No, I haven’t gone soft on vegetables.

If anything, I’m more stubborn about them than ever.

At least, the way most people talk about “healthy eating.” The loud, preachy, joyless version is a whole different story. It’s part of why many smart people struggle while pretending they’re fine.

But I will say this.

For more than a decade, I’ve listened to doctors who have taught and practiced this approach consistently. Some for 30 years or more, not casually or “mostly.” Long enough to see trends come and go, and bodies either adapt or break.

And the conversation is usually this.

They say most people don’t dislike vegetables.

Their nervous systems have adapted to overstimulation.

When you spend years eating foods that are highly processed and overstimulating, normal flavors become blunted and milder flavors don’t register the same way at first.

So people conclude vegetables are boring, or unsatisfying, or “not for them.”

Which is similar to stepping out of a loud concert and noticing how quiet everything feels.

These doctors explain that vegetables are both the least calorie-dense and the most nutrient-dense foods we have. That might sound like a slogan until you realize what it means.

Many people are overfed yet undernourished.

And most people are.

Heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune issues, brain fog, chronic fatigue are not mysterious. They are predictable results of diets high in calories and low in nutrients.

Vegetables alone aren’t to blame.

People stop before their bodies have a chance to adjust.

Taste buds change, nerves adapt, and appetite recalibrates. But it takes time, maybe a few weeks, maybe a month. Just long enough for the body to remember what nourishing food tastes like.

Most people never give it that chance.

They want vegetables to be just as rewarding as processed food, right now. But that’s not how the nervous system works.

What’s ironic is that once the shift happens, vegetables don’t feel like a discipline anymore. They feel comforting and satisfying.

And the people who get this don’t need motivation. They need tools that help them stay there: dressings that enhance the flavor, enough volume to feel full, and calorie density that works with the body instead of against it.

Everyone else keeps chasing powders, hacks, and exceptions and keeps wondering why nothing sticks.

This way of eating works best for people who let their nervous system adapt instead of resisting the process.

And it aligns with doctors’ guidance on nervous-system adaptation and basic physiology, less because it’s strict, and more because it reflects how human bodies actually function.

More on that below.

​The Raw Food Secrets​

Irina Valeva

P.S. A few of the things covered inside The Raw Food Secrets include:

• How natural biological forces gradually pull people toward raw food once friction is removed.

• Why industry ignorance creates unnecessary confusion around healthy eating and how to avoid it without becoming extreme.

• A simple food-diary insight that changes how people notice patterns without turning meals into homework.

• Why slow, deliberate transitions outperform rushed enthusiasm when it comes to long-term adherence.

• An unconventional but practical way to add flavor and variety without relying on complex recipes.

• The overlooked reason many people plateau early and how to move past it without forcing motivation.

• Why convenience myths derail beginners, and how to work within real-world constraints instead of fighting them.

• How transitioning too quickly backfires physiologically, even when intentions are good.

• Common health blind spots that keep people repeating the same mistakes with different foods.

• The tendency to overindulge, and how to recognize it before it interferes with progress.

• A clearer look at emotional eating, without moralizing or willpower games.

• Why motivation fades and what replaces it when systems are built correctly.

• How a lack of variety makes eating patterns harder to maintain, and how simple variety restores consistency without added complexity.

• Simple meal ideas built around basic foods instead of complex preparation.

• Practical raw-food techniques that elevate results without demanding chef-level skill.

• A simple way to explore flavors and textures without becoming overly focused on food.

• Clear distinctions between common raw-food myths and what consistently works in real life.

• Why highly rigid, “Type A” approaches often undermine long-term consistency, and how to ease that rigidity without losing progress.

• A steadier way of responding to setbacks that does not depend on bursts of discipline.

• Why “do the best you can” is not an excuse when it is understood and applied correctly.

• And additional insights intended to make raw eating simpler, more flexible, and easier to sustain over time.

​