Raw Food Diet Facts
The Ekko World Team have all the info you need for a RAW based diet.
What is the Raw Food Diet?
RAW food is, without doubt, the food of a new generation. Finally, a broad-based, clean healthy, uncomplicated diet that pushes fresh, healthy, nutritious food that can be cooked quickly and wasn't born out of an oversupply of coconuts (if you know what I mean).
If you still think a raw food diet is about chewing on a carrot or getting adventurous and chopping a beetroot into chunks and messing up your bench, best you read on.
At the most serious level, consuming about 75 to 80 per cent of uncooked, unprocessed food that is never heated above 48 degrees Celsius is pretty much the dietary practice of the raw food diet.
The thought behind a raw food diet is that raw food contains more nutrients and vitamins than food that has been prepared in extreme heat diminishes nutrients.
You don't have to be on a 'diet' however to eat more raw food. Adding a raw food side dish to your dinner plate or preparing raw food snacks is a good way to introduce the raw food and the raw food diet to your family.
You can easily add more raw food dishes until you reach your desired raw food percentage. Whether it's 10 per cent or 100 per cent, it all counts.
Vitamins and Nutrients
When eating a raw food diet you are getting a variety of nutrients directly from your raw food source including vitamin B12, vitamin D, potassium, calcium and fibre.
Common Raw Foods
Common ingredients include raw fruits and vegetables, legumes, beans, sprouted grains, seeds, nuts and unpasteurized dairy products. Food can be heated up to 48 degrees Celsius or consumed in its rawest form. Preparation is usually quick and easy, commonly involving chopping with a knife, using a food processor, blender or juicer.
As the raw food movement is growing, there are increasingly endless options hitting the market as ready-made food or recipes to make you own.
Health Benefits
Health benefits include weight loss, better sleep, fewer headaches, strengthened immune system, increased energy, memory improvement, relief of arthritis symptoms, glowing skin, improved digestion, reduced risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer.
A raw food diet provides your body with consistent antioxidants that protect your cells from free radicals and results in less risk of disease. In addition, the raw food diet is an alkaline diet, which creates balance within the body and allows toxins to be released, resulting in an improved health state. It takes time, but the pay-offs, according to raw food disciples is priceless.
They claim you will see signs of improvement slowly. The longer you continue the diet, the better the improvements will be as you reach your personal optimal health goals. Given the freshness of the food and its nutrient value, it's hard to argue.
Here is a great list of raw food staple ingredients.
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