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You do not need to eat 100% raw because you can significantly improve your health by eating 50% raw foods. If you later decide that you would like to try eating closer to 100% raw, which is fine, so feel free to experiment. But for people who have just discovered the benefits of raw food, they may have a much greater chance of success if they aim for 50% at the start. Even eating 10% raw is a big step for those that never eat any raw food. So, do not be put off by the numbers, and do not feel that you have to achieve some target that someone else set.
We have seen so many people try to go 100% raw, and then give up entirely after only a few days because they think it is too complicated. And because they believe they failed, they revert to their old ways. We feel it is far more essential to get people eating even a little extra raw food, rather than not eating. And aiming for 100% and failing may mean they end up not eating any raw food.
But you should not use all this as an excuse not to make an effort to change your diet. 10% raw is better than 0% raw. 50% raw is even better. But it is up to everyone to decide what they want to get out of this. You will achieve the best results if you eat around 50% raw or more while simultaneously cutting out unhealthy food.
Raw food gurus often tell you that you need to go 100% raw, and you may read lots of stories about people that improved their health by swapping their Standard American Diet for a 100% raw diet. But what we have never seen is them comparing a 100% raw diet to a diet that’s part raw, and that does not include the usual junk food that most people eat these days.
Health can be enhanced by two primary ways: ditch junk food or eat healthy food. Both benefit your health. From our own experience, we believe that eating raw food helps immensely, but once you give up junk food and consume 50% raw, we do not see any real benefit of going 100% raw.
There may be specific individuals who benefit from a higher proportion of raw food in their diets, but you will need to experiment a little to determine what is right for you. If you try to make too many changes too soon, you are setting yourself up for failure. For most people, a more gradual approach is likely to give better results. You will also find that sticking to a new diet is easier if you make gradual changes because you will not notice the changes so much. But when you look back after a few months, you will be amazed at how much progress you have made. What seemed impossible at the beginning can seem familiar once you have achieved the transition.
