I've tried it, became extremely cold, extremely pale, had mood swings, ... I think it was mostly due to a protein deficiency and a lack of easy-to-absorb animal nutrients (especially fat-soluble ones). There is no science backing up such a diet, it's extremely restrictive, and I noticed the only people that have success with it live in warm countries where they

• have access to loads of quality fruit
• have a lot of sun shining on their faces all year long

I'd rather be extremely sick, as long as I don't have to live a life of pure laziness to get healthy. Life is so empty without work. I don't think a lifetime of talking about superfoods while I know damn well there's no science backing it up would make me very proud of myself.

And you know what bothers me the most? Most raw vegans that were successful start to preach : they act as if it's the only healthy diet, and also have the tendency to criticize people for failing on it. Most of them don't even know what a P-value is yet they wouldn't be afraid of citing "science" like the China study.

Last time I saw durianrider in a video he called Sally Fallon a "fat cow", completely ignoring the fact that he kinda looks older than her. After which he stated that weston price was a fan of wheat, taking a phrase completely out of context. Isn't that crazy? Doesn't he understand what harm he can do with that? I nearly got killed because of this diet (the amount of suicidal thoughts were endless), and I'm definitely not the only one.

I also don't understand the idea of animal cruelty. What's so noble about not eating meat? Cruelty comes in many forms, and is just a part of life. Why is it so hard to understand that positive is only positive because there is a negative?

As a species we survive by being supremely adaptable. This, combined with the fact that almost any diet strategy is likely to have a grain of truth that makes it better than SAD, means that people can report results that sometimes seem completely contradictory. A strong argument for going paleo is that it comes from the other direction, providing a unified theory from which we deduce what foods to eat rather than picking a diet and then trying to justify it.

Trying to determine what the standards a diet should be judged by are a outstanding issue. How should it affect your weight? Does it count if you include supplements? Should it enable you to be highly active every day? Should it require half your waking day spent in food prep? So many questions before we even know what success means, and that's without even really taking into account other lifestyle factors. We all have different priorities, so we will inevitably have different standards for success when choosing our diet.

The raw vegan diet was the most dangerous diet I ever tried. Not only that, but I was also body building at the time (yet I was only gaining fat at 187 lbs) and eating enormous amounts of cereals and starches to bulk up. I ended up with very high blood pressure 150/90, high triglycerides 220+, high-normal blood sugar 90, and very low HDL under 15! My blood was thick like molasses. When I had a nurse perform a glucose test, she couldn't even get my blood to come out of my finger because of it's glue-like viscosity. It was terrifying. So then to counter it, I bought every known natural supplement to lower my blood pressure - none of them worked.

As soon as I switched to a paleo diet - all these things reversed within weeks. Now I test my cholesterol and blood pressure frequently to make sure I never end up like that again. My LDL has a tendency to creep up every now and then with the paleo diet, so I still take cholesterol supplements to keep that down. My HDL never comes up over 32, but as long as I keep my total cholesterol to around 120, my ratios are ok. MY blood pressure now averages 110/75 and often goes lower on days I eat 0 carbs. My fasting blood sugar is now an ultra-low 60 with no symptoms of hypoglycemia. I now weight 162 lbs.

Raw Veganism 1) Paranoid 2) Anxiety/Severe depression 3) Lightheaded/dizzy 4) Pale/extremely poor skin 5) Socially isolated

I was vegan for a few years and I gained a lot of weight. It wasn't like I was eating a lot of junk, I was just eating carbs and sugar all the time thinking that it was somehow be healthier for me. I ended up having several medical problems associated with veganism such as demineralization of teeth and bones, causing several of my teeth to break and a broken fifth metatarsal (aka broken foot). On top of all of that I was depressed all the time due to lack of B vitamins. I made the switch to Paleo a week after I started CrossFit. I was pukey and lightheaded all the time and my coach asked me what I eat, I told him I was vegan and he informed me that CrossFit will never get better for me if I don't change my protein source. I did some research and arrived at the fact that a change in my diet may not be too bad for me. I still can't touch raw meat without getting grossed out but I feel better, my foot has rehabbed, I've lost over 20 pounds, I'm so much stronger, and my depression is gone (that could be that winter is over, who knows) so this was obviously the right choice for me. I do know of a couple people who do a Paleo version of veganism and they seem to be thriving, so it really is an individual decision.

I have dabbled in vegetarian/vegan/raw for many years but I always ended up feeling horrible. I just can't seem to cut animal flesh out of my diet completely and feel well.

Last year I did a stint of raw vegan + cooked meat and felt great. I think the premise behind raw is ridiculous but those people make some amazing food IMO. I took some classes and just had a lot of fun with it. I still routinely make raw wraps and crackers, kale salad and of course the classic raw vegan zucchini noodles made with a spirilizer and it works for me.

When I was a raw vegan (for a month, didn't last very long at all) I mostly looked pregnant all the time. My stomach was just this huge orb of gas and undigested starch- it was bizarre looking. I didn't know that "cooked" was a thing you could crave, but turns out it is. I think there are some good food preparation tips from raw vegans that can be applied really well to paleo (they sure work hard for maximum palitability), but I don't buy it: it is some magic-incredible-eat-the-living-things-that-are-dead-for-their-pixie-dust woo. Generally, if you have to supplement the crap out of a diet for it to be successful, it isn't the natural cure-all that they are talking about. B12 injections haven't been around since the dawn of time, and they are usually integral to a prolonged raw vegan diet.

Also, raw vegans ABUSE the word "Yummy". Every recipe is "Yummy, Ooey, Gooey, Yumminess filled with Yummy!!". Can't stand it.

I was vegan for a few years as a teen. I tried to go raw and barely lasted a day. It must take some major mind over matter.

Just happened to stumble upon this site as I was looking for some raw vegan stuff, just wondering what everyone who did it ate during the time they tried it? Reading up on some of this stuff because one of my friends started it, she felt crummy and stopped I got curious and started (since I know not everything is for everyone), been going good so far actually but I am more of a veggie and green person, actually I think 80% of what I eat is green smoothies with hardly any fruit, really the only reason that I started it was out of vanity, I wanted to lose weight and change my skin which so far so good, I did have a really crappy like emotional detox I guess you would call it but I bounced back and my emotions are more serene then ever really which is great because I have constantly been struggling with fits of anger and sadness for a long time. I know this question is old so I wouldn't be surprised if I don't get an answer. I am posting on a paleo and a raw vegan board just so I can get some helpful advice and opinions from both since unfortunately it seems like an epic battle between the two and I can't just go to one site to get info, lol.