How to Start getting More Raw Food in your Diet

Heard about the raw food diet but not sure where to start? Or maybe you don’t even know why your friend has been boasting about it for the past two weeks. Just leave it to us - we’ll have you understanding just why you would want to start a raw food diet and how you can incorporate it into your life today in less than 5 minutes.

What is a raw food diet?

There are no tricks behind this one. A raw food diet means exactly that – eating only foods that are raw and that have no preservatives, no additives, colors or dyes added, salt, sugar, and they have not been changed from their natural state. If something is canned or bottled or prepackaged in any way, there’s a very good chance that it is NOT a raw food.

The focus of raw foods are:

• Fruits

• Vegetables

• Nuts

• Seeds

• Grains

• Sprouts

• Sea vegetables

As for drinks, the raw food diet allows for:

• Purified water (not from the tap!)

• Fresh juices

• Coconut milk

• “Sun tea” (a tea that has been brewed by the power of the sun)
  

What’s so bad about cooked foods?

The foods we eat are, naturally, loaded with enzymes that are beneficial to our health. Once you cook the food at a heat that is over 106*F (which is almost all foods) the molecular structure of these enzymes begin to change. Enzymes break down and can even become “toxic” in some cases when placed in extreme heat.

Why should I care about enzymes?

You don’t want to break down or destroy enzymes because they help us with digestion and food absorption. The fewer enzymes you have that accompany the foods you are eating, the less amount of absorption there is of the necessary nutrients our body needs. This increases the toxin levels in our bodies, which promotes the storage of fats and increases your risk of becoming ill. This is why many people who eat a lot more cooked foods than raw foods tend to be overweight.

What are some other benefits to a raw food diet?

Some other benefits you will surely notice after a couple of weeks of being on a raw food diet include:

• Weight loss

• A boost in energy

• Increased alertness

• Stronger immune system

• Saving money on the energy bill each month!

How can I get started on a raw food diet?

Looking at how you eat right now is a good way to gage how you can best make the transition from a cooked food diet to a raw food diet. If you tend to consume a lot of cooked and processed, preserved foods on a daily basis (i.e. at every meal) then start by trading either a snack or your “least favorite” meal each day for a “raw” food meal. This way you still are able to look forward to and enjoy that cooked meal ever day and won’t come to find the diet difficult right off the bat.

If you already enjoy a meal or two of raw foods each day (i.e. you eat cold granola with milk each morning and usually have a salad for lunch) try switching to a complete raw food diet day two to three times a week (yes, and I do mean eating only raw foods for those entire two to three days). After a week of changing your diet, increase the amount of raw foods you eat by adding another raw food meal per day to the mix, or by increasing the number of “raw food only” days during the week.

If you have any questions or concerns about starting your new diet plan, do be sure to discuss your health and weight goals with your doctor or dietician first.