| Consuming Raw Food To Improve Your Health |
| Written by Susan Warren | |
| Monday, 16 August 2010 | |
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We all eat raw food to some degree. Your basic salad is raw food and if you have ever had a large salad for a meal, you know it can be very filling and satisfying. When you are eating crudites at a party are also. Of course these foods consist of more than just crunchy vegetables. There are also fruits, legumes, seeds, nuts, seaweed, whole grains and sprouts.
We all eat raw food to some degree. Your basic salad is raw food and if you have ever had a large salad for a meal, you know it can be very filling and satisfying. When you are eating crudites at a party are also. Of course these foods consist of more than just crunchy vegetables. There are also fruits, legumes, seeds, nuts, seaweed, whole grains and sprouts. Normally the vitamins and minerals in food are mostly cooked out. Enzymes in food begin to break down at just 106 degrees. When food is cooked at temperatures over 118 degrees 30 to 50 percent of vitamins are lost. If you are boiling your vegetables you are looking at an even greater vitamin and nutrient loss. Ideally, we would like to get all of our vitamins and minerals from our food but with cooking it just isn't possible. In reality we need to take supplements to get all that we need. You just need less if your food isn't cooked. Food naturally has enzymes in them that actually help us digest the food we eat. When the food is cooked above 106 degrees the enzymes start to break down. Higher than 116 and they are gone completely. Your body has to do its best to break down the food and process it but not as effectively and it will not get all the vitamins available in the food. Something that is recommended for a healthy diet is lots of fiber. Eating food raw provides plenty of it. The reason a high fiber diet is recommended is because of better digestion and elimination. When food is cooked its fiber content is diminished. Fiber is thought to also help prevent certain common illnesses. Since it cleans the intestinal system, more of foods nutrients can be absorbed and utilized in your body. As a diet it is superb for weight loss. It is a whole foods diet rich in grains, vegetables, fruits and beans. You may wish to go through a cleansing of the body first. In this way once the cleansing is done you will have less cravings for cooked, over processed, sugary foods. With this higher functioning digestive system and whole foods your metabolism also increases. You are actually able to eat quite a bit of food and still lose weight when eating food in its natural state. After eating a meal you may feel some tiredness. This is because it takes longer to digest cooked food than food that is uncooked. It can take up to 100 hours depending on what food has been consumed. You feel more energy after a raw meal. It may take as little as 24 hours for the full digestive process to complete. If you cannot completely replace your current diet try going for a 50/50 current diet/raw food diet. If you can get up to 75 percent you can see a significant increase in your health. The benefits are multi-fold. You can experience greater health, an improved immune system, weight loss, and better digestion. |
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