The Existential Crisis of a “Raw Foodist”

In our day and age, aren’t we supposed to have multiple existential crises during our lifetime? The mid-life crisis is the most common kind.

To use a cliché: a recently divorced (or married) man in his 40s will buy a red BMW or Audi and start chasing his younger co-workers, as he tries to make up for his lost youth. If we take a look at pop culture as an example, the female mid-life crisis is exemplified in the book and movie “Eat, Pray, Love.” Divorce, followed by a soul-searching trip around the world, ultimately leads to True Love.

Beyond the clichés, there are numerous other types of existential crisis, where we ask ourselves important questions about who we are and what we want to do with the rest of our lives?

It seems that I’ve been going through a peculiar kind of existential crisis myself during the past couple of years! And I’ve noticed other people I knew in the late 90s or early 2000s, who were deeply involved in the raw health movement, have had the same thing occur to them. Many of them have silently moved away from the raw or vegan scene.

For most of my adult life, my identity was tied to my association with the raw food movement — and due to my work, many people perceived me as “Fred, the raw food guy,” or something along those lines.

When you leave home at 21 years of age and have the opportunity to work with David Wolfe and other health gurus, you JUMP right in.

I published my first “raw food” book at 24, and built a following at an early age as being a leader of the raw food movement.

I connected almost everything to this lifestyle: the way I made a living, my friends, my travels, and my intimate relationships. Everything was tied together in a neat little package. But at some point, it no longer represented who I was.

It happened gradually, but when I “woke up” I felt like I was standing in the middle of nowhere.

Over the years, there have been some ups and downs in my diet as I was experimenting with different ideas. I don’t eat a 100% raw diet because I eventually settled on something that I find scientifically accurate and works better for me than anything else: a sort of combination of the best that I’ve learned over the years. In short, a plant-based diet made from whole foods and a preponderance of fruits and vegetables, with some fasting and periods of eating raw.

Almost everyone I know who’ve been doing this for many years is sort of tired of hearing too much talk about it. By “it,” I mean raw or vegan diets.

A Few Examples

Let me give you a few examples.

When I first got started, all I could think about was Natural Hygiene and the raw food diet! When I got together with other enthusiasts, all we could TALK about was food!

Now when I meet people who are new to this, I always think that too much of the conversation is around food. Can we talk about something else, please? We’ve already gone through the many ways to ripen an avocado faster!

This is why don’t like to post the picture of everything I eat on Instagram.

I’m also tired of some unnecessary controversies in the natural health world.

For example, “so and so was a vegan and recently died of cancer… what do you think? Does it mean we shouldn’t eat vegan?” Not that I don’t care about those things, but I’d rather not say something stupid of misinformed.

I don’t know for sure why anyone gets cancer. It could be anything. One example doesn’t mean much. Let’s just respect who they were and not go into discussions about such things. The same would happen if a paleo promoter died. I’m honestly not qualified to study such individual cases.

“So and so eats a fruitarian diet and looks older than his age. What about it Fred?” I don’t know. Others look dramatically younger than their age. Go figure.

To me, the science is pointing in one direction: eat lots of plants, minimize processed and animal-based foods, and keep yourself fit, happy and as stress-free as possible. I know a few extra disciplines that lead to amazing health benefits, such as raw diets and fasting. But whether or not this is going to heal every single disease on earth, I don’t know. Leave the rest up to God or destiny.

I get tired of the ridiculous vegan extremism on YouTube, where attention-seeking people bash attractive and talented competitors for “looking fat,” “being fakes,” or whatever flaw they can find.

I get tired of blog comments by raw food crusaders, insinuating that I’m a “fake” because I use some non-raw seasonings, or that I have “gone off the reservation” since I teamed up with Kevin Gianni. Of course, being 100% raw, they think that my eating cooked sweet potatoes, kale, and God-forbid, beans, will lead to health problems down the road (even though there’s absolutely no proof of that — quite the opposite!)

I especially get annoyed when I hear certain “gurus” publicly brag about how strict they’ve been with the raw food diet over the years when I’ve personally seen them eat many cooked meals!

Many things I have (your missing something here ) over a decade ago are resurfacing.

I remember David Jubb, the famous nutritionist and health guru, telling me: “Everyone is inconsistent.”

In the early 90s, I would attend some of the now-legendary potlucks with David Jubb in San Diego and New York City. Jubb promoted a few kooky things, but also some excellent health principles such as juice fasting and raw diets. But he was also known to drink espresso, occasionally eat a cookie, and even more occasionally smoke some tobacco.

At the time, I could not understand this. “How could he?” But yet, he wasn’t trying to hide his inconsistencies. “Those are my weaknesses. Everyone is inconsistent.”

But over time, it settled in.

We all have a gap between what we know is right and what we do. Everyone will choose, consciously or not, where they draw the line. But there will be inconsistencies.

Some people eat a super-healthy diet, but will share a beer or a glass or two of wine with their friends, and occasionally eat gourmet, rich meals.

Some people never give up coffee.

Others are close to being 100% strict with their diet but lack in the most basic interpersonal skills or honorable business practices. There are some who eat a perfect diet but don’t look “skinny” because of their particular genetic predisposition and the understandable difficulties many people face in exercising enough to keep a slim physique. They are ruthlessly ridiculed by thoughtless YouTubers who have nothing better to do.

No wonder the natural health movement can seem like a circus at times, and many get out because they are tired of it!

In the middle of this, there is the truth that can make a difference in your life. Many won’t see it because of the “crazies.”

That’s why many well-known bloggers completely get out of the “movement” to do something else.

My Existential Crisis

Because of everything I have described, there were many times I have thought of completely leaving this health movement to do something else. “Let me just work a 9 to 5 job where no one will bother me about any of this diet stuff!”

But I always came back because it is, after all,  something I am truly passionate about.

However, I’ve been somewhat purposely self-effacing recently because I felt it was more important to share something relevant, rather than ramble about what I ate for breakfast every day.

What I realized is this: what I eat (and teach others to eat) is an important but small part of my identity.

If one day I feel I am completely “written out” on the topic, I will focus on something else entirely.

For now, I feel I have a few more things to say and share, and that’s why I keep doing what I do!