3 Deficiencies You Can Develop on the Raw Food Diet (Two of Them Will Surprise You!)

by Dr. Ariel Policano

So, you are loving the raw diet, right?

You’ve lost weight, you have more energy, and a positively juicy new outlook on life. Fantastic!  A raw vegan diet is filled with nutrition, vital force, enzymes and is free of nasty preservatives and chemicals.  It is truly amazing.

Still, even on a raw or high raw diet, it is good to have a health “check-in” from time to time. The fact is there are actually a few deficiencies that could develop on a raw, vegan diet if you aren’t aware of them.  They can develop if you are not meticulous about having diversity and perfect balance. And really, who is?

Here are 3 markers I feel are crucial to keep your eye on. This way, you can be sure you are staying healthy in every way on your raw vegan diet.

1) Ferritin (your iron stores).

2) B12 Levels, measured as methylmalonic acid (MMA).

3) Cholesterol (wait to be surprised here!).

1) Ferritin.

It is important to keep your levels of iron healthy.  Of course, iron allows the transport of oxygen to your cells via the blood.  Low iron levels are commonly referred to as anemia.  One of the most common signs of iron deficiency anemia is Read more »

My ANTI-CANCER DIET

‘An anti-cancer lifestyle is not a rigid set of rules to follow, but a safe space to be filled with your favorite ways of nourishing health and discouraging cancer. Since cancer thrives in a too-ordered situation, relax and let chaos give a hand now and then in the execution of your plan. I include all the following elements in my anti-cancer lifestyle. Were I to be diagnosed with cancer, I would continue to do these things in addition to any other remedies I might choose:
• Stay in touch with my own daily and seasonal rhythms
• Sleep in total darkness or moonlight; get into the sun daily
• Eat one meal at the same time each day
• Have emotional outlets
• Choose friends who support me and my truth
• Have artistic outlets
• Receive lots of appreciation and approval (a.k.a. love)
• Exercise one hour three times a week
• Get a massage once a month or more
• Do my yoga practice once a week or more
• Have sexual outlets
• Take a quiet time of beingness daily
• Make full use of all sources of joy available to me
• Eat a Mediterranean-style diet of mostly organically grown foods including daily use of cabbage family plants, raw and cooked greens, whole grains, beans, sunflower seeds, soy products, olive oil, garlic, seasonal fresh fruit, seaweed, yogurt and cheese, herbal infusions, herbal vinegars, and antioxidant seasonings, nuts, mushrooms,  and dried fruit. And I avoid: Vitamin/mineral supplements, chlorine, nitrates, tobacco, prescription hormones, TV, white flour, white sugar, processed foods, and non-organic animal products.’

This article is written by Susun Weed who I have known of for over 20 years.  I met her when I was barely into my 20′s, and what an impression she has made on me.  In the middle of her talk, she LEAPED up onto a table like a wild-animal!  Being rather shy and ‘proper’, I was so amazed at this ‘wild woman’ who is of the ‘Wise Woman Tradition’.  I knew she was a Master Herbalist and writer (HEALING WISE and HERBAL FOR THE CHILDBEARING YEAR, ETC.) and already respected her wisdom. But I had never met a woman so fully self-expressed like that!  She was outrageous!  TALK ABOUT ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE AND CONVICTION.  I wonder how many of us have that VITAL, URGENT, grasp on life?  In an instant I was forever changed.  We women can and MUST be everything we know deep-down in our souls that we DESIRE ourselves to be.  Our men, our children and our sisters shine and thrive to the extent that we do.

I believe inspiration can be found everywhere!  Thank you, Susun, for your courage and wisdom which all women share.

To all RAW MOMS, this week, may you unleash YOUR wise and wild woman!

Bless! Shannon