AboutRawPalaeoGuy Expertise I can answer most questions on Raw Animal Food Diets such as the Primal Diet, an organic, raw-meat-based diet and a number of similiar all-raw or partially raw Paleolithic diets, such as the Instincto, Weston-Price, Neanderthin, Paleo and Stefansson Diets. Can also offer advice on
how to resist social pressure to eat cooked foods etc. For further info on Raw-Animal-Food diets, feel free to browse through this website:-
http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/
Experience I have been 8 years on a 99%+ raw version of the Palaeolithic Diet and experienced numerous health benefits as a result, being fully recovered from my previous symptoms from my cooked-food days. My own individualised raw, paleolithic diet routine is mostly based on Aajonus Vonderplanitz's Primal Diet(ie 99% raw, usage of "high-meat",no processed supplements, using primarily naturally-reared, organic or wild sources of raw foods) but, for personal reasons, I have also been, to some extent, influenced by ideas from:- Instincto(ie:- taste/instinct,no raw dairy/no raw veggie juice), Weston-Price(eg: preferring grassfed meat to grainfed meat, incorporating a wide variety of raw organ-meats into my diet along with the usual muscle-meats, and Vilhjalmur Stefansson(high-fat diet, pretty high proportion of (raw) animal food), but also eating some raw carbohydrates such as raw organic/wild fruit/veg/honeycomb etc.). I'm also a firm believer in the feast-and-famine idea (ie Intermittent Fasting) as regards boosting one's energy levels, and giving my body a rest from constant digestion.
Organizations Rawpaleodiet Community(Comprising rawpaleoforum , rawpaleodiet yahoo group and the rawpaleodiet.com website among others).
Publications Allexperts and Rawpaleodiet.com
Education/Credentials BA(German) 3rd; No nutritional qualification(I don't believe in standard(misguided) nutritonist doctrine, so I don't feel the need).
Question I have read through some of the questions and answers on this site and appreciate your willingness to share your experience and expertise. I wanted to ask what your opinion is regarding the use of organ and glandular supplements as compared to the fresh or frozen food product. I have a very good quality source for the supplements and find raw organs unappetizing to say the least (cooked tastes better). I have not yet transitioned to raw meats but do eat them rare and occassionally steak tartare, sushi, etc. I keep my carb intake very low, my fat intake high and consume some fermented foods. My intake of dairy is high (raw milk and pasterized cream) as are some addictive products like coffee and wine. What is your opinion of organic coffee and wine? I really hate to give up all my addictions but I do want to improve my health. Any recommendations to improve poor dental health? Thanks for your response. Michael
Answer To be quite honest, I don't view processed supplements as being that effective. Most are completely useless, and the few that are, in any way, effective, are nowhere near as good as the raw, unprocessed equivalent.There's even been some concern re a link made between a higher-intake of vitamin E supplements and a higher risk of mortality.
My suggestion is that you use the various organ and glandular supplements for a short while, in relatively small quantities. But supplements should not be taken for long periods.
Everyone finds raw organ-meats unappetising at first, taking longer to get used to them, by comparison to sushi/raw shellfish etc.. This is because organ-meats are so much richer in taste, and we're used to decades of eating (comparably tasteless) cooked-foods. The usual suggested solution is to lightly-cook your meats/organ-meats adding any processed sauces you like - then, every so often, as you get used to each stage, you lower the temperature by 1 degree Celsius/Fahrenheit, reducing the amounts of processed sauces and (optionally) adding (small amounts of) any raw sauces or condiments(eg:- black pepper etc.) until, eventually, you're used to eating raw meat at room-temperature.Most people find, in the end, that they don't need even those raw sauces, and can eat raw meats on their own and still love the taste.
I, instead, went cold-turkey and immediately switched from cooked-food to raw. The reason why I was able to maintain the diet was that I greatly reduced the amounts raw foods I disliked in my diet, but continued to eat them regularly in small amounts, while constantly looking around for raw-animal-foods which I might like. So, for example, I found raw (organic/grassfed) ox liver to be, at first, rather foul-tasting, so I'd regularly eat small slivers of raw ox-liver, and quickly chase each sliver down with a gulp of mineral-water - in the meantime, I would go out to various ethnic or farmers' markets and try small amounts from all sorts of exotic dishes until I found the ones I liked instantly such as raw goatmeat, raw shellfish such as giant prawns/scallops/oysters etc., and I'd eat those in large amounts - (this meant that it was much easier to get rid of previous addictions to a handful of processed foods). Eventually, of course, I even got used to, and enjoyed the taste of the raw ox liver, and could eat it in larger amounts.
Re organic coffee/wine:- Everyone has a different approach. Some RPDers feel the need to have an occasional "treat" of some sort of cooked-food, or they eat a little cooked-food for social reasons - I don't see that as a problem, though, IMO, people with very serious health-conditions would probably find it best to avoid such treats in the first 3-4 months of going raw. Also, from my own experience, the less cooked-food one eats the quicker one is able to get used to eating raw-animal-food(and, of course, the faster the rate of recovery).
However, if you can't resist drinking organic coffee and wine regularly in larger amounts , I would definitely say that that would be a bad idea. Some RPDers get over their addictions by looking for healthy, raw alternatives, such as raw carob powder instead of chocolate etc. You'd have to ask re specific coffee/wine substitutes on the 3 raw-animal-food forums,in order to get more helpful info- all I can suggest re alcohol is that the clearer/more transparent the alcohol is, the fewer "congeners" and preservatives are in the alcohol, and it's those congeners which are the primary instigator of hangovers. So, organic, white wine is better than organic,red wine, clear vodkas/gins are better than whisky etc.
There is also a kind of beer called "Real Ale"(also known as "bottle-conditioned" beer/"cask-conditioned beer"). This is alcohol which, unlike other alcohols/beers, has huge amounts of live bacteria still within it.
Re raw dairy:- It's a really bad idea to consume raw dairy in large amounts. Even if you're not experiencing allergic symptoms such as excess mucus in the nose, constipation or diarrhea, fatigue or whatever, there's still the issue of the calcium:magnesium ratio. In Palaeo times, the Calcium:Magnesium ratio was c.1:1 or thereabouts, yet dairy has as much as a 12:1 ratio - if too much calcium is absorbed then this blocks the uptake of magnesium, thus leading to magnesium-deficiency - that's why so many raw-dairy-consuming Primal-Dieters take magnesium supplements. So, try to wean yourself off of the raw dairy as much as possible, and look for other sources of fats(eg:- suet/marrow/muscle-meat fat etc.). If you can't or you feel the need to take longer re this, I would strongly suggest eating lots of pumpkin seeds(high in magnesium, low in calcium and/or take magnesium supplements.
Re carbs:- I would suggest experimenting with the amounts of carbs until you find what works bets for you as an individual. Everyone seems to have a different experience re carbs - some feel the need for plenty of carbs, others feel they do better on virtually no carbs at all etc. It's just that I, more and more, tend to be sceptical of artificial limits, re dietary rules, placed on certain nutrients in one's diet.
Re dental health:- Not sure what to advise re this. In my own case, simply getting rid of all the raw dairy, helped to greatly strengthen the very loose teeth I'd developed after years on cooked-foods.- and there have been some tentative scientific reports stating that excess calcium might be harmful to bones/teeth in the long-term. However, those who don't suffer from dairy-allergies might have a different experience.
(If your teeth are in as bad a shape as mine were at the very start of going raw, then I would like to suggest a few ideas. I would, for example, leave meats (like raw ox-tongue)out to age a little for a day or two(sealed against the flies). This made them softer and easier for me to handle - the downside is that beginners to raw diets have enough trouble getting used to fresh meats, getting used to aged, raw meats is more of a challenge.
I'd also cut the raw meats/organ-meats into tiny pieces, and just swallow them whole- chewing was something I wanted to avoid as much as possible as my teeth were on the verge of falling out at the time. Over time, of course, my teeth and gums gradually healed, and I have an excellent set of dentures.
(It's been claimed by some RPDers, that, while chewing is essential when eating cooked-foods, that it isn't necessary on a raw diet, and that bolting the food down like a dog after minimal chewing actually makes one's digestion easier).
