Friday, September 15, 2006

Raw Food Diet

Easiest way to remove fat from diet
Easiest way to lose weight
Probably the best way to approach eating disorders

A raw food diet creates major improvements in health. The reasons are not known, but the experience is unmistakable. Weight normalizes, which generally means a reduction in fat. At the same time, a person feels extremely energized. It's as if energy would rather be burned up than converted to fat.

There seems to be a major shift in physiology which makes one feel highly energized from raw food. I can only theorize why this occurs. It is quite likely that a large part of cooked food can only go into fat production, because heat and acid alter it making it unmetabolizable in other complex processes. By contrast, raw food should break down into components which can be directly metabolized in a variety of cells.

Health gets so refined and perfected with a raw food diet that a person notices effects of all types. The result is an important source of information about nutrition and quality of food.

For example, it is noticeable that sucrose (table sugar) goes entirely into fat production rather than immediate energy. Sucrose splits into glucose and fructose. Muscles use glucose but not fructose. Furthermore, the splitting probably does not occur during digestion, and then only fat cells can use the disaccharide.

One very obvious improvement resulting from a raw food diet is in the digestive system. Raw food digests marvelously well, so a person does not notice the acid, bile and residual effects of digestion that go with a cooked food diet.

Adding a little bit of cooked food to a raw food diet doesn't work well, because acid is then produced in the stomach, and it is bad for raw food. Acid and raw food tend to create indigestion.

A problem with raw foods is that they are the highest in pesticides. Organic raw foods may be necessary, unless a person is very clever in working around the worst pesticides. The effects are quite noticeable, which allows adjustments to be made.

The usual assumption is that the only supplement which is needed in theory is vitamin B12, because it is primarily found in meat. It originates with microbes, and very little is needed. Outside link on B12

However, I find that copper and zinc are also needed with a vegetarian diet, because plant material is very low in these minerals compared to meat. These minerals are toxic while being absorbed, so they should be taken in small quantities. Other vitamins or minerals can be taken if desired. Even vitamin pills should not be taken in large quantities, because they are powerful reactants and can destroy organs, particularly when they contain byproducts of synthesis. There is evidence that chromium picolinate is hazardous.

I think everyone should take B vitamins, but in small quantities. I find 20 milligrams per day to be the right amount for the main ones. Pills have to be cut up to get that size. B vitamins store best when separated into each type, because they tend to react with each other. Folic acid deteriorates into a toxic substance. It might need to be replaced every two to three months depending upon humidity.

Almost everyone needs vitamin D. It transports calcium into cells. It's easy to get too much Vitamin D, particularly in the form of capsules. Dry D pills are safer. There is more than enough calcium in food when taking vitamin D. There is not much more calcium in dairy than other sources, and the hormones in dairy are not desirable.

Normally, salt is not used with raw food. I find that eating some salt seems to be physiologically beneficial with raw food.

Fruits and vegetables digest through different processes when raw. Eat fruit in the morning and vegetables later.

Learning to eat a raw food diet is mostly trial and error. Whatever is available and one wants to eat is generally adequate. Protein is found in raw nuts and seeds, such as sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, filberts, etc., and sprouts are also a good source of protein. Plant proteins do not have the same balance of amino acids as animal protein, so a variety of sources are needed.

Sprouts are often part of a raw food diet. They do require a slight amount of work, but not necessarily a lot. The easiest sprouts to make are lentils. The easiest way to make them is simply to soak them in a large plastic cup for 8 hrs, then drain and keep moist by spraying and occasionally rinsing. They can be eaten as soon as they get soft enough, though sometimes hard seeds might still exist for 8 hrs or more, which are bad for teeth. Sprouts can be allowed to grow for a couple of days.

Sprouts make a person hungry, as do other types of raw food to some extent. So there is little danger of being undernourished on such a diet. And still, it is about impossible to put on excess fat. Eating nothing but bananas and raisins might do it, but not much else would.

So persons who are concerned about fat should revert to a raw food diet. However, there is the social inconvenience that such a diet creates. The routine does not fit established cultures well, and a lot of persons aren't going to eat "rabbit food" for whatever reason.

It seems to me that a raw food diet would be a good cure for eating disorders. Raw food creates perfect nutrition without negative effects including fat production.

Anorexia is largely psychological. If anorexics need to readjust their psychological relationship to food, a raw food diet should be the way to do it, because all types of raw food are good tasting.

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The importance of Omega fatty acids for healing cannot be over-emphasized.
Essential fatty acids are like vitamins. Omega 3 is perhaps the most important. It is found in cell membranes. Without it, cells cannot grow. Healing is greatly enhanced with Omega 3. A precursor form is alpha-linoleic acid, which is found in green leafy vegetables and walnuts. Omega capsuls are practical when highly concentrated, so very little fish oil is with them. A good reference is Vegan Society page on fatty acids.

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Note: New research shows the critical nature of glycosides (sugar complexes) in physiology and immunity. These molecules are complex and difficult to synthesize. They are normally abundant in raw food but easily damaged by cooking. The damage to these molecules by cooking could explain why raw foods have such marvelous effects upon physiology. Evolution did not account for cooking, because it is such a recent practice.

Glycosides are found in the structural components of cell walls. They give cells an identity. This allows cells to communicate with each other, and it allows the immune system to distinguish self from foreign.

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