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The Raw Secrets: The Raw Vegan Diet in the Real World
The Raw Secrets will help you live sustainably on the raw vegan diet and overcome the problems you may have encountered in doing so. Based on logical principles, this diet still often falls short of expectation. Instead of improvements in their health, many people see deterioration. Others experience less rejuvenation than they anticipated, or find themselves unable to maintain balance in the long-term. This results solely from a lack of understanding of the guiding principles of natural diet, from the widespread misinformation about it, and the gross errors that follow. The Raw Secrets contains straight talk and rare wisdom from around the world on the most exciting, healthiest diet of all time — now gaining mass attention and acceptance. The 28, succinct chapters give unique insights on many topics affecting contemporary raw-foodists. Each holds dozens of tips to help you eat a pure, simple, nourishing diet. If you are tired of the same, boring, repetitive information found in nearly every other book on the subject, then you're in for a surprise. If you seek groundbreaking research and a fresh perspective on raw eating, you will find them in The Raw Secrets.
Hardcover
First published April 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 10, 2012
*Raw rumors*
I really did want to be able to enjoy this book. But, to be honest, it felt more like reading a tabloid than it did consulting a respectable resource for eating raw.
Sure, Frederic's basic premise for the optimal raw food diet is a sound one: the more fresh fruits and vegetables, the better. But, his rigid attitude towards restricting fats and his insistence that anything that is not a fruit or vegetable is toxic are hard to swallow.
The reality is that the author is neither a nutritionist, a scientist, nor a licensed clinician, yet he takes the liberties of dispensing advice as if he were. Of course, every author has the right to express their opinions, but when these opinions appear to be facts which have potential to threaten the health of others, then a warning needs to be given.
For example, when discussing the best course of treatment for chronically ill individuals, Frederic casually concludes that "There is no danger in stopping all physical exercise and getting as much rest as possible for a few months." (p. 92). Regarding the recommended frequency of "the 24-hour fast," he advises that "this kind of short fast should be done whenever you do not feel entirely like yourself." (p. 173) Eeek!
His book also contains some sketchy conclusions. Based on the fact that breast milk contains 6% protein, he quickly concludes that "Nature determined that humans do not need more than 6% of total calories from protein, even during their most intense growth phase." (p. 38) Huh? It is interesting that he selectively ignores the high fat content of this same breast milk and adamantly insists on an extremely low-fat raw food diet.
Sometimes his advice is just plain goofy. For example, on the matter of the consumption of dried fruits, he notes: "I don't recommend their consumption, except in exceptional circumstances, when fresh fruit is not available. Exceptional circumstances would be for example, a trip to Antarctica, a long hike in the forest, or crossing the Sahara desert. Then you could bring some dried fruit along and eat it." (p. 144)
The intent of this review is not to bash the author or his beliefs. But, it is to warn readers to take what he says with a grain of sea salt (which, by the way, he insists is toxic). There is plenty of valuable information in the book; but I would strongly advise consulting with other sources, as well as with your own body, before accepting these "raw secrets" as the truth.
I really did want to be able to enjoy this book. But, to be honest, it felt more like reading a tabloid than it did consulting a respectable resource for eating raw.
Sure, Frederic's basic premise for the optimal raw food diet is a sound one: the more fresh fruits and vegetables, the better. But, his rigid attitude towards restricting fats and his insistence that anything that is not a fruit or vegetable is toxic are hard to swallow.
The reality is that the author is neither a nutritionist, a scientist, nor a licensed clinician, yet he takes the liberties of dispensing advice as if he were. Of course, every author has the right to express their opinions, but when these opinions appear to be facts which have potential to threaten the health of others, then a warning needs to be given.
For example, when discussing the best course of treatment for chronically ill individuals, Frederic casually concludes that "There is no danger in stopping all physical exercise and getting as much rest as possible for a few months." (p. 92). Regarding the recommended frequency of "the 24-hour fast," he advises that "this kind of short fast should be done whenever you do not feel entirely like yourself." (p. 173) Eeek!
His book also contains some sketchy conclusions. Based on the fact that breast milk contains 6% protein, he quickly concludes that "Nature determined that humans do not need more than 6% of total calories from protein, even during their most intense growth phase." (p. 38) Huh? It is interesting that he selectively ignores the high fat content of this same breast milk and adamantly insists on an extremely low-fat raw food diet.
Sometimes his advice is just plain goofy. For example, on the matter of the consumption of dried fruits, he notes: "I don't recommend their consumption, except in exceptional circumstances, when fresh fruit is not available. Exceptional circumstances would be for example, a trip to Antarctica, a long hike in the forest, or crossing the Sahara desert. Then you could bring some dried fruit along and eat it." (p. 144)
The intent of this review is not to bash the author or his beliefs. But, it is to warn readers to take what he says with a grain of sea salt (which, by the way, he insists is toxic). There is plenty of valuable information in the book; but I would strongly advise consulting with other sources, as well as with your own body, before accepting these "raw secrets" as the truth.
May 20, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was thin, but it seemed to be packed with information. This is NOT the book for you if you want peer-reviewed scientific references - read Becoming Raw: The Comprehensive Guide to Eating a Nutritious Raw Diet for that. However, this book is still based very much on logic and basic anatomy/physiology/comparative biology and the author's years of experience experimenting with a couple different raw diets. It just makes perfect sense to me to follow a diet like the one outlined in the book. I would have given it five stars (it's really more like 4.5), but there was no index, and I was left wondering about a couple important things: iodine and DHA. B12 was covered in here, but not the other two.
Frederic is not fanatical about eating purely raw food - he is more concerned with eating healthy foods in the proportions that are the most natural for a human to eat, and I really appreciated that. I don't believe that just because something is raw (such as concoctions made with tons of oil or agave nectar or large quantities of nuts/seeds) that it's healthy without question. For example, he still occasionally eats lightly steamed vegetables, including root vegetables, preferring to eat healthy cooked food over a raw gourmet recipe with 100-200 g fat per serving (I'm not exaggerating - some raw recipes have that kind of fat content!).
Frederic is not fanatical about eating purely raw food - he is more concerned with eating healthy foods in the proportions that are the most natural for a human to eat, and I really appreciated that. I don't believe that just because something is raw (such as concoctions made with tons of oil or agave nectar or large quantities of nuts/seeds) that it's healthy without question. For example, he still occasionally eats lightly steamed vegetables, including root vegetables, preferring to eat healthy cooked food over a raw gourmet recipe with 100-200 g fat per serving (I'm not exaggerating - some raw recipes have that kind of fat content!).
May 31, 2013
One of the starting points of this book is the premise that there is a lot of confusion going on in the field of nutrition about what's THE healthiest (or a better chosen word - optimal) diet for human beings. We are animals anyway, and back in the day, relied on nature itself to provide our nourishment, not microwave dinner/McDonalds/any other nutritional abomination present in the modern world.
Loved the honesty and the anecdotal part of Frederic's ups and downs in the raw community, breaking a lot of misconceptions (yes, you do have to brush your teeth regardless, raw or not).
I'm all for raw food and its benefits (though not exclusively), but I ended up even more confused. For fun, I'll compare some points of the last book on nutrition I've read that's more paleo based (Warrior Diet) and this one.
WD: Every living being craves salt. The ordinary kind is not that good, but full spectrum salts rock.
RS: Salt is poison and it kills life. Don't even think about it.
WD: Go crazy with different spices, especially the ones you can grow on your kitchen counter.
RS: That's poison too.
WD: Healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil or butter are good for you, even as 50% of your calories.
RS: Fats?! No.
Confusing as all this may be, they still have something in common. They both hate gluten and sugar (not fruits, of course, we're thinking about that extra piece of cake that made you feel ill), just like any reputable publication about nutrition. Avoiding such foods when everyone else is stuffing their faces in them is hard enough, and I'm doing my best and feel much better as a result.
Isn't this what food is all about - fueling your best self?
Loved the honesty and the anecdotal part of Frederic's ups and downs in the raw community, breaking a lot of misconceptions (yes, you do have to brush your teeth regardless, raw or not).
I'm all for raw food and its benefits (though not exclusively), but I ended up even more confused. For fun, I'll compare some points of the last book on nutrition I've read that's more paleo based (Warrior Diet) and this one.
WD: Every living being craves salt. The ordinary kind is not that good, but full spectrum salts rock.
RS: Salt is poison and it kills life. Don't even think about it.
WD: Go crazy with different spices, especially the ones you can grow on your kitchen counter.
RS: That's poison too.
WD: Healthy fats such as olive oil, coconut oil or butter are good for you, even as 50% of your calories.
RS: Fats?! No.
Confusing as all this may be, they still have something in common. They both hate gluten and sugar (not fruits, of course, we're thinking about that extra piece of cake that made you feel ill), just like any reputable publication about nutrition. Avoiding such foods when everyone else is stuffing their faces in them is hard enough, and I'm doing my best and feel much better as a result.
Isn't this what food is all about - fueling your best self?
April 10, 2022
"Jakie jest nasze miejsce w naturze?
Wszystkie anatomiczne, fizjologiczne i embriologiczne cechy człowieka wyraźnie umiejscawiają go pośród owocożerców. Liczba i struktura zębów, długość i struktura przewodu pokarmowego, umiejscowienie oczu, budowa paznokci, funkcje skóry, właściwości śliny, rozmiar wątroby, liczba i pozycja gruczołów mlecznych, umiejscowienie i budowa organów płciowych, cechy ludzkiego łożyska i wiele innych czynników dowodzi faktu, że człowiek jest z natury owocożercą."
Dzięki tej książce dowiesz się np. że nie jesteś ptakiem i nie jesteś stworzony do spożywania ziaren. Zawiera informacje jak łączyć pokarmy i jakie połączenia są najgorsze, czemu masz ochotę na słodkie, co to jest prawdziwy głód, dlaczego białko jest niebezpieczne i inne, dzięki którym być może zaczniesz kwestionować "prawdę", którą kiedyś przyjąłeś do swojego życia.
Autor tłumaczy też jakie błędy popełniamy, przechodząc na surowe odżywianie, dlaczego tak wielu z niego rezygnuje. Mnie zainspirował do jeszcze częstszego sięgania po owocki, a że jest wiosna i zbliża się lato, to jest to bardzo ułatwione.
Wszystkie anatomiczne, fizjologiczne i embriologiczne cechy człowieka wyraźnie umiejscawiają go pośród owocożerców. Liczba i struktura zębów, długość i struktura przewodu pokarmowego, umiejscowienie oczu, budowa paznokci, funkcje skóry, właściwości śliny, rozmiar wątroby, liczba i pozycja gruczołów mlecznych, umiejscowienie i budowa organów płciowych, cechy ludzkiego łożyska i wiele innych czynników dowodzi faktu, że człowiek jest z natury owocożercą."
Dzięki tej książce dowiesz się np. że nie jesteś ptakiem i nie jesteś stworzony do spożywania ziaren. Zawiera informacje jak łączyć pokarmy i jakie połączenia są najgorsze, czemu masz ochotę na słodkie, co to jest prawdziwy głód, dlaczego białko jest niebezpieczne i inne, dzięki którym być może zaczniesz kwestionować "prawdę", którą kiedyś przyjąłeś do swojego życia.
Autor tłumaczy też jakie błędy popełniamy, przechodząc na surowe odżywianie, dlaczego tak wielu z niego rezygnuje. Mnie zainspirował do jeszcze częstszego sięgania po owocki, a że jest wiosna i zbliża się lato, to jest to bardzo ułatwione.
November 28, 2011
It's a fast read and it has some good information on how you can keep a raw food diet. It is mainly based on the author's experiences and opinions, not really backed up with research or scientific information and very few information on nutrition. A good part of the book has excerpts from other authors, which is ok, I guess because it's meant to ilustraste the author's opinion. Overall, it's ok but there are other more well researched books on the raw food diet. Nevertheless, the author is experienced and as a raw foodist I agree with most of what he describes. There is information that a newbie should be aware of, so not to fall in common mistakes.
March 16, 2015
Very useful and simple, and summarized many important subjects very well. Also Frederic explained the dangers of salt and harmful herbal ingredients very well (however very briefly), which is necessary to know, regardless to your diet, because these subjects are general issues. As raw vegans pay more attention to health, so they need to be conscious as much as possible about all ingredients they put in their body.
The Raw Secrets is very useful book specially for raw food newbies.
The Raw Secrets is very useful book specially for raw food newbies.
January 4, 2017
eating only raw foods is a wrong habit and bad deviation from primitiveness.
raw food could be practiced for short period of time, for weigh loss, detoxification...etc.
but for the whole life you cannot sustain, you will not sustain, you will lose every thing even active muscles.
this is a not required fad, and even our messengers did not encourage us to do so.
in a day you will regret to follow such madness.
raw food could be practiced for short period of time, for weigh loss, detoxification...etc.
but for the whole life you cannot sustain, you will not sustain, you will lose every thing even active muscles.
this is a not required fad, and even our messengers did not encourage us to do so.
in a day you will regret to follow such madness.
March 31, 2009
This guy really makes eating an all raw diet seem like the most natural thing to do. In theory. In practice, personally, I enjoy cooked food way too much to give it up forever. Overall, though, a very informative, interesting, and quick read for anyone interested in raw foods.
June 7, 2011
Completely overhauled my way of thinking regarding the raw food diet. Wonderful and interesting.
January 12, 2012
I am reading a lot of raw and vegan books right now and this is the craziest. Recommends no salt, spices, garlic, onions, calling them all toxic. Doesn't seem very scientific at all.
March 13, 2012
what a disappointment.
Read
January 28, 2013To extreme for me. However, I did find it interesting and read the whole thing. There are some thoughts that caught my attention, others ...I just said, " bull crap" .
September 15, 2013
Informational, but quite extreme. More of an opinion than anything with minimal references. However, the focus on the order of which food should be consumed and digested was quite educational.
September 22, 2013
This was an ok book. Personally I don’t agree with a lot of what he says. I read it once and have even picked it up again.
February 5, 2016
Great little book for raw fooders!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews