raw chefs staying raw

[Guest guest]

Here's the response I got back from Nora Lenz, www.rawschool.com

 

Hi Shari,

Whether somebody can give up complex raw meals and do the simple eating that

is required for optimal, long term health will be dependent on how invested s/he

is in the business of preparing complex recipes. Many people get into raw food

and quickly find a way to replace their cooked food gourmandizing in raw food

recipes. Some even find a way to earn a living either teaching, preparing foods

or catering. In cases like those, it's going to be difficult for a person to

give up the recipes because there will not only be the physical withdrawal to

deal with, but also the loss of livelihood or hobby. By " physical withdrawal " I

mean the same kind that people go through when they try to get off cooked food,

cigarettes or alcohol. The digestion of complex meals with multiple ingredients

and harmful flavorings (garlic, onion, vinegar, cacao, etc.) requires a great

deal of energy expenditure, much more than simple raw food. When bodily energy

is over-expended, the loss must be made up for later. The loss occasions

feelings of low energy or other symptoms which people have come to call

" cravings " . Actually, it's just the body calling for rest so it can recover.

When those feelings hit, the person wants the thing that gave him/her the

previous high. So rather than giving the body the rest it needs, s/he gives it

just the opposite -- more work. This is the cycle of addiction, and it can

obviously apply to raw fooders as easily as cooked food eaters. A person who

wants to continue making fancy recipes for one reason or another will find it

easy to deny that s/he is in the grip of addiction, especially since even eating

very complex raw recipes has huge health advantages over the typical cooked food

diet.

It's difficult enough for people to cure their addictions when they're

prepared to face them and are willing to wean themselves off whatever abusive

practice they're doing that overexpends their energies. Even if a raw chef

wants to do this, it's going to be difficult to not eat the stuff as long as

s/he's making it for others.

It's hard to say whether raw gourmandizing typically leads people back to

cooked food. I imagine it does sometimes, because eating complex raw foods

keeps people from experiencing the benefits they were seeking or expecting, and

in those cases the sacrifices required to stay raw won't seem worth it.

I don't think it's impossible for a person to be into raw food prep and eat

simply, it's just going to be more difficult.

Hope this answers your question!

Nora

www.RawSchool.com