In Focus | Raw food experiment

Embracing a raw food diet: Day three

Gulf News reporter Kevin Scott ate nothing but uncooked fruit and vegetables for a week, a diet embraced by Video Editor Jaye Lentin. In this serialised diary, Kevin writes about how he got on during each day of the extreme diet.

  • By Kevin Scott, Multimedia Reporter
  • Published: 13:50 July 5, 2010

Olives and Morgan Spurlock
  • Image Credit: Supplied pictures
  • A tub of pitted olives while watching Super Size Me gets Kevin through Day Three of the diet.

DAY THREE: Sunday, June 6: Olive guilt

Day three on the raw food diet, another banana for breakfast. To be fair, I feel totally fine during daylight hours. Work keeps my mind occupied and I feel fit and healthy; a mango salad lunch proving to be more than sufficient to keep me going until around 6pm. That’s when the fun really starts. Tonight, I really could not bring myself to eat another piece of fruit so I jumped into the car and drove to the nearest supermarket to stock up on vegetables and a tub of pitted olives, which can be constituted as a rare treat in the circumstances.

Raw food diary: Day one
Raw food diary: Day two

I actually double-checked with Jaye via telephone to ensure olives were allowed as part of a raw food diet. The answer is they are but they are not particularly good for you, unless they are in their rawest form, because they tend to be preserved in brine and contain a lot of salt. However, hunger was the main issue at that moment in time so as soon as the green light was given I went and purchased a small tub of pimento stuffed olives; I demolished them all within 20 minutes and actually felt quite bad for it. You know you’re on a pretty extreme diet when you feel a sense of guilt from eating a tub of olives; I mean it’s not like I devoured an 8oz steak with all the trimmings.

In a strange coincidence, I spent the remainder of the evening watching the documentary film Super Size Me, which was being shown on television. The film’s main protagonist Morgan Spurlock spends 30-days eating only fast food from McDonald’s and has to ‘super-size’ his meal if the option is offered to him. In a way, it’s almost the exact opposite to what I’m attempting this week. I am not envious of his task at all as, although I have the odd craving for meat, I generally feel very healthy after a few days eating only raw fruit and vegetables whereas Spurlock experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction and fat accumulation to his liver. He also gained an incredible 24 and a half pounds during the course of the month. I feel like I am losing weight but time will tell if that is really the case.

My mum and dad back home in Scotland have donated the money they would normally have spent on alcohol for the week to Soccer Aid, a Unicef initiative that has captured the UK’s imagination this evening. Hold on, that means they must have donated a small fortune...
 

Comments (3)

  1. Added 09:39 July 6, 2010

    Dear Kevin, I feel so inspired in waking up & anxiously open Gulfnews online and read your Diary. I recently saw a documentary FOOD INC, even though Im not in US to be affected by the documentary, but it hurts so much to see from where our food comes from and how these chickens and cows are raised and tortured just for us to gorge and satisfy our pounding stomach. Since then I have started to eat only eggs, telling my body that there will be no more meat, but its tough. Your diary comes in the right time and right place. I fully support you and slowly following yours & Jaye's footsteps. I saw Morgan Spurlock spent 30-days eating only fast food from McDonalds and its soooooooo disgusting.

    Anonymous, $comment.city, United Arab Emirates

  2. Added 09:15 July 6, 2010

    Hang in there, you are already sounding healthy!

    Anonymous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  3. Added 16:50 July 5, 2010

    I just go through Jaye Lentin's article regarding raw food diet and knowing how it helps him be on his best is just so amazing!I am one of those who tries eating healthy as much as possible but don't entertain idea about raw food diet..This time I think I am quite convinced that it will really help to get your optimum health...More of this please....

    cristina, dubai, United Arab Emirates

Raw food diary

Know your food?

Test your knowledge of raw and cooked food

Videos