I am interested in what I have been told is called the..Raw Vegan diet?

Does anyone know the benefits and downfalls of this diet?

What does it involve?

Vegan is hard enough...RAW VEGAN is nearly impossible.
You won't be able to do it very long.

One of the main reasons is that the main source of protein for vegans is the legume family of beans, peas, and lentils...and these MUST all be cooked or fermented (like TOFU.)
Unless you eat TOFU at almost every meal, you will starve (kwashiorkor...protein starvation) and TOFU at every meal, while POSSIBLE, seems highly improbable long term...the boredom factor would become overwhelming.

COOK your beans, peas, and lentils and you have a good VEGAN diet...one that is healthy, low in saturated fats, and that will promote weight loss. A diet like that can go on for a lifetime.

Ohh well the girl said to me that 70% of her food is raw. Not all of it.

My aim is to avoid processed food as much as possible. Because I used to suffer from acne and realised that my acne is linked with my diet. I went on a special diet that cut out most processed food and it cured my acne.

The vegan diet just sounds like a step further of ridding processed food. Is this right? Does anyone know of a basic meal plan so I can get an idea of a typical day of eating?

oh and a little something else.

if you are eating tofu as a source of protein, you need to eat double the normal portion to obtain the same protein benefits as found in meat.
i do not eat red meat and hardly ever eat any meat actually, and the dietician said that your tofu intake has to be pretty large in order to compensate for the protein not taken in with meat. beans and other legumes are obviously a very good choice.
good luck

Ohh well the girl said to me that 70% of her food is raw. Not all of it.



In that case, 70% raw is just fine, just make sure that COOKED beans, peas and lentils and fermented soy are all regular parts of the diet long with complementary proteins from grains, sprouts, nuts and even seaweeds.

(I guess any of the rice and wheat foods must also be cooked for palatability.)

The tough part of VEGANISM is getting the proteins.

Well, you did ask for the down side, didn't you? (Warning - I don't think vegetarianism, much less veganism, is a healthy approach for most of us.)

While there is a lot a protein in many vegetables, some of the necessary amino acids are not as abundant in vegetable sources (particularly foods you would eat raw) as in animal sources. Vegans also need to be very mindsful about getting all necessary nutrients. Vitamin B12 is very scarce in the vegetable world. The omega-3 fatty acids found in vegetarian sources are reportedly not as easily assimilated that those from animal sources.

Also, I don't quite understand why you see veganism as a further step away from processed foods. To my mind, omnivores can avoid processed foods just as easily as vegans (or perhaps more so since many soy foods are more processed than meat). But perhaps you are considering something I am not. Just curious.

When the girl was telling me about it...she seemed so convinced being vegan was a much healthier way of lifestyle. I'm just curious now.

I was disturbed when she said eating meat was bad for the digestive system. Something to do with the meat staying in the intestines too long...therefore causing a bad smell in our bowels?

I really dont know very much about this. But it did just make me curious

Meat is bad for the heart because it is usually a large source of saturated fats...the evidence is incontrivertible except to adherents of some whacky fad diets. The vegetable world has much less artery congealing fats...more healthier monosaturates and polyunsaturates.

Meat is also ecologically disastrous because it take something like 8 grams of vegetable protein in animal feed to make 1 gram of animal protein. As the population of the planet soars past 6,7, 8, 20 BILLION it might be time for everyone to start eating a bit lower on the food chain lest millions die weekly of starvation to pork up a few heifers...both animal and human variety. :D

Baby hands, I've heard the undigested meat in the colon schpeal, too. Having done colon cleanses and done preps for surgery and exams that are designed to clean out the system and undergone a colonoscopy, I am now thoroughly convinced that it is a bunch of nonsense. Yes, I do think the GI track can get a little clogged up at times (which can be addressed with some kind of fast or limited eating regime), but I think the clogging has more to do with refined carbohydrates than meat, IMHO.

It is great to investigate nutritional matters. We don't pay enough attention to it, in my view. The problem is there are varied and sometimes conflicting ideas about the best regime to follow. The truth is that there probably is no one plan that works for everyone. So it can take some reading (the pros and cons of any approach) and some self experimentation to see what works for us.

If your major health concern is having had acne, I would venture to guess that you would do well just making some small adjustment without resorting to any extreme regimes - make sure to get the recommended 5 servings of veggies and fruits every day. If you get more, even better; if some are raw, even better. Limit your intake of overly processed, refined foods. Drinking sufficient water helps the colon function best. Better still is plenty of exercise. And if you are feeling the need to clean out your system, try eating nothing but raw, fresh fruits for a day. (It's a good time of year to do that, in the northeast US, anyway.)

Meat is bad for the heart because it is usually a large source of saturated fats...the evidence is incontrivertible except to adherents of some whacky fad diets.

You ARE getting decidedly more dramatic.

Meat is also ecologically disastrous because it take something like 8 grams of vegetable protein in animal feed to make 1 gram of animal protein. As the population of the planet soars past 6,7, 8, 20 BILLION it might be time for everyone to start eating a bit lower on the food chain lest millions die weekly of starvation to pork up a few heifers...both animal and human variety. :D

Even eating lower on the food chain, there is limited room on the planet. Why delay inevitable decisions? Why not deal with the situation while people are still getting plenty of omega-3s from animal sources so they can think straight?

Oh well, everybody needs a lttle drama in one paragraph soundbites...a treatise would require something else :D

Absolutely, we need population control and it should have begun a century ago but religions, sexuality and stupidity being what they are, increase and multiply becomes the rule...and we do, like roaches. Hats off to attempts by China to consciously curb population and Russia to unconsciously do the same. Gosh, the population of the United States has much more than DOUBLED in my lifetime as the world population has trebled. (No WONDER the subway is so crowded.)

I agree that with regular use that excellent Omega-3 from CANOLA :D some of us might be able to figure a solution (effecting it might be more difficult :D).

But short term and long term meat eating, like petroleum burning, will become less and less the norm...unless we start eating one another.<<<for DRAMA!>>> It's all supply and demand.
That $93/pound sirloin and $107 flounder filet may begin to lose some of its appeal except for the Gates and Bush families!

Oh mom, not rice and beans AGAIN! :D:D

Humans do not need to eat meat in order to be healthy. There are countless vegetarians and vegans out there in the world who live healthy and happy lives. Like has been said, usually the one thing that a vegetarian or vegan would be low on in their diet is B-12. They can solve that by taking a B-12 supplement. It has has been proven that it's better for a person's heart and other health issues to cut down on red meat, or eliminate eating it.

I don't think it's true that you need to eat twice as much tofu to equal as much protein, as meat. They are more equal than that in terms of protein.

I find it ironic when some people say a vegetarian or vegan diet isn't healthy, but they think that eating tons of bacon and sausage every day is healthy.

I'm a vegetarian ... I decided against vegan for now .. Although it is probably on the horizon. The only milk / egg products I use are hormone and antibiotic free .. as well as cage free ...

You can be VERY healthy living a vegetarian / vegan lifestyle ... and truth be told ... Americans get too much protein in their diets anyway ... if you want to know what a vegetarian or vegan diet looks like ... you can google PeTA .. and you will find on there some sample meals .. and tips for living a meat free life.

I wish you luck .... we can get allot of push back for not eating meat ... but I find that I feel better and look better than I ever did when I ate meat.

I was once a vegan. No one that ever met me didn't give me a hard time. I never gave anyone a hard time for eating meat! I'm an omnivore now due to my need for more animal protein. When lifting weights, you want a gram of pro. for every pound you weigh. Hard to do as a vegan. And, you get sick of beans and tofu!:) Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you'll figure out what's right for you.

I am partial vegetarian, and would say my skin glows, I don't suffer from spots, and look younger in my years. When I ate meat regularly, I suffered with my skin, and my hair lacked lustre.

One of my best freinds is a vegan, as well as having numerous food intolerances allegies etc. but he works out at the gym regularily, as well as regular 'heavy' weight training! he gets most of his nutrients from nuts, seeds, soya, quorn, fruit, vegetables, beans etc. He gets his essential B vitamins by having marmite.

Although boring, he is a picture of health, very muscly, and again looks younger in his years.

Red meat in moderation is a good souce of protein, but not in excess, as it can contribute to heart disease and also cancers.

Meat is bad for the heart because it is usually a large source of saturated fats...the evidence is incontrivertible except to adherents of some whacky fad diets. The vegetable world has much less artery congealing fats...more healthier monosaturates and polyunsaturates.
While this is a popular food and pharma industry advertising line, the scientist jury is still out on this one. It seems that YMMV. And a high saturated fat/low carbohydrate way of eating is certainly working well for me on all fronts.

Meat is also ecologically disastrous because it take something like 8 grams of vegetable protein in animal feed to make 1 gram of animal protein. As the population of the planet soars past 6,7, 8, 20 BILLION it might be time for everyone to start eating a bit lower on the food chain lest millions die weekly of starvation to pork up a few heifers...both animal and human variety. :D
This is a specious argument. While I agree that animal protein is more expensive than vegetable protein, livestock farming is very often the only option for land use. The countryside here in New Zealand, for example, simply can't be use for large scale agriculture because it is too hilly. But finding markets for lamb, mutton, beef and dairy products is an ongoing battle because the market has been undercut by cheaper vegetable proteins.

Soy production in particular is environmentally disasterous because of the use of herbicides over vast areas. Monsanto has developed herbicide resistant seeds so that crops can be sprayed. Not only does the hebacide destroy virtually all other vegetation and the supported ecosystems, it is causing major health problems for the local communities. And this is just the beginning ...... !

Mark :eek:

Well Mark,

I would have to agree that any country that CANNOT grow any crops that are edible by man and is only good for scrub growth that sheep will eat has to have a sheep based food economy.

But most countries are not so restricted in their choice.

The United States, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Australia, Ukraine, China which are among the largest countries on the planet have the option to do either and choose to waste HUGE resources on converting vast amounts of vegetable protein to much, much smaller amounts of meat protein.

And of course you know that most livestock in reality is fed in feedlots (ignoring New Zealand lamb for a moment)where the food is grown far from where the cattle are penned and fattened...same for chickens, and pigs. So what can grow on the land on which they are "raised" has very little to do with the animals' feed. The gargantuan amount of corn grown in the United States has but one function...to feed animals.
If spraying pesticides is a concern, then per gram of animal protein produced one must grow 8 times as much vegetable protein and thus probably use 8 times as much pesticided than if one were eating the vegetable proteins directly.