How to Become a Raw Vegan in 5 Steps

Many people have done research regarding the raw vegan lifestyle and are interested in changing their diets. The problem that creeps up, however, is that going from a standard Western diet to a raw vegan diet can seem like a daunting task, and if you try to do it all at once, it is. That’s why it’s important to gradually ease into your new lifestyle and take it bit by bit. Below is a five-step guide outlining, in order, the things you should eliminate from your diet, one at a time. If you’ve gone without sugar for a week and you feel ready to take the next step, great; if you want to wait a month, great. This is your journey and it’s up to you, but by following this order you can become a raw vegan with as minimal stress to your body as possible. If you only want to go vegan, you can stop at step four.

Step 1: Eliminate Sugar

Refined sugar is the single worst ingredient you’re consuming. Not only does refined and processed sugar have literally no place in a healthy diet, your body doesn’t know how to process it, so it can cause many side effects. The first step on your journey to raw veganism is to eliminate all refined sugar.

Step 2: Eliminate Processed Foods

For the purposes of your transition, processed foods essentially means anything in a package. This category includes chips, canned goods, packaged goods, and the like. However, at this point, it does not include meat, cheese, dried fruit, and things of that nature. You can still have those. A good tip is to stick to the outside of the grocery store. That’s where the fruit, vegetables, meat, bakery-fresh bread, and dairy are stored. All the processed foods are in the middle.

Step 3: Eliminate Meat

Meat is not only toxic to your body, but it’s toxic to the environment, too. It has been estimated that 20 percent of the world’s pollution is caused by the meat industry. Not only that, but most of commercialized meat includes additives, hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, and even gluten and wheat powder. Taking this step will not only save you a lot of calories and fat, but will be a major turning point on your road to becoming a raw vegan.

Step 4: Eliminate Dairy

Dairy is the logical elimination to make after you’ve become comfortable with your vegetarian lifestyle. When you eliminate dairy, know that this means the elimination of eggs, as well. At this point your diet will be made up of mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole wheat pasta, vegan sauces, and the like. Once you’ve eliminated dairy, assuming you’ve followed the steps above, you are now a vegan. If you don’t have any interest in becoming a raw vegan, that’s completely fine; feel free to stop the transition right here. If you want to become a raw vegan, though, there is one more step you have to take.

Step 5: Eliminate Cooked Foods

When you cook your vegetables and food, you take what was a vibrant and living food and essentially kill it. You will notice that if you cook a bell pepper, that bright, green, beautiful food becomes the color of kelp or something similar. Cooking your food leeches the ingredients out of it, and many cooked foods, such as bread and pasta, are essentially paste made from wheat and water. Ever wonder where the words “pasta” and “pastry” come from? You will also need to eliminate oils, although some raw vegans do not; a low fat raw vegan, however, does eliminate oils. The choice is ultimately yours.

Final Destination

Congratulations! Once you’ve completed these steps, you have become a raw vegan. Hopefully this guide has served you well in helping you through the major milestones on your way to a healthier and more abundant life. The raw vegan lifestyle is beautiful, abundant, energizing, and healthy. It’s kind to your body, your mind, your spirit, and the environment, as well as other living creatures. If it takes you a month or five years to get through the steps, it doesn’t matter; the important thing is that you have taken steps consistently towards a healthier and cleaner way of living.

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