It hopefully goes without saying that it is better for you to eat organic produce rather than standard fare whenever possible - it may be a bit more expensive, but the health benefits are unquestionably worth it. Supporting local fruit/veg box schemes, or even better, growing your own produce helps the environment, with less transport involved. Health food shops and many supermarkets stock natural, organic whole-foods and in the UK you can also arrange delivery from Suma (www.suma.co.uk) or Survival foods (see www.foodfirst.co.uk). In North America, try The RawReform Store HERE for raw foods and equipment, or join a local CSA scheme (Community Supported Agriculture).

One essential tip for vegan food combining - always keep acid fruit separate from all other food - it can interfere with digestion. Less acid things like apples and bananas can be combined with other foods with fewer problems, but try to avoid eating acid fruits like oranges, kiwis, pineapple, plums and so within half an hour or so of other food.

Try investigating sprouting, juicing and wheatgrass growing as great additions to your cuisine - I find sprouting can be rewarding and fun, love experimenting with fresh green juices and have thoroughly enjoyed the energy buzz and health benefits of wheatgrass juicing at home. Such changes may seem quite challenging at first and it can take courage to embrace and enjoy the process of re-educating yourself. It's tempting to hide away in old patterns rather than flow with the changes, but I urge you however to take steps forward as you are able - play with your food, experiment, try to see it as fun, not a challenge that you have to get right. Check the Links page for advice on sprouting and so on and remember that you do not have to do any of this alone - there are others who can help you, so get involved with like-minded people, if that appeals to you (visit the Forum to find support).

Try to avoid stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. If you do wish to drink alcohol, be aware that there are some good organic/raw wines available.

You do not have to be vegan to be raw - you can get raw, unpasteurised dairy/goat products if you have a reliable farm source nearby and some people eat raw meat and fish too - decide what feels right for your own body.

In my personal experience, the times when I veered most wildly away from raw foods when transitioning were always in social contexts such as parties where I was faced with a buffet spread including many old favourites - for a long time I found this type of situation very difficult to handle and would almost invariably eat things I had not intended to consume. Since getting into good recovery work and going 100% raw, I no longer struggle with this issue and am currently very satisfied with my diet - other foods just do not pull me anymore, but in my early raw days, I found this issue very challenging - so, be prepared... (My first book 'How to go Raw for Weight Loss' provides step-by-step guidance for managing your relationship with food, with special tips for social situations.)

Learn to recognise genuine hunger - which is a completely natural sign from your body that it is ready for food - and try to eat only when you feel such hunger (i.e. not when you're angry/overexcited/anxious etc - then your body is busy doing something else and your digestion is not ready for food). Don't worry about conforming to the standard three meals a day if this doesn't suit you - personally I tend to eat about 4-5 times a day - light, regular meals. Be clear that if you make a meal for yourself and you start to feel full while eating, you don't have to finish everything at once - it is ok to save some for another time (this was especially hard for me to learn). Your body needs enough food to keep your metabolism ticking over comfortably, not to be struggling with an over-stuffed stomach.

Your digestive system needs time to wake up in the mornings - try to leave at least 30mins between waking and eating - in the meantime, it's good to refresh your body with some glasses of (warm) water, especially with fresh lemon juice to stimulate the liver and flush out the bowels. Also avoid eating before sleeping - try to leave at least 2 hours after eating before going to sleep, so that you're not shutting down digestion on a full stomach.

Transitioning

Try not to put yourself off going raw by thinking of the big changes - take things slowly, be kind to yourself and don't punish yourself for 'mistakes' - no-one's demanding you must be 100% raw now or indeed ever . The first thing to consider is simply introducing more raw foods into your current diet.
A great tip for beginners is to eat just fruit before lunchtime - perhaps three different acid fruits for breakfast - e.g. pineapple, grapes, plums or nectarines, then snack on something with slower-release sugars like an apple or banana mid-morning to see you through to lunch. Most people find this an easy step towards being raw, as they bargain it off against eating their normal fare the rest of the day; as they get used to it, they realise the health benefits and want to continue increasing their raw intake.
I remember reading in the Boutenkos' 'Raw Family' book that after a few months of eating raw, the packets and products in supermarkets begin to look like toys - I find this to be true - only one area of supermarkets starts to look real - the fresh produce area and I often wander past the other aisles in amazement at all the many brightly packaged things for which I have no use.
Useful transition foods: cottage cheese, sprouted wheat bread, cooked hummus, vegan pesto, all kinds of gluten-free products (esp. pastas and muesli), carob treats, steamed vegetables, cooked gluten-free whole grains such as quinoa or millet.

Nutritional Guidance

I strongly recommend cutting gluten from your diet - it simply clogs up the digestive system. Think about it - what do you get when you mix together wheat flour and water...? GLUE :O and that is what people EAT... I'd recommend you avoid wheat, rye, barley and oats - yes, this does mean all 'normal' breads, cakes, biscuits, pasta etc - and yes, it can feel very difficult - be patient with yourself. Gluten-free alternatives include buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, corn/maize, potato flour, rice, rice bran, rice flour, tapioca, soya and millet. The grain quinoa is ofte referred to as a 'wonder food', with 16% protein content, it's delicious, easy and quick to prepare - either soak and sprout or to cook, add 2 parts water to one part quinoa and boil for 15 minutes. There are very many tempting gluten-free alternatives available now - even most big supermarkets have developed some kind of 'free-from' range - experiment with what you like.

The ideal diet is often said to be 70% carbohydrate, 15% protein and 15% fat.
There are 2 types of carbohydrates - fast-releasing ('bad'), e.g. honey, sugar, refined things and slow-releasing ('good') - whole grains, fruit, veg. Fast releasing give an energy burst, then a slump, whereas slow provide more sustained energy.
The body is designed to run on slow-release carbohydrates, either complex - whole grains, vegetables, beans, lentils or simple - fruit. See the diagram below for an overview:

Fats
There's a huge difference between cooked and raw fats - obesity, heart disease, cancers, clogged arteries, etc are linked to cooked fats. Raw plant fats however are GOOD for the body - they provide antioxidants and are essential to keep joints, nerves and bones working. Raw fats don't cause you to gain weight because they still contain enzymes such as lipase to break down fat in the body. Heating fats destroys the lipase, leaving the denatured fat to clog up your body, causing disease and weight gain.
The body cannot function properly without some essential fats in the diet - raw fats like cold-pressed oils and avocadoes are the best sources possible.You do not need saturated fat from animal products. You do need unsaturated fats - get mono-unsaturated fats from olive oil and poly-unsaturated from nuts, seeds and fish.
Flax or pumpkin seeds are good sources of the essential fatty acid Omega 3 and try sesame or sunflower seeds for Omega 6.

Salt
The body needs organic sodium, in small quantities that we get naturally from fruit and vegetables. The body has no use however for the chemical sodium chloride - table salt - it cannot be metabolised like organic sodium and is a poison that the body has to exert effort to reject. The average person eats so much sodium chloride that it accumulates in the body and there is never a chance to detox. The body retains water to dilute the salt and the excess is deposited in places like artery walls, disrupting blood flow and causing high blood pressure. It is kinder to your body to use pure Celtic Sea Salt, Himalayan Crystal salt, seaweed flakes or an alternative such as ?Herbamare?- available in health food shops - made from sea-salt mixed with dried powdered vegetables and herbs - a more easily assimilated combination.

Sugar
There are many types of sugar:
Glucose is usually found with other sugars, in fruits and vegetables - it is essential to the metabolism of all plants and animals. It is often called ?blood sugar?, as it is always present in our bloodstream. Dextrose, or ?corn sugar?, is made synthetically from starch. Fructose is slow-releasing fruit sugar. Maltose is malt sugar. Lactose is milk sugar.
Sucrose is refined sugar made from sugar cane and sugar beet. This is the white stuff we generally refer to as ?sugar? and is very harmful to the body, as it has been processed so much, that it is devoid of its life force, vitamins and minerals.
Glucose has always been an essential element in the human bloodstream. Sucrose and sucrose addiction are new threats to health in the history of humans.

Sucrose consists of pure, refined carbohydrates that the body cannot use, as no proteins, vitamins or minerals are present to process it - it is just empty calories. Eating it can actually be considered 'worse' than eating nothing, as it leaches vitamins and minerals from the body to aid its elimination. If one consumes sucrose daily, the body is kept in an over-acid condition and more minerals must be taken from deeper in the body to achieve balance; eventually, the body leaches so much calcium from bones and teeth that decay and weakening set in.
Excess sugar eventually affects every organ - it's first stored as glucose in the liver, which expands like a balloon. When the liver is full, the excess is returned to the blood as fatty acids and stored in inactive areas - belly, buttocks, breasts and thighs. When these places are filled, the active organs like the heart and kidneys are then attacked - they slow down, degenerate and turn to fat, affecting the whole body and creating abnormal blood pressure. Refined sugar kills the bacteria in the intestines, who then cannot create B vitamins to aid our nerves and brain function - we get sleepy, forgetful and lose the ability to think clearly.
Sucrose throws the body wildly out of balance - many recognise the symptom of ?sugar blues? - the down after the initial burst of energy from digesting such a carbohydrate. It is important to realise however the extensive damage sucrose does beyond merely affecting your mood - it is very damaging to your whole health. Try to avoid anything with sucrose or added sugar - opt for glucose and fructose sources like fresh fruit and veg for your sugars - the body needs natural sugars to function well, it does not have any need for sucrose.

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If you want to know what I've been eating lately, check out my online E-Journal. I write a post almost every other day, in which I record my daily food intake, among other raw food musings - you can subscribe to receive these free messages, straight to your inbox, by entering your email address in the box below?

 
To read more about which foods I recommend in general and how to start eating more raw for yourself, see my books HERE.