| Chances are that you've probably heard people talk | | | | Did you ever wonder why you feel so tired after |
| about a raw food diet and how healthy it is for you, | | | | you eat a big meal of cooked foods? One of the |
| but did you ever wonder exactly what it is they're | | | | reasons is because food enzymes are destroyed by |
| talking about? Perhaps you envisioned raw oysters | | | | cooking, so there are no enzymes to help your body |
| and beef on your dinner table. That doesn't sound | | | | digests that big meal you just ate. |
| too appealing doesn't? | | | | People in a raw food diet eat about 75% of their |
| In fact, a raw food diet is simply eating food in its | | | | food as raw and whole foods. This includes fruits, |
| natural unprocessed state. You probably already are | | | | vegetables, sprouts, raw nuts, seaweed and other |
| on part of a raw food diet. If you snack on fruits | | | | foods in their natural form. |
| and vegetables without cooking them, then you've | | | | Raw foods can be prepared in a couple of ways. |
| eaten raw food. | | | | One of the most popular is juicing. Many people go |
| Raw food, or unprocessed food is much better for | | | | on a juice fast where all they do is drink the juice of |
| you because the act of processing the food strips it | | | | raw organic fruits and vegetables. Even just drinking |
| of a lot of its vital nutrients. You've probably heard | | | | fresh juice in the morning can give your health a |
| that cooking vegetables can leach out a lot of the | | | | boost. |
| vitamins and it can also destroy the important food | | | | Another way that people eat raw foods is to use a |
| enzymes as well. Packaged foods, that you find in | | | | food dehydrator. This takes all the moisture out of |
| the grocery store like potato flakes to make mashed | | | | the fruits and vegetables so they can be easily |
| potatoes and other foods that have been processed | | | | stored for long periods of time without going bad. A |
| in some way to make an easy package meal not | | | | food dehydrator uses hot air to dehydrate the food |
| only have little nutritional value, but your body simply | | | | but it keeps the temperature under 116°F so |
| isn't made to process these foods. | | | | that the vital food enzymes are not destroyed. |
| If you think about raw foods as being the natural | | | | Of course, you can simply eat your fruits and |
| foods the way that they come from the earth, then | | | | vegetables the way nature intended picked straight |
| it makes sense that these are easier for our bodies | | | | from the tree. Nuts can be a great raw food that |
| to process as these of the foods are great | | | | you eat for snacks as well, but be careful because |
| ancestors ate and there really hasn't been that many | | | | most of the nuts you find in the grocery store are |
| generations since grocery stores, and therefore | | | | cooked. You need to make sure you get raw nuts |
| prepackaged foods, were invented. | | | | which you probably will have to buy either online or |
| Raw foods are packed full of vitamins, minerals and | | | | from a health food store. |
| food enzymes. These food enzymes are important, | | | | You don't have to all of a sudden start eating 75% |
| although you don't hear a lot about them. One of the | | | | of your foods as raw foods in order to enjoy the |
| things they do is help you digest your food and | | | | health benefits of the raw food diet. You can |
| getting enough enzymes can help your body with the | | | | gradually increase the amount of raw foods you eat |
| digestion process which takes a lot of energy, and if | | | | as time goes on and you will notice how much more |
| your body is spending less energy on digestion it will | | | | energy you have and how healthy you feel. |
| have more energy for you to do the things you like. | | | | Remember, you are what you eat! |