Kristina_Carrillo-Bucaram

Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram

Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram

American vegan activist (born 1987)

Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram (FullyRawKristina) (born 11 March 1987) is a writer, speaker, and raw vegan activist. She is the founder and creator of FullyRaw, the Rawfully Organic cooperative,[1][2][3] FullyRaw Juice, and author of the book The FullyRaw Diet: 21 Days to Better Health.[4] Her YouTube channel, where she discusses a variety of topics but mostly shares her raw vegan recipes, has more than 90 million views.[5] She is based in Hawaii.[6]

Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...

Early life

Carrillo-Bucaram was raised in a multicultural household with a Lebanese mother and an Ecuadorian father. She says she was raised on traditional food and that has affected her health and later her activism.[7] At the age of 16 she was diagnosed with hyperglycemia, meaning she had a high blood sugar condition, and the early stage of Type 2 diabetes.[4] She claims that her hyperglycemia caused her to become emaciated, weighing in at only 87 pounds (39 kg) while standing 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall.[7][8]

Carrillo-Bucaram did her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt University[9] and later graduated from Rice University in 2009 with the summa cum laude distinction and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa for completing at least 90 semester hours in courses that reflect "learning for its own sake."[10][11] She graduated with majors in kinesiology, health science, and vocal performance[12][13] and briefly studied abroad in Costa Rica focusing on agriculture.[14]

Health journey and controversial claims

Carrillo-Bucaram met John Rose, a raw foods coach, at age 18 in a Whole Foods supermarket. He described raw veganism to her and this interaction inspired her to go raw vegan on July 15, 2005.[15][16][17] She ate peaches for two weeks straight when she first went raw vegan.

She has made health-related claims such as that going raw will change your eye color, and has promoted the discredited practice of Iridology.[18] When interviewed by Yahoo News, she said her eyes changed color because she claims eating a raw vegan diet "clears out all the gunk in your colon."[19]

Raw vegan movement and businesses

While attending university she started her own farmer's market on her campus. It was intended to be an alternative to expensive grocery stores and appeal to college students who may not be able to afford produce and other groceries otherwise. Running the campus farmer's market helped her cultivate a relationship with local farmers and produce distributors[12] and lead her to open her own grocery cooperative called Rawfully Organic in September 2007.[20]

Rawfully Organic

At its height, Rawfully Organic served 50,000 people at three different locations in the Houston area and was the largest organic produce cooperative in the United States.[14][21][22] At the food co-op, people ordered their produce in advance then picked up their order after all of it has been assembled into boxes. Order pick-ups occurred at the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center on Tuesdays, at the Nottingham Forest Club on Thursdays, and at the Bissonett location on Saturdays.[23][20] In 2014, a doctor in Houston, Dr. Garth Davis, started prescribing his patients "raw fruits and vegetables." Davis received a grant from the Memorial Hermann Health System and partnered with Carrillo-Bucaram. His patients would pick up their prescription from the Rawfully Organic co-op instead of a pharmacy each week and paid very little for the produce by showing their prescription to the co-op.[24][25][26] In 2016, CBS named Rawfully Organic as one of the top spots to get produce.[27] After almost 11 years of operation, the Rawfully Organic co-op closed its doors in 2017.[13]

After four years of being closed, Rawfully Organic reopened temporarily in April 2020 to help get produce to people who didn't feel safe going to grocery stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reopening was also an attempt to revitalize the Houston Farmer's Market that had been failing for some time. However, Carrillo-Bucaram doesn't see Rawfully Organic staying open after the pandemic because there's too much competition from major grocers like Whole Foods.[28][29]

FullyRaw Juice

This is a sister company to Rawfully Organic that sells fully raw juices. She founded it in 2013 using a Kickstarter campaign to help cover the cost of the start up. She raised $35,000. She sells cold-pressed fruits and vegetables.[2]

FullyRaw website

FullyRaw is a website she founded to coach people on how to start and maintain a raw vegan diet. She provides webinars, programs, and in person health coaching.[15] She has done several "challenges" for a period of time where she offers meal plans, workouts, and advice through her website if you pay to join the "challenge."[30]

Book

On January 5, 2016 Carrillo-Bucaram wrote and published a book entitled The Fully Raw Diet: 21 Days to Better Health, with Meal and Exercise Plans, Tips, and 75 Recipes. As the title suggests, the book contains meal plans, workouts, and recipes but it also contains the story of her health journey. The book became a number one seller on Amazon.[14][31][32]

YouTube

Carrillo-Bucaram has gained much of her recognition from her growing YouTube channels and other social media. She has one million followers on Instagram and has gained more than 90 million views across her YouTube channels.[13][33]

Speaking engagements

Carrillo-Bucaram has hosted and given speeches at the "Woodstock Fruit Festival" for many years on and off since 2010.[34][35] She also has given talks at the annual "Texas Veggie Fair" for several years since 2013.[36][37][38]

References

  1. [1]
    Vakkalanka, Harshini (February 24, 2017). "From Weight Loss to Preventing Diabetes, is the Raw Food Diet the Answer You're Looking For?". The News Minute.
  2. [2]
    Luks, Joel (May 30, 2013). "Raw food queen gets juicy: New venture expands Rawfully Organic Co-op's foodie empire". Houston Culture Map.
  3. [3]
    Alter, Leslie Goldman (December 7, 2017). "I Tried Going Vegan To Lose Weight And It Backfired In The Worst Way". Women's Health.
  4. [4]
    Sewing, Joy (April 1, 2017). "Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram lives life rawfully". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  5. [5]
    "YouTube star Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram breaks down a recipe for 'fully raw' pumpkin pie". ABC 30 Action News. November 16, 2017.
  6. [6]
    "Shaping Houston: Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram". KHOU. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Regaining Health, Energy, and Passion Through Eating Plants". The Inertia. 21 February 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Rawfully Kristina - Talks About Weight At 1:25". KHOU-TV News 11.
  9. [9]
    "How to Pick Ripe Fruit!". YouTube.
  10. [10]
    "Rice University Class of 2009 Commencement program". Rice University Class of 2009 Commencement Folder, Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University. Rice University. 2009. hdl:1911/62321.
  11. [11]
    "Rice students elected to Phi Beta Kappa". Rice University News & Media.
  12. [12]
    "Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram lives life rawfully". The Houston Chronicle.
  13. [13]
    Tatke, Sudhada. "Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram's entrepreneurial spirit nurtures an appetite for raw and vegan foods". Rice Magazine.
  14. [14]
    Lowry, Amber (March 15, 2016). "Young Latinas are prominent voices in raw vegan movement". Fox News.
  15. [15]
    "057: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Transformation on a Fully Raw Diet with Fully Raw Kristina". Jeff Agostinelli Podcast.
  16. [16]
    Huynh, Dai (June 5, 2009). "Uncooked food leads to better health, devotees say". The Houston Chronicle.
  17. [17]
    "My 10 Year Journey Eating FullyRaw". YouTube.
  18. [18]
    "Change Your Diet, Change Your Eye Color?". Yahoo News.
  19. [19]
    "The Raw Food Blogger Whose Eyes Changed Color, Part 2". Yahoo News.
  20. [20]
    "Rawfully Organic Co-op". Community Wealth. 2 July 2012.
  21. [21]
    "Why You Should Try Eating One Raw Meal Per Day". Yahoo News.
  22. [22]
    "EATING RAW AND LIVING YOUR PASSION WITH FULLY RAW KRISTINA". Lewis Howes Podcast. June 2015.
  23. [23]
    "Interview Series – Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram". ChicVegan. 13 March 2013.
  24. [24]
    "New program has doctor sending patients to the 'Farmacy'". ABC Eyewitness News 13.
  25. [25]
    Behrens, Tom (January 27, 2015). "Doctor writes prescriptions for produce". The Houston Chronicle.
  26. [26]
    Wadyka, Sally. "Food As Medicine: Why Doctors Are Writing Prescriptions for Produce". The Food Network.
  27. [27]
    "Top Spots For Organic Produce In Houston". CBS.
  28. [28]
    Gillespie, Laura (April 20, 2020). "Shuttered Houston farmers market returns temporarily to help amid coronavirus pandemic". Houston Business Journal.
  29. [29]
    Lodhia, Pooja (April 15, 2020). "How this woman's veggie passion is helping local farmers stay in business". ABC 13 Eye Witness News.
  30. [30]
    "Join the 21-day fullyRaw challenge with FullyRawKristina (Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram) and her mother Sandra". My Vegan Lifestyle.
  31. [31]
    "The Fully Raw Diet: 21 Days to Better Health, with Meal and Exercise Plans, Tips, and 75 Recipes". Barnes & Noble.
  32. [32]
    "June 22–23: Fully Raw Diet, Christine Chitnis, Pierluigi Serraino, Jim Obergefell, Mary Roach, Ben Watt, Sellassie". San Francisco Examiner.
  33. [33]
    "HEALTHY HOLIDAY: Serve up a 'fully raw' pumpkin pie". ABC30 Fresno. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  34. [34]
    "This means raw: extreme dieting and the battle among fruitarians". The Guardian.
  35. [35]
    "The Raw and the Rawer". N Plus One Magazine. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  36. [36]
    "Six Must-Attend Events: October 17–23". Texas Monthly.
  37. [37]
    "Annual Texas Veggie Fair ramps up star-power with keynote speaker Erykah Badu". Dallas Culture Map. 19 August 2013.
  38. [38]
    "Veggie Fair to Show Fun Side of Plant-Based Dinning". Green Source DFW. 13 October 2015.
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