Eat It Raw!

We all eat some raw foods, like when we snack on an apple, so this concept is not completely foreign.  We all know that we should eat more fruits and vegetables each day, that is not foreign.  Yet, when someone says they eat Raw Foods or are a Raw Foodist, that sends shiver down the spines of some "normal" folk. 

We know that food is the basis of our being.  We learn about how food can hurt us and make us sick or feel sluggish.

Raw Foodists understand the power of food.  Food can protect the body.  Food can repair the body.  Raw Foodists eat organic, uncooked, unheated (not over 116 degrees F), and unprocessed food.  Raw and living foods include whole and dried fruits, vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, sea vegetables and organic unprocessed cookies and other foods. 

Cooked foods increase white blood cells in our body.  Cooked food takes about twice as long for our bodies to digest. 

Raw vegetables contain chlorophyll.  Green vegetables including Beet Greens, Bok Choy, Collards, Dandelion Greens, Kale, Mustard Greens and Blue-Green Algae are rich in chlorophyll.  Chlorophyll helps our bodies detoxify.  Chlorophyll can help make our bodies strong, can purify our blood (structure is similar to hemoglobin which moves oxygen through our blood), and can help our bodies get healthy. 

Chlorophyll can be easily obtained through juicing.  Juicing is an important way to get vital nutrients for the raw foodist.  Juicing allows us to get more fruits and vegetables, especially those in the raw state, into our diet.  It is clear that we should all add more raw fruits and vegetables to our diet and Juicing is the easiest way to do that.  Juicing also helps "predigest" the vegetable enabling us to use the nutrients and digest it more effectively.

Raw foods are alive with nutrients and power.  Cooking destroys this living energy.  Plants get minerals from the earth's crust and energy from the sun; plants have vitamins and enzymes in their tissues.  By eating raw foods we harness this powerful energy. 

Raw and living foods contain enzymes that aid in digestion.  These enzymes start to break down when hit with heat of even just 106 degrees F.  Cooked food has less enzymes. 

It's true that cooking breaks down cell walls which does kill some enzymes and nutrients but it is also true that properly cooked (not overcooked) vegetables still contain nutrients and the cooking process actually makes it easier for more nutrients to be absorbed by our body.  There are many reports which indicate that the cooking process, though killing some enzymes, actually breaks down the outer cell wall of the vegetable and therefore allows our bodies to absorb and use the enzymes (that are left).  And some vegetables, like Spinach, are actually more nutritious once cooked.  Lutein, for example, in spinach is more readily absorbed when cooked.  Most of us are poorly overcooking our foods and therefore not enjoying the real flavor and nutritional value afforded by vegetables.  We need to add more raw foods to our diet, but a balance of cooked foods (light cooking) is also important in order to capture and maximize nutrients.

It's important that the raw foodists, like any of us, choose organically grown foods since the beneficial naturally occurring bacteria on fruits and vegetables is something we all need for good health.  It's also important to get all nutrients from a variety of colors in our day.

The strict raw foodist should not have to worry about getting enough protein, especially since nuts and seeds are a prevalent part of most raw recipes.  However, the B vitamins, particularly B12 (found readily in meat and dairy products), is something that should be carefully monitored.  

Since children tend to be picky eaters and may only eat one or two of the same thing for weeks at a time, a vegan, vegetarian or raw food diet might cause a challenge for them in getting enough protein, essential fatty acids, and B Vitamins.  We should take special care with children to make sure they are eating a diverse enough diet to get the nutrition their growing bodies need for healthy development and smart brains.

Raw honey can be used to sweeten the raw diet though some tend to resist honey since it is made by animals.  Agave comes from plants and is normally used as a sweetener for raw foods, but there is debate about whether agave nectar is truly raw since it can travel at tremendous heats and since the processing may differ for the variety of agave.

Pure raw foodists are vegan and do not consume processed foods, only healthful nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, all raw or low temperature dehydrated. 

The Raw Primal diet is different.  Only raw foods are consumed but there is an emphasis on raw meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheeses.  Eggs from hens fed a high omega diet offer additional essential fatty acids important for brain development.  The raw Primal Diet also includes raw fruits and vegetables, and raw honey.  It goes without saying that you should make sure you are getting a clean source if consuming raw eggs, fish, and meat.  It's not so much the food that may contain bacteria, although that is a concern drilled into each of us, but the way it is stored and packaged by the butcher or grocer is very important.

Raw beans, legumes, and peas, including soybeans, lentils, black-eyed peas, peanuts and mung beans contain trypsin inhibitors that block important digestive enzymes and should therefore be used sparingly.  Sprouting neutralizes these enzyme inhibitors.  In addition, sprouting neutralizes phytic acid making more nutrients (like  calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc) readily available for absorption and sprouting actually helps develop the nutrients including antioxidants like carotenoids, B Vitamins, and some Vitamin C.  Soaking and sprouting nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains reactivates dormant enzymes. 

Some sprouts contain naturally occurring toxins.  Alfalfa sprouts, for example, may harbor e-coli bacteria and listeria.  Children and pregnant women should therefore avoid alfalfa sprouts. 

Sprouts are an important part of the Raw and Living Food diet.  Sprouts offer valuable and powerful nutrients and protein and add even more variety.  Sprouted seeds nourish nerves in our body. 

Sprouting is easy!  Place seeds or nuts into an open container with a little sea salt, cover with fresh filtered or bottled spring water, cover with lid and leave on counter overnight.  In the morning, drain off the water.  Lay seeds or nuts flat (like on a cookie sheet) and place in a dehydrator or in a low oven or simply allow to dry at room temperature on a towel for hours. 

Fermented foods are also important to some in the raw food diet.  Fermented foods date back in time and there are many reports to indicate the advantages of these foods for our digestive tract and good health.  Properly fermented foods are alive with enzymes and are therefore part of the raw diet.

Live foods help our digestive system, help us maintain health, and will help cure us of disease.  Eating living foods can slow the aging process, make us more energetic, and improve our emotional health.  You can be considered Raw if you eat uncooked and unprocessed plant-based foods 50-75% of the time, it is again not an all or nothing proposition, although many Raw Foodists see this as a lifestyle and not just a way to eat part-time.  Many indicate that to harness all the energy and value of eating raw, you must commit to it 100%.  If contemplating this approach, good advice would be to start slow and listen to your body as there are reports on both sides saying one or the other is the only way to do it.

Most of us, if you're not strictly eating raw foods already, don't eat enough vegetables regularly.  It's clear that our daily diet should focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.  The raw diet is exemplary in cutting out grains, sugar and processed junk and incorporating more raw organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.  That is truly the key to good health!  We can all benefit from eating more raw, living, and fermented foods.

Delicious Organics offers a wonderful assortment of raw foods including fruits, vegetables, raw snacks, seeds, nuts, raw nut butters, raw candies, raw treats, and more!  Get healthy - eat more delicious organic raw foods!

• Living & Raw Foods
• Rhio's Recipes
• Living Nutrition
• Unburger and unfries, Raw Food Chef
• Shazzie Recipes
• VegWeb Raw Food Recipes
• Raw Food Life Recipes
• Beautiful on Raw Recipes
• Waldorf Homeschoolers Easy Raw Recipes
• Pure Joy Living Foods Recipes
• Garden of Health Recipes
• Raw Birthday Cakes, Kytka Waldorf Homeschoolers
• Date-Nut Pie Crust, Earth Save
• Super Nutrition Superior Health, Dr Stanley S Bass
• Aajonus Vonderplanitz Primal Raw Diet

• Delicious Organics Raw Eats, Sweets and Treats
• Amazon.com Raw Organic Food
• Nature's First Law
• Wilderness Family Naturals

Raw Cooking Classes

VeggieMunn, Food for Life! - RAW VEGAN MEALS DELIVERY SERVICE
Don't have the time, equipment or inspiration to make your own raw vegan meals?  Let me help you.  I want to share my organic raw vegan meals with you.   I also make delicious desserts and cakes for any occasion. For more information, visit me on the web
http://www.veggiemunn.com or send me an e-mail to mariela@veggiemunn.com

• Living Foods, Living Foods.com
• What is Living Food?, How to Transition to the Living Foods Lifestyle, Garden of Health
• Garden of Health, Miami
• Juice
• Rhio's Raw Energy
• List of Raw Links, Soy Stache
• Living Foods Support, Garden of Health
• Hippocrates Health Institute, West Palm Beach FL
• Living Foods Institute
• Raw Times
• Raw Food Life, West Palm Beach Fl
• Dancing Butterfly
• Raw Bakery
• David Wolfe
• Raw Food Diet, Mercola
• Raw Food Diet, The Free Encyclopedia
• Myths of Raw Foods, Beyond Vegetarianism - some interesting food for thought on the other side of whether being 100% raw is best or not.  If you're considering going raw and have read all the miraculous before and afters, of which there are many and they are quite inspiring, this information is good to at least review so you make a educated decision on how you want to eat.  Overall, it's clear that we, as a society, need to incorporate more raw foods into our daily eating and a focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is very healthy indeed.  And remember, you can be considered raw if your diet is at least 50% (some say 75%) raw and that is a very good start by any standards. 

Raw Restaurants:

• CA:  Good Moon Food
• FL:  Food Without Fire - 305-674-9960

Books:

• Vegetarian USA - information and links on everything from vegetarian vacations to vegetarian restaurants in the area.  Nice resource!
• Happy Cow - Vegetarian Restaurant guide and so much more
• Fruititarian Universal Network
• International Vegetarian Union
• Macrobiotic, a way of live
• The Macrobiotic Guide
• Children on Macrobiotic Diet at Risk
• Earth Save Miami - great vegetarian recipes, interesting articles, and more!  Earthsave educates, inspires and empowers people to shift toward a diet centered on fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes...food choices that are healthy for people and planet.
• Macrobiotic America