The Raw Food Detox Diet: The Five-Step Plan for Vibrant Health and Maximum Weight Loss (Raw Food Series, 1) Paperback – December 26, 2006

If you are intrigued by the current trend of eating real food, want to take this concept to the next level but are skeptical as to how to implement the raw food lifestyle on a practical everyday basis, pick up a copy of Natalia Rose's "The Raw Food Detox Diet, for a fast and fun introduction that does not require a cold turkey approach to eliminating cooked foods.Rose is in agreement with French dieting guru Michel Montignac on her definition of what constitutes a "legal" food on this plan. Montignac, a long-time proponent of eating real food as opposed to processed junk, urges us to forego the old dieting adage of counting calories and all the newer macro nutritional phobias with regard to too much or too little fat, protein or carbohydrates and instead analyze each food choice with an eye on the food's metabolic reaction with regard to fast and easy bloat-free digestion and elimination.Rose agrees, emphasizing that whereas natural foods are easily recognizable by the body and therefore easily broken down, utilized and eliminated, the processed foods that make up so much of the typical American diet are deemed by the body as the worst kind of illegal aliens that sadly deteriorate into waste that the body can neither utilize nor expel. Waste in this case, has no other recourse than to morph into a variety of problems like weight gain, a degeneration of the organs, a slowing of the metabolism and premature aging.By utilizing a method of food combining where mixing foods in different categories is verboten, similar to that of the Montignac method (minus the glycemic index factor), Rose further expands this theory by grouping nuts - an iffy category on most food combining plans (Somersizing immediately springs to mind) - as a separate category (starches, fleshes and fruits being the other three categories) , to be combined only with dried fruits and vegetables.She provides an extremely helpful hierarchy of eleven types of quick exit foods, where level number 1, the best, contains fruits and vegetables and level number 11, the worst, contains chemicals and artificial colorings and sweeteners. She adds that as eating from quick exit levels 1-8 is doable by everyone; the higher levels of health will be reached when eating only from levels 1-5. In addition an indispensable transitional food grocery list is included to provide brand name items that act as substitutes for mainstream comfort foods that must be eliminated to insure success on this program. She is not a big fan of dairy and as expected pans the consumption of power shakes and bars. Surprisingly she eschews the current 'soy is nirvana' bandwagon, labelling soy products as mucus-forming poisons. Neutral foods, those which may be eaten with any category except fruit include such treats as nut milks, 70% chocolate, olivess and olive oil. how refreshing! Way to go, Ms Rose!On the practical side, the book abounds with menu plans, recipes, and suggestions on what to eat in a restaurant or at social occasions. For the aspiring raw foodist, separate chapters are dedicated to detoxifying all aspects of your lifestyle including your bathroom, your living space, your kitchen, your family, fasting, traveling, holidays and your colon.I emailed Ms Rose with questions that pertained to the diet as juxtaposed with my lifestyle and was extremely pleased that the author very pleasantly answered all my questions promptly and professionally and made suggestions that I was able to implement quite easily.Bottom line: Ms Rose achieves the impossible, a raw food diet that doesn't force you to eat only raw foods, but urges you to discover your own lifestyle at your own pace for achieving optimal health. With a combination of guidelines, recipes and a fresh common sense five part transitional approach, Ms Rose sends you out into unknown territory, with the option of staying on one particular phase of the diet for as long as you wish.

The beauty of this book is that the recipes (which are so delicious and flavorful) do not require soaking, sprouting, or dehydrating, as many other raw-food recipes do. This simplifies the food-preparation process and makes the raw-food lifestyle more appealing to time-starved people.Rose explains food combining and digestion concisely and in a way that makes sense. It has changed the way I think of food. I used to think that if I never had to worry about my weight, I'd eat everything I wanted. Now I think of food in terms of what it'll do to my body on the inside. The weight loss is just an added bonus (I've lost 20 pounds effortlessly). And once you've been eating "clean," you'll feel the difference when you eat something processed--and you won't crave those processed foods, because you know how they'll make you feel (heavy, bloated, and too full). Furthermore, there is no "falling off the wagon" with this way of eating, because, if you do have something you "shouldn't" have, it's so easy to just eat clean at the next meal.I was so excited by this book that I sent a copy to my mom, and she has experienced the same changes in her body and her attitudes that I have (and on top of that, her hairstylist noticed that her hair has gotten thicker). She then bought a copy for her friend. I also sent a copy to a friend who has Crohn's disease (an intestinal disorder), and after only two weeks, her digestion changed significantly. At the risk of being graphic (but to prove a point to doubters): After following Rose's guidelines, my friend began having solid bowel movements for the first time in more than four years.As a final note, for those who are concerned about increased grocery bills, consider this: You will no longer buy canned, boxed, or processed foods; you will very likely buy less (or no) meat; and you'll be less likely to order take-out for lunch because you'll have lots of healthy, delicious leftovers. You will also spend less money on supplements, because you'll be getting all the necessary nutrients from your food, and you may never need another antacid. I now shop at a farmer's market, and the prices there are fully one-third less than those at the grocery store. Furthermore, everything I buy gets used--there is no waste (no more half-eaten bags of salad that go bad because I forget they're in the fridge). To maximize the food you buy, I would suggest making a menu each week and sticking to it--it not only ensures that you'll use what you buy, it also eliminates that 30-minute period we all waste figuring out what to have for dinner after a full work day.If you've been interested in a raw-food lifestyle but don't believe you have the time for it, try "The Raw Food Detox Diet." It will change your life.

August 2002 is when I first learned about and tried the whole "raw food thing." Since then, I've purchased 9 books, spent countless hours online, patroned raw restraunts in every city I've visited, and still found myself strugging to get it to work for myself, my lifestyle, and more importantly not alienating myself from the rest of the world. And then I found this book...on Amazon (I actually bought both of her books at once). This is it! Natalia is not a preacher...she is not telling anyone to become "100% raw" or downplaying those who can't or don't want to commit to that level. She just wants others to feel the benefits of this healthful, natrual, and easy way of eating! Her main point is how food combinations affect proper digestion (and it works so well that it's scary!). There aren't a ton of recepies, but they are exceptionally tasty, satisfying, and EASY!!! Her recipes don't call for dehydration, sprouting, or soaking. Since I've read her books, my other raw food books make much more sense and I've been able to eat plenty of raw foods withough wating much produce if any. She also includes a great FAQ section in the back...so awesome!!!!PS - As for juicing, this book doesn't claim to be a juicing book, but has basic helpful info. If you want a straight up juicing book...then go buy one!