What the heck is the Raw Food Diet?

That Sassy Mom Life

So you heard about the Raw Food Diet? It’s not just a diet to lose weight, it is a healthy way of eating. We eat so processed food that we don’t even stop to think about what we’re putting into our bodies anymore.

A raw food diet means consuming real food in its natural, unprocessed form (uncooked). There are several rationales for why this is a good idea. Processing and cooking some foods can take so much of the basic nutritional value away.

Think of some of the conventional wisdom you’ve heard about for years, such as: If you cook pasta just to the al dente (or medium) stage, it will have more calories, yes, but it will have more nutritional value in it than if you cooked it to a well-done stage. Or you probably remember hearing not to peel carrots or potatoes too deeply, because most of the nutrients and values are just under the surface.

The raw food diet is eating unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It means a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Not 100% like some people think. Heck, you can even do a 50% option and reap some of the benefits.

Cooking takes out some of the flavor and nutrition from vegetables and fruits. A raw food diet means eating more the way our ancient ancestors did. Our healthier, more fit ancestors. They cooked very little and certainly didn’t cook or process their fruits and vegetables. They ate them RAW. Their water wasn’t from a tap; it was natural, spring water. Maybe they drank some coconut milk on occasion in certain regions.

The Raw Food Diet is a way of eating that’s in harmony with the planet and in harmony with our own metabolisms. Our bodies were meant to work, and need to work to be efficient. That means we need to get some exercise daily, indeed, but it also means eating natural, raw foods that require more energy to digest.

When you start eating raw foods and changing your lifestyle, and you’re feeling better, finding you have more energy and are purging the toxins from your system. You’re also discovering the wonderful flavors that raw foods possess, ( well sometimes) as well as learning about the benefits the raw enzymes have on your body and your health.

The summer provides the perfect opportunity to expand your taste buds and try all sorts of wonderful new produce options you’d never dared explore before. The wintertime allows you to try other foods you may have not been eating before.