Why Eat A Raw Food Diet ?
Raw foodism is the practice of consuming uncooked, unprocessed and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet. The diet can include vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. The food is primarily unheated or cooked to a temperature less than 40 degrees celsius. The most popular raw food diet is a vegan diet but other forms may include animal products and / or meat. The basis of this principle lies within the supposition that heating foods above this temperature breaks down their inherent food enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Once this happens the chemical makeup of the food is altered and hence once eaten behaves differently and in turn the body treats it differently. Take the humble egg as an example. In its normal state the egg is liquid. When heat is applied (frying or boiling) the liquid becomes solid. This change of state has altered the structures (proteins) within the egg and as a result makes it more difficult to break down and digest.
Our bodies only have a limited capacity to produce food enzymes. Thus the enzymes already contained within raw foods is an important aspect as we can only produce a finite amount and once used they are not replaced.
Foods which are cooked drive the body to use more of its own enzymes for digestion. As they become depleted the body does not replace them giving rise to a plethora of health problems.
Depending on the type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include a selection of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat and raw dairy products. The belief behind this shows that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are less healthy or even harmful to the body.
Raw foods are rich in food enzymes and antioxidants. The enzymes are required for many bodily reactions. Heating these foods neutralises the natural enzymes and leaves behind toxins as a by product. Once this happens the body has to produce and use more of its own enzymes to break down and digest the foods. The more energy the body burns for digestion the less energy one has for other activities. The antioxidants present are believed to slow the signs of aging.
Some of the more popular energising foods are wheat grass and goji berries. Around 30 millilitres of juiced wheat grass provides more nutrition than 1 kilogram of green leafy vegetables. Goji berries are a powerful source of antioxidants and really boost the processes within our body’s cells.