As many of you know I began my raw food journey in 2003 and was so taken with the raw food lifestyle that I went 100% raw with relative ease and tons of enthusiasm….I started writing my raw recipe book, teaching raw food classes and writing this recipe website…then you may have noticed my web presence went “dark” for awhile, the recipe book never got finished and my raw food classes came to a halt…well, I have a confession to make…24 months ago I could hardly get out of bed in the morning and had to stop several times a day for naps.  I would drive to my local organic co-op to stock up on raw ingredients and organic produce and then have to take a nap in my car after shopping before I felt energetic enough to drive the 5 miles home safely….I could never seem to get enough air into my lungs, and I also developed oozing, itchy and scaly red red rashes around my eyes that would not go away no matter what I put on them or ingested to get rid of them.

I couldn’t figure it out, but blood work showed that I was seriously anemic and that my protein levels were dangerously low.  My doctor who is an endycrinologist and ob-gyn and who had spent time with Ms. Anne Wigmore told me, “You are killing yourself with a 100% raw diet.”  He believed that I was not able to absorb the protein from the nuts and fresh sprouts, which are the only significant sources of protein in a 100% raw food diet, nor was I able to absorb the iron from the nuts and uncooked greens.   He ordered me to force myself to drink brown rice protein shakes twice a day between meals and an iron and a B-12 supplement twice daily.  He also begged me to start eating fatty fish in addition to taking an omega-3 fish oil.

I am happy to report that the increased protein and omega 3 cleared up my eye skin rashes in two weeks and they have not returned… The anemia and associated fatigue however, have proven more difficult to kick.  I am still working on this.  I finally realized a few months ago that I don’t have time to be exhausted and out of breath 3 days of every month, so I finally made the difficult decision to start eating grass-fed organic beef  one or two times a month.  You see, I had gone dangerously far and long without sufficient amounts of iron and the only way I could get a big enough dose of it was from red-blooded beef.

It has taken me 24 months to feel comfortable sharing this information with my raw food students, because I didn’t want to discourage any of my students from a raw food path without obtaining more information and without fully understanding my own journey thus far.  I guess what I have learned is that a raw food diet is not for everyone and needs to be tweaked as one evolves.  Embarking on my raw food journey has meant so much to me and helped me gain an awareness of my body’s physical and spiritual needs that I had never known before.  I would want this for anyone and everyone…however what I also want for anyone and everyone is a smarter raw food journey than mine.  Thus, I offer some raw food strategies below that I  hope will ensure that your personal raw food journey lasts forever or as long as you feel it is working for you!

#1 Because plant protein does not contain any B-12, most raw foodist (and plain old vegans) should be taking a B-12 supplement.  Lack of B-12, like iron is the main cause of anemia.  Women are at greater risk for anemia because of losing blood every month during menses and during child birth.

#2 If you suffer from shortness of breath and fatigue, get your blood checked for anemia and then take an iron supplemnent if directed by your doctor.

#3 Maintain optimal protein levels by eating sprouts everyday.  Note that sprouts provide their highest levels of protein within hours of sprouting, so try to eat them the same day!

#4 Learn to tell the difference between fatigue and dehydration…sometimes we are tired, not because we are anemic or wasting from lack of protein, but from dehydration.  As raw foodists we assume we are getting enough water from our water-filled food.  Don’t assume, figure it out.

#5 If iron absorption is a problem for you, please feel okay about cooking dark leafy greens (not spinach) to help you assimilate iron better.

#6 Often vegans will be told by a doctor to begin eating some animal protein to regain strength and energy levels…in my own experience the animal protein helped with my anemia and skin rashes, but it was not until I started to eat small amounts of concentrated carbohydrate that my fatigue went away.   Experiment with small amounts of some cooked seed grains like quinoa, millet, buckwheat, and wild rice into your diet and see if your energy levels don’t increase.  Since you are most likely in the habit of soaking nuts at night, try soakings grains overnight as well, then rinse thoroughly before cooking, so that they release their phytic acid which inhibits digestion and causes gas in the intestines.

#7 It is okay to be 30%, 50% or 100% raw if it works for you.  What I have found in my journey is that many well-known raw foodists eat a little cooked food in Winter and eat mostly raw in Summer when fresh fruits and veggies are plentiful.  This knowledge has helped me to feel good about the shifts I have had to make in my raw lifestyle.

#8 Remember any raw plant food is better than none…AND YOU CAN ALWAYS HAVE A SALAD!