Raw Food Health Interview - Andrew Perlot

In this raw food health interview Andrew Perlot shares his story of recovery from ulcerative colitis, migraines, depression, acne and overweight.

I first came across Andrew through his website, raw-food-health.net which is extremely well researched and interesting and a site well worth visiting.

A raw food diet launched a new career for Andrew and he spends his time traveling, fruit eating and writing articles and books on health and lifestyle.

So I am very happy to introduce you to Andrew in this wonderful raw food health interview with Loving-It-Raw in April 2011.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Can you tell us about yourself, how old are you, where do you live, your occupation, are you attached or single, etc?

Age: 26

Occupation: Journalist. I was a newspaper reporter up until May of 2010 when I left my job to run Raw-Food-Health.net full time. I also do various freelance journalism jobs from time to time to mix it up. I'm the author of the ebooks: Savory Raw Dressings and Sauces which covers how to make healthy, low fat dressings and sauces that taste amazing from fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and The Raw Food Lifestyle which gets into the physical and mental aspects of life outside of diet that are so important to a balanced life.

Marital Status: Single

Home: Up until recently I called Connecticut home. In November of 2010 I decided to head to Asia and experience the vagabonding life, and I've been enjoying the sun and awesome fruit while getting a lot of work done. At the moment I'm living in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What led you to a low fat raw vegan diet?   

A history of horrible health started me on the path that eventually led me to a LFRV diet. I was severely overweight in my youth, maxing out at 220 pounds at the age of 17. I was also very depressed, suffered from horrible migraine headaches, had regular back pain, was diagnosed as learning disabled, and was plagued by an ever-worsening case of Colitis beginning in middle school.

By the time I was in college I'd shed a ton of weight and was eating a healthy low fat cooked vegan diet, but my colitis just kept getting worse.

Raw Food Health Interview - Below: Andrew at 17 on a Standard American Diet

By that point I'd come a long way and understood that the physical problems we suffer from are not random afflictions brought on us by cruel fate, but usually the result of very specific causes. If you can find and isolate those causes and remove them, the symptoms you suffer from often disappear quickly.  I'd seen this happen with my headaches, excess weight, and other health problems, and I knew I just had to find exactly what the cause of my colitis was.

Of course, medical dogma is that colitis has no specific cause, but rather is just some affliction brought on by who knows what. I wasn't going to accept that, though, and started digging.

I began keeping very detailed food journals and running elimination diets. I eventually found that it was grains and starches like potatoes that were causing my colitis, and when I removed them the symptoms soon disappeared. The problem was that I was left only with low-calorie vegetables, fruits, and fat to provide my calories.

It never occurred to me that fruit should be anything but a snack, so I was trying and failing to get my calories from vegetables. I was so low on energy that I eventually would give in to my cravings and eat starches.

I had been steadily studying nutritional science for several years by this point, and knew well how dangerous high fat diets could be, so I was smart enough to recognize the high-fat raw diets that predominated in the raw food movement at the time weren't viable.

In late 2005 I stumbled on a pamphlet called Grain Damage by Dr. Douglas Graham, who had not yet published The 80/10/10 Diet and become more well-known, as he is today. Dr Graham suggested that fruit could be the caloric staple I was missing, an idea that suddenly made a lot of sense. Pretty soon I was trying out a LFRV diet.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Did you transition slowly or dive right in?  

I'm not one for half measures. They don't suit my personality. I dove into a 30 day fruit-centered LFRV trial (at that point uncooked greens bothered my intestines too much for me to eat them) and pretty soon my colitis was on the mend. But what's more, I was completely satisfied and experiencing more energy and mental clarity than I ever had before.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How long have you been on a raw vegan diet?

My first 30-day trial run was in late 2005 or early 2006, but I'm not one to blindly accept things, even when they're working well. I spent the better part of 2006 eating 80% + raw, while seeing if I could find a happy diet equilibrium that included some cooked food. I found that physically and psychologically, no amount of cooked food in my diet left me at my best.

By the time 2007 rolled around I'd had enough and realized that the best path was a completely raw one. I've been on a low fat raw vegan diet ever since.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Are you 100% raw or do you include any cooked items (if so, which ones)?

100 percent raw.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Did you ever eat a high fat raw diet?  If so, how was it?

High fat raw diets never appealed to me because I was well versed enough in basic nutritional science to see that they were suboptimal at best and dangerous at worst.

That being said, I treat myself as a human guinea pig, and since going raw I've experimented with eating between 20 and 60 percent fat (by calories). In general, the more fat I eat the higher my blood sugar goes (and the more prone to fluctuation it is).

More fat also means acne breakouts, less physical energy, brain fog, and a few other problems. As far as I can measure, keeping fat intake under 15 percent is the sweet spot in terms of blood sugar. When looking for the best athletic performance, I keep it under 10 percent. Overall, I probably average around 10 percent over the course of a year.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Were there any challenges in your transition to raw foods, did you struggle with cravings?  Did you experience any yo-yoing between raw and cooked foods?   

No. When I went 100 percent raw I decided to mentally tear the cooked foods I'd once loved down from their pedestals with some mental exercises I developed. I realized that I loved those foods, but they didn't love me back and caused me so many problems over the years. They really didn't deserve a pedestal. I've written a bit about the mental side of controlling cravings in my ebook: The Raw Food Lifestyle.

I find that the only time I have any cravings is when I fail to eat enough calories from fruit. Even then, after all these years of eating raw and the mental work I mentioned, when I'm hungry I just want to eat fruit. Although I still enjoy the smell of cooked food, I now usually stare at it like it's some sort of alien substance. It just doesn't look like food to me anymore. It's more like playdough or paste. If I was absolutely starved I might be tempted, but generally I just don't see the appeal.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What benefits have you experienced and continue to experience with this way of life in terms of your physical and spiritual health?

I haven't had so much as a head cold since 2006, I recover faster from physical strain and exercise, my endurance has improved, I've lost weight, and I'm stronger now than I was before (which I mention because many people think this diet won't allow for strength gains).

I also find that my mind functions better and I have better mental recall. I'm definitely far more relaxed and less prone to anger than I was before - although I think this is more connected to veganism than raw foodism. It's hard for me to find something dire enough that I actually become mad over it.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "There's something about this diet that just lets you roll with the punches"

Finally, although it's harder to articulate, I feel more connected with the world around me. Life interests me more now than it did before, and I find myself savoring simple things like movement and the sounds of nature I would have tuned out before.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Can you tell us about your athletic adventures/pursuits?

Sure. I guess the main thrust here is that when I was younger I despised anything that made me strain. I've always had the potential to be a good athlete, but my excess weight kept me stifled.

My parents signed me up for Football when I was in sixth grade, and I remember how I dreaded the short little warm up run, which was probably less than a quarter of a mile. I found it so hard to breath during those runs that I was nearly brought to tears every practice. My throat would start to close up and I would be left gasping for air.

For most of my young life I remember thinking about runners as strange masochists. The idea of running for pleasure seemed so bizarre because for me it was so painful. What was wrong with these people? Who would run willingly?

Yet today running is one of the things I love most in life, along with other activities that get me breathing and sweating hard. I love to bike, do yoga, run, hike, scramble up trees and mountains, and move like my life depends on it, because it literally does.

In 2009 I ran my first marathon, and I can just imagine how shocking my young self would have found that news; he just wouldn't understand. Movement is joyful, a meditation of action. There is profound happiness to be found in movement, and today I think I'd be tempted to end my life if I couldn't exercise anymore.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "Old me would think me masochistic, but I see him as a depressed miser, so we're even."

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How much exercise do you do in a typical day?

On an average weekday I probably do 40-60 minutes of intense exercise, another 30-90 minutes of light exercise (casually biking to the market to get fruit, warming up in the mornings with some yoga, etc).

More recently I've become concerned because despite being athletic, my life, like that of most westerners, is almost entirely spent sitting and lying down. Regardless of the amount of time people spend exercising, time spent sitting is correlated with increased risk of mortality. If you know much about circulation, you know that sitting means muscles are not contracting, which means blood is less able to fight gravity and return to the torso for processing. I don't like the ideas of metabolic waste pooling in my legs for hours at a time, day after day.

I recently did a Stand up desk 30 day trial, which has upped my time spent moving every day to 39.5 percent of every 24-hour cycle, and the improvements I've gained from it have been impressive.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What do you eat in a typical day?

Papayas, mangoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, jackfruit, pineapples, tomatoes, oranges, tangerines, honeydews, celery, sweet peppers, okra, lettuce, bok choy, spinach, and many other types of fruits and vegetables. I also eat some nuts and seeds. I avoid high-calorie fruits unless I'm doing so much exercise that I can't digest enough water-rich fruit to meet my needs.

Generally I eat 1-2 big fruit meals a day and a smaller fruit meal in the evening followed by salad/leafy greens consisting of 1-3 heads and whatever else looks appealing.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How many calories do you eat in a typical day (and do you tend to keep track)?

Usually 2,100 to 2,500 calories on a sedentary day. On the 80 percent of my days when I do some exercise, I eat 2,600 to 3,500 calories. A few times a month I'll be doing tons of yard work, going on a very long hike, running for more than three hours, or otherwise burning a lot of energy, and I eat between 3,500 and 6,000 calories.

Most new raw foodists need to track calories when they first start because they'll drastically undereat and end up falling off the wagon. I've seen way too many new raw foodists fail because although they were eating a greater volume of food than they ever had previously, their caloric intake was pitifully small and cravings eventually forced them to binge.

I never had this problem. I love to eat huge quantities, and I find the idea of accidentally eating too little to be hilarious; it's just not something that would ever happen to me.

I've found losing weight to be far more of a challenge, though, which means I've tracked calories to make sure I was not eating too much.

My goal is to not have to think about my food at all. I don't want it to be a big deal. I want to be able to start eating when I'm hungry and stop eating when I'm not feeling hungry anymore. Through testing I've discovered that if my weight is where I want it to be, I can eat as much as I want of water-rich fruits and vegetables without thinking about calories and still maintain my weight where it is.

If I do not actively restrict my calories but eat high-calorie fruits like bananas, I tend to gain weight accidentally. 

I talk about how I do this in my upcoming book, "Raw Food Weight Loss and Vitality."

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Can you tell us about your personal weight loss journey?  How long did it take to lose all your excess weight and how did it happen? 

To simplify, my weight loss happened in four major phases:

1. I started practicing Ninjitsu at age 17, which helped me overcome my depression and and made me notice that for the first time I'd lost weight through active effort, something I'd deemed impossible. Soon I decided to do more, taking small steps like eliminating milk, which I used to drink at every meal, and soda. I also cut back on processed deserts and ate fruit instead. I dropped from 220 to 190 pounds in about a year.


2. I went on a low fat cooked vegan diet when I was 19 and dropped to 180 pounds. For the first time I started enjoying physical exertion and began running, climbing, and trying out the other aspects of physical expression which I'd neglected my entire life.


3. I went raw at 22 to overcome my colitis, but found that it benefited weight as well. I dropped to 175 pounds (mostly water weight loss). At this point I was eating as much as I pleased every day, particularly eating tons of bananas and other calorie-dense fruit. I had more energy than I'd ever had before, but wasn't losing weight.


4. After more than a year of eating raw I decided that the "eat as much as you like as long as it's low fat raw food" idea wasn't going to get me where I wanted to go. I began experimenting with various diet modifications such as restricting calories, choosing to eat lower-calorie fruits to satiation, various exercise ideas, and other plans. All of this, including my results, will be detailed in "Raw Food Weight Loss and Vitality. Last time I weighed myself I was 165 pounds and around 14 percent body fat.

I continue to experiment with a variety of eating styles because I'm endlessly curious and don't believe many of the claims people make, as a general rule. I recently finished a high-calorie fruit experiment that probably put at least seven pounds on me. Time to put the principals I know will work back in effect and shed the weight again.

Am I now invincible and can eat whatever I please? Of course not.

If I eat too much from high-calorie fruit sources I gain weight. I find that I can usually maintain my current weight by just sticking to low-calorie fruits, though. I eat tons of food by anyone's standards, and I love my diet.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What advice would you have for someone struggling with excess weight?

First, if you're really overweight, like I was, it is incredibly simple to start dropping pounds. You won't think that, of course, because you've still got the mindset of someone who is really overweight. Once you lose it and maintain that state for awhile, you'll look back and realize how simple it was, and kick yourself for not seeing, "the obvious."

Want a quick and dirty way to get from a SAD diet to a radically better one that should leave you looking good? Stop drinking calories, cut out meat, dairy, and eggs or eat them no more than at one meal per week, stop eating processed foods, stop eating oil and oil-cooked foods, eat at least half of your meals from raw fruits and vegetables. Bam. You're done. Even doing half of these things should give you some degree of results. Enjoy a radically skinnier and healthier you.

However, like in many things, the 80/20 rule applies: 20 percent of the effort gives you 80 percent of the results. If you're down to your last 10-20 pounds of excess weight, it's often much harder to scrape up the remaining 80 percent for the effort needed to get that last 20 percent that will take you from a good body to an amazing body. Some people won't need to put in any extra effort and will just cruise to their ideal weight, but I, and many others, are not so lucky.

If you're in this group, I suggest you start using yourself like a guinea pig, measuring and tracking your stats and trying out new approaches. Don't be complacent and give up. You might want to start seeing exactly how many calories you're eating, trying out various exercise routines, etc. If you're already raw and can't lose weight, one option is to simply avoid any food that has more than 70 calories per 100 grams but make no attempt to restrict calories. It worked for me and others I've suggested it to.

"Raw Food Weight Loss And Vitality," gets into a lot of ideas that have borne fruit for me, so those who are stuck in their weight loss might want to check it out when it's released.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What are your thoughts on calorie restriction?

Severe calorie restrictions will often lead to cravings, which lead to binging and counterproductive weight gain. However, running a reasonable caloric deficit may prove beneficial during weight loss.

One of the big problems for people, though, is that all of the basal metabolic rate estimates in common use are not even close to accurate. The popular Harris-Benedict formula was created based on patients under the strictest of controls. Subjects had to refrain from eating for 12 hours, were only allowed to participate if they were in perfect health, were forced to stay at complete rest, and had the temperature of their rooms strictly controlled.

These standards are never replicated in the day to day life of an average person, and even Harris and Benedict said their formula was only accurate when the exact conditions of their test were replicated.

Modern studies of the formula have found that it only produces accurate results between 45 percent and 81 percent of the time.

So figuring out how many calories you actually need so you can run a reasonable deficit can be complicated.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What do you think about emotional eating?  Some people regard it as a very real problem, while others say it is just hunger.  What are your thoughts?

Harder-to-digest foods have a numbing effect on us. All digestion puts a strain on the body and takes away energy that could be used for the processing of emotions, but many foods are harder to digest than others.

The ultimate example of this takes place at Thanksgiving, when people stuff themselves with meats, fatty foods, and starchy carbohydrates until they're ready to burst. Afterwards they stagger away from the table, plop down into a chair, and either fall asleep or sit watching TV in a near-catatonic daze. The strain of digestion has left them, "comfortably numb," or actually caused enough strain that the body decides ramping down the mind through sleep is a good idea.

When I was overweight and depressed, I didn't like myself. I felt miserable all the time and I literally cringed every night at the thought of the pain of the day ahead. There's no question that I numbed myself through my food choices. I sought "comfort," in my food. I wanted escape from the pain.

Think of every comfort food you know. Chances are it's a starchy carbohydrate or something fatty and high in calories like ice cream.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "No one ever calls watermelon or lettuce comfort foods (except maybe raw foodists), because whatever strain they put on the body is so miniscule that you could stuff yourself with them and feel no emotional numbing."

When you go on a low fat raw vegan diet, and you have no starchy carbohydrates and grains, you suddenly have no choice but to actually face yourself. There is no more putting off the day of reckoning: these are your emotions, and you must deal with them.

The only long-term option is to face and deal with what's inside you, as painful as that can be. Running off on a high-fat binge just puts the task off for another day.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Do you take any supplements, i.e. B12?  Why or why not?

The science is pretty clear that most supplement pills are dangerous, and trying to flood ourselves with "extra" vitamins decoupled from their original nutrient packages is essentially an ill-conceived attempt to outthink thousands of years of evolution. I've written about many of the studies showing how our health can be destroyed by supplement pills here.

B12 is a more complicated subject. While there has only been a single study I'm aware of showing that B12 supplementation may cause harm, the bulk of studies have found it safe.

I don't take B12 because I have my blood tested and I'm always in the healthy range (468 pg/ml last I checked). I find the idea that man is somehow the reject of the planet, completely unable to come by B12 while every other species has no problem with it, to be laughable.

Since there are plenty meat eaters who are deficient, it's pretty clear that it's not an issue of intake so much as use or declines in internal production. It's possible that the trace chemicals, drugs, and antibiotics found in tap water as well as the pills most people take as antibiotics are wreaking havoc on bacteria that produce B12.

It's also possible that our industrial food supply is to blame. I have traditionally grown a lot of my vegetables in my garden during the warm months. My soil is organic and well composted and I often eat my produce without washing it. Perhaps this could explain my levels.

But who knows what the future may bring? If I found myself with declining B12 levels, I would consider supplementing. For the people who are deficient, I think some form of supplementation is reasonable, perhaps with the long term goal of finding other solutions.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What would you say is the best thing about eating raw foods?

That being alive feels better and goes smoother.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What do you think is the most challenging aspect of this lifestyle?

Thinking about health has led me to question many things in this world most people take for granted. Why are people interested in going to bars, for instance? It seems so odd to me now. I sometimes feel like I'm an alien anthropologist watching these odd humans go about their strange lives. 

Thinking this way can lead to isolation, so I have to make an extra effort not to think of what I do as better or superior, but merely different. I make an effort to reach out to people and get to know them, even if we have big disagreements.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How do you find socializing as a raw fooder?

It's doable. There are plenty of fine salads to be had at SAD restaurants if you simply request some alterations, and places with salad bars are even better. In the end, is the meal about you and your food or your connection with the friends and family you're dining with? If it's about your food, then you'd be better off staying home. If it's your friends and family, then go out to eat with them. Take sensible precautions like eating fruit before you go, order your salad, and talk to your friends. I don't think food has to be a relationship ender.

I've also made some great raw food buddies, and stay in contact with a network of like-minded people online. I'd probably go nuts if I didn't have the internet because the average person just isn't interested in the wide range of things I am.

But there are lots of interesting things to talk about outside of food, so go strike up a conversation.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  If you're single, what about dating? Do you find this challenging as a raw fooder?

I'm single. I've done my fair share of dating, and find that long term, most women want to be wined and dined and don't like their boyfriends being more health conscious than they are. Other gulfs like alcohol use, etc, have also become problems. I realize I'm generalizing here, but that's been my experience.

Ideally, I'd like to find a nice raw vegan gal to sweep off her feet. As I was writing this my friend called and told me I should make this into an advertisement. Why not?

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "Seeking: Hot LFRV lady. First date? Watermelon eating contest followed by romantic stroll through the park? Yoga class followed by a massive salad for two made by yours truly?"

Attractive features I like in a woman: Likes to read, enjoys discussing new and interesting ideas and has opinions on them, is not complacent, is passionate about things and pursues those passions, likes to frolic in nature, is fit, challenges others and likes to be challenged, will push me when I'm being lazy, and expects me to do the same for her. Not very materialistic and a bit of a minimalist. Not much of a TV watcher. Finds fruit and growing fruit to be incredibly appealing. Is interested in living in a warm area. Smart.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How do you feel about the raw food movement as a whole?

On one hand, it's a bit disgusting how many people are taking advantage of others by hawking supplements and superfoods while promoting diets that are so unhealthy.

On the other, I've watched the amount of LFRVs skyrocket in the last few years. I expect things to only improve as the years go on.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "The future looks bright and sunny in the raw food world."

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Have your family and friends been influenced by your way of eating and lifestyle?

My parents have improved their diet significantly and eat a lot less animal foods than they served me when I was a kid. However, the biggest impact I've had is with raw-food-health.net. 

By my best count, I've helped create 39 100% raw foodists (these are the guys who have contacted me to let me know) due to the free articles at raw-food-health.net and my coaching program. I'm pretty sure the site has put many others on a better path, and that most are eating a lot better than they otherwise would.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Do you ever make compromises with your food choices, such as when traveling or for social convenience?  If so, what kind of compromises are you willing to make and how do these compromises affect how you feel?

I always eat a raw vegan diet. Once in a blue moon I'll eat an unusually fatty meal or something with foods I normally avoid, such as garlic, onions, oil, etc, but this is rare. Mostly this happens when I go out to raw food restaurants.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "Eating poorly means feeling poorly, so it's just not worth straying"

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What would you say is the biggest factor in your success?

Hmmm. Well I do have a major intestinal disorder holding me hostage, but even if that wasn't the case I would still be eating a raw diet. I just haven't enjoyed any diet as much as I enjoy this one. When you're doing better than you've ever been before, why change? 

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What would you say is the biggest problem most people have in sticking with a raw food diet long term?

Failure to eat enough calories from low-fat fruit is probably the number one issue. But high fat intake and a number of other problems can knock someone off track too.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What advice would you give to someone just starting out with raw foods?

Simple is good. Eat meals of one fruit at a time and keep eating until you're satisfied. Eat a lot, because you'll probably undereat anyway. Make sure you eat your veggies, and keep your fat intake below 15 percent. Ten percent is probably better.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What led you to start your website, raw-food-health.net?

I was pretty pissed that the basic information I needed to overcome colitis - simple information that could have been summarized in a few paragraphs - was not available anywhere. The doctor I went to didn't know about it, nor did most of the mainstream sources I relied on.

It wasn't until I'd done ridiculous amounts of research on my own and had a Eureka moment when I read Doug's suggestion of fruit for the main calorie source that the pieces fell into place and I found a way out of my hole.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  "No one should have to suffer with colitis or the many preventable and reversible diseases that kill most people on this planet, and, at the very least, make life less enjoyable than it should be for them."

I decided to start publishing what I knew for free in January of 2008, so that anyone could do a google search and find the answers to their health problems. Essentially, Raw-Food-Health.net is the resource I desperately wish I could have found when I was suffering.

At that time there was little quality raw food information on the internet, with most of the raw food sites devoted to selling supplements and pushing high-fat diets. Things have improved significantly in the last few years, but I like to think my site has really made an impact.

I started the site as a hobby and as a way of giving back, and the vast majority of what I produce is still free. I've since turned the site into my profession, and started selling coaching services, ebooks, and soon I'll be putting out my first print book. If anything, people have responded even more strongly to my non-free products than they do to my free articles and videos.

I'm very happy to be able to make a positive impact with my site.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  How are things working out with your raw food health website?

As of April, 2011, I'm averaging 1,573 visitors a day on raw-food-health.net, so my potential impact is huge. Every month sees a traffic increase, I regularly get emails of thanks from people telling me that my work has inspired them or helped them leave behind an illness, and, a bit like a proud papa, I'm happy that I've been able to find such an effective medium for reaching people.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  What are your future goals?

I want to build on the impressive foundation I've started with Raw-Food-Health.net, increasing site traffic, selling a variety of information-centered products, and basically reaching out to an ever-wider audience. I've received a few invitations to speak in person, which I haven't been able to accept because of other commitments, but I hope to start doing talks soon.

I also want to start up a second site on another one of my passions which I think is directly tied to diet and lifestyle: freedom. I guess you can say that, here in Thailand, with a pile of Nam Dok Mai mangoes in front of me and the sun shining outside, I've found my own little piece of paradise that wouldn't be possible if I hadn't aimed for freedom. It's an exciting topic that I can't wait to get started on, but that project is still a way off.

I also plan to get back to my journalism roots in the next few years. I've got two interesting topics that I think will make great books.

In my personal life, I'd like to continue to improve myself mentally, physically, and spiritually. I know I've got plenty of weak areas left to explore. I hope to get some hands-on permaculture training soon with the eventual goal of buying some property in a tropical or semi tropical environment and growing a food forest.

Of course, I'm always on the lookout for the opportunity to strike up new relationships with interesting people doing new and fascinating things. I'd also like to add a bit more romance to my life in the near future, preferably with a LFRV lady.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Can you tell us a bit about your upcoming book project?

I'm about 160 pages into "Raw Food Weight Loss And Vitality," and probably three or four months away from completion. I'll be releasing it in print and ebook formats when it's done and has gone through editing, layout, etc.

I've mentioned a bit about it in previous parts of this raw food health interview, but basically, weight has always been a problem for me. Many of the raw approaches to weight loss (e.g. caloric restriction) do not work for me, and through my coaching I know they don't work for many others as well.

Whether it's an inability to sleep while running a caloric deficit or gaining weight from too much high-calorie fruit, many people find it hard to get the body they want.

The book is an introduction to the raw food diet and walks you through how to lose weight. But it also contains an extensive, "troubleshooting faq," and a toolbox of different ideas to apply when you're not getting the results you want.

One of the sections I think will fascinate people is about our dietary evolution and how that should influence what we do today.

I tell the story of wandering through the mountains of Bali, hunting down wild fruit with a guide to see if a person can actually get enough calories to survive with the supposedly lower-calorie fruits that should be available in the wild.

I'm excited about the book, and can't wait to get it into peoples' hands.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Do you think a low fat, high fruit raw food diet would work out well for everyone?

About a year ago a man contacted me to ask if I could coach him.  He was drinking 6,000 calories a day in high-calorie drinks like Ensure but was still losing weight. His digestive system was so compromised that his body wasn't able to digest this easy-to-digest carb source, and weight loss was the result.

Was this man unsuitable for a raw vegan diet? Did he somehow have different bodily needs than I did? No. His body was so degraded that no diet was going to work.

I told him I couldn't help him and suggested several fasting professionals he should talk to but he said he didn't want to fast and that was the end of our discussion.

Six months later he contacted me again to thank me for my advice. He'd eventually found someone to do a fast with and then switched back to a raw diet and quickly started putting on weight again.

Was the diet now suddenly more suitable than it was for him previously? No. The difference was that his system had repaired itself enough to allow him to take energy from food.

When I first went raw my colitis made it hard to eat many types of raw vegetables, but this did not mean raw vegetables were unsuitable for me. After I'd healed I could handle them just fine.

Many people have compromised bodies that may make any diet not work well for them, but the diet is still great. There is simply no nutrient absent from raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds that the body requires.

That said, I'm always open to new ideas. Is it possible? I doubt it. But you never know.

Raw Food Health Interview – Andrew Perlot:  Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

I think I've rambled long enough. Thanks for your interest in my work. Best of health to you and your readers.

Find out more about Andrew and raw food health on his website: raw-food-health.net and also check out his ebooks, which come well recommended. You can read my review of his Raw Food Lifestyle book here: The Raw Food Lifestyle Ebook Review

Also check out Andrew's video from the video series Living On Fruit - presented by Loving-It-Raw.com. Find out more about this video series here: Fruit Nutrition Facts - Loving-It-Raw.com presents 'Living On Fruit!' An inspirational video series!

 

If you've been following this series of interviews on Loving-It-Raw.com you'll notice that while everyone interviewed is following a low fat, high fruit, raw vegan diet, they are all on their unique path towards ultimate raw food health when it comes to the 'fine-tuning' of their lifestyles in order to achieve their best results and some things differ in very small ways, some count their calories, some do not, some believe in eating plenty of higher calorie fruits such as bananas and dates, others prefer not to.

In my raw food health journey the realizations I'm coming to are very much tailored towards my specific goals in terms of my priorities and my unique expectations regarding raw food health, (which incidentally for me means that the more bananas and dates I can eat, the happier I am!). While you contemplate your own raw food health journey and go looking for inspirations, go with whatever resonates most powerfully with you, as that will likely be the best approach for you at this moment in time.

It's wonderful to have Andrew's voice heard on this website and fantastic to be able to learn from his experiences on the road to ulimate raw food health, and I hope you have found plenty of value in what he has to share (as I have) and that it will have a profoundly positive impact on your own raw food health journey.

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