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| Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. (Swedish proverb) |
Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
(Sicilian proverb) |
Your friend is that man who knows all about you, and still
likes you. (Elbert Hubbard) |
You can always tell a real friend; when you've made a fool of
yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job. (Laurence J. Peter) |
Friends are family you choose for yourself. |
| 2007 January February March April May June July August September October November December 2 March, 2007
Collecting some info here, from a post on rawfoodsupport by khale: "Ditch overt fats; keep the fruit! New research indicates that fat, especially saturated or animal fats, plays a far greater role in promoting diabetes Type 2 than does sugar. Your pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that the pancreas sends into your bloodstream to travel to the various cells of the body. "Like a key sliding into a lock", insulin attaches to a receptor on the cell's surface and causes the cell membrane to permit glucose to enter. In Type 2 diabetes this system does not work properly. Your pancreas still makes insulin, and insulin still travels to all the cells, but when it arrives, it has trouble "opening the door". It's as if the lock has become jammed, and the key doesn't work. This is insulin resistance. What jams the lock? Fat. In a "normal" person, mitochondria (or microscopic furnaces) metabolize these fats and burn them up. But research shows that diabetics have too few mitochondria (usually and always in type 2 as a result of diet) and so fat accumulates in the cells, blocking glucose from entering the cells and being converted to energy. If you drastically reduce overt fats (no animal fats, no dairy, minimal vegetable fats from avocado, nuts and seeds) you can keep the fruit and whole grains and still manage your blood sugar. Research, in fact, is very promising regarding reversing Type 2 diabetes this way. (....) You may want to google Dr. Neal Barnard for the science behind this research." Hey hey hey, there is an on-line lecture by Dr Barnard at http://www.nealbarnard.org/video/NealAFI_1_popup_mov.html. Of course, raw vegan sure is better than cooked vegan. Nevertheless, a move to cooked vegan for many is a quantum leap of great significance. By the way, I am keen on trying 811. I've never really tried it before, although at many times I was doing it spontaneously, I'm sure. But this time I am curious about trying it more consciously, and perhaps monitor what I do, if possible (time permitting, and also, there is an issue with my rebelious nature which resists any external regimes). I've been contemplating an 811 experiment for a while, actually. At the moment I am getting ready for it emotionally. If I don't change my mind (I reserve my right to freedom), I might see myself doing the experiment some time soon. If you are keen, maybe we could try it together, wherever you are and give each other a psychic support he he. :) I am getting over my salt addiction yet, which as I mentioned led to me relapsing again. :))) Why smile? Because I refuse to accept the valuable lessons that enrich my life as anything less than that. Playing some Chopin on my old piano: 7 March, 2007 I received the sweetest message today. Luke phoned me to let me know that he got some black Muscatel grapes yay! 14 March, 2007 I have been going through some minor and major upsetting events recently. Last night I got up and had some Muscatel grapes. I felt like some void in me filled up. I felt like the exquisite nectar of the sweet, fragrant, deep-flavoured fruit nurtured me, indulged me, soothed me. Emotional healing through fruit. High-fruit low-fat
research trial!!!:
(join me if you please)
15 March, 2007 I am ready for an experiment!!! If you wish, join me too. I am going to record my experiment here as well as at the rawfoodsupport board, which I've been visiting recently on regular basis. I am going to do a trial of the high-fruit low-fat raw diet and record my food intake every day (if I can), aiming at doing it for 30 days. From past experiences, 30 days seems like a long enough time interval for observations. One of the things I would like to do is to record my daily fat intake to test whether my diet is really low fat. Eating my favourite food, fruit, will be effortless, of course. As far as the greens, I am not going to force them down my throat. Nevertheless, I am going to put some in my mouth every day to test whether my body wants them, and if the answer is yes, I will have them. You are more then welcome to join me. Perhaps you've been eating this way already and would like to share. Or perhaps, like me, you would like to observe your diet for a while. Or even, you would like to try eating this way for the first time. Fun starts now. Day 1 (15 March): morning: black Muscatel grapes (dark, rich tasting grapes, one of the best I've ever had) early afternoon: same stuff (They are so yummy! Luke got a box of them yesterday. Nothing tempts me more at the moment than this. Mmm. Paradise food. I feel totally cherished.) later afternoon: going bananas. evening: white peaches (very hydrating), later a big bowl of different greens with freshly squeezed orange juice, picked from the garden (silver beet greens yuck yuck yuck, I had to pick them out of my salad, lettuces and spinach were yummy, so I won't grow silver beets again), plus some supermarket lettuce and peas. Also, I have been sipping some water through the day. My fat intake: no overt fats today. Did not feel like having any. By the way, my personal observations have been that cooked food does not mix well with high-fruit diet. For example, I observed that eating sweet fruit the day after having eaten cooked, makes me feel lethargic. Cooked food takes longer to digest, so putting fruit on top of undigested food stuffs makes the fruit ferment, and hence feeling of tiredness. This explains why those who eat cooked do not cope well with high fruit diet. Day 2 (16 March): Yesterdays intake (Scratching my head, trying to remember what I ate. I was very busy yesterday, apart from the usual lecturing/tutoring/research, prepared a whole week of lecturing with the notes, phew, not bad he? On cooked I would have to have a few coffees to achieve that.): black Muscat grapes, strawberries, a mixed salad (at the maths department), bananas, peaches. Fat intake: there were a few drops of olive oil on that salad, less than a teaspoon. Mono-eating is something that just happens spontaneously. I still mix the salads, but they are much simpler than a few years ago. Nevertheless, I prefer eating fruit mono. Afterall, I used to be a mono-eating baby before I got corrupted. Still, as a kid, I used to love playing with other kids from the block, often mono-eating various types of raw foods. Great fun. The concept that one has to mix several types of foods in order to get a good nutrition is foregin to me. I do not think I should abandon eating delicious grapes at the moment I am enjyoing them in order to mix it with something else for some dubious purpose. ??? Nah. I am quite happy to eat them even all day long, if it feels good. Whatever in season makes me happy. Day 3 (17 March): watermelon, strawberries (there is something magic about them), black Muscatel grapes (yay!), peaches, no greens (I admit I did not put any in my mouth, did not feel like it) Fat intake: no overt fats Day 4 (18 March): peaches, strawberries, zuccini noodles on a bed of mixed baby greens, with cherrie tomatoes, tomatoe sauce made from blended tomatoes, and tahini, had a taste of two strawberries one dipped in carob and another in chocolate sauce (I made them, along with the cinnamon rolls for today's meditation at our house), black Muscatel grapes, bananas Fat intake: less than 2 teaspoons of coconut butter, 1 tablespoon of tahini. Observations: my weight today is 49 kg (but I am not doing it for the weight loss, I am happy with my weight, simply wanted to record it for comparison), in the morning I definitely experienced some cleansing (sinking bms), and had a restless night (should not have tried that chocolate-dipped strawberry, I won't buy raw chocolate ever again, it's highly toxic, why should I poison my friends?) My son Odys recorded the first part of the documentary (proud name for a home movie he he) about my experiment. Hopefully, I will be able to make it work. Now, as far as any doubtful/negative thoughts, coming from anyone's mind, including my own, I am going to ignore them. I am sticking to my 30-day experiment plan. I want to make my observations first-hand. I want to see the hard core data. NOTE: I am not alone in my experiment. Check out the rawfoodsupport board to see several wonderful people sharing their data with everyone. BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU! How much fat is in one cinnamon roll? I use 2 cups almonds, 2 cups flax seeds, 3 cups dates, 1 cup raisins, cinnamon, water. Almonds and flax seeds alone give 2172 cal from fat. Assuming that I make 20 rolls from these ingredients, it comes to about 109 cal from fat per roll. So, if I eat one cinnamon roll and eat no other overt fats in one day, assuming that my daily calorie need is say 1800, then we have the following: 109 cal from fat in the cinnamon roll. Furthermore, to calculate the total percentage of calories from fat, if I eat one cinnamon roll, we use: 5% of (1800-109) cal from fat the fruit and vegies = 85 cal, giving total 109+85=194 cal from fat per day, which is (194/1800)*100 = 11% total percentage of calories from fat. Aha! Day 5 (19 March): black Muscatel grapes, Gala apples, bananas, three lettuce wraps with sprouted beans, tomatoes and avocado, peaches. Fat intake: my overt fats today - 1/3 avocado. Oh dear, I was told that both Luke and Julia had a disturbed sleep after having those chocolate-dipped strawberries. I through out the reminder to the bin (I don't want even our worms have that), and the unfinished packet of raw chocolate to the bin as well. Yuck. Day 6 (20 March): Sipping water in the morning. Peaches, black Muscatel grapes, whole lotta watermelon, peas (thawed frozen type), bananas, 4 wraps with alfalfa and onion sprouts and tahini. Fat intake: overt fats - 2 tablespoons of tahini. I tried some peas today, they are not bad (my kids like them). But it was the bananas that really did the trick for me. I bought some myself, not liking the over-ripe ones that Luke prefers. The last couple of days my appetite has been a bit lower than usual, but today I ate a lot! And I feel really good! There are at least two types of cravings I can think off that vanish on this diet. Cooked carbohydrates cravings (for pasta, rice, potatoes etc.) and added-salt cravings (often hidden under what appears to be cooked foods cravings). I asked Julia yesterday what to pack in her little lunch box. (She gets two boxes per day. One for the recess time, and the other for the lunch time.) She wanted the lollies wrapped in celophane that I make (from many dates, some raisins, some nuts) but did not want the cinnamon roll anymore: "I prefer fruit" she said. :) Also, a friend emailed me today asking for the lollies recipe. They must be yummy. They are soft and chewy. Dates do the trick. Luke phoned me to let me know that he ordered a box of black Muscatel grapes again, for tomorrow. Yay! Day 7 (21 March): Watermelon, bananas, peaches, sprout wraps (like yesterday), peas, black Muscatel grapes. Fat intake: overt fats - 2 tablespoons of tahini. Interestingly, when I got home from work, I had quite a meal of wraps and greens. But, it did not do the trick for my tummy. I felt hungry for sweet fruit. Black Muscatel grapes did the trick. MATHEMATICAL PROBLEM: (just for fun) (for me maths is fun :) ) Assuming that my daily calorie need is 1800 cal, what is the maximum of cal from overt fats I can have per day, without exceeding the limit of 10% of total cal from fat per day? SOLUTION: Let x = the maximum amount of cal from overt fats per day I can have. Then we have 1800-x = cal from fruit and vegies
5% * (1800-x) = fat from fruit and vegies, in cal x + 5% * (1800-x) = total fat per day, in cal 10% * 1800 = 180 cal = maximum fat per day, in cal and so x + 5% * (1800-x) = 180. Solving this, gives x+ 90-0.05x = 180 0.95 x = 90 x = 90/0.95 x = 95 (approx.) ANSWER:
The maximum of cal from overt fats I can have per day, without exceeding the limit of 10% of total cal from fat per day, is 95 cal. This, by the way, is (approximately) equivalent to either of the following (according to fitday.com): 1/3 avocado, 1 and 1/2 tablespoon tahini, 1/7 cup almonds. Hey, this is definitely worth preserving: My
mini-interview with Uma
(from rawfoodsupport board) Gosia: Uma, would you mind
answering these questions? (me being curious, wanting to learn):
1) How did you manage, after being raw for some time, eating cooked food for 2 years? What prompted you to do so? Did you feel OK, no problems doing this? What was your percentage of raw during that time? Did you crave raw foods, fruit etc during that time? 2) How did you manage after that to go back to raw? And, why did you? Was it because you felt/looked not as good as you wished? Did you have to just grind your teeth and suffer for the initial adjusting period until the ride became easier? If so, how long was it before it did became easier? 3) How do you feel now? Would you say that the struggle has ended? Have you been all-raw? (You look fantastic! I love your glow.) I would love to hear from you. Thank you kindly. Gosia Uma: Gosia, thanks for your questions, they have inspired me to reflect on my journey over the past few years. When I started raw I had lots of stuff going on at different levels, and had already spent years getting minimal benefit from a gazillion alternative approaches. Raw was pretty far down the line. At first I noticed some improvement with the raw but then it leveled out and I started feeling worse again. So I'd try something else. Different diet, new cleanse, colonics, supplements, juice fasting... I was a patient of Cousens and did his full program for 2 years, then got fed up with that and went to Hippocrates Health Institute for 3 weeks and did their program at home for a few months. I experienced a lot more benefit than I had in the past, but I just couldn’t resign to being a slave to my juicer/sprouter the rest of my life. Also, I was not getting enough calories, which I eventually realized. After eating such high fat raw in the past and experiencing a lower fat food-combined approach at Hippocrates, I realized how much pain I was causing myself with the high fat, combo abombo diet. Especially once I stopped taking all the digestive enzymes Cousens had me on, I really noticed I felt way better eating much lower fat. But, at this point fruit was still the enemy. I had entered raw already subscribing to the theory that sugar was the root of all health evil. So naturally I gravitated towards the raw camps like Cousens and Hippocrates who included fruit sugar in the causes of health problems. So here I was, now eating low fat, but barely eating any fruit. I felt free from a lot of my chronic pain, but I started losing weight at Hippocrates. I was not overweight, about 110 lbs at 5'4". At first people told me this was good, that it was just a sign of my body cleansing out. But it never stopped. I kept telling everyone around me, nothing's wrong, I'm just cleansing! I was not in a supportive atmosphere to be undertaking that hardcore of a housecleaning, even if that's really all that was going on (there was also a lot of emotional and spiritual pain). Finally, at 80 lbs and barely able to walk around, the universe guided me to some allies who assisted me in seeing my healing crisis as spiritual in nature more than physical. They convinced me to go back to a simple cooked whole foods diet because my body simply wasn't assimilating any nutrients from the raw. Simply put, I was such a stress case that I wasn't able to digest. I almost killed myself in this way. I found that when I went back to eating steamed veggies and cooked starch such as rice, sweet potatoes or winter squash, I was able to feel more grounded and less emotional and able to gradually put on weight. I did food combining and I didn't use any condiments/salt/spices/oil/flour.I started eating fruit again and gradually increased my fruit intake so I was eating fruit for brekky and lunch, with a cooked dinner. I ate beans occasionally. I dabbled in fish and eggs and yogurt a few times, but that didn't last. I did notice some effects of eating cooked -- I felt it in my lymphatic system, my acne was worse, I was more constipated (which I remedied by learning to eat a ton of lettuce every day), i had more mucus, etc. But at this time, these were small prices to pay. So, I never ate 100% cooked, I started off about 50% cooked and gradually over a couple years, upped my fruit intake to the point where I eventually could go a day of all-raw without spinning out. I had learned that I was doing raw from a place of control (Orthorexia) and not love, and each time I'd revisit all-raw, even for a day, the old issues would resurface and I'd find myself wanting to eat raw to 'get it right' or 'be perfect' or because 'cooked food is evil'. So then I could do raw for a couple days at a time before admitting I was controlling it again, then I could do it for a few days, then a week, then a few weeks, and this time it's been 15 months! I still had health concerns that needed to be addressed. I always had a sense I would eventually head back to raw, but I had to give up knowing "what was right" and learn to feel. When I felt myself in my head about it again, I'd start eating cooked again. Raw still resonated with me and especially so the more I learned about Natural Hygiene and the low fat, high fruit approach. I felt so much better than all the raw stuff I had tried in the past. I just had to get to a place emotionally that I was using raw foods as a way to love myself rather than a way to abuse myself (restricting my diet out of fear for example). This past year I've experienced more ease in being raw than I ever have. I've gone for longer and longer just on fruit and greens and my weight has stabilized at 100 to 105 lbs. (During my cooked phase, every time i went back to raw, i would start dropping pounds again, until the last time.) Most recently I have gotten more into mono eating and a whole new world has opened up for me. When I experience satiation from a meal of just bananas, I feel like this diet could really support me for some time. Right now I feel done searching and more able to work on other parts of my healing. My health challenges are not all resolved but I have come a long way and healed a great deal from where I started. And I feel like I'm finding a path to stick with and the rewards are unfolding. Love, Uma Day 8 (22 March): Watermelon, strawberries, black Muscatel grapes, letture wraps with sprouts, celery (yum-mo!) and tahini, watermelon and bananas. Fat intake: overt fats - 2 tablespoons of tahini. Observations: The first of week of the trial ended. I've experienced a mild cleansing for a couple of days (sinking bms, a sore in the corner of my mouth that has nearly cleared now). My sleep was disturbed on one night, due to consumption of one strawberry, dipped in raw-chocolate (my first and last trial of this product). I feel a gentle change in my body. I feel good. I wonder whether its been the fear of feeling too good, too happy, that kept me away from spreading my wings. On the way home, I felt I really wanted some greens. Lettuce wraps were really nice. Funny thing, again, although I did feel like having them, they did not fully satisfied my desire for food. Some time later, having watermelon gave me what I wanted. Bananas some time after that made me feel completely nutritionally blissful. Ahhh. Julia and I were talking about our love to watermelon, our favourite fruit (at that moment ha ha). I asked here "Why do you love watermelon?". Julia: "Because it's sweet and juicy." Of course! I find it amusing when people frown on the concept of eating one type of fruit for more than one meal in a day, or say that high-fruit low-fat diet is restrictive. I feel totally indulged, cherished, pampered eating this way. I get to eat the yummiest stuff I've ever eaten in my life, without any restrictions whatsoever. I eat foods I love. I cannot think of a better place to be. Ha ha ha!!! I observed that those who say that this diet is restricitive, also believe in avoiding foods that are naturally appealing to humans, and in eating foods that, biologically, are inappropriate for humans. I call these beliefs and these rules - restrictions. Restrictions to the natural instincts. Restrictions to the natural desires of our body. Restrictions of freedom to eat foods that taste good and are our natural foods. Restrictions to our health, which cannot blossom on any other foods than the biologically appropriate foods. I choose freedom. Day 9 (23 March): Watermelon, black Muscatel grapes, bananas, lettuce wraps with sprouts and avocado, dates. Fat intake: overt fats - 1/3 avocado. In the past I could not even attempt eating dates. Seemed like way to sweet for me. Now, I love them! Day 10 (24 March): Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon mania, strawberries (1kg), a few raspberries picked from our garden, watermelon mania again. Fat intake: no vert fats today. Observations (warning - very honest about the bodily functions): I observe more detox. Fantaaastic! I would be dissapointed if I didn't. Although I've been experimenting with raw for about 3 and 1/2 years, I have not fully detoxed yet from 40 years of cooked. The evidence of that is, for example, a little bit of excess fat still on my body. That fat stores the toxing that I had ingested sometime in my life. Also, the fact that I have had some cooked fod relapses would slow down the detox. Before raw, I suffered from frequent yeast infection. After going raw, the first years was still a bit hard, but later on, no more problems. Today, I got my period, and it seems that whatever my body is getting rid off through my period, is making me uncomfortable and slightly itchy. In the past, before raw, this would end up in me taking some medications to ease the problem. But today, all I am going to do is to allow the detox to take its course. I feel suddenly like having lots of watermelon, which makes sense to me. Furthermore, my face is slightly swollen on the right, which has something to do with one of my teeth, which has been giving me some grief on those times when I relapsed. Day 11 (25 March): Watermelon, black Muscatel grapes, mixed baby greens salad with strawberry and tahini dressing (very very yummy), peas, watermelon, plums. Fat intake: overt fats - 1 tablespoon of tahini. Observations (warning - very honest about the bodily functions): Sinking bms again, I am clearly cleansing some old stuff. (Usually, me eating so much juicy fruit means that I have very healthy bms.) The detox through my period causing still some discomfort. Anwering the question how to pronounce my name: next |