Would Eating Cooked Foods Be a Good Idea?

[Victor Vikingr]

I've been eating 99.9% raw since January 5. this year (ate canned corn in a couple of salads I didn't make myself). I've heard people saying that long-term raw foodists lose the ability to digest cooked foods altogether, and I don't think I want that. I think being able to eat cooked food can be good if I ever find myself in a situation where I can't get anything raw.

So, I want to ask if anyone has any experience with being close to 100% raw while still keeping the ability to eat cooked foods. (I know Steve does something like that now, but I don't know how much/often I would have to eat something cooked, or what I should eat.)

[IFeelGood]

What about some lightly steamed veggies like broccoli, brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans? Or maybe a veggie soup that is heated but not to boiling point? A baked sweet potato?

[Victor Vikingr]

Hm… would steamed veggies preserve my ability to digest cooked foods? If so, that would be the perfect solution.

I plan on doing an experiment this Friday, in which I'll eat a cooked meal, then use the weekend to recover, if necessary.

[Double]

There is a rule of thumb that the body is smarter than you are. I personally dont believe the body will repel cooked foods regardless of the timeframe in which you've been "clean".
If the body really could tell you, i mean really would repulse cooked food, why dont it do it now? There is alot of evidence pointing toward raw food being the natural diet.

[Thomas H]

I wouldn't be worried about that. You condition yourself to digest cooked foods before you were raw so I don't see any reason to think you wouldn't be able to do the same if you needed to.

[stanmrak]

Boy! you're going to get opinions all over the map on this one... there certainly is no agreement.

I suggest doing what feels good to you and your body at the moment, then tomorrow, do it new all over again.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Steve now eats a little cooked every week just so he doesn't lose the ability to eat cooked food. 90% raw shouldn't be that much more of a detriment, as long as the cooked foods are lightly cooked and healthy foods.

[Victor Vikingr]

Originally Posted by Double

If the body really could tell you, i mean really would repulse cooked food, why dont it do it now? There is alot of evidence pointing toward raw food being the natural diet.

Sure, I agree. The thing is that eating raw isn't possible everywhere, so if I get into a situation where I have to resort to cooked, I'd rather not get sick, since the situation probably wouldn't be favourable in the first place. It's not that I want to eat cooked food – I actually prefer to be 100% raw – but I think it might be stupid of me to let a survival technique be disabled, if you know what I mean.

Originally Posted by Thomas H

I wouldn't be worried about that. You condition yourself to digest cooked foods before you were raw so I don't see any reason to think you wouldn't be able to do the same if you needed to.

Hey, good point. I actually haven't thought about that. It makes sense, but don't we get the cooked food our mothers eat during pregnancy into our system?

Originally Posted by stanmrak

Boy! you're going to get opinions all over the map on this one... there certainly is no agreement.

I suggest doing what feels good to you and your body at the moment, then tomorrow, do it new all over again.

I guess you're right. I think the most probable case of me not being able to eat raw would be to lose my wallet while travelling or something, and even then I could probably "fast" for a couple of days. All other cases I think would be possible to plan ahead.

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Steve now eats a little cooked every week just so he doesn't lose the ability to eat cooked food. 90% raw shouldn't be that much more of a detriment, as long as the cooked foods are lightly cooked and healthy foods.

Yes, and he lives in the US, so he has the same or better access to various raw foods, so I think there might be something to the idea. I think I'll do my experiment on Friday, and then make a 30-day trial out of it. Or not, depending on how crappy I feel afterwards.

[Thomas H]

Originally Posted by Victor Vikingr

Hey, good point. I actually haven't thought about that. It makes sense, but don't we get the cooked food our mothers eat during pregnancy into our system?

Even if you were getting cooked food during the pregnancy that would still be conditioning the body to eat it.

[Victor Vikingr]

Originally Posted by Thomas H

Even if you were getting cooked food during the pregnancy that would still be conditioning the body to eat it.

Hm… Yes, I think you're right.

I guess it would also be possible even if I'm older, then. I've heard you can even condition it to be able to digest cow's milk, so cooked food should logically be no problem. Thank you for pointing this out.

I'm leaning more towards staying 100% raw now.

[Rose of Cairo]

I don't understand why you want to eat cooked foods. You've been raw for such a long time now and you do great on it. I don't think you'll ever be in such a bad situation that you'd absolutely need to eat cooked stuff. In the worst case, you can survive for several days without eating anything at all.

If you do eat cooked food, my advice is to avoid animal products, grains and all other cooked starches, as well as all processed foods. Something like steamed veggies would be okay I think.

[Angela Leeds]

Viktor, experiment and see how you feel. That's really the bottom line...

[agnostic]

I doubt that one could lose the ability to digest cooked foods. Cooked foods are actually easier digested than raw foods. That's why we cook foods. Easier access to more nutrients and destruction of the plant's chemical defense mechanisms. So I would recommend some cooked food in the diet in general. That being said, I doubt that you would need to keep some cooked food in your diet to keep your digestive abilities in check. Unless 100% raw puts some strain on your digestion. But then you'd have problems with raw food, too.

[Victor Vikingr]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

I've decided to stick to raw for the time being – the most important reason being that I realized it's winter now, and I don't want to get sick. I'm planning to experiment when summer arrives.

That, and I want to celebrate my one year raw anniversary.

[ginkgo]

I know a boy that did not eat any food for 6 years and he did not drink anything. The doctors said that he did have the ability to eat food or drink liquids.

[Victor Vikingr]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

I know a boy that did not eat any food for 6 years and he did not drink anything. The doctors said that he did have the ability to eat food or drink liquids.

What? How did he survive?

Anyway, if it's true, then I guess that's good news.

[JMonkey]

I wouldn't believe everything you read

[Thomas H]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

I know a boy that did not eat any food for 6 years and he did not drink anything. The doctors said that he did have the ability to eat food or drink liquids.

Sounds like that boy died six years ago