What Is An Organic Raw Food Diet? - Green Living Ideas

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What Is An Organic Raw Food Diet?

by GLI Editors in Raw Foods

People who follow organic raw food diets believe firmly in the benefits of consuming only organic foods.  Those who follow organic raw food diets also believe organic food should not be heated above a certain temperature, generally between 92–118 F, or 33–48 C. 

Let’s look at the health reasons for following the raw food way…   

• Raw foods contain enzymes that greatly aid in their own digestion, freeing the body’s own enzymes to do the work of regulating all the body’s many metabolic processes.  Heating food degrades or destroys the enzymes in food, putting the onus on the body’s own enzyme production.
• Eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult, deprives the body of enzymes, and leads to toxicity in the body, and to excess consumption of food, which leads to obesity and to chronic disease.
• Raw foods contain bacteria and other micro-organisms that stimulate the immune system and enhance digestion by populating the digestive tract with beneficial flora.
• Raw foods have higher nutrient values than foods that have been cooked.

Proponents of the organic food diet believe humans are not meant to consume cooked or processed foods, and that our bodies function much better when we consume raw foods. Many believe pre-historic humans were primarily vegetarian and that only a small portion of our diet came from meat, and even when it did, it was rarely cooked it.

Cautions 

Organic raw food diets are difficult to follow as you can imagine, and they can also negatively impact health if they are not planned out and followed carefully.  People who follow organic raw food diets are at risk for vitamin, mineral, and amino acid deficiencies.  Those who practice organic raw food diets must:

• Watch their intake of vitamin B-12, as it is primarily found in meat.
• Make sure they are getting enough iron, zinc, and copper.
• Compensate for the lack of Omega fatty acids 3,6, and 9. Omega fatty acid deficiency is one of the major potential concerns, aside from the extremely low fat content of organic raw food diets.

Fortunately, these problems can be rectified with supplements and by paying careful attention to your diet.

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Posted on Nov 14, 2007

food, obesity, organic food, organic food diet, organic raw food diets, raw food way