Does the idea of a raw food diet sound like a slow, boring death? It did to me at first. The thought of never eating a delicious hunk of honey-glazed salmon with grilled asparagus and sweet potato fries…alas. I couldn’t picture myself saying “Oh, no thank you. I’ll just eat this handful of nuts and this head of lettuce.” It’s like instant alienation; a brutal self-exile from Foodland.But as it turns out, raw food eaters are much more resourceful—and creative—than I realized. From pizzas to pastas and desserts, there’s a wealth of incredible edibles available in the raw. For some examples, click here.
We do live in a culture of cooked food, where “slaving over the stove” is thought to produce a square meal. But with all the fancy frying, roasting, grilling and baking, we’ve forgotten the awesome power of food in its raw, natural state.
When it comes to sheer nutritional value, nothing compares to raw food. Raw food retains all of its life-giving properties, whereas cooking denatures the proteins and destroys many of the enzymes that benefit digestion. Processed food costs the body a great deal more energy to break down and scour for nutrients. So what does a body do with the extra energy? For one thing, it heals itself. A raw food diet has, in many cases, been known to stop or reverse the advance of many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. It can relieve constipation, heartburn, gas, and other digestive malfunctions. The increased physical vitality also helps to protect against ordinary colds and flu.
While I have a new appreciation for the benefit and bounty of a raw food diet, I haven’t totally crossed over yet (there’s an omelet sitting next to me right at this moment). But I do make an effort to eat more food raw—and I have it in mind to gradually increase my raw food intake over the coming year. I notice that the more food I eat raw, the more satisfied I feel. It seems to harmonize with my body. And in fact, raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fiber to meet the body’s needs. It’s like putting ultra-super-premium gasoline in your car.
A final thought: eating food raw also saves time and money. And consider: no burns to the hand or mouth, no kitchen fires, less preparation, and easier to clean up! Bon appétit.
For more information about raw food diets and health issues, check out the following studies:
Cardiovascular health: http://jn.nutrition.org/
Breast cancer risk:http://www.informaworld.com/
Diabetes (through the reduction of diet derived advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) that are produced through heating food):http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
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