Going Raw: Adventures in Uncooking

How to Remain Optimistic, or Good News Comes in Threes

I had three serendipitous experiences today!

First: a friend visited our apartment tonight in order to talk about the Baha’i Faith. Halfway through the evening, I discovered that she is also into raw food! I’ve found that a significant portion of society responds to non-mainstream views on food with dismissal at best and outright malice at worst, so on top of the enjoyment of an evening dedicated to discussing the Baha’i Faith, I couldn’t believe my luck that we got to have a pleasant conversation about raw food as well!

Second: a friend of mine returned from a weekend in Chicago and reported that he received no less than three recommendations to read the book The pH Miracle. Apparently these recommendations were from three different people in three different conversations, and he didn’t even bring up the topic. It’s encouraging to think that there is, perhaps, a growing awareness of the importance of acid/alkaline balance in our diet. (Well, at least in Chicago.)

Third: I discovered that my favorite local raw food chef has opened a business in downtown Greenville! This is the same chef that introduced me to the amazing and delicious Tree of Life sandwich, which I still eat for lunch about three times a week. I don’t think her new business is a restaurant, but I do know that she’s hosting a raw food class this Saturday. Yay!

It’s serendipitous that these three happy things should all happen today, because I was right in the middle of feeling really bummed. I had been thinking about how for the past several decades, society has been getting dramatically sicker while being provided food that is only barely serving its purpose as healthy fuel for our bodies. (Fruits and veggies are way more acidic and less nutritive than even five years ago, our food is laced with hormones and pesticides and added chemicals that actively impair health, etc etc.) I feel like a little kid stamping my foot when I say this, but— I don’t think it’s fair. Everyone should have a chance at good health and our food supply is making it an uphill battle to even maintain an acceptable level of health throughout one’s life… and that’s not right, by golly. It makes me sad.

Anyway, that’s why I was so happy to discover that my newly-met friend happened to be a raw food enthusiast, that natural-eating literature is growing in popularity, and that my favorite local raw food chef is opening a new business. I definitely needed to hear some good news to start feeling optimistic again. And I really want to feel optimistic… but it’s hard sometimes.

If you have information or experiences like this please let me know! I’d love to hear your stories.