Why Eat Raw
Why Eat Raw
“Food sustains us,… Yet what we eat may affect our risk for several of the leading causes of death for Americans, notably, coronary heart disease, stroke, arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and some types of cancer. These disorders together now account for more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States.” -former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop
It is estimated that 60% of disease is caused by the SAD diet (Standard American Diet). If food is the culprit, I believe that food can be the answer. As we become mindful about what we eat, we can start to make choices that promote our health over illness. Food is consumed for nutrition but it is also consumed for pleasure. What happens if we learn how to satisfy our pleasure receptors with healthy food? Our lives improve.
What do our bodies need to eat raw?
What are the building blocks that our bodies need to function? Enzymes, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, protein, essential fats and fiber. These are all provided by our food and are involved in growth, repair and maintenance of the body. Let’s take a quick look at each of these and what they do for you.
Enzymes
Enzymes convert the food we eat into chemical structures that can pass though the membranes of the cells lining the digestive tract and into the blood stream. Their job doesn’t end there. Enzymes are the living proteins that direct the life force into our biochemical and metabolic processes. They help transform and store energy, make active hormones, dissolve fiber and prevent clotting. They have anti-inflammatory effects. Enzymes help balance and restore the immune system, and heal many diseases. Enzymes even help repair our DNA and our RNA.
When we cook food, we destroy many of the enzymes that help us naturally digest it.
Vitamins
Without vitamins our cells would not function properly and thus our organs would suffer and eventually we would no longer be able to survive. Vitamins help regulate metabolism, help convert fat and carbohydrates into energy, and assist in forming bone and tissue. Guess what happens when you cook food? You got it, a large percentage of the vitamins are destroyed.
Viktoras Kulvinskas in his book, Survival into the 21st Century, estimates that the overall nutrient destruction is as high as 80%. Tests have shown that we will lose 50% of the B vitamins while B1 and B12 can lose up to 96%. 97% of folic acid is destroyed as well as 70-80 % of vitamin C.
Minerals
Seventeen of the thirty elements known to be essential to life are metals. Mineral deficiencies cause disease in humans. Minerals also have a synergistic relationship with vitamins. They help each other help us. When foods are cooked, many of the minerals are destroyed, or altered, rendering them useless and also unable to assist our friends the vitamins.
Phytonutrients
Phytonutrients are what give fruits and vegetables their color. Phytos protect the body and fight disease. They also fight cancer and help your heart. Phytonutrient are at leading edge of research on nutrition. They provide medicine for cell health. And once again, Phytonutrients in freshly harvested plant foods can be destroyed or removed by cooking.
Why Eat Raw?
It just starts to make sense. If cooking destroys the vital and essential nutrients that we need to stay healthy, eating our food raw does the opposite. It provides us with what we need for our health and well being. I know from experience that when I am eating at least 80% raw, I have more energy, more mental focus, and all of the pesky things that irritate me on a daily basis, like acid reflux and my daily aches and pains, dissipate. I also know that I am feeding my body what it needs to thrive, not just survive.
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Ray wrote on September 19, 2011
Nice site you have here. I watch Dan The Man McDonald the liferegenerator on youtube. He got me into the raw food movement here. I find myself actually leaning towards being more of a fruititarian. I think its because the green juices I make taste well……horrible. Im going to check out some of the recipes on your site see if I can get some better results. Thanks for the site. I know deep down raw is the way to go. Peace out….
debbie malina wrote on September 7, 2011
hi Susan………..i ‘ve been 85 % raw for the last 2-3 months…..eating lots of fruits and vegetables…………juicing and smoothies…i’ve been staying away from nuts…..i use chia and hemp seeds………..very rarely beans….tonite i did have edamame for dinner……..as of yet i have not lost 0 lb…if anything i’ve gained weight………….i know you don’t have to count calories on a raw diet and i don’t feel like i over indulge that much……just discouraging to hear how the weight is falling off of people….don’t know what i’m doin wrong…..HELP………………..
Susan wrote on September 7, 2011
I think one of the biggest myths is that when you eat raw, you don’t have to worry about how much you eat. If you are trying to lose weight, you will need to adjust what you are eating. Everyone is different. Some people can eat what ever they want, including lots of nuts, etc. I can not. You have to experiment and stay very balanced to find your “sweet spot”.
caitlin wrote on May 6, 2011
Susan,
I thought that for the recipe to be called “raw” we needed to never heat the food to above 114 degrees, but some of your recipes seem to start with an initial dehydration temp of 140 for a short time and then a lower temp for the rest of the dehydration time…
Was I misinformed? Wouldn’t this 140 degree spurt kill the enzymes we’re trying so hard to maintain?
Thank you for all the recipes and inspiration. I have your granola in the dehydrator as I write this 🙂
Susan wrote on May 6, 2011
There are quite a few articles here on dehydration…you can search “dehydrate” in the search function. Or start here: https://rawmazing.com/dehydration-primer/ for an explanation. It has to do with food temp and by starting high you are not compromising the enzymes because the food temperature never is out of the safe zone.
Lisa wrote on April 2, 2011
Thank you for this website. I have found that eating raw food kills my cravings for sugar and carbs, it has increased my energy level. I crave less and feel great! I don’t plan on going full RAW because I do believe that I body needs meat proteins..but I absolutely love the recipes on here and plan on buying the book soon!
Pennagirl wrote on March 23, 2011
What do you eat if you are allergic, anaphylaxis (breathing) to food like kiwi, nuts, honeydew?
Susan wrote on March 23, 2011
I would eat what you are not allergic to. There are lots of fresh, raw foods out there.
Mazekah wrote on March 20, 2011
I love the enthusiasm I read here for eating live food. I eat “high” raw (80% or higher) and have noticed that the longer I do so, the less I want cooked food, and the less winter bothers me. I include cooked legumes a couple times a week. I’ve also noticed that my food choices change with the seasons – more high quality fat and fruit in the winter and more greens in the summer. I am trusting my body more. It sends me very clear information on what I need when I eat raw. When I eat cooked, the information it sends me becomes garbled. Worse if I eat refined sugar and flour (besides body aches and pains). So, back to raw. My weight has remained stable for 8 months eating high raw, and I know I’m in transition to eating less fruit and raw sweets. That’s one of the messages, and I trust the timing. Thanks!
Carolyn wrote on March 5, 2011
Hello!
I am a huge fan of this site and have made many of the recipes here. although i have a health question that i can’t seem to get answered. I am a teenager (16) and love eating raw when i can, however i am a bit stumped about calories and fat intake for someone my age. According to my doctor i am slightly overweight and i would like to get my weight down a bit. A lot of raw recipes involve nuts, and i don’t know if i would be able to eat nuts and loss some weight at the same time. 😀 thank you and keep it up!
Susan wrote on March 6, 2011
Yes, you can eat nuts and lose weight. But there are so many other factors involved. And each individual is different. I would suggest you contact your health provider for your individual needs.
brandon wrote on February 28, 2011
I want to thank you for this great website. I started a 30 day raw food challenge for myself about a week ago. It was really difficult at first, but now I feel the desire for cooked foods has diminished.
This challenge is especially difficult for me because meat has always been a large percentage of my diet. I dont know if I will be able too say bye to meat forever but this experience will definetly change my eating habits.
I am off to buy my dehyrdator now.
Kerim wrote on February 16, 2011
I would like to comment to Sarah who comments on Enzymes explained in this website. Perhaps Sarah also notes that current medical students only gets 4 hours of nutritional education in their entire 8 years education. Also current science has no answers about raw food. They study everything in a laboratory where they “cook” them.