Recently, during a layover at LAX, I was browsing through a newspaper trying to find something to divert my attention from the fact that my flight home had been delayed yet again.
An article on ‘raw foods’ grabbed my attention. It seemed that a young woman had lost a massive amount of weight by eliminating any form of ‘processing’. Of course I had to read on.
I began to do some research and learned that many people are finding success with raw foods.
We’ve known for many years that highly processed foods are filled with sugar, salt, and fat while at the same time they’re void of nutrition. Suddenly this trend toward eating raw started making sense.
The cooking process breaks down enzymes which are critical to our health. Enzymes are the catalysts responsible for innumerable chemical reactions required by the body for everything from digestion to absorption and conversion or food into body tissues.
Food that has been over processed lacks these important components that are critical to our body’s every metabolic activity.
It’s interesting to note that farmers have known for years that cooked food will fatten up farm animals much faster than raw foods.
Cooked potatoes are known for adding rapid weight gain to hogs. Void of enzymes that are eliminated during cooking, the calorie content is still intact.
Once you apply that fact to our foods, it’s easy to understand how our bodies take this nutritionally deficient food to pack on excess weight.
But our bodies know that they are not being satisfied and we continue eating, trying to fill the void. It’s a vicious cycle; we crave food that will meet our metabolic needs.
Grocery store shelves are lined with products designed to save time, taste great and feed a large family on a budget. Savvy marketing and colorful packaging has pushed good nutrition off the shelves.
We’ve become obsessed with ‘fat free’ yet we grow larger and larger.
In an effort to reclaim a healthier lifestyle, spend more time in the produce department when shopping for groceries.
Rediscover fruits and vegetables and learn ways to add raw foods to your diet on a daily basis. Fresh fruits and vegetables are low in fat, low in calories while being high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Fresh produce energizes the body by eliminating waste quicker and by carrying off excess body acids. They help eliminate the desire for sweets, keep your energy level elevated, and satisfy the body’s nutritional requirements.
Once your body is being fed nutritionally sound food, cravings disappear as your body recognizes that it is getting what it needs.
Remember that raw leafy greens and raw unprocessed vegetables have the lowest calorie count of any foods.
Fruits are the second lowest calorie group and because both are filled with fiber, vitamins and too many nutrients to list, your body will begin to be satisfied, you will learn to be comfortable eating less, and you may be able to finally claim the weight loss that you have been so desperately seeking.
BTW – my weight loss program has nothing to do with raw food. But using that in combination with other methods (such as raw food) can multiply the results.
