RawMood.com

Editor’s note: The following article was sent to us by Nikki.

Hello, my name is Nikki and I’ve had quite an adventure in the past year. I have suffered from eating disorders for almost 8 years now and have tried everything in the book short of going into a treatment facility. Needless to say, I consumed junk food by the truck load. On binges I would eat frightening amounts of fried foods, salty foods, candy cakes, you name it. At the same time, the food would be nourishing to my mentality but did nothing for my health. At the age of 22 my doctor informed me that I ailed from high cholesterol AND borderline manic depression. While anorexic, I practically lived off of gumballs… which did terrors on my teeth and blood sugar.

A year ago at this time I weighed 81 pounds and had lost hope. Then I was turned onto the raw food diet. For some reason, it seems okay to eat food that came directly from the earth. To know that the food that you are placing into your body was not long ago being nourished by its mother plant and gave itself up to nourish your health was a breath of fresh air. I no longer looked at food as “good” or “bad”, it became what it’s supposed to be, a giver of life. Reluctant at first, the idea of having nothing but cold food seemed a bit tedious, but boy was I wrong.

First of all, I have never been a big fan of fruit, but then again, it’s all in presentation. Growing up as a child, fruit was kind of a luxury item, and when we did get it, there was no excitement. “Here, eat an apple” – BORING. I’d rather have an apple pie (full of bad fat and sugar no doubt). With the raw food diet, apples all of a sudden have endless possibilities. Apple pies aren’t out of the question, they are almost the answer to any question! The same goes with vegetables. Once looked at as “ah, I suppose I’ll eat them because they are good for me, but only the bare minimum”, they now become shining stars in the kitchen, being able to transform a once dreary zucchini into a pasta dish is phenomenal.

There is also the gratification of knowing exactly where your food comes from. Shopping at local farmers markets and organic grocery stores almost sets you in a situation that you can picture them picking that exact apple off the tree especially for you. You know that the same love and care you want to give yourself was once given to that apple. Also, being able to walk into your own back yard and grow your own product and transform it into a fabulous raw meal, that would rival ANY five star restaurant, is a wonderful feeling.

Being a person who loves to work with her hands, using all the equipment that goes along with raw food is wonderful as well. Food processors were always kind of laughed upon in my household growing up. Sitting lonesome in the cabinet, waiting to spring into action. I currently cannot imagine a day that my food processor doesn’t get a work out.

Raw food has changed my life, high cholesterol has been eliminated, depression is gone and my eating disorder has gone into semi remission. The gratification of feeding your body only the best and taking care of the earth as well, is a wonderful feeling. I would recommend it to anyone, although it may seem daunting at first, it’s really not that hard. I started to crave all the “bad food” at first, like burgers and fries and ice cream, and allowed myself to slip once in a while, but I noticed a VERY important thing. My body felt terrible after consuming that junk, certainly not the way God wants your body to be.
The apple was in the garden of Eden. It was raw.