The Natural Diet for Healthy Living

Proponents of this diet state that consumption of uncooked and unprocessed fruits, veggies; nuts and legumes give your bodies energy levels a boost. The diet boasts it helps health, immunity and even weight loss. Question remains is it all what it sounds like or is there more to this diet that a person should know before going on one.

According to the believers of this diet, raw foods contain enzymes that help with digestion. When you cook food over 118 degrees Fahrenheit the enzymes become destroyed or altered. This in turn makes the body work to produce the digestive enzymes.

The other point view of the enzyme issue is that yes enzymes do break down during cooking. However, the controversy of enzymes having ranking over the ones produced by the human body is still ongoing and has not been decided either way.

When you consume cooked food it takes longer to digest and blocks the digestive system and arteries with partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates. This adds to the risk of numerous conditions such as heart attack and cancer. The proponents for this raw diet note as proof of this the vastly accepted recommendation of a raw food diet when a person is recovering from a chronic illness.

When it comes to cooking the American Dietetic Association notes those foods which are cooked below 118 Fahrenheit possibly will not kill food borne pathogens. Familiar pathogens in raw food include salmonella bacteria in raw eggs which causes diarrhea and general sickness. It also causes mycobacteria bovis in raw milk causing non-pulmonary tuberculosis.

Raw foods contain more amounts of fiber which cleanses the body's impurities, along with glycosides or complex sugars which boosts your immunity. When you cook food most of those benefits disappear.

Even though cooking does diminish some of the nutrients in foods, it does provide essential vitamins and minerals which are dormant or not readily available when eaten raw. Like carrots when cooked they will have more carotenoids to boost immunity in comparison to raw carrots.

Raw foods contain high amounts of fiber and water content which make you feel full and decrease your appetite. They also provide more efficient form of calories which provide the body with needed nutrients for cell growth, regeneration, healing and metabolism without needing to eat more food. Simply put people on a raw food diet lose weight.

A raw food diet places limitations of food choices especially when it comes to beans and grains and is more limited on a vegan diet. There are foods which are toxic when consumed raw in large amounts or juiced such as kidney beans and soy. The raw seeds from particular peas cause neurological weakness. Cooking does destroy numerous toxins.

There is the taste issue at hand. Many people do not like the taste of all raw foods such as fish.

Basically if you are a healthy adult and can live without consuming meat or dairy then go ahead and try it out. Keep in mind the raw food diet is not for infants and children. As always you should consult your health care practitioner before trying any new diets. Sources:

Man Of The House

Web MD

Live Science