I. What is
The raw food diet is defined as a type of diet of which at least 75% of the daily diet must be unprocessed and uncooked foods or foods can not be heating above 115 degree of Fahrenheit or 40 °C , including fresh fruit and vegetables and raw meats. It believes that the more raw food in your diet, the more healthy you are. While there are many benefits for people eating raw, such as increasing energy for our daily activity, improving skin appearance, assisting digestive process, stability weight loss with no risk of weight re-gaining, reducing the risk of heart and chronic diseases, because the diet contains high in trace minerals, essential vitamins, fiber and phytochemicals and less harmful substances, such as trans fat, saturated fat and salt, but it interferes with the natural process of human being over thousand years of eating cooked foods, such as smaller jaws and teeth , shrinking stomachs have shrunk, and longer small intestines and lengthening the digestive surface area.
Some alternative medicine, such as Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine suggested that a raw-only diet may not be appropriate for people living in colder climates, because in order to fight off the constant cold or Prolong periods of eating raw foods deplete the yang qi in the body. Since most raw foods eaten in typical American raw food diet are cold, they will decrease the yang qi even further, leading to colding affects in our body, resulting in certain kinds of diseases, including blood stagnation and kidney yang deficiency, causing infertility in some severe cases.
II. What is Fertility and Infertility and the explained causes of infertility
A. Fertility
Fertility is a natural process to insure the survival of human species. Through natural selection, we produce many offspring when the reproductive system works at it's peak in a suitable environment with plenty foods around. On the other hand, the reductive system may completely shut down or work at its minimum state and we produce less offspring, when the environment is hostile including less foods around, war, epidemic, etc. but regardless any situation. most women are capable to conceive sometimes before menopause.
B. Infertility
Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive after 12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse. It affects over 5 million couples alone in the U. S. and many times more in the world. Because of an unawareness of treatments, only 10% seek help from professional specialists. In fact, about 35% of infertility is caused by the male's inability to fertilize. 35% is caused by the female's inability to conceive, 10% attributes to both, and 10 % is considered a failure with an unknown cause.
C. The unexplained causes of infertility
The Unexplained cause of infertility is defined as a condition of a healthy couple who have found no reproductive structure or medical problems, but for whatever reason, the female partner is unable to get pregnant, and modern technologies and doctors in conventional medicine fail to find the causes of infertility.
According to conventional medicine, a couple are diagnosed with explained causes of infertility can have children by going through the process of artificial insemination or other options such as adoption, or subrogation. Some women may seek help from traditional medicine, because of cost effectiveness or believing that traditional medicine can offer a more natural birth.
III. Before proceeding further, let us take a look of:
What is a menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle begins when the level of estrogen starts to rise. At certain point, the brain stimulates hypothalamus to produce Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to produce the Follicle stimulating hormone, leading to initiating the growth and recruitment of immature Ovarian follicles in the ovary. At its peak, the pituitary gland switch to produce luteinizing hormone (LH), the FSH starts to decline which stimulates the mature of follicle and the production of estradiol and thicken of the uterus lining as well as promoting friendly cervical mucus, triggering ovulation, resulting in extruding egg from the ovary into the Fallopian tube and initiating the conversion of the residual follicle into a corpus luteum. The corpus luteum in turn produces progesterone in preparing the uterus lining for a possible egg implantation. If pregnancy does not occur, hormone levels plumped, and the thickened uterus limning is shed through the vaginal canal.
There are many thing involved to make the cycle regularly, but unfortunately any disruption may cause irregular menstruation and sometimes interferes the natural process of fertility.
IV. How raw food diet affects fertility in TCM perspective
While conventional medicine have never viewed irregular menstruation seriously, traditional Chinese medicine view irregular menstrual period as a tiny micro change in the female ecosystem. If not treat, it will interfere with the normal process of fertility and other women health's diseases such as nervous tension menstrual pain and cramps etc. Especially if you are diagnosed with the unexplained causes of infertility with irregular period, then your menstrual cycle may be the causes.
V. How to treat raw food diet causes of infertility in traditional Chinese perspective
A. Understand the food classification in TCM perspective
By diagnosis the underlying causes and treating each woman as an unique entity and the body as a whole. Depending in what have been diagnosed, you may be given advice not to eat some kinds of food which may interfere the normal menstrual cycle and dampen your chance of fertility.
1. Cold
Cold foods in traditional Chinese medicine are considered as a type of food which may stimulate the colding effects in your body and deplete the yang qi as resulting of our body needs to counter the cold with yang qi in the body. Prolong period of taking these kinds of food without balancing them with other warm, cooked or hot foods may cause yang qi and kidney yang deficiency, resulting in interfering with normal function of the reproductive organ and leading to irregular period. For women who try to conceive should avoid to eat these types of raw foods or counter them with at least same amount of hot foods.
a) Bamboo
b) Banana
c) Grape fruit
d) Clams
e) Seaweed
f) Watermelon
g) Bitter melon
h) Etc.
2. Cool
Same as cold food, but they are not as strong. It also depletes the yang qi but moderately, therefore eating these types of foods should counter with some warm food to avoid yang qi and kidney yang deficiency. Women who have irregular period and try to get pregnancy are advised to eat only moderate amounts and for nutrients only. Otherwise, they may dampen the chance of fertility.
a) Apple
b) Lecture
c) Cucumber
d) Pear
e) Spinach
f) Strawberry
g) Tomato
h) Etc.
3. Neutral
Although neutral foods are types of food which have no effects in ying and yang qi in the body, but it may have other side effect such as rice, gain and potato which may interfere with insulin production of the spleen as well as liver function in carbohydrate metabolism.
a) Apricot
b) Beet
c) All kinds of red meat
d) Celery
e) Honey
f) Rice
g) Bread
h) Etc.
4. Warm
Warm foods are considered as food with warming effects in the body. It is most important foods which are used most often for pregnant women as they can help to warm the uterus and maintain the healthy pregnancy and protect against miscarriage. Warm foods increase your body temperature and yang qi slightly.
a) Black tea
b) Cherry
c) Chive
d) Leek
e) Peach
f) Raspberry
g Chicken
h.) Etc.
5. Hot
Foods with hot nature are normally good for improving immune system in fighting against forming of free radicals, bacteria and virus and increasing blood flow to the body, including the reproductive organs, but over eating these types of food may cause yin qi and kidney yin deficiency leading to hormone imbalance and interfering with natural process of normal menstrual cycle.
a) Garlic
b) Ginger
c) Pepper
d) Onion
e) Green onion
f) Cinnamon powder
g) Etc.
Finally, we would like you to know that most foods with bitter, sour and salty are classified as yin and hot and sweet are classified as yang.
B. How raw food diet causes infertility
Most raw foods can be either yang or yin pathogens. A typical American raw food diet is most yin and dampness pathogens.
1. Colding and cooling effects
Spleen is important to break down the food and transform them to energy for our body's daily activity. Too much raw foods weaken and slow the digestive system, leading to nutrients deficiency, including the following:
a) Fatigue, tiredness and sluggishness
b) Nervous tension
c) Bloating and gas
d) Unclear thinking
e) Cloudy urine
f) Etc.
Typical raw foods diet puts more strain on the digestion. If spleen is damaged caused by prolong intake of raw food, it may weaken the digestive system in absorbing of nutrients, leading to less efficient assimilation of nutrients. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine view the process of transformation of foods and transportation of nutrients are a warm process in nature, and raw foods are more cold in nature, After entering the stomach, our body need to raise temperature before the food can be digested and absorbed.
2. Dampness affects
Raw foods interfere with the spleen in controlling the internal dampness caused by impairment of water metabolism within the body or spleen damage due to prolong in take of raw dampness hot foods, leading to impairing the spleen yang and the development of interior damp-cold, resulting in qi and blood stagnation, leading to delay menstruation and menstrual pain and cramps. Raw foods cause dampen effect including the following:
a) Milk products
b) Celery,
c) Lettuce, alfalfa,
d) Raw honey
e) Corn.
f) Sage,
g) Parsley
h) Onion
i) Etc.
And the symptoms include
a) Fatigue,
b) Reduced appetite
c) Abdominal bloating and discomfort
d) Other related spleen deficiency symptoms
3. Kidney yin deficiency
Kidney yin also known primordial yin or true yin , is defined as the foundation of the yin fluid of the body, therefore it helps to moisten, nourish the organs and tissues and maintain the body fluid balance with fire of kidney yang. Raw foods are yin in nature, prolong intake of may decrease the yang qi in the kidney, leading to fluid imbalance, resulting in irregular menstruation and in serve case, causing infertility.
a) Lack of energy
Deficiency of kidney yin causes inability of kidney in stabilization of energy, leading to abnormal flow of energy, disrupting the blood flow to the body organs including ovaries in egg production resulting in distorting the normal menstrual cycle in women, leading to irregular period.
b) Blood Flow
Deficiency of kidney yin also increases the risk of irregular blood flow as the heart must work harder to provide more energy to our body, leading to abnormal function of capillaries and interrupting the normal function of small veins in the nervous system, causing dizziness, hearing problems and ringing in the ear. It also causes abnormal blood flow to the reproductive organs, distorting the menstrual cycle.
c) Digestive system
It also causes abnormal digestive system due to spleen function in absorbing vital vitamins and mineral as a result of lack of fluid which is necessary for digestive system in stomach acid secretion, leading to constipation and abnormal pain.
d) Burning sensation
People with kidney yin deficiency feel burning sensation not only in the body including the chest, but also see bright yellow color in their urine, leading to oxidative and kidney damage. If the problem is not treated, it may disrupt natural process of normal menstrual cycle.
e) High temperature
It also increases the body temperature that interferes with egg, cervical mucus production.
4. Blood deficiency
Blood deficiency is defined as not enough blood to distribute to our body organs needs. Tradition Chinese medicine view blood deficiency is caused by weakened liver organ as resulting of a weaken spleen due to prolong period intake of raw foods, thereby reducing the liver function in blood formation, causing not enough blood to distribute to the body such as absence of (no blood for) menstruation or scanty menstruation.. It also leads to abnormal function of reproductive system in regulating menstrual cycle, that disrupts the production of egg or produces poor quality egg and makes uterine mucus hostile to sperm.
There are many symptoms of blood deficiency including:
a) Palpitations caused by your heart have to work harder, because of not enough blood in the body.
b) Forgetfulness and poor memory caused by not enough oxygen delivering to the nervous cells need
c) Insomnia: because of brain cells can not transmit information between themselves, leading to over production of certain hormones.
d) Shortness of breath: you lung has to harder to provide oxygen to your body needs.
e) Dizziness and fatigue is due to oxygen and energy shortage.
f) Constipation due to lack of fluid in the body
g) Pale complexion: lack of blood
5. Blood stagnation
Blood stagnation is defined as qi stagnation or qi deficiency in the liver. In traditional Chinese medicine, raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, leading to blood stagnation resulting in menstrual irregularities and sometimes infertility, because of blocking of the blood flow or blood become static to the reproductive organs..
a) Blood stagnation is caused by liver qi imbalance, it reduces the liver function in regulating the secretion of certain hormone in the prostaglandins family thereby, increasing the risk of abdominal cramps, thus causing blood stagnation in the abdominal region.
b) Liver also helps to regulate the secretion of insulin from the spleen, abnormal function of spleen increases the risk of diabetes, leading to blood stagnation in the reproductive organs.
c) Imbalance of liver qi also causes inability of liver in fat and protein metabolism, leading to nervous tension and increasing the risk of hormonal imbalance causing irregular menstrual cycle.
C. How raw food diet causes infertility by looking back to conventional medicine menstrual cycle in TCM Perspective
1. Estrogen
Estrogen which is yin pathogen in TCM, is required to stimulate the brain action in production of Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) by the hypothalamus. Raw food diet increases the kidney yang function, causing hormone imbalance with low estrogen and high progesterone and testosterone. Deficiency of yang ( or high level of estrogen) obstructs each step of in the estrogen phrase of the menstrual cycle, causing irregular production of hormones from pituitary gland in secreting FSH and LH and ovaries function in production of follicles such as poor egg quality, thinner the uterine lining which can support an egg implantation and early ovulation.
In some women, it causes menstrual irregularity, but in severe case, it increases the risk of infertility. The symptoms of kidney yang deficiency include:
a) White coat on tongue
b) Pale, frigid appearance
c) Achy pain in joints or muscles
d) Cold extremities
e) Poor digestion
f) Tendencies toward stagnation
g) Depression
h) Emaciation
i) Obesity
j) Etc.
2. Progesterone
Progesterone is considered as yang pathogen. Raw food diet is considered cool or cold in TCM perspective, it reduces the the yang qi to certain degree, depending on types of raw foods consuming daily by each individual. Since the second phrase of the menstrual cycle is the increased production of progesterone ( yang in TCM ), it affects the ability of egg extruding and deter the normal process of supporting the uterus lining in egg implantation as well as increasing the risk of producing cervical mucus which is hostile to sperm invasion. In severe case, it makes conception difficult for some women and infertility to others. As the level of progesterone rise, blood is required to support the uterus and the uterus lining in egg implantation and embryo nourishment. Raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, leading to blood stagnation and deficiency, resulting in lessening the chance for the normal process of making a baby.
3. Testosterone
Testosterone ( yang in TCM) is produced in small quality during the progesterone phase. Deficiency of yang qi reduces the production of testosterone, leading to low sexual desire, poor muscle tone and fatigue.
4. Menstruation
In traditional Chinese medicine, raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation thereby reducing the spleen function in food transportation and weaken the liver function in blood formation, leading to blood stagnation in the productive organs including the uterus, causing not enough blood to support the process and for menstruation if pregnancy does not occur.
D. How raw food diet causes irregular period by looking back to 5 phrases menstrual cycle in TCM Perspective
The traditional Chinese medicine divide the women menstrual cycle into 5 phrases
1. The yin phrase according TCM) lasting about 3-4 days
In this phrase The yang ( progesterone) decreases rapidly and the yin (estrogen) starts to rise, leading to the growth of body fluids, supporting the production of blood and producing sperm friendly mucus as well as making the uterus lining thicken for egg implantation. The deficiency of yin or abundance of yang distorts the production of fluids which are necessary for moister and nourish the blood, causing shortening of yin phrase, leading to not enough time for egg to mature and uterine lining to grow thick enough for egg implantation, resulting in lessening the chance of fertility and increasing the risk of irregular period.
2. The Ovulation phase, lasting about 3 days
At the estrogen (yin) at its peak, liver triggers the starts the ovulation phrase, as resulting of stimulating of the brain action in production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) by the hypothalamus of which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to produce the follicle stimulating hormone, leading to initiating the growth and recruitment of immature ovarian follicles in the ovary. In this phrase, qi and blood moves downward to promote the implantation of the egg and nourish the uterus to support the growth of embryos. Deficiency of yin and blood stagnation caused by raw food diet shorten the ovulation phrase, leading to not enough time for egg implantation and uterus lining to support the growth of the embryo, causing infertility or miscarriage as well as irregular menstruation.
3. The Yang phrase, lasting about 5 days
During the fourth phase, yin decreases to allow growth of yang (mutual consumption of Yin and Yang). Growth of yang helps to warm the Uterus. Raw food diet causes yang deficiency, thus colding the Uterus that distorts the normal process of egg implantation.
4. The luteal phrase, lasting about 12 days
The luteal phase also is referred to day after ovulation to the day before period. In this phrase, a mature egg was released at ovulation as resulting of the production of progesterone from corpus luteum in preparing the body for pregnancy. Raw food diet causes yin deficiency and liver qi stagnation, leading to rising temperature and distorting the luteal phrase process, resulting in increasing the risk of infertility or irregular menstruation.
5. Menstruation phrase, lasting about 5 days
According the to traditional Chinese medicine, this phrase is dominated by the movement of blood and qi moving downward as resulting of dropping of the level estrogen and progesterone( yin and yang), since raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, it causes blood and qi stagnation, leading to delay menstruation, delay period and scanty period.
E. How traditional Chinese medicine helps to treat yang deficiency caused by raw food diet with diet in general approach
a) Appropriate diet
If you are raw food diet follower, make sure you increase the percentage of cooked food in your diet.
b) Moderate exercise
While raw foods interfere with the spleen function in digesting and absorbing nutrients, moderate exercise increases the digestive system in production of stomach acid and enhance blood circulation thus promoting a healthy spleen.
c) Relax and rest
Stress and rest are always a problem for people living in this fast pace society, we face stress constantly everyday, such as sickness of your child, workplace pressure, etc. You make sure that you take a lot of relaxation and rest to avoid the abnormal production of certain hormone.
III. The summary
The raw food diet has written an important page in the America (world) health history as its contribution to make us healthier and reduce the death rate of heart diseases and stroke will never be denied. Since traditional Chinese medicine have been round over 4000 years and proven to be one most effective traditional medicine in treating the unexplained causes of infertility, its idea toward raw food diet must be right in some extent. The aim of this article is to provide reader the other point of view, with no intention to offend anyone, including the raw food advocators. If you are offended by this article, I say sorry. If you are raw food diet supporter and diagnosed with the unexplained causes of infertility, I urge you to give it a try. Although, I don't consider myself as a raw food supporter, but 50% of my daily food intake are considered raw.
Raw diet promotes beauty. To begin with, one reaches his or her ideal weight more readily and maintains it with much less effort than on a cooked diet. Many people lose 15 pounds in a month or two with no feeling of deprivation whatsoever. Obese people lose much more than that while eating raw fats all they want, including raw "ice cream," avocados, nuts and olives. Raw fats (from avocados, olives, nuts, seeds, coconut butter et al.) are actually needed by the body to maintain youthful skin, hair and glands. They are rich in the essential fatty acids linolenic acid and linoleic acid that are denatured by heat.
Raw food pioneer Dr. Ann Wigmore wrote, "The effectiveness of live foods and fresh juices, especially wheatgrass juice, has bankrupted many complex theories about why we become fat and how to reduce quickly ... Among our guests at the [Hippocrates Health] Institute, the average weight loss per week is between four and fifteen pounds" (The Wheatgrass Book, p. 59).
Studies have shown that raw food is less fattening than the same food cooked. According to Dr. Edward Howell, raw fats are not fattening and seem to belong in "a special pigeonhole in nutritional speculations" (Enzyme Nutrition, p.109). While cooked fats accumulate in the body and become very detrimental to our health, raw fats contain lipase (deficient in many obese people), the enzyme involved in metabolizing fat properly.
The word "Eskimo" means "raw eater," as the Eskimos traditionally ate nothing cooked but subsisted chiefly on raw meat and blubber. Dr. V. E. Levine examined 3,000 primitive Eskimos during three trips to the Arctic and found only one person who was overweight.
Cooked starches are also very fattening. Farmers have even learned that it is necessary to feed their animals cooked food to fatten them up for maximal profit. Hogs do not get fat on raw potatoes, but cooking the potatoes makes them gain weight.
In addition to reaching your body's ideal weight, many other beauty factors blossom on a raw diet. Cellulite, which is thought to result from eating heated fats, gradually disappears with the consumption of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. On a raw diet, elimination of cellular waste and increased lymphatic drainage helps remove cellulite.
As the body's old cells are replaced with new, healthy cells through proper nutrition that only a raw diet provides, your hair grows in thicker and at times wilder. It may even regain color after having been gray, as did Ann Wigmore's. Your skin may become as soft and smooth as it was in your youth. Your nails will be strong, clear and shiny. Facial lines may fade or disappear; the face's pasty, white complexion becomes ruddy or rosy. People may remark on how much younger you look. Your eyes will sparkle.
The Hippocrates Health Institute, one of the places where people have gone to learn about the raw food diet, was once described by Cosmopolitan magazine as the "well-kept secret" of beauty and rejuvenation of various famous Hollywood movie stars and celebrities. Now the news media are letting the secret out.
When Demi Moore appeared in a bikini in the Charlie's Angels movie Full Throttle and looked every bit as great as the women younger than her, the word went out that the secret was her raw food diet. Other celebrities who have caught the wave include Alicia Silverstone and Woody Harrelson.
Model Carol Alt wrote in her book Eating in the Raw that the raw diet helps her stay beautiful, slim and young-looking. She attributes her current youthfulness and stamina to having eaten primarily raw food for eight years. She explains that in her thirties she had to starve herself and exercise a lot to stay trim. But as a raw fooder she is able to eat anything she wants, as long as it's raw, and she maintains her weight effortlessly, without ever feeling excess hunger. In addition, she claims she has better abdominal definition without exercising than she did as a cooked fooder who exercised regularly. She also has fewer wrinkles.
Health and beauty are intertwined. Dr. Herbert Shelton wrote, "The woman who maintains her health and youthfulness will retain her attractiveness. If she permits her health to slip away from her, if she values indulgences and frivolities more than she does health and impairs her health in the pursuit of false pleasure, she will lose her BEAUTY; and no art of the cosmetician and dressmaker will be able to preserve it for her."
Researcher Arnold De Vries writes, "In the final analysis, we must regard beauty, health and youth as intimately related. To the extent that you preserve one in your physical being, you also preserve the others. The uncooked fruit and vegetable diet, pure water, sleep and rest, sunshine, strong relationships, exercise, fresh air, fasting if necessary, and abstinence from drugs, vaccines, serums and other toxins are the prime requirements in your attempt to preserve your youth, health and beauty as long as you can" (The Fountain of Youth).
The face becomes more beautiful with a raw diet. "Skin loses its slackness and puffiness and clings to the bones better," write Susannah and Leslie Kenton (Raw Energy, p. 90). "The true shape of the face emerges where once it was obscured by excess water retention and poor circulation. Lines become softer. Eyes take on the clarity and brightness one usually associates with children or with super-fit athletes."
Nutritionist Natalia Rose, author of The Raw Food Detox Diet, profoundly praises the raw food diet as being the key to permanent weight loss. It's a lifestyle in which a woman can even attain her perfect shape without formal exercise or counting calories or grams of fat or carbohydrates and regardless of having had several children. The skin tone improves as cells become healthier and tighter. One dares to go out without make-up.
Tonya Zavasta describes her lifelong obsession with attaining beauty, which she finally discovered in her 40s through a 100% raw food diet. In her book Your Right to Be Beautiful, she explains how each of us can fulfill our full beauty potential, which is robbed by the toxic accumulation of cooked foods, dairy, wheat, salt and drugs. "Beauty lies latent under cushions of retained fluids, deposits of fat and sick tissues. Your beauty is buried alive" (p. 134).
She goes on to explain that on a diet of uncooked foods, "The landscape of the body will change. Fat that has accumulated in pockets under the eyes and at the jaw will melt away. The lumpy potato look of one's face will give way to sleek and smooth contours. The surface of the skin will become soft and smooth but still firm and supple. Visible pores will diminish. A sallow skin with a yellow pallor will turn into a porcelain-like complexion" (p. 137).
She furthermore describes the radiance and glow produced internally when there is "an abundance of clear, pink, almost transparent cells that light up the face," which is produced by superior blood circulation. Even the most beautiful supermodel would be enhanced by a raw food diet. She notes that the modern-day version of beauty is more in harmony with health than perhaps ever before, hence "the quest for beauty, instead of a narcissistic preoccupation, becomes a noble pursuit."
Tonya came across many women who would not eat a raw diet for their health, preferring just to take medications. However, they would go raw for beauty, as there is no pill for beauty. In her book Beautiful on Raw, ten women contributed their own experiences of how raw diets added to their beauty.
Various observations were that hair grew out with color instead of gray, sometimes with natural waves or curls, and fingernails grew strong, long and shapely. Cellulite vanished effortlessly. Puffiness in the body and face disappeared, and the skin cleared up. These women often get complimented on the "glow" of their faces. They feel confident without make-up. Their inner beauty and confidence also radiate. They look younger than ever and have no fear whatsoever of getting old. One of the women is 64 and still gets checked out by "the young whippersnappers" when she is at the gym!
Interestingly, many of them, before eating raw, had never been called "beautiful" by anyone, even when they were much younger. One of the women wrote about suddenly becoming aware of the benefits of being attractive, benefits which one who had always been beautiful would take for granted. People were nicer to her, cops didn't give her tickets, and salespeople waited on her first.
The authors of Raw Food/Real World explain, "People who eat only raw, plant-based foods have an unmistakable shine, like a pregnant woman in her second trimester or someone newly in love. They have a radiant positive energy."
You haven't reached your beauty potential until you've tried a raw food diet.
a raw food diet?Raw food pioneer Dr. Ann Wigmore wrote, "The effectiveness of live foods and fresh juices, especially wheatgrass juice, has bankrupted many complex theories about why we become fat and how to reduce quickly ... Among our guests at the [Hippocrates Health] Institute, the average weight loss per week is between four and fifteen pounds" (The Wheatgrass Book, p. 59).
Studies have shown that raw food is less fattening than the same food cooked. According to Dr. Edward Howell, raw fats are not fattening and seem to belong in "a special pigeonhole in nutritional speculations" (Enzyme Nutrition, p.109). While cooked fats accumulate in the body and become very detrimental to our health, raw fats contain lipase (deficient in many obese people), the enzyme involved in metabolizing fat properly.
The word "Eskimo" means "raw eater," as the Eskimos traditionally ate nothing cooked but subsisted chiefly on raw meat and blubber. Dr. V. E. Levine examined 3,000 primitive Eskimos during three trips to the Arctic and found only one person who was overweight.
Cooked starches are also very fattening. Farmers have even learned that it is necessary to feed their animals cooked food to fatten them up for maximal profit. Hogs do not get fat on raw potatoes, but cooking the potatoes makes them gain weight.
In addition to reaching your body's ideal weight, many other beauty factors blossom on a raw diet. Cellulite, which is thought to result from eating heated fats, gradually disappears with the consumption of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. On a raw diet, elimination of cellular waste and increased lymphatic drainage helps remove cellulite.
As the body's old cells are replaced with new, healthy cells through proper nutrition that only a raw diet provides, your hair grows in thicker and at times wilder. It may even regain color after having been gray, as did Ann Wigmore's. Your skin may become as soft and smooth as it was in your youth. Your nails will be strong, clear and shiny. Facial lines may fade or disappear; the face's pasty, white complexion becomes ruddy or rosy. People may remark on how much younger you look. Your eyes will sparkle.
The Hippocrates Health Institute, one of the places where people have gone to learn about the raw food diet, was once described by Cosmopolitan magazine as the "well-kept secret" of beauty and rejuvenation of various famous Hollywood movie stars and celebrities. Now the news media are letting the secret out.
When Demi Moore appeared in a bikini in the Charlie's Angels movie Full Throttle and looked every bit as great as the women younger than her, the word went out that the secret was her raw food diet. Other celebrities who have caught the wave include Alicia Silverstone and Woody Harrelson.
Model Carol Alt wrote in her book Eating in the Raw that the raw diet helps her stay beautiful, slim and young-looking. She attributes her current youthfulness and stamina to having eaten primarily raw food for eight years. She explains that in her thirties she had to starve herself and exercise a lot to stay trim. But as a raw fooder she is able to eat anything she wants, as long as it's raw, and she maintains her weight effortlessly, without ever feeling excess hunger. In addition, she claims she has better abdominal definition without exercising than she did as a cooked fooder who exercised regularly. She also has fewer wrinkles.
Health and beauty are intertwined. Dr. Herbert Shelton wrote, "The woman who maintains her health and youthfulness will retain her attractiveness. If she permits her health to slip away from her, if she values indulgences and frivolities more than she does health and impairs her health in the pursuit of false pleasure, she will lose her BEAUTY; and no art of the cosmetician and dressmaker will be able to preserve it for her."
Researcher Arnold De Vries writes, "In the final analysis, we must regard beauty, health and youth as intimately related. To the extent that you preserve one in your physical being, you also preserve the others. The uncooked fruit and vegetable diet, pure water, sleep and rest, sunshine, strong relationships, exercise, fresh air, fasting if necessary, and abstinence from drugs, vaccines, serums and other toxins are the prime requirements in your attempt to preserve your youth, health and beauty as long as you can" (The Fountain of Youth).
The face becomes more beautiful with a raw diet. "Skin loses its slackness and puffiness and clings to the bones better," write Susannah and Leslie Kenton (Raw Energy, p. 90). "The true shape of the face emerges where once it was obscured by excess water retention and poor circulation. Lines become softer. Eyes take on the clarity and brightness one usually associates with children or with super-fit athletes."
Nutritionist Natalia Rose, author of The Raw Food Detox Diet, profoundly praises the raw food diet as being the key to permanent weight loss. It's a lifestyle in which a woman can even attain her perfect shape without formal exercise or counting calories or grams of fat or carbohydrates and regardless of having had several children. The skin tone improves as cells become healthier and tighter. One dares to go out without make-up.
Tonya Zavasta describes her lifelong obsession with attaining beauty, which she finally discovered in her 40s through a 100% raw food diet. In her book Your Right to Be Beautiful, she explains how each of us can fulfill our full beauty potential, which is robbed by the toxic accumulation of cooked foods, dairy, wheat, salt and drugs. "Beauty lies latent under cushions of retained fluids, deposits of fat and sick tissues. Your beauty is buried alive" (p. 134).
She goes on to explain that on a diet of uncooked foods, "The landscape of the body will change. Fat that has accumulated in pockets under the eyes and at the jaw will melt away. The lumpy potato look of one's face will give way to sleek and smooth contours. The surface of the skin will become soft and smooth but still firm and supple. Visible pores will diminish. A sallow skin with a yellow pallor will turn into a porcelain-like complexion" (p. 137).
She furthermore describes the radiance and glow produced internally when there is "an abundance of clear, pink, almost transparent cells that light up the face," which is produced by superior blood circulation. Even the most beautiful supermodel would be enhanced by a raw food diet. She notes that the modern-day version of beauty is more in harmony with health than perhaps ever before, hence "the quest for beauty, instead of a narcissistic preoccupation, becomes a noble pursuit."
Tonya came across many women who would not eat a raw diet for their health, preferring just to take medications. However, they would go raw for beauty, as there is no pill for beauty. In her book Beautiful on Raw, ten women contributed their own experiences of how raw diets added to their beauty.
Various observations were that hair grew out with color instead of gray, sometimes with natural waves or curls, and fingernails grew strong, long and shapely. Cellulite vanished effortlessly. Puffiness in the body and face disappeared, and the skin cleared up. These women often get complimented on the "glow" of their faces. They feel confident without make-up. Their inner beauty and confidence also radiate. They look younger than ever and have no fear whatsoever of getting old. One of the women is 64 and still gets checked out by "the young whippersnappers" when she is at the gym!
Interestingly, many of them, before eating raw, had never been called "beautiful" by anyone, even when they were much younger. One of the women wrote about suddenly becoming aware of the benefits of being attractive, benefits which one who had always been beautiful would take for granted. People were nicer to her, cops didn't give her tickets, and salespeople waited on her first.
The authors of Raw Food/Real World explain, "People who eat only raw, plant-based foods have an unmistakable shine, like a pregnant woman in her second trimester or someone newly in love. They have a radiant positive energy."
You haven't reached your beauty potential until you've tried a raw food diet.
The raw food diet is defined as a type of diet of which at least 75% of the daily diet must be unprocessed and uncooked foods or foods can not be heating above 115 degree of Fahrenheit or 40 °C , including fresh fruit and vegetables and raw meats. It believes that the more raw food in your diet, the more healthy you are. While there are many benefits for people eating raw, such as increasing energy for our daily activity, improving skin appearance, assisting digestive process, stability weight loss with no risk of weight re-gaining, reducing the risk of heart and chronic diseases, because the diet contains high in trace minerals, essential vitamins, fiber and phytochemicals and less harmful substances, such as trans fat, saturated fat and salt, but it interferes with the natural process of human being over thousand years of eating cooked foods, such as smaller jaws and teeth , shrinking stomachs have shrunk, and longer small intestines and lengthening the digestive surface area.
Some alternative medicine, such as Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine suggested that a raw-only diet may not be appropriate for people living in colder climates, because in order to fight off the constant cold or Prolong periods of eating raw foods deplete the yang qi in the body. Since most raw foods eaten in typical American raw food diet are cold, they will decrease the yang qi even further, leading to colding affects in our body, resulting in certain kinds of diseases, including blood stagnation and kidney yang deficiency, causing infertility in some severe cases.
II. What is Fertility and Infertility and the explained causes of infertility
A. Fertility
Fertility is a natural process to insure the survival of human species. Through natural selection, we produce many offspring when the reproductive system works at it's peak in a suitable environment with plenty foods around. On the other hand, the reductive system may completely shut down or work at its minimum state and we produce less offspring, when the environment is hostile including less foods around, war, epidemic, etc. but regardless any situation. most women are capable to conceive sometimes before menopause.
B. Infertility
Infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive after 12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse. It affects over 5 million couples alone in the U. S. and many times more in the world. Because of an unawareness of treatments, only 10% seek help from professional specialists. In fact, about 35% of infertility is caused by the male's inability to fertilize. 35% is caused by the female's inability to conceive, 10% attributes to both, and 10 % is considered a failure with an unknown cause.
C. The unexplained causes of infertility
The Unexplained cause of infertility is defined as a condition of a healthy couple who have found no reproductive structure or medical problems, but for whatever reason, the female partner is unable to get pregnant, and modern technologies and doctors in conventional medicine fail to find the causes of infertility.
According to conventional medicine, a couple are diagnosed with explained causes of infertility can have children by going through the process of artificial insemination or other options such as adoption, or subrogation. Some women may seek help from traditional medicine, because of cost effectiveness or believing that traditional medicine can offer a more natural birth.
III. Before proceeding further, let us take a look of:
What is a menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle begins when the level of estrogen starts to rise. At certain point, the brain stimulates hypothalamus to produce Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to produce the Follicle stimulating hormone, leading to initiating the growth and recruitment of immature Ovarian follicles in the ovary. At its peak, the pituitary gland switch to produce luteinizing hormone (LH), the FSH starts to decline which stimulates the mature of follicle and the production of estradiol and thicken of the uterus lining as well as promoting friendly cervical mucus, triggering ovulation, resulting in extruding egg from the ovary into the Fallopian tube and initiating the conversion of the residual follicle into a corpus luteum. The corpus luteum in turn produces progesterone in preparing the uterus lining for a possible egg implantation. If pregnancy does not occur, hormone levels plumped, and the thickened uterus limning is shed through the vaginal canal.
There are many thing involved to make the cycle regularly, but unfortunately any disruption may cause irregular menstruation and sometimes interferes the natural process of fertility.
IV. How raw food diet affects fertility in TCM perspective
While conventional medicine have never viewed irregular menstruation seriously, traditional Chinese medicine view irregular menstrual period as a tiny micro change in the female ecosystem. If not treat, it will interfere with the normal process of fertility and other women health's diseases such as nervous tension menstrual pain and cramps etc. Especially if you are diagnosed with the unexplained causes of infertility with irregular period, then your menstrual cycle may be the causes.
V. How to treat raw food diet causes of infertility in traditional Chinese perspective
A. Understand the food classification in TCM perspective
By diagnosis the underlying causes and treating each woman as an unique entity and the body as a whole. Depending in what have been diagnosed, you may be given advice not to eat some kinds of food which may interfere the normal menstrual cycle and dampen your chance of fertility.
1. Cold
Cold foods in traditional Chinese medicine are considered as a type of food which may stimulate the colding effects in your body and deplete the yang qi as resulting of our body needs to counter the cold with yang qi in the body. Prolong period of taking these kinds of food without balancing them with other warm, cooked or hot foods may cause yang qi and kidney yang deficiency, resulting in interfering with normal function of the reproductive organ and leading to irregular period. For women who try to conceive should avoid to eat these types of raw foods or counter them with at least same amount of hot foods.
a) Bamboo
b) Banana
c) Grape fruit
d) Clams
e) Seaweed
f) Watermelon
g) Bitter melon
h) Etc.
2. Cool
Same as cold food, but they are not as strong. It also depletes the yang qi but moderately, therefore eating these types of foods should counter with some warm food to avoid yang qi and kidney yang deficiency. Women who have irregular period and try to get pregnancy are advised to eat only moderate amounts and for nutrients only. Otherwise, they may dampen the chance of fertility.
a) Apple
b) Lecture
c) Cucumber
d) Pear
e) Spinach
f) Strawberry
g) Tomato
h) Etc.
3. Neutral
Although neutral foods are types of food which have no effects in ying and yang qi in the body, but it may have other side effect such as rice, gain and potato which may interfere with insulin production of the spleen as well as liver function in carbohydrate metabolism.
a) Apricot
b) Beet
c) All kinds of red meat
d) Celery
e) Honey
f) Rice
g) Bread
h) Etc.
4. Warm
Warm foods are considered as food with warming effects in the body. It is most important foods which are used most often for pregnant women as they can help to warm the uterus and maintain the healthy pregnancy and protect against miscarriage. Warm foods increase your body temperature and yang qi slightly.
a) Black tea
b) Cherry
c) Chive
d) Leek
e) Peach
f) Raspberry
g Chicken
h.) Etc.
5. Hot
Foods with hot nature are normally good for improving immune system in fighting against forming of free radicals, bacteria and virus and increasing blood flow to the body, including the reproductive organs, but over eating these types of food may cause yin qi and kidney yin deficiency leading to hormone imbalance and interfering with natural process of normal menstrual cycle.
a) Garlic
b) Ginger
c) Pepper
d) Onion
e) Green onion
f) Cinnamon powder
g) Etc.
Finally, we would like you to know that most foods with bitter, sour and salty are classified as yin and hot and sweet are classified as yang.
B. How raw food diet causes infertility
Most raw foods can be either yang or yin pathogens. A typical American raw food diet is most yin and dampness pathogens.
1. Colding and cooling effects
Spleen is important to break down the food and transform them to energy for our body's daily activity. Too much raw foods weaken and slow the digestive system, leading to nutrients deficiency, including the following:
a) Fatigue, tiredness and sluggishness
b) Nervous tension
c) Bloating and gas
d) Unclear thinking
e) Cloudy urine
f) Etc.
Typical raw foods diet puts more strain on the digestion. If spleen is damaged caused by prolong intake of raw food, it may weaken the digestive system in absorbing of nutrients, leading to less efficient assimilation of nutrients. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine view the process of transformation of foods and transportation of nutrients are a warm process in nature, and raw foods are more cold in nature, After entering the stomach, our body need to raise temperature before the food can be digested and absorbed.
2. Dampness affects
Raw foods interfere with the spleen in controlling the internal dampness caused by impairment of water metabolism within the body or spleen damage due to prolong in take of raw dampness hot foods, leading to impairing the spleen yang and the development of interior damp-cold, resulting in qi and blood stagnation, leading to delay menstruation and menstrual pain and cramps. Raw foods cause dampen effect including the following:
a) Milk products
b) Celery,
c) Lettuce, alfalfa,
d) Raw honey
e) Corn.
f) Sage,
g) Parsley
h) Onion
i) Etc.
And the symptoms include
a) Fatigue,
b) Reduced appetite
c) Abdominal bloating and discomfort
d) Other related spleen deficiency symptoms
3. Kidney yin deficiency
Kidney yin also known primordial yin or true yin , is defined as the foundation of the yin fluid of the body, therefore it helps to moisten, nourish the organs and tissues and maintain the body fluid balance with fire of kidney yang. Raw foods are yin in nature, prolong intake of may decrease the yang qi in the kidney, leading to fluid imbalance, resulting in irregular menstruation and in serve case, causing infertility.
a) Lack of energy
Deficiency of kidney yin causes inability of kidney in stabilization of energy, leading to abnormal flow of energy, disrupting the blood flow to the body organs including ovaries in egg production resulting in distorting the normal menstrual cycle in women, leading to irregular period.
b) Blood Flow
Deficiency of kidney yin also increases the risk of irregular blood flow as the heart must work harder to provide more energy to our body, leading to abnormal function of capillaries and interrupting the normal function of small veins in the nervous system, causing dizziness, hearing problems and ringing in the ear. It also causes abnormal blood flow to the reproductive organs, distorting the menstrual cycle.
c) Digestive system
It also causes abnormal digestive system due to spleen function in absorbing vital vitamins and mineral as a result of lack of fluid which is necessary for digestive system in stomach acid secretion, leading to constipation and abnormal pain.
d) Burning sensation
People with kidney yin deficiency feel burning sensation not only in the body including the chest, but also see bright yellow color in their urine, leading to oxidative and kidney damage. If the problem is not treated, it may disrupt natural process of normal menstrual cycle.
e) High temperature
It also increases the body temperature that interferes with egg, cervical mucus production.
4. Blood deficiency
Blood deficiency is defined as not enough blood to distribute to our body organs needs. Tradition Chinese medicine view blood deficiency is caused by weakened liver organ as resulting of a weaken spleen due to prolong period intake of raw foods, thereby reducing the liver function in blood formation, causing not enough blood to distribute to the body such as absence of (no blood for) menstruation or scanty menstruation.. It also leads to abnormal function of reproductive system in regulating menstrual cycle, that disrupts the production of egg or produces poor quality egg and makes uterine mucus hostile to sperm.
There are many symptoms of blood deficiency including:
a) Palpitations caused by your heart have to work harder, because of not enough blood in the body.
b) Forgetfulness and poor memory caused by not enough oxygen delivering to the nervous cells need
c) Insomnia: because of brain cells can not transmit information between themselves, leading to over production of certain hormones.
d) Shortness of breath: you lung has to harder to provide oxygen to your body needs.
e) Dizziness and fatigue is due to oxygen and energy shortage.
f) Constipation due to lack of fluid in the body
g) Pale complexion: lack of blood
5. Blood stagnation
Blood stagnation is defined as qi stagnation or qi deficiency in the liver. In traditional Chinese medicine, raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, leading to blood stagnation resulting in menstrual irregularities and sometimes infertility, because of blocking of the blood flow or blood become static to the reproductive organs..
a) Blood stagnation is caused by liver qi imbalance, it reduces the liver function in regulating the secretion of certain hormone in the prostaglandins family thereby, increasing the risk of abdominal cramps, thus causing blood stagnation in the abdominal region.
b) Liver also helps to regulate the secretion of insulin from the spleen, abnormal function of spleen increases the risk of diabetes, leading to blood stagnation in the reproductive organs.
c) Imbalance of liver qi also causes inability of liver in fat and protein metabolism, leading to nervous tension and increasing the risk of hormonal imbalance causing irregular menstrual cycle.
C. How raw food diet causes infertility by looking back to conventional medicine menstrual cycle in TCM Perspective
1. Estrogen
Estrogen which is yin pathogen in TCM, is required to stimulate the brain action in production of Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) by the hypothalamus. Raw food diet increases the kidney yang function, causing hormone imbalance with low estrogen and high progesterone and testosterone. Deficiency of yang ( or high level of estrogen) obstructs each step of in the estrogen phrase of the menstrual cycle, causing irregular production of hormones from pituitary gland in secreting FSH and LH and ovaries function in production of follicles such as poor egg quality, thinner the uterine lining which can support an egg implantation and early ovulation.
In some women, it causes menstrual irregularity, but in severe case, it increases the risk of infertility. The symptoms of kidney yang deficiency include:
a) White coat on tongue
b) Pale, frigid appearance
c) Achy pain in joints or muscles
d) Cold extremities
e) Poor digestion
f) Tendencies toward stagnation
g) Depression
h) Emaciation
i) Obesity
j) Etc.
2. Progesterone
Progesterone is considered as yang pathogen. Raw food diet is considered cool or cold in TCM perspective, it reduces the the yang qi to certain degree, depending on types of raw foods consuming daily by each individual. Since the second phrase of the menstrual cycle is the increased production of progesterone ( yang in TCM ), it affects the ability of egg extruding and deter the normal process of supporting the uterus lining in egg implantation as well as increasing the risk of producing cervical mucus which is hostile to sperm invasion. In severe case, it makes conception difficult for some women and infertility to others. As the level of progesterone rise, blood is required to support the uterus and the uterus lining in egg implantation and embryo nourishment. Raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, leading to blood stagnation and deficiency, resulting in lessening the chance for the normal process of making a baby.
3. Testosterone
Testosterone ( yang in TCM) is produced in small quality during the progesterone phase. Deficiency of yang qi reduces the production of testosterone, leading to low sexual desire, poor muscle tone and fatigue.
4. Menstruation
In traditional Chinese medicine, raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation thereby reducing the spleen function in food transportation and weaken the liver function in blood formation, leading to blood stagnation in the productive organs including the uterus, causing not enough blood to support the process and for menstruation if pregnancy does not occur.
D. How raw food diet causes irregular period by looking back to 5 phrases menstrual cycle in TCM Perspective
The traditional Chinese medicine divide the women menstrual cycle into 5 phrases
1. The yin phrase according TCM) lasting about 3-4 days
In this phrase The yang ( progesterone) decreases rapidly and the yin (estrogen) starts to rise, leading to the growth of body fluids, supporting the production of blood and producing sperm friendly mucus as well as making the uterus lining thicken for egg implantation. The deficiency of yin or abundance of yang distorts the production of fluids which are necessary for moister and nourish the blood, causing shortening of yin phrase, leading to not enough time for egg to mature and uterine lining to grow thick enough for egg implantation, resulting in lessening the chance of fertility and increasing the risk of irregular period.
2. The Ovulation phase, lasting about 3 days
At the estrogen (yin) at its peak, liver triggers the starts the ovulation phrase, as resulting of stimulating of the brain action in production of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (FSH) by the hypothalamus of which in turn stimulates the pituitary gland to produce the follicle stimulating hormone, leading to initiating the growth and recruitment of immature ovarian follicles in the ovary. In this phrase, qi and blood moves downward to promote the implantation of the egg and nourish the uterus to support the growth of embryos. Deficiency of yin and blood stagnation caused by raw food diet shorten the ovulation phrase, leading to not enough time for egg implantation and uterus lining to support the growth of the embryo, causing infertility or miscarriage as well as irregular menstruation.
3. The Yang phrase, lasting about 5 days
During the fourth phase, yin decreases to allow growth of yang (mutual consumption of Yin and Yang). Growth of yang helps to warm the Uterus. Raw food diet causes yang deficiency, thus colding the Uterus that distorts the normal process of egg implantation.
4. The luteal phrase, lasting about 12 days
The luteal phase also is referred to day after ovulation to the day before period. In this phrase, a mature egg was released at ovulation as resulting of the production of progesterone from corpus luteum in preparing the body for pregnancy. Raw food diet causes yin deficiency and liver qi stagnation, leading to rising temperature and distorting the luteal phrase process, resulting in increasing the risk of infertility or irregular menstruation.
5. Menstruation phrase, lasting about 5 days
According the to traditional Chinese medicine, this phrase is dominated by the movement of blood and qi moving downward as resulting of dropping of the level estrogen and progesterone( yin and yang), since raw foods cause freeze and constrict circulation, it causes blood and qi stagnation, leading to delay menstruation, delay period and scanty period.
E. How traditional Chinese medicine helps to treat yang deficiency caused by raw food diet with diet in general approach
a) Appropriate diet
If you are raw food diet follower, make sure you increase the percentage of cooked food in your diet.
b) Moderate exercise
While raw foods interfere with the spleen function in digesting and absorbing nutrients, moderate exercise increases the digestive system in production of stomach acid and enhance blood circulation thus promoting a healthy spleen.
c) Relax and rest
Stress and rest are always a problem for people living in this fast pace society, we face stress constantly everyday, such as sickness of your child, workplace pressure, etc. You make sure that you take a lot of relaxation and rest to avoid the abnormal production of certain hormone.
III. The summary
The raw food diet has written an important page in the America (world) health history as its contribution to make us healthier and reduce the death rate of heart diseases and stroke will never be denied. Since traditional Chinese medicine have been round over 4000 years and proven to be one most effective traditional medicine in treating the unexplained causes of infertility, its idea toward raw food diet must be right in some extent. The aim of this article is to provide reader the other point of view, with no intention to offend anyone, including the raw food advocators. If you are offended by this article, I say sorry. If you are raw food diet supporter and diagnosed with the unexplained causes of infertility, I urge you to give it a try. Although, I don't consider myself as a raw food supporter, but 50% of my daily food intake are considered raw.
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