Happy Tuesday, how’s your week going so far? Mine is going and I’m looking forward to a day off tomorrow. Before learning about a raw vegan diet, I didn’t really think much about gluten and how it affected me. All I knew is I didn’t seem to be allergic or sensitive to it, so I probably didn’t need to worry about it. But at my first raw recipe class just over a year ago, the instructor mentioned that gluten is like glue for our digestive systems and because it’s highly processed in many forms, not something our bodies can easily digest. But I read something more disturbing about it today in this article:

“I put her on a gluten-free diet and 90 percent of the migraines went away,” Korn said. “I thought it would help because gluten attacks the immune system, causing inflammation. And that’s what a migraine is, inflammation.”

Korn also maintains a gluten-free diet, which she said helped dramatically to reduce her symptoms of thyroid disease.

So gluten attacks the immune system, fuels migraines and thyroid disease? Lovely! From the research I’ve done on gluten and it’s effects on the body, I’ve basically become more confused on whether it’s bad for people or not because there is so much conflicting data on it. But I agree that my digestive issues have settled a lot since cutting out processed foods containing gluten, though I’m not 100% gluten free. Eating it close to it’s natural form seems to be fine, but processed forms tend to cause more digestive trauma and energy sags for me.

Also, Woody Harrelson is a high-raw vegan, which I knew since catching him on the Howard Stern show awhile back chatting with Robin, also a high-raw vegan. He called into the show from Maui absolutely baked – rough life. Anyway, he has an interesting way of gardening:

Promoting a vegan, mostly raw diet, he admits to gardening naked and recently endured a 40-day fast.  He and his wife erected VoiceYourself.com, a portal to educate and inspire eco-activists, which he often blogs on.  Despite these efforts, and a cameo in last year’s Sundance-winning biodiesel sweetheart, “Fuel” Harrelson says he “lacks leadership skills” and “could do more” to aid the planet.

Now, I’ve never gardened naked … maybe in my underwear a few times. Holy cow on the 40-day fast!?! That is not something I could ever do. At the last raw recipe class I went to, there was a long-term raw foodie there who was very passionate about fasting and juicing regularly doing them and promoting the benefits. Problem was he was not a great representative for me because he looked sickly thin and seemed, uh, lacking in the energy area. Also, he hammered the importance of not driving during fasts and juicing detoxes lasting more than a day. Uh, yeah, not realistic! From the way he described the benefits of it, I got the feeling it was more a mental high than part of a journey to better health. Luckily the raw instructor chimed in that she would never do one for more than a day, I don’t think I could even do that with active half-marathon training. With everything I’ve read on fasting and juicing, I’m not convinced that it is truly beneficial to health and maintaining a diet packed of whole foods cleansing enough. In fact I’m nervous of the damage fasting or juicing would do to my metabolism.

Anyway, here’s another raw success story that I enjoyed reading, though not so much the reason she initially tried the diet was to lose weight.

I have a lot more energy, I don’t feel overstuffed however, I am rarely hungry and my whole family benefits when mommy is healthy and happy!  Besides the best part is I have lost over 24 pounds since January and I am still going.  I am leaner, stronger, and more fit than I have been in years.

A positive success story with many good points about a high-raw diet and the positive influences it can have.

I had another splurge lunch at Whole Foods today and tried something new that was where Kombucha used to be.

KeVita Kefira Matcha Green Tea. It was $3 on sale, so a pretty big splurge. At 40 calories per serving, it was lighter than a Kombucha, but the lack of sweetness reflected in the flavor. As for the flavor – ick! It was bitter and sour, not sweet at all. Not like a champagne as Ani describes her homemade kefir and I really hope my homemade kefir comes out sweeter! But, like Kombucha, this had a pleasant mellowing affect on my insides and mellowed my appetite for the rest of the afternoon at work, I wasn’t tempted to snack at all.

My splurge lunch was a treat to myself because I was on a shoe mission to nearby DSW Shoes. I’m looking for new running shoes and am very close to ordering Saucony Kinvara’s. But athletic shoe sizing can be a PITA as each company seems to have their own definition of what my size is. I’ve read that one should get 1/2 larger in running shoes and not. It doesn’t help that I have large feet by women’s standards being between 10.5 to 11. So I decided to try on various Saucony styles as DSW before ordering, naturally they didn’t have the Kinvara’s or even any Saucony’s in 10.5, but they had plenty of 10s and good thing I tried them on because they fit me perfectly, better then my 10.5 Asics. Ugh, why can’t shoe sizes be more standardized? But I feel much more confident about what size to order.

For dinner I was craving curry and quinoa, so I started vegan-izing and adding to this recipe and ended up with this:

I added tofu cubes and fresh cauliflower and simmered with the curry seasoning a little longer to remove the extra moisture from the tofu and replace it with curry goodness – the plan worked nicely, the tofu absorbed the flavor while the curry was not overkill. It was perfect topped with parsley and pepper.

Staying hydrated in the summer heat is a huge issue for me while running, I have to carry some water with me on longer runs and have been trying to find the perfect solution to do so. Really, there is no perfect solution, I’ve tried a running belt with a bottle, but the bouncing annoys me and a water backpack is too hot. But my latest purchase is much closer.

Nathan Quickdraw Elite handheld water bottle. The pocket is just big enough to jam an iPhone and has a key clip, very rare for handhelds, and it seems to stay tightly on my hand.

I took it on a 4 mile run tonight and was very happy, the phone stayed tight while the earphone cord did not get in way. I’m right-handed, but found carrying it in my left felt better. If you run, do you have a favorite hydration tool?