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This Page Contains Information On:
What is the raw food diet?
What foods do you eat on the raw food diet?
How to start on the raw food diet
How to prepare food for the raw food diet
Organic and raw food for the raw food diet
how to find food for the raw food diet
Using a backyard garden for the raw food diet
Why you should go on the raw food diet
Where do you get protein from on the raw food diet?
Concerns about the raw food diet
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What is the raw food diet?
Are you wondering about the new raw food diet? Raw food is the next
step in the trend toward vegetarianism and veganism, as well as organic
concerns. This diet has been embraced by several celebrities, and there are
restaurants catering to raw foodists. There are also many raw food recipe
books available, as well as support groups and message boards galore for raw
foodists, people who eat a raw food based diet. Many find the raw food diet
compelling due to dramatic weight loss stories, as well as a belief in a
healthier lifestyle and body, but this is not just your average diet.
It is a lifestyle change. Raw foodists point out that this is not
necessarily a new diet, but that many cultures a long time ago ate most of
their food raw, including paleolithic man, and eskimos. (No longer called
eskimos, eskimo means eater of raw food). The raw food diet is a diet
consisting mostly of raw vegan food, which includes raw fruits, raw
vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Many raw foodists think that the more
their diet is made up of raw food, the healthier their diet is, and the
healthier they will become.
This can also be true for your pets – cats and dogs have been found to
benefit from raw food diets, although cats and dogs have very different
digestive systems than people, so obviously their diets should be very
different from a diet meant for human consumption. The raw food movement is in
itself divided up into groups of people. Some will eat cooked food for a small
percentage of their diet. Many of these people are combinations of the
following groups:
Living foodists: these people follow a diet in which their food is made
up of plant food in which the plant’s enzymes are still active, such as
sprouted seeds and nuts. Juicarians: all of their food is in the form of home
made juice, wheat grass, for instance. Some raw foodists will eat
unpasteurized milk and some raw meats, but this can be a concern as cooking is
often necessary to kill any unwanted bacteria. Temperatures need to be very
high or very low to kill these bacteria, and eating food raw is an infection
risk. Pasteurizing is a method of preserving milk, and unpasteurized milk
needs to be very fresh to be safe
. A small group of raw foodists will not eat food that has been
processed by a machine at all, including juicers, dehydrators, blenders,
and/or food processors. They believe in eating food in the most natural state
possible.
What are living foods? By some definitions, raw foodist are also life
foodists, but a more specific definition implies that in living foods, the
enzymes are active, and are therefore considered living. It is the difference
between sprouted and unsprouted seeds or nuts (sprouted seeds or nuts are
living). Some people will only or mostly eat living foods, believing in the
health benefits of greater enzyme activity.
What foods do you eat on the raw food diet?
On the raw food diet, you should eat foods in their uncooked state.
Raw foodists avoid cooking, freezing, and anything involving chemical
preservatives. Some raw foodists refuse to use juicers, blenders, or food
processors, believing that food should be eaten in its natural state. Most raw
foodists will use kitchen appliances such as a juicer that do not change the
chemical makeup of the food. Some raw foodists will not do anything more than
cut their foods, believing they should eat food in its most natural state. You
need to decide for yourself where on the spectrum you are. Some examples of
foods you might eat include: wheat grass,fruits, vegetables, nuts, sprouts,
seeds,aloe vera, and different types of seaweed. These foods contain a wide
variety of vitamins and minerals, and with care, it is possible to get all of
the essential amino acids (amino acids are what make up proteins). It may be
necessary to take a nutritional supplement( aloe vera) in order to be sure to
get all the essential nutrients. You need to make sure you get at least 2000
calories a day from your food and drinks, just for basic energy needs. If you
eat less than 900 calories in a day, your body will go into starvation mode,
which is not an efficient way to lose weight. Your body will want to hold onto
its energy stores, as well as protect your brain (which is mostly made up of
fat), by breaking down muscle tissues instead of fat tissues.
These numbers vary from person to person depending on weight, but it is
important to aim for about 2000 calories per day. What people drink on a raw
food diet: On a raw food diet, drinks should also be raw. Raw foodists will
drink purified water, freshly made juices straight from the juicer,aloe vera
and coconut milk. Coconut milk comes from young coconuts, which you can often
buy during the right season at a produce stand. Soda, juice, and other drinks
purchased in stores have often been processed in some way, and thus are not
raw. Juice made from the juicer can be made from a variety of fruits or
vegetables, such as apples, carrots, lemons,wheatgrass and mangos.
You can experiment with your own combination, or pick up a book on
juicing. Be sure to clean the juicer very well in between, or it will quickly
become an unpleasant mess. Tea leaves from stores have often been dried at
high temperatures, and so are not considered raw. Tea leaves can be made at
home by growing your own herbs and laying them in the sun to dry. The tea made
with these leaves is often called Sun Tea. Do not immediately follow this by
putting your new tea leaves in boiling water, as that would not be considered
raw by some. Use warm water that is below 100 degrees, and you should be fine.
Mint leaves can make nice teas if you are thinking about growing your
own, or experiment with different herbs. Some honey can be an easy addition if
you like your drinks to be sweet, or add a lemon for extra flavor.
How to start on the raw food diet
When starting a raw food diet, people should begin gradually, with one
meal a day, and slowly building up to about 70 – 90% raw. Some people may go
up to 100% raw, although this can be difficult. Start by having a typical
dinner such as a salad with a cooked vegetable side dish such as potatoes or
yams, and gradually decrease the amount of times per week you allow yourself
cooked vegetables or baked grains (or cooked meats, if you eat meat). Be sure
your diet is simple for you to do, as an extremely complicated plan is not
likely to be followed for very long.
Some things you should look out for is that going on a raw food diet can
be compared to a detoxification effect, and as your body adjust to this new
diet and the new things happening in your digestion and the change in
available nutrients and fats, there may be some side effects. You may
experience slight headaches, sensations of nausea, and/or depression in a mild
form. You should consult a doctor or nutritionist if these symptoms or other
side effects continue. If these effects start, you may wish to slow down you
change to the raw food diet, to allow your body more time to adjust.
To start a raw food diet, an important first step is meal planning. You
will need to carefully plan your meals to include foods which will cover all
your dietary needs. Remember that if you plan all your meals carefully to meet
your body’s needs, you should not have to be concerned about cravings. Our
bodies naturally crave salt and/or sugars, because they cannot make them
themselves. But a variety of foods can provide your body with everything it
needs. If you cannot get enough of a variety, you may want to consider a
supplement like aloe vera gel. After all, the whole point of going on any diet
is to improve your health, not to cause a nutritional deficiency or a health
risk. You will need to have a few basic things in your kitchen (it’s no longer
the oven, the stove, and the microwave), such as: a juicer (also called a
juice extractor) a blender, sharp knives (or just a sharp knife. A butcher’s
steel is also useful) large containers for sprouting sprouts (more than one
would be handy) dehydrator (some raw foodists will not use these, as the high
temperature implies cooking) You may already own these kitchen tools and
appliances, otherwise, you may want to invest in them.
You might find yourself in need of them as time goes on. A juicer can
make it much easier for you to ingest your raw food, especially at the
beginning of your diet. A blender will help you to create different recipes
and flavors, while a dehydrator will allow you to make simple breads and
flavorful treats. While these methods do not allow you to enjoy food in its
completely natural state, it does allow you to try out different flavors and
textures, which can make the raw food diet easier and faster for a lot of
people.
How to prepare food for the raw food diet
There are many easy recipes available, in books and on the internet,
for raw food meals, snacks, and desserts. A raw food diet can be a lot of
work; so fortunately, there are many restaurants that cater to raw food
enthusiasts which will allow you to take a break. You can combine fruits and
vegetables with various sprouted grains in order to have breads, crackers, and
desserts, so you will not feel deprived. It can be difficult to be eating
differently from everyone around you, so a variety of fun and different foods
can make this easier for you.
When you begin a raw food diet, it may feel time consuming to spend a
lot of time preparing food. It does take a lot of time. One way to make it
more efficient is to prepare as much in advance or on the weekend as possible.
As you get more used to your diet, it will become more efficient. (Be sure not
to juice your juice in advance though – juice fresh from the juicer tastes
much better, and many home made juices and smoothies will ferment if left to
their own devices). Most raw foods are easy to prepare, although they take
time and planning ahead. You simply cut a fruit or vegetable up and eat it.
For some sprouts and seeds, you need to soak the seeds in water overnight to
eat them in the morning.
If you have a juicer, many combinations of fresh fruits and vegetables
can be delicious while still being raw. On a raw food diet, you can still make
breads and crackers using a dehydrator. You need wheat or rye grains, which
you will sprout overnight, and then you can add ingredients to the grains such
as peppers, dates, carrot juice, or other flavors. You then put the mixture in
the dehydrator and allow your bread or cracker to dehydrate until it reaches a
texture that you like. Or you can make a fruit crisp without cooking by
slicing up apples and using sprouted oats as a topping. To this you could add
cinnamon for a bit of a familiar flavor.
A raw food diet can be very creative in ways of mixing flavors to
provide pleasing tastes and textures. For more recipe ideas, there are many
online message boards for raw foodists. You can also make many delicious
smoothies by mixing water or juice with berries and fruit for a breakfast or
dessert smoothie, or by mixing carrot juice with tomatoes and some green
vegetables for a healthy lunch.
There are many recipes for this and other foods such as sushi rolls and
various dips available online and in books. It can take a lot longer to
prepare food when done this way, and you may find at the beginning that most
of your time is spent making yourself food, but remember that it is still
important to eat a variety of foods, not just what is easiest. For a lunch,
making your own bread and packing a salad can be an easy way to take lunch to
work, or you can order a simple salad with no dressing at a restaurant.
Organic and raw food for the raw food diet
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between regular and
organic produce? Organic foods are foods which have been grown and prepared
without using chemical pesticides or fungicides, but rather eco-friendly
alternatives. Organic foods have been growing in popularity because many
shoppers no longer see chemicals as useful “miracle” cures for people’s
problems, but rather as ways for people to damage the environment and kill
animals and birds as well as the insect pests they target.
Organic foods are now in every section of the grocery store, not just
fruits and vegetables, but consumers now have organic cookies and cakes
available to them, as well as organic dairy products. Organic foods are
available in many sections of your local grocery store, as well as in new
grocery store chains which are opening, featuring all organic and earth
friendly foods. These stores and foods can be more expensive than “regular”
fruits and vegetables. This is because it can be harder to grow organic fruit
which is still appealing to the consumer, and it can be difficult to protect a
large crop against insect pests and animals.
Organically grown crops are therefore usually smaller, which brings up
prices. However, this can be a worthwhile investment in your family’s health
and in the environment. Because of this, organic foods are rising in
popularity, which should allow companies and farms to invest more in producing
an even greater variety of organic foods for your enjoyment.
One concern many people have with organic food is the inconvenience of
finding organic foods, but there are now companies in many larger cities which
will deliver boxes of organic food to your doorstep once a week. This can make
organic produce even more convenient than regular produce, as well as
encouraging you to eat a variety of organic food. Organic foods are a natural
choice for raw foodists, as raw foodists often want to avoid unnecessary
chemicals in any form, not just chemical preservatives. Thus, organic foods
fit well into a raw food lifestyle, allowing raw foodists to be sure that at
every step of the way, their food has been free of chemicals and of processing.
Not all raw food you eat must be organic, as it can be difficult to
find organic options in everything, especially grains. Raw foods are not the
same as organic foods, as many people who buy organic foods will eat cooked,
frozen, and processed foods – they are simply avoiding chemical pesticides and
fungicides. However, it can be advantageous for a raw foodist to eat primarily
organic produce. Regardless of whether the produce you buy is organic or not
organic, all produce should be carefully washed before being consumed. Organic
foods are not the same as raw food, although organic foods arrive at the store
raw and are thus an easy choice for raw foodists.
How to find food for the raw food diet
One difficulty with the raw food diet may be in finding the raw
foods so that you can prepare them for yourself. Most food available in
grocery stores has been frozen, cooked, or processed in some way. It’s easy to
find certain raw foods at your local grocery store. Almost all grocery stores
have fresh produce available, as well as bulk or bagged nuts, pumpkin and
sunflower seeds, and other foods for you to try. Some areas will have organic
grocery stores, where you can be sure that none of your foods have been
treated with pesticides. In other areas, it can be harder to find organic
produce, and it may be easier to grow it yourself in your own garden. Look
around your area for a farmer’s market.
Buying food directly from the farmer can give you more confidence in
the freshness of the food. You could also consider going to different produce
stands, as a way to get more variety and new things to try in your raw food
journey. If you live in a city with a Chinatown, for example, many different
fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts are available. Raw grains may be harder to
find. If you have an alternative food store in your area which caters to raw
foods, or a bulk section in your local grocery store, you can often find raw
grains. If not, you may need to order them from an online store or hunt
farther afield for a grocery store which carries them.
Raw oats may be relatively easier to find, as they often come in large
bags as cereal. One advantage you may find with a raw food diet is in price.
While prices for organic foods may be higher, you are still saving money by
not buying prepackaged foods or processed foods from the freezer aisles. Any
diet which cuts out meat is less expensive already than a regular diet. With
the growing popularity of raw food, veganism, and vegetarianism, there is a
greater variety of food for you to try, even while on a restrictive diet.
Another option for a raw foodist to easily obtain raw food is to grow
their own food. Sunflowers, tomatoes, carrots and strawberries can easily be
grown with a minimum of work. Also, many herbs can be grown, and many flowers
are actually edible. Edible flowers can be researched in many books and on the
internet. A word of warning about plants and seeds. Many raw foodists eat
seeds and other parts of plants. Be careful while doing this, as it can be
dangerous to become experimental about what you eat. Some parts of plants
(even plants that are edible) are poisonous and will make you sick. For
example, while tomatoes are edible, other parts of the tomato plant may make
people sick. Only eat the parts of plants that you know to be edible.
Using a backyard garden for the raw food diet
Many raw foodists also believe in organic foods, as organic foods are
better for the environment and can be better for you. Avoid pesticides and
other chemicals harmful to yourself and to animals by buying organic fruits
and nuts, and you could try growing your own food in a backyard garden. If you
don’t have a backyard, you can try container gardening for some smaller
plants, such as herbs for tea. In choosing what to plant, you first have to
consider what will grow in your area. Also, and this should be fairly obvious,
plant things you will want to eat and be able to eat raw. Many people plant
things because they are easy to grow – zucchini comes to mind here – and then
end up with so much that they cannot give it all away. Nice things to grow
might include carrots, a zucchini plant, a few tomato plants, and some berry
bushes. Strawberries are easy to grow in a pot and can be fun for kids.
And there is nothing nicer than walking outside and snapping a few
peapods of your pea vines and eating them right of the vine. Plant in early
spring, after you are sure the final frost has finished. Before planting,
prepare the soil with a layer of compost or manure. Let it sit for a few days
before beginning your garden. Each package of seeds will have instructions as
to when and where to plant the seeds. After the planting, water the soil with
a generous amount of water. Be careful to leave tags to show where you have
planted your rows, so that when the plants begin sprouting, you do not mistake
them for weeds.
To keep pests away in an organic fashion, spray the leaves of your
plants with soap and water if you see aphids( Aloe Vera soap is very good for
this purpose). Some insects are your friends, though – ladybugs will eat
aphids, for example. If you are container gardening, either because you don’t
have a backyard or you just want more garden space, make sure your container
has proper drainage. If water stays in the soil, the roots can rot. If your
container does not have proper drainage, try putting a layer of pebbles at the
bottom, where water can sit. This way the water drains out of the soil, and
can later be reabsorbed by the soil if needed, but your plants’ roots are not
sitting in wet dirt all the time. Be careful not to over water.
In your container, plant plants that do not need a lot of space. Small
herbs are often good choices, as they can then be easily tended. Tomato plants
or cherry tomato plants will work well in an outdoor container, with some sort
of stick, wall, or other support for when they grow taller. You would be
surprised at the number of things you can grow in your own backyard: an Aloe
Vera plants grows very well in pots and is very useful for that odd burn, but
also will look nice in your garden.
Why you should go on the raw food diet
A raw food diet may seem like a lot of work for benefits that can
be obtained with other diets, but there are many reasons why raw foodists eat
raw foods. Believers in the raw or living food diets follow their diet because
they believe it causes:
• improved health – lower risk of heart disease, probably due to the
raw food diet’s lack of trans fats
• weight loss – in some people, weight loss has been rather dramatic
• improved digestion – in any diet with a high fiber content, you should
see improved digestion
• improvements in appearance of skin – this is different in everybody,
but a diet low in fats and oils may produce better skin appearance
• increases in energy levels – again, this is different in different
individuals, many individuals will feel increased energy levels when pursuing
any health benefit
It is also believed that cooking, freezing or processing foods destroys
vitamins and minerals and causes food to become harder to digest. Some have
said that partially digested fats, proteins, and carbohydrates clog up the
digestive system and arteries, and while this may cause images of partially
digested food stuck in various vessels of our bodies, it is important to
remember that while cholesterol can build up in our bodies and end up stored
in our arteries if too much HDL is present, it is also essential for our
nervous system.
Some fat is necessary, and it is possible to get that fat in a variety
of ways. Undigested proteins and carbohydrates simply pass through our body.
If they are digested and unused, they convert to stored energy as fat tissues.
However, raw foods may be an advantage, especially in weight loss, because it
is rare for a raw foodist to eat more calories than they can use, and so there
are no extra proteins and carbohydrates going into the body to be converted
into fat rather than to be used as proteins.
Raw foodists also believe that raw foods contain enzymes which act as
catalysts to the digestion of food, and processing the food by cooking or
freezing the food destroys the enzymes. Raw food contains bacteria which also
aids the digestive system, while stimulating the nervous system. Raw food is
thought to be less toxic and more easily digested. It is also believed that
raw food contains more vitamins and minerals than cooked, frozen, or canned
foods. Raw food living is also better for the environment, as no animal
products are consumed and less electricity is used if you don’t cook or freeze
your food. Many raw foodists also eat primarily organic foods, which use no
pesticides and are therefore better for the environment and for the eater.
Where do you get protein from on the raw food diet?
People need a balanced diet, and one of the major things that
people need is protein. While there are some types of amino acids we produce
ourselves, there are a number of amino acids that we cannot produce in our
bodies. These are the 13 essential amino acids. A healthy diet needs to
include about 25-35 grams of protein daily, depending on your weight. Many
people, including many raw foodists, believe that our bodies will simply
produce all the amino acids that our body needs, so long as we get enough
protein.
Raw food advocates often say that our body has a “pool” of amino acids
that it can pull amino acids from, so long as we take in enough protein in our
diet. The actual important point is to ingest the variety of amino acids
needed. A plant may contain some amino acids, and may contain the required
amount of protein that is needed, but it will not contain the whole set. It is
important to eat a variety of vegetables and legumes in order to guarantee
that you are getting all the required amino acids. If you go on a raw food
diet, you may need to consult a nutritionist who knows about raw food diets to
ensure you are getting what you need. A nutritionist can tell you what foods
to add to your diet in order to fill any gaps in proteins or other nutrients,
and might suggest a dietary supplement
. A protein deficiency or other nutritional deficiency can take time to
have any effects, but by the time the effects show, you may have already
caused a great deal of harm to your body. It is better to check first. An
example of how this might work is that certain plants, such as corn, contain
many of the essential amino acids, but not all of them. The holes left by corn
could be filled by certain types of beans or peas, which also contain many
different amino acids, including the ones that corn is missing. This can allow
you to take advantage of the overlap in amino acids provided. On the raw food
diet, it can be difficult to eat corn, but corn can be dried. (Maybe even
dried, ground up in the food processor, and added to a smoothie). Some raw
foodists eat raw meat and dairy products, such as unpasteurized milk, and thus
will have less concern about proteins and vitamin B12.
This can be risky with the growing concerns about salmonella and ecoli,
not to mention staph infections and other bacteria that can be picked up.
These bacteria are normally killed in either the cooking or the freezing
process. Some restaurants serve raw fish, but these chefs have been specially
trained in not cooking the fish, and the raw fish will have been frozen at
some point in time.
Concerns about the raw food diet
An important part of any diet is variety. Humans need a lot of
different foods in their diet in order to provide all the essential nutrients
we require. Many doctors and nutritionists have criticized raw food diet as
being too restrictive. While a raw diet is high in many nutrients, as well as
fiber, and tends to be low in fat, it can be difficult to eat the required
amounts of other nutrients. A raw food diet can require a lot of work and
research in order for the raw foodist to ensure that they are receiving all
the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals, and not all people are able
to do this research. While in the short term, this can be harmless, a diet
missing important nutrients can be harmful to health. In a raw food diet,
careful attention should be paid to getting enough protein and the right
variety of protein, as well as certain vitamins that people normally intake in
meat and dairy products. Because vegetables do not have the complete spectrum
of the 13 essential amino acids, care should be taken to be certain all
essential amino acids (proteins) are included in the diet.
Many raw food advocates say that are body will produce the missing amino
acids from the proteins that we do have, and while our bodies can produce some
amino acids, the reason certain amino acids are called essential is because
these are the amino acids that cannot be produced by people.
A nutritionist can be consulted and will inform you of what foods to
eat to make sure you have all 13 amino acids in sufficient quantities. Another
concern is vitamin B12, so you should ask about that, too. Raw Foodists can be
very focused on the health benefits of enzymes from raw foods, without
realizing that each enzyme has a specific task and a specific reaction that it
catalyses, so just having more active enzymes will not actually help. It is
also necessary for raw foodists to remember that our digestive system will
break down any enzyme into its component parts, and thus active enzymes are
not always necessary.
Nutritionists’ opinions: Nutritionists and dieticians have pointed out
many benefits and drawbacks to a raw food diet. The raw food diet can help
reduce the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer, because it is high
in nutrients while having very low levels of saturated fats. The raw diet is
also fibre rich, low in salt and high in potassium.
There are some drawbacks pointed out by nutrition scientists: a raw
diet is very limited in variety and does not include meat, potatoes, and
cooked grains. This can lead to mineral and other nutritional deficiencies by
limiting the amount of nutrients a raw foodist will intake. Research also
disagrees with one of raw foodist’s basic ideas, that fruit and vegetables
should be eaten raw because cooking destroys nutrients. It has actually been
shown that some nutrients are more easily digested into the body after the
fruit or vegetable has been cooked. Benefits that the raw food diet shows can
also be found in other diets, as many diets are commonly low in trans fats,
high in fiber, and heavily encourage fruit and vegetable consumption. Other
diets, however, allow meat, potatoes, and cooked grains, which are considered
by many to be an essential part of a diet.
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