Is raw food good for me?
Being a vegetarian (fast on the way to becoming a vegan) I already consumed a lot of raw food - fresh fruit, salads, but this - a raw food diet -was a whole new idea.
A raw food diet consists, in theory, completely of food that is not cooked and never processed in any way. Although in practice few people who identify as 'raw fooders' are 100% raw. And when I say diet, I don't mean a diet to lose weight, although this can happen if this what your body needs to do. A raw food diet is a way of life, a philosophy for living. Raw fooders don't just eat raw food, they live raw.
The idea intrigued me. It seemed to make perfect sense. I use natural skin care products, sun screen, natural cleaners, etc, why wouldn't I also want to eat as naturally as I could? Nature never cooks or processes anything, why is it that we do?
I started reading books and pamphlets on raw food. Looking on websites and talking to people in health stores where raw superfoods could be found in abundance. What I found that story after story of peole who have turned raw and had miraculous results - physically, mentally and spiritually. I learnt the damage that cooking and processing does to our food and the fact that as healthy as you may think you are, if you are constantly cooking and eating processed foods your diet may well be seriously lacking. I found raw restaurants and tried them. (By the way, good luck looking for completely raw restaurants out of Canada and America!) The food was ALWAYS delicious. No boring salads here! I bought a few 'uncook' books and started regularly buying raw foods to cook with.
A year later I still use those cookbooks and still cook raw as much as I can. But I have find that socially it is very difficult. I eat out a lot, but don't enjoy ordering basic salad after basic salad. For this reason I am not completely raw, nor even close. I would say I eat about 30% raw, unprocessed food.
The question you asked was "is raw food good for me?" and I have found that for me, yes it definitely is. When I eat vegetarian I feel better than when I eat meat. When I eat raw I feel better than when I eat vegetarian. I feel satisfied without feeling bloated. I feel full of energy and my concentration noticably improves, my bowel movements become much more regular and my skin is definitely clearer. And the food is delicious!
I feel great when I eat raw so I will certainly continue. Although I can't imagine myself going 100% raw I aim to get as close as I can.
If the idea of raw appeals at all then you should definitely look into it. Even if you do it once a week you will find the sweets and desserts absolutely delicious and guilt-free. I cannot tell you how much my friends love it when I serve up a great big chocolate cake or some kind of sweet and tell them it is perfectly healthy for them, guilt-free and really tasty too! Great for the girls.
If you are interested to find out more, a good book I can certainly recommend is .....
http://kriswest07.fredraw.hop.clickbank.net/
Be healthy, be happy!
About the Author
Julia is from New Zealand and has travelled extensively, now being settled in England.
Julia works as a life coach, with a successful business operating out of London and Edinburgh.