For Beginners

Online Health & Nutrition Newsletter Vol. 9 Issue 4a
Spirit of Health - 01 April, 2005

Published by Health Freedom Resources, Inc.
http://www.healthfree.com

The following is from www.rawfoodfocus.com
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WHAT IS RAW FOOD?

Raw food is food which has never been heated nor treated
with chemicals so it retains the enzymes and nutrients of its
natural state. As soon as a food is cooked or has added
chemicals, the vitamins, nutrients, enzymes, and other healthy
compounds start to change or become destroyed and the
food no longer has the life and health-giving properties it
should.

WHAT BENEFITS COME FROM EATING A RAW FOOD DIET?

There are so many benefits, we can’t even list them all.
But for starters: people feel more energetic, more awake
and healthier on raw. Most people lose excess weight, look
and feel younger and more vibrant. Digestive problems like
ulcers and acid reflux decrease and disappear. Skin conditions
like Acne tend to clear up. Body Odor decreases. People get
far fewer illnesses. People with diseases see relief and many
eventually heal when their bodies are not burdened with toxins
or an overload of work and can clean out and repair themselves.

WHAT ABOUT PROTEIN? HOW DO I GET ENOUGH OF IT?

This is the #1 question people have when they are considering
a raw food diet. People think that protein comes only from meat,
dairy or at least soy, and that without eating at least some of
those foods, they won't get enough.. As a matter of fact every
living cell contains protein: every plant cell has protein as a basic
constituent in its cytoplasm. Vegetables contain protein! Seeds
and nuts obviously contain proteins. Seaweeds and algae are
very rich sources also. Factually, your body doesn't use whole
proteins - it must break these down into amino acids. Plant
proteins generally break down for assimilation more quickly
than animal proteins and are often found already in the form
of amino acids.

The horse, cow, deer, elephant, and gorilla are naturally
vegetarians -where does all their muscle and body mass come
from? Grass, leafy greens, and in the case of the gorilla, fruit!
The meat and dairy industries have spent millions on advertising
to convince people the only way to get protein is from meat
and dairy products, and they have been very successful. In fact,
the protein in meat is coagulated and in a form that the body
cannot assimilate easily, and cannot use effectively. The
consumption of meat and dairy (and the fat within it) has been
linked to all kinds of fatal illnesses, including heart failure..

The fact is, your body needs 22 amino acids in order to build
protein molecules and muscles. Of these 22 amino acids, there
are 8 which the body cannot make and must get from outside
sources. All 8 are available in raw plant foods. And in raw plant
foods they are in a form which is easily assimilated and used
by the body. All the protein your body needs can be gotten from
raw nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits.

If you are still worried about protein, we recommend you get
started on a raw food diet, but eat very small amounts of meat
(3 to 5 oz) only a few times a week. And try to get the cleanest,
organic meat, with no hormones, that you can. After some time
of doing this people generally find that they no longer feel they
need the meat, and end up not eating it anymore. In this way
you can find out for yourself that you are getting the protein
you need.

HOW DO YOU GET ENOUGH CALCIUM WITHOUT MILK PRODUCTS?

First of all, dairy products do not provide sufficient calcium.
The countries with the highest dairy consumption are the
ones with highest osteoporosis also! All dairy products are
extremely acidifying in the body. Dairy is one of the most
acidic foods on the PH scale. Calcium is the number one
mineral the body uses to buffer against excess acidity, and
there is just never enough calcium in any dairy you can eat
to offset the acid-producing effect it has. Therefore, you
wind up losing calcium when you eat dairy products, not
gaining it, as it combines with the acids to remove them
from the body. This is the explanation behind the interesting
fact that all the countries which consume a lot of dairy
also have a high incidence of osteoporosis and other
calcium-deficiency related diseases.

On a raw food diet you get lots of calcium from various
vegetables, especially green leafy vegetables such as kale,
and also broccoli and sesame seeds,. This calcium is very
bioavailable, and these foods are alkaline-producing, so
the body can actually use the calcium it gets from them.

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