ON THE MERITS OF PERFECT RAWNESS

Been busy studying so not much time to put blogs together. Just thought I would comment on something I've noticed.
How many articles have you read about raw food? If you've read a couple, you most likely have come across some variation of "It's not about being 100%, it's about incorporating more healthy food into your diet." Or maybe in your adventures through internet discussion pages you came across the idea that being 100% is just about having the label, and that you should be happy with just being more raw than you were before.
I totally agree with both of those statements, but I also think they are an oversimplification and actually do a disservice to people trying to be really healthy and really happy. Look, I've been varying degrees of raw since 2006. That's going on 3 years. Starting at 100%, at times I dipped down to 50% (Even maybe 5% for that month of military training). I'm sure I was doing great things for my health at 50%, but it always seemed to be a chore when it came down to eating a raw meal.
Now I'm back at 100%. I like to say that being 100% is like going to the mountaintop, because only once you've achieved it for a significant amount of time can you appreciate it for what it is. I realized recently that I only like what I was conditioned to like. There is nothing intrinsically good about cooked food, but I have such an extensive history with it that it felt as if I was depriving myself when I abstained from it. Being 100% has allowed me to recondition myself. I've just reset the default settings. I can be just as passionate about food as before, but the great thing is, the food I am passionate about now is food that is wholly healthy and nourishing (unlike my previous mistress, pizza).
So the next time someone makes a comment to me to the effect of, "I'd rather be happy eating steak and die early, than live a long time unhappily eating vegetables," maybe I'll hit them with a little knowledge. Raw vegetables can make you happy, if only you put forth the effort into changing you preferences (which in some cases, doesn't take much effort at all). And if they are still not convinced, I'll remind them of the fact that they're not going to be too happy when obesity and heart disease set in. So now their argument is looking a little weak. Health is happiness. Live long. Live happy. Eat raw.

3.5 Weeks Baby!

Wow, almost a month of pure rawness. My eyes have brightened up for sure and I'm getting pretty ripped and the cravings are a thing of the past. I'm in the habit of this thing now, so it's no longer at the forefront of my thoughts and should be smooth sailing from here on out. Maybe I'll throw some pictures in next time.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Check this out: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123777413372910705.html

No, it is not about raw food. And no, it is not about medical school. But I am technically in the armed forces, and that means I care about this country at least a little bit, and this blog is about things I care about, so there you have it.

I've had this feeling for a while and it just seems to get stronger all the time. I have a feeling that the rest of the world is going to pass us by on so many fronts. If this recent economic crisis has taught us anything, it is that we can't build a strong nation and economy on a system of no intrinsic value. We can't sustain an economy that takes so much and contributes so little.

What can we build it on? What do we have to offer? We have an extensive education system with which we can create revolutionary technologies. This is something we can build on.

But we won't do this. For one thing, we have embedded special interests that prevent technologies that would contribute to the common good but cost them profits. Watch the documentary "What happened to the electric car?" if you don't know what I'm talking about. As if to pour salt on the wound that is the relationship between big business and our government, we have to go and make our kids stupider. We have to go and make them less competitive in the global academic marketplace by teaching them superstitious drivel dressed up as science.

If this bill in Texas passes, it may just be the beginning of the end. The rest of the world advances while America begins to step backwards. I can only see things getting worse before they get better...

2 WEEKS!

As of yesterday I've been 100% raw for two weeks. It feels good.

GOING OVERBOARD

For me, and I suspect for a lot of others, this diet is about getting back to our natural state of things. It's about mimicking the diet under which we evolved. Our bodies are fine tuned machines, finely tuned to an environment that has only recently (evolutionarily speaking) been drastically altered. It's we like own a Ferrari that was designed for Premium gas but are filling the tank with unleaded. It will still work with the cheap stuff, but it's really going to perform on the premium stuff. This is how I think about the body and living foods.
So then I saw this comment. The comment was, "People always talk about fish oil being so great. Get the same long-chain omega-3 fatty acid from Marine Phytoplankton." Come on. I'm sure the intentions were good, but come on. Can you picture Homo ergaster or Homo habilis combing the ocean for phytoplankton? Phytoplankton? Phyto-freaking-plankton? I can't. And the thing that makes fish oil so special isn't really the omega-3's. You can get that from flax seeds. It's the DHA and EPA that make it so special. And there is also recent archaeological data that suggests a correlation between the eruption in Homo's brain size and access to fish.
But there is no need to go into more detail. This is just an example to keep in mind for those who eat raw for the same reasons I do. Of course, if your motivations and philosophies are different and you feel the need to eat some phytoplankton, be my guest. You can even have my share.

STILL AT IT

As soon as I get some free time I will sit down and write a proper entry. For now, this will have to do: I made a batch of "rawful awful" (Raw Falafel, but if you say it fast it sounds like that) which was the most soft and delicious batch I have made to date. Warmed and wrapped in collard on a bed of sprouts, tomato, and onion, it is the most wonderful thing to eat.
For the record, I am 2 more days until the week 2 mark of being 100% raw. My sickness is gone and I have a glimmer in my eye. I can't imagine why I didn't get back into it sooner. I will disclose, however, that I had a very close call this weekend with some cravings. Thinking back to the reasons outlined in my first post, however, helped put a stop to that.

VEGAN SQUARED ON TWITTER

Follow a raw foodist through the glamorous and exciting world of medical school! Today, I drank tea at a coffee shop! More posts like this to come!