Friday, June 17, 2011

Raw Vegan Lifestyle & 80-10-10 diet

This past month I decided to try something a little bit different. I went on a Low Fat Raw Vegan "lifestyle" for about 4 weeks. I wanted to see if this really would improve my health and energy but unfortunately I did not recieve significant results, or really any at all. I mostly experience very uncomfortable detox symptoms.

I was able to do this diet correctly by first researching and doing my homework on just why people do this diet, the pros and cons, how to do it correctly, and success stories and non-success stories. What I came to discover is that there are both pros and cons, and many success stories as well as non-success stories. I also found that a vast majority of the raw foodists seemed to be somewhat "Cultish". This was definitely something I did not want to be apart of. I also found that on a strict 80-10-10 Raw vegan diet, you are not getting many essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs to perform at its best. The most common deficiencies are similar to cooked vegans however many minerals are lost on the lowfat diet. I specifically was low in b12, vitamin D, zinc, sodium, selenium, and vitamin E. So about two days ago I had some chick peas & avocado. Then yesterday, some pesto, hummus, and a slice of whole grain bread. I felt amazing! my energy was the highest it has been since I started the "diet".

So what I found from the experience, is that moderation is the key and success to any diet. A strict Low Fat Raw Vegan Lifestyle was not the best for me, however I did feel much better eating so much fresh fruits and Vegetables. I also learned a lot about how all the different foods make me feel, and with all this information and experiences I have decided to try 70-95% raw most days, with moderation in grains and fats, lots of vegetables, moderation with sweet fruits, and lots of juicy fruits.

I am very glad I tried the 80-10-10 lifestlye and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is just feeling "blah" to try it out for a few days or weeks and see how you feel. For more information on the 80-10-10 diet and Low Fat Raw Vegan Lifestlye visit: foodnsport.com and 30bananasaday.com.