Six Months Raw: My Experience

Six Months Raw:  My Experience

Let me start this by saying that I have no hidden agenda for sharing this information.  I’m not trying to sell blenders or bananas.   I know there is a tendency to distrust people who share “success stories,” so I wanted to put that out front.   I have nothing to sell.  I’ve had a positive experience that I want to share with others who may benefit from the info.  That’s all.

January 1st marked six months since my last bite of cooked food.    Those of you who’ve met me recently might be surprised to know that six months ago I was suicidal and practically agoraphobic.  Even many of those who *did* know me then would likely be surprised.  But in fact I’d been heading down that path for years.  My first memory is of being frozen with obsessive worry.  Over the years I have experimented with all kinds of alternative treatments, trying to stay as functional as possible (”functional” was always the goal…somehow “happy” never even seemed like an option).    People perceived me as cold, hard, bitchy, “a miserable person,” or just odd.   In truth I was in so much emotional pain that it was all I could do to get by from day to day.  Over the years the depression and anxiety got worse, culminating in the last few years when I became almost non-functional.  Moving to the country, which was supposed to help, ended up adding to the problem because I allowed myself to become so isolated.

Prior to last July 1st I had flirted with a raw food lifestyle for two years.  I was led to try the diet in the first place because I’d heard it could be a huge help for people with depression and anxiety issues.   I failed for various reasons:  got sick of the food, thought it was too much work, gave into cravings, all the usuals.     At my lowest, last spring, I turned to raw food as what I felt like then was my last hope, if it didn’t work, I felt suicide was my only other relief from the pain.  Fortunately, it worked.    Even under this pressure I had a hard time sticking to the diet, but on July 1st I recommitted to 100% raw, and this is what I have experienced:

~Mood
As mentioned above, at my worst I was very close to agoraphobic, and was absolutely terrified of people.   I rarely talked to anyone other than my husband.   I rejected contact with anyone who tried to reach out to me via phone or in-person contact.   I can thank email and texting for those few friends I had left at the end of this period!   Depression had me feeling so helpless and hopeless I could barely get off the couch some days.  Everything was negative and bleak…black.   Today I literally feel like a different person.  I can’t say that my depression and anxiety are gone, but I am managing them.  I am functional, even happy sometimes!   I have friends, I go places, I do things.  I even enjoy it!   Probably doesn’t seem like anything to get excited about to an average person, but to me it is huge.  And when I do get depressed it’s a very different feeling than it used to be.  I can distance myself from it, see inside of it, call it out.  It doesn’t control me.

~Energy Level
I was 35 when I went raw, and there were many days when just getting a few daily chores done was all that I could manage.  Whether this was primarily or exclusively a symptom of depression, or of physical illness, I really don’t know.  But it was one of the first issues to resolve when I went raw.   While I can’t say my energy is “boundless,” as some raw folks have experienced (what would that feel like, anyway?), I am able to do everything I want to do in an average day, which is a nice switch for me.  And some days I have *so* much energy I have to exercise for hours just to keep from crawling out of my skin and slithering away.  This is an area which has continually improved and in which I expect to see further improvement.

~Music!
Not something I expected or have ever read about people experiencing on a raw food diet, but a very nice surprise indeed.  I’ve always been a huge music fan, but on raw the enjoyment I experience listening to music is transcendent.  It’s like being on some marvelous drug with no side effects.  I can feel every note.  I don’t experience this constantly, but often enough that the enjoyment from this enough totally outweighs any “suffering” caused by missing cooked food.

~General Attitude
Certainly a factor in some or all of the above, but I feel it should have its own category.  My general attitude towards life used to be about as bleak as you could imagine.   No hope for improvement.  These days I see my problems as areas that will and can improve.   Odd to think that just a dietary switch could cause this, but for me it has.

Why it works

For me, a large factor has been the elimination of allergens.  I had severe food allergies as a child, and for many years thought I had “outgrown them.”  No, I had just internalized the reactions they produced.  So hyperactivity caused by eating the wrong foods turned to anxiety.   Sadness and exhaustion eating the wrong foods turned to depression.  And the feeling of helplessness from never feeling good physically was the refined sugar sweetened artificially colored frosting on the wheat, dairy, egg and chocolate containing cake, lol.

Other factors for me were nutrient deficiency and blood sugar instability.  I don’t know enough about the mechanics of these issues to write well about them, but I’ll put some links at the end of this in case you are interested in reading further.  Suffice to say that the high nutrient density and lack of refined sugar in raw food are thought by many to be responsible for many or most of the positive effects.   Another big factor is the live enzymes in raw food, which are destroyed by cooking.  Your body needs these to be able to use the aforementioned nutrients, and to digest food quickly so it can focus on healing.

This is a rough summary.  I’m by no means an expert on how or why raw food works.  I just know that for me, it does.   And by sharing this info I hope to plant the seed in others who may be suffering from similar problems.  I’m promising no miracles, only saying, it may help you too.

To be clear, I’m by no means saying that this diet has solved all my problems.  Among those I am still dealing with are

~Attention Span
This continues to be one of my biggest problems.   I’ve read of many people who have had their ability to focus increase through a raw diet. So far this has not been the case for me.  If anything my ability to focus has gotten worse, due to the increased energy.  I may just not have found the ideal version of the diet for me, or may not have given it enough time.  Or it may be something raw can’t heal.  But I’m hoping to see improvement in this area soon!

~Weight
While depressed I gained a lot of weight.  I’ve lost 35lbs in six months.  Not bad, but many raw foodists have lost weight much more rapidly.   I still have at least 30 more pounds to lose.  I think the reason my weight loss has been slower than some is that I have found a higher fat raw diet to be the most effective in stabilizing my moods.  It’s a trade-off I’m willing to make.

~Mood
Better, better, so much better.  But not *all* better.  Will raw alone be enough?  I doubt it.  However, raw has led me to have the energy to start exercising, try meditation, and do loads of other things that are good for me.   I’m confident that by staying on this path I will continue to see improvement.

Overall I have to say that without question the last six months have been the best of my life.  And this is taking in to account some pretty shitty external circumstances!  The difference for me is that with raw I can see that I am not powerless to change my life.  I’ve heard so many times that mood is pretty much a set point for people, regardless of what goes on around them.  Given my experience I can’t help but wonder if that’s not due more to habit than genetics.  An interesting option to explore, at least.

If you’re interested in getting started with raw food, my strong suggestion would be to start with green smoothies first.   So easy! Try whipping up some bananas in the blender with a handful or two of spinach.   Sounds bad, tastes good.  Add some frozen fruit (unsweetened) if you like it colder.  If you do this every day for a month, you *will* feel different.  Your attitude will start to improve.  You may find that you crave more salads or raw fruits and veggies.   If you do, listen to your body.  Try some raw recipes.   Try a whole day raw, or a whole week.  See how you feel.

Feel free to share this info with anyone you think could benefit from it.  And feel free to email me at dawn.shimp@gmail.com if you have any questions about my experience with raw food.   I’m a new person now, experiencing life in a way I never thought I could,, and if sharing this info can help others I am so very glad to do it!

For further reading (as mentioned above I have no vested interest in any of these authors or sites…just sharing info I feel could be helpful);

Alissa Cohen
http://www.alissacohen.com/
We refer to her book “Living on Live Food” as the Bible around here.   I have dozens of raw food prep books, and this is definitely the one I use the most.  Also has tons of useful info on how and why raw works, as well as testimonials from people who have had success on raw food.   Her website is informative and hosts a great free forum.

Victoria Boutenko
http://www.rawfamily.com/
“Green for Life” is *the* source for green smoothie info.  Even if you have no intention of going raw, her book will show you how easy it is to improve your health and mood by adding green smoothies to your existing diet.

Gabriel Cousens
http://www.gabrielcousens.com/
A medical doctor who has done tons of research on how raw foods benefit health.   “Rainbow Green Live Food Cuisine” is an excellent book which combines science and recipes. “Conscious Eating” seems brilliant but I’m only about a third of the way through it so I can’t give it my full recommendation yet  ;)

Give it to me Raw
http://www.giveittomeraw.com/
Raw Food community where you can ask questions, get support, etc.  I’ve not participated much but have heard great things, and it seems like a good place to start for a newbie just learning about raw foods.

Gone Raw
http://goneraw.com/
Tons of recipes!

Or just google “raw food” and see what turns up that appeals to you.  There’s a ton of info out there now.  If you decide to try this, good luck to you!  Remember it’s not something that needs to be done all at once.  For most people (including me) it’s a gradual process.  Every step you make in the direction of progress is a wonderful gift to yourself  :)

Why (Not) Vegan? — A question for animal rescuers

Until recently most of my work was done in the animal rescue community.    When I first started I was surprised to find that most animal rescuers continue to eat animals.   After a while I was no longer surprised, but I can’t say I ever got used to it.   In the entire time I’ve been involved in rescue I’ve not to my knowledge met another vegan.   I’ve met a few vegetarians.    I’m not one to judge other people…I went back to eating animals for 10 full years after being vegetarian in college, so I understand how easy it can be to blind yourself to the truth.   But I think it’s important for rescuers to understand that no matter how many dogs and cats you rescue in a day, a weekend, a year, if you are continuing to eat animals, or animal products, you are still ending more lives than you are saving.   Next time you do a transport or pull from a high kill shelter, look into the dog’s eyes and know that the unconditional love you see there is also present in the eyes of cows and pigs.    Next time you’re laughing with friends about your rescued cat’s quirky habits, know that chickens and turkeys have quirky habits too.   And next time you’re protesting a puppy mill auction know that there are animals of numerous species suffering and dying within walking distance.   I’m honestly not trying to be mean or tell anyone that they are “bad,” but I *am* trying to make you think.   All animals deserve our love; if you are caring enough to give your time helping animals in need, I think on some level you already know that.

Check out the counter to your right to see how many animals have been killed in the time it took you to read the above paragraph.   For more information on veganism, please check out veganoutreach.org