Raw Food Diet
Feel young, look awesome, eliminate disease and more!
In learning about juicing, it’s likely you’ve heard about the raw food diet. Since juicing is all about getting nutrients from raw fruits and vegetables, it easily fits into this category. If you’re wondering what eating raw food is all about, make sure you have a good read of this section.
In its simplest form, the raw food diet is a vegan diet comprised of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. The power of a raw vegan diet is immense. People all over the world have become addicted to diet; drawn to the amazing benefits (I’ll get to these) which are too good to ignore.
Give me the basics!
Firstly, start by thinking of other animals. How many times have you seen an animal cook its food? Ever seen a chicken boil an egg? If not, then perhaps you’ve seen a cow in the process of frying up a tasty steak?
Never. Animals don’t even know how to cook. Instead, they eat their food raw and they end up so much better for it. Think about it. How many animals suffer from cancer, heart disease and stroke? What animal suffers from the same health challenges as humans?
And if you take a look at some of the biggest animals around, you’ll find that they are herbivores, eating a diet rich in plants!
Also, humans evolved on a raw food diet. Once upon a time there was no fire and no means to cook anything. Up until that point in history, we ate a completely raw diet. This is an interesting fact, considering that our ancestors were much stronger than we are today.
The evidence is all around us. It’s staring us in the face.
What exactly counts as “raw”?
Raw or living foods are simply those that contain enzymes. Enzymes are essential to good digestive function and are considered by many to be the “life-force” or “energy” of food. Eating food without enzymes limits your body’s natural ability to withdraw vital nutrients from the food. This then causes toxicity in the body and leads to sickness and obesity.
Most people who eat a raw food diet do so because cooking destroys these vital enzymes. By eating a predominantly cooked diet, we get very little enzymes and will not make the most of the food we eat. This leads to all sorts of negative things happening, from the basis that the body isn’t getting what it needs.
Enzymes are destroyed by the heat used to cook food. Temperatures above 116 degrees F (46 degrees C) kill enzymes, change the molecular structure of the food and render it toxic.
In comparison, raw fruits and vegetables have a massively higher nutritional content. See What Is Raw Food and Raw Food Facts for more information.
What are the raw food diet benefits?
Check out these totally awesome benefits. For a bigger, badder list, check out Raw Food Diet Benefits.
- Abundant energy
- Radiant skin
- Reach your ideal weight
- Sleep soundly
- Look younger and healthier
- Greater intuition
- A calm sense of happiness
- Increased concentration and clarity.
Do you have to go raw 100%?
Of course not. If you simply start increasing your intake of raw foods, you’ll be giving yourself an edge over most people. However, the higher the percentage of your diet that is raw, the greater the benefits. If you need ideas, see this list of raw foods.
I currently eat a mostly raw food diet (50%-75%) and think it’s been amazing. I wake up earlier, I’m in a better mood, I exercise more, I connect with people more and so on. It’s only when I go out with friends or have a dinner where refusing to eat anything cooked would be inconvenient that I eat cooked food.
In the future, I have every intention of going 100% raw. If you want to give it a go, start by juicing regularly or by eating fruit salad for breakfast. Eat salad with lunch and munch on carrots while you work. To experience the benefits of the raw food diet, find easy ways to incorporate more raw foods into your diet.
Not sure how to make the transition? Go to The Raw Food Lifestyle and get 7 tips to making it easier. Also, have a look at these raw food websites for more information about raw food.
