What to Do?

The easy way out is just to eat more sweet fruit.  But you’re sick of sweet!

It seems we’re back at square one, right?

Not quite.

There is a tasty solution.

Go Green!

Green smoothies, that is!

A green smoothie – renowned amongst gourmet and low fat raw foodists alike – is a fruit smoothie with greens added to it.  Sure, you’ve probably heard of them.  But have you actually tried one?

Here’s a tasty raw recipe:

• 3 bananas
• 1 pint of strawberries
• Handful or two of romaine lettuce

Blend everything together.  Add water to achieve the texture you desire.  I like my smoothies thin so I tend to add a few cups to the mix.

Why It Works

The green smoothie concept works for (you guessed it) 2 reasons:

1. It’s still fruit-based, providing quality fuel and satiation to your body.
2. The greens help to cut the sweetness.

Even though green (and contrary to the lovely picture in this post, often times pretty gross looking), green smoothies are very much a fruity meal.

As you can see from the recipe above, the smoothie is still mostly fruit.  The green comes from only a handful or two of romaine.

It is this small amount of “green-ness” that really adds a nice crisp, clean taste to the meal.  The drink will still be sweet, but not sickly so.

And you can easily add more fruit or make more than one smoothie to meet your caloric needs.

For instance, whenever I make smoothies (green or not), I have to make two separate batches because I like them so thin.

*sigh* If only they made 64 ounce blenders…

Long-Term Sweet Sickness?

Almost every beginner raw foodist has a problem eating so much sweet fruit at first.

Even I, the Fruit Queen Goddess that I am, had some troubles.  Bananas were especially sickening to me.  They were just so thick and sweet.  Yuck!

And to think, now I eat multiple bananas EVERYDAY!

If you stick with a high fruit, low fat diet, you will not experience this aversion to sweetness forever.  And the transformation generally does not take that long.  We’re talkin’ just a few weeks or so, on average.

And eventually, you’ll stop thinking of fruit as sweet altogether.  At some point, it just becomes delicious, mouth-watering, satiating food.

Go raw and be fit,

Swayze

P.S. If you thought this post was going to be about environmental responsibility, I’m sorry for “tricking” you!  I promise to write a truly green article in the coming days.

Forgive me?