My Experiments With Raw Food

I have been a vegan for the past 8 months and the last month I decided to try a 100% raw food diet (eliminating cooked foods completely). It's quite logical that cooking does destroy several enzymes and nutrients, in fact heat denatures many vitamins and minerals completely rendering them poisonous for our body. It might look a bit on the extreme to go completely raw but I figured there was no harm in experimenting.

I'd spend a lot of time researching on the internet about raw food diet, I had also read books by Dr. Hebert Shelton on Raw food diet, he is the present spearhead of Natural Hygiene Movement. Most information on the internet is pretty ambigous, what they call raw food is usually 70% raw 30% cooked or fermented foods. In fact there were many materials advocating the use of fermented foods in the raw food diet. Since I wanted to go 100% raw (no salts, spices, oils or dairy products) I decided I had to experiment on myself before finding the right combination of foods.

Based on my personal experience I realized that there are two basic mistakes most raw food initiators make.

1. Eating raw vegetables as the primary food

2. Not maintaining the acid and alkaline balance in the body

If you are making these two mistakes you will feel poorly and weak on raw foods. No wonder most people give up on raw food completely without trying to tweak their method of eating. Vegetables are very poor sources of carbohydrates - they have a low calorie value. Carbohydrates are the building blocks of our body. They are the energy source or fuel that is required to make the body function. If you eat raw vegetables as primary food then you will exhaust yourself due to lack of carbs!

The solution is to eat a lot of sweet fruits. Make 80% of your food as raw sweet fruits. Fruits are rich in glucose and supply immediate carbohydrates to the body. You will feel highly energtic and vital when 80% of your raw food diet consists of fruits. The high water content in fruits will aid in body cleansing. Fruits are also rich sources of vitamins and most minerals. They have a low protein content. You should eat 15% vegetables especially because they are rich sources of minerals. Moreover vegetables tend to help in the pH maintence in the body.

Fruits are alkaline foods. A fruit only diet will increase the alkalinity of your blood and make you feel poorly. It is important to balance out the alkalinity with some acid food like nuts and seeds. Almonds, cashew nuts, peanuts, walnuts and brazil nuts in their raw state are excellent sources of concentrated protein. A fistful of nuts for dinner along with a large vegetable salad is a great way to finish the day.

My present way of eating is

1. Acid Fruits and high water content fruits for breakfast (Oranges, melons, cantaloupe)

2. Sweet fruits and dry fruits for lunch (bananas, dates, dried figs, mangoes)

3. Large salad of green leafy vegetables and nuts for dinner

I also include carrots, beets, avocados, tomatoes, cucumber and cabbage in my evening salad from time to time along with the greens. Nuts digest well with vegetables so you can combine the two.

I felt a lot more balanced and vibrant on this diet. When I was eating a diet of vegetables primarily, I felt poorly. When I ate a diet of "fruits only", I felt weak. But on this diet of combining fruits, vegetables and nuts I feel great. So I guess I must be doing something right here. The basic principle is to balance alkaline foods with some acid foods. Our blood is slightly alkaline (7.2 pH) so fruits help to maintain alkalinity, its just that too much alkalinity can be a harmful so a balance is needed.

I am not sure how many people out there would want to try an all out 100% raw food diet but I tell you it feels great! The kinda energy I feel is amazing and there is no heaviness or sluggishness to deal with. You really feel good inside out. Even if you don't want to go 100% raw be sure to atleast try 50% raw food diet, you will be amazed at the health improvement.

A 100% raw food has the least toxicity and hence your body has plenty of time to remove the accumulated toxins from your body. If you are suffering from a disorder or chronic illness you must go raw atleast till the body cures itself of the toxins. Raw fruits and veggies are the best fat burning foods around not only because they are easily digested (leaving no residue) but also because of the low fat content.

Hope this helps

I would love to get insights from people who are practicing a 100% raw food diet.