The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet

Susan Schenck with Victoria BidWell
Awakenings Publications (2008)
ISBN 9780977679515
Reviewed by April Sullivan for Reader Views (12/08)

 

If you have ever been curious about or interested in switching to a raw food diet, then “The Live Food Factor” is the book for you. The subtitle calls it a “comprehensive guide” and I have to say I have never seen a guide more comprehensive than this book. It is almost 700 pages of history, research, and knowledge about getting healthy by eating a 100% raw vegan diet.

This book is a second edition. The main difference between this and the first edition published in 2006 is the addition of contributing author Victoria BidWell’s information on the Natural Hygiene Movement. Evident by the multiple forewords, acknowledgments, and prefaces, this book was a global effort. Susan Schenck is not just out to make a buck, although “The Live Food Factor” is worth every penny. She is genuinely concerned about the health of her fellow man, and wants to lay it all out for you to see the truth about the damaging effects of a cooked food diet and how eating raw can give you a body that can heal itself.

Susan Schenck’s primary goal is to get the most current, most accurate, and most complete information out to the public. She surrounded herself with the most knowledgeable people in the field and lets them write the parts that they know best. She lists every known scientific study on the subject of raw food and every known literary and online resource available.  “The Live Food Factor” is not meant to be the final word in raw food, but a starting place.

I initially found this book to be overwhelming in size. Then I started reading and the positive energy set forth in the opening pages sent a tingle of excitement through my body. I felt like I was about to open the door to a secret world of health that few know about.  The testimonials of people who have started eating raw foods just continued that feeling. Then Susan gets into the science. This section is important for grounding the reader in fact and proof.

I admire Susan Schenck for not giving just a one-sided approach to the issue. She talks about the negative effects that can come from a raw food diet. I think this is very important in converting newcomers as well as getting backsliders back on track. You have to know all the ups and downs to be able to weather them.

“The Live Food Factor” is all that it promises and more. There is a large family of raw fooders out there that is just waiting to embrace us cooked-food addicts. This book is the first hug.

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