The benefits of eating raw foods are quite astounding. While I'm the first to admit I'm not a Nutritionist, I feel comfortable sharing my advice and personal experience with clients. Those who are serious raw foods enthusiasts are actually referred to as those who practice Raw Foodism. No, that's not a made up phrase! It refers to the practice of eating unprocessed, uncooked and/or organic foods as a main source of nutrition. For the purposes of this article, I'm going to keep it simple and just help you understand how the benefits of eating raw foods may enhance your overall health and fitness goals.
The Basics.
We have all heard from our Doctors or Personal Trainers that a healthy diet needs to consist of ample portions of fruits and vegetables. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," so to speak. This also includes fresh nuts and seeds as well. But why is exactly that we are encouraged to eat these fresh foods?
1. We are living organisms and fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are live foods! When you think about it, a cooked seed won't grow, but a raw seed will. Those raw and living nutrients are what we should strive to fuel our bodies with. Cooking foods reduces much if not all of it's inherent nutritional value.
2. Raw foods have natural enzymes that make it easier for your body to digest or process. They also have a more consistent balance of water, fiber, and nutrients that are easily accessible to your bodies digestive system.
3. There are no preservatives in raw foods. Understand what the word preservatives actually means. It is a chemical alteration that is added to foods to preserve their longevity. These are not nutrients found in nature, and they are ingredients that are foreign to the body.
The Benefits of Eating Raw Foods.
1. Increased energy. This sounds like a pretty bold statement, but it is true. I know personally that when my diet is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts I feel better and I have more energy. I'll leave it up to the scientists to debate whether this is because my body is more easily digesting this food, or that the high fibrous content is stabilizing my blood sugar, thus avoiding the peaks and valleys of feeling tired vs feeling alert throughout the day.
2. Vitamins, minerals, and nutrients are readily available to your body. Our caveman ancestors didn't walk into a local vitamin shop to pick up a bottle of vitamins or an energy drink. They didn't have a personal trainer to help keep them active. They ate what they killed! They were hunters and gatherers. They relied on their natural diet to produce these valuable nutrients, and their active lifestyle to keep them fit.
The Basics.
We have all heard from our Doctors or Personal Trainers that a healthy diet needs to consist of ample portions of fruits and vegetables. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," so to speak. This also includes fresh nuts and seeds as well. But why is exactly that we are encouraged to eat these fresh foods?
1. We are living organisms and fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are live foods! When you think about it, a cooked seed won't grow, but a raw seed will. Those raw and living nutrients are what we should strive to fuel our bodies with. Cooking foods reduces much if not all of it's inherent nutritional value.
2. Raw foods have natural enzymes that make it easier for your body to digest or process. They also have a more consistent balance of water, fiber, and nutrients that are easily accessible to your bodies digestive system.
3. There are no preservatives in raw foods. Understand what the word preservatives actually means. It is a chemical alteration that is added to foods to preserve their longevity. These are not nutrients found in nature, and they are ingredients that are foreign to the body.
The Benefits of Eating Raw Foods.
1. Increased energy. This sounds like a pretty bold statement, but it is true. I know personally that when my diet is rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, and nuts I feel better and I have more energy. I'll leave it up to the scientists to debate whether this is because my body is more easily digesting this food, or that the high fibrous content is stabilizing my blood sugar, thus avoiding the peaks and valleys of feeling tired vs feeling alert throughout the day.
2. Vitamins, minerals, and nutrients are readily available to your body. Our caveman ancestors didn't walk into a local vitamin shop to pick up a bottle of vitamins or an energy drink. They didn't have a personal trainer to help keep them active. They ate what they killed! They were hunters and gatherers. They relied on their natural diet to produce these valuable nutrients, and their active lifestyle to keep them fit.
3. You can eat like a cow! I'm being sarcastic here, but you really can eat as much of these foods as you'd like without having to worry about calories or putting on the pounds. The fact of the matter is that those of you who may be looking to lose weight will find this your most valuable tool!
Americans are among one of the most obese populations on the planet. I believe it's because our diets consist of primarily processed foods or un-natural foods, as well as a sedentary lifestyle due to the lack of energy and nutrition that these diets actual offer!
Los Angeles Personal Trainer Riley Daye is part of the ProGrips Fitness Team. His areas of study include Weight Lifting, Strength Training, Nutrition, Body Building and Sport Specific Training.
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