It seems that throughout the world some people are not only turning away from processed food and meat, they may even be turning away from cooking.
The standard diet in America is more sugar-sated, processed and fat-laden than ever before and because of this diet, metabolic disorders such as Heart Disease, Diabetes and Obesity are also on the rise.
Most people would agree that eating more fruits and vegetables will go a long way in improving your health. Even adding one serving per day has been shown to lower risk of stroke by 6%. But in the raw food diet all foods must be eaten fresh, dehydrated with low heat or fermented. The raw food dieters say that these methods leave the food alive and full of life energy. They believe that cooked food is dead and has no life energy. But, it is also about eating as much raw food as possible and most people on these diets eat between 70-100% of their diet as raw food.
Some raw food diets also use blenders and dehydrators. Smoothies can be made of all raw fruits and vegetables and a dehydrator can be used to make the food crispy by blowing air through the food at a temperature below 115 degrees F. Other raw food practitioners eat only whole foods, without chopping or juicing to maintain the fiber and nutrients. Some studies have shown that the body may metabolize whole foods and juices differently. Fasting is also recommended in many of these nutrition plans.
The foods that people consume when ma0p-intaining a raw foods diet consist of foods in their natural state. Fruit, nuts, water-soaked and sprouted seeds, vegetables, beans, grains and some fermented foods such as yogurt and kimchi. Dried fruits will give you energy and raw nuts provide oil. Sprouts are a great protein source.You can harvest wild foods as well but be warned to do your research first. Learn which foods are edible and which are dangerous and need to be avoided.
Of course organic produce is preferred. This will help to avoid toxic pesticide residues. But if limited availability of organic foods is an issue, then by all means eat the non-organic. This is a better choice than the processed foods available. Locally grown food should be purchased whenever possible as this assures reduced time from farm to table.
People who follow raw food diets say that eating this way relieves the body of toxins. There are web sites that include testimonials from people whose chronic diseases went away after starting a raw food diet. Some even claim that cooking removes the electrons from the food and therefore destroys the energy it could provide. Raw food experts say that cooking kills the enzymes in the food, meaning your body derives no benefit from eating it.
We can all agree that fresh vegetables and fruit are good for you but if you follow a raw food diet you must take great care to make sure you are getting all your nutritional requirements. There are deficiencies that can arise from eating this way if you are not careful.
As always, we urge everyone to research and learn as much as you can if you would like to explore this type of diet. There is so much information online for you to learn from. As we all know, too much information, if anything, is available to us today. Healthcare travelers and travel nurses already have a background of knowledge to expand on and we are all always learning. Listen to your body and do your due diligence. Make the best of each day as you never know how many more of them you may have. Maybe a raw food diet is for you and maybe it's not. Only you can decide what's best for you and your health.
Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network
