A raw food diet consists of mainly uncooked and unprocessed plant-based foods like fresh fruit and vegetables, leafy greens, sprouts, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, grains, seaweeds, superfoods, herbs, fermented foods and living water. There is an abundance of food to eat! Generally, at least 75% of the diet is raw or living foods, and mostly, raw foodies are vegan, although some do include raw meat or dairy in their diet. In the process of heating food above 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 46 degrees Celcius, enzymes in the food are destroyed, which your body needs to digest and assimilate food. Not only are the enzymes and most of the nutritional value lost in the process of cooking but eating cooked food will cause a response in our bodies called leukocytosis where white blood cells are used to digest food in the same way they would respond to a foreign substance. So, the fact is our bodies do not recognise cooked food as, well, food!
Now here's the good news: by shifting the ratio of raw to cooked food in your diet to at least 50% raw to 50% cooked you can stop leukocytosis in it's destructive tracks! And you will also receive the benefits of eating raw food, which include the prevention of degenerative diseases, effects of ageing are slowed down, enhanced energy and emotional balance, and an improvement of overall health, wellbeing and beauty!
I know it seems daunting to begin with but by adding more raw food into your daily diet you will start to crowd out the cooked food. Start by eating more fresh fruit for snacks and a salad for lunch or before you eat your dinner. And green smoothies for breakfast are always quick, easy and nutritious! To help you out, I want to share with you some of my go-to websites for raw food recipes and healthy eating info...
- David Wolfe, the rockstar of the superfoods and longevity world, for the latest information on raw food and natural living.
- Eating Vibrantly, by Nikki Stokes, a raw foodie from Melbourne for rawesome vegan recipes!
- Hallelujah Acres, for vegan and vegetarian recipes, healthy eating and a healthy living guide.
- Kemi's Raw Kitchen for raw food recipes and classes, and raw beauty retreats in Melbourne.
- Kimberly Snyder, a Celebrity Nutritionist and Beauty Detox Specialist, author of The Beauty Detox Solution and The Beauty Detox Foods.
- Loving Earth, a Melbourne-based superfood company with a treasure trove of healthy recipes.
- Path to Wellness, by Melissa Ambrosini, for healthy living tips, healthy recipes and health coaching.
- Reboot with Joe - Juicing for Weight Loss with Joe Cross, creator of the film Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead.
- The Healthy Chef, by Teresa Cutter, for healthy, delicious recipes that cater for intolerances.
- The Wellness Warrior, by Jess Ainscough, for cancer-kicking vegan recipes and lifestyle blogs.
- This Rawsome Vegan Life for beautiful raw food recipes and beautiful pictures of raw food!
- Ultimate Raw Food Resource from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition for a list of raw food products, kitchen gadgets, books, films, recipes, restaurants and resources.
Hopefully, this list will give you a place to start in the kitchen, inspire you to eat more raw food, and help you on your way to finding health and wellness in your life. And please, feel free to share the raw food love!
My twin sister, brother-in-law and me during my last trip to London (where they live). I'll be moving in with them again for six weeks at the end of the year! I'm looking forward to their company and many adventures, including going back to eat at one of the awesome raw food restaurants in London, Saf, which is at one of my all-time favourite places, the Whole Foods Market.
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