RAW FOOD DIET – IS IT GOOD FOR YOU?

I get asked this question all the time, particularly by people who consume animal products in the way of meat and dairy, as well as vegetarians who consume large quantities of cooked beans and rice.  There is an unfounded belief that if you eat nothing but raw fruits and vegetables that somehow you will be missing vital nutrients………….or worse, deprive yourself of a wide array of favorite cooked dishes.  These same people are typically taking numerous prescription drugs or supplements, and are suffering from at least one of the more typical diseases (e.g. obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, fibromyalgia, heart disease, etc).

The raw food diet is not an ‘all or nothing’ diet.  Without question, the more raw fruits and vegetables you eat the healthier you’ll be as all plant based foods are extremely high in easily assimilated nutrients that feed the body at a cellular level.  “Fruits provide the highest percentage of vitamins per calories consumed with vegetables coming in second.  Vegetables provide the highest percentage of minerals per calories consumed with fruits coming in second.”* With a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds to choose from in the raw diet, nutrients such as bone-strengthening calcium, protein, iron, vitamins C, D, E, and B’s to name a few can easily be obtained.  “Almost every vegetable that can be eaten whole, fresh and raw contains all eight of the essential amino acids and therefore provides us with complete, usable, easily assimilated protein.”*  Processing nutrients from whole foods to sell as supplements is the most costly way to improve your nutritional balance.  Most nutrients are known to interact symbiotically with at least eight other nutrients, WHOLE fruits and vegetables provide a superior complete source of vitamins and minerals.

Fiber found in plant-based foods is lacking in a meat-based diet; fiber is important to keep the digestive tract clean of waste products which can lead to disease. 

Plant-based foods are alkaline in nature, as apposed to animal products and grains which are acid forming.  A highly acidic bloodstream pulls minerals from our muscles and bones to neutralize the acid content.  

Most animal products have been treated with antibiotics, steroids, coloring agents, flavor enhancers, growth hormones and other chemicals that humans ingest when eating these foods.  How healthy is it to eat THAT?  Whole fresh organic fruits and vegetables are free of any of these treatments. 

Cooking foods changes its atomic structure, creating a toxic food where up to 80% of the nutrients can lost in the cooking process.  Cooking foods at high heat (such as steaming, boiling, and grilling) creates carcinogens that can lead to cancer and auto-immune diseases.  The body’s first line of defense is the white blood cells; research has proven the white blood cell count increases almost 300% after consuming cooked foods.  The body perceives cooked food as toxic and rushes to its defense.  Cooking is a process of destruction, not of ‘construction’.  If you placed your hand on a hot burner, within seconds the skin would reflect how destructive ‘cooking’ is.  It matters little if it is ‘slightly’ cooked or blackened………..the result is the same. 

Switching to a raw food diet, high in low calorie nutrient dense fruits and vegetables increases your energy and unwanted pounds melt away as you are no longer consuming food that is made up of processed sugar, processed flours and grains, and cooked foods – all foods that put on the weight and drain you of energy.  With there being over 150 varieties of available fruits and vegetables to choose from, meals are seldom boring.  Couple this with learning HOW to prepare these fruits and vegetables into great tasting familiar recipes (e.g. pasta, desserts, ice cream etc) you’ll soon be experiencing a higher level of health and energy, beyond anything you dreamed possible.

It is interesting that people think little about the quantities and health quality of prescription drugs, supplements, or processed foods they consume and yet shy away from eating whole fresh fruits and vegetables as being ‘radical’ and ‘difficult’.  It couldn’t be any simpler.  Sometimes we’re looking so hard for the dietary cure-all, we don’t see the bright colored jewels in our produce markets beckoning us to ‘just try me!’   

Is the raw food diet a healthy diet?  It is all that and then some!  It is a diet/lifestyle that fits everyone, whether you’re consuming 20% more fruits and vegetables or 100% more, with every bite you’re improving your health.  Who can argue the benefits of THAT!

Bon A Petite’

Beth

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*Dr Douglas N Graham, On Nutrition and Physical Performace: A Handbook for Athletes and Fitness Enthusiasts

What is the best way to get calcium in a raw diet?

I received this question on my blog that I thought would be of interest to everyone so rather than just answer the question for one person, I thought I would make it a post to the blog.

Question:

What is the best way to get calcium in a raw diet? I’m at risk of osteoporosis.

My answer…

CALCIUM:

Most people believe osteoporosis is caused by a lack of calcium and by increasing the intake of calcium (including direct supplementation) osteoporosis will be avoided.  This does little to reduce the incidence of osteoporosis or to counteract the effects of a predominantly acid forming diet and lifestyle. 

The actual cause of osteoporosis is typically due to excessive calcium loss from an overly acid bloodstream.  Animal proteins, tobacco inhalation, caffeine and drugs contribute to an acid bloodstream.  The body maintains a blood pH that is slightly alkaline and when the blood is too acidic, the body brings it back to a more alkaline state by leaching calcium (an alkaline mineral) from the bones and boron from muscle. Boron helps prevent calcium loss and is found in raw fruits and vegetables, milk has little, meat and eggs have none. 

Studies have shown a direct correlation between eating animal proteins (e.g. meat, eggs and dairy) and calcium loss.  Fruits and vegetables are alkaline foods which help maintain your blood at the correct pH.  Easy to assimilate calcium (and boron) is found in abundance in most leafy greens (e.g. romaine lettuce, spinach, dandelion greens etc), in seaweeds (e.g. Nori, Arame, Dulse) and in sesame seeds (1 oz. has 276 mg).   By eating large, green leafy salads with dressings made from Tahini (ground sesame seeds), you’ll get more than enough calcium (along with all the other elements your bones and muscles need) to satisfy the body’s need. 

Most raw fooders eat mostly fruit and vegetables and have no bone weakness.

Beth

I EAT A RAW DIET AND I WANT TO WORKOUT!

Good Morning!

If you’re like most of us this morning, you’ve got your running/walking shoes on, you’re on your way to the gym, and you’re feeling GREAT about getting to your ‘workout’ today!!!  Are you with me?

No!?  Infortunately, I’m the ‘extraordinary’ exception and not the rule. 

“If you want average results, do what average people do.  But if you want extraordinary results…”

I eat a raw food diet and I WANT to workout, I FEEL GREAT!  I have ENERGY to burn!  Want to learn how to get most from your workout – spending less time in the gym and getting healthier and fitter more efficiently?  Check out the fitness section of my website……….

http://www.sensationalrawfooddiet.com/exercise.html

The raw food diet is your ticket – not only will you FEEL more ENERGY but you’ll maximize the benefits of whatever exercise program you embark on.  It’s all in the FUEL we put in our bodies, and the QUALITY of that fuel. 

Athletes are always concerned about Protein, and getting enough of it.  Plant based sources of protein are easier for the body to assimilate and less taxing on the liver and kidneys.  Eating high amounts of animal protein is not only taxing to the organs, but is associated with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.  Why protein isolate – an animal food that is highly processed – is highly acid-forming, as is cooked animal foods.  Eating too many acid-forming foods promote inflammation, reduce immune function, and cause calcium to be pulled from the bones resulting in lower bone density.

Plant based proteins are present in all fresh fruits and vegetables.   30% of the calories in spinach come from protein, almost 50% from romaine lettuce.  The best sources of protein are leafy greens, liquid blue-green algae’s, nuts and seeds, sea vegetables and sprouted foods.  A description of some of these protein sources along with additional plant-based food supplements can be found on my website:  www.sensationalrawfooddiet 

Athletes who experiment with plant-based diets consistently report a substantial increase in energy and a dramatic decrease in recovery time.  The advantage of a decreased recovery time is that you can increase the number of your workouts if you choose.  You’ll see quicker and better results!

 I hope you found this information helpful.  There are more diet and fitness tips, suggestions, articles and information on my website along with some excellent recipes I share in my Recipe Membership Program that will maximize your workouts! 

Eating a raw food diet is far from boring, and you’ll see the benefits as your body becomes fitter, stronger, more flexible, and agile; your workouts more effective.  More bodybuilders, dancers, runners, triathletes, and professional athletes are discovering the advantage of the raw food diet.   Join us.  You don’t have to be an Athlete to reap the benefits!

Bon A Petite’

RAW FOOD DIET – WHY ELIMINATE DAIRY

Dairy is one of the most mucus forming food we can consume – mucus is the body’s way to protect itself from unwanted toxins. 

Cow’s milk is meant to grow a 2.5 ton calf!  One of the elements in cow’s milk is casein, a major ingredient in one of the strongest wood glues on the market!  ………..and THIS is meant to make us ‘healthy’?!

The surface of the digestive tract that is designed to absorb the nutrients from the food we eat becomes covered with a mucoid plaque (film) that protects our blood from toxins that would make us severely sick if absorbed.  Our body tries to rid itself of these toxins through whatever outlet it can.  It uses the nose (allergies and sneezing), the lungs (asthma and other bronchial conditions), and the skin (rashes, outbreaks, soreness) as outlets for these toxins. 

Unfortunately this same film doesn’t allow us to absorb any nutrients.   Over the years the mucoid plaque gets thicker and harder and we become under-nourished.  Do you ever question why you feel more tired as you age, and why the need for more vitamin/mineral supplementation escalates?

By eliminating dairy, numerous health conditions (e.g. asthma, allergies, rashes etc.) clear up quickly and completely. 

If we stay on a raw food diet this plaque can dissolve completely and our assimilation of nutrients, minerals and amino acids increases substantially!

Some people do not want to eliminate dairy all together and for those people who fall in this category, exchanging cow’s dairy for raw goat dairy is a healthier choice as goat’s milk is easier to digest and doesn’t have the same make-up as cows dairy – the make-up that makes us toxic.  Unpasteurized, raw goat cheddar style cheese is an excellent exchange for normal cow’s milk cheddar cheese……and a HEALTHIER choice. 

Bon A Petite’

Beth

BUYING ORGANIC AND BUYING LOCALLY PRODUCED FOODS

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has defined Organic food as:

“Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.  Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.”

When purchasing ‘organic’ you are assured the farmers are using methods to protect our soil and to eliminate soil erosion through crop rotation, cover cropping (green manure), and using composted manure.  The plant food we consume is rich in nutrients and do not contain:

Conventional Pesticides – Pesticides were designed to kill living things; pesticides are toxins, toxins cause disease.  The average person consumes 10 different pesticides each day and many of these have been associated with serious health issues – EWG (Environmental Working Group).   Autism, cancer, and infertility (to name a few) have been linked to the pesticides and other chemicals found in/on our food.  Children, because of their low body weight and higher metabolism are more affected by these toxins.  Women too are more susceptible to these toxins.  Additionally, a U.S. Geological Survey found every stream and 90% of the wells sampled contained pesticides – it is estimated 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of sprayed herbicides enter our water system.  Eliminating pesticides where you can will have a huge impact on improving your health.

Synthetic Fertilizers – Per The Carbon Connection documentary, “Every pound of excess nitrogen applied to the soil by artificial fertilizer destroys 100 pounds of humus.”  (Humus is partially-decomposed organic matter; its own ecosystem, the ‘life force’ of soil.)  Synthetic Fertilizers gets into our waterways causing nutrient loading and oxygen depletion – harmful salts destroys beneficial earthworms and good microorganisms.  

SEWAGE SLUDGE  - A nasty mix of bacteria and virus-laden organic mater, toxic metals, synthetic organic chemicals and settled solids removed from domestic and industrial waste water (over 60,000 toxic substances and chemical compounds) usually spread over farm fields (renamed “biosolids”) as a means of disposal.

Genetically Modified - A method of ‘splicing chemical pesticides into food crops so they don’t need to be sprayed.’ They become a part of the food, and not able to be washed clean.  Six products known to be genetically modified (best to buy ‘organic’) are: corn and corn products, soy and soy products, rice, wheat, canola oil, and cottonseed oil.

Irradiation - The International Atomic Energy Agency developed a process to sterilize, pasteurize, and extend shelf life of food in the 1970’s; since it is not an additive but a process it is not regulated.  Irradiation causes formation of free radicals; it destroys vitamins, and is toxic.

By purchasing “organic” we are ensuring the life of the planet, the life of our children, and our own good health.

Recent studies have also shown that by eating ‘organic’ you consume up to 30% MORE vitamins and minerals then that of its conventional counterpart. 

Yes you pay a little more to buy organic but you are getting:

-     MORE Nutrients

-     Less Toxins

-     Reduced Health Risk

-     Better Health

-     Less Sick Time

-     Less Doctor Visits and Health Care Costs

-     Dollars saved on vitamins, supplements, and prescription drugs.

I also prefer to buy ‘locally’ whenever possible – less diesel fuel is needed to ‘ship’ food.  Its environmental impact is minimized.  The produce is fresher, tastier, and healthier. Buying locally helps to keep alive a thriving local agriculture; and it is a vote for a secure, local food supply.  Many local farmers practice excellent farming procedures but do not carry the ‘organic’ label due to the high cost and lengthy procedure to get certified.  Get to know your local farmer; they’re an excellent resource for good quality produce at lower costs. 

Before you bite into that apple, or red pepper, know what you’re bringing into your body.  It could kill you.

Bon A Petite’

Beth

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