WHY EAT RAW?

WHAT DO RAW FOODISTS EAT?

Raw foodists eat whole foods without heating them above a temperature 110 degrees (Exact limit temperatures vary from 108-118 degrees. My limit is 115 degrees.). These foods include vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, roots, squash, grains, beans, sprouts, herbs, spices, sea vegetables, fermented foods (like miso, kim chee, sauerkraut, and nut cheese), dried fruits and vegetables, cured foods, raw nut butter, cold pressed oils, and raw soy sauce (nama shoyu).

WHAT'S WRONG WITH COOKING?

Heat destroys enzymes in food, which makes it harder to digest. Difficult digestion is not only uncomfortable, it is very unhealthy, especially over a long period of time (for more on enzymes, see "The Enzyme Debate" below).

Cooking also destroys much of the nutrients in food. Exactly how much nutrition is lost depends on how the food is cooked, for how much time, and which nutrient is in question. A very rough estimate is around half of the nutrients are lost when food is cooked.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EATING RAW?

Only an ideal diet will bring our bodies to ideal health. The Standard American Diet forces our bodies to spend undue energy on digestion, diverting energy to digestion that should be used for mental and physical energy. Everyone has experienced this. We all know that if we eat a lot of bread or pasta--which is hard to digest--we won't feel like going for a run afterwards. We'll feel like taking a nap, because our bodies have to spend too much energy on digestion. Only when I began eating raw did I realize how closely digestion is related to physical and mental energy. We should feel great after we eat, not tired or foggy.


The raw food diet is not just good for better digestion. If our digestion is good and we can eliminate toxins, our bodies can heal it's imbalances and create ideal operating conditions. The American diet creates a toxic load on our bodies over time, but we can detoxify by fasting or eating raw. Other benefits of our eating raw range from balancing hormones to making our bodies less susceptible to infections. The following benefits (listed below) are common among raw foodists. Depending on how sick one is to begin with, these benefits may be immediate or may not appear for some time. For example, when I started, my blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and mental clarity improved right away, but it took months for my hormones to balance out.

~Better digestion--no more cramping and bloating. Raw foodists actually have more energy after they eat, a feeling strange to many Americans (including me). More important than comfort is assimilation. If the body does not have to spend excessive energy ridding itself of offensive substances like dairy and wheat*, it can better absorb the nutrients it needs.

~Improved mental clarity--This partly results from better digestion. Some raw foodists have such a dramatic change in their mental clarity that they look at their previous lives as dreamlik.

~More energy--Until I began eating raw, I didn't realize I should be able to go through the entire day feeling energized.

~Better appearance--Besides bringing our bodies to an ideal weight, raw food also makes us look healthier. When I began eating raw, my acne improved, my skin became less oily, and my eyes got clearer.

~Better Mood: The American diet makes many people depressed, anxious, tense, and negative. There is something wrong with our bodies if we wake up uncomfortably groggy and go to bed at night worrying for no good reason. Eating right can make life a pleasure.

~A General Feeling of Emotional Balance: No more sugar crashes. Balanced hormones. Improved PMS symptoms (My PMS went from very painful to slightly unpleasant). Calm energy and mental clarity.

~Longer life--Although this is not as important as living an enjoyable and quality life (IMO), it is still quite important. Eating raw lengthens life in several ways. First, a diet of limited carbohydrates in itself slows aging. Eating raw can also remove most of our risk from several leading causes of death in the industrialized world. The leading cause of death in America, heart disease, is much less likely on the raw diet, especially for men. Cancer is also far less likely. There is a reason that cancer is not a leading cause of death in nations that do not eat the Western diet. (The American Cancer Association has a lot to say about the anti-carcinogenic effects of fruits and vegetables. See Link at bottom of post.)
Diabetes, the sixth leading cause of death, is nearly impossible if one eats a low glycemic diet**. The above are just a few reasons raw foodists live longer but, really, having a healthy, alkaline body makes us less susceptible most diseases.

WHO GETS INTO SOMETHING THIS RADICAL, ANYWAY? Many people who look into the raw food diet are desperate to cure diseases that traditional and even naturopathic medicine could not cure, especially chronic digestive illnesses and degenerative diseases. The raw food diet is excellent for these people because (the vast majority of it) is easy to digest and because it allows the body to continually detoxify and heal (similar to the action of a fast). Of course, this diet is great for most people. I consider it preventative medicine.

IS IT A HARD DIET TO FOLLOW?
No! When I tell people about my diet, they often look horrified that I deprive myself of things like bread and chocolate. They know how much they would crave these things if they tried giving them up. But my addiction to these foods is over, and I have no desire to eat sugar, diary, or wheat. I don't even like their taste anymore. After only a month of eating fresh food, processed food started to taste fake and unappetizing. I love eating raw! .......But don't think raw foodists go without dessert. The best desserts I have ever made were made of nuts, dates, fruit, berries, coconut oil, carob, and agave nectar. Just try mixing up finely chopped almonds, dates, cinnamon, and vanilla!

HOW DO RAW FOODISTS PREPARE THEIR FOOD?

Raw foodists use several tools and methods that many do not. The most important--and expensive--is the dehydrator, which is used for a wide variety of purposes, including making crackers, warming raw soup, drying nuts after soaking (see article on soaking nuts), drying fruit, and fermenting nut cheese.

Most raw foodists enjoy sprouts (see post on sprouting), and for this you need a couple quart or pint jars. (I use the ones coconut oil comes in.)

Another great tool to have is an ice cream maker (see post on raw ice cream). It sound weird, but raw ice cream actually tastes better than regular ice cream (fresh food ususally does), and it does not leave that slimy dairy feeling or the sugary aftertaste.

For more information on eating raw, check out Renee Loux Underkoffler's Living Cuisine, the ultimate guide to living raw (see post on Living Cuisine).
*Dairy and wheat are both very difficult to digest because they coat the intestines with mucus. This causes bloating, cramping, and tiredness.

**Many raw foodists do eat high-glycemic sweeteners, which is not healthy or necessary (see the post called "Sweeteners").

Link to American Cancer Association: <http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_3_2X_Common_Questions_About_Diet_and_Cancer.asp>

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Juicing

The raw food kitchen is not complete without a juicer, an awesome tool that allows us to give our bodies a break from digestion and a quick dose of enzymes and nutrients. Vegetable juice is great for detoxifying during juice fasts, and even cancer patients find it beneficial. There are endless possibilities for vegetable and fruit combinations, but here are some of the ones I have discovered. (You should use organic produce, and if you do, you can also juice the nutritious peels and rinds of your produce. Orange peel should not be eaten.)

Lemonade: 3 apples, 1/2 lemon

Orange juice: 3 oranges, tsp-sized piece of ginger

Green juice (this will not spike blood sugar): 1/2 bunch Swiss chard, 1 cucumber, 1/2 bunch of celery, wheat grass (optional), parsley

Apple carrot: 4 carrots, 3 sticks celery, 2 apples, 1/2 bunch spinach, 1/2 lemon, 1 clove garlic (if you like garlic)

Apple grape: 1 bunch grapes, 2 apples


Fruits and vegetables that are great for juicing: pear, apple, orange, lemon, strawberry, lime, grapefruit, pineapple, melons, cranberry (good for urinary tract infections), pomegranate, Swiss chard, celery (should always be juiced last, as the strings will clog the average juicer), spinach, beets (will make urine pink), basil, dandelion leaves, kale, garlic, ginger, turnips, mint, parsley, cucumber, jicama (starchy), sprouts of all types, wheat grass, any dark greens your juicer can handle.

A note on wheat grass: This is a popular thing to juice in small quantities. Wheat grass has an excellent nutritional profile and is a good source of calcium, potassium, vitamin A, iron, magnesium, B-complex, super oxide dismutase (used by the body to make antioxidants). Among other benefits, it is said to cleanse the liver, help menopausal symptoms, prevent hair loss, cure constipation, detoxify heavy metals, improve digestion, and help prevent cancer.

Wheat grass juice is very potent and it can cause nausea if ingested by itself. In juice bars, it is usually added in shots to other kinds of juice. To get the most out of wheat grass, it is best to buy a wheat-grass juicer (buy a cheap one on eBay).

Tip: It is cheaper to grow your own wheat grass. The most nutritious wheat grass is grown outdoors through the winter, but it can also be done more conviently indoors over a period of about ten days. Just buy wheat berries, soil, and a plastic berry container. Put just enough wheat berries over the soil to cover it completely. Wheat grass needs 3-4" of soil, and it should grow about 5" tall before being cut with scissors. After being cut, it will continue to grow, but this new growth does not have the nutrients of the original grass.
(Cautionary Notes: 1. Drinking the juice of fruit and carrots will spike blood sugar. Drink it infrequently or with high protein foods. 2. Juicing spinach, beets, and collard greens on a regular basis can result in kidney stones. 3. A lot of green juice is a laxitive, which the body can adjust to eventually. Start out juicing in moderation. 4. You still need to eat whole vegetables. Juicing removes fiber, which maintains regularity. 5. Apple seeds should not be juiced. They contain natural cyanide.)
A helpful juicing website: http://www.juicingbook.com/
Posted by at 9:07 PM

1 comments:

junglequeen said...

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I'll be putting links on my website at http://healthnews-nz.com also.

January 16, 2009 3:40 PM

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