Big Fat Debate

Over the years on a raw food diet, I've noticed that one of the many on-going debates is about fat intake.

Fat, fat, fat. It is a touchy subject for some. It's been discussed and over-discussed, and some raw discussion sites even prohibit fat from being discussed!

But we will discuss it here. There are 2 different types of eaters when it comes to fat, obviously, the low fat eaters and the high fat eaters.

The low fat eaters may be consciously eating low fat, or may be mono-mealing or just plain enjoying their food with very small amounts of fat.

The high fat eaters are either aware or unaware of the high amount of fat intake they are eating on a daily basis. The ones who are aware are usually doing it because they believe eating a lot of fat is really good for them. Or they could be those who know that over-eating fat is not so good for them, but they are in a habit of reaching for the higher fat foods. This is a problem I face at times. I will be eating really well, and then I can get sucked into the "fat trap", whether it is from a raw source or a non-raw source.

The ones who seem to be eating a lot of fat really don't believe or feel they are, and they feel like purposely eating a lot of it is going to be healing and beneficial to them. The reason why they don't believe they are eating a lot of daily fat on a regular basis is because they don't look at their intake on a caloric level, they look at it on a meal level (some research found that raw food eaters commonly take in over 60% fat on a daily basis!)

Plus, when they eat a very fat-heavy meal or recipe, it can be enough fat for an entire week, but since it's only ONE meal or ONE recipe and the rest of the meals are moderate to low-fat, people tend to think that they are eating "well".

I have eaten raw so many different ways. And when I was eating a fat and recipe heavy raw diet, I hardly felt much different from eating cooked, because what I was doing was replacing the heaviness of cooked grains with the heaviness of fats.

Many raw food experts will say that this is perfectly fine, because the fat is still raw, but lets take a look at how fresh it really is, because the object of eating raw food is healing our bodies, correct? If we aren't getting fresh food into us, our bodies will react to the food differently than raw, as if we were still eating cooked, even though we think that food it raw.

Oils - Sometimes I wonder if we were even meant to be ingesting oils (and pure fats such as lard, butter, margarine, etc.) since really, it's not found in nature. Yes, oils are naturally IN things such as nuts, seeds and fatty fruits, but they are in perfect amounts in these foods. But oils are a form of extracted 100% pure fat.

I hardly use oil for eating purposes and when I do it is sparingly. And it is usually for external purposes, such as hair and skin. In the Bible, oils were used for burning candles and anointing, which tells me the purpose for oils is really external.

Nuts - There have not been too many people who haven't ventured into a raw food lifestyle and not over-consumed on nuts. I did, mostly in recipes, but I still did.

It is so very easy to overeat nuts, when there's a bag of conveniently shelled and supposedly "raw" almonds, cashews, walnuts, pine nuts, etc. right in front of you. They are not like this on the trees. I have not been privileged to eat a truly fresh nut, but I can imagine they take some effort to open and are soft inside.

In nature, it would not be probable that someone ready to eat a meal would sit under the nut tree, opening 100 nuts and eating them, as this would take half a day! The nuts that are available to us in bulk are void of any water, we don't know how long they've been sitting on shelves, and really, most of them may not even be viable, or sproutable.

We know that raw almonds are soon to be endangered, and most of us have been aware that cashews are heated at high temperatures to release them from their shells. Other nuts such as walnuts and pecans are hard to determine because I've never been able to sprout them myself.

Seeds - In nature, seeds are in fruits and many vegetables, and often we eat them intuitively, for instance in cucumbers and tomatoes. However, we hear how healthy it is to eat flax, pumpkin, sesame and hemp seeds. So many times we will overeat them in seed butters, oils, and seed milks. I tend to think that eating an abundance of seeds or seed products on their own is not even close to promoting health as eating fresh fruits and vegetables. As mentioned above regarding nuts, eating them in abundance seems to be un-natural.

Fatty Fruits - Some of the tastiest foods - avocados, fresh coconuts and other fruits such as the durian have higher amounts of fats in them. Usually these foods are very filling so it doesn't take much to satisfy, but these are probably the healthiest sources of fat as they are in the most natural state.

Olives - This is another tasty example of a high fat food, which would be hard to eat in abundance. In reality olives are quite bitter, so after the procedures of drying and salting, what remains is not very close at all to what came off the tree.

I hope that highlighting the main foods that people eating raw food eat, will help some think about where fat is coming from and how much one may be eating. The best fat is the freshest, least concentrated and processed and in small amounts.

Based on my own experience, when I eat concentrated raw fats or just plain higher raw fat recipes and meals, my intake of fresh fruits and vegetables drops dramatically. Since my appetite has been suppressed by the heavier foods, I no longer have hunger for the fresher, water rich, whole foods that are going to allow my body to heal. But the interesting thing is, when I do have those higher fat meals, I tend to want something "sweet" afterward. This is telling me I haven't had enough fruit during the day.

Some quotes about fat:

"Udo Erasmus, author of Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, has
extensively researched the topic of fat consumption and health. What's more, he sells fat for a living. Yet in his book, he recommends we eat just 15-20% of our calories as fat." pg. 111 The 80/10/10 Diet, Dr. Douglas Graham

"The high-fat raw foods that well-meaning raw chefs, teachers, and authors promote are very likely to cause in raw fooders many of the same health issues that plague cooked-food eaters, including candida, chronic and intermittent fatigue, and even heart disease. These maladies result in large part from excess fat in the bloodstream, a correlation explained in Chapter 2" pg. 129 The 10/10/10 Diet, Dr. Douglas Graham

"Fat is not 'bad' either; we just consume too much of it. The average person needs to consume less than fourteen grams of fat to meet the daily requirements of essential fatty acids, which your body needs to synthesize a variety of important substances. Unfortunately, the average American consumes at least eight times that amount." pg. 255-256 Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease

"high-fat meals, in contrast to low-fat meals, can cause considerable increases in plasma triglycerides and plasma levels of blood coagulation factors which lead to a blood clot or thrombosis in the heart artery" Dr. McDougall Newsletter http://www.drmcdougall.com/med_hot_vegetable_fat.html

Raw any way you like it

Note - I had written this earlier this year. I had it on my RawkyMountainHealth site. This is a good reminder of not to be too strict or too liberal when you are eating. It is so easy to go either way, that you can get frustrated or carried away with what you are doing, just a reminder that balance is the key here!

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One thing I have seen on many specific raw discussion groups is the mindset that there is one type of way to eat raw which works for every body.

You may notice that there are 2 different examples (for the most part) people going raw use who tend not to stick with it too long:

1) Eating simple and mono-mealing -

Strictly fruits and vegetables with small amounts of fats like avocados, and nuts and seeds; sometimes eating one type of food at a meal.

In this instance, it may be too extreme for some to go from a complicated cooked diet to such a simple one.

Eating too simply too fast in the beginning may leave a newbie bored or hungry for more complex foods that was eaten before starting raw.

A person can be used to eating small portions of dense foods like cooked animal products, grains and fats which are very filling, and not be used eating enough fresh plant food to fill themselves up.

However, for others, this works well IF their diet was already uncomplicated and hassle-free.

It requires almost no prep time, and can be easily adapted to most any situation away from home. This diet would enable a person to heal from disease and lose weight rapidly.

2) Wildcard diet -

Eat what you want as long as it's raw - eating heavier, richer seasoned foods, commonly using recipes as meals, not centering meals around fresh whole plant foods.

The second type of diet can really set up a person to start craving cooked food as many of these recipes mimic a favorite cooked dish, such as burgers, pizzas, cakes, etc.

The term "eat it as long as it's raw" can also be confusing to a newbie who doesn't quite grasp what raw food actually is. Some people tend to over eat "raw" things like nut butters, nuts, oils, "raw" energy bars, etc. instead of using fresh foods, thinking that they are health promoting. Many seasonings and condiments are used to appease a cooked palette.

It can be expensive between the equipment, ingredients and waste of a recipe that doesn't turn out well. Or it can keep a person's cravings alive, eventually leading them back to cooked foods.

However this can work well with those who need to be filled up if they are used to over-eating and/or eating dense or fast foods, and are actually able go through the process of moving on to simpler foods without turning back to cooked food. Detox and healing is slower and more comfortable.


In my years of raw food experience, I started off with the 2nd instance with much recipe-making and it has backfired. Moving on to simpler foods didn't happen with me, and I went through a lot of money on those recipes. The same thing has happened to most people I know trying the same route.

Now I have seen it work with a few people, so I know it is possible. But they are few and far between. There have been those who have tried the simpler way and have had problems as well. Many have stayed on the diet and had great results, but then crashed and burned in a matter of months.

Yet there have been many people who have come from a higher fat, recipe heavy "as long as it's raw" type of raw diet, gone off the diet, and then started back on raw using the simpler lower fat style with great success.

Many people I've found do not want to even try the raw food diet for two reasons:

1. They don't want to try it because they are turned off by the thought of only eating fruit and salads.

2. They are turned off or intimidated by the high cost and time of doing all those recipes.

If you are not sure which way to go, I suggest trying a balance -

eat what you want as long as it's FRESH (meaning something you find in the produce section, or has recently been picked off a plant),

and if you run into problems like cravings or wanting more or different, then try a simple recipe or two, and halve the recipe so that you don't spend too much money or time on something that you might not end up liking.

Give yourself a limit on the amounts of dense dehydrated foods like nuts and recipes. You might want to portion them out into bags so you don't get into a cycle of daily overeating non-fresh foods.

In conclusion, I don't believe that eating whatever you want as long as it's raw with wild abandon works for most people in the long term.

I believe that people who work toward a goal and incorporate some kind of control and/or discipline end up getting what they want out of any kind of dietary and lifestyle change.

"It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop" - Confucius

Last words of advice - even though you may change the road that leads to your destination, try your best not to stop or go back the other way. Just keep charging ahead and keep your eye on the prize. You may chose to take a few extra steps along the way, or take a couple of short-cuts, or even sit down and rest, but don't let that stop you from getting there.


Sharon Oliver ©2006