Frederick Patenaude Interview by Alex Malinsky

Frederick Patenaude Interview by Alex Malinsky

1. What do you think is the best way to get into raw foods? Do you think we should all be 100%?

Eating 100% raw is not a requirement for excellent health, but it is a great high and good when done properly. The best way to get into raw foods is to do it right from day one. I personally went through a lot of struggle for years because I had listened to some bad advice from inexperienced raw-foodists who didn’t really know what they were talking about. That’s why I wrote my book “The Raw Secrets,” because I didn’t want others to have to go through the same.

The best way to get into this is to take this as an experiment. Go raw for 3 months, and then see how you feel. Change if you want, but try to do it properly for a while, without the mindset that this is the ultimate truth and that you’re going to do this for the rest of your life.

2. What are some of the main problems people encounter when going raw?

To me, the biggest pitfall is that people start eating a lot of fat: avocados, nuts and seeds, oils, etc., and start having problems with
that. They’ll make complicated recipes and forget that the idea of raw foods is returning to simple foods: fruits and vegetables mostly.

3. What are some rawfood staples in your current diet. What are some of your "favorite" foods? And If you could eat "cooked" food....what would you eat?

It depends on the season. Right now it’s fresh figs, white peaches, apples, lettuce, melon, and a few others. My favorite include: mango, durian, jackfruit, sapote, mamey sapote, and many other tropical fruits. I’m not 100% raw (although I was for many years), so I also eat some steamed vegetables, legumes, etc., but if you want to know what “forbidden” thing I craved the most, I got to say that it’s coffee.

4. Have you ever had any kind of symptoms of mental illness, and, if so, what did a raw food diet with supplements get rid of, and are all mental illnesses curable with a raw foods diet/supplements??

I’ve noticed how food greatly affects mental health. Although I’ve never had a diagnosed mental illness per se, I would easily fall into a light depression. I have since then found that by avoiding stimulants (coffee, chocolate, alcohol, drugs, etc.) and by eating a mostly raw, whole food diet, with lots of fruit, I feel a natural high and I’m in a good mood naturally with no desire to take anything to “lift me up.”

5. Can you describe to us what true hunger is? And how does one deal with overeating/binging on raw foods especially dry fruits and fats?

If you want to know what true hunger is, try fasting for a day. Eat a light dinner, and then don’t eat anything the next day. By around 1-2 p.m. you should feel true hunger. It’s a throat sensation, accompanied by a strong desire for food. Any unseasoned food can satisfy true hunger, such as fresh fruit. “Hunger is the best sauce” is such a true saying! By the way, stomach cramps and pains, rumblings in the stomach, a dry mouth, etc., are not signs of true hunger.

6. Have you changed your eating pattern since going on the rawfood diet?

I became less obsessed with it. Also, I’ve started eating simpler meals and gave up the added fat. At some point all I wanted to do was to “stay raw” so I ate whatever I could to compensate. I was eating lots of dried fruit, lots of nuts and seeds, dehydrated foods, oil, complex recipes, etc. Now I think that those foods are worse than some cooked foods. Dried fruits are something I’ve stopped eating, except when I’m traveling (because of the convenience). I also stopped using oil, onion, garlic, hot peppers, and most spices.

7. Is it possible to reverse facial bone structure to our genetic potential/what we were born to have? Have you seen startling examples, besides yourself. How long do these kind of changes take place, and whether or not it's just an illusion created by healthier skin, eyes, hair, not deeper structural changes. Are raw animal products required for this to happen?

If someone has a lot of excess weight, they will see the most results when changing their diets. Personally, I didn’t have excess weight before, so what has changed is mainly my skin, which looks better, and maybe also the brightness of my eyes. Once you’ve reached your ideal body fat level, then what is left to do is to exercise to build muscle, that way you can literally sculpt your body like an artist, working on the areas that require the most work first.

8. How much sun do you think we need as vegans to get enough Vitamin D?

You need to take sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. If you live in the north, you can’t produce vitamin D even if you expose your skin to the sun except during the summer months. You can then either take a supplement or eat some animal foods that contain vitamin D. I personally eat some raw egg yolks. I know some people have said a lot of bad things about animal products, but I think that I little can be good. Egg yolks contain most vitamins and minerals and also contain some vitamin D. I like their taste and I think they can be part of a natural diet.

9. What diet advice do you have for the most common deficiency of a vegan diet? Vitamin D, A, B-12, B complex, DHA, Iron, calcium, zinc etc.?

Vitamin B-12 can be an issue for vegans, but some authors will say that it depends on the state of your intestinal flora. I will go with the recommendations of most vegan doctors who say to take a vitamin B-12 supplement. About the other vitamins (except vitamin D), they can be obtained in a well-balanced vegan diet. DHA is probably a non-issue, since vegetarians and vegans have been raising their children for years without any worry about that and without any problems.

10. Can you please tell us about some of your current projects you're working on and/or developing?

I’m working on different information products, one of them will be about dental health and how you can prevent tooth decay, gum disease and erosion.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

There’s always something new I want to share with people. That’s why I come up with my e-zine every two weeks. In the next issue I’ll be talking about a food that raw-foodist eat that’s causing a lot of problems to a lot of people who are not even aware of it! Please check out my website http://www.fredericpatenaude.com and subscribe to the e-zine for more information. That’s what you can do to keep up with my new projects and receive the updated info.