4 Reasons to Eat Raw Foods Whenever Possible
When working with clients, one piece of nutrition advice I offer is to eat raw whenever possible for these four reasons:
1. Hydration
Raw foods are packed with way more water, which is hydrating to the body compared to cooked food. All the steam that is produced during the cooking process is the water of food being evaporated off by the heat.
2. Phytochemicals and Nutritional Enzymes
Why eat dead food when live foods from the earth are filled with way more healing benefits for the body?! Many of the healing compounds in whole foods from the earth, such as anti-oxidants, vitamins, enzymes, co-factors, and phytonutrients are important for metabolic reactions and breakdown when certain temperatures are reached. So by cooking food, we kill off many of these nutritional benefits.
3. Natural Portion Control
Firstly, if you choose to eat raw foods, you have permission to eat as much as you want! When clients hear this they get super excited, because to maintain a healthy weight some people think we have to limit our food intake, but this isn’t true when we eat healthy food. Raw foods make us feel fuller faster because raw food is filled with fiber and water, so we don’t have to think about how much we’re eating, Mother Nature takes care of that for us!
4. Healthier Eating
By default, if we choose to eat more raw foods, we will naturally leave behind the packaged, processed foods, opting for more whole foods of the earth, aka superfoods, aka real food!
Some other guidelines when eating more raw foods:
Be sure to hydrate!
Especially if you’re just starting to eat raw foods, you’ll want to drink more water. This change in food intake will result in an increase in fiber content which can cause some gas and bloating, and in extreme cases constipation. Upping water intake will prevent this from happening and allow for the left overs of these healthy foods to pass more easily through the digestive tract.
Eat about 50% raw.
Though I say whenever possible, for those are you that are absolute go getters, I want to be sure you’re still eating cooked foods because they are grounding and nourishing for the body as well. Also keep in mind many whole foods like grains, root vegetables, and legumes like beans are much easier on the digestive tract when cooked.
I’d love to hear how you feel as you begin to incorporate more raw foods into your life! Leave your comments in the box below. Happy eating!