WE LEARNED a long time ago that cooking before eating would protect us from bacteria and parasites. This cooking practice has grown to include all types of foods and is now considered an art. The average meal generally doesn’t include many raw items, with the exception of leafy green salad.
A food is considered raw if it has never been heated above 40-48⁰C. It also should not be refined, pasteurized, treated with pesticides, or otherwise processed in any way. Instead, the diet involves many different ways of preparation, such as juicing, blending, dehydrating, soaking, and sprouting. The raw food diet is typically plant-based, consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
According to Dr. Aris LaTham, internationally renowned culinary innovator, health and wellness influencer, raw foods are of better quality, so you eat less to meet your nutritional needs.
“The heat from cooking depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes that aid in digestion. As your percentage of raw foods increases, you feel satisfied and have more energy with smaller meals because raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fiber to meet your body’s needs,” said Dr. LaTham.
Dr. LaTham, a renowned expert in the field of raw and live foods, is the founder of Sunfired Gourmet and is a firm believer in consuming only foods grown naturally from the earth and cooked in the purest oven: sunlight.
“Raw food is cooked by the sun; the sun is our chef. For plants, the growing period is the cooking process. From the moment, for example, a banana tree opens up to when it is ripe and ready to eat, it is cooked to perfection by the sun,” said Dr. LaTham.
Raw foods, she said, have more flavor than cooked foods, so there’s no need to add salt, sugar, spices or other seasonings that can irritate the digestive system or overstimulate the nervous system.
“We want to beat the process. Let’s take the banana as an example again, let’s not allow it to happen. We boil or cook the banana before the ripening process is completed. The process is only completed when it is ripe, and that is the completion of the natural cooking process,” said Dr. LaTham.
“All starchy foods that are not mature foods are complex carbohydrates that need to be converted into simple carbohydrates. The process can only be done through the seasoned process. When we eat complex carbohydrates, we eliminate digestive enzymes, the life force and the actual transfer of solar energy, the life that passes through our food,” added Dr. LaTham.
Eating a raw food diet can reverse or halt the advance of many chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Cooking creates free radicals, which are the leading cause of cancer. When you reduce the number of free radicals your cells are bombarded with, you reduce your risk of cancer.
During a weekly Sunday series “Health Talk”, Dr. LaTham said during his presentation that the raw food diet can also protect you from acute illnesses such as colds and flu and help maintain a healthy body with better defenses to prevent intrusion of diseases.
“The stove is obsolete. Whenever you process foods, starch can’t be broken down by your body. If you’re sick, check your plate and make changes. Raw foods heal,” Dr. LaTham said.
Dr. LaTham is known as the man who doesn’t drink water and hasn’t drunk a drop of water for 42 years. He drinks coconut water and water that comes from plants, including watermelon, orange water, and water crest that grows from water.
His Sunfired Gourmet has been featured in numerous publications and magazines and he has designed vibrant Sunfired Gourmet experiences for an extensive roster of famous clients and international dignitaries.
Overall, raw food has a variety of health and fitness benefits, and its rules include eating only unfrozen, unprocessed, plant-based foods that have never been exposed to temperatures above 46⁰C. This diet requires commitment and motivation but provides excellent results.
keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com
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Here are some tips on how to get the most out of a raw food diet:
• CHOOSE A VARIETY OF RAW FOODS
Eating a variety of raw foods can help you get all your essential nutrients. Try to include different types of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts in your diet.
• INCORPORATE FERMENTED FOODS
Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, are an excellent source of beneficial bacteria and probiotics. These foods can help improve digestive health and balance the gut microbiota.
• ADD HEALTHY FATS
Eating healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts and seeds, can help keep you full and provide essential fatty acids.
• MONITOR YOUR ENERGY LEVELS
If you find yourself feeling sluggish or fatigued, you may want to consider adding more healthy fats and proteins to your diet.
#stove #obsolete