The Raw Food Feed

Thanks to everyone for following us over the past year. We will be killing this blog in the coming weeks and moving it over to our new website which will still be found at www.rawconvenience.com.

"Ever since telling about my road to healing I have been inundated with emails from people wanting to heal themselves and wanting to know what I recommend. So I put together the following list. These are all things that I believe assisted in my own personal healing and transformation. The list is in no particular order. Here's to your health and healing!

1. Get your vitamin D levels checked. If they are low, which mine were, be sure to get at least 30 minutes of unprotected sun daily or supplement with good quality D3 especially during the winter months.

2. Stop telling a story of sickness. I always notice that some people are always talking about and telling their story of sickness. They are attached to their story. Watch your words and what you spend your time talking about. If you are telling a story of illness, stop and start telling a story of healing and miracles.

3. Dry Brush. Buy a good stiff body brush and dry brush every few days. Start at your toes and brush upward toward the heart with long sweeping movements. Dry brushing is believed to get your lymphatic system going. I actually really enjoy dry brushing. It makes me feel alive and my skin is always softer afterward.

4. Have your vitamin B levels checked. My B-12 levels have always been low. Now that I am vegan they are not lower, just the same. I have chosen to do monthly injections. It was actually recommended by my M.D.!

5. Get a juicer and start drinking green drinks. This is such a powerful thing, especially if you are on the standard American diet (SAD -- and it is sad!). Juicing is an amazing way to get an influx of nutrients. It is like a blood transfusion of goodness.

6. Get rid of meat and dairy. This is a no-brainer and a topic that has been run into the ground. I don't have to tell you why meat and dairy are not good for healing. You have read the statistics and books and seen the documentaries. If you are in a healing crisis, get rid of them or at the very least only eat them on occasion and only ones of the highest quality (organic, grass-fed, free-range).

7. Join groups and find enlightened friends online. I can't begin to tell you how much I value my online friends from all over the world. I am a member of some amazing groups and pages. They always have encouraging words. They also are a tremendous source of inspiration and knowledge!

8. Incorporate more raw fruits and vegetables into your diet. Raw fruits and veggies are alive. They radiate with energy, and when you go a few days eating raw, you will see what I am talking about! Raw food is full of valuable enzymes we must have to heal.

9. Get rid of toxic chemicals everywhere (household cleaners, harsh body products, etc.). All the toxic chemicals found around our homes do not belong anywhere. If you don't know what products to buy just buy ALL body products, cleaning products, makeup etc. at Whole Foods or a local health food store. This way you are assured you are not exposing yourself to unnecessary chemicals.

10. Go barefoot as much as possible. Have you noticed when you go for a barefoot walk on the beach you feel at peace? This is because there is an electrical charge to the planet, and when you walk barefoot you really are grounded to the earth. At no other time are you as connected as when your skin is on the dirt, grass or sand of the earth. Get connected!

11. Read books and watch documentaries about healing. There are so many out there now. We are living in an amazing time. Valuable information is just a click away!

12. Surround yourself with people who support your journey. This is another no-brainer. If someone does not respect your right to make your own choices, make them history. Negativity has no place in the healing process. Surround yourself with the positive energy of others.

13. Move and sweat. There is no doubt about it. You have to move. Sitting at a computer all day is not good. You must get out and move, and there is no excuse. Seriously, stand up, walk out the door, just start walking or running and don't look back. I believe our bodies must move in order for our lymphatic system to move, which enables toxins to be released."

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sandy-henson-corso/healing-health_b_1517763.html

"Hello My name is Emily Progemy,

I wanted to share with you all my journey with a raw food diet. Now in the of my health journey I wanted to know everything about being healthy and staying healthy. I wanted to know about exercise and fitness and eating healthy and living healthy. But through all the information a gathered it all pointed me in the direction of a raw food diet. Now don't let this scare you I don't eat raw red meat or raw chicken or anything like that, I mainly eat raw vegetables and raw fish like sushi.

I have found that a lot of people get board with a raw food diet because of blandness and substance of the food you are eating, but there are many fun ways to make a raw food diet interesting. I started with a lot of fruit and vegetable smoothies and things like that  and it did get boring after a while, but the fun began when I started exploring what all was out there.

The different combinations of fruit and vegetables that I didn't even think of in the beginning helped me to explore my options. I discovered that when combining fruits with vegetables there was a whole new palette that I could explore. 

I started mixing vegetables with vegetables and fruit with fruit and then vegetables with fruit and then it got fun.   Being on a raw food diet is one of the healthiest decisions I have ever made and combined with a little bit of exercise has really boosted my weight loss and my health. I am a new person today than I was when I started and I give it all to The Raw Food Diet. I wanted to share this with all of you because I think it is really important to see all your options out there.

I feel better and my energy level is just through the roof. Discover what I have and make a raw food diet part of your healthy journey.

Thanks For Listening

Emily Progemy"

Source: http://caloriecount.about.com/forums/health-support/raw-food-journey

Annette Larkins’ backyard garden is full of fruits and vegetables. Every corner of her garden has something that is edible. She also collects rainwater to drink and water her plants. Annette says the food in her garden is her Fountain of Youth.

“I am very vibrant, I have lots of energy, as I told you before, I am up no later than 5:30 in the morning as a rule, and I am ready to go,” she says. Annette’s husband owned a meat store in the 1960s. That’s when she became a vegetarian. As the years went by, she became a raw vegan. Annette says she does not eat animal products. Her food is unprocessed and uncooked.

“My diet consists of fruits, nuts, vegetables and seeds. I do a lot of sprouting of seeds and as you can see from my garden and of course these are the raw foods that I eat,” she explains. Annette also juices fruits and veggies. Still, not everyone in the Larkins family eats and drinks this way.Annette’s husband Amos chose to continue to eat the way he did when they were first married. “I really wish I would have done what she did,” he says now.

Amos says people even wonder if Annette is his wife. “They will ask me ‘what am I doing with a young girl? or they will say ‘you’ve got your granddaughter with you,’ things like that.” Amos takes prescription medicines daily for high blood pressure and diabetes. 

Annette says she does not even take an aspirin. After friends and strangers kept asking her questions about her health and youthful appearance, she decided to publish two “Journey To Health” booklets, and she produced a DVD 12 years ago.

So how old is this size 4 beauty? Annette just turned 70-years-old.Annette says friends her age see the difference in her quality of life. “This one lady who is my age, she was telling her friend, that I used to tell them about eating and they would not listen and her response to that was look at her now, and look at us,” she says. Her husband says she is vibrant person.

“She is an amazing person, she does everything. I mean she builds computers, makes all of her own clothes, grows her own food, speaks three languages, it’s amazing,” says Amos.

Source: http://thegrio.com/2012/03/01/70-year-old-attributes-youthful-look-to-raw-food-diet/#46588723

Myth: Raw foods are best. 

I love vegetables! All kinds, including the uncooked ones. Nothing beats the crunch of a raw carrot or the crispness of lettuce and cucumber in a salad. However, you can take a good idea to extremes. There is a whole diet tribe who only eat raw foods, believing it to be best for health, wellbeing, longevity and prevention of disease. It’s kind of like the advanced, super duper version of the vegan diet. Raw food diet followers exist on raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, sprouted beans and seaweed – none of which can be heated above 37.8°C (116°F), about body temperature – or else they believe enzymes will be destroyed and the food won’t be as well digested and absorbed. This is a load of rubbish. The enzymes are for the plants’ benefit, not ours.

The idea that plant foods should be eaten raw to extract their nutrition is just false. In fact, so called ‘anti-nutrient’ factors in raw plant foods make them harder to digest. Phytates can reduce absorption of minerals such as iron and zinc, and nuts contain enzyme inhibitors in the skin. Of course, the level of some vitamins (such as vitamin C) and antioxidants (sulforaphane) are reduced by the cooking process; however, in a mixed diet this is not an issue (still, don’t boil the life out of your vegetables but lightly steam, microwave, stir-fry or roast them instead).

Processing vegetables by juicing, mashing, pureeing or cooking actually releases more vitamins and antioxidants from vegetables than eating them raw and whole. For example, more lycopene

is absorbed from a tomato pasta sauce than raw tomatoes, and the same goes for beta-carotene from carrots. The physical effects, as well as higher temperature, soften and break the tough cell walls in plant foods so their inner goodies can be released. In fact, an Italian study comparing steaming, boiling and frying found all methods increased the availability of antioxidants in zucchini (courgettes), carrots and broccoli. The availability of cancer-fighting indoles in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage is also higher after cooking.

Because it is very bulky, high in fibre and nutrient-sparse, a raw food diet carries a very high risk for people with higher nutritional needs, such as children and pregnant women – they need a lot of nutrients the body can easily get at. If you have sensitive bowels, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, this diet will only lead to tears (from pain in your gut) because of its very high fibre content. And the taste? I’ll leave that for you to decide, but I contend this is an extreme diet you do out of conviction rather than enjoyment.

Long story short Besides being a heck of a lot of trouble, you do not need to follow a raw food diet to be healthy. Enjoy a balanced diet from all the food groups and a variety of raw and cooked foods.

Source: http://ginews.blogspot.ca/2012/06/busting-food-myths-with-nicole-senior.html

There is an ever growing movement of people swearing by a raw diet, claiming the increased health benefits. Are they really on to something?

Researchers compared a raw only diet and the diet of those eating cooked vegetables – those on the raw vegetables had normal levels of Vitamin A, high levels of beta-carotene although the intake of Vitamin C was fairly consistent.

Some claims that the cooking process rids the vegetables of their vitamins and nutrients are only partly correct. Cooking can destroy Vitamin C levels but only slightly if cooked quickly. Boiling and steaming the vegetables can better preserve the antioxidants of the food.

Carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, capsicum and spinach actually supply more antioxidants like carotenoids and ferulic acid when they are cooked. Cooking tomatoes boosts their lycopene which is a powerful antioxidant attributed to protecting the body from degenerative diseases.

So which vegetables should you eat while raw and which should be eaten cooked for better nutrition? Let me give you a few examples and see what you think.

Carrots

Raw carrots supply polyphenols, antioxidants said to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, as well as Vitamin C.

Cooking carrots destroys the polyphenols and drastically reduces the amount of Vitamin C but, the cooking process will provide more of the antioxidant beta-carotene which converts into Vitamin A.

Broccoli

Raw broccoli contains the enzyme myrosinase which can reduce the risk of cancer and stomach ulcers. This enzyme is destroyed in cooking.

Cooked broccoli though forms the compound indole within the food which fights precancerous cells, attacking them before they can turn malignant. This is something the raw broccoli doesn’t have.

And so on and so on through the list of vegetables. Confused yet? I think what we can all take from these examples is that a combination of both raw and cooked vegetables. Just remember that when you do cook your vegetables – steaming is most often the best way to go to retain as many nutrients and vitamins as possible and cook for the shortest time possible. A high cooking temperature and long cooking time leads to the greatest loss of Vitamin B, Vitamin C and folate. Microwaving and baking lead to the least nutrient and vitamin loss while boiling and pressure-cooking lead to the most loss.

Source: http://www.fitstyler.com.au/blog/2012/06/04/raw-vegetables-versus-cooked-vegetables/

No healthy meal is complete without vegetables. Not only do vegetables fortify our health, they also add visual appeal and flavour to the meal.

Loaded with anti-oxidants, phyto-chemicals, vitamins, minerals and fibre, this low-calorie high-nutrient group is one of the most valuable elements in our current lifestyles. You can eat a lot of vegetables without worrying much about calories. They can almost be treated as free foods, with the exception of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other starches which need to be watched.

The debate around vegetables has been whether they are best eaten raw or cooked. It was first proposed as early as the 1930s that raw food and cooked food might affect the body differently, when Dr Paul Kouchakoff presented his work on feeding experiments at the First International Congress of Microbiology.

Evidence suggests that cooked vegetables have some harmful effects, as cooking destroys nutrients and enzymes. However, cooking kills potentially harmful organisms and makes food safe, increases the bio-availability of certain nutrients and improves digestibility.

The truth is that vegetables are beneficial both in the raw and cooked state.

Cooking vegetables decreases water-soluble and heat-sensitive nutrients, such as Vitamin C, B-vitamins and folic acid. In fact, it was reported that salad and raw vegetable consumption has been found to be positively associated with higher levels of these nutrients among adults in the US population. It showed higher levels of these nutrients among salad eaters suggested better absorption.

Heat also destroys some enzymes. Garlic and cruciferous vegetables (like cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts) contain special enzymes with anti-cancer properties. However, heating these vegetables destroys these properties. One of the common examples is garlic, which contains the enzyme alliinase that converts alliin to allicin. It is activated by crushing or cutting garlic and can be completely deactivated by 60 seconds of microwave heating. However, when garlic is crushed and allowed to stand for 10 minutes prior to being microwaved for 60 seconds, it retains some of its enzyme activity.

Increasing cooking time and temperatures of vegetables creates some harmful by-products called dietary advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). AGEs in our food can lead to several diseases including allergies, digestive disorders, arthritis, asthma, aches and pains and accelerate ageing.

In addition to loss of nutrients, enzyme activity and formation of AGEs, cooking vegetables is likely to affect their glycemic indices.

Glycemic index is the ability of carbohydrates in food to raise blood sugar levels. As the digestibility improves, the carbohydrate availability would also increase. Therefore, raw vegetables may be more useful for weight watchers and diabetics.

Most vegetables, when consumed raw, leave an alkaline ash which helps in better absorption of several nutrients. Raw vegetables have been found to be strongly associated with protection against cancer, particularly esophageal, gastric, and breast cancers than cooked vegetables.

While there are some losses during cooking, it also has some positive effects. Besides making it safer, cooking vegetables increases the bio-availability of Vitamin A.

A study found that heating tomatoes significantly increased lycopene content and anti-oxidant activity despite a decrease in Vitamin C. Studies of colorectal cancer showed both raw and cooked vegetables to be inversely associated with risk.

Make sure you have a good mix of both raw and cooked vegetables to maximise their benefits. Remember that salads, vegetable juices and raw vegetables can be a source of infection and eat these only at hygienic places.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/vegetables-are-healthy-whether-raw-or-cooked/954195/0