Hierarchy of Raw Food Types

The term ‘raw foods’ is mentioned a lot throughout the course of Rapid Regeneration and the scope of different topics which are investigated here. I use this term loosely because this lifestyle is not really about living with strict, unbreakable rules. The exact definitions of what works best for each individual are best sculpted by that individual’s natural intuition and instincts about what works for him or her.

You may have one person who is functioning at their best when they are eating an abundance of fruit and very little vegetables. You may have somebody else who thrives when eating big salads or perhaps a lot of vegetable juices. You may have one person who really can’t stomach many nuts/seeds and feels drained of energy after eating them, and another who seems to do just fine. And so, what works for you is sort of left ultimately up to you — you are the boss of you.

Although every ‘body’ is different to some degree, I do want to address here some basic universalities having to do with different types of raw foods, and some scientific qualities especially with regard to the chemistry of the foods and the effects they create on the human body, so that you can know how to use these tools and how to approach certain situations.

The truth is that not all raw foods are created equal. Some are more friendly to the human digestive system than others. And for this reason, some individuals can get heavy into the healthy lifestyle, and seemingly go ‘all-in’ with raw foods to ramp up their health and vitality to a high level — but many times people can get stuck, stall out, plateau, and block themselves from reaching new heights because of the specific raw foods they choose to eat. In essence, they get stuck in a comfort zone which still creates imbalances in the body and the individual fails to really thrive and get to the next level.

For more specifics and exact foods, please see the segment entitled ‘Raw Foods to Consider Avoiding’, which will document specific foods which can be problematic. For now, I will address this more in terms of generalities and genres of foods.

At the bottom of the hierarchy, you would have your nuts and seeds. These foods are nutritious, and provide a lot of great qualities. I hate to say this because I love a good handful of them, but unfortunately this protein-heavy food is acid-forming. Due to its molecular structure — being heavy on the protein and fat and light on carbohydrates — it requires a lot of digestive activity, stomach acid, pancreatic enzyme creation, and liver activity for the body to transmutate these protein and fat elements into usable blocks of energy that your body can actually use to feed its cells and give you energy. This complicated process is more acid-forming and therefore hard on the kidneys as well.

A lot of raw foodists can still run into stagnation and even health problems because they are eating too many nuts and seeds. This is a great place to be for an individual who is transitioning from a high-protein, high-fat modern diet, perhaps with a lot of animal products. But for somebody interested in long-term high-performance thriving with a healthy lifestyle, or for somebody who really wants to deeply detoxify and regenerate their body or reverse a health problem, it would be very tough to get there eating from a lot of this category over a long period of time. For seriously ambitious individuals, this category should be eaten more occasionally.

There are also levels within the world of nuts and seeds. You have to consider the Omega 6 to 3 ratio (an ideal ratio would be close to 1:1), and each nut or seed has its own level of Omega 6 fatty acids which are in excess of how many Omega 3 fatty acids it has. So while the walnut is more protein-heavy than the pecan, making it more acid-forming, it has a more advantageous Omega 6:3 ratio.

Three seeds which are in my experience the most beneficial — and can be added in small amounts frequently to food intake — would be chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds. Both have many nutrients and beneficial compounds, and also have a very low ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids. I would draw an exception to being at the bottom of the hierarchy for these two ingredients, so long as the portion sizes are not in excessive amounts.

The next level up in the hierarchy of raw foods would be fatty fruits. This is a very small segment of fruits, simply because there are not a lot of them in existence, and would include avocados, coconuts, and olives. These are foods which are less acid-forming than nuts and seeds, but which are still very high in fat and so they cause the digestive system of the body and the liver to be overworked in order to convert these foods into usable energy and slow down the lymphatic system. These foods also have a very high ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 and can throw off the body’s natural ratio and balance in terms of fatty acid utilization and inflammation management.

Many individuals who consume raw foods get stuck here and can reach a plateau in their health journey. Now please don’t get me wrong — I enjoy avocados and coconut as much as anybody, and I indulge personally myself. In fact for years I ate many avocados daily and multiple times per day, as I found that it was a food that ‘took the edge off’ and satiated my cravings for fat without having to consume nuts. I certainly made a lot of amazing progress on solving my health problems while eating a ton of avocados.

But, I also found that when I stopped eating avocados most of the time, my energy levels, focus, and performance took a huge leap forwards and I started to reach new heights. It was then that I confirmed that my high intake of fats through these types of foods was actually holding me back.

After making this transition, I no longer craved fat nearly as much as I used to, although I did still have the desire. But I found that I was able to satisfy this desire by instead consuming a small amount of fat and protein from another source. Instead of eating avocados or coconut, I would instead add a big scoop of chia seeds and a big scoop of hemp seeds into a banana smoothie. I would grind up the seeds first in a small grinder to turn them into a powder to make sure their nutrients could be absorbed. Doing this once per day, I found that this satisfied my desire for fat.

Without these seeds, I don’t think I would be able to have given up avocados (which I still eat occasionally as a treat). So you see, the hierarchy is not black and white, and there are some nuances to this, because these two seeds would exist, in my view, at a higher level on the hierarchy than would the other nuts and seeds, and above even the other fatty fruits.

The next level on the hierarchy of raw foods would be dried fruits and vegetables. One way to create more variety in your intake of raw foods is to use a dehydrator, which can help create different textures and culinary experiences which are found in the cooked food world. The water content is removed from these foods when dried, and it is no longer as alkalizing of a food and electrically available, so this would not provide nearly the vitality as would the fresh, ripe, hydrating versions of these foods.

Next up on the hierarchy would be raw, fresh vegetables. Remember your mother insisting that you eat these? Well, your feelings of resistance towards them then were natural so please don’t feel too guilty. After all, it appears that humans are not herbivores and we lack the digestive tools to really stomach and process many of these foods which are so fibrous and cellulose-rich.

There are levels within vegetables and certain ones can be problematic, which is described in more detail in the ‘Raw Foods to Consider Avoiding’ segment. Generally vegetables are a good raw food and provide lots of nutrition, vitamins and minerals, as well as cellular intelligence. They are good for getting fiber into your system, which helps clean the GI tract out, as well as building strength and muscle for those interested in athletic prowess.

Vegetables are an alkaline-forming food, as compared with nuts and seeds, and are generally easier for your body to digest than high-fat fruits. They do have their digestive downsides, including the fact that they are more taxing than fruits to digest because of how fibrous they are. Also, because of their low sugar content, they are less calorically dense and so you can either be left feeling very hungry or would have to eat much more veggies than fruits to satisfy your energy needs. Vegetables have a high electrical rating in terms of how many angstroms of electricity are available in a meal, although they don’t have quite as much as fruits do and therefore for increased neurological and nervous system function cannot provide the type of electrical energy that fruits can.

The next level on the hierarchy of raw foods, as we near the top, would be herbs. These amazing species of plants are basically just non-hybridized vegetables and/or leafy greens in many cases, except that they possess special healing properties which give them the quality of strengthening certain systems of the body. I can’t say enough good things about these little plants which give so much to the animal species of this Earth. That is why they are right at the top of the hierarchy, either tied with fruits or right below. I suppose if you could only choose one to live with, herbs would have to go.

At the top of the hierarchy would be fresh, ripe fruits. These raw foods are packed with nutrition, hydration, probiotics, and electricity. They are alkaline-forming and you can’t do much better in terms of the ingredients that you are putting into your body in order to fuel, heal, alkalize, detoxify and regenerate (AKA solve your health problems and go to the next level).

There are levels to the types of fruits which you can eat. You can consider the stringent quality of a fruit. Some of the most astringent fruits (in other words those fruits which would pull out the most acidic chemistry and are the most detoxifying) would be lemons, limes, and grapes, followed by other acid fruits, and then sub-acid fruits, as compared with sweet fruits which aren’t nearly as astringent.

I am aware of the philosophy that tropical fruits can be more agreeable to the body than fruits that grow in colder, harsher climates. Under this premise, fruits like pineapples, mangos, melons and kiwis would be more beneficial than apples, plums, cherries and pears. I could see how the logic for this would make sense because it seems like humans are originally a tropical species, and we would be therefore eating more naturally closer to our actual native habitat. On an intuitive level, this also seems to resonate, although I do enjoy a good bowl of cherries (and I do think it’s true what they say about ‘an apple a day’).

You can also consider fruits comparing their water content or how much they are hydrating. The banana on the one hand is a great fruit that I personally love and eat all the time which is perhaps more of a structural and strength-building food but is not so much a detoxifier or hydrating food. After all, it is more starchy, solid, and even contains a modest level of fat and protein. Compare this with a watermelon which is basically almost all liquid, or a fresh pineapple or some oranges. If you’re trying to hydrate and detoxify your body chemistry, then I believe these more liquid fruits would be a more powerful detoxifier. If you’re trying to provide nutrition and build up your strength and eat something more functional, then I would think you could go with the banana as more of a rebuilder.

So there are levels to the world of fruits and while I place all fruits at the top of the hierarchy categorically, there are levels among different fruits that allow them to serve different functions according to our needs. It is amazing how we are provided all the tools we need here on Earth to keep ourselves healthy, well, and thriving (and keep the doctor away).

Within each category, there are also some ‘problem children’ that for whatever reason seem to cause problems with certain ingredients being digested by humans — more on that in the next chapter ahead.

This whole program is designed to give you the tools to have a higher level of awareness than I had when I started trying to use foods to heal myself and solve my health problems. Had I known a lot of this sooner, I think I would have been much more effective. I am paying forward this knowledge as sort of a karmic good deed and I hope that it helps you. Please use these insights to heighten your own awareness about the truth and how you can accomplish your goals by using the amazing powers of the raw foods available to you.

Don’t delay — take care of business and make it happen!