Raw Food Central Welcomes International Speaker

Despite the impending weather, twenty fans of raw food eating came out Aug. 26 to attend a weekend-long conference led by international speaker and author Dr. Doug Graham, and sponsored by local Windsor business, Raw Food Central. Graham, who is based in the U.K., is an adviser to many competitive athletes and has taken his knowledge about raw and healthy eating all around the world. He was also a chiropractor for two decades and is recognized as one of the fathers of the modern raw movement. Graham runs a water fasting retreat in Florida.

The three-day conference, which was held at Loomis Chaffee, was titled "Perfect Health, Perfect Weight, Perfect Life," goes through Graham's 80/10/10 diet step-by-step. The 80/10/10 diet is Graham's raw food-focused diet that encourages the development of optimum health, weight and fitness.

During the conference, he walked through his program and also discussed issues surrounding fat, nutrition, fitness, carbohydrates and sugar.

Attendees came from as far away as Ft. Lauderdale and Philadelphia. 

Manchester resident Christopher Paylin came to learn more about the raw food lifestyle after having switched entirely to raw foods last year.

"I was just curious and stumbled onto some YouTube videos," he said. "I am a fan of Graham."

Paylin, who eats just fruits and greens, was initially impressed with the positive effects a raw food life can bring, including disease prevention.  "I was really in shock that all this could happen from just a diet," he said.  He has been doing Graham's 80/10/10 diet since the beginning of 2011.

Graham spent his lunch talking with conference participants, and all the attendees were happy to network and get to know other raw "foodies."

Graham says he enjoys small conferences like the one that Griffing and Raw Food Central hosted because it's his chance to "reach out to people who are willing to invest and improve themselves." Although he has worked with entertainment starts like Demi Moore and athletes like Martina Navratilova, he says he won't choose to work with anyone who won't put their whole selves into trying the raw diet.

"I've got something that's working so well, I can't keep it a secret," he said about raw eating and added that he does no advertising at all and that athletes looking to improve their performances seek him out. "If they won't give me 100 percent, I won't accept them as a client," he said.

Raw Food Central is run by Curt Griffing with his wife Kristin and their 3 children Wynter, Brianna and Windsor. They are devoted to helping people become disease and obesity free simply by changing their diets to a raw, plant-based diet through educational classes with food demonstrations.  

Both Curtis and Kristin have dealt with a variety of health problems all their lives, including severe asthma and rheumatoid arthritis of which Curt was told there was no cure but drugs and surgery.  

For more information about the classes Raw Food Central offers, go to their website: www.rawfoodcentral.com.