Gone 80% Raw!

Actually, I went 70-80% raw back in mid-October, but my water situation in Seoul causes me problems as I need to wash my vegies in the tap water, which bothers me a bit. I've noticed I do better if I eat some of my vegies steamed (with Kirkland bottled water; locally bottled water is NOT an option! In the past it's made my head and arms numb and has instantly swollen my ankles - NOT an option!). So, I do 70-80% raw for a while, start to notice some problems, back off to about 50% for a few weeks, and then try again  ... with gradually the same results. In January/February I tried to leave Korea so quit my job, but I'm trapped here for another year because I can't break my apartment contract. Sigh ... but since I LOVE Korea, that's not so bad even though it is a health annoyance. So for the time being, I'll fluctuate as need be between my 50% raw diet and then the more enzyme-rich 70-80% raw diet. Right now I'm back to being a 70-80% raw foodie.

So why do I keep aiming for 80% raw? Well, last summer while I was visiting my parents, I did all the cooking. My family eats lots of salads and vegies and they also like, like most Americans, cooked entrees. So while I was home, I found myself eating more cooked food than raw. My previous food pattern was 50-50 but with the additional cooked food, maybe 40-60% and sometimes 30-70% raw to cooked became my norm, and I noticed I didn't have my previous energy. So early October without planning I just started eating massive salads in the evening again (all those enzymes!) ... and I noticed my energy shot up and I didn't need as much sleep. (Well, my body said it didn't need as much sleep, but if someone has health problems, sleep is not something to be compromised. I know my healing body still needs that sleep.) By mid-October I had started eating more raw, and had even made my first flaxseed wraps, which were less demanding to make than I had thought and they were quite good. And from there, the raw food percentage just kept climbing, so by late October I decided to go 80% raw. Making that conscious effort to systematically increase from 70% to 80% took a bit more ingenuity, but the rewards were great:

more energy

more bounce in my step

less of an urge or need to sleep

muscles feel elastic and supple (and that's a wow for me!)

mouth feels clean after meals, not just after salads

eyes don't get as tired (I read tons and tons!)

back and neck tension not an issue

In late November and December I was having problems with low vitamin E, which caused me to start having problems with the water again. I had to back off of the raw diet because it was putting me into too much contact with tap water and noticed that carbs (not good for candida) made me feel a lot better, so I was eating more carbs than I needed to keep eliminating the candida. By mid-January I was doing much better so started adding the vegies back in ... and juicing tons! And since mid-February I was back up to 70% and on some days even 80% ... well, until I got my molar pulled. For a few days after that, I either made soft soups or juiced piles and piles of vegies - about 2 cups of 100% fresh vegie juice a day to help with healing and provide loads of nutrients to counteract the amoxicillian, an antibiotic that's necessary to combat a bacteria that could be released in gum surgery and go directly to the heart. The two-cups a day of green juice was WONDERFUL! but ugh, it's hard finding so much time to do that kind of juicing (ugh, my excuse).

Anyway, someday, someday, someday (but it'll have to be after I'm away from Seoul water) I'll probably take the big step and go 100% raw, but for now, I'm absolutely happy to be a 70-80% raw foodist again!