Like most people in my generation, I grew up eating a standard western diet with plenty of bread, milk, meat and processed foods. Alongside of that were some fresh fruits and vegetables. When I was just 25 I already showed the telltale signs of this diet. I was a few kilos overweight, had chronic low energy, a constant low-level depression, poor complexion and the beginnings of several food allergies.
I didn't do it for health reasons, but shortly after I stopped eating meat and most dairy products some of these symptoms began to lighten up. They didn't disappear totally, but I noticed that I felt better and could not deny that changing my diet was the major factor helping me.
From there, I developed an interest in nutrition and natural health and began researching and attending seminars. In that search, about 8 years ago, I ran across a simple fact that led me to take one action that has entirely transformed my health.
The simple fact is: the heat of cooking destroys food.
I hadn't thought about it before, but when I imagined how I would look and feel after being in boiling water for 20 minutes, in a hot oven for an hour, or in a frying pan for 5 minutes, this revelation made total sense to me.
A couple of weeks later, with the encouragement of some friends, I began eating 95% of my food in raw, uncooked form.
It didn't take long for me to feel the difference. Just 6 weeks on a 95% raw vegan diet and I had already lost 3 kilos, had clear skin, more energy and felt more positive about life than I had in years. Since my diet was the only thing I changed, I knew it was the raw food that was making this difference. That led me to a deep study of the raw vegan of living food lifestyle and ultimately to chefing, writing and teaching.
In this article I want to present you with some of the facts I've discovered that may also inspire you to put more living foods into your diet.
What Are Living Foods And How Are They Different From Raw Foods?
Living foods are full of life giving enzymes and have the potential to create more life inherent within them. They are 100% pure, natural, uncooked, minimally processed foods. Specifically, living foods include fresh fruits, low temperature dried fruits, uncooked vegetables, unroasted nuts and seeds and cold pressed oils.
Raw foods are different in that they may include uncooked meat, dairy and eggs. While these foods can be eaten raw, they are not truly alive. Think about it like this: if you plant a raw almond you may get an almond tree, but if you plant a steak, you get compost, not a baby cow.
What's So Great About Living Foods?
There is a growing amount of research into the specific properties of living food that would fill several books. Here I will summarize the 6 most important points.
Living food contains enzymes that help the body break the food down. Because of this your body doesn't have to use its enzyme reserves to process the food. This keeps your pancreas healthy and may increase your longevity.
Due to its high enzyme and water content, living food passes through the body up to two times faster than cooked food. It also contains fiber, which supports easy digestion and regular elimination.
Living food contains more bio available vitamins, minerals and amino acids than cooked food. With living food, you get more nutrition while eating less.
The body recognizes living food as food and not poison. When you eat living food the body responds by stimulating digestion. Heavy cooked foods, on the other hand, cause a rush of white blood cells to the stomach. White blood cells exist to defend the body against poisons and toxins.
The life force or bio electric field of living food remains whole and complete. This life force energy is more easily assimilated and used by the body to enhance your health.
Living food contains no additives or preservatives of any kind. And when it's been grown organically it also contains little or no pesticide residues.
In my experience a 100% fresh raw vegan diet s the most beneficial for creating major improvements in health. For various reasons that isn't always practical for most people. Many doctors recommend that you should aim toward eating 80% of your food as uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. In my own practice, I've seen that everyone who commits to eating 80% living foods for at least 6 weeks inevitably feels measurable differences in their health. These include weight loss, younger looking skin, disappearing acne, better digestion, relief from bloating and constipation, more balanced emotions, clearer thinking, deeper sleep and increased motivation.
I do want to point out that fresh fruit and vegetables help the body to cleanse and detoxify itself. With that in mind, if you're just starting out, you should increase the amount of them you eat gradually over a period of several weeks. If you do decide to do it, make sure to have the support of someone who has gone through the process. That will make things a lot easier.
But Isn't It Boring To Eat Only Living Foods?
This is probably my favorite question to answer, because most people simply have no idea how creative and tasty raw vegan cuisine can be. If you haven't tried any gourmet living food dishes, you may think of it as only eating a bunch of salads. While salad is a part of the lifestyle, you can also eat amazing uncooked foods like nut milks, seed cheeses, and non-dairy yogurts plus living food dishes such as chocolate pie, lasagna, pasta, burgers, tacos, ice cream and a lot more.
Mark Ament is an expert on colon cleansing and raw foods nutrition. He is the author of "Homemade Colon Cleansing Made Easy" and several other books on natural health. Discover how to make your own safe
homemade colon cleanse using Mark's proven colon cleanse recipes at:
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