Loading...
here’s a great little video about health made by the renegade health show, which i watch everyday for health tips.
February 9, 2010
January 2, 2010
did we adapt to cooked foods?
frederic patenaude posted possibly the most interesting article i’ve ever read about the raw food movement, “Did We Adapt to Cooked Foods?”. this guy even contradicts some of the things he has said before, and that’s just the kind of thinking i like. the ability to be objective, and being able to allow your opinions to change and admit that you might have been wrong. so very little people are able to do this. it’s the only way to really learn anything in my opinion.
it’s been a little over a year that i’ve been eating this way, and although there’s no doubt my health is a lot better than it was a year ago, i still have a really hard time eating only raw for one day. when i do i’m usually hungry all the time and it’s really tough. so lately we’ve been eating more healthy cooked foods, like squash and yams and quinoa.
no matter what the experts say, i think you just have to listen to your body, and the healthier you get the more clearly your body will speak to you. like eating too much fat leaves me depressed. i’ve conducted my own experiments, whenever i would feel down i tried eating very low-fat for 2-3 days and so far it’s worked everytime.
my best advice, according to my experience and readings, would be to keep your diet very low-fat (eliminate oils from your life) with lots of fruits and veggies, and some healthy cooked food.
June 23, 2009
sucking on a cow
it’s amazing nowadays how many meat eaters would obviously never be able to kill an animal if they had to do it themselves. i think if anyone (minimally intelligent) could see how animals are being treated with their own eyes, just so we can get a piece of meat in our plate, would understand that humans don’t need to use animal products. we’re human, we’re more sensitive and capable of thought (although that seems questionable) than other animals.. not eating meat is also healthier. they already have research studies showing that vegetarians have stronger immune systems. if you eat a big piece of meat and then vegan food for your next meal and compare how you feel after each, you can easily feel the difference. if you don’t believe in studies, try it for a while and see for yourself.. after eating a raw food meal i feel energized, i don’t think eating is supposed to leave you exhausted and in need of a drug such as coffee to pick you up.
if you can’t imagine giving up meat because you’re completely addicted, realize that your taste buds adapt to the food you eat, so if you can just get past the first few cravings you just might not enjoy the taste of meat anymore one of these days. i grew up on meat and potatoes and now i’m a raw foodist and have no cravings whatsoever for meat. i would think a good way would be watching a video of the process meat has to go through before it gets to your mouth, everytime you feel the urge.. this myth about not getting enough protein is complete bull.. there’s more of a chance of getting an excess of protein which is far more dangerous then a lack of it. look at the elephant, they’re huge and strong and smart. and herbivores. just look at the elephant. (0_0)
the bottom line is, if you eat meat you’re killing animals. most people don’t even think of it this way because all they see is a small piece of meat sitting on a plate, which doesn’t even look like an animal anymore. someone else does the killing for you. we’re completely removed from the reality of what it’s like to be a meat eater.. truth is, if you had to do it yourself, would you be able to kill it, cut it into pieces and eat it? it’s easy for most people to get attached to an animal; they’re more beautiful and more charming than a lot of humans. even many farmers have a hard time with slaughter, they do it because it’s part of the job. something to think about..
the best alternative to milk i have found would be rice or almond milk. because most soy beans are being poisoned by Monsanto i wouldn’t recommend soy milk, it got a lot of publicity but they’ve recently found out that it’s actually quite toxic. rice milk tastes great, it works for whatever you would use milk for. or if you really want milk at least try goat milk, it pretty much taste the same but it’s much easier to digest.
June 6, 2009
apparatus
many a raw foodist use a dehydrator.. which is a device that cooks the food but at a temperature so low that it allegedly doesn’t destroy the nutrients. i came very close to buying one, until i saw it in person (an excalibur, a popular brand) and found out it’s made of plastic. supposedly the highest quality plastic, but plastic nonetheless. personally, i dont want to cook food in a plastic device.. i’m actually trying to eliminate plastic from my life as much as i can. this doesn’t seem to make much sense, especially if you’re dehydrating to become healthier. the first thing i hear about plastic is that it should never be heated. anyway it seems dubious to me that dehydrating is healthy.. possibly better than regular cooking, but in my opinion it doesn’t come close to eating fresh, water-filled food. plus dehydrating takes a really long time, like some 6-12 hours, sometimes more. if you really want to give it a try, you can use your own oven set at the lowest temperature, leaving the oven door slightly open. if you live in a cold climate it also warms up the place.
what you need though is a blender (glass not plastic) and a food processor (glass not plastic). you’ll be better off having both but if you can only afford one i would say buy a blender, because that’s what you’ll need for a green smoothie or salad dressing. i don’t believe in juicers either, since it removes all the good pulp out of your fruits and veggies.. plus they are expensive and take up a lot of space. if you ever want to make an almond milk or something similar, simply use a net or strainer with very small holes.
May 17, 2009
warning
here’s a few things i know you should watch out for as a raw foodist.. even though this is certainly the best possible diet, you have to be somewhat careful. first off, if you eat more fruits, you should take very good care of your teeth, especially if you drink lots of juices and smoothies. if you don’t feel like brushing all the time, just rinsing your mouth with water after eating really helps. rooibos tea is high in calcium and contributes to a good dental health and strong bones.
i’ve been using tooth soap instead of toothpaste, i’m still unable to find it at any store near me so i’ve been ordering it online from ToothSoap.com. i tried several flavors already and would recommend trying the sweet fennel and mint. it might seem expensive but it will last you at least 3 months if not more, so it’s really no more than a toothpaste found in health food stores. i absolutely love toothsoap and can’t imagine going back to toothpaste, it does make a huge difference and my teeth look healthier than ever. i promise i’m not getting paid to say this, toothsoap is awesome. there are good reasons why you should use toothsoap rather than toothpaste, i won’t get into that here but you can read more about it on the web.
make sure you eat a plethora of greens and it’s been said that chewing is good for your teeth, as in chewing a salad. try to be varied with your greens, there are many different greens out there, just don’t always use the same ones. preferably choose local and organic produce, not only is it healthier but it’s also tastier. if you can’t afford organic produce it’s better to just eat lots of veggies and fruits than not, but if you really want to be healthy you don’t want to fill your body with pesticides and who knows what else (GMOs?). plus if you buy local produce, not only are you doing something good for the environment but you’re also eating fresher products. dandelions is an amazing green, it’s very powerful and widely available since most people still think of it as a nasty little weed.
many people are into raw cacao. just remember there’s caffeine in cacao, so if you’re sensitive to caffeine don’t start thinking you should eat it anyway because it’s good for you. i’m not convinced raw cacao is good for everyone, if for anyone. but if you do consume it, keep it in small quantities. you could actually die if you were to eat too much cacoa, since it increases the rate of your heartbeat. i have bought it once and literally felt “high”, as if i had taken a drug, and then had to recover for several days after. although i should say i wasn’t aware at the time it had to be eaten in small quantities, but still, i would never have felt that way from eating too much fruits. i was feeling quite giggly for a while but it didn’t take long before i crashed. in my opinion the raw food experts who are promoting raw cacao either make a lot of profit from it or are completely addicted to caffeine.
May 5, 2009
raw food recipes
you can find plenty of raw food recipes out there in cyber space, as well as information about the raw food movement. people who get into eating this way are usually pretty amazed with the results and enjoy sharing their story, as i do. although many recipes didn’t live up to my expectations, seems like the most complex the recipe the more digusting it’s likely to be. salads can taste seriously good with the right dressing and they’re usually easy to make. smoothies can also be tasty and you’ll find plenty of great recipes on the internet (they can also be abominable if you don’t know what you’re doing).
it’s important when you start to find some healthy AND tasty recipes, don’t force yourself to eat something you don’t enjoy. it doesnt have to taste bad, but as you eat more raw food your taste buds will adapt and enjoy raw food more and more overtime. just like cooking you have to find recipes you enjoy. i give out some recipes i enjoy on my ipeace group.
you might see a lot of recipes using agave nectar as a sweetener. agave nectar is really not so good for you, maple syrup, honey or dates are better alternatives. but what you mostly have to watch out for when looking at recipes is the fat content. some raw foodist eat more fat than people on the SAD diet. i noticed that when i eat too much fat i feel mood-swingy. i did an experiment one time, i had been feeling severely depressed for a few days, i stopped eating fat for 2 days and started feeling amazing again. actually everytime i have not been feeling as good on the raw food diet is when i had been eating more fat than usual, test it out for yourself. nowadays i limit myself to eating fat only once a day. when i eat avocados i’ll skip one day before eating it again. i also buy the larger kind of avocados since they have a smaller amount of fat and taste just as good if not better. seeds have a lower fat content than nuts and coconuts are very high in fat.
here’s one simple recipe to give you a taste of raw food, just about everyone knows how to make guacamole, which is raw. try eating guacamole with sliced cucumbers and celery sticks instead of chips. if you’re a chocolate addict, try this: first blend water and sesame seeds then strain the sesame milk (you can use a tea pouch or a net). pour the strained milk in the blender, add one banana and about a teaspoon of carob powder. tasty isn’t.. it’s also good without bananas. obviously carob powder is not raw, but it’s not the worse thing you can eat either, the flavour is similar to chocolate without the caffeine.
April 17, 2009
no pain no gain
at the very beginning you’ll be detoxing, meaning your body will be cleaning the toxins out of your system. the most important is not to let the pain discourage you, its not always easy but in the end it’s worth it. get yourself to think long-term. but as you endure the symptoms you might also notice your health is improving in some ways, like shinnier hair and skin, weight-loss and improved breathing. which makes me think this must be amazing for people suffering from asthma (also great for diabetics, watch the Simply Raw documentary).
you have to ask yourself if you’d rather be in some pain for a little while for a life-long health or slowly watch your health declining as you age or again live a life of mood swings and low-energy? some experts say that radical changes in your body is not really such a great idea. that’s probably true, you shouldn’t start eating 100% raw food overnight, start slowly but not too slow and be patient. if you’re like most people you’ve been poisoning yourself for a long time, your body has taken a beating and it’s time to give it a little more respect.
something that helps me deal with cravings.. i remind myself that cooked food makes you feel great only WHILE you’re eating it, not before nor after. while raw food leaves me feeling great all the time. is a few minutes of having a good flavor in my mouth worth feeling miserable most of the time? ask yourself that question before indulging.
also i think about the fact that all those companies selling packaged food are trying to get me addicted to their products just so they can get some of my money in their pockets. that makes me want to fight back and not let them manipulate me.
things that have helped me deal with the detox symptoms: dandelions, stinging nettles and rooibos tea, exercise, eating a low-fat diet and fruits.
March 26, 2009
still alive
it’s been a while since i last rss feeded. the raw food detox has been tough. but now i’m feeling real good on this diet, i decided to start a group (called RAW) on ipeace, for people who wish to learn more about a raw food diet. i’m not a raw food expert, but i have been reading plenty about the subject and learned from 7 months of personal experience. i think many of us are pretty sick (in the head as well as in the body), and it’s not our fault, greed has taken over our eating habits. raw food is amazing because it heals mentally as much as physically. for more about raw food you can look at my “Tips n’ Tricks” section.
here’s what’s new with hugger-mugger comicx: i’m not as lazy as i used to be, i now sell shirts and prints on
mysoti.com and pretty soon on zazzle, my website has been improved or so i like to think and my website address has changed to hugger-mugger-comicx.com.
many drawings on my site have changed in the last few months, i didn’t include them all here, mainly because i keep changing everything all the time. and i will continue to do so until i’m pretty much satisfied. i’m also planning on redrawing some old comics and illustrations, i usually do this when i like the content but not the visual aspect. it might seem like i cant come up with new ideas, but it’s really that i just can’t stand having ugly drawings on my site. and i like to keep improving everything. also, as my drawing skills improve, my old drawings stop representing my current skill level. plus i’m still very much learning how to do art and still developing my style. i’m hoping one day i won’t need to do this, but meanwhile you can observe my learning process, which must be kind of interesting no?
March 10, 2009
To Gobble
i’ve been holding a group about raw food on ipeace, a social network gathering people who wish for a more peaceful world. i’m not a raw food expert, but i’m happy to share what i’ve learned so far through reading and personal experience. i also let you know about some tips and recipes that have helped me become a raw foodist. the group is simply called “RAW”, the one with the picture of a sad cow..
research has already shown that cooking food kills its nutrients, so clearly if you don’t you’ll get a lot more nutrition. which is what a raw food vegan diet is all about; stop cooking your food and you’ll be ultra healthy. while this might sound like a radical approach, what is truly radical is how humans have become clueless as how to feed themselves properly. raw food is a pretty powerful diet, not only will it heal your physical ailments, like diabetes, asthma or candida. but it will also take care of mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
this way of eating really makes a lot of sense, simply because we are the only living being on the planet cooking food. we seem to think we’re so different, but apparently not so much, we still need the nutrition of food in order to function. the best part about this is, you dont have to wait for your food to be cooked anymore, sure you’ll need to do a little chopping and washing, but no more starving until the food is ready. so on top of eating a much healthier diet, it doesnt take nearly as long to prepare, it really is a simpler life. not only that, you’ll no longer need “cooking skills”, which i didnt have anyway. for women, no more need for makeup or creams, since you will look great without these and cut on expenses at the same time. no more expensive medications since your food becomes your medicine.
i don’t suggest you become a raw foodist overnight, mainly because it most likely wouldn’t work. you and me and everybody else are accustomed to processed foods, and you’ll quickly realize how much of an “addiction” it really is. start by introducing more raw food into your diet and lowering your fat intake. or eat salads more often, topped with a healthy home-made raw dressing, or have a green smoothie once a day or eat more fruits. just keep in mind your first goal is to “improve” your diet and not to become the perfect little raw-foodist overnight. put enough pressure on yourself to apply significant change but not to the point of associating negative emotions to being healthy. also it’s important to know that a high-fat diet will impair your ability to digest fruits. cut on fat as much as you can, whether you eat raw or cooked.