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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 16, 2008 at 2:34pm

Jon, personally I don't like being a strict anything. It puts too much pressure on perfection. Eating should be enjoyable. It should not cause additional stress in our lives. Sometimes at night when I have those cravings for something, I will sometimes grab an avocado and eat that. Is that bad? Not for me. It works for me. Find what works for you not what works for everyone else. We all leave similar but different lives. What works in my schedule is not going to work in other's schedules.
As far as the brain health and fat, I have no idea. It is not something I have studied. I have brain farts on a daily basis so who am I to guide anyone :)
As far as the fat percentage... Do you have concerns about getting candida? Do you currently have candida? Maybe you should look at the candida group here on GITMR or on Bueller's Kitchen. She talks extensively about her diet for candida.
I too try to reduce the fat to somewhere in the 20-30% range since I realized that there are so many hidden fats. But, I have found that when I start to eliminate too much of the fats I do begin to burn more of the adipose fat I have on my body, BUT I do get a little foggy. So, you may have something there. Like I said everyone is different.
Our activity levels are different. What we are carrying around from years past is different. Even where we are going is different.

Take care

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Permalink Reply by RawZi on May 16, 2008 at 3:10pm

I was wondering about the olives. While I think they're tasty on SAD and semiSAD diets, I could never understand fruitarians eating dried olives. And the unripe ones fresh off the tree, anyone experiment with them raw? Can they be added whole or chopped to a recipes?

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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 16, 2008 at 3:21pm

Zi, they can be purchased raw from that dreaded company sunfood.com :)

They are a great addition to salads. I even make a tomatoe and olive dressing for my salads so I don't use oils.

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Permalink Reply by RawZi on May 16, 2008 at 3:23pm

Aren't they kind of dense for raw food?

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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 16, 2008 at 3:33pm

not at all. They are a fat, a natural fat. Much better than adding oils to salads.

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Permalink Reply by RawZi on July 25, 2008 at 1:05am

Hi Pink,

I assume you're only talking about the dried olives, right? Have you tried the fresh unripe green ones in recipes yet?

Jon,

So then to get enough calories in your diet you basically have to resort to cooked. In other words, it seems like you either choose to be a strict 811er or if not, you should probably do low fat cooked meals (quinoa, brown rice, etc.) rather than high fat raw meals (that's pretty much what Graham says in the book).

Does Dr Graham recommend cooked food in some instances over raw?

Also, how are you doing?

RawZi

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Permalink Reply by buddhababy on May 16, 2008 at 2:53pm

Jon,
Instead of worrying about all of this why not just experiment- this is what I've been doing for over 30 years dietary wise.
And note that nothing is static and your needs may change over time. Experiment with every type of raw/living foods approach not with your head but your physical instrument and see how you feel. And keep in mind that if you do find an approach that works for you now it may have to be modified as some future point in time.

Happy experimenting!

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Permalink Reply by Jon Bischke on May 16, 2008 at 3:15pm

@buddhababy - That sounds good but here's my concern. If there's a negative impact on my brain I'm not going to "feel" that within 30 days. Just the same as people who've loaded up on transfatty acids and basically destroyed their brains don't feel it. I get the part about feeling more clear-headed on raw. That makes sense to me. However, I don't think feeling clear-headed is synonymous with optimal nutrition for your brain and body.

@SUVINE - Do you mean all fruit or fruit + greens? It seems like most people (e.g., Graham, Butenko) are advising at least a portion of greens mixed with fruit for optimal nutrition.

@PinkLady - I don't know if I have candida or not. I might but in general have pretty good health so I doubt it (or if I do it's pretty mild). My concern is that I've read many place how upping fruit intake can lead to candida. Now I'll buy that candida might be more a fat thing and that reducing fat makes sense but I guess the question is "Why not 70/20/10?" or 60/30/10? At what point does fat consumption drop to some magical level where candida is not a concern? Graham suggests 10% but I don't see any scientific backing for why 10% is better than 15% or 8%. Is 811 just a cute way of rounding numbers and/or a simplification to make it easier for people?

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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 16, 2008 at 3:30pm

Bingo!!! It is easier to teach people that way isn't it...

If 70/20/10 or whatever combination works for you, then do it.

I guess you never specified what level of fats you thought would be healthy for your brains concerns. What does your research say? Are you putting too much emphasis on that because of your family history? Also, another consideration is...the people who have developed these brain issues, were they eating as healthily as you are? Did their diets have something to do with it or could it have been environmental. Remember there are so many factors in there.

sounds to me that you need to do some experimenting with your diet and do a bit more investigating for yourself. If you feel that eating some cooked grains is going to benefit you then why shouldn't you? What is bad about that? The way I look at it, if eating the cooked grains is going to give you peace of mind, you are probably better off. The stress of not knowing whether or not you are hurting yourself by going all raw isn't healthy either. It shouldn't cause you more harm. It should be something you know is good for you and when you eat it you feel good about eating it.

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Permalink Reply by buddhababy on May 16, 2008 at 3:38pm

I did 80/10/10 for one week and developed fatty acid deficiency in that short time- how do I know this? Because I get a specific skin symptom which crops up if I don't get enough EFA's. It goes away with hemp oil , hemp seeds etc;
So unless your body gives you signs you may not know until enough potential damage is done. I can understand your concern but unless you experiment there's no way to really find out firsthand- it's all based on what others have said and what you've read.

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Permalink Reply by Pink Lady Apple on May 16, 2008 at 3:52pm

That's interesting about the skin condition buddhababy. Our bodies do tell us right away if we pay attention.
I do have a question about the hemp oil. I have some and every time I think of using it is when I am making a smoothie, but from what I understand, adding the fat into the smoothie would slow down the digestion of the fruits. If that is true, how do you use your hemp oil. Do you use it on salads or take it straight up?

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Permalink Reply by buddhababy on May 16, 2008 at 3:55pm

Salad or in between a meal - just a spoonful! I have been using hemp seeds combined with fruit/smoothie the past few days and while I love the taste/texture it imparts I'm not so sure it's ideal for me.

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