 :: Raw food is a lifestyle that promotes the consumption of uncooked, unprocessed and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet. As well as the obvious benefits of never having to slave over a hot stove again, people who follow this school of nutrition believe that the greater the percentage of raw food in the diet, the greater the health benefits. They claim that raw food encourages weight loss and prevents and heals many illnesses and chronic diseases. So how exactly can we tap into this raw energy?…
Depending on the type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets include a select›on of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds - including sprouted whole grains - eggs, fish, meat, and unpasteurized dairy products such as raw milk, cheese and yogurt.
Raw foods gained prominence throughout the 1900s as advocates such as Ann Wigmore and Herbert Shelton claimed that a diet of raw fruits and vegetables is the ideal diet for humans. Given the current interest in organic food, superfoods and natural nutrition, the ‘raw food movement’ is regaining popularity and is especially prevalent in the Western United States and is quickly spreading across Europe and the Mediterranean.
Leslie Kenton's book, The New Raw Energy, in 1984 popularised food such as sprouts, seeds and fresh vegetable juices, which have become staples in many different food cultures. The book brought together research into raw foodism and its support of health. It advocates a diet of 75 per cent raw food in order to prevent degenerative diseases, slow the effects of aging, provide enhanced energy, and boost emotional balance.
Raw food beliefs
• Raw foods contain enzymes which aid digestion, meaning that the body's own enzymes may work unimpeded in regulating the body's metabolic processes, and heating food above 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit degrades or destroys these enzymes in food.
• Eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult, which could lead to toxicity in the body and cause excess consumption of food, obesity and chronic disease.
• Raw foods contain bacteria and other micro-organisms that affect the immune system and digestion by populating the digestive tract with gut flora.
• Raw foods have higher nutrient values than foods which have been cooked.
• Wild foods, particularly edible wild plants, are the most nutritious raw foods.
• Freezing food is acceptable, even though freezing lowers enzyme activity.
Recent research has found that people who follow a raw food vegetarian diet are light in weight but healthy. It had been suggested that eating only plant-derived foods that have not been cooked or processed might make bones thinner and prone to fractures.
But the study found that although bones were lighter on this diet, turnover rates were normal with no osteoporosis. The lower bone mass is attributed to raw food eaters simply being slim.
The positive health effects claimed by the followers of this regime are far-reaching. For some, the principal reason is ease of weight loss. For others, it’s just an easy way to eat healthily. Many raw food eaters witness a marked change in appearance, developing a clearer complexion and radiant skin, glowing from the inside out. And still more experience a significant increase in energy levels, feeling as well as looking years younger. In addition to these general health benefits, it is claimed that a raw food diet has healed or helped a wide range of minor and severe conditions such as: diabetes, high blood pressure, allergies, cancers, asthma, cholesterol, colitis, hypoglycaemia, depression and skin diseases.
Chemistry
Why do these changes happen? The answer is a simple matter of chemistry – specifically enzymes and acid to alkaline balance. Enzymes are required for the digestion and absorption of food into our bodies. They are our life force. We literally depend on enzymes for everything; from walking, talking and breathing to cellular division and energy production.
When we are born, we are given a limited reserve of enzymes that are necessary to keep our body system in working order throughout the duration of our lifetime. The only additional source of enzymes we can get comes from the food we eat. Problems arise when food is cooked above 44C - 112 degrees Fahrenheit - the enzymes are completely destroyed during the cooking process.
When eating cooked food, the body needs to draw essential enzymes from the limited natural pool supplied at birth in order to digest the food.
Raw foodists believe that if we continue to eat cooked foods and do not replace enzymes by eating raw food, we eventually begin to use up our bodies’ enzymes reserves. Without these enzymes, cooked food is stored in our bodies as toxins, which can then lead to all kinds of diseases and illness.
Our body’s acid to alkaline state is measured on a ph - potential hydrogen - scale. The ph scale ranges from the most acidic state, which is 0, to the most alkaline state, 14. It is believed that an ideal ph level for optimal health is an alkaline ph around 6.5. The food we eat is a major factor in causing an acidic state. Acid-forming foods are high protein flesh foods, high sugar, high fat, low complex carbohydrates. These include: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, white sugars, flour products, pasta, breads, most cooked grains, most beans, most nuts, sweets, soft drinks, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, chemical additives, preservatives, drugs and synthetic vitamins.
Cooked and processed foods cause acidity in the body because they lack the oxygen and the enzymes that are necessary for the food to be absorbed into the bloodstream.
When the food is not absorbed, it is left as waste products causing acidity levels to be raised.
If this happens then alkaline minerals are robbed from our bones, tissues and body fluids in an effort to neutralise our internal acidity and to try and keep us in an alkaline state. This can then lead to a whole host of problems including: arthritis, osteoporosis, depression, headaches, gastritis, brain fog, fatigue, muscle stiffness, stomach-aches, chest pain, constipation, irritability, sinusitis and sleep problems.
It has been demonstrated that most people suffering from acute and chronic diseases are found to be in an overly acidic state.
It stands to reason, therefore, that raw foodists believe that in order to balance our bodies into the optimal ph range, you simply eliminate acid-forming foods.
And, of course, the most effective way to do this is to enjoy a diet of raw vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. ::
Reasons to go raw:
1. Raw foods are better quality; therefore you eat less to satisfy your nutritional needs.
2. The heat of cooking depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes which benefit digestion.
3. Raw foods have more flavour than cooked foods so there is no need to add salt, sugar, spices or other
condiments that can irritate your digestive system or over-stimulate other organs.
4. Raw foods take very little preparation so you spend less time in the kitchen.
5. Cleaning up after a raw meal is a snap. No baked-on oils or crusty messes. And any inedible parts go directly
into the bin.
6. Eating a diet of raw foods can reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
Remember, cooking creates free radicals, which are the major cause of cancer. When you lower the number of free
radicals your cells are bombarded with, you lower your risk of cancer.
7 A raw food diet can protect you from acute diseases such as colds, flu, and measles.
8. As long as you combine raw food properly according to the rules of natural hygiene, you will soon reach
a level where you no longer suffer from heartburn, gas, indigestion
or constipation.
9. It is environmentally sound.
10. Eating raw saves you money on food, vitamins, pots and
pans, appliances, doctor’s bills and medicines. |
