“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” —Mahatma Gandhi

First off, I must apologize to my readers for the above video. There are disturbing images of animals being treated cruelly and slaughtered, and you don’t have to watch the video if you think it might upset you.

My intention is not to offend or disturb or disrupt your day, but to make an important point, and to share a bit of knowledge. As a matter of fact, posting this video is mainly for me, to remind me of one of the big reasons I’ve gone 100% raw. That I am opposed to the slaughtering of animals for food, and I don’t wish to share the guilt of the people who would bring me this food to eat, because I so desired it.

It’s just that I can’t see how people can love animals so much, have them as pets and friends, when other animals are designated to be treated so cruelly and viciously, then slaughtered for our consumption. It’s something that has always bothered me for the longest time.

Save The Baby Pigs Too

For example, I’ve seen baby pigs when I was in elementary school, when my class made a field trip to a local farm. Pigs are intelligent creatures. And can be kept as pets.

Once, on a vacation in the Philippines, because I was a guest, they wanted me to “do the honors” and help them slaughter a pig for a feast. They wanted me to slit the pig’s throat. Right away, I felt very awkward about it, and the closest I had gotten to doing it was to hold the knife to the pig’s throat…

And, I couldn’t go on with it. I simply couldn’t do it. And I walked away.

Later, I could hear the pig squeeling for its life in the distance. But this experience was one of the big reasons for me to switch to a vegan diet and promote kindness to ALL animals.

Over 100 Years of Mass Media Brainwashing

The big corporations that make billions of dollars have had so much power to further their illusion that eating animal flesh is good for you, yet continual consumption of animal foods leads to many chronic diseases… and we in turn are affected by the growth hormones and antibiotics the meat industry pumps into these poor animals. But the meat industry continually promotes the eating of animals, and they do so in such a way that makes it seem so inticing through ads and commercials. They package and promote their animal products in such a way as to make them appealing, and far distanced from the harsh realities of raising and slaughtering animals for food.

“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” —Paul McCartney

I don’t want to share the blame and guilt because of the slaughtering of billions of animals each year. I don’t want to be the person the meat industry is killing animals for…

And, I truly believe that we would help this planet greatly if we all ate a more plant-based diet, and I’m pretty sure we would help ourselves too in the long run…

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food…

Lesser Detox Symptoms

Well it’s noon and I’m feeling much better than yesterday. I think the main problem I’ve been having with going 100% raw is that I gave up coffee and my daily trip to Starbucks. Yes, I think that would do a double-whammy on my body by going totally raw and giving up caffeine, the soy milk and sugars that go with a Starbucks Soy Mocha.

Caffeine Withdrawals and Detoxification

So, the raw transition aside, I probably have been going through coffee/caffeine withdrawals. HealthyRecipes.com has a logical explanation for what I am going through:

What are the symptoms or signs which become evident when we first begin to omit the lower grade foods and instead introduce superior foods–those which are most alive, more natural than we are accustomed to? When the use of toxic stimulants such as coffee, tea, chocolate, or cocoa is suddenly stopped, headaches are common and a letdown occurs. This is due to the discard by the body of the toxins called caffeine and theobromine which are removed from the tissues and transported through the bloodstream during its many bodily rounds.

But right now I’m feeling much better compared to yesterday when I felt a bit weak and lethargic. Of course, I’ve been sleeping very late during day 1 and 2, and that’s because I’ve been an insomniac at times. Last night, I slept well and not so late. And I’m thinking that once I’ve been 100% raw for a while and not drinking any caffeinated beverages I’ll be able to sleep properly and earlier.

Surprisingly, My Back Aches

The only thing that’s bugging me right now is my back. For some reason my back muscles have been aching something fierce. I had to ask my wife to massage the middle of my back. Perhaps that’s just do to the detox effect? Or maybe it’s just a coincidence and I must’ve slept in a weird position the other night.

Further writings concerning detox symptoms:

To a lesser extent, the same process occurs when we abandon lower quality foods and replace them with better foods. Lower quality foods have undergone more preparation. Spices, salt, and other ingredients have been added, as they tend to be more stimulating than less prepared and more natural foods. Animal foods such as meat, fowl, fish, etc. are more stimulating than cheese, nuts, and vegetable proteins.

Consequently, the withdrawal of stimulation which follows the abandonment of animal food produces a slower heart action–a resting phase–which registers in the mind as relaxation or a decrease of energy. This initial letdown lasts about ten days or slightly longer and is followed by an increase of strength, a feeling of diminishing stress and greater well-being.

Anyway, today I ate some raw bread, celery juice, some sunflower seeds and a small salad. And just now made myself a cacao-banana smoothie with agave nectar. Oh, that was sooooo good!

Hopefully, I’ll feel even better later on tonight…

I think it’s wonderful that Wendi and Jim of PureJeevan.com have created a “Know Your Food” series of videos featured on their YouTube channel. In their newest episode they go over the health benefits and nutritional info on raw walnuts!

Check out their raw food blog for more information.

Also, check out their project for the raw community; the all-new, All Raw Directory!

This is truly inspiring! Here’s the article on CNN:

“I was 300 pounds, very unwell, very miserable,” recalls Stokes. “I ate junk food all the time. I was very closed down emotionally. I had no interest in dieting; I just wanted to eat all the time … that was like my comfort in life.”

Stokes, who now weighs 138 pounds, has kept the weight off for four years and authored several books on “raw foodism” lifestyle.

Two summers after she reached her heaviest weight, Stokes was working at a greenhouse in Iceland, when a friend lent her a copy of a book about the health benefits of eating raw foods. Stokes, who had never been interested in diets, says she was completely “absorbed” by the approach.

She started eating raw the very next day.

“Everything in my life completely shifted. It was like a light bulb moment to be like … ‘this is what I was waiting for to reclaim my health,’ ” said Stokes.

She went cold turkey or “cold cucumber,” as Stokes often jokes. She stopped eating meat, animal products and processed foods and instead switched to a diet that consisted of uncooked and unprocessed vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.

Visit Angela Stokes’ site: RawReform.com

I realize people are at times skeptical about self-improvement books, and I can be pretty skeptical too. But, I believe (after much experimentation with various dietary-lifestyles) that eating as much raw foods as possible can only improve one’s overall well-being.

Eating For Beauty, by David Wolfe, primarily focuses on those “raw” foods that beautify the individual. And I know this could sound a bit superficial, but in the book David Wolfe means inner as well as outer beauty, and beauty in the sense of making one’s life more beautiful… which could directly translate to optimal health, vigor, energy, youthfulness, etc…

This book contains the key for creating beauty within oneself through diet and other complementary factors. Though it explores the role of yoga, beauty sleep, and the psychology of beauty, this book is primarily about the way to eat for beauty. The Beauty Diet is based on principles of raw nourishment–representing the cutting edge nutritional science. ~Amazon.com Review

His motto, “Inner Beauty Creates Outer Beauty”, pretty much sums up the premise of the book, and he goes on to list those raw foods that help one become more beautiful. His list of the primary beautifying raw foods are:

Aloe Vera, Arugula, Burdock Root, Coconuts and Coconut Oil, Cucumbers, Hemp Seed, Macadamia Nuts, Nettles, Olives and Stone Crushed Olive Oil, Onions, Papaya, Pumpkin Seeds, Turmeric, and Watercress.

A BLT Without the Bacon

Just a spur-of-the-moment pic of Sunday lunch for me… a raw vegan sandwich consisting of the following ingredients (all organic):

2 Slices of raw Sunflower Seed Bread (by Lydia’s Organics)
Tomato Slices
Various types of lettuce leaves
Alfalfa Sprouts
Avocado
Creamy Garlic-Cilantro Spread (yep, this is raw too)

Okay, this sandwich is great, although I would make it an open-faced sandwich and subract a slice. The sunflower seed bread can tend to be on the heavy side. But all-in-all this type of raw sandwich tastes extremely healthy and very refreshing on a Summer’s day. Though, next time I’ll use fresh watermelon juice rather than carrot juice. This is a pretty filling meal, so no need for anything else.