The headline — “Healthy food obsession sparks rise in new eating disorder” — is sensational for sure.

But before you balk and scoff, as I almost did, consider this: It is possible for every human activity to be carried out to an obsessive extreme.  It’s not unimaginable that there are some people who worry about eating healthy and right to an extent that is paralyzing, self defeating, and even unhealthy.

But these cases are a small minority.  Most of the people I know are interested in healthy eating.  The success of the organic movement, stores like Whole Foods Market, and healthy alternative food products is fueled by millions of customers.  It wouldn’t make sense to claim these people all suffer from a “serious psychological disorder.”

My motto stands: Eat more fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.

Hard to go wrong with that. 

My 7 Day Raw Food Diet Starter Course has helped hundreds of folks like you and is still completely free.  Always has been, always will.

It includes a meal plan, grocery list, and recipes using common and familiar ingredients. Everything you need to start easy with just one raw meal per day, and no sacrifices or drastic changes.

You’re literally just seconds away…  Simply visit http://FreeRawFoodDiet.com or enter your email address in the box to the right.

In exchange for her getting to go through the whole program for free, we all benefit from hearing the real scoop about her experience with the program:  Does it really work?  Is it worth it?  Wendy’s going to tell us what it’s really like.

Below are Wendy’s updates as she sends them to me.  I’ll be keeping an ongoing journal right here on this page.  (I won’t send an email for each update, so if you’d like to follow along, be sure to book mark this page and come back every week or so.)

Have a question or some friendly words of encouragement for Wendy?  Leave a comment below!!

Thank you Wendy for sharing with all of us!

January 20, 2010

Hello! I thought I better give you my first update.

1. Not related to the program: I began eating raw about seven days ago – mostly fruits and greens and some shots of wheatgrass. The result: Lost 8.4 pounds. I think most of that weight was water and perhaps SOME toxins leaving my system.

2. Statistics: I weighed 315.4 pounds on Wednesday, January 13. Today, Wednesday, January 20, I weighed 307.

3. What have I been doing?

• Blending fruits and greens and ‘eating’
• Eating mono fruit meals (only a couple – all-I-want of a single type of fruit)
• Listening to and reading hours worth of audio and material from the Paradox Diet
• Spending a great deal of time preparing food, which is therapeutic for me.
• Taking notes about what I will be acting on.

4. What’s next?

Now I start taking action on other equally as important items – For Example:

• Look inward to realize my deepest reasons for doing this
• Begin Journaling / Blogging my experience
• Set my goals
• Do a detox system
• Menu planning
• Keep up with my sprouting etc.

5. Things I can work on (where I am not doing as well as I’d like):

• Still require a cup of coffee every couple of days (have drunk 3+/day since 12)
• Broke down and had rice with vegies and soy sauce (Tamari) when I was running out of my produce
• It’s hard to watch others in the house eat comfort food
• Paying for it now… very upset tummy

So, I have watched enough videos to detour me from eating any time of animal product. My biggest challenge is to get into the rhythm of planning my food menus so I can prepare them days in advance when needed. (i.e., sprouting needs, shopping, soaking, dehydrating)

I am actually going to be acting on some of the action steps in the Program now. I will update you when I have done that.

Thank you again for this wonderful gift.

Wendy

February 1, 2010

Thought I should let you know I have lost another 5 pounds. That’s 13 total, even with a couple of instances of “cheating”.

I learned how to make cheese out of cashews yesterday. But–I had to add a ton of cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic to like it. Then it was good.

I have been taking very few ibuprofen (in comparison to the three to ten a day I was taking daily). I don’t understand why, but I noticed that now, when I do take it, I start itching all over. Interesting. Other than the occasional white rice or the very small amount of pasta I added once to a large bowl of greens–or the coffee with non-dairy creamer and agave…that ibuprofen is pretty much the only poison entering my system.

PS: After eating so healthy, when I ordered a pizza (veggie with extra cheese), I hated it. It tasted terrible. I took two probiotics that night to help digest the pizza because it gave me a horrible tummy ache.

PPS: I noticed my face looks younger. I asked my roommate and my daughter if they saw it or I was just imagining things. They both said it was true.

Happy birthday, RFDN! 

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already.  So much has transpired…  and so much remains to be done.

Reflecting back on my first post, I feel it was prophetically written for myself.  I have been making small steps every day.  And over the past year, those have really added up.  I will continue to make forward steps every day.

What have I accomplished?  Sharing my message of raw foods with others:  Eat more fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.  Keep it simple.

Having a positive impact on YOUR life…  That’s why I started.

And that’s why I will keep going.  Every day.

Here’s to long, healthy, happy living!

Now, I’ve never had cavities and I take care of my teeth (no soft drinks, for instance).  But I was a little bit worried because I had started to notice some minor erosion on the sides of a couple teeth.

I generally got a clean bill of dental health — still no cavities.  In fact, even after 10 years without seeing a dentist I got to skip the cleaning/polishing!

What I did learn, however, is that food acidity can contribute to tooth enamel erosion.  What happens is the acidity softens the enamel.  Then when you brush your teeth, even with a soft toothbrush, the enamel can get brushed away in little microscopic amounts.  Similar to how, given time, rain can gradually erode away even a mountain.

I’ve definitely been eating a lot of acidic fruits.  Citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges are some of my favorites.

This is not to scare you away from eating fruit!  On the contrary, fruit is in many ways the most ideal food nature has to offer.

And there are certainly worse things you can do to yourself.  Carbonated soft drinks like colas are 10 times more acidic than fruit juice.

5 Ways To Prevent Tooth Enamel Erosion By Acidic Foods

Based on my visit to the dentist today, here are some simple tips I’d like to share with you in the interest of prevention.  (And most apply whether you’re eating “raw foods” or not.)

1. Rinse your mouth with plain water after eating fruits or drinking fruit juices.  Swish around really well, and perhaps even let your teeth bathe/soak in the water for a bit.  This is good advice regardless what you’ve just eating, but try to be especially diligent after acidic fruits.
2. Drink, don’t sip, fruit juices.  The key here is how long the acid has a chance to sit on your teeth.  If you make a point of drinking your juice then immediately rinsing, that’s less time with acid on your teeth than if you sip on a fruit juice throughout the day.  (Drinking fresh fruit juice rapidly is a good idea anyway as once exposed to air the juice oxidizes with time.)
3. If eating multiple fruits, eat them in order from least acidic to most acidic.  The reason is twofold.  First, it’s the amount of time with acidity on your teeth again.  When you eat the more acidic fruits last, there’s less time for the acidity to gnaw away at your enamel before you rinse with water.  Second, if you ate them in the opposite order (most acidic to least acidic), the acidity would start to work to soften the enamel, which would then be more at risk of erosion from the abrasion of chewing the rest of the fruits.
4. Brush at least twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush, and floss at least once a day.  This is generally good dental advice, so it can’t hurt to reiterate it.  Be sure to brush your gums and gum line too.  Brush in circular patterns with the brush angled less than 90 degrees from your teeth, so that when pressed against your teeth the bristles can get up into the small space between your teeth and gums.  When flossing, scrape up and down the sides of your teeth in a circular fashion.  The up-and-down motion helps scrape away bacteria and other debris, while the circular motion helps move that debris out from between the teeth.
5. Get regular dental checkups to discover potential problems early.  Yes, I realize this is a bit do-as-I-say considering I just admitted to you that it’s been 10 years since my last dental exam.  But it is good advice nonetheless, and I do plan to follow it more carefully myself in the future.  With raw foods, your chompers are busy grinding up fresh fruits and vegetables…  Which are a bit tougher than soft, mushy cooked foods.  So dental care is especially relevant for people eating a raw foods diet.

It shouldn’t be worrisome or troublesome at all if you’re at least aware of the issue and take some quick and simple steps.

So how do you know which fruits are most acidic?  A very rough rule of thumb is to go by sourness.  I wasn’t able to locate a good authoritative resource on food acidity, but I did find this page.

(The vast majority of sites out there discuss the acidity/alkalinity effects of food on the body, which is a completely different matter from the acidity/alkalinity of the food itself — which is what we care about for purposes of this topic because it’s the food itself that’s coming into direct contact with our teeth.  So if you do some of your own research, be aware of this distinction.)

My dentist recommended some products to help neutralize acidity.

Here’s Where You Come In

Problem is, these products contain various chemicals which I’m not entirely thrilled about.  I would much prefer a more natural solution.  Do you know of any natural products (tooth pastes, rinses, etc.) or techniques for helping neutralize acidity in the mouth?  If so, please let me know!

I may experiment on myself by rinsing my mouth with an alkaline solution (such as baking soda dissolved in water) after eating.  I haven’t looked into this at all yet though, so I’m not recommending that you do it unless you do your own research first.  (Though rinsing with baking soda in water doesn’t sound very harmful.)

See Also

• Inexpensive Home Remedy for Oral Acidity

Do you have any other thoughts or ideas?  Drop a comment below!

“I have a question about juicing. I don’t have one of those juicing machines. Can I use my blender then strain?”

Guess what, Martha?  I don’t have a juicer either!  And here’s why.

First, good juicers are somewhat expensive.  Cheap ones usually don’t last very long.  Some types even end up heating the juice from the friction — definitely not what a raw foodie wants.

Most importantly, juicers tend to separate the juice from the fiber.  (Guess that’s why they’re called juicers!)  Our goal is fresh, whole fruits and vegetables — that fiber is good for you and your digestive system.

There’s a lot you can do with a blender.  Peel an orange, remove the seeds, and put the whole thing in the blender for orange juice!  Or add an orange to your next smoothie.  It’ll have a bit more roughage than you’re used to for orange juice, but it’s very tasty and you’re getting everything that nature provides.

By now you’ve probably guessed what I’m going to say about straining your juices — please don’t do it!  Imagine you’re a cave woman or cave man from 100,000 years ago, before the modern miracles of juicers, refrigerated trucking, and Safeway.  You walk out of your comfy cave, go up to a fruit tree, pull one down, and eat it right there with little fanfare.  This is the ideal.  The biology of our bodies evolved to use such natural whole foods as fuel and nourishment.

Now if you absolutely cannot tolerate the fiber — if it means the difference between your getting fresh fruits and vegetables or not — then go ahead and strain.  But I don’t recommend this.  Whole foods were meant to be consumed as a complete package, ensuring you receive the natural balance of nutrients.

Of course there are some kinds of juice a blender won’t be able to make, like carrot juice.  But if you have a powerful blender, you can experiment with adding some liquid.  Chop a carrot into 1-inch or so sections, and add some liquid or a juicy fruit like an orange.  You may find a combination you like.

Finally, be sure to drink your juice as soon as possible after making it.  It starts to oxidize as soon as it’s exposed to air, which isn’t harmful but means the longer it goes unconsumed, the more nutritional benefit you’ll miss out on.

If so, then I’ve got some ideas to help save you money.

But first, if you haven’t already, please read Is a Healthy Raw Food Diet Lifestyle Expensive? It’s really the first half of this article, and covers what I feel are some very important considerations for your health.

First, let’s cover a few of the more obvious options.  (Don’t worry, these don’t count against the 10 tips!)

• As more of your diet shifts to fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, you’ll save on unhealthy manufactured and processed foods.
• Chances are, if you’re having more raw foods at home, your eating out has decreased.  Eating out is a key pocketbook drain for many people.
• Here’s one I almost hesitate to mention.  Although I don’t recommend it, you could forgo organic produce.  Organic produce can be quite a bit pricier than non-organic counterparts.  The ONLY reason I mention this option is because I believe so strongly in the health benefits of raw foods that I’d rather you eat non-organic raw foods than none at all.  But if there’s ANY way you can choose organic, I strongly urge you to do so.  If choosing organic sounds costly to you, please consider reading this article again.

When you’re in the process of transitioning to raw foods, sometimes it may seem like your grocery bill is going up… but give the above points there’s a good chance you’re spending less money overall.

Now, if you want to cut back even more, here are the 10 tips:

1. Keep it fresh. New prepared raw foods and raw food restaurants are springing up regularly. However, these choices often come with a premium price tag. Stick to mostly fresh, whole fruits and vegetables.
2. Stay in regular grocery stores whenever possible. Specialty health food stores can be great for their wide selection or finding new items to help spice up the kitchen. But the prices are typically higher because these stores cater to a certain crowd who are often able and willing to shell out more cash. Nowadays, it’s becoming hip to be healthy, and conventional stores are catching on by “beefing up” their organic produce and health food sections. Depending on the grocery store, it can be hit or miss whether you’ll find exactly what you need. But if what you’re looking for is usually part of a “normal” diet — i.e., produce, nuts, etc. — it’s likely to be cheaper there. At the very least, shopping in order, from the standard grocery to the health food store, will help keep your grocery bill under control.
3. Try the produce stand, farmers’ market, or community-supported agriculture (”CSA”). There’s not one but four great reasons to scout out the closest one. You’ll pump money into your local farms and economy, helping out your town or city. You’ll also decrease your carbon footprint by consuming food that hasn’t had to travel thousands of miles to get into your kitchen. You’ll save a bit of change on your produce because local produce is typically priced very well. If those three weren’t a good enough reason, the food you pick up will be nutritionally better for you because, again, it hasn’t traveled as far from where it was picked.
4. Sacrifice convenience. Convenient food is more expensive. It may be easier to buy the pre-cut carrots, but it comes at a cost. If those pre-cut carrots are going to help you stick to the diet, though, then the cost may well be worth it. But if you’re willing to wield the knife yourself, you’ll find your grocery bill to be a little lower every week.
5. Shop more often. This sounds counterintuitive — won’t shopping more lead to spending more? Not if you buy the appropriate amount of food each time. Raw food is highly perishable, so the quickest way to lose money is for it to go bad in the refrigerator. So go shopping, prepare items by washing, cutting and portioning out as soon as you get home, and make sure you actually get around to eating them. If you buy too much food at one time, it’s more likely to go to waste because it wasn’t eaten before it started to decay. You should count on shopping at least once a week.
6. Save on non-food products. There are a lot of deals out there for non-food products. If you collect coupons for paper products, pet products, toiletries, and other items you often buy in conjunction with your food, you’ll save a few dollars here and there that can be used toward purchasing higher-quality ingredients to use in your every day diet.
7. Check overall prices & shop in order. In my town, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are right across the street from each other. They have similar types of food, but Trader Joe’s is generally cheaper. Pick and choose where you buy certain items to save money. Begin your shopping outings with the cheaper stores first.
8. Be late to the farmers market. There will be less selection, but you can bargain for deals later in the day because the sellers would rather sell the produce than lug it all home (or worse, toss it out).
9. Shop in season. Snacking in the summer? Pick up fresh strawberries. Looking for a winter food? Pick out a big winter squash. Buy in season; you’ll have better-tasting foods that are easier on the wallet.
10. Where’s it from? Sometimes stores will carry similar produce from different places. Check where it’s from; there may be a price difference. You might also have other personal motives for choosing based on the location of origin.

With all the money you save, please do consider reinvesting that amount back into yourself and your family — in the form of more quality fresh organic produce.

The financial industry calls this “reinvested dividends,” which has been known to compound exponentially and make people wealthy.  Raw foods may not help you be wealthy, but they can help you be healthy. 

What money-saving techniques do YOU use?  Leave a comment below!

I’d like to take a step back and ask a couple of questions.  First, is it a cost?  Second, is it expensive?

Healthy Eating: Is It a Cost?

Your health is an investment, not a cost.  In fact, it is arguably the single most important investment you can make in your life — more so than your home, your education, your career, or even your retirement account!

(With the possible exception of investing in your children, although your eating healthily sets a positive example of the life-long skill of loving and taking care of oneself, plus your being healthy and energetic is an indirect investment in them when you are more available and present for them.)

Take a moment to consider the importance of this investment:

• If you’re not healthy, how effective can you be in your career?  If you have to take time off work, where will your income come from?
• Without good health, how can you enjoy your home or your retirement?
• How can you be available for those who depend on you?
• What good is your education if you’re not healthy enough long enough to make the most of it?
• Could health issues keep you from doing all the important things you want to do in life, like being around to watch your grandchildren blossom?

Here’s another, more pragmatic view: It’s preventive maintenance.  When you are healthy, you’ll save money on medical expenses — doctors, medications, and the like.  As an example, I take no regular medications (in fact, I can’t recall the last time I took ANY medication).  I’ve seen a doctor once in the past 8 years, and the last time I saw a dentist was 10 years ago!  (These are my own personal circumstances and I’m not recommending that you skip professional health care to such an extreme.)  How much money do you think I have saved as a result?

Your health is one of the most important assets in your life.  Invest in it accordingly; the dividends are priceless.

Are Raw Foods Expensive?

It’s true that prepared raw meals/snacks and specialty ingredients can be pricey.  But when you consider that the basis of a raw food diet is fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, is it really so bad?

Over the past 6 months, my family’s grocery spending has averaged $535 per month for 3 people.  That’s an average of $1.98 per person per meal.  Bear in mind we live in one of the most expensive counties in the United States, and buy organic whenever possible.  Compare that with the cost of a fast food meal, and you’ll see just how much of a bargain healthy eating can be!

Here’s another way to look at it.  You know that fresh, whole fruits and vegetables are healthy and good for you and your family, right?  If your current diet is cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables, what does that say about what you’re eating now? What is it made of?

One more thing.  How much of what you eat now has marketing expenses associated with it?  When you buy food that is advertised or has coupons, part of what you’re paying is to cover those marketing expenses.  On the other hand, when was the last time you saw a television commercial for fresh fruits and vegetables?

Maximize the fruits and vegetables.  Minimize the packaged foods, advertised foods, hard-to-find specialty ingredients and equipment, and exotic non-local produce.  Keeping things simple will go a long way.

Your Money and Your Life

Think of healthy eating as a top-priority investment, not an expense.  After all, what could be more valuable than your good health?  You’ll find the risks few, and the rewards many.  And in the end, not the burden on your pocketbook you might fear.

What do YOU say about it? Share your thoughts below!

When I actually get myself to eat all raw for a couple of days, I feel great–lighter, more energetic. But, I crave fats (good fats like avocado) and protein/salty stuff…I usually let the cravings mess me up. I start with healthier stuff at first like some eggs, but soon I’m eating too much cooked and not enough raw.

Rachel – I hear you. You are not alone. The majority of raw foodies struggle with cravings at times.

Here are 8 practical tips you can start using now to deal with the cravings:

• Make sure you’re keeping yourself adequately fed, and drink plenty of water. It’s easier to succumb to cravings when you’re not full. Make sure you’re getting a wide variety of foods, and not stuck in a rut of just a few comfortable foods over and over again.

• It does take practice, for many reasons. First, it takes at least 21 days to make anything a habit. Second, if you’re just starting out, raw foods and raw food preparation may feel “foreign.” Until you get more comfortable with thinking in terms of and preparting raw foods, there will be some natural resistance to change. It can often feel easier to fall back into old, more familiar, more comfortable patterns. Third, there is some recent evidence that calorically-dense foods (such as fats and sweets) are physically addictive to the brain. (This made sense for our ancestors, but not so much in our modern time of relative abundance.)

• Make sure you know what you mean by “too much cooked and not enough raw.” Let your body help guide you, and avoid assuming that an externally imposed ideal (like 100% raw) is automatically right for you.

• Baby steps. Can you deal with 1 fully raw meal per day for a month? Trying to jump in 100% raw from the get-go can backfire. Give your body and your psyche time to adjust.

• Go at your own pace and don’t worry. If you keep at it, you’ll reach your goal eventually. Enjoy the journey. Just don’t be too hard on yourself or get so discouraged that you stop keeping at it! Indulging in cooked foods now and then isn’t going to bring the Raw Police knocking on your door. It’s okay. Don’t guilt-trip yourself over it.

• It could be a sign you’re missing something in your diet. Try a “food & mood journal.” For a week or two, write down what you eat (with the date and time) as well as feelings (such as cravings) when they come up. You don’t have to get carried away with it — the idea is just to see if there are some discernible patterns. For example, maybe you start to get cravings when too much time has elapsed since your last meal. Or maybe you get cravings on those busy days when you skip breakfast.

• Keep some raw treats on hand. Prepare some grab-and-go treats ahead of time, so that when temptation strikes, it’s easy to make a good choice. Don’t go into battle without ammunition!

• Make your choices at the grocery store. It’s much easier to say “no” to something you don’t need at the store. Once you bring it home, the barrier to avoiding it is much lower, and trust me, it WILL be calling your name.

Do you have any special tips or tricks to deal with cravings on the raw food diet? Leave a comment below!

Go to FreeRawFoodDiet.com for a 7 day raw food diet “e-course” conveniently delivered right to your inbox each day.

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Why am I doing this? Because I want you to start enjoying the benefits of raw foods as soon as possible! I’ve done my best to remove the roadblocks for you.

So head on over to FreeRawFoodDiet.com and get your first lesson right now — even if it’s 2 a.m.!