Richard Wrangham argues in his latest book that food, that has been heated changes character and become harmful to the body. When food becomes softer, it is easier to absorb and digest. The body uses less calories, we take much more of our food after being heated in relation to if we ate it raw. It also explains why people who live by Raw-Food movement's principles are almost always slim
Experiments show that rats who received soft feed pellets weighed 30% more after 26 weeks than the rats who were given hard feed pellets.
Questions and answers about Raw Food
Source: living-foods.com
Why would someone want to eat a raw
and living foods diet?
There are many reasons why people eat a raw and living foods diet.
Health: Persons embracing this type of diet invariably
experience improvements in their general physical and mental status,
including more energy, better health, more energy, weight loss,
detoxification, and a sturdier immune system that better resists and
recovers from just about any kind of disease... and the list goes on...
Energy efficiency: Since you no longer have to cook, you
don't waste electricity, and save the environment.
Since you eat organic agriculture, you help to save the planet. Most
become more in-tune with their body; many report definite spiritual
improvements.
No animal products are used, so the animals appreciate it.
What are Living and Raw Foods?
Raw and Living Foods are foods that contain enzymes. In general, the
act of heating food over 116 degrees F destroys enzymes in food. (Enzymes
start to degrade in as little as 106 degrees F). All cooked food is
devoid of enzymes, furthermore cooking food changes the molecular
structure of the food and renders it toxic. Living and raw foods
also have enormously higher nutrient values than the foods that have
been cooked.
What are Enzymes?
Enzymes assist in the digestion of foods. They are known to be the "Life-Force"
and or "energy" of food.
Why are Enzymes Important?
Enzymes are important because they assist in the digestion and
absorption of food. If you eat food that is enzyme-less, your body
will not get maximum utilization of the food. This causes toxicity
in the body. (Can you guess why over 75% of Americans are overweight?)
Doesn't the acidic ph of the stomach destoy enzymes?
Viktorus Kulvinskas, one of the world's foremost and most
experienced active researchers into enzyme nutrition has information
showing then stomach acid merely deactivates food enzymes. The
enzymes are then reactivated in the more alkaline small intestine.
Many people who eat all raw foods, sense a world of healthful
difference in our energy, digestion and connectedness with nature by
eating enzyme-rich living foods. When we stopped eating cooked
protein foods which require large secretions of stomach acid (which
is not healthful for several reasons) our stomach doesn't produce
much stomach acid. Many people who eat raw foods eat a low protein
diet and are free from the stomach acid secretions and have much
more energy and a lighter disposition.
Is there a difference between living foods and raw foods?
Living and Raw foods both contain enzymes. In living foods, the
enzyme
content is much higher. Raw, unsprouted nuts contain enzymes in a "dormant"
state. To activate the enzymes contained in almonds, for example,
soak them
in water for as just 24 hours. Once the almonds begin to sprout, the
enzymes become "active" and are then considered living. In the
context of this web site,
the terms are used loosely.
Why eat only Organic Foods?
When juicing or eating foods, it is very important to choose to
consume only organically grown produce. "Conventional" or "industrial"
produce are grown with pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers,
and other chemicals that are toxic and/or harmful to your body.
Organic foods are grown without the use of these harmful substances,
taste better, and are more nutritious.
Do I need to eat all organic to be raw?
No, you do not NEED to eat all organic to be raw. I personally
reccomend eating as much organic food as possible. It has been shown
that organic produce contains less pesticide and other toxic
residues. In addition, it has been shown that organic food may taste
better and contain more nutrition. I believe its better to eat more
fresh fruits and vegetables in most any case.
Will rinsing wash off the pesticide from industrially grown
produce?
Rinsing with cool water will remove some surface pesticide residue,
but not the pesticide that was absorbed into the produce as it was
grown. Some of the most severely tainted types of produce are
strawberries and bell peppers. Some of the least tainted: carrots
and avocados.
Is this a "new" fad diet or something?
Not at all! Consider the following: during the vast majority of our
existence on this planet, what choices did we have for food? What
COULD we have eaten before we discovered fire, tools and implements
to kill animals? The original diet for us MUST have consisted
primarily of vegetables, fruits, and nuts! What other choices did we
have? Clearly, a raw, plant based diet is the main food staple
throughout the vast majority of the history of Humankind! Before
Humans started killing and eating dead animal carcass, we ate fruits,
leaves, nuts, berries, etc...
Is this just another vegetarian or vegan diet?
Yes and NO! This is the ULTIMATE vegetarian/vegan diet. It should be
the goal of all vegetarians, vegans and SAD - [Standard American
Diet] eaters to eat raw. The benefits are out of this world! Once
you embrace an all-raw and living food diet, you are more living,
have more energy, better health, think more clearly, and become more
in tune with your body! This type of diet even gives you a "competitive
edge" over people that eat life-less food.
What is the difference between a raw/living foods diet and a
vegetarian one?
Vegetarians and vegans believe in only eating a plant based
diet.
Living and Raw Foodists believe in eating only an UNCOOKED, UNHEATED,
UNPROCESSED and ORGANIC plant based diet.
What is a Living Foodist or Raw Foodist?
A person who eats 75% or more living/raw food.. The more, the
better. Optimally one should eat 100% raw and living foods if it
feels right for them.
Is a 100% living and raw food diet best?
That depends on the person. I believe life should not be about
100% raw food, but about 100% health. You can be "unhealthy" and eat
100% raw food, if you are not eating the correct raw foods. In
addition, the stress that can be caused by "screwing up" or "falling
off the wagon" can be worse than eating a high percentage raw food
diet, with "better" cooked alternatives. I personally eat 99.999%
raw foods.
Is there just one type of living/raw foodist?
There are many subcategories of living/raw foodists. Some
include:
Fruitarian - People who consume mostly fruits.
Sproutarian - People who consume mostly sprouts.
Juicearian - People who consume mostly fresh juice.
Why would someone want to eat a raw and living foods diet?
There are many reasons why people eat a raw and living foods diet.
Health: Persons embracing this type of diet invariably
experience improvements in their general physical and mental status,
including more energy, better health, more energy, weight loss,
detoxification, and a sturdier immune system that better resists and
recovers from just about any kind of disease... and the list goes on...
Energy efficiency: Since you no longer have to cook, you
don't waste electricity, and save the environment.
Since you eat organic agriculture, you help to save the planet. Most
become more in-tune with their body; many report definite spiritual
improvements.
No animal products are used, so the animals appreciate it.
What do raw/living foodists eat?
Raw and Living Foodist eat all fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts,
seeds, grains, sea vegetables, and other organic/natural foods that
have not been processed. In some instances, there are special ways
to prepare the foods (example: most raw and living foodists soak/sprout
nuts, seeds and grains before consuming them). For some delicious
recipes, see our recipe section!
How can you tell if something is a raw/living food?
Most foods that have not been processed in any way, shape or form
are raw and living foods (until cooked). Processed foods (canned,
bottled or prepackaged) are most often adulterated, (changed from
their original state) by heating, additives, preservatives,
colorings, salt, and sugar. Don't think this is all for your benefit;
the benefactor is the manufacturer's profit margin, NOT YOU. Try to
purchase foods that are in their natural state.
What do raw and living foodists drink?
Water (purified water - never tap water), Freshly made juices
(made with your own juicer - and consumed immediately), coconut milk
(from a young coconut), are some of the liquids living and raw
foodists drink. Most all drinks purchased at the store have been
processed (Including: soda, bottled juices, coffee, alcohol, and
most others) and are not included in a living / raw foodist diet.
Do raw and living foodists drink tea?
Some living and raw foodists will drink SUN TEA, which is tea
brewed by the power of the Sun. Teas that contain boiling water are
not considered raw. Many teas that are purchased in the store may
have been processed at temperatures above 118 degrees. The best way
is to grow your own herbs and dry them at a low temperature, and use
them for sun teas.
Are certain raw foods better than others?
Yes. I believe one should focus on eating the majority of fresh
fruits and vegetables. All other raw foods (such as nuts, seeds, etc)
should be minimized. Fresher foods are always best. Ones that you
grow yourself, or purchased at a farmers market, are much fresher
than foods purchased in the grocery or health food store.
Where do raw and living foodist get their protein?
The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of
their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA
puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their
calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories
from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25%
of their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of
living plant foods, you are getting more than adequate protein.
Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to
be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you ate 2,000 calories per day,
and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories
from protein, you would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50
grams. This is more than adequate to support optimal well-being.
Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as with
cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. So raw
plant food protein is even a better source than cooked plant foods
or animal foods. There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that
plant protein is not "complete". This is based on studies done on
rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before we
discovered the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to
"complete" any amino acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no
matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This
false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in
an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly
health destroying products.