Frederic Patenaude's Blog, page 43

What are the most unhealthy foods you could eat?

by Brian Greco

Now, there's a lot of talk these days about health and nutrition.

It's all the rage. Everyone's asking things like:

* What's the ultimate healthy diet plan?

* How can we maximize our health?

* What are the best foods to eat?

But because nutrition can often be a finicky science, it's difficult to find a definite answer to these questions.

Though someone may feel like they've find the one true way, there's almost always another person who can contradict them with their results on a different style of eating, exercising, and so on.

I mean, it really is amazing how adaptable the human body is. Just take a look at any corner of the globe and you'll find an immense diversity of lifestyle practices that people use.

But what does that mean for us? For people looking to get started on a healthier diet NOW? Where can we even begin? There's got to be a better way of looking at things.

Well, there is. How about – instead of trying to figure health out from scratch – we start where we are and narrow things down.

So basically, a little bit of dietary process of elimination.

Here are 3 unhealthy foods that NO ONE disagrees are unhealthy:

* Hydrogenated oils.

Everywhere in classic junk foods: chips, cookies, candies, and so on.

Not only are these oils 100% pure fat (no nutrients), they are processed at very high temperatures, creating the trans-fatty acids everyone knows are horrible for the body.

* Refined flour and sugar.

White flour is what's left after grains are stripped of their husk and bran, while white sugar is the pure sugar crystals refined from sugarcane or other agricultural products.

These empty-calorie foods overstimulate the taste buds and are extremely calorie dense with no nutrition to back them up. To be avoided.

* Processed meat products.

Hot dogs, bologna, sausage and other lunch meats are one of the worst possible food choices you can make.

With excessive amounts of fat, salt, and flavorings, these products are difficult if not impossible to digest and do not nourish the body.

So there we have it. No one will ever be able to perfect the art of health, but it's worth a shot. Simply get these 3 food groups out of the program and you're already on your way!

Quitting the Coffee Habit Without Pain and Suffering

I used to drink coffee, but after a lot of trial and error I realized it caused me a lot of pain and suffering. And I'm not talking about the withdrawal symptoms.

Even though 90% of American adults use caffeine on a daily basis, few realize how bad it is for them.

Coffee is the most common source of caffeine, and also the one with the most negative drawbacks. Although health authorities tell us that up to 400 mg. of caffeine a day (the equivalent of 4 cups of coffee) is perfectly healthy, many people are more sensitive to caffeine and can suffer many symptoms when drinking even just one or two cups of coffee.

Symptoms of caffeine sensitivity include

- Back and shoulder pains

– Headaches

– Chronique fatigue and irritability

– Anxiety and panic attacks

– Depression

– Lack of focus and concentration

– Extreme jitters

When I used to drink even very small amounts of coffee or tea, I would fall into a deep depression and become extremely irritable. These symptoms only went away once I eliminated coffee 100%

A big mistake people make is to try to give up coffee "cold turkey."

For example, many people don't realize that even cutting down caffeine intake by half can cause extreme withdrawal symptoms like migraines and headaches.

To give up coffee, the best product I have found is a natural herbal coffee called Teeccino. Unlike other coffee replacement, this one tastes great!

I have even served Teeccino to coffee drinkers and they didn't even realize that they were drinking fake coffee!

You can find Teeccino in some health food stores in the United States, Canada, the UK and some other countries. If you can't find it at your health food stores, you can order it on Amazon.com.

Some people are not as sensitive to coffee as others and can get by with small amounts, but many people are not so lucky and will suffer extreme symptoms even with small amounts. The best way for quitting the coffee habit without pain and suffering is to give it up slowly, by replacing coffee with Teeccino progressively over two weeks, until at the end you only drink Teeccino. That way you won't feel any withdrawal symptoms!

When Vegans Crash and Burn — Ex Vegans Going Back to Meat

I've been getting some questions lately from readers who are afraid to go on a raw vegan diet because of the possible negative consequences of staying vegan in the long-term.

Almost everybody I know has a friend who allegedly went vegan or vegetarian, but then suffered some sort of health problem or deficiency, went back to meat and now feels "much better."

These stories, along with famous or semi-famous ex-vegans that come out of the closet, are enough to scare most newbies and convince them to give up the diet for good.

Recently, the actress Ginnifer Goodwin gave up her vegan diet after years of outspoken animal activism, for "health reasons." Other famous actresses like Natalie Portman have also given up the vegan diet.

A young raw foodist from Turkey, Erim Bilgim, that I had a chance to meet during my travels last year, also went off the raw vegan diet and started eating meat again. He attracted some attention in the raw food community after being interviewed by the website www.letthemeatmeat.com, a site that interviews ex-vegans.

These stories are enough to scare away some vegans, but also give some ammunition to your friends and family who don't approve of your lifestyle.

Why Vegans Crash and Burn

First of all, I have to state that I am not one of those judgmental vegans. If a person decides to give up a diet for whatever reason, I am not here to criticize their decision. After all, it's their lives and they can do whatever they want.

I also don't consider myself to be a true "vegan," because on rare occasions, a few times a year, I might have some animal products. I don't do it out of fear of deficiency, but simply on some social occasions, or just to prove that I'm not a vegan.

For example, while I was traveling around the world with my wife last year for 8 months, there were a few occasions were being a 100% vegan was just too difficult. So we slipped a few times during the trip, but mostly because there were very few options available.

Overall, my diet is 99.5% vegan by definition.

What I want to emphasize is that just being vegan is really not a health choice, but more an ethical choice.

The vegan diet, in itself, can be healthy or unhealthy. It is not by definition a healthy diet, because a vegan could choose to eat unhealthy foods and still call herself a pure "vegan."

Here are some of the common mistakes that vegans and raw vegans make:

1) Too much fat, especially omega 6 fats

Vegans cut out saturated fats, but often replace it with vegetable oils and other fat sources, which means that their diet is not only high in fat, but also very high in omega-6 fats.

For example, many plant foods contain a lot of omega 6 but very little omega 3.

Take a look at the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in some common plant foods. The first number is the omega-6:

English Walnuts
4:1


Macadamia
6:1


Pecans
20:1


Pistachio
37:1


Hazelnut
88:1


Cashew
117:1


Pumpkin Seeds
117:1


Sunflower Seeds
300:1


Pine Nuts
300:1


Brazil Nuts
1000:1


Almonds
1800:1


Avocado:
15:1


Flax Seeds
3.1:1


Chia seeds
3:1

 

As you can tell, many plant foods are too rich in omega-6 and not rich enough in omega-3.

Many ex-vegans have blamed the vegan diet for being too low in omega-3. But research has shown that the real problem is that we get too much omega-6 fat!

Omega-6 polyunsaturated fats promote inflammation in the body. When you eat too much of it, it competes with your absorption of omega-3 fats, which are anti-inflammatory.

The ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is between 1:1 and 4:1.

Fruits and vegetables, as well as other low-fat plant foods, have a natural ratio of 1:1.

If most of your calories come from these foods, then adding a bit of higher fat plant foods with lots of omega-6 will not overthrow your balance. However, if a significant proportion of your calories come from these plant foods and oils, you are in trouble.

We can see that most vegans and raw vegans not only get too much fat but also promote omega-3 deficiencies through an overconsumption of omega-6 fats.

2) Too much fat in general

Vegans eliminate unhealthy animal protein, but often replace it with foods that are very high in fat, even higher than animal foods. Raw foodists do the same with an overreliance on nuts, seeds and avocados.

Too much fat in the diet now only promotes heart disease and cancer, but it also affects every aspect of your health negatively. It's also much easier to gain weight eating fatty foods rather than eating low-fat, carbohydrate-rich foods.

Too much fat does the following and more to your body:

- Negatively affects insulin sensitivity and promotes diabetes and high-blood sugar

– Is easily converted into body fat and promotes weight gains

– Negatively affects energy levels and athletic performance due to lower oxygen uptake

– Promotes inflammation and omega-3 deficiencies

– Negatively affects digestion and nutrient absorption

– Promotes heart disease and high cholesterol, as even vegetable fats contain appreciable quantities of saturated fats

Some raw food recipes especially, but also vegan "junk" food, can be especially rich in fat and calories. Compare for example:

Big Mac

Big Mac w/ Large Fries

Raw Taco*

Calories

570 calories

1040 calories

1500 calories

Fat

34 grams

54 grams

142 grams

Protein

24 grams

31 grams

30 grams

Carbs

47 grams

108 grams

57 grams

Sodium

1070 mg

1394

1700 mg

*For the Raw Taco recipe, I used a recipe found at: http://www.live-green-smoothie-diet. com/2009/04/genuinely-meaty-raw-taco-meat with-chunky-guacamole-and-fresh- cherry-tomato-jalapeno-salsa/. It is made with mushrooms, walnuts, olive oil, raw cacao, tomatoes, avocado, pine nuts, and a few other seasonings.

As I discovered while writing my book Raw Food Controversies, a raw food recipe like "Raw Tacos" can contain more calories,, more fat, and more sodium that an order of Big Mac with large fries at McDonalds!

For raw vegans, sources of fats include olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds — all of which are often used in large quantities in every recipes.

For cooked vegans, fat sources that pile up include: oils, "Earth Balance" products, coconut milk, vegan yogurts, vegan cheeses and sour creams, and fake meat products like Tofurkey.

Vegans should make the center of their meals low-fat, high-carbohydrate foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, and only use higher-fat foods as condiments, if they are to be used at all.

Raw vegans need to make the center of each meal fruit, and eat plenty of it to meet their caloric needs. Greens should be consumed for minerals, and fatty foods should be used as condiments, not as the main ingredient in a dish.

3) Vegans could be deficient in Vitamin b12

Vitamin B12 are common in vegans, especially raw vegans who don't take any supplement. Many symptoms can be attributed to a B12 deficiency, including fatigue and failure to thrive.

The standard recommendation is to take a B12 supplement containing 25 to 100 mcg every day, or one containing at least 1000 mcg three times a week. If you've been on a vegan diet for a while, you might start with some B12 injections, as low B12 levels can actually prevent absorption from dietary or supplemental B12.

Vegans who don't make these mistakes

Some vegans and raw foodists say that they don't make these mistakes, but yet still don't feel right and think they should go back to meat in order to feel better. In many cases, cleaning up your diet, eating whole foods, getting enough calories without too much fat is enough to make a difference. In other cases, more complex factors may be at play.

How Can You Be a Healthier Vegan?

Vegans and raw vegans can make some simple changes to immediately improve their diet and their health.

1) Get rid of all oil in your house. Avoid drizzling oil on your salads, instead, use low-fat salad dressings.

2) Whenever you make a recipe, just omit the oil and usually it will taste just as good without it!

3) Avoid using nuts, seeds or avocados as a main ingredient in any recipes.

4) Vegans beware of vegan products that are often too rich in fat, such as "Toffutti," and even "Daiya Cheese," "Gimme Leans" and other dairy or meat replacement.

5) Raw vegans: learn to eat fruit as the center piece of your meal, instead of raw recipes that are high in fat, or salads that will leave you hungry 30 minutes later.

6) Minimize the use of all processed plant foods, including sugar, maple syrup, flours, etc.

To discover how to make delicious, SAVORY, and OIL-FREE raw food recipes that taste great for dinner time, check out the recently launched product Savory Raw Dinner Recipes! We have a special bonus and more, offered during the launch only. Go to:

http;/www.fredericpatenaude.com/savory

He Laughed When I Ordered The Salad, or More on Calorie Density

Last week I stopped by a restaurant, as I was out of town and needed to get a bite to eat. I spotted a health food restaurant that offered a giant buffet, including a salad bar where you could pay by plate size instead of by weight.

They had two different salad prices: small and large. I of course chose the large one.

Whenever the deal is "fit as much as you can on your plate for this price," my caveman instincts kick in, just like everybody else. So I started to pile an unrealistic amount of salad on that plate, filled with all kinds of veggies, some slices of avocado and other good things.

When I made it to the counter to pay, I thought I had a pretty big salad, but I still felt I could have piled even more on top of it all.

When the cashier saw my salad, he started laughing.

To my surprise, it was not just a pleasant, friendly laugh.

The guy actually started to laugh uncontrollably! He just could not contain himself and started laughing and laughing while making comments at my salad.

At first it was "wow, that's a really big salad"… and then he started gibbering nonsense. "Oh my Go… oh no, that salad, oh no, wow, oh man…"

I did not know whether I should feel insulted for being treated like a freak, or whether I should start lecturing him on the virtues of eating high-nutrient-dense foods.

But as he kept laughing more and more, I ended his party by looking at him straight in the eye, with the most serious Poker face I could muster, and asked him, "How much do I owe you?" trying to sound like I was a high-paid CEO talking  to a low class subordinate.

I could not believe that a health food employee would actually insult my salad!

At first, I was wondering if he was laughing so hard simply because I was taking advantage of their $7.99 plate of salad by piling more than most people would fit onto such a plate.

But then I kept thinking of other buffets where you pay by the plate, and all over the world I've seen people do the same thing: pack as much as they can onto the tiniest, cheapest plate possible.

There's a restaurant in my city called the "Mongolian Grill" where you can get a pretty good vegetarian stir fry. You take a bowl, and pile as many vegetables as you can onto it, and a guy will cook it in front of you on a giant hot plate.

At all of those restaurants, I've always witnessed people pack in as much meat as possible, and if they're vegetarian, as much veggies as they can possibly fit onto that plate, so much that sometimes stuff starts falling off it as they bring it to the counter.

So after this health food store employee laughed uncontrollably at my salad, I came to the conclusion that he was actually laughing because I was going to EAT such a big salad, not because he though I was ripping off his store.

In his mind, eating such a giant salad would be the equivalent of someone else eating a three-foot sub sandwich!

I've actually had similar reactions from people in the past when they saw the sizes of my fruit meal.

I was once interviewed by a local Montreal newspaper that was doing a feature on raw food diets. When I told the reporter that I was often eating 8 to 10 bananas for lunch, he also started to laugh uncontrollably, as did the filming crew. It seemed so odd to them that I would eat that many bananas at once!

Let's stop for a moment to talk about caloric density.

Less than two years ago, I was in Hawaii for my Honeymoon doing a dinner cruise with my wife. We signed up for an organized package, but asked for a special meal to be prepared for us.

As we sat down to eat, I looked at what the "regular" meal looked like. People received a seafood appetizer (shrimp), followed by lobster and rice, then steak and potatoes, then finally a big chocolate cake dessert.

I took out my iPhone and started analyzing the caloric density of that meal. I calculated that most people ate anywhere between 3000 and 4000 calories, not including the alcoholic beverages, for that meal alone! That's almost twice as much as most people should eat in a single day.

On the other hand, our meal of salad, fruits and vegetables was less than 800 calories, and we had way more food on our plates.

The Importance of Caloric Density

Caloric density is one of the most important concept in health and weight loss.

It's simply a value of how many calories are in a certain weight of food, either by pound or kilo.

If you eat foods with a low caloric density, you get full much faster because you have more volume to deal with, and more fiber to keep you full.

If you eat foods of high-caloric density, you get fat because you tend to eat more calories than you need.

Study after study has shown that caloric density is the most important factor in making a diet work long-term.

Why?

Because if you eat foods of low caloric density, you get full much faster, and it's literally impossible to overeat and gain weight.

For example, lettuce has a caloric density of only 100 calories per pound, while olive oil has 4000 calories per pound.

Now you'll say… yeah, but nobody just eats olive oil!

True! But whenever you add olive oil to a food, you increase the overall caloric density.

For example, a famous study showed that when they fed a group of people the same food but without the added fat, people ate the same amount of food, but consumed fewer calories, and lost weight. But, the other group being fed the same food but with extra oil sneaked in gained weight. They were taking in extra calories without realizing it!

At the same time, if you add lettuce to any meal, you lower the caloric density.

That's why they've found that when people had a large fat free salad or a big apple before their meal, they ate less at the meal and were able to lose weight. That's all because of caloric density!

Let's take a look at the average caloric density of different food, in terms of number of calories by pound.

Food

Caloric Density Per Pound

Fresh raw or cooked veggies
100


Fresh raw fruit
250-300


Cooked Starchy Vegetables, Intact Whole Grains
450-500


Legumes and Beans
550-600


Meat Products
900-1000


Dried Fruit
1200


Processed grains and Flours (even if made from whole grains)
1200-1500


Cheese
1800


Nuts and Seeds
2800


Cheese
1800


Oil
4000

 

Keep in mind that this is an average across a category. For example, we know that bananas contain more calories per weight than apples, but overall fruits have a similar caloric density.

Looking at this table, you'd be tempted to only eat vegetables, as they contain only 100 calories per pound. It's important to note that nobody can live on just vegetables, and that you'd get so hungry on a diet of just vegetables that you'd eventually break down and eat something else! However, you want your diet to contain plenty of raw vegetables by weight.

The concept of caloric density is to look at the overall caloric density of your meals.

If the caloric density of your food is below 400 calories per pound, you will lose weight no matter what you do!

Many traditional diets of long-lived people have a caloric density of around 600 calories per pound. If the caloric density of your food is below 400 calories per pound, you'll be able to maintain a healthy weight without counting calories and even without exercising.

When people laugh at you when they see the size of your meals, tell them about caloric density. Tell them that you can eat as much of these foods as you want because of their low caloric density!

The next time someone laughs at my salad or my fruit meal, I'll point at their sandwich and say:

"Laugh all you want, but did you know that I could eat two salads like this and still eat less than 600 calories? Your sandwich alone is 800 calories and I know you'll be hungry in two hours, looking for a chocolate bar, while I'll feel full because of all the delicious food I ate. That by the way, is why I'm slim and you're not!"

Okay, maybe I won't say the last part. But I'll think it for sure…

7 Healthy Sins, The "Bad" Things That Are Actually Good for You

Everything popular is wrong. Or so said Oscar Wilde.

You've been told by your friends and the media that certain things are bad for us, and the bashing is so common that many people are afraid to do the very things that would bring them one step closer to health. Yet, overwhelming evidence goes against this "common sense" knowledge.

Here is a list of 7 common things people think are bad for you, but are actually good for you, in no particular order.

1- Skipping Breakfast

We are told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. "Eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and have dinner like a pauper" is an old saying.

The truth is, for most of human history, people of all cultures have typically only eaten two meals a day: lunch and dinner, or sometimes breakfast and lunch, with a light dinner. The ancient Romans ate an early breakfast, a very light lunch, and a large dinner.

In all examples you can find in history, people only had two large meals a day, and sometimes skipped the third one entirely.

The word "breakfast" in French (déjeuner) also means "breaking the fast," but actually means the lunch meal, because that's when people had their first meal of the day (breaking the fast). Eventually, as French people got wealthier, they started having something in the morning, and came up with the term "little breakfast" (petit déjeuner) to describe that morning meal.

Having regular meals is important, but skipping breakfast or any other meal occasionally does not have the terrible consequences that are expected.

A healthy person, with a healthy blood sugar, can easily skip breakfast without the terrible "blood sugar crash" that people expect when they don't eat anything in the morning. In fact, if you can't skip breakfast without feeling bad, it typically reflects the poor state of your health and your reliance on stimulants like coffee and sugar.

A recent study published in the Journal of Physiology showed that working out on an empty stomach has tremendous health benefits

(http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast/)

Having a big breakfast before a workout, or in general, is especially bad for you. If you have a big breakfast, you should only do so after working out. Researchers found:

 "The men who ate breakfast before exercising gained weight, too, although only about half as much as the control group. Like those sedentary big eaters, however, they had become more insulin-resistant and were storing a greater amount of fat in their muscles.

Only the group that exercised before breakfast gained almost no weight and showed no signs of insulin resistance. They also burned the fat they were taking in more efficiently. "Our current data," the study's authors wrote, "indicate that exercise training in the fasted state is more effective than exercise in the carbohydrate-fed state to stimulate glucose tolerance despite a hypercaloric high-fat diet."

Another reason people may not eat breakfast, or have only a coffee in the morning, is because they eat late at night or snack after dinner. Skip this. It's much better to eat during the day and burn off the energy, than to eat at night when you're sedentary and then go to bed.

2- White Potatoes

White potatoes have been accused of being one of the worst "junk foods" you can eat. Some people swear by the "don't eat anything white philosophy," and avoid white flour, white rice, white sugar, and of course… white potatoes.  It's common knowledge that white potatoes turn into sugar, create a spike in blood sugar, and sugar makes you fat. Or is it?

Potatoes are one of the staples of civilization. Eating white potatoes is actually one of the healthiest choices you can make for your health. They cannot be classified along with white flour and white flour because white potatoes are a whole  foods. They contain:

- Fiber (lots of it!)

- Vitamins and minerals

- Water

Did you know that white potatoes contain as much potassium as bananas?

Recently the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission got mad because of all the bad rap that potatoes get. So he decided to live for 60 days on potatoes only! His diet consistent of almost 20 potatoes a day, and about 2 Tbs. of oil. (http://20potatoesaday.com/)

In this diet that almost everybody would think is bad for you, he:

- Lost 22 pounds

- Lowered his blood sugar

- Dropped his cholesterol from 214 to 147

- Dropped his triglycerides from 135 to 75

Potatoes are far from being bad for health. Entire cultures have lived on potatoes — white potatoes — and stayed in perfect health. It's not potatoes that are bad, it's all the stuff people add on them, like butter, cheese, bacon, and sour cream.

3- Carbs in General

Not only are white potatoes getting bad rap, but also all carbs in general, including fruit. Don't eat carbs, we are told, they make you fat because sugar is converted into fat!

It should be noted that the healthiest and fittest cultures in the world live on very high-carb diets. I noticed it myself when traveling around the world, that the people eating the most fruit and the most rice (like the Thai and Filipinos), where the also the healthiest. Even in those cultures, the people that got fat were the people that ate OTHER foods like animal products and refined sugars typical of a Western Diet.

Physiologically, it is much easier for the body to store fat than to take sugar, convert it into fat, and then store that. Fat is useable immediately and can be stored by the body, without any effort.

People think that eating carbs and fruit raises blood sugar too much and this in turns lead to health problems. In reality, high carb, low-fat diets are a proven way to LOWER blood sugar to stable levels. See the work of Dr. Fuhrman, Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall, Dr. Barnard, Dr. Ornish, and many others.

Excess fat in the blood stream lowers insulin sensitivity and this in turns contribute to high blood sugar levels, and eventually diabetes. Carbohydrates that contain fiber (like fruit) have a positive effect on blood sugar.

I have yet to see someone eating at least 75% carbohydrates and less than 10% of calories coming from fat not lose weight, improve their blood sugar and get healthier. Think about your friends and family that are telling you that carbs are bad for you. Are they healthy and fit? I didn't think so.

Follow the diet that works and notice that healthy cultures, athletes and people living today all follow a high-carb lifestyle. I'm talking about the people that STAY fit and healthy for life, not those that follow a diet temporarily to lose weight, but then gain it back in a few months or years.

ALL the longest lived cultures with the most centenarians living today follow a high-carb, plant based diet (http://www.bluezones.com/)  These include:

- The Okinawan

- The Island of Sardinia

- The 7th Day Adventists in the USA

- The Costa Ricans living in the Nicoya Peninsula

 4- Overeating

Overeating is bad, but only if you eat high-caloric density foods. In other words, if you eat foods that have a lot of calories per WEIGHT, then yes, overeating is bad for you. Those foods include:

- Butter

- ALL oils

- Bread and pastries

- Nuts and Seeds

- Animal Products

However, if you eat foods with a low-caloric density and high water content, you can eat as much as you want, and NOT gained weight. The lowest calorie density foods are in order:

- Green vegetables (100 calories/lb)

- Fruit (250 calories/lb)

- Whole Grains and Root Vegetables (450 calories/lb)

- Beans (550 calories/lb)

On the other hand, the caloric density of white bread is 1500 calories/lb, and oil is 4000 calories/lb!

Overeating on low calorie foods is just not possible, because they take so much bulk and volume, with their high water and fiber content. Therefore, if you eat those foods alone, you will not gain weight, no matter what! And you will probably lose weight.

 5- Pacing and Fidgeting

I've been told all my life that I pace and fidget too much. When I talk on the phone, I have trouble siting down and tend to pace frantically in the house! I also tend to move my feet and fingers constantly. I move a lot during my sleep (ask my wife!). I've also never been overweight.

It may sound silly, but some studies have shown that fidgeting individuals have a higher metabolism and burn more calories per hours than "non-fidgeters" because of this "spontaneous activity."

The point is not to develop new ticks you didn't have, but instead to get your body moving as much as possible. Standing will burn more calories than sitting down. Just don't sit still… you can do that when you're dead.

6- Sunshine

Too much sunshine can cause DNA damage and age your skin. People are so frightened of skin cancer that they avoid sunshine entirely. That's not a good idea.

Getting sunshine not only improves your mood and helps you make essential vitamin D, and has a surprisingly beneficial effect on overall health. A new study even came to the conclusion that exposure to sunshine has so many benefits that it outweighs the risks for skin cancer (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3320822/Sunshine-vitamin-D-and-heart-disease-protection-included.html)

Of course, many health seekers and raw foodists take this to the extreme and spend too much time in the sun, aging their skin and damaging it considerably.

I personally try to protect my face and am extremely careful in tropical environments, where sunshine can be brutal and unforgiving. No one enjoys having the lobster look!

7- Running

A lot of people seem to think that running is bad for you. When I tell people I like to run, they tell me, "Oh but you know it's bad for your knees!" And then they remind me that all those marathon runners are not truly healthy.

Running, of course, is not a magical exercise. Running will not improve your strength training, and in itself, it's not a truly complete fitness program. Running will also not cancel the benefits of a bad diet.

Yet, the remarkable thing about human beings is that we are truly designed for running. Human beings are natural-born runners. It's the physical activity that takes us apart from other apes. (see: http://www.physorg.com/news95954919.html)

Some animals, like cheetahs, are built for speed, not endurance. Even your dog can easily outrun you with much less efforts. But don't ask your dog or your cheetah pet to come join you on your next marathon!

Humans are built for endurance. Our waist is thinner and more flexible than other primates, and we cool off much faster (lack of fur). We can run in the heat, in the rain,  and over very long distances. The experience of ultra-marathon runners has certainly proved that!

Most animals develop heat stroke after running just 10 kilometers, but not humans. This probably enabled early humans to chase down some animals, like some tribes in Africa do, in order to survive. The practice is even called "persistence hunting."

As for running being bad for joints, newer research proves that it's not the case at all (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1948208,00.html)

A study tracked over 1000 runners (quoted in the Time article)  for 21 years.

When the Stanford team tabulated the data, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2008, it found that the runners' knees were no more or less healthy than the nonrunners' knees. And It didn't seem to matter how much the runners ran. "We have runners who average 200 miles a year and others who average 2,000 miles a year. Their joints are the same," says James Fries, a professor emeritus of medicine at Stanford and the leader of the research group. The study also found that runners experienced less physical disability and had a 39% lower mortality rate than the nonrunners.

Of course, there are some risks to running. Running with bad form, or while eating a Standard American Diet (which may increase your risk of developing arthritis) will take its toll on the body.

If you enjoy running, there's no reason to avoid it because some lazy, inactive people tell you that it will "ruin your joints." Research clearly debunks that myth, and the fact that the human being is a natural runner explains why running is so popular.  I highly recommend getting some coaching from a trainer who can advise you on how to have proper running posture for better agility and to prevent injury. (Check out www.joyinmovement.com) Almost every person I see running on the trails have terrible posture and are actually straining themselves by running incorrectly.

 

—–

 

Do you find it hard to eat raw during the day, but difficult at night?

Do you find that when dinner arrives, you crave something more savory than a simple fruit meal or a smoothie?

Do you find that literally all of your cravings for cooked and/or unhealthy junk food occur after 5 p.m.?

Our "Savory Raw Dinner Recipes" DVD set is available for pre-orders:

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/savory

 

Savory Raw Dinner Recipes Available for Pre-Orders!

Do you find it hard to eat raw during the day, but difficult at night?

Do you find that when dinner arrives, you crave something more savory than a simple fruit meal or a smoothie?

Do you find that literally all of your cravings for cooked and/or unhealthy junk food occur after 5 p.m.?

Our "Savory Raw Dinner Recipes" DVD set is available for pre-orders:

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/savory

The launch will last 72 hours. Because we taking pre-orders, we've decided to give a big discount to the first 500 orders.Make sure you're one of the first 500!

And the winner is…

We're ready to announce the second winner of our Savory Raw Dinner Recipe DVD Set! The second winner is Geri, from Illinois, who wrote in the second contest:

Ahhh Frederic…Yes you Must give me the Free videos because I love what you and Veronica are doing in these taste tempting recipe DVD.s they look like ur both having Fun with your food ): I love having Fun and having Fun making and eating these lovely foods.

These Scrumptious recipes that you are offering can be eaten ANY time of the day & I can fix them and offer them to my grandchildren and chidren and they Have to LOVE them…

So Pick me as the Winner so I can use your ANYTIME recipes to tempt my grandchildren and children into being Healthy with Healthy — EZ–Beautiful…Taste Teasing, Tantilizing recipes on your DVD. Can you see me jumping up and down so Happy to have WON your Wonderful DVD's with those OMG Delicious recipes??? YES YES

Pick me, Pick me…Yes Yes

Hugs

Geri

Also, Geri wrote in our first contest (which was a requirement for winning):

Hi Frederick Thank you & Veronica for putting these Recipe DVD's they are a Delicious Idea..I totally Adore these Drooling recipes..OMG they look so Scrumptions I want some NOW…

I would so desire having these DVD's to keep me on the RAW Food lifestyle, my life and health are so much in need of Raw Food now and for the rest of my live.

The Savory Stews are Delicious and I love them however I get bored with them and find it a very Big Challenge to Make a LOW Fat Delicious Non Fruit dinner..these recipes here are Just the thing for me…

Knowing how you do things I know that you have made them EZ for us, thank you.

I would sure Love to WIN the DVD set and use them right away and send you feed back on how much I enjoyed them.

I am quite intrigued by the Fat Free Nacho Cheesy Sauce & Lower Fat Mexican Taco Salad.

I could just bite into those Delicious looking Yum, Yum Savory Stuffed Peppers…Oh My…..can't wait.

All the recipes Look Wonderful, thank you for the Great Pictures of your work and caring so much for us to put these Much Needed Lo Fat Dinner recipes.

I myself am so tired of the High Fat recipes out here in Raw food land. Thank you.

Blessings,

Geri

Also, our first winner was Sherrie from Colorado, who wrote:

"I have been enjoying the high-raw lifestyle for over nine years now….it has been fascinating to see how many changes have been made over this time, starting out with the more high fat type of diet. The journey has meant buying almost every book published on this lifestyle….now I would sell most all of them and just keep ones related to high carb/low fat. I feel wonderful at 70 years of age, and life just keeps getting better and better! I just finished your new book which arrived a few days ago! Great read!"

We're excited to announce that we'll start taking pre-orders for the DVD set tomorrow. If you order during this launch, the first 500 people who order will get an amazing discount that will otherwise NOT be available.

Plus, you'll be one of the first to get your DVD set when they ship the first week of December. 

Here's a selection of the recipes that will be shown in the DVD set:

Soups:

Fred's Easy Fat-Free Veggie Soup

Sweet and Savory Georgia Peach Soup

Creamy Harvest Corn Soup

Mexican Cilantro Corn Soup

Entree Salads:

Asian Apple Salad

The Best Raw Vegan Caesar Salad

Kale Apple Salad

Lower Fat Taco Salad

Appetizers/Snacks:

Fat-Free Zucchini Herb Chips

Festive Flax Crackers

Spicy Mexican Corn Chips

Asian Cucumber Rolls

Entrees:



Superfood Garden Burgers

Veronica's Amazing Raw Lasagna

Fat-Free Savory Stuffed Peppers

Mediterranean Tortilla Wrap

Soft Vegetable Corn Tortillas

Fat Free Savory Burrito Filling

Sauces:

Spicy Raw Barbecue Sauce

Rawsome Ketchup

Hot Honey Mustard Sauce

Amazing Fat-Free Nacho Cheezy  Sauce

Raw Marinara Sauce

Desserts:

The Ultimate "Ice-Cream"

Low-Fat Peach Mango Blueberry Crumble

Persimmon Pudding (that rocks!)

But there's more! 

Veronica has also created additional recipes not featured in the DVDs that are available in the companion recipe book. The companion recipe book features all the recipes from the two DVDs, plus even more soups, salad dressings, salads, entrees and desserts we just couldn't squeeze into the DVD set. This book is amazing and is included in some of the packages!

Stay tuned for the announcement tomorrow and make sure to order during the pre-order launch to get the discount! 

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Veronica's Veggie Lasagna (with lower fat veggie meat and nut cheese)

Exciting News and Raw Vegan DVD Preview

Here's a first preview video from our upcoming Savory Raw Dinner Recipes DVD Set. If you find it easy to eat raw for breakfast and lunch, but want something savory and tasty for dinner, this new program is going to be the answer!

This is your second chance to win this entire set of DVDs!

I want to know what you think of this new DVD series. Are you excited? Are you eager to learn tasty low-fat raw recipes on video? Veronica will select the best comment to win this set of DVDs. All you need to do is post a comment to let us know why we should give a free DVD set to you!

All of the recipes in Savory Raw Dinner Recipes are lower in fat than typical raw food recipes.

You will find some strict simple fat-free recipes, and some with moderate use of nuts, seeds and avocado. 

These recipes are COMPLETELY different from my previous Low Fat Raw Vegan Cuisine DVDs which contained almost no seasonings of any kind. 

These new recipes have been designed to be as tasty AND healthy as possible to appeal to your taste buds! They're the perfect compromise between ultra-low fat and simple recipes that can be repetitive over time, and ultra-gourmet recipes that are too complicated and high in fat.

PLEASE POST YOUR COMMENT BELOW AND GET A CHANCE TO WIN A COPY OF THE DVD PACKAGE! If you didn't win last time, this is your second chance. 

 

Photo Previews Of Savory Raw Dinner Recipes DVD Set

Over the years, I discovered that the biggest problem on a high-raw or all-raw diet is the lack of good, savory, raw dinner recipes.

Eating raw is easy during the day, but difficult at night! Sometimes you crave more than just fruit or a smoothie, and you want something savory and delicious that can leave you satisfied.

Typical raw food recipes usually fall in one of two categories:

Ultra-low fat, ultra simple recipes. Blend a tomato with celery, and you're good to go! Healthy, but unappetizing…
Gourmet recipes. On the other extreme, we have the ultra-gourmet, ultra high-fat recipes that are unhealthy.

We believe there's something missing for people who want something in the middle. Healthy, yet also savory and delicious!

Veronica and I have been working hard on putting together a new set of delicious and satisfying recipes on DVD. Veronica is an amazing chef and photographer… I can't wait until you try her recipes.

We're just finishing up some editing before putting everything together and getting them printed.

Here are some amazing photos that Veronica took during our test runs of the recipes before filming!

How to Win a Copy of the Upcoming DVDs

Do you want to know how to make these savory, healthy raw dinner recipes and eliminate your cravings at dinnertime? Please post a comment to tell us what you think of this project, and I will select one person to WIN a complete DVD Set.

If you don't win this time, you'll have another chance to win this week, but ONLY if you post a comment on this post below, telling us what you think of this Savory Raw Dinner Recipe project and why you think of the idea! 

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Asian Cucumber Rolls with Tangy Dip

 

Mediterranean Tortilla Wrap with Raw Hummus

 

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Veronica's Amazing Raw Lasagna (with lower fat veggie meat and nut cheese)

 

Fat Free Savory Stuffed Peppers

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Superfood Garden Burgers with Raw Slaw

Lower Fat Mexican Taco Salad

 

Low Fat Veggie Burritos with Fat Free Nacho Cheezy Sauce

 

Low Fat Peach Mango Blueberry Crumble

These are just a sample of all the recipes we have for you! And BEST OF ALL, they are COMPLETELY OIL FREE. They are lower in fat than typical raw food recipes, and a lot of the recipes are FAT FREE as well.

So whether you are new to raw foods, or a veteran, there is something for everyone. There's lots of tasty meals to share with friends, families, or even for the solo raw food enthusiast.

 

How to Win a Copy of the Upcoming DVDs

Do you want to know how to make these savory, healthy raw dinner recipes and eliminate your cravings at dinnertime? Please post a comment to tell us what you think of this project, and I will select one person to WIN a complete DVD Set.

If you don't win this time, you'll have another chance to win this week, but ONLY if you post a comment on this post below, telling us what you think of this Savory Raw Dinner Recipe project! 

The Real Reasons to Eat a Raw Food Diet

My last article on the "Bad Arguments to Eat Raw" upset some people, who thought that I suddenly became against the raw food diet. I've received many positive comments, but unfortunately, too many negative ones. Someone even said that people like me should be "dead" for even writing this article. I hope that wasn't a death threat from the raw food police…

What I tried to do is to show the non-sense that is used to promote raw food diets and what gives this diet a bad rap in the real world. This is why the raw food diet is NOT being taken seriously, because too many people use bad science to promote it. The reaction that many raw foodists had to this article just actually proves my point.

Let's clarify something once and for all:

I DO think the raw food diet is powerful and can be very healthy, if done correctly. If it makes you feel great, then do it! 

I personally have found it unnecessary to stick to 100% raw food and I have included some form of cooked food in my mostly raw diet for almost 10 years, except for some episodes of a few months at a time when I ate 100% raw. This is not news! I talked about the false idealism of raw foodism in my book Raw Secrets, published in 2002!

In my last article, I did bash some bad arguments for eating raw, but the implication was not that the raw food diet is a bad thing. I was against the arguments being used, not necessarily their conclusions.

A 100% raw food diet is appropriate for some people, but not for everybody. Yet, some fanatical raw foodists, lacking serious arguments to promote their view, are still trying to promote the idea that you're a complete failure unless you eat 100% raw food — that it has to be all or nothing.

It's easy to spot bad science because people promoting it are very aggressive and are always asking you to prove a negative.

Ayn Rand always said "you are never called upon to prove a negative."

If I want to prove that there is life on other planets, I must have some hypothesis to do so. Yet, my proof cannot be, "well, until YOU prove to me that there is NO life on other planets, I am right." That's completely ludicrous. The burden on proof lies upon the person making the hypothesis, not the other way around.

When I say, for example, that the "life-force" argument is not a good one to promote raw foods, many people get angry because they are asking me to prove the contrary. "Fred, until you prove to me that there is no life force in raw foods, I'm right and you're wrong."

I personally don't think there is any life force in food besides the raw materials necessary for human nutrition, simply because there is absolutely no credible proof to that effect. When I look at all the evidence that tries to prove that there is indeed life-force in raw foods, like Kirlian photography, it turns out that all of this evidence does not stand up to closer scrutiny.

However, you may disagree with me and still think that there is indeed life force in food because that's what you think "must be right" or because of some personal beliefs. But those beliefs would be more on the level of faith, which is believing something without any proof at all.

That's okay.

I have certain beliefs that are not completely rational.

For example, I do believe that everything happens for a reason. That kind of belief is based on my personal experience, and it also works for me. But I know it's not necessarily "rational."

Okay, now let's jump into the top best reasons to eat raw.

 

Top Best Reasons to Eat Raw

 

Nutrient Density —

I recently wrote this in my Raw Vegan Mentor Club Newsletter:

"Fruits and vegetables are the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, and most of these foods are better eaten raw than cooked.

When we say that a food is "nutrient-dense," we mean that it has the most nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals), per calorie. Starchy foods are calorie-dense, but not as nutrient-dense as fruits and vegetables.

In other words, 500 calories of rice or potatoes will contain fewer vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals than 500 calories of kale, or 500 calories of apple.

By eating a diet composed mainly of fruits and vegetables, we take in more nutrients than if we were to eat mostly cooked foods.

There are some exceptions, however. Cooked greens tend to be more nutrient-dense than raw greens, simply because we can eat more of them.

For example, you probably remember taking a huge amount of spinach and cooking it down in a matter of seconds to almost nothing. Well that small cup of cooked spinach is now jam-packed with minerals, and will only take you a few minutes to eat. On the other hand, the same amount of raw spinach takes much longer to chew. Therefore, cooked spinach is more nutrient-dense than raw spinach because we can eat more of it easily.

Raw foodists can get around this by blending greens. Thank heaven for the VitaMix! We can make a huge green smoothie that will contain a good amount of spinach or kale and drink it down in no time. It goes without saying that having some form of processed greens in the diet, whether they are steamed or blended, is essential for getting a good balance of nutrients.

Certain cooked foods are as nutrient dense as raw foods, but usually they are  still fruits and vegetables. For example, cooked sweet potato is very nutrient dense, but the same cannot be said of cooked white pasta.

By getting enough calories from raw fruits and vegetables, we automatically take it more than enough vitamins, minerals and other essential and preventative nutrients. This is one of the main reasons why the raw food diet is so effective."

 

Caloric Density — 

The following is from the October issue of my Mentor Club Newsletter, on the topic of optimal weight loss:

"One of the most important concepts to understand in human nutrition is that of caloric density. Caloric density is an estimation of a food's energy content by weight. 

For example, an entire head of lettuce weighing over one pound contains less than 100 calories. That means that the caloric density of lettuce is less than 100 calories per pound.

On the other hand,  one single tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories. So you have more calories in 1 tablespoon of oil than in a pound of lettuce. But guess which one is going to fill you up more?

The principle of caloric density is about filling up on foods that have a lot of volume but few calories by weight. Eating those foods, you'll feel satisfied and full, and be able to eat as much as you want, and lose weight in the process.

Studies have confirmed that if you feed people foods of low caloric density, they will eat as much as they want, not be hungry and lose weight, without having to count calories.

Because those foods have so few calories, it's almost impossible to eat too many of them.

Let's take a look at the average caloric density of certain foods. Keep in mind that this is an average across a category. For example, we know that bananas contain more calories per weight than apples, but overall, fruits have a similar caloric density.

Food
Caloric Density Per Pound


Fresh raw or cooked veggies
100


Fresh raw fruit
250-300


Cooked Starchy Vegetables, Intact Whole Grains
450-500


Legumes and Beans
550-600


Meat Products
900-1000


Dried Fruit
1200


Processed grains and Flours (even if made from whole grains)
1200-1500


Cheese
1800


Nuts and Seeds
2800


Cheese
1800


Oil
4000

 

Looking at this table, you'd be tempted to only eat vegetables, as they contain only 100 calories per pound. It's important to note that nobody can live on just vegetables, and that you'd get so hungry on a diet of just vegetables that you'd eventually break down and eat something else!

However, you want your diet to contain plenty of raw vegetables by weight.

The concept of caloric density is to look at the overall caloric density of your meals each day."

Experiments have shown that people will lose weight, no matter how much they eat and even if they don't exercise, if the caloric density of their food is less than 400 calories per pound.

*The reason why the raw food diet is so effective is because of its low caloric density. Athletes can get around that by blending fruits, which increases their caloric density by breaking down the fiber. So if you want to cram the calories in and stop losing weight, start blending everything.

 

Low Toxic Load

When cooking carbohydrates (such as potatoes) at high temperatures (baking, frying, etc.), a compound called acrylamide is created. In animal studies, high doses of acrylamide cause cancer.

More acrylamide is created when foods are cooked at a higher temperature or for longer periods of time.

We also know that other molecules called "Maillard Molecules" are formed when foods brown and caramelize during cooking. Some people speculate that these new compounds, created in the cooking process, may affect health negatively.

While certain forms of cooking appear to be relatively harmless (steaming, for example), the surest way to reduce the amount of toxins in your diet to the lowest level is to eat foods in their raw state.

Note that sometimes cooking destroys toxins that are naturally present in the plants. So it's important to avoid certain foods that should never be eaten raw, like raw or sprouted legumes. For more foods that should never be eaten raw, please consult my book Raw Food Controversies.

 

You Eliminate Everything Else That's Bad for You 

One of the main reasons why people get sick is that they eat so many "dead", pre-packaged foods.

These foods are not only heavily processed, but they contain a long list of suspicious ingredients, including MSG, preservatives, artificial coloring, and more.

Eating a raw food diet automatically eliminates all of this junk, which means that your diet will be 1000% more clean and pure. It will be "wholesome" in the true sense of the world (not in the adulterated, misused sense of the word everywhere in food advertising).

When I started the raw food diet, there were no pre-packaged raw snacks available. All that I bought were actual foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Eventually I got into olive oil, but that was a pretty simple product. The "worst" thing that raw foodists bought was jars of olives that could possibly have been marinated in salt water.

Nowadays, a variety of raw food snacks — from kale chips to chocolate brownies — are available. But because raw foodists are generally passionate about what they do, I've never seen any of these products contain artificial chemicals or preservatives. That is probably going to stay like that until the raw food diet goes mainstream.

There are obvious advantages to avoiding all pre-packaged foods, and that is one of the reasons why the raw food diet can be so effective.

The raw food diet also generally avoids grains, a category of food many people have allergic reactions too (especially the ones containing gluten).

I do not recommend eating sprouted grains for health either. They are very hard to digest with all the raw starch they contain.

 

Phytochemicals 

Raw fruits and vegetables, as well as raw nuts and seeds are packed with phytochemicals.

"Phyto" means "plant," so the term phytochemical designates different compounds in foods that protect against illness. Some phytochemicals can prevent DNA damage caused by free radicals.

You've probably heard of antioxidants with cancer-preventing benefits found in many fruits and vegetables and dark leafy greens. Antioxidants are a class of phytochemicals.

If you want to learn more on the topic of phytochemicals and how they affect our health positively, prevent illness and increase our immunity, I recommend the new book by Joel Fuhrman, Super Immunity.

Some of the most potent phytochemicals are found in raw foods, and many of them are heat-sensitive. Therefore, eating a raw food diet or a mostly raw diet will give you an abundance of phytochemicals — and this could prove to be one of the main benefits of this diet.

Some notable phytochemicals are to be found in:

1) The Cruciferous Family — including cabbage, kale, broccoli, etc. These vegetables contain a class of phytochemicals (called sulphoraphane and indole-3-carbinol) that are converted into cancer-fighting enzymes by the liver.

2) Berries — This includes pomegranate, cherries, blueberries, grapes etc. They contain many phytochemicals that increase immunity.

3) Citrus fruits — Those fruits contain many phytochemicals (close to the skin), in addition to lots of vitamin C, which is an antioxidant.

Pretty much every raw fruit and vegetable contains health-enhancing phytochemicals. Cooking food sometimes enhance the bio-availability of certain phytochemicals, like lycopene in tomatoes, but in general we get more benefits from eating foods in their raw state.

 

It makes you feel great 

The best reason to eat a raw food diet is because it makes you feel great. Many people report a feeling of increased vitality and energy that they only experience eating this way.

If the raw food diet makes you feel great, you don't necessarily need "proof" to keep doing it!

We may never be able to prove certain things, like what humans ate exactly 100,000 years ago, or the "life force" factor in food, but what ultimately matters are results.

I always tell people to compare themselves to themselves, not other people. You can compare how you feel from one period of your life — eating a certain diet – to another with different lifestyle choices, and come to your own conclusions.

 

Conclusion 

When we use bad arguments to promote a certain philosophy, it often leads us to make mistakes. Sometimes people oversimplify a health philosophy and refuse to look at new information.

When I was in my 20′s, I was convinced that the raw food diet was ideal simply because I got convinced by these weak arguments, like the "life-force" in food or the idea that all cooked food is "poison." This led me to become so fanatical about the raw food diet that I elevated the "raw" principle above all other health factors, and ultimately made a lot of decisions that hurt my health.

There are so many GOOD reasons to eat more raw foods, that we don't need to undermine the credibility of the raw food movement with arguments that have no scientific basis.