by Frederic Patenaude

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Every time I ask my readers what's the most frustrating thing they experience when trying to eat a very healthy diet, the number one answer that comes up is *cravings* for unhealthy foods.

It seems that even though you may know what's good for you, the “bad” foods or the foods you're trying to avoid are still not only tempting, but sometimes temptation is stronger than anything. Like the movie said, “Resistance is futile.”

Now, I know it's been said that the best way to resist temptation is to yield to it, but today I'm not going to suggest that. Instead, I'm going to give you 5 actions you can take when you're craving unhealthy foods.

1. Eat More Raw Food

From my experience, the number one reason why people experience cravings on a raw food diet is that they haven't learned to eat enough fruits and vegetables to be well nourished. They eat a starvation diet that may be good for short-term detox, but it's not enough to sustain them over the long run.

So the one thing you can do whenever you're craving unhealthy foods is to eat more raw foods. Make yourself a big banana/blueberry smoothie and don't consider eating anything else until you've finished it.

Then you can learn to gradually increase the amount of raw foods that you eat, to the point that you're no longer craving unhealthy foods.

2. Wait for True Hunger

In my book The Raw Secrets, I explained the difference between true hunger and false hunger. In true hunger, you will be satisfied by simple foods. With false hunger, you will *crave* complex, spicy, or salty foods, and might not feel at all drawn to eat fruits and vegetables.

One thing you can do when you're craving unhealthy foods is watch how you feel and identify whether you're experiencing true hunger or false hunger. (Those signs are listed in the book The Raw Secrets).

If it's false hunger, commonly referred to as “appetite,” then it won't hurt to simply wait until you are truly hungry before eating. At that point, you may find that a green smoothie or a fruit salad might be the food that you're really craving.

3. Break Out of the Pattern

Often, cravings arise when there is a situation that “triggers” the cravings - some mental or emotional association that is “anchored” to the particular foods that you're craving.

For me, I would always crave all sorts of foods when I visited my mom. The emotional triggers associated with the place where I grew up were strong, and for many people it's the same.

You can learn to avoid these circumstances as much as possible, and/or break free of the emotional patterns or triggers when the cravings occur.

For example, if a certain situation triggers a craving for you, then you have to understand that your brain has been “conditioned” to react that way.

One thing you can do is simply break the pattern by doing something you wouldn't normally do in that situation.

That can be go out for a run, go take a walk, jump in a pool, do some jumping jacks, laugh... anything to break the pattern!

4. Identify the Emotion

You can also be craving unhealthy foods when certain emotions arise. The reason is that we often use foods to “numb” ourselves whenever we feel emotions we don't like.

And it's not just lonely or fat people who have that problem - everybody does, to some degree. The foods we call “comfort foods” are in fact “numbing foods” that prevent us from experiencing our feelings.

The solution is not to run away from the emotion, not to “express” it, but to simply feel it. Accept the emotion, feel it, and observe what happens inside of you when you're not running away from the emotion by using “comfort foods” to numb it.

You might discover very interesting things about yourself in the process.

5. Get at the Root of Your Cravings

Ultimately, you want to get at the root of your cravings. If the cravings are of a nutritional nature, you want to learn how to eat a healthy raw-based diet that fulfills your nutritional needs. I recommend as a minimum that you invest some time in learning the basics of this diet by referring to the following resources: http://www.fredericpatenaude.com

But there are also complex chains of emotions attached to our relationship with food, and if you've been raised in a Western culture, chances are that you use food for many reasons, not just for nourishment.

In order to eradicate cravings completely, you need to change your *relationship* with food, so that you can do away with cravings and feel confident in facing the inevitable social obstacles that present themselves when applying a raw diet in a predominantly “cooked” society.

Let's Review!

Critical: If you want to get started on the raw food diet, there is no substitution for having a quality a the right resources at your disposal. I strongly encourage you to order The Raw Health Starter Kit and get all the, information and resources you need in order to start experiencing: -Boundless energy -Detox and rejuvenation -Reach your ideal weight. Click Here to learn all about The Raw Health Starter Kit - and order today. NOTE: The offer with all the bonuses is limited and may no longer be valid if you wait. Welcome back to our mini course! Last time, in our second bonus lesson, you learned about how to deal with a raw-foodist diet in cold climates as well as ways to help cope with the cold weather. Today, in our final lesson, let's review and summarize what we've learned about eating raw. You will want to print out this lesson because it will provide you an easy reference and quick reminders of crucial facts to help ensure your successful conversation to a satisfying, fulfilling raw foods diet. Humans are Designed to Eat Raw Historically, humans do not eat over-processed, highly seasoned, cooked foods. Our teeth and digestive systems are designed to eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Meat, food additives, salt and other spices, and other unnatural or overcooked foods do not provide the right balance of nutrition, do not digest well and are difficult to eat because our teeth are designed to grind. Humans can more easily obtain the right balance of nutrition when eating a raw foods diet. Do Humans Need Added Fat? Humans are frugivores by design and should consume fruit, green leaves, shoots and other plants. Added fat is not required by the human body in order to store body fat. Fruits and all other natural foods have sufficient fat to meet the need for essential fatty acids needed by the body. Concentrated fat, like oils extracted from seeds, is not desirable. Consuming fat in the form of oil slows down digestion. It also results in health problems such as diabetes, Candida, chronic fatigue, low energy, hypoglycemia and others. Too much fat, even from natural, raw foods will cause health problems. The only alternative to fat is fruit. There are two main types of food that provide the energy, in calories, that we need: fruit or fat. Vegetables simply have so few calories that a person would never be able to eat enough to survive. Most progressive health experts with years of experience promote the same fat requirements year and year, recommending a fat intake of about 15% OR LESS. The primates all eat diets that consist of very low-fat diets. Practical Guidelines Regarding Fat Unless you are allergic to them, do not completely avoid avocados and nuts, just limit yourself to one-half an avocado per day or two ounces (60 grams) of nuts and seeds but not both on the same day. Eat enough fruit to meet your caloric requirements. Avoid oils including olive, coconut butter, canola, peanut and others. If you do not choose to obtain fat through avocados, nuts and seeds, you may consume two to four tablespoons of raw nut butter per day (but not every day). Eat fat only once each day and do not eat fatty foods every day of the week. Do not eat sweet fruit with fat. Doing so can result in digestive acidity. Mixing nuts and dried fruit can have the same result. Protein Humans are taught to eat a large amount of protein from animal products such as meat and dairy products. The person that wants to follow a raw food diet will choose nuts and seeds to supply their protein needs. Breast milk contains a meager 6% protein! Since this is all a growing infant requires, it is safe to believe that after infancy, a diet of 5% protein is sufficient. This amount of protein is easy to obtain with a raw food diet. Excess protein is actually not healthy, just like excess fat. Seeds and Nuts The primate relative closest to humans is the bonobo. These animals eat 80% fruit, some greens and vegetables and very, very few nuts or seeds. Primates all eat primarily fruit. They also eat vegetables, nuts and seeds, and sometimes a tiny bit of animal products, but only a very small amount. Notice that all natural foods that frugivores consume are tasty and appealing in their raw state. Everything else, such as grains, dairy products, and meats, need to be seasoned and often cooked for the best flavors. Nuts are protein-rich foods. However, we have learned that protein is not desirable in large amounts. Nuts are actually concentrated with fat rather than extremely high in protein anyway and too much fat is really bad. Children and Pregnant Women Children have slightly different needs than adults. Children can have some nut products in their diets, but nut milks are better. Begin offering nut milks after age three because they do not have the high calcium required for bone growth. Be sure children chew nuts well or offer raw nut butters. Children should still have most of their energy needs met through fruits and green leafy vegetables so that they obtain all the vitamins and minerals needed for health and rapid growth. Detoxification When eating a high-fat, processed, unnatural diet, toxins are stored in the body rather than eliminated through waste products. We have formed the bad habit of eating the wrong foods. When beginning a raw-food diet, you may have some cravings for those dense, high-fat, highly processed, cooked and seasons foods. If you eat all the wrong things, making your diet high fat even though it may be raw, or if you mix the wrong foods, you may have problems and fail to reach that wonderful goal of great health, abundant energy and a good life. Energy Depleting Mistakes A common complaint by people beginning the raw foods diet is that they lack energy. After only days, your body should have MORE energy; not less. Here are the most common causes of lack of energy when attempting to change to a fruit-based diet: Failure to get enough good, sound sleep Using oil in your diet which slows digestion significantly - up to two hours per drop! Eating too many fatty foods such as avocados, nuts or seeds Failure to exercise at all, or to exercise very little. Everyone needs exercise. Of course, heed the warnings that the very first few days, you should avoid too much strenuous exercise. But that doesn't mean sit in front of the TV 24/7! But over training in the first days is not good for you. Depression, negative thinking or other negative emotional states including high stress situations. Chronic loneliness or anxiety can contribute to this problem. Failure to get fresh air and some exercise. Here we go back to the negative affects to too much TV or sedentary lifestyle. Failure to hydrate with water, fruit juices and healthy liquids. Mixing the wrong raw foods causing indigestion and acid stomach. Anytime you feel bad, you don't have energy. Eat fatty foods without combining sugary foods. For example, don't sit down and eat ½ an avocado along with a banana. Using spices, salt or other condiments that are not really raw, natural foods eaten by primates in the animal kingdom. Eating when you are not hungry. This often results, even on a raw food diet, in eating the wrong things or eating too much. Smoking or second-hand smoke. Supplements among Raw-Foodist and Vegetarians It appears that vegetarians and many raw-foodists buy expensive dietary supplements because they fear they are not getting adequate vitamins, minerals and nutrition from the foods they eat. Some love to consume super-foods, which are purported to bring wonderful results. If what you eat is making you feel great, have abundant energy, sleep well and have a satisfied feeling when you eat, why you would want to take these products? Some people experience deficiencies, no matter what they eat because their bodies can't absorb certain food nutrients. Other simply must avoid some foods forever and some have allergies so severe that they can DIE as a result of eating only a single nut! Certain activities or habits can cause deficiencies as well. Most people on low-fat, raw vegan diets do not experience any type of deficiency. You might fail to obtain enough calcium (on any diet, not just raw foods) if you smoke, get too little vitamin D from the sun, drink huge amounts of caffeine, eat a lot of salt including sea salt, and take certain medications. If your doctor suggests you are unable to metabolize sufficient amounts of a much-needed vitamin or mineral, take supplements. We all need B12. This is one vitamin that isn't abundant in the vegan diet. Normal intestinal bacterial manufacture vitamin B12 but it can be destroyed by certain prescription drugs, herbs, colonics and intestinal cleanses, eating the wrong balance of foods resulting in intestinal flora that is unbalanced, eating too much frozen food, eating fruity acids and using stimulants like coffee or tea. Recipes "Combo-abombo" was means a combination that is an abomination! It's a poorly combined recipe. Combining the wrong foods can result in gas, stomach upsets and even acid problems. Not all raw food recipes are healthy. Be on the alert for recipes that contain raw foods but are really 100% fat. Analyze the fat and other nutrients in your foods to determine if a recipe is healthy. If you add salt, spice, soy sauce, miso, onion, garlic, and other oils that taste good to the palate that is not accustomed to eating raw, natural foods, the situation worsens. You'll only overeat and fail to obtain health and energy. A good recipe general should follow the 5-5-5 rule: it requires 5 or less ingredients, requires 5 or fewer minutes to prepare and costs less than $5.

BY:   “Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the best-selling e-book "The Raw Secrets". He is currently giving away free access to his private library of over 100 exclusive articles along with a subscription to his newsletter Pure Health & Nutrition. Visit http://www.fredericpatenaude.com while charter subscriptions last.”  Copyright © 2000-2007 Frederic Patenaude