Raw Food for Healing

Proponents of raw food diets that consist primarily of plants, vegetables, fruits and nuts embrace the lifestyle for its many healing and health benefits. Those who support this lifestyle report that eating raw foods has the benefits of improved mental and physical health, weight loss and strengthened immune systems (Reference 1). Raw foods are defined by temperature, which maintains enzymes. Raw foodists claim that enzymes are the building blocks for health, and that raw food heals by bringing the body into harmony and giving the body what it needs to self-heal.

Features

• Raw foods contain enzymes that have not been broken down by cooking food above 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooked foods are without enzymes. Cooking food, according to the website Raw and Living Foods, changes food's molecular structure. This change in fundamental structure renders food toxic (Reference 1). The goal of raw foodists is to avoid cooking food at all and preserving its nutrients. Raw foods are distinguished from living foods, which contain the highest enzyme values. For example, raw nuts are raw food. When you sprout raw nuts by soaking them in water, the resulting sprouts are living and the enzymes in them are activated.

Function

• Enzymes are the focus for raw food health. Considered to be food's life-force, Raw and Living Foods explains that enzymes aid in the digestive process and help the body absorb food's nutrients (Reference 1). When the body does not receive the maximum benefits of food, toxicity results. Proponents of raw food claim that an all raw food diet does not require high secretions of stomach acids to break down protein-rich foods. Advocates maintain that freedom from stomach acid secretions promotes energy.

Types

• A person who has plenty to eat can still be malnourished. For raw foodists, consuming cooked food causes malnutrition. According to Shirley's Wellness Cafe, contaminants in cooked food cause the body's systems to break down. The crisis begins in early childhood and that children who eat cooked food experience colds, colic, tonsillitis and other immune-related ailments. That as we age we will experience more cooked food-related illnesses, such as cavities and diminished eyesight. With age the health detriments become increasingly serious. These conditions represent starving cells (Reference 2). Raw foodists claim that raw and living foods can prevent and reverse many common health issues.

Benefits

• According to Living and Raw Foods, people experience definite physical and mental benefits from consuming raw food. Raw foodists enjoy greater energy, detoxified blood and organ functions, stronger immune systems and improved ability to fight any disease (Reference 1). The website, The Best of Raw Food claims raw food health benefits including prevention of heart disease, prevention or reversal of diabetes, and reversal of arthritis (Reference 3).

Considerations

• In the beginning, newbies to raw foods may experience certain physical symptoms. Raw food advocate, Thomas E. Billings, cautions about the most common symptoms. Some people may experience detoxification issues. Detox complaints include, but are not limited to, headache, nausea and strong body odor (Additional Resources). These disturbances should be mild and short-lived. If they persist, consult a physician. You should consult a health care professional before making any radical diet change. In the short-term, combat detox symptoms by eating some cooked food and by eating more nuts and avocados (Additional Resources).