The Importance of Eating Raw Foods
24 Aug
It is an unfortunate fact that many of us are not including enough raw foods in our diets. This might be partially due to the fact that putting together healthy meals takes planning and preparation. However, if you’re anything like me, you already spend plenty of time on meals. Making slight changes to your culinary routine does not have to be excessively time consuming and can be extremely rewarding.
The most important thing that is missing from the average diet is raw foods. Consider the vegetables you eat: green beans, carrots, cabbage. Are they cooked? If so they have lost most of their nutrients. When foods are cooked their cell structure breaks down and they lose most of their vitamins, minerals and enzymes. When your body does not receive the necessary nutrients it will be unable to function at full capacity, decreasing your energy and stressing your immune system.
Including more raw foods in your diet improves your health in several ways. First, it ensures that your body is receiving the proper nutrients, which increases your body’s energy and natural immunity. By eating raw foods you consume less trans and saturated fats which decreases the risk for heart disease. It can also help you lose weight since your body receives more nutrients but fewer calories. Many people who switch to eating raw foods also experience improvements in their skin and complexion.
Lastly, eating raw foods is essential for colon health. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of fibre which is necessary for maintaining a healthy digestive track. If you do not have enough fibre in your diet you can experience uncomfortable digestive problems.
Many people take vitamins and other supplements to compensate for the lack of nutrients in their diet. However, these synthetic substances cannot provide the same nutritional value as raw fruits and vegetables. Our bodies can digest raw foods more easily and absorb their nutrients more thoroughly than they can chemically designed supplements. Similarly, organically grown foods tend to be more nutritious since they have fewer harmful substances such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
Adding more raw foods to your diet can improve your overall health and does not need to be time consuming or extremely expensive. Simply adding a side salad to your dinner or a piece of fruit with breakfast is a good place to start. If you want to buy vegetables that can be stored, buy frozen rather than canned; less nutrients are lost during the freezing process than the canning process. If you want to follow a more nutritious diet but find it hard to eat or digest uncooked foods, you can steam your vegetables. Steaming depletes fewer vitamins than any other form of cooking. These are some simple steps for improving your diet and overall health.




