raw food

Fresh fruit and vegetables improve health, fitness and vitality. Some effects are immediate. The feeling after eating fresh raw food is lighter and more energetic without the post meal torpor or digestive nap that follows a heavy cooked meal.

The digestive system may take a few months to adapt to switching from a life time of junk food. Different digestive enzymes are secreted.

raw and fresh
Most raw and fresh foods have more nutrients including minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Many nutrients are destroyed, lost or degraded in cooking and high temperature cooking produces toxic by products. Except perhaps for those few foods that are toxic raw.

Slow, low temperature cooking, dehydrating at low temperatures (below 45° C) or brief cooking like blanching or brief stir frying are alternative to destructive cooking to preserve nutrients (and preserve taste and texture).

satisfaction
Feelings of satisfaction can only set in when we have eaten enough of the nutrients we need. Raw and fresh foods have the nutrients and are more satisfying than old, cooked or dehydrated foods.

It is difficult to stop eating roasted nuts but a few raw ones are satisfying. It is difficult to stop eating lollies but a couple of pieces of fruit are satisfying.

raw fruit
A raw fruit diet with some greens is probably the most natural and healthy.

Raw athletes especially endurance athletes can thrive on a fruit diet and get all the oils and proteins they need from the large quantity of fruit they eat for energy. Not everyone exercises enough to eat that much fruit without running into problems with excess sugars.

pH
The body is a hydrogen ion economy and its biochemical reactions operate across pH gradients.. They have evolved to operate within a narrow pH range so pH has to be not too high and not too low. If the body's pH shifts outside of this range it is liable to break down at its weakest point as its biochemistry is disrupted.

Phosphorous, nitrogen, chlorine and sulphur compounds in food after being digested leave an acidic ash (residue).that lowers the body's pH. Sodium, Potassium and Calcium leave an alkaline ash.that raises pH.

Animal products and to a lesser extent some grains and a few other plant foods lower the body's pH when digestion releases their acidic elements. If pH falls too low the body mines calcium from bone and teeth as a buffer to raise pH.

Too much animal products leads to acidosis (low pH) which is common in a junk food diet. A raw and fresh plant based diet has lots of alkaline forming foods and fixes this quickly but can lead to the other extreme of alkalosis (high pH) which has similar symptoms of physical breakdown with lethargy usually the first .

Paper test strips can be used to monitor pH. Urine is a more reliable guide for most purposes than saliva which fluctuates more with diet and physiological activity.

going raw
When I was introduced to the health and fitness benefits of raw food by one of my children a few years ago I realised that I had been eating about 60% raw for a decade or more. Since shifting to around 80% I noticed a difference including better physical endurance and energy levels and surprisingly no sunburn after a half day in the sun. (I used to burn after a couple of hours and peel the next day).

Transition to a 100% raw food can take a year or more. Cooked food cravings are common and might be a sign of high alkalinity or nutrients not being absorbed, particularly eating raw and fresh with little acid forming food.

Many report not having to eat as much to maintain weight and energy levels. Cooked food is no longer quite so interesting. Those bags of sweets in the supermarkets are now revolting. Even many of the special organic vegan treats now seem sickly sweet and less satisfying.

Like hot food in winter? Raw veggies can be introduced into cooked meals by grilling, baking, boiling, steaming or frying them for a few seconds to bring them up to temperature or better still - just mixing them raw into a hot meal. For instance some soaked or sprouted grains or beans can be set aside before the rest are cooked and added just before or after cooking is finished.

The same spices can be added to raw as to cooked food – they can be soaked in water, vinegar or oil for a few hours or days to release their flavours.

100% raw
Problems usually follow within a few months if an intellectual commitment to eating only raw over-rides cravings, cooked food dreams and other messages from the body. Fatigue, minor ailments and confusion are usually the first signs of trouble that replace the initial feelings of enhanced well-being. The symptoms are often assumed to be detox and usually worsen if cravings for cooked food or animal products are resisted. Physical or mental breakdown can occur.

Some switch to occasional cooked food and others who find cooked food inedible include some acid forming foods in their kitchen like grains which solves the problem.

Some find relief and feelings of well-being as great as the initial experience of going raw by eating raw animal products. They don't retain the signature raw vegan vitality, fitness and radiance but are at least ambulant. Eating and handling raw animal products risks infection from a wide range of pathogens. One person can increase a whole community's exposure to diseases incubated in factory farms. Meat processing increases the risks for numerous diseases particularly through the inhalation of aerosols generated during the cutting of meat. Proponents of eating raw animal products report fantastic results. I have seen average to tragic results and am not going to recommend trying this.

suggestions
The vegan debate is pretty mature with good information but raw information is mostly commercial and some of it unsound, inaccurate or over simplified. I have found information from people who have been raw for years much more reliable than those making a living or a religion out of it.

Everyone is different. In the Ayurvedic tradition sages have the strong gastric fire to eat 100% raw.

An unbalanced raw diet can lead to problems just like a junk food diet. Processes can break down through lack of nutrients. It is possible to over-eat raw food and become obese if the body is food- addicted, searching for missing nutrients or not exercising.

Listen to the body and have a wide range of foods and recipes to choose from so the body has a chance to select foods that will satisfy pH and nutrient levels.

On waking in the morning ask “what do I want to eat today”. Each person and each day is different.

copyright (C) John Brasted 2008
updated 6. Feb. 2012

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