You are always told to eat healthier, less junk food and more fruits and vegetables in your diet. But what if your diet was just fruits and vegetables in their natural, raw, unadulterated form? Gulf News Video Editor Jaye Lentin and his wife have been on a raw food vegan diet for more than a year. And by all appearances they seem to be images of perfect health and fitness. But do their lifestyle and large intake of sugary fruits have any adverse effects on their bodies? Gulf News decided to get a full medical test done on Jaye to see if there are any side affects to his lifestyle. To compare the results, Gulf News Multimedia Reporter Kevin Scott, who leads an average lifestyle, took the same tests as Jaye. Kevin is an average man with a non-vegan diet.
Raw food diary: Day one
Jaye's story: My lunch is twelve bananas
Mealtimes are always an interesting point of conversation for me. As I enjoy a bunch of ten ripe bananas or eight mangoes sliced over a head of fresh lettuce, people tend to stare curiously and someone inevitably asks me what kind of a diet I'm trying to follow. My answer is always a simple one: I eat raw unprocessed fruits and vegetables in their natural state and I eat as much as I want at each meal. You see, over the past six years I have been on a lifestyle journey that has allowed me to realise just how uncomplicated and simple it is to enjoy a healthful and energetic life, free from the ailments that are incorrectly attributed to being part of the ageing process.
I have been athletically active my whole life and as a boy I had a very healthy appetite that enabled me to devour all sorts of food to fuel my various sporting interests. School, sports, eat and sleep was my regular routine. I was mostly filled with the vitality of youth but on a weekly basis would experience a headache, energy crash or other common ailment that would be dulled with pills and powders. However, by the age of 27, I was spending more time feeling down and less time feeling full of life. It occurred to me that since I was still in good physical shape and exercising regularly, maybe it had something to do with what was going into my body. I was dating my future wife at the time and together we began to research studies and medical teachings of various doctors, health practitioners and athletes who use diet and lifestyle changes to achieve outstanding results in healing, rehabilitation and achieving maximum performance from the human body.
I stopped eating all forms of meat overnight and within 3 years had removed all animal and dairy products from my diet. I began to eat less processed and prepared food and constantly increased the amount of fresh raw fruits and vegetables until my regular day only consisted of one cooked vegetable meal in the evening. By December 2008 even cooked vegetables made me feel heavy and lethargic compared to the lightness of fresh raw produce. As I continued to read up on healthy raw food practitioners I was astonished to see the health and vitality being displayed by athletes who had been eating raw food for years. So I gave away my oven and I have been eating raw for 16 months now. I have revisited cooked vegetables and grains a few times during this period and each time the result was a food hangover; snotty nose, sore stomach, raised body temperature, dehydration and poor sleep. Who would have thought?
A typical day for me now goes as follows: Upon waking I drink two litres of water. Then I exercise for about an hour and 20 minutes. I do various routines that combine strength and cardiovascular training. After exercise I drink one litre of water followed by half a large watermelon for breakfast. At 2pm I'll drink one litre of water and go for a 15 minute run. I'll follow this with a lunch of 12 bananas and a head of lettuce. I may have a snack of fresh dates during the afternoon and more water if I'm thirsty. I get home from work around 7pm and do 30 to 40 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by another litre of water. My evening meal is six to ten pieces of juicy fruit accompanied by a large salad of leafy greens, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, carrots, cabbage, capsicums and occasionally avocado or some nuts and seeds. I'll sometimes blend a piece of fruit with tomato or capsicum to make a yummy salad dressing. The types of fruit and vegetables I eat will change throughout the year depending on what's available and the variety I get is endless.
I once read that you should never have to recover from a meal and it is so true.
What is to me now the only logical way to healthfully fuel my body can appear quite extreme to some people. I can only respond that the energy and clarity I experience when I'm free from the sluggish, sleepy and dehydrating effects of manmade food make it so easy for me to live on fresh juicy natural fruits and veggies that are bursting with flavour and sunny life.
Did you Know
1. Bananas are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and dietary fibre.
2. A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.
What do you think of this diet? Is it extreme? Do you know anyone with a similar diet?
