raw food a hoax??

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Permalink Reply by yardsnacker on March 8, 2008 at 5:46pm

I knew there was something beautiful about you Candy. Thanks for sharing that.

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Permalink Reply by Candy (aka Kan-Dee) on March 8, 2008 at 6:02pm

Thank you. But I honestly don't think I did anything so spectacular. "Cancer" is this big, bad word here in Western society, but really it's nothing more than your body's own defense system coming to the rescue. Personally, I'm glad that my body let me know, in no uncertain terms, that what I was doing to it wasn't healthy. However, if I wasn't as sick as I was for so much of my life, who knows if I would have listened.

We all have our own path, and trust me when I say that I used to be the rebellious little red neck girl (not in the backwoods, bigoted sense) with gun in hand, waiting to go out hunting and making fun of people who didn't live like me. A few years ago, I may have put myself up on a pedestal in order to feed my own insecure ego. Even now, I have to make a conscious decision not to be that person any more, and sometimes I still fall back into old patterns. So, some of us get it sooner than others, but hey, what is time anyway?

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Permalink Reply by shona on March 9, 2008 at 9:13am

It is so nice to have a community of people that live consciously with grace, and elegance!

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Permalink Reply by sophieAngel on March 9, 2008 at 8:09am

Amazing,
Candy, thats an intense story,
your recovery contrasting their inability to see whats happening.

I found this on a natural hygiene egroup this morning... seems to say it all.

'Each of us grows in our understanding at the pace at which we are willing and able to grow. '

I really identify with that level of selective denial. My family are very similar. Although I have never had a 'big name' illness like cancer, Ive had lots of chronic general debilitating stuff. on my birthday meal my mum chose to criticize my drugs and alcohol phase whilst she drank a whole bottle of wine to herself!!!
Its truly crazy making if I was to stay trying to figure it out or change their views. the saddest thing for me is that the way my family are, means I can only visit them rarely and for short periods of time, otherwise its just too depressing. Ive really had to grieve their unconsciousness and their un-wellness. ouch. Still ongoing but the effect of that is that I am free(er) to let them go, and accept (to a point) who they are. It still makes me cry after I speak to my maternal grandmother on the phone, she is so adamantly stiflingly negative. Theres barely anything that I can say to her about my truth and whats really going on in my life. I hope to be the opposite in my old age. open minded, free to grow and understanding of my loved ones.

I love what you say about small children!
Right on.

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Permalink Reply by Candy (aka Kan-Dee) on March 10, 2008 at 6:14pm

Thank you all for your kind words. I do believe the power to heal is within all of us, its simply whether or not we put a little effort in to tap into those energies and do it, or if we're still playing the roll of the "victim" of life/people/circumstances/etc.. and want someone else to fix it for us. Chances are,another person isn't going to put as much thought and care into it as you would because they don't have as much to lose.

Mama S, I like your terminology, the "mom jugular." That is so true. I think most people, myself included (although I'm working on me) carry around guilt for things we could have done different, or better with our children. It's quite human, actually, although I'm learning, not necessary or healthy. I think my mom and my sister are no exception, and that maybe when people pull the "bad mom" thing on others, it's their own guilt manifesting, trying to compare and say "see, at least I'm a better parent that she is." While at the time their words really hurt me, I'm starting to see how it was just their ego talking and not who they really are. Makes it easier to let it go. Maybe some day they will be ready to stop "suffering" and I can be here to help guide them.

SophieAngel, love that quote "Each of us grows in our understanding at the pace at which we are willing and able to grow. " Very true. Thank you for sharing.

Pete, I did start to forget where I came from for a while, but kind of laughed when I remembered just how not tolerant I was a few years ago. In fact, I think my old attitude actually helps me to help others. Just yesterday I was talking to one of my friends from back home (Oregon), and he was looking to be more healthy. He's always been quite health conscious and has worked out since I've known him. I, on the other hand, was nick-named "Party Girl" by him. He knows how, even though I am a fantastic cook, that I was mostly living off of pizza and frozen dinners. Even big meals that I through together were based on high fat meat and dairy. He made fun of me whenever I would make him dinner and there were no vegetables, and if there were, they were soaked in butter or covered with cheese. Well, in talking to him yesterday, I told him how I no longer smoke, rarely drink, and when I do, it's usually just one... maybe two at the most... glasses of wine, and eat about 75% raw fruits and vegetables in various forms. And I started talking to him about green smoothies and how wonderful they make me feel. He immediately started asking questions and was planning on picking up a copy of Green For Life to learn more. When I told him that he could get protein from leafy green vegetables, he was thrilled. But, he was most impressed by my change, both in my habits and my attitude. Sometimes, it isn't the newfound information that people are most impressed with, as beneficial as this information is, it's the comparison of where you were and where you are now than makes a real impact on those who really know us. It's nice to know that my suffering not only brought about a change in me, but may also prove to help another. Knowing where we started, and remembering our own, sometimes difficult, journey may keep us from alienating others and, in the process, help them to make healthier choices in their own life.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Mueller on March 8, 2008 at 5:37pm

I think there are a few different things are work. First, the general population has A. Been misinformed and marketed to so much by segments of the food industry and B. They have not spent the time to read the books or really find out the truth for themselves.

Most people never really spent the time fine tuning their health and searching for the truth. Often times, anything but the norm seems crazy and weird and something they don't care to understand. A rather informed friend, who is into yoga and such, asked me if I was still doing the raw thing. I told her I was and I loved it. I then immediately got the 'where do you get your protein from question.' I rattled off some sources but then used one of my favorite examples, the cow example. A cow is what 1,000 pounds of protein? Say you want to 'get your protein' by eating some of that cow. Well think about it, what did the cow eat to develop that protein? Grass....

Second, and I don't think this was the case here, but often is....we sometimes make people feel guilty. I came into work with a huge salad(people called it a trough....how do I spell that...you know the things pips feed out off?_) anyway...I got to telling some of my coworkers how I am vegan and currently only eat raw food. One coworker next to me said and I quote 'Gosh, your making me feel guilty. You eat so healthy and I eat so bad.' He then said he is nicknaming me 'The Green Lantern.' I kinda like that.

I think most people are scared to own up to the intuitive truth.

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Permalink Reply by silvergirlsouth on March 8, 2008 at 7:38pm

hey i just wanted to say that we don't/can't MAKE someone else feel guilty by our behaviours .... the feelings are theirs and i agree, people might respond with those words, but the reality is that it is not about them when you make choices for your own life. they need to make their own choices, and they also choose to feel guilty or not. to me, feeling guilty is a huge waste of time, particularly over something like this .... which is 100% for our own benefit and wellbeing. Why waste time feeling guilty and eating crap when you can just choose not to eat crap any more!

:)

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Permalink Reply by skizzy the wonder lizard on March 9, 2008 at 4:15am

i am so tired of the protein question, mostly because it usually comes from people who are wildly uninformed about nutrition and don't really care to be educated. most people who asked me about protein didn't even know it was in anything other than meat and beans.

no one has ever asked me about B12 or essential fatty acids, which are the only things i'm concerned about. it's always about the protein, or occasionally the calcium.

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Permalink Reply by shona on March 9, 2008 at 9:21am

I just thought of a silly line regarding the protein cow comment.... "where do you get your protein?" Response, "LOL, the same way you get yours, grass, I just cut out the middle guy!"

Good morning friends!

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Permalink Reply by Charles on March 8, 2008 at 5:41pm

What's worse is when a site like Quackwatch.org explains that there is no difference between organic and conventional food, or that a holistic lifestyle doesn't work. Quotes like:

Many consumers who "fork over a little more" believe that the foods themselves are more nutritious, safer, and tastier. But the USDA proposal itself noted that, "No distinctions should be made between organically and non-organically produced products in terms of quality, appearance, or safety." In other words, no claim should be made that the foods themselves are better—or even different!

and

Organic foods are certainly not more nutritious. The nutrient content of plants is determined primarily by heredity. Mineral content may be affected by the mineral content of the soil, but this has no significance in the overall diet. If essential nutrients are missing from the soil, the plant will not grow. If plants grow, that means the essential nutrients are present. Experiments conducted for many years have found no difference in the nutrient content of organically grown crops and those grown under standard agricultural conditions.

and

Natural hygiene, an offshoot of naturopathy, is a philosophy of health and “natural living” that opposes immunization, fluoridation, food irradiation, and most medical treatment and advocates eating a “raw food” diet of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. It also advocates a vegetarian diet, periodic fasting, and “food combining” (avoiding food combinations it considers detrimental).

Natural Hygiene is dangerous because it encourages prolonged fasting and discourages proven medical interventions. While its recommended diet has two admirable characteristics (low fat content and high fiber content), its recommended avoidance of dairy products is an invitation to osteoporosis. No scientific study has ever compared the disease and death rates of Hygienists with those of other people. But it appears to me that the hazards far outweigh the possible benefits.

do nothing to serve the public. Why do I pick on Quackwatch? Well, according to Wikipedia:

Quackwatch has been mentioned in the media, reviews and various journals, as well as receiving several awards and honors.] In 1998, Quackwatch was recognized by the Journal of the American Medical Association as one of nine "select sites that provide reliable health information and resources."

Sources that mention Quackwatch.org as a resource for consumer information include the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, The Lancet, the Journal of Marketing Education, the Medical Journal of Australia, the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services healthfinder.gov, the Diet Channel, and the Skeptic’s Dictionary.

It was also listed as one of three medical sites of U.S. News & World Report's "Best of the Web" in 1999. The currently inactive Science Panel on Interactive Communication and Health, appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, named Quackwatch as a credible source for exposing fraudulent online health information in 1999.

So when you have supposed "credible sources" saying that we're full of crap and the raw food diet doesn't work, how are you supposed to convince the average person on the street? To say it's not easy would be an understatement. Our own bodies are the best evidence we have, but even then, people think we'll have problems down the road from lack of protein, calcium, etc.

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Permalink Reply by skizzy the wonder lizard on March 9, 2008 at 4:10am

ugh, quackwatch makes me barf all over. there are articles on there attacking credible methods like lymph drainage (!!!) and has completely no mention of the MYRIADS of faulty, dangerous methods being used by conventional medicine.

i knew that site was full of shit when i read the article about acupuncture. i was literally cured by acupuncture after failed attempts by THREE allopathic doctors who pumped me full of garbage that is still jacking up my body five years later!

that site horrifies me. i think it is more dangerous than a swig of snake oil.

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Permalink Reply by Jef on March 9, 2008 at 4:08pm

Ha! I think it was my FORMER psychiatrist that told me I should check Quackwatch about the things I was going to try!!! Now I am off his drugs, and on my way to better health................. Yipppeppeeeeee!!!!!!

(I knew there was something wrong when I checked on there.............it seemed to have something negative to say about all I believed in....)

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