Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables have high vitamin and mineral content.  However, raw foods have a higher content than cooked foods.  Heat during the cooking process damages the vitamin and mineral content and kills natural enzymes.

With the bad press that multi-vitamins have gotten recently, we should explore all possible areas for getting our vitamin and mineral requirements met naturally.
The following is a list of raw foods which contain a good supply of some of the key nutrients our bodies need on a daily basis.  When used in addition to a moderate amount of healthy meats, whole grains, and diary products, it is possible to get our nutrients from diet.

It is also important to note that some foods truly are ‘super-foods’ like green leafy vegetables or broccoli.  That’s because they provide a significant amount of more than one nutrient per serving.
Vitamin A
Any green leafy vegetables including Spinach
Peppers
Yellow vegetables like Squash
Dried Apricots
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Asparagus

Vitamin B group
Green leafy vegetables
Avocados
Mushrooms
Currants
Zucchini
Aparagus
Broccoli
Lentils
Blueberries
Seeds and nuts.

Vitamin C
Green leafy vegetables
Peppers
Broccoli
Parsley
Potatoes
Melon
Tomatoes
All berries

Vitamin E
Tahini
Nuts and seeds
Avocados

Vitamin K
Green leafy vegetables
Seaweeds

Iron
Avocados
Green Leafy vegetables
Parsley
Dates
Dried apricots
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Almonds

Calcium
Tahini/sesame seeds
Green leafy vegetables
Parsley
Broccoli
Almonds

Zinc
Sesame seeds/tahini
Almonds
Ginger
Eggs

Potassium
Bananas
Watercress
Mushrooms

Raw foods, both fruits and vegetables, provide high quantities of fiber.  We have all heard about the benefits of fiber: keeps your digestive system moving, prevents certain diseases like cancer and keeps weight under control.  Recommended intake of fiber is 25g per day, which should come from at least 5 different servings of fruits and vegetables as well as 6 servings of grain products – half of which should be whole grain.

There are two types of fiber found in raw foods: Soluble and Insoluble Fiber.  It is important to understand the functions, benefits and sources of both types.  Both soluble and insoluble fiber can not be digested or absorbed into the bloodstream, but is still fundamental to the digestive process.  Here’s how:

Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber binds with fatty acids and prolongs stomach emptying time so that sugar is released and absorbed more slowly.  This helps regulate blood sugar, i.e. no immediate sugar highs and crashing lows.  People with diabetes should consider soluble fiber as an essential element of their diabetes management or regulation plan.
Soluble fiber also has been associated with lowering total cholesterol and the now famously bad LDL cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.

Include soluble fiber in your diet by adding Oats, Oat Bran, Dried Beans and Peas, Nuts, Barley, Flax Seed, Fruits such as Oranges and Apples, and Vegetables such as Carrots.

Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber moves bulk through the intestines which aids regular bowel movements and prevents constipation.  It also helps control or balance the pH (acidity) level in our intestines by removing toxic waste through the colon in less time.  Maintaining an optimal level of pH within the intestines helps prevent microbes from producing cancerous substances which in turn prevents colon cancer.

Include insoluble fiber in your diet by adding Vegetables such as Green Beans, Spinach, Kale, Fruit and Root Vegetable Skins, and Whole Wheat products.

The human body has three main metabolic periods that consistently repeat in a cycle every 24 hours.  The three main periods are: Elimination & Maintenance, Digestive and finally, Assimilation.  As the names of the periods suggest, the body focuses on certain types of activities during that period.

The cells of the human body are working on eliminating waste products and toxins during the earlier hours of the day.  The body then shifts gear and focuses on digestion from late morning to early evening.  Early evening and through the night, the body works on assimilating the nutrients absorbed through the digestion process, and channels it to various organs and cells in your body.  You have probably heard that the body heals and repairs itself at rest.  The assimilation period is therefore associated with the late evening and overnight timeframe.

Our diet and consumption patterns have strayed pretty far from being in sync with the natural metabolic cycle, but it is in our interest to revert back to it.  Eating in compliance with these cycles enables us to get a much higher level of benefit from our diet.

The digestive process demands a tremendous amount of energy on a daily basis.  You can help yourselves by making breakfast the biggest meal of your day, and then following a reverse pyramid level of food consumed as the day progresses.  You will experience efficient digestion (so fewer bloating and gassy episodes), and feel better overall with the higher level of nutrients at a cellular level.

To get you started, here is a sample day’s diet:

• Have oatmeal, eggs and some fresh fruit for breakfast
• A chicken caesar wrap for lunch with a side of raw carrots and hummus
• Kabobs for dinner with a tossed salad.

Enzymes are protein molecules essential for the digestion process, brain stimulation and body’s “self repair” down to a cellular level.

The human body can not absorb or assimilate any of the nutrients in food unless enzymes go to work.  All of that sounds like a LOT of work within the human body, right?  This means that we need to pay attention to what enzymes are, and how we get them.

Our bodies generate digestive enzymes to break down the food we consume so that the nutrients within the food can be absorbed. However, due to the modern diet consisting mostly of processed foods, it is known that the average person can not produce enough digestive enzymes to effectively digest and absorb the required nutrition.

Additionally, if your body only has to work with its own digestive enzymes, your body is working so hard to create sufficient amounts of the enzymes that there is less time and energy for other functions such as rebuilding and replacing damaged cells and tissue.

If this continues as a behavior, the human body starts experiencing a lowered threshold and resistance for stress, poor digestion, food allergies, lowered immunity etc.  We produce smaller quantities of enzymes as we age, so it is even more important to identify and obtain a natural source of enzymes to help our bodies.

Raw food is the answer.  Enzymes are naturally present in raw food, both fruits and vegetables.  The enzymes help start the process of digestion which reduces the stress on the body to secrete large/excessive amounts of digestive enzymes.

It is important to note though that these enzymes are only present and effective when food is in it’s raw state.  The food enzymes are destroyed beyond a state where they are of any help to the body if the food is cooked, even at moderate temperatures.

So get munching on an apple, or toss up a salad of your liking.  If you want extra boosts of enzymes, mix in sprouted seeds, grains and legumes.  The action of sprouting activates tremendous amounts of enzymes that your body will love.

While your body needs these raw foods, a pleasant side-effect often noticed is an anti-aging effect from the inside-out by consuming vitamins, minerals and enzymes as part of a raw food diet, so many of which people artificially try to incorporate via cosmetic products.  So go ahead, feel AND look good from the inside-out.

There has been a lot of attention and hype in the media and among doctors for raw food recently, especially as more studies have shown that our diets consist of mostly processed food.  Here are the top 5 reasons to consider adding raw food to your diets:

1. Digestive Enzymes – Our body works overtime to create enough enzymes to digest processed food.  This creates an imbalance in the body to the point that bodies start registering a markedly lower threshold for stress.  Raw foods are a GREAT source of natural enzymes and extremely easy for your body to digest.  So not only will your body be able to digest easily, but have enough energy to work on repairing tissues and cells for continued health.
2. Weight Loss – We automatically associate raw foods with a weight loss diet due to the high fiber content.  It is true to some extent.  By adding raw food at the start of your meal, you automatically eat a smaller portion of a high-calorie processed food because there just isn’t enough space for it.  Fiber fills you up.  Lower amount of calories eventually equal weight loss.
3. Vitamins and Minerals – What better way to get vitamin C than directly from a juicy orange or even broccoli?  1 orange will also give you natural calcium, vitamins A and B, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc and Potassium.  Who needs a multi-vitamin tablet when you’ve got so many fruits and vegetables to mix and match from?
4. Anti-aging – Anti-aging thinking has taken on a new dimension recently with vitamins and enzymes being added even to some facial creams!  Why supplement externally when you can add all of these to your diet, and benefit holistically from the inside-out.
5. High energy and vitality levels – Raw foods give your body a break from the one process that it expends 80% of its energy on for processed foods – the digestion process.  Saved energy means higher vitality levels for you, and an overall better quality of health.  Raw foods provide raw fiber, which also helps with colon health.