Listen To Your Body!!!

Your body is clearly telling you that something in your lifestyle is not working. Forget what you are reading and hearing... the body never lies! And from what you are describing of your condition you are dealing with a situation that needs immediate attention. You said it yourself... "I feel utterly deficient in so many ways...". That's because you ARE experiencing a deficiency and it's a serious one!

If you look at this from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine... you may be able to better understand. Raw food requires more digestive 'fire' in order to break it down. Raw food also contributes to dampness in the spleen/stomach which depresses the digestive 'fire'. So... while there are many benefits to eating raw foods... just as with everything else... there is also the potential for problems. Since many people have less than optimal digestion to begin with... a raw food diet can set up a vicious cycle that leads to deficiency.

I've seen this same pattern many times... several years ago I worked as a colon hydrotherapist and performed colonics on quite a few people who were strictly raw vegan. Like yourself... while they had beautiful skin, had lost weight and derived other benefits from the diet... I could tell by the waste they released during their colonic that something was very wrong. Without exception... every one of them eliminated a LOT of undigested food. Their waste looked like multi-colored confetti as it went through the tubing! Even if they were moving their bowels on a regular basis and appeared to be experiencing better digestion... the fact remained that they were clearly not breaking down their food. And it doesn't matter how well you eat if your body doesn't break it down and assimilate it! Unfortunately... almost all of them insisted that they were eating THE optimal diet... until they had reached a point much like yourself... where they were really getting sick.

The only one that can decide about your diet is you... and it is NOBODY'S place to tell you what you should be eating. I do, however, hope that you will start paying more attention to your body to determine what you need. The more you are in tune with yourself... the more healthy you can be!

Be well.

*By the way... I am NOT suggesting that you should make any dramatic changes in your eating. In fact... if your digestive 'fire' is weakened... you will greater difficulty digesting heavier proteins. Since you are in such a weakened state... I would really encourage you to see a professional... perhaps a TCM or Ayurvedic practitioner. Tweet