Understanding the health benefits to eating raw is one of the most important parts...once you realize how good raw food is for your body, it makes it a little easier to stomach the changes. There are a lot of websites and books that outline the benefits of raw food, but in a nutshell, these statements give a great overview:
Fruits, vegetables and plant foods are packed with nutrients, including vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting phytochemicals. Heating, however, destroys a fair bit of them. Vitamins are destroyed, proteins are structurally spoilt, and minerals are converted from their organic and absorbable state to a state whereby they are not easily assimilated by the body.
Dr. Ann Wigmore, one of the most well-known proponents of raw diets, even suggests that over 80% of the nutrition in food is destroyed via cooking!
Raw foods contain high levels of enzymes, which assist in digestive processes as well as contribute to good health in other ways. By eating raw foods, we reduce the need for the body to produce its own digestive enzymes. This frees up energy which the body can then use to carry out other important work, such as healing, cell repair and rejuvenation, fighting off foreign invaders, etc. More enzymes would also be available for various uses by the body, including healing and the regulation of metabolic processes in the body.
On the other hand, since enzymes are killed by heat, cooked food is virtually devoid of them. The consumption of a largely cooked diet thus hampers digestive processes in the body, causing the production of excessive amounts of toxic by-products. Excess energy usage, poor digestion and excessive toxin production – these are the reasons why we often feel tired, sluggish, and lethargic after a heavy meal of cooked food, while we would feel light and energetic after having a salad and a glass of fresh juice.
http://www.all4naturalhealth.com/eating-raw.html
Jude and I would agree that we definitely feel better-cleaner, healthier and having more energy than we would typically feel with our regular diet, which did consist of a good amount of cooked food. My personal goal is to try and have 40% of my daily diet be raw on a regular basis. Now that I've learned some good recipes and ways to prepare foods, I don't think it will be as big a challenge as I once thought. Even for the average joe, I think if you could try and eat a good portion of raw veggies (either through a big salad or lots of cut veggies for snacking) and fruit (at least 1-2 raw pieces a day) you would be steps ahead nutritionally than not eating anything raw at all. So just keep that in the back of your mind....when you can grab a handful of raw fruit or veggies...do it!!
I do have to share with you one last raw recipe we made for dessert tonight: apple crisp with a banana vanilla shake. Yum!! The apple crisp was made of sliced and chopped apples mixed with lemon juice and cinnamon and then topped with a crumble topping that consisted of chopped walnuts, maple syrup, dates, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. It was no baked apple pie, but for a raw dessert...not bad at all! Our banana shake was made using our Vitamix and consisted of almond milk, banana, ice and a splash of pure vanilla extract. Great way to end out this diet!
Thanks for your support through this week-long eating adventure!! I am looking forward to continue exploring health and nutrition with you and learning how to best adapt my lifestyle to the things I learn. I promise to keep things interesting :)
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