The benefits of raw food.

Why should we eat a raw food diet? Maybe the question should be, why cook our food? We are the only living creatures on the planet that alter our food by cooking. Pets and other animals, when fed a cooked food diet, have all the diseases that humans have. Raw foods are organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds prepared in a manner that maintain the food enzymatically and nutritionally intact. Cooking food washes away the essential minerals, destroys most vitamins, and all of the enzymes. Heat changes the composition of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, which make up the caloric nutrients in all food. Cooking foods interferes with the bioelectrical energy necessary to sustain life; literally, the life force is cooked out of food.

Raw food enhances the functioning capacity of digestive enzymes, supplies oxygen to the organs and tissues, and cleanses the bloodstream mainly through the ingestion of chlorophyll from green, leafy vegetables. Raw foods supply vital nutrients to the endocrine and nervous system like those found in sprouted seeds and legumes. By eating raw foods, the body is able to efficiently assimilate the nutrients it needs and eliminate the built up waste products that have created toxins in the body.

For Weight Loss ... The body's basic requirements are for calories and nutrients. We eat for two basic reasons. One is for fuel, which is burned as energy and measured in calories and in the form of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. The second is for nutrients including vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and enzymes.

Consuming fewer nutrients than the body needs over time creates malnutrition, contributing to chronic degenerative diseases. Cooking affects the fuel-to-nutrient ratio. We keep eating in an attempt to satisfy our nutrient needs, not our caloric needs, causing weigh gain. Diets that contain cooked foods aren't the most efficient way to lose weight.

For Enzymes ... Most of the enzymes we need to digest the food we eat are present in that food and are destroyed by temperatures of over 105 degrees. These enzymes occur naturally and are necessary for a fruit or vegetable to ripen. The ability to properly digest your food is critical for proper nutrition and to avoid becoming toxic by eating excessive amounts of a nutrient that cannot be digested due to lack of enzymes, building up toxins in the colon.

For Caloric Nutrients ... Heated fats become trans fats, causing the blood cells to clump together. Heated carbohydrates are caramelized or burned and become "sticky." Free radicals are formed in the body as fatty acids are transformed into trans fatty acids, thereby compromising cell respiration. Proteins are made of amino acids, and when subjected to heat individual amino acids are clumped together making large chunks of proteins, which the body has difficulty breaking into their component amino acids. Proteins become difficult to digest and may result in food allergies and stress to the body. The immune system treats these large chunks of proteins as invaders which can cause inflammation, a contributing factor in aging and chronic diseases which.

For Phytonutrients ... Phytonutrients and antioxidants are chemicals in plants developed millions of years ago as protection from free radicals in the environment. Free radicals and inflammation from the environment and food we eat contribute to cancer, heart disease, and other diseases. Sugar and animal protein convert to arachidonic acid, causing inflammation. We do not suffer from a deficiency of supplements. We need to eat a diet of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to get these vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients intact. All of the nutrients in food work synergistically, and when nutrients are taken individually they do not work as well.

For the Fiber ... The natural fibers (cellulose) change from their natural state in cooked food, making them take longer to move through the digestive tract. Raw foods have a broom-like quality, sweeping the digestive tract clean, but cooked food loses this quality. Raw foods are easily digested and move through the digestive tract in 24 to 36 hours. Cooked foods take 40 to 100 hours or more to transit through, and they ferment easily, which leads to purification and disease. Many digestive symptoms are caused by a slow transit time and chronic constipation from cooked foods. The best way to get more fiber is to eat an uncooked diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts. and seeds. Meat. eggs, dairy, white bread, and pasta have no fiber.

For Easily Digested Protein ... Every vegetable, fruit, nut, and seed that can be eaten whole, fresh, and raw provides the body with protein, containing all eight of the essential amino acids. A random mix of plant foods will provide approximately five times the RDA of protein per calorie consumed. Raw vegetables are the best source of amino acids and some have more amino acids per calorie than animal protein. Nuts and seeds are high in fat and should be consumed in moderation. Protein deficiency is non-existent except where calories are deficient We need only half the amount of protein in the diet if raw protein foods are eaten rather than cooked protein foods.

For the Increased Energy ... The body suffers the consequences of the increased stress of digesting cooked foods. It takes thirty percent of our energy to digest a raw food meal and sixty percent to digest a cooked meal. That's why individuals are so tired after consuming a meal of cooked foods. Our bodies are unable to sleep soundly when we have a stomach full of cooked food that needs to be digested. Therefore we wake up tired. Less sleep is required on a raw food diet and sleep is more restful.

For Decreased Toxicity.... Consuming cooked food can create increased toxicity within the body. After eating cooked foods, the body loses its flexibility, arteries and skin lose their pliability, nerves lose the power of transmitting impulses easily, the spinal cord becomes stiff, the tissues throughout the body contract, and we age prematurely. Cooking causes inorganic elements to enter the blood. The body is adept at depositing this matter in the various joints of the body, causing enlargement and pain and this matter can accumulate in the internal organs causing toxicity of important organs such as the liver, pancreas, heart, kidneys, etc. Cooking food changes it into inorganic acid compounds. When eaten raw, most fruits and vegetables are metabolized alkaline, which can prevent cancer.

For a Strong Immune System.... Cooked foods suppress the immune system After eating cooked foods, the white blood cell count is increased (leucocytosis): white blood cells are the first line of defense of the immune system The constant daily fight against the toxic effect of cooked food is exhausting to the body, depressing the immune system, leading to disease, and a shorter longevity. In contrast, eating raw vegan foods does not produce this elevation of white blood cells.

As a practicing nurse for 39 years, Jackie Graft R.N. B.S.N realized that traditional medicine does little to cure people from disease, so she turned to nutrition for cure and prevention. In addition to her continued nursing practice, she is a nutrition consultant, health minister, and author of 16 theme raw food recipe books. She and her husband, Gideon, teach culinary classes at the Hallelujah Acres Culinary Academy in Shelby NC and in Atlanta. You can contact Jackie at 770-992-9218 or email her [e-mail]

Spring Cleaning with Food

It's time for spring-cleaning, not just your home but also your body. Adding uncooked fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to replace nutrient-poor cooked food allows the body to clean out toxins and heal. Broccoli and cauliflower from the cruciferous family are great for healing the body with carotenoids, sulforaphane, and indoles. Dill is good for circulation, kidney, spleen, and can lower blood pressure.

Dilly Broccoli and Cauliflower

Created by Jackie Graft, Sprout Raw Food

Serves 4

Dressing

  1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup and
  2 Tbsp lemon juice
  1 Tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup olive oil or flax oil
  2 cloves garlic.

Salad

  2 cups broccoli florets chopped very fine
  2 cups cauliflower chopped very fine
  1 cup fresh dill chopped very fine

Place salt, lemon juice, agave nectar, garlic, and oil in the blender
and blend until smooth.

Pour dressing over broccoli, cauliflower, and dill mixing well.