Health news. We all know that vegetables and fruits contain vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to stay healthy. But did you know that cooking them, whether it be boiling, baking or frying, destroys
Health & Nutrition contributor Stephanie Reed.
practically all the vitamins and most of the minerals? To get the full benefit of their nutrients in your diet, enjoy fruits and vegetables in their raw state.
I recently asked a group of people how much raw fruit and vegetables they usually eat, and they estimated that about 5-10% of their diet is raw. I suspect that is quite typical.
Eating a diet which is 100% raw is not necessary, or even desirable. But increase your level of live foods to just 50-60% and you’ll reap benefits such as:
– More energy
– Weight loss
– Stronger immune system
– More alkaline body system and therefore better overall health
Cooking destroys the enzymes which give fruits, vegetables and grains their ‘live’ quality.
For example, it is due to enzymes that chick peas left to soak in water will sprout.
This is an expression of the joyful energy of life itself. This life force is transferred to us on both the physical and energetic level when we eat live food.
Raw food revolution
Live food already contains the enzymes that are needed for it to be fully digested. So, we could say that the food practically digests itself. This is quite different to dead food such as white bread or pasta which takes more nutrients than they provide in order to be digested – robbing your body of nutrients and energy. That is one reason why you can feel heavy, or sleepy after a large meal containing white bread or white rice. Why eat food that sends you to sleep? Why eat food that turns you docile and lethargic?
Eating foods that are rich in nutrients and enzymes means that your body is getting all that it needs and therefore you eat less. Products made from refined flour and high levels of sugar only provide empty calories that do not meet your body’s nutritional needs and so, quite naturally, you have the urge to eat greater quantities.
Try this experiment. For breakfast make a muesli with ½ cup porridge oats, 1 tbsp cashews, 1 tbsp ground linseed, 1 tbsp ground alfalfa seeds, dried apricots (or raisins), yogurt, maple syrup and 1 tbsp pumpkin seed oil. A bowl of this is so packed with all the nutrients your body really craves that the urge to snack before lunch will completely disappear!
Eating less means that it will be easier for you to control your weight.
Take a look at the many raw food websites that are out there to give you ideas of what you can introduce into your diet, alongside your cooked food. For example, raw snacks, desserts, a large, satisfying salad. See www.rawtarian.com for some ideas.
Peach salad
There is no need to go totally raw, but having more minerals, enzymes, chlorophyll, vitamins and life force in your diet will help to keep you energised, healthy and beautiful.
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