Brigitte Mars

Going raw for me was not as big a deal as it is for some people. I was Brigitte's neighbor in Boulder and was continuing to have my usual problems with food allergies and doing an elimination diet for severe acid reflux. I had always eaten a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, even being teased as a child for it. I was also an avid gardener, which is how Brigitte and I met again, over the garden fence, so to speak.

I read many of her books and picked up her book, Rawsome and decided to give raw a try, since I was already half-way there. I did not have Brigitte's experience with going raw; my food allergies were too severe and my body was very different from hers. I have since discovered that I am allergic to many of the "backbone" foods of the raw diet: citrus, coconut, and all soy products. I also have major problems with many foods, raw or cooked and stay away from all plants in the onion family, most crucifers, all plants in the grain family, sprouted or cooked or whatever, many plants in the beet family, and many fruits that are very sugary, like apples.

I'm not sure about the enzyme debate, however, I do think that eating raw forces us to eat better food, and, as Brigitte often says, that may be what is really going on, we just don't know.

Yet, what inspired me to finally write this blog was seeing this debate on YouTube between renowned herbalist Susun Weed and Brigitte. I found it appalling.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nRwn7VRvb8&feature=related

Some of why I found this debate really sad and appalling was that Susun not only gets much of her nutrition wrong, but she backpedals on much of the cooking definition until she's talking about dehydration and fermenting foods as "cooking" them. This is just silly. By the rawfoodists' definition, "cooking" is raising the temperature of food over 114 degrees Fahrenheit. Neither dehydration or fermenting need raise the temperature of food this high.

But the positive treat of this debate is that Brigitte is loving, shining, glowing with health, and she's just enthusiastic. Now Brigitte is an enthusiastic person, but you can just see that she's done something that agrees with her health, period.

My experience going raw is that it is an alternative for HEALTH. It's not weird or funky or trendy or all of that, it just makes me feel better. The first rule of nutrition is: eat what makes your body feel and work better. So much of what we eat makes our moods temporarily better. Although we may pay the price later with a sugar crash, that chocolate bar does a temporary trick. Eating for long-term health just has to be a pleasant experience that will make you feel better all the time.

I have always disliked eating. I'm a grazer and a muncher, but I don't like sitting down and eating. I get no rush off of eating, no pleasure. Eating for me became a nightmare of pain and terrible side effects. Going raw has allowed me to eliminate the foods from my diet that gave me problems and has made eating something I actually enjoy.

So, I'm going to post quite a bit here. Enjoy!