Submitted to veg-raw by David R. Mayne <[log in to unmask]>
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Hello everyone,

Now that we have 50 subscribers around the world, and
since this list is new, I thought that perhaps we could
get aquainted some by sharing our reasons for being
interested in raw foods. Below, I will describe my experiences
which led me to a raw food diet.

Back in the summer of 1993, I decided to get a routine physical exam
from a doctor, as it had been several years since the previous one.
I had been following a vegetarian diet for over 5 years, excercised
regularly, and considered myself fairly healthy. But at the physical,
the doctor stated that I had high blood pressure, which he stated
would require medication to control for the rest of my life. As, I left
his office with prescription in hand, I was thinking that there
had to be another way out of this dilema.

I came across an old juicing book which mentioned a raw juice fast
and subsequent diet modification as a way of attacking blood pressure
problems. Since I already had a juicer, I figured why not give it
a chance. So I went on a raw juice fast for 4 days consisting of
1-2 qts/day of carrot/celery and sometimes some beet mixed in. I
also drank water to make sure that I did not get dehydrated. After
the juice fast, I ate only raw vegetables and fruit for 10 more days.
At this point, I had scheduled a visit with another doctor, who was
known to recommend dietary changes instead of simply prescribing
medications. My bp at the previous visit was 150/100, but after
the fast and diet change, two weeks later it came to 130/78. He
did not prescribe any medication, and stated that my change in diet
had made a difference in my condition. He did, however, recommend
that I add cooked rice and legumes to my diet. I took his advice,
and added some cooked foods to my diet, as well as eating cooked
foods at restaraunts.

This experience, however, got me started on the road to raw foods.
After using a transitional diet for many months, and gradually
increasing the amount of raw foods, I have come to a point where
over 90% of my diet is now raw. I sometimes eat some steamed vegetables,
baked yams, and occassionally binge at a local vegetarian restaraunt.
Now, I think that I am getting to the point where all of my meals will
be raw.

Well, this has turned out to be much longer than I thought, but
perhaps this will persuade some others to share their experiences
and/or interest in raw foods.

BTW, I never had that prescription for bp medication filled.

Best wishes and health,

David Mayne
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