With my weekend review of my favourite CRON sites I noticed Matthew Lake once again pointing out some Raw Food evangelists and his similar experiences. I must say that I think the Raw Food approach is fine generally. However, I have noticed that there are some who pursue it with an almost religious fervour blindly assuming that all of their dietary needs will be met with Raw Food. And it is this fact that I take exception to.
Without properly tracking your food intake and the vitamins and minerals you are taking there is an increased risk of having problems from deficiencies. I for one am not prepared to take that chance. If I were to go on a Raw Food cycle (and I've thought about it) I would continue to track my foods in Cron-O-Meter. I would also let my doctor know.
You see, I firmly believe that the human body has adapted to be omnivorous and that although Raw Food and Vegan or Vegetarian are largely safe, there are those who do not realize what vitamin and mineral deficiencies they may be exposing themselves to. When you look at these approaches and the nutrients they tend to favour, you will see the need for ensuring some balance or the inclusion of certain foods to round out the approach.
So, it makes sense that CRON should be the over-arching guide to Vegan and Raw Food approaches. Therefore to ensure you are CRON compliant you should track your vitamin and mineral intake from your food before embarking on a Vegan or Raw Food approach. Longevity and common sense dictate that Optimum Nutrition comes from a balanced approach.
Now, I raise a Green Smoothie #2 to Matt for his latest post of great smoothie recipes.
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I think that as a vegan, it's important to make sure you are eating balanced meals. Obviously if you aren't eating a lot of variety, you'll be making yourself sick. This is true for meat eaters too. I think that you might not need CRON if you're careful. I think you need to diversify your foods, and you shouldn't need the extra stuff. http://www.rawpeople.com/?utm_source=A&utm_medium=B&utm_campaign=C
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like best about CRON is the way it can be adapted to fit within other dietary schemes. I CRON and eat a Paleo style diet at the same time, and generally I find the two approaches quite compatible. I agree the most important thing in any case is making sure you carefully track your nutrition so that you hit all the bases with vitamins and minerals :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a vegan and I use the cronometer :) I've found that my nutrition is far easier to manage and better than it ever was as an omnivore :) Meat other than fish and dairy were also very hard on my arthritis, and I'm pretty sure I had lactose-intolerance as well, if I don't already from being vegan so long. I think every human body is of course different, but it's definitely a lifestyle that works for me and makes me feel better mentally about my own choices...and a calmer state of mind is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body of all. :)
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