Most people (with exceptions of couse) on a cooked diet don't really think in terms of where they are getting their nutrients. Most people eat meat, starches and a fruit or vegetable which has been cooked and processed, leaving about 99% of the nutrients denatured and deranged. They have accepted this as a regular way to eat, whether or not they are receiving all of their necessary nutrients.
So when you are embarking on a raw food diet, please understand that you are getting virtually every nutrient intact and first hand and...
...even if you eat nothing but avocados on Monday...
....nothing but bananas on Tuesday...
...and nothing but oranges and lettuce on Wednesday...
you are still eating far, far superior nutritionally than a varied cooked vegan diet the week before. Trust me on this!
And unless you are eating nothing but nuts, oils, avocadoes and coconuts for 3 weeks straight, you are still eating better than on a cooked vegan diet.
It is really hard to screw up on a raw diet
in the first few months.
People will develop problems over the long term when not only eating and miscombining foods, but not getting enough sleep, activity, air, sunshine, etc. It goes way beyond just food.
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If so, why do so many eat what they want eg. all fruit and then end up with problems from deficiencies later on down the track?
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I've seen so many of these "examples"...the problems with these examples are that nobody *really* knows what is going on with these cases...I know of many fruitarians who do fabulously and are fit as fiddles and the top of their games...
...so what is going on with the so-called deficient ones -
what exactly are they eating?
Are they truly all raw?
Are they exercising?
Are they getting enough sleep?
Are they eating enough calories?
What is the difference in their lives from the ones who succeed?
For me, I don't go by these "stories" as they are more scare tactics that tend to sway people away from an intelligent, healthy, succesful way of life.
People also tend to use them as excuses from starting or continuing on with something that is challenging them.
It is easier for them to say
"well, so and so had problems on this so I'm not sure this is for me"
...or...
"I heard of a person who dropped dead from a heart attack after being a raw vegan for 5 years"
....Well, how do we know he wouldn't have died 5 years earlier and the raw vegan way of life didn't keep him around longer?
Before we get on a big B12 discussion here...did you know that Vitamin B12 defiency was first discovered in meat eaters? I just thought I'd throw that little tidbit in there...so we do have to take these stories and "scares" with a little grain of Celtic salt (or what have you).