Raw Food

Some people may think that eating raw food is just eating “rabbit” food.  Well it is certainly not that.  Raw food nutrition is based on the idea that you can get your nutrition through eating as much plant based foods without heating and destroying the enzymes and your body, mind and soul is then fed nutritionally.  However a Raw Food diet is not for everyone.  Like most diets you need to find what works for you.

Raw Food not only helps with your physical wellbeing, but it helps on all levels such as mental, spiritual and emotional.

A Raw food diet is based on eating whole, live, uncooked and unprocessed foods as a large percentage of your diet. When 75-100% of your total food consumption is raw food, you are a raw foodist. At that rate it is believed that your body's elimination system can eliminate all or most of the toxins in the cooked portion of your diet. When you eat more cooked food, the body can't eliminate all the toxins and they back up causing disease.

Heating food above 118 degrees F. is believed to destroy enzymes in food that can assist in digestion. Cooking also diminishes the nutritional value of food -- the heat actually causing chemical changes in the food creating many of the carcinogens, mutagens, free-radicals and other toxins that are associated with many of today's diseases, from diabetes and arthritis to heart disease and cancer.

In addition to all that, there is a lot of emphasis among raw foodists on the pH of food. It is believed that a mostly raw food diet is "alkaline forming," while cooked and processed foods are "acid forming." All medical resources agree that the pH balance of our blood is one of the most important biochemical balances in human body chemistry. pH stands for "potential hydrogen," and refers to the number of hydrogen ions in a substance like your blood. Higher numbers mean a substance is more alkaline (absorbs more hydrogen ions). Lower number means a substance is more acidic (less potential for absorbing hydrogen). Human blood is usually around 7.0 to 7.2 - just above neutral or slightly alkaline. Raw foodists believe that the pH level of our bodies is directly influenced by what we eat and drink. So foods that tend to help maintain a more alkaline body chemistry are called "alkaline forming," and vice versa. If you remember your basic chemistry, you know the chemical processes for an acid are very different than those for a "base" (another word for alkaline). Most chemical processes in a healthy body are alkaline based, so healthy people seem to be more "alkaline." On the other hand, a more "acidic" lifestyle based on cooked and processed foods is believed to cause disease.

Raw foodists are usually vegan, meaning they do not eat animal-based products like dairy or meat. Only raw plant foods are generally eaten, including vegetables and fruits, plus soaked and sprouted grains, nuts and seeds.

Raw foodists in general all agree that consumption of uncooked foods encourages weight loss and prevents and/or heals many forms of chronic dis-ease. Many medical studies have shown other positive health outcomes with such diets, though when not done properly it can also lead to some problems.

As everyone is different, not one diet is for everyone! One thing to remember is that you may not be in the right frame of mind to take the full step and change to a complete Raw food diet, so how would you do it? Well it’s like anything, start small to achieve great things. We call it upgrading your choices. For example: if you eat normal fruit and vegetables, upgrade to organic fruit and veg. If you eat white or brown bread, upgrade to bread containing chia or flax seed. If you drink tap water, upgrade to filtered water, then to spring water. It takes time and as the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day!