Many many years ago I was sitting next to a lady on the train on the way to college and she had a lunch box full of raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and snap peas. She offered me some and started to talk to me about why they were raw. She was an 'older' lady, I would guess in her mid 60's and she told me she had had the most awful arthritis in her hands and her doctor had told her to eat all of her vegetables raw. Since then the pain in her hands had completely subsided and she had sworn never to eat a cooked vegetable again!
A few months ago I saw a documentary on Netflix which was all about the benefits of raw food, I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing and decided to do some research. I spent hours reading articles and recipes and found myself on youtube searching 'raw food'. It all seemed too good to be true so I decided to give it a go. To not put too much pressure on myself I decided I would aim for 70% raw. I was drinking more water then I had done for years, making myself the most amazing juices and rediscovered the true taste of food. I was hooked! I brought myself a little indoor 'sprout house' so I could sprout my own seeds and got into the habit of always having nuts soaking in the fridge.
My energy level increased greatly and I felt like I was almost one step ahead of myself all the time. For the first time in a long time I wasn't dog tired all the time. The most amazing thing to happen though was the pain in my hand almost completely subsided.
Unfortunately when life got very hectic I fell off the raw wagon, landed in a pile of processed carbs and immediately my body responded. I felt sluggish and slow and not only did the pain and swelling come back in my hand it came back worse then it has ever been. I actually completely lost the use of my right hand and ended up in A&E one Saturday morning in agony. My energy was at an all time low which in turn brought my spirit down and I became stuck in a vicious circle that has taken me a while to break out of.
Following the raw lifestyle is very time consuming, when you're doing it that isn't a problem because you feel so great but getting yourself back into it when you've stopped is difficult.
As this week has been a week of release I have decided I am releasing my body from the constraints of a non raw diet and have vowed to myself that I will fully commit again back to being raw.
So today for breakfast I had a apple, carrot and pomegranate juice with the pulp which was amazing. It was so refreshing. Amelia-Rose wanted in on the juicy action and I didn't get the last of my own juice because she pinched it off me!
For lunch I made myself a stuffed pepper which was just a playground full of nutritional fun and for dinner I finished my leftovers from lunch and munched my way through some fruit.
Because I haven't been eating raw for over a month now I will probably experience some detox symptoms over the next few days (flu like feelings) but once my body is free of all the toxins again the only way it up!
So why do I do it? Having read the above you might think it is pretty obvious why I do it! It makes me feel great! It runs deeper then that though. Like it or not my body is not what it should be, it has to work harder then most peoples just to achieve a level of productivity that would see most people taking a sick day from work!
When you are unwell for a long period of time or are living with chronic pain you realise just how important your body really is. If your body is broken it is going to cause you a whole world of heart ache one way or another! An unhealthy body often leads to an unhealthy mind and spirit. It is impossible to be happy all the time when it feels like your own body is working against you.
One side effect of my illness and pain is that I see my body as 'the enemy'. It causes me pain and fatigue and I often feel trapped inside it.
When I started the raw food diet I was aware that the rift between body and mind was closing. Hippocrates a Greek physician who walked the earth some three hundred years BC said
'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'
I don't want to feel resentment towards my body when something as simple as food can help physically heal my body!
The preparation time that goes into raw also gives me time to reflect and be grateful for the food that I am eating. When I can get the balance right it allows me to approach all my meals mindfully which again bridges the gap between mind and body.
I want to love, appreciate and respect my body and move beyond this feeling that it has let me down in some way.
Today I made sure I set aside some time to begin writing my own personal raw food cookbook and am excited to get this show on the road!
Blessings x
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