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Are you interested in a raw food diet, but don't think you can do it all the time? You don't have to, certainly not to start. Many of us are conditioned to think of food as reward and comfort. We look forward to the end of the day, having dinner with our families, or going out to dinner with friends. Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Eating raw foods is a way to give your body some of the nutrition it desperately needs. Many of us are at least slightly overweight, and even the morbidly obese are starving for essential proteins and amino acids. All the processed, cooked foods we eat give us only a small percentage of what we need. Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
One of the problems facing anyone trying to eat healthier, especially for someone trying to move towards eating more raw foods is the convenience factor. Raw and natural foods are so much healthier for you, but it's not as if there are drive-through raw foods restaurants on every street corner in the country.
We saw an interesting article about starvation in which the comment was made that there are really two types of starvation. One, of course, is caused by too little or no food at all. But there is another type of starvation caused by serious malnutrition, and even though the U.S. is the fattest nation on the planet, our bodies are starved for important nutrients and enzymes. Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
A diet is considered a raw food diet if it consists of at least 75 per cent raw, uncooked fruits, vegetables, sprouts, etc. Raw and living foods are believed to contain essential food enzymes (living foods contain a higher enzyme content than cooked foods). The cooking process (i.e., heating foods above 116 degrees F) is thought to destroy food enzymes. Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Making dried fruit and fruit leathers isn't hard and it doesn't have to be expensive either. While some food processors and juicers can get really pricey, a dehydrator isn't going to cost that much and it's a lifesaver to have fruit leathers, dried fruit or fruit jerky on hand when you can't get out to the store for fresh food.
If you're eating more raw foods and making that important lifestyle change, at some point you'll need to consider investing in a juicer. A blender is NOT the same thing. To get all the benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables, you need to be able to process every part of the food - seeds, stems, peels and pulp. That's where all the vitamins are. A blender just can't do that effectively. A juicer will extract all the nutrients from fruit or vegetable that not even your stomach can adequately do. Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Our busy lives can sometimes make it difficult to stick to our dieting plans when we're trying to lose weight. We're either keeping track of our fat intake, our sugar intake, our carbohydrate intake, or our caloric intake. With all that counting, it's no wonder most of us become discouraged and 'fall off the dieting wagon.' Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
When you start eating more raw foods, you may find you're not as thirsty or don't need as much water or other beverages as you normally do. There are several reasons for this. First of all, raw foods, such as raw fruits and vegetables have a higher volume of water in them, so your body is getting the hydration it needs from foods.
Probably one of the best desserts you can eat yet is tremendously good for you is Sorbet. It is a frozen dessert made from iced fruit puree and any other ingredient you would like to add for a light dessert. It is sort of a gelato that has no milk in it so is very good for lactose free individuals or milk allergies. Some sorbets contain alcohol that lowers the freezing temperature and makes it slightly softer. It is very dense and flavorful, matching ice cream for quality and taste. The Villa Dolce, makers of Italian gelato, are one of the best producers of sorbet on the web.
Is there a difference between vegetarian and raw food diets? A raw foodist is a vegetarian, but one who generally is not going to cook his vegetables or fruits. A vegetarian is someone who simply doesn't eat meat, fish or poultry, but only consumes vegetables, pasta, and rice. A vegetarian might eat meatless spaghetti sauce or order onion rings in a restaurant. (Not the healthiest choice, but sometimes it's hard to find something to eat in a restaurant if you're vegetarian - even harder if you're a raw foodist.) Related Article Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Buying food items in cans lack in nutrition and are usually loaded with salt and preservatives in today's food markets. The process of freshness goes from fresh fruits and vegetables, to frozen foods, and down to canned foods. Last on the list, these canned items are slowly becoming a thing of the past.
Many people have heard of juice fasts as a means of detoxifying the body. Followers of a raw foods regimen also include juices as part of their nutrition. Nearly anything can be juiced - fruits and vegetables, primarily. It's a form of concentrated nutrition. Some raw foodists drink only fresh fruit juices.
You might agree on an intellectual level that eating raw foods is a good idea. But does the thought of abandoning a lifetime of eating habits for the sake of what seems like a good idea seem like more than you can do? So don't! That's silly and the surest way to guarantee you won't even give a raw foods diet a fighting chance. "Everything in moderation" and we think that applies to even the healthiest notions. It's not healthy if you won't do it!
Fortunately for those of us newly interested in eating organic and raw foods, there are lots of products out there. Natural and organic foods used to be found only in natural food stores, and those could be few and far between. While not as ubiquitous as McDonald's, there ARE many more stand-alone stores.
Food that is grown or raised without chemical pesticides or chemical fertilizers is called "organic." We've become so accustomed to getting by with foods that have been grown with fertilizers and that contain harmful toxins, that we've forgotten what it's like to feel truly "well." We don't know how good we can really feel.
The best way to have healthy, glowing skin is to start from the inside out. Eliminating caffeine in the form of coffee and soda is one way to start. Caffeine dehydrates the body and skin. And lack of moisture is a sure way to create lines and wrinkles. It's also a diuretic, causing increased urine output, again depleting your body and skin of the moisture it needs. We try to combat this with moisturizers, but the better way is to put the moisture INTO your body, not on it.
Most parents would worry that if they keep their children from eating those fatty foods that they love, and only offer vegetables, that the children will starve, or have nutritional deficiencies. These parents feel that the kids will just not eat the food. If you think about it this way, how much nutrients are they receiving from the fatty, processed foods now?
You don't need to make a huge investment in eating raw and living foods. In fact, you'll probably be saving money by cutting back on highly processed convenience foods. All that high-fat, high-sodium microwaveable foods are pricey, too!
So, now that you know what a raw food diet is all about, you need to decide, is it right for you? Well you do not need to incorporate raw food 100 per cent of the time. You can just eat more fruits and vegetables and no processed foods. Try drinking fruit juices until lunch time and then eating a healthy veggie sandwich.
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