I went vegetarian when I was 15 years old (in 1982). My parents had always insisted I eat meat despite the fact that I disliked it immensely. Dinner was a very painful daily activity for me.
I had also been put on solids very young - at only 3 months. Looking back now with my current knowledge and experience it is no surprise that I have a number of medical issues relating to food.
I suffer quite severely from Environmental Illness. I have food sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities - in fact, I am a universal reactor - mild chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and electromagnetic sensitivities (including light and noise).
I found going vegetarian and partially raw helped somewhat at various stages in my life.
It is a story of slides and roundabouts.
Eventually (in 1999) I lost all food tolerances. I could not get much lower. I had collected a number of books on dietary protocols for health. Several were on raw food. I decided I had nothing to lose and plunged into a new regime of raw food. I went vegan. And it helped quite a bit.
At first, but then I had some dental issues develop and then some memory and concentration issues. I was not getting the nutritional balance right. My B12 went too low and my GP freaked out (it was really low at around 57 instead of needing to be at around 350 whatever the measurement was). My diet altered a little in an attempt to help balance my iron, calcium and B12.
I stayed mostly raw for several years. Then marriage and pregnancies intervened. During the pregnancies I found I could not tolerate much raw food. I got very ill when #1 was 14 months old and had to abolish any food with fat as it was causing severe pain. It took the best part of a year to tolerate almonds (which I ate for calcium) again.
Pregnancy #2 also caused some similar issues with raw food but I was trying raw milk this time. Bad idea! I put on way too much weight. By the time I was 8 months pregnant my kidneys were not working well. My legs were in agony from fluid retention ( but it was not looking that bad). Baby came 2 weeks early thankfully. I was able to increase my raw food a bit again, but not as much as I wanted.
Now, a little over 5 years later, I am finally doing it!
This time around I am also having raw green smoothies. I had not read about them in the past - only wheatgrass juice. It seems to be making a reasonable difference. Together with my improved knowledge and understanding about nutrition and my personal nutritional needs, I believe this attempt at Raw Foodism will be much more successful!
I WANT TO LOSE ABOUT 15 KILOGRAMS.
Green smoothies in glass jars made in advance.
Dehydrating activated almonds.
Lots of fresh organic food in the fridge!
Homegrown Mutsu apples - mmmm yum!
Lots of bananas - for smoothies and "ice cream".
Pawpaw season - they are loaded with enzymes.
Homegrown grapes - a heritage variety of which we do not know the name.
Above are some photos of our home garden, some of the fresh food in the fridge and fruit on hand.
Now I am working on being a raw food coach. I have started drafting courses and workshops and "party" style demonstrations. I am adding many new products to my website. I whole heartily believe that a partial raw diet of at least around 60+% benefits everybody. I intend to commence studies in Nutrition later this year. (I might later turn that into Naturopathy.)
Join me in a Raw Food Challenge - Let me know if you want coaching or demonstrations.
Peace to all,
KISS for Life,
Miriam.
