The One Month RAW Challenge

[mtmouse]

I just harvested my wild rose hips. I waited a bit too long, unfortunately, as we've actually had a couple of frosts already and some of them were getting a bit shriveled. Also, many of the bushes farther out in the field, where the animals and birds get to them better, had already been "harvested". LOL. But next year I'm sure I'll do better!

I rinsed them and dried them on a towel, then pinched off the bloom stem. Things I read say to remove the seeds before using in a recipe, but since I plan to put them in smoothies in the Vitamix, I'm not worried about seeds. I left them in.

Now I have them in the dehydrator. I'll dry them a bit, then freeze them flat so I can take a few at a time for our smoothies.

That was fun!

[Res]

It will be interesting to hear how the rosehips taste. I get pretty productive too when I'm cleansing. You freeze everything so that when you're off the cleanse you have "fast food".

So the SmartMonkey bars came today. Yum! They're worth it. I made Ani's SmartMonkey bar cereal. The Vanilla mylk wasn't cold enough and I didn't have any dates so I used agave nectar. I think I would prefer it with the dates. I ate every bite and enjoyed it immensely. So that was dinner.

I ordered and received the Nama Shoyu because none of my health food stores carry it. It's rather expensive but I wanted to try it. If it's not much different from Bragg's or soy sauce, I'll just use those. Braggs isn't raw either but I don't really care much. You just do what you can.

RAW FOOD ROCKS!

Love,
~Res

[Sim]

Hi kids...I need some support. And this is going to sound horrifyingly familiar to some of you...
My hair.
Yes, it's fallen and falling...it's so thin and pathetic.
I went to have it cut today, thinking that if I cut it short, there would be less stress on it. The hairdresser took one look and told me it looks like hair that's growing back from chemo! He asked about stress and diet and weight loss. Bingo. First time I can say it's not stress. He begged me to eat more protein and as you all know, that's my biggest worry, which is why I do research on it. I'm actually considering adding those cooked legumes, something I considered awhile back and didn't do. So here's another wonderment, tell me what you think: could it be the MC that's caused this, not Raw? Yes, I lost a lot of weight (30 pounds) and then another 15 with the second cleanse. Is it possible that those two 40 days cleanses shocked my body so much and now that I'm on a raw diet my hair is growing back? It doesn't feel like it's growing back...I still see hanks of it in the shower. Sorry to be so graphic. This is scary stuff. The hairdresser was very, very nice but I'm panicked.
Then I'll think of all the raw people, Sarma from Pure Food and Wine, Matt's girlfriend Janabai, Carol Alt....and I think, well, their hair looks healthy and happy. Please all, tell me what you think. :-(

[Res]

Sim,

Although I was going through that and freaked out about it, and Peter even posted something about hair loss in a newsletter I'm no longer convinced it's the cleanse.

My Boss was sure of it and she would worry each time I cleansed. I think it's something else. I'm going to PM you.

[TeePee]

Res,

you are right "raw food rocks"!!!! And I'm happy to report......I am "feeling it" again full strong. BUT, I do know that switch you are talking about, I have the same exact one. Go figure!!!

Sim,

You are and always will be beautiful. Let us know what you come up with. OH, by the way, are you still cleansing???

Love you girls to pieces!!!!

[Sim]

HI TeePee~
Yes, I am still cleansing but I'm very freaked out now that I've been to the hairdressers and I'm almost afraid to keep on this short cleanse. Maybe I should just not cleanse until January and double my dark, leafy green consumption for the next few months?

And GOOD FOR YOU that you're finding your way back to raw. You'll be fine. It's just the work of the new school year that's got you down.

Res~ Thank you...We'll talk on the PM...this hair thing is so weird....but then again, so'm I I'm going to look up Peter's advice in the newsletter...thanks, Res, for always being so loving.

And what do rosehips taste like anyway?
Is it obvious from the name? Do they taste like roses and how do you use them, besides rosehip tea?

Ohhh, you're all soooooooooo interesting. What a group!

[mtmouse]

Hi Sim,

Don't know what to tell you about the hair, but do EFT for the attendant emotions!

I don't know what rose hips taste like. Probably kind of like the tea. I don't have enough to do much with, so I'll probably just throw 4 or 5 into a smoothie for whatever benefit they give, so I doubt they'll add much flavor.

[Res]

Sim: I'm not much of an advocate for stopping a cleanse mid-stream, but in this case I'd say I really "felt it" when you talked about stopping the cleanse and upping the leafy greens. I really resonanted with it (no pun intended). I would even say gorge on the various leafy greens for a while. "Nutrition" seems to be the name of the game now and the leafy greens (as you know) are building blocks.

I still don't think the problem is the cleanse, I think it's perhaps your body is depleted and just really needs the greens. If you like coconuts, pick up a bunch of Young Thai coconuts and drink the water. It's full of electrolytes and delicious!



Teepee: I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better.

Love,
~Res

[mtmouse]

Sim,

Have you gone to any other raw food sites? There must be a bunch more forums out there, that would give you access to lots more experience and knowledge. Alissa Cohen's site comes to mind first, but also the Raw is Beautiful site, the rawdetox site, and maybe Boutenko has a site? Maybe you could even manage to reach some of these gurus personally to ask about the hair loss. If other non-cleansers have also experienced it, then you'd know it wasn't the cleanse itself.

Also, why do you think you need to cook your legumes? You can sprout garbanzos and lentils at least, so why not start there? The protein content would remain the same. I know there are beans you should not sprout (kidney, for one), but there may be others that you can.

Also, hair loss can be a hormonal thing (which may or may not be linked to simple nutrition like protein or minerals or greens, etc., or even a cleanse). My sister, for instance, lost almost all her hair when she was pregnant. Not that that's your issue, LOL. But maybe those menopausal shifts are having unusual effects.

Just some thoughts!

[ninab64]

Sim,

Silica is an important mineral for hair and nails, perhaps you can find foods that are high in that to help you through this time, or even consider taking a supplement if it will help in the short term. horsetail is an herb that i've seen in supplements for hair as well

just a thought

i've been losing more hair than normal over the past 2 years, but it's also longer, and it seems that the hair that is coming in after it is gray.... it's an evil plot :P