Ciao,
I will be visiting Siena, Italy during the month of August and some time also in September. If there are any raf people there, I would love to meet up and share a meal together!
Just send me an email if you would like to meet.
Un saluto,
Suoaei

Update: in addition to meat and milk, my cat apparently prefers water that has a fresh-cut plant in it. My housemate says her mom always had 'flower water' for the cats-- right now we are using a whole rose blossom, including a bit of stem and leaves. This calls to my mind AV's 'living water' idea; never would have thought to use flower petals, though.

I just read this entire thread for the first time, start to finish, and there was some great advice given in it.
I noticed a couple of things (and please correct me if I am wrong):
1. You seem to waver a lot between being sure and being very unsure of what is "right" for you to eat.
2. You doubt your own ability to recognize healthy foods and you are asking other people to tell you what is healthy
3. When the doctor says your tests are abnormal, you become very afraid.

If these observations are correct, I have some advice that I hope is helpful for you: Take a deep breath, let it out, and smile! It's all going to be ok.

You are in charge of your own health and healing process!

Research is good, but with all those conflicting studies out there, it can get confusing. Instead of reading a bunch of websites trying to solve a particular problem, I would recommend finding and reading the RAF books that are most popular here. Then you can have a deeper, more focused understanding of what a raw diet really means and how to be a successful raw food eater. When you find your healthy diet, proper weight, energy, and normal test results will follow.

Don't let your doctor's fears scare you. You always have a choice about going to the hospital, taking medications, even scheduling appointments. You don't have to if you don't want to. A common opinion among raw foodies is that the hospital/meds should always be your absolute last resort, because they will make your situation worse in the long run.

It sounds like you already keep a food diary, which is great. It also sounds like you are paying close attention to how you feel after eating different types of food--also great.

If you are going to ask for really specific advice on the forum, I think it would be helpful if you give a very clear description of what you eat. You might even post some of your recent food diary entries. That way nobody will give advice based on false assumptions about what you do or don't eat.

One more thing to watch out for: nobody can say what your exact needs are except you. And, your dietary needs can change very rapidly--you can have different needs in the morning than at night, in the summer compared to winter, on your menstrual cycle compared to the rest of the month, etc. This is why it's so important for you to get a book--or several books--devoted to teaching people how to listen properly to their bodies. ie, a RAF book.
If reading isn't your thing, maybe you can find a RAF health practitioner who you can work with one on one!

Has anybody had success with a raw diet for a cat? I'm feeling like I really don't understand how her body works, and it's so sad when I know she's hurting and I don't know what to do.

This is what I've done so far:

I've been feeding my 9 year old kitty raw food for a couple of years, and it's been quite a journey. When I lived in a house where other cats ate wet and dry food, it was very hard to keep her from eating it too. She was very overweight and possibly diabetic from a lifetime of canned food and kibble. I restricted her portions and fed her  chicken livers blenderized with ground turkey and chicken meat. She lost weight and is now normal sized (under her 2-3 inch coat).  It's only been the last 6 months or so since we moved that I can feed her 100% raw.  Lately I've been giving her just pastured organs cut up--pork livers, hearts, and kidneys. Recently she's been acting very unusual--waking up at odd hours, meowing excessively, walking around crying as though she is in pain.
She has a very small abscess that has been dormant for months that seems to be acting up, my housemate showed me how to keep it soft and drain it. She has runny eyes ("normal" for her) and a runny nose. She also appears to be constipated: I mean 5-7 days at a time, no poop in the litter box. She doesn't relieve herself outside.
It's incredibly frustrating because she can't talk to me and tell me what she needs. So, I decided to go with whatever she wants.  She doesn't want a lot of meat, either organs or fish. She goes outside and nibbles on the grass. She wants to be on my lap all the time, even when I sit down to eat. This is how I discovered that she is craving milk like nobody's business, so now she's drinking raw milk every day. I did a little research and gave her an egg yolk, which she devoured and then finally made a little tiny poop. But after that she didn't want any more egg yolk--just milk. Yesterday she also ate a quarter of a biscuit (even a raw foodie needs a home-baked biscuit once and a while! Raw honey and raw butter on them, mmm mm!) and some time afterwards she finally had a sizeable bowel movement.

After some listening to her, and to my instincts, and looking at Pottenger's study, I've started giving her raw milk, quality cod liver oil, and raw meats (pastured organs and wild fish meat, fish with scales/fins/bones at least once  a week) with the occasional biscuit. If you have any advice or experience with RAF cats, I would really, really appreciate hearing it!

In response to the question about eating on your menstrual cycle, I've noticed a couple of really important things for me: My menstruation is a time of extreme healing, detoxification, and emotional release. In order to support this week in a healthy way, I eat large quantities of darker meats (like steak or lamb, or organs) as well as a LOT more fat than usual.
Yes, I eat those things completely raw, but even for cooked meat eaters I think this is good advice. Also, I stay away from caffeine, sugars, and anything else that will speed up my metabolism and make me even hungrier!

Animals that are fed nothing but corn are unhealthy. You would be, too, if you ate nothing but corn. But personally, I don't see anything wrong with grain as a supplement to a foraging diet. Grass-fed cows, for example, aren't actually fed only on grass--they also eat a certain portion of hay and grain, as part of their 'natural' seasonal cycles. Sometimes when a milk cow over-pastures on fresh grass, it actually gives the milk an unpleasant sour taste which is quite unique.

Also, none of the animals we are talking about are actually wild animals with a natural diet. They have been bred to produce more meat, and therefore they depend on humans to provide them with more high-energy food than they would find naturally.

One thing to be wary of is whether the grain they use as a supplement is organic--because if it isn't, then it was probably genetically modified, and you have to decide if you are willing to eat an animal that was fed on GMO grains.

When I started to eat raw meat, it took me a long time to get used to the texture. I wasn't afraid of getting sick, but like you I found the idea unpalatable.  I would say it's almost like an acquired taste. If you eat a little bit every day, you'll start to get used to it and then you'll start to crave it. Here's my advice, you can try it if you want: Start with the meat that sounds most palatable to eat raw. Chicken? Steak? Pork? Fish?  Buy a piece of whatever meat you think will be easiest, and cut off just a couple little pieces. (Note that with steak especially, you want to get a cut that has a good texture--new york, cross rib roast, and sirloin are my favorites. Also, cut the meat across the grain for the best texture.) Eat them without added flavorings the first time. Just put a little piece in your mouth and chew! Experience the pure flavor without judging it.
Later, experiment with flavors. Sauces, fruits, vegetables, cheese, or spices can make a bit of raw meat seem really exciting. I think marinated raw meat is especially delicious.

One other trick: I used to sear my meat on the outside, leaving the middle raw, in order to get used to the raw texture.

These tricks are just to get you started, to make it less scary. Once you get used to raw meat, you will probably begin to naturally choose it over cooked meat. That was my experience, anyways.
I wish you success and health!

Hello, I am a 22 year old woman living in Santa Cruz, CA. I have been eating the Primal Diet/raw Metabolic Diet for three years, and I am so excited that I found this forum!
I have sometimes participated in other health forums, but most of the people I meet there are completely closed to the idea of raw meat. Even a lot of people I know in my life are closed to it! You can imagine what my parents thought when they first found out. It is a huge, wonderful, gratifying relief to find an entire forum full of people who love raw meat!! I hope to learn a lot about people's unique approaches, and maybe share some recipes.
Happy solstice, everyone!