[sstalder5]

My brother has been on a lot of weird diets the past few years but I think its getting out of hand. Right now he is vegan, and only eats raw, organic foods. And he wont eat anything solid, he puts everything in a blender. He's mainly been eating seeds, lots of bananas and other fruits, and various vegetables. He won't take suppliments or any vitamins.

I'm worried that hes gone a bit overboard with all this. He's always been skinny but after starting this diet hes gotten skinnier. Hes probably about 140 and hes about 6'2''. He's not very active either. I'm afraid that his health is getting worse instead of better. But every time I say something about it he justifies everything with pseudoscience he's found on the internet. Most of it sounds like common sense to him, but with my background in biology and human anatomy I can safely say most of it is BS and some of it (like the blender) is counterproductive.

Does anyone have any experience with anything like this? Or do you know anyone like this? I'm worried that he could do some serious damage starving his body of essential nutrients.

 

[Konabumm]

I did this "raw" diet for about 2 weeks - my reading said this was more of a cleansing of the system, not a diet. Alot of people seem to get that confused - After about 12 days I started getting headaches so I got back to normal food.

Is your brother overweight or just doing these diets for the hell of it ?

 

[stevew]

Is your brother overweight or just doing these diets for the hell of it ?

original post said he was 6'2" and 140 pounds.....so....no.

 

[jonKranked]

get some baby powder...... and b*tch slap your brother

 

[laura]

140 pounds at 6'2'' is really close to being underweight, but if he is a skinny guy anyway, then it could be ok for him. Is he doing this for percieved health reasons or is he using the psuedo science behind his choices to justify not eating a lot? What I am asking is does he exhibit any other symptoms that might make you think he has an eating disorder?

If he is eating lots of veggies/nuts etc he could be getting plenty of nutrients. What it sounds like he is lacking is calories and you need those to live. He should also pay closer attention to calories from protien and fat. He does need fat to stay healthy and while seeds have tons of great fat, you have to eat a lot of them to get what you need every day.

Has he gone to a doctor to get a work up? Does he say that he feels ok? Does he act like he feels ok?

 

[ridiculous]

What do you mean by restrictive?

If hes getting his caloric maintenance intake and there is somewhat of a balance between protein, carbs and fat whats the issue? Now if hes taking in 500 calories a day and its all carbs then he will probably have an issue. Ive heard of all raw, vegan diets before but everyone that I know that did it eventually went back to eating "normally" and exercising. Do your brother a favor and cook him some bacon, that should clear that vegan problem right up.

 

[sstalder5]

140 pounds at 6'2'' is really close to being underweight, but if he is a skinny guy anyway, then it could be ok for him. Is he doing this for percieved health reasons or is he using the psuedo science behind his choices to justify not eating a lot? What I am asking is does he exhibit any other symptoms that might make you think he has an eating disorder?

If he is eating lots of veggies/nuts etc he could be getting plenty of nutrients. What it sounds like he is lacking is calories and you need those to live. He should also pay closer attention to calories from protien and fat. He does need fat to stay healthy and while seeds have tons of great fat, you have to eat a lot of them to get what you need every day.

Has he gone to a doctor to get a work up? Does he say that he feels ok? Does he act like he feels ok?

He takes in a lot of food so I dont think its an eating disorder. I'm mainly worried about the lack of fat in his diet and the all liquid factor. The nutrients are probably going through his system too fast since they go in in liquid form. Plus you break down starches in your mouth and with a liquid diet the starches are probably passing through without ever getting digested.

 

[laura]

He takes in a lot of food so I dont think its an eating disorder. I'm mainly worried about the lack of fat in his diet and the all liquid factor. The nutrients are probably going through his system too fast since they go in in liquid form. Plus you break down starches in your mouth and with a liquid diet the starches are probably passing through without ever getting digested.

He is going to absorb the nutrients, but the body will process his sugars differently because of the lack of fiber in the juice. Why is he only juicing? What about salads with good oils on them? How old is this guy? If he feels fine and isn't acting strangely otherwise, I would let him figure it out on his own.

 

[pnj]

PLENTY of people eat raw, blended foods. The fiber is still in the drink unless he's actually juicing.

If he's eating nuts he's getting fat and protiens.

I'm curiuos what you consider 'normal' foods?

 

[sstalder5]

Hes 21. Hes blending not juicing. He only blends, no solids. And every time he doesnt feel good he adds on another extreme aspect to his diet rather than removing the one that most likely caused it.

I'm curiuos what you consider 'normal' foods?

 

[pnj]

ugh. that food pyramid is WAY wrong. especially if it's for college students.



I don't see beer ANYWHERE on that chart.


I don't see anything wrong with what he's doing. He's getting all the nutrients from what he eats. Just because he's drinking it doesn't make it worse.

 

[stevew]

i see no bbq in his diet.....fail.

 

[laura]

PLENTY of people eat raw, blended foods. The fiber is still in the drink unless he's actually juicing.

If he's eating nuts he's getting fat and protiens.

I'm curiuos what you consider 'normal' foods?

This is true. I didn't realize that he was just blending not juicing.

I am failing to see the issue with this diet. It is "extreme" but it's full of good foods. What is the problem?

 

[stevew]

I am failing to see the issue with this diet. It is "extreme" but it's full of good foods. What is the problem?

you don't think being 6'2" and 140 pounds is a little underweight?

 

[laura]

you don't think being 6'2" and 140 pounds is a little underweight?

I think that it is close to underweight.

I said that already. And depending on his build (which the OP has said has always been skinny) it may be a naturally occuring thing. The OP also guessed his weight so we have no clue how close to correct he is.

 

[drkenan]

Tell him to read the Thrive Diet Nothing wrong with going vegan or doing the raw foods thing unless you don't know how to do it properly. That book is really good for these purposes.

 

[Emerett]

Do your brother a favor and cook him some bacon, that should clear that vegan problem right up.

I was a vegetarian for about 2 years until I had too much cough syrup one day and smelled some bacon after sex.

It's a drug man, a drug.

 

[Sghost]

I was a vegetarian for about 2 years until I had too much cough syrup one day and smelled some bacon after sex.

It's a drug man, a drug.

I deem this a worthy necro.