7 Benefits of a Raw Food Diet

By Matt Farr

Raw food diets are becoming increasingly popular. People are taking them up for all sorts of reasons and benefits they are associated to. Below is a quick summary of 7 such benefits.

Benefits

1. Higher enzyme levels - Enzymes enable life to exist; without them we would not be here. As we age our body becomes more and more depleted of enzymes and it is this depletion that is largely responsible for the aging process. The less we deplete our enzyme levels and the more we replenish them the healthier we remain. Cooking (above 118F) or processing food kills the enzymes in food. For this reason raw food offers huge benefits that cooked/processed food cannot. Specific vitamins and minerals are required for specific enzyme activity, meaning a diet high in vitamins and minerals will also help to maximize enzyme activity and counter enzyme depletion. Raw food has much higher levels of vitamins and minerals than cooked or processed foods.

2. More vitamins and minerals - We all know about the importance of vitamins and minerals to our health. When food is cooked (above 118F) or processed vitamins and minerals are significantly depleted from the food. Therefore raw food contains much higher quantities.

3. More antioxidants & phyto-nutrients - Phyto-nutrients or phyto-chemicals as they are also called are a classification of micronutrients found in food that we know little about but we do know that they have an important role in our health and in the successful absorption and utilisation of vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and carbohydrates. There are hundreds if not thousands of phyto-nutrients found in raw food which are largely destroyed by processing and cooking. Antioxidants provide us with protection against oxidative damage (free radical damage) and as with phyto-nutrients, antioxidant levels are significantly reduced by cooking and processing.

4. Less free radicals - Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an unpaired number of electrons, this makes them highly reactive. Once formed they can start a chain reaction, like dominoes. This can then lead to damage to the body (and your health) when they react with important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane. Free radicals alongside enzyme deficiencies are the main cause of the physical degeneration of the body. One of the most common causes of free radicals involves the interaction of oxygen with certain molecules. This process is known as oxidation. In this regard oxygen is both our friend and our foe. It keeps us alive and kills us at the same time. If you were to peel an apple and leave it out in the air, the process of oxidation is what turns it brown. The formation of rust on metal is another example.

We can reduce the amount of free radical damage (and thus the effects of aging and physical degeneration) by reducing our exposure to free radicals and increasing those things that neutralize free radical damage. Specific enzymes and antioxidants are the main means by which our bodies neutralize free radical damage. This is not to say that all free radical damage is always bad for our health, in some instances it is used by the body to our advantage i.e. by the immune system to combat infections. The aim should be to minimise our exposure to un-natural levels and support antioxidant and enzyme processes that keep it in check.

Processing and cooking increases the amount of free radicals in our food and reduces the content of enzymes and antioxidants in food. For this reason raw foods can play a significant role in reducing the aging process and physical degeneration.

5. Less rancid fats - Fats are extremely important to health. Our brain is largely made from fats, as are our hormones and the membrane of every cell in our body. They are also the most delicate of all nutrients and are easily damaged by light, heat and oxidation, particularly polyunsaturated fats. Cooking (particularly at high temperatures) and processing will therefore damage fats and render them rancid. The body will then use these rancid fats for numerous structural and functional roles within the body, but because they do not have the same properties as naturally occurring un-rancid fats this can cause a lot of problems. Over time the regular consumption of these fats can then lead to significant degeneration of the body. For this reason a diet focused around raw food will significantly reduce rancid fat consumption, help to maximise health and the incidence of degenerative disease.

6. Less denatured proteins - Much like fats, proteins can be damaged or denatured by heat and processing. They are more stable than fats but a damaged protein is just as harmful. Since proteins and fats are the main structural and functional macronutrients in our diet (carbohydrates are very rarely used for structural or functional (beyond energy) purposes in the human body), consuming denatured or rancid versions will not support good health and longevity when consumed in high quantities and can lead to all manner of health problems and disease states. Eating raw means you will be eating proteins that have been untouched by processing or heating at high temperatures and are not denatured in any way.

7. More life force energy - Life force energy, also known as qi, chi, prana, Ki (the term used depends upon the eastern culture you are referring to) is a term arising out of eastern medicine/health philosophies. Life force energy is an invisible energy we get from a host of sources, including our food. It plays a significant role in our health and vitality and more recently has been proven and measured using Kirlian photography. Measurements have been made with cooked, processed and raw foods, with raw foods showing significantly higher levels of life force energy of all food types. Cooked and processed foods are almost "dead" in terms of their life force energy.

These are just some of the main benefits, there are others. Check out my other articles for more benefits and also some of the challenges you may face following such a diet.

Would you like to learn more about raw food diets, their benefits, challenges, whether it will work for you and the different types and variations?

Learn more about Raw Food Diet and Eating For Energy