If you were to search online for “What’s so special about raw food?” you would find a number of different lists of reasons as to why raw food is good for you.

These lists most likely will include the usual suspects such as:

• Better hair, skin and nails
• Better digestion
• More energy
• Weight loss
• Increased mental clarity
• More nutrients
• Anti-inflammatory
• Better health overall

And while it’s true, all of these things are part and parcel of eating more raw foods, that’s not what I want to talk to you about today.

While all of these benefits are, for sure, wonderful, let’s be honest… when we take the time and effort to change our diet, what are we really looking for?

Well, if you have health issues, then in the immediate term, it’s going to be to correct those issues and get well again.

However, if you’re already healthy with nothing obviously wrong, then what would make you want to do things differently?

I would say, “wanting to go next level.”

In this podcast I share with you a deeper dive into my own journey with raw food:

• How and why I got into it
• Why it captivated my from the start
• How I couldn’t shake the desire to eat raw, even when I felt like a social outcast!
• Why choosing to eat a raw food diet was one of the best things I ever did, and will be one of the best things I ever do
• And perhaps most importantly of all, why raw food IS so special.

My story:

• Discovered the concept of raw food in 1992, aged 19, after reading lots of books about diet and health in my own personal bid to lose weight and get healthy as a young woman
• My first raw food book was “Raw Energy” by Leslie Kenton – this book was the first book to get me started on my path and open me up to the practicalities and the magic of eating raw.
• I started experimenting with raw food right away – going from eating just the odd bit of fruit now and again, to eating as many raw foods as possible, with the intention to do a whole day on just raw food, and in due course a week, or even a month.
• I literally could not believe how amazing and alive raw food made me feel. it was like night and day. I had so much energy, I felt so connected to everything, my passion for life went through the roof, every aspect of my health and body improved overall, and I soon discovered that I was not alone.
• In my bid to meet others like me, in 1993, I discovered “The Fresh Network” – The UK’s first raw and living foods organisation – I immediately became its biggest fan, buying just about every book and magazine I could get my hands on. I really felt like I had discovered an incredible well-kept secret.
• For the next five years I went back and forth with varying degrees of raw food. While I knew what to eat and wanted to eat it, I really struggled with making it stick consistently. Sometimes this was for social reasons, sometimes it was cravings, and sometimes I really didn’t know why I wasn’t eating what I wanted to eat and it drove me crazy! It actually took me a fair few years to figure out what was really going on. I’ll come to that in a moment.
• In 1998, a dream came true when I took over “The Fresh Network”. The founder, Susie, wanted to free up her time but didn’t want to wrap up the organisation because she knew what an amazing resource it was for people, and so three of us initially showed interest, and in due course it ended up being run by just me. I was 25.
• At the same time I went 100% raw vegan as a full-on commitment – this time I found it easy and natural, with zero resistance and I felt incredible on it. I continued to eat exclusively raw food for the next 5.5 years apart from 3 weeks when I was pregnant with my son. Morning sickness put paid to that and potatoes and porridge was all that I wanted! But right after that I was back onto raw food and had a very easy pregnancy, with no complications and a 6 hour drug-free labour with a natural water birth at home.
• That was 20 years ago now, and during that time I have eaten all-raw, high-raw and now and again, low-raw. During this time I not only went through a range of experiences of my own, but also connected with a LOT of people in this area – both raw food enthusiasts and raw food professionals.
• From the outside looking in, I know the idea of people eating only raw food looks and sounds odd. However, on the inside, it’s like a whole other world of energy, vitality and spiritual connection which leaves every other way of eating completely in the shade.
• This is where the specialness – aka magic – comes in.
• The magic of raw food essentially comes down to energy. As you know, everything is energy. Raw food, because it has not been heat treated and has all of its natural energy and nutrition intact, is the most high-vibe, potent and alive food you can eat. When we do this, that high-vibe energy is transferred to us as we consume it. Just as eating crap food makes you feel crap, eating high-vibe, alive food makes you feel high-vibe and alive.
• So when you raise the amount of raw food you’re eating to 50% or more, that’s when you get to start to experience it. There are many ways to describe it, but nothing can capture the true feeling in words. For me personally, it was like the inner lightbulb got turned on and my inner superhero got activated.
• This takes me to why I struggled with it for so long. Through studying my own personal experiences along with having hundreds, if not thousands of conversations, I came to finally realise that eating raw food will push you to certain edges. Edges such as: How much energy will you allow yourself to feel? How much radiance and vitality will you allow yourself to embody? how much personal power can you skilfully hold and masterfully direct? How much of a superhero-type energy can you handle?
• This is what we are really dealing with.
• It’s like taking a trip from Antarctica to Barbados. If you’re not prepared and don’t allow for acclimatisation, it can all be a bit much and you’ll just want to stay inside all day to protect yourself, no matter how beautiful and hot Barbados is.
• With most things in life, we humans do not do well when we go from one extreme of anything to the polar opposite, and so the amount of special or magic we are able to step into will depend on where we are starting from and what we feel ready for.
• This is why raw food became a source of great fascination and desire for me, but also one of my biggest challenges.
• Ultimately, in order to eat raw consistently I had to become the version of myself that could hold that much energy, power and possibility and not self-sabotage.
• So while it took time, every time I tried, every time I upped the ante, every time I went a bit longer, I got more and more insights and glimpses of this specialness, this magic. You won’t see many people writing about this or talking about this because very few have done it for very long or sustained it in a healthy balanced way.
• So is raw food for you?
• Well, on a purely physiological level it’s for everyone. Even if you can’t digest plant fibres well, juices are still an option. On an emotional level, only increase raw food if you are ready to deal with emotional baggage you have been carrying or hiding from. Mentally, absolutely if you want to feel clearer and like a fog has lifted. And spiritually, absolutely yes if you are ready to go on a voyage of discovery.
• if this speak to you then I invite you to join me for “Go Raw with Karen” which starts next Monday 23rd January 2023. This will be the last live run of the program. After that it will be available as a homestudy.
• Go Raw with Karen – it’s back for 2023, and is now open for enrolment. One of my best raw food programs of all time! Click here for more details