Raw food is a kind of a diet trend which is believed to be a food for good health. The food is usually cooked lower than 46 degrees Celsius and some may be uncooked. According to the raw food’s principle, the heat will burn all of the nutritious benefits of the raw food. But, in raw food, people can get all of vitamin, mineral, and other benefits completely. Therefore, it is believed to be something for good health, good skin, weight loss, and disease healing.
The trend has been first widely renown in around the 1900s as several experts indicated that raw vegetables and fruits are good for human body.
The New Raw Energy in 1984 of Leslie Kenton claimed that Himalayan Hunza people have long life and good health because their regular food is sprouted seed. Artturi Virtanen, another expert also indicated that raw food stimulate the enzymes producing while chewing food. This enzymes is good to the digesting system that help strengthen human body. Cooked food with high heat will destroy the enzymes. Max Gerson also showed that raw food can reboots energy and prevent degenerative diseases like cancer.
Several studies showed that cooked meat will generate heterocyclic amines (HCA’s) which is believed to be the cancer stimulator while the raw meat has less HCA’s for 90%. A study of the University of Toronto shown in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that the heated food can raise high risk of cancer. Also a German study in 2003 also claimed that fresh vegetable can decrease the risk of breast cancer.
Now raw food becomes one of popular diets and become a trend in many main cities. People who concerned on their health are getting more interested in eating raw food or lower the heat while cooking. However, most people do not understand well on eating raw food. The fact is there is a certain way to eat raw food that provides full benefit. So learning the actual form of raw diet will give you the most benefit.
The first step of eating raw food is eating mostly raw foods or around 90- 95 % of your diet. Do not need to eat 100% raw food, it is impossible to get the whole food raw. The best food when it is raw include fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, sprouts, roots, herbs, and seaweeds. The food can be the foods which have been passed a little bit process with under 115 degrees heat such as nut butters, fermented foods like miso, pure maple syrup, and dried fruits and vegetables. In case of eating out, raw food like salads, fruit smoothies can be ordered.
On preparing a meal, it is usually require little or none of processing. It can be salad or fresh fruits. May be some boil or steam vegetables.
However, eating raw foods can risk of eating poisoned food so check first which food is safe enough to eat fresh. The food which should be a ware of are as followings:Buckwheat
- Potatoes
- Kidney beans
- Rhubarb
- The foods contain bacteria or parasites