We all want to be healthier and eating more raw food is a great step to getting there. But should we only eat raw food? How do we make the transition from raw to cooked?
I am a proponent of the raw food diet because of the many benefits of eating raw food. One very big benefit of eating raw food is that it is easier to digest and actually moves through your system more rapidly than cooked food.
When food is cooked many of the live enzymes and nutrients in the food are killed by the cooking process. The enzymes are beneficial to the digestive process. The nutrients and also antioxidants contained in raw food help boost our immune system. So it goes without saying that raw food is better for us than cooked food.
Another benefit from raw food is that it contains more fiber and in most cases will help to detoxify our system. I say in most cases because if we are eating raw foods that come from conventional farming systems in our country, they will be full of pesticides which in many instances will counteract the benefit of the raw food. For this reason it is essential that the raw food that we eat should be natural and organic.
The third benefit of eating raw food is that it can help us to lose weight rather rapidly. The main reason that this is the case is that it does not contain all the additives and chemicals that processed and many cooked foods contain. Raw foods are fairly simple and require very little preparation. Here are a few, but certainly not all, of the most common raw foods:
Fruits
Vegetables
Beans
Nuts
Seeds
Seaweed
Raw Fish
Raw Meat
There are many other raw foods but these categories make up the majority. Most of us will find several things on this list that we like to eat.
All my life I have enjoyed eating fish, poultry, red meat, and pork. And though I believe that raw food is the most healthy route, I am not a fan of eating raw fish and raw meat.
Now, as I have said, I am a strong proponent of the raw food diet. This does not mean however that I only eat raw food. I oftentimes eat cooked food in addition to the raw food that I eat.
How can I do this and claimed to be on a raw food diet? I believe that everything in life that we can do to make ourselves healthier is extremely important. I also believe that raw food is very healthy for us. I further believe that through evolution our bodies have come to effectively process many cooked foods.
For instance we have no problem digesting many cooked vegetables. However we know that the raw vegetables contain living enzymes, more nutrients and more antioxidants then the same vegetables do when they are cooked. Therefore it only makes sense that we eat our vegetables raw.
What I do as a compromise is eat raw foods throughout the day in the form of raw vegetables, raw fruits, nuts, etc. I will also add some red meat or poultry to my diet during the day.
For instance for lunch I will often times have a salad with spinach and mixed greens, carrots, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and cooked chicken. Exercising on a daily basis my body requires a healthy dose of protein. The fish and the meats provide a great deal of protein for the body.
One thing I do insist on is that all the meats and fish that I eat are all natural. For instance the chicken has to be cage free, the beef needs to be grass fed, the fish needs to be wild caught and pork needs to be all natural. In this manner I believe that I am still keeping the food I intake as pure as possible.
I am also eating several servings of raw and organic fruits and vegetables each day. So I am enjoying the benefits of raw food while still cooking a few items. I still enjoy some cooked foods however the majority of what I eat is raw foods.
So you can reap the benefits of raw food and still have some cooked foods. Now many raw food purists will read this article and say that I am not a raw food eater. My argument is I am a raw food eater, I am just not a raw food purest.
So you too can enjoy all the benefits of a raw food diet without having to worry about eating only raw foods.
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For years the author has been enjoying and extolling the health benefits derived from eating
natural raw foods. Sleep better, have more energy and improve your health. Learn more at =>
http://www.naturalrawfoods.com
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