RAW-FOOD DIET

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RAW-FOOD DIET

http://users.mrbean.net.au/~wlast/HF2-3.html

 

From my own experiences of healing as well as from

reading many published

reports it is obvious to me that a raw-food diet is not

only the most natural but

also the most effective nutritional measure for healing

and rejuvenation.

While only few will be strong enough to adopt a complete

raw food diet for life,

it will be good for everyone to have occasional periods

on raw foods only. At

other times you may use the principles described in the

following to increase

the percentage of your daily raw food intake. By far the

most important foods

to be eaten raw are proteins and lipids (fats and oils);

vegetables high in

cellulose such as most leaves and stems are not suitable

to be eaten raw, and

may be juiced or cooked.

 

The main biochemical and nutritional advantages of raw

food as compared to

cooked food are:

· A higher vitamin and mineral content

· Minerals are largely present as

biologically active colloids

· An abundance of helpful enzymes and

bio-energy or life-force

· Proteins remain in their natural condition

instead of being denatured

· The absence of digestive leukocytosis

· Polyunsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol

do not become oxidized, and

carcinogenic or atherogenic

· Glucose is absorbed more slowly, protecting

the blood-sugar regulation

· There is no overweight or obesity on a

raw-food diet

· As counted in calories, much less food is

required

· Proven cleansing, rejuvenating and

anti-cancer properties

 

Leukocytosis is an increase of white blood cells in

affected organs in

response to infection or toxins. This also occurs when we

eat cooked food; the

intestinal wall becomes flooded with white blood cells

but this does not happen

when eating raw food. The higher the food has been

heated, the stronger is the

leukocytosis and the more toxic is this food for our

body.

 

However, there are also some hidden dangers with a

raw-food diet. Some raw

food contains enzyme inhibitors, goitrogens (causing

goiter), vitamin

inhibitors, toxic substances (in some exotic plants),

parasites and bacteria. In

addition, some people starting on a raw-food diet will

have strong initial reactions

due to the cleansing process.

 

There have been cases reported of more or less severe

digestive disturbances

from eating large quantities of raw soybeans, broad

beans, nuts and wheat germ

over long periods. This problem is due to inhibitors of

protein-digesting

enzymes that protect seeds from self-destruction.

Basically all seeds have

inhibitors of enzymes for the ingredients of which they

are composed but most do not

have such a surplus of inhibitors as to cause digestive

problems. Other foods

such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and egg white also

contain inhibitors.

 

To obtain the maximum benefit from a raw-food diet it is

necessary to free

most of the enzymes from their inhibitors. Cooking

destroys the inhibitors but

also the enzymes. The better solution is to sprout the

seeds or at least soak

them to initiate the germination process and discard the

water used for

soaking.

 

Trypsin is the main protein-digesting enzyme of the

pancreas and also occurs

in seeds. In one reported scientific experiment the

trypsin activity during

germination of seeds increased from 7.5 units to 60 units

after 24 hours, 257

units after two days and 333 units after three days. The

inhibitor activity

decreased from 100% in dry seeds to zero after 24 hours

of germination.

 

Fermentation with lactic-acid bacteria will also enhance

the enzyme activity

in seeds. This process is similar to that of making

yogurt or sourdough. Even

soaking nuts for a day before eating will help greatly.

Enzymes also are freed

from their inhibitors to a certain degree when tissue is

damaged. We see this

when grated potatoes turn brown, or mashed raw plants or

fruit deteriorate

within hours unless refrigerated.

 

Goitrogens, which are in some raw foods, interfere with

the body's use of

iodine and therefore may contribute to the formation of

goiter or to an

underactive thyroid. Goitrogens are mainly found in the

cabbage family, also in

soybeans and the skins of red-skinned peanuts. Cooking or

the addition of kelp may

overcome this problem. Nevertheless, with an underactive

thyroid, it is better

not to eat much of goitogenic food raw.

 

Thiaminase is an enzyme in raw fish that destroys vitamin

B1, but that is not

a problem if food is correctly combined. Avidin in raw

egg white makes biotin

unavailable but this would lead to a deficiency only if a

large percentage of

the daily diet consisted of raw egg white. Furthermore,

egg yolk is very high

in biotin so that using whole eggs should not diminish

our biotin intake at

all.

 

Those who have lived all their lives on conventional food

are likely to have

a fair amount of metabolic wastes and toxins stored in

the body. This will be

released by a raw-food diet and can temporarily overload the

organs of

elimination to cause skin problems, headaches, weakness

and other discomfort.

Therefore, it is advisable to move only very gradually

towards a raw-food diet or to

have short cleansing periods on raw foods while also

stimulating the organs of

elimination.

 

The basis of the recommended raw-food diet is fresh

vegetable juice as well

as sprouted and fermented food. Sprouted seeds may serve

as the main part of a

vegetable salad. Beetroot is excellent and may be finely

grated into the salad

together with carrot, turnip, sweet potato or pumpkin.

Tomato and grated

cucumber may be used for flavoring together with a salad

dressing of extra virgin

olive oil, lemon juice, herbs and spices. Instead of

lemon juice you may use

cider vinegar, ascorbic acid or rose-hip powder. Add

lecithin as an emulsifier,

shake well in a jar and keep refrigerated. Almonds, nuts

and sunflower seeds

improve by starting the sprouting process, otherwise eat

them soaked and

possibly blended or, better still, fermented as nut and

seed cheese.

 

A main objective of this raw food diet is to maximize the

intake of unheated

fats and oils rich in the fat-digesting enzyme lipase.

Lipase deficiency and

other disturbances of the fat metabolism appear to be at

the heart of most

chronic degenerative diseases. Therefore, make an effort

to obtain a wide range of

unheated oils and fats, such as extra virgin olive oil,

(cold-pressed) fish

oils, nut butter and seed cheese, avocado, butter, cream,

egg yolk, as well as

the fat in raw (minced) meat. Unfortunately, health

authorities make it very

difficult in many countries to obtain unheated milk

products. Also commercial

coconut oil (even virgin grade) has commonly been heated.

Therefore, it is best

to make your own coconut milk by pressing coconut meat

through a juice

extractor. Keep all fats and oils refrigerated.

 

While I do not recommend eating commercial eggs even if

well cooked (e.g. to

kill Salmonella which is common in factory-farming), eggs

definitely should

only be ingested raw if they are fresh and free-range or

organic. Swallowing an

egg with yolk and white intact can cause indigestion in

individuals with a

weak digestive system. A raw egg (just like all other

fats and oils) is much

easier to digest if it is well mixed with other food or

drink. Alternatively you

may beat the white and then mix the yolk back into it.

You can easily detect

how fresh an egg is by immersing it in water. If it lies

flat on the bottom, it

is very fresh. The older it is, the more will the blunt

end rise. If it stands

on its tip, it is rather old but may still be used; if it

floats up it is

rotten.

 

Those with blood group O generally feel better or

healthier with flesh food

in their diet. You may marinate fish or other seafood and

even liver and other

meat, best minced (see Recipes). This destroys parasites

and makes raw flesh

food quite safe to eat. You may also use raw minced meat,

suitably flavoured

with grated or chopped onion, ginger, tomato or radish,

and with some lime or

lemon juice, or blend diced chicken or turkey. You may

then flavor and drink it

as a broth (see Recipes).

 

Use only organic or otherwise safe meat from a reliable

source. Never use

meat from a feedlot. Also pork is generally not safe. For

genuinely free-range,

grass-fed beef, bison and ostrich in the U.S. see http://www.mercola.com/ . In

other countries, such as Australia, just ask a butcher

for meat from grass-fed

beef. Lamb is commonly grass-fed. According to the

Australian Department of

Primary Industries freezing meat for about 10 days at

minus 8°C or colder will

kill any tapeworm cysts.

 

As a further precaution you may periodically use an

herbal anti-parasite

program, and possibly an electronic blood purifier. I

believe that with these

precautions raw meat is safe and healthy, while I regard

the habitual use of

cooked meat as more or less unhealthy, partly because of

its lack of enzymes, and

also because of the formation of carcinogenic chemicals

when heated above the

boiling point. For further ideas on eating meat raw, and

links to related sites

see http://www.rawpaleodiet.org/

..

 

If you have no problems with mucus, such as occasional

colds, blocked or

running nose, or respiratory problems, you may use

fermented goat's milk or raw

cows' milk as yogurt, sour milk, cheese or cottage

cheese. However, be careful

with commercial fermented foods, such as yogurt, sauerkraut

or marinated fish.

Rice bread or flat bread - preferably made from sprouted

rice or otherwise

made by just soaking and blending the grains and possibly

adding a sourdough

starter - is suitable as a staple food. It solidifies to

crunchy flat bread at low

temperatures, best by exposure to the sun. In addition,

sprouted rice may be

blended with water or fermented milk and possibly banana

as the basis of a

meal; see the recipe section for further details.

 

The most problematic food group is fruit. While meat is

'grounding', fruit is

sensitizing. For insensitive individuals, especially with

raised blood

pressure, it is beneficial to have plenty of fruit, often

instead of a meal.

Especially good are acid fruit, such as oranges or

pineapple. Sensitive individuals,

however, feel best with either neutralized fruit or only

a small amount of

sub-acid fruit between meals. Insensitive individuals may

use fruit as their main

source of energy while those more sensitive may use rice

baked at a low

temperature and sprouted seeds instead.

 

Bananas are a good bulk food for most individuals on a

raw food diet.

Sensitive individuals may eat them in the early stages of

ripening or use mainly

small or non-sweet varieties. They go well for breakfast as

part of the

linseed-yogurt recipe.

 

On this raw-food diet there is no need to be concerned

with variety or trying

to have different foods for successive meals. A sprout

salad contains all the

required nutrients for health and healing; most

individuals are happy to have

the same basic salad for all meals with only minor

variations depending on

what is available. The only precondition seems to be that

you have largely

overcome the addiction to cooked food by learning to make

tasty salads. In cold

weather you may flavor a fresh vegetable juice with

spices, carefully heat to

just below 45ºC or 120º F and drink as a broth.

 

Most 'raw foodists' will be content to have about 90% of

their food raw and

be free to have some cooked food when eating out and at

parties. Even tahini

(ground, roasted sesame seed paste) and kelp powder

(commonly used with raw-food

diets) are in fact cooked or heated. Except for food to

which you may have

been addicted, try to let your body, your intuition or

instinct decide your food

selection and meal composition. It is obviously much

easier for someone of

the vegetarian body type to adopt a long-term raw food

diet then for someone

with a non-vegetarian body type or blood group O.

 

SLIMMING

 

The high-quality diet, and even more so the raw-food

diet, will normally

ensure gradual weight loss for overweight individuals,

while at the same time

maximizing health improvement. I always put the main

emphasis on the health

aspects of the diet rather than its slimming potential. As

we become healthier, we

automatically find the right weight for our constitution.

However, no diet will

help if your eating problems are emotionally based, you

have to heal your

emotions first.

 

Experiment with the following possibilities:

 

· Have an appetite-reducing protein-drink 30

minutes before meals with any

combination of the following ingredients and in any

amount that suits you:

spirulina powder, green barley juice powder, food yeast,

ground linseed, linseed

oil or olive oil. Possibly use this as a warm drink to

keep hunger away for

hours.

· 30 minutes before meals stir 1 teaspoon of

psyllium hulls in a glass of

water, drink immediately. If necessary double the amount

to 2 teaspoons in a

large glass of water. Psyllium swells up 40-fold to fill

the stomach with a soft

gel.

· Eat only brown rice, lentils, green

vegetables and sprouted seeds in

addition to the above.

· For cooking use mainly legumes, non-sweet,

non-starchy vegetables and

flesh foods, for starches choose high-fiber varieties

(e.g., brown rice, rolled

oats) and possibly add bran or ground linseed.

· Adopt a mono-diet: one day eat protein

foods only, the next day fruits

and the third day sprouted seeds, vegetable salads and

vegetable juices. Repeat

as often as required.

· Adopt a cleansing raw-food diet with mainly

vegetables and green juice,

sprouts and fruits, nuts and oily seeds, possibly raw

beaten egg and marinated

fish. Sensitive individuals should neutralize fruit acids

with dolomite.

· For two weeks, eat only protein and fat

foods and green vegetables with

less than 40 g of carbohydrates per day (ground linseed

is the best protein/fat

food).

· Repeated periods on vegetable and grass

juices in addition to vegetable

salads.

· Avoid all sweet food; it stimulates the

appetite and the synthesis of

fat. In particular keep fructose-containing foods away

from starches and eat

fresh fruit separately.

· Avoid all grain products, especially

cereals and bread; combined with a

diet low in sweet food this is usually the most effective

slimming method.

· Use mainly fresh, unheated linseed oil and

coconut oil, these do not put

on weight.

· Preferably skip the evening meal, or have

just a small salad, or an

apple.

· Have some light daily exercise, such as a

15-minute brisk walk or jogging

or use a rebounder or some other aerobic exercise. The

metabolic rate is

speeded up for a long time after exercise. Take 1 or 2 g

of L-carnitine before

exercising to burn up more fat.

· Use a low-allergy diet combined with the

correct food for your blood

group.

· Use mind therapy, such as guided imagery

and affirmation, also look at

your belief systems, release negative emotions and

express your emotional needs.

· Eat very slowly, peacefully chew every

mouthful until it is liquefied,

savor the flavors as they develop during chewing; make

every mouthful last about

two minutes.

 

HYPOGLYCEMIA DIET

 

Most people who are sensitive, overacid, with allergies

and a low energy

level, are hypoglycemic to some extent, and will benefit

from this diet. When a

hypoglycemic person eats sweet foods, the blood-sugar

level often soars too high

at first, but falls to below normal later. During this

fall and while the

level is below normal, a variety of distressing symptoms

may affect the

breathing, circulation, digestion or the emotional and

mental condition.

 

When the blood-sugar level rises after sweet food intake,

the pancreas reacts

by releasing insulin - a hormone that regulates the

blood-sugar level. In a

hypoglycemic person, the pancreas releases too much

insulin, especially in

response to ingesting sucrose or a combination of glucose

and fructose. The excess

of insulin causes glucose to enter the cells too quickly.

This then creates

oxygen deficiency within the cells and instead of energy,

lactic acid is

produced in an anaerobic process. All this makes the body

tissue overacid and

deprives them of minerals and energy.

 

The mainstays of this diet are

 

· ·Gluten-free grains - rice, millet, maize

and buckwheat; also sago and

tapioca

· ·High-protein seeds - chickpeas, lentils,

fenugreek, peas, beans, almonds

and sunflower seeds

· ·Animal protein - white, red and organ

meat, fish, eggs, goats' cheese

· ·Sprouted seeds and vegetables, cooked, raw

and juiced, avocados, coconut

oil and extra virgin olive oil

 

Eat grains whole in preference to flour or meal products.

However, coarsely

ground grains may be beneficial if eaten raw: immerse

them in water or seed

milk and let soak overnight. Rye sourdough bread and rye

crispbread may be eaten

after allergy testing. Free-range raw egg yolk may be

used as a salad

dressing. Other important additions are spirulina

(preferably a teaspoonful before or

with each meal), kelp, lecithin, gelatin with vegetables,

and fresh

green-vegetable juices, especially grass juice or dried

grass juice powder and possibly

food yeast. Try coconut oil and freeze-dried liver to

increase the energy

level.

 

Nuts, may be used but preferably sprouted or made into

seed cheese. Eat

cooked sweet vegetables only with a protein meal. Raw

carrots, on the other hand,

are good any time.

 

 

Reintroduce fruits cautiously and with

self-observation. Use any sweet

fruits only in the early stages of ripening, before they

become too sweet. This

applies, for example, to bananas and papaya, but not to

fruit that are sour

before ripening. Subacid fruits, such as apples, cause

less problems than

sweet-acid fruits, such as oranges. Preferably eat fruits

only sparingly and as a

snack between meals and neutralize any fruit acids.

However, under-ripe or

non-sweet varieties of bananas may also be suitable as a

bulk food.

 

AVOID:

· Sweet food, initially including all sweet

and acid fruit and

sweet-vegetable juice

· Food containing lactose, especially milk

products, though butter may be

used

· Do not use vinegar or other fruit acids

except neutralized

· Initially no wheat, later only sparingly

after allergy testing

· No smoking, alcohol, drugs, artificial

sweeteners, highly processed food

or with added chemicals

 

Coffee and tea may be used in moderation but only if not

allergic or addicted

to it. Lightly salted food may be beneficial. If

possible, eat a protein

breakfast and a light evening meal, and take a rest after

lunch. The best protein

is sprouted legumes as the main part of a salad.

According to the severity of

the symptoms, this diet may be followed strictly, or in a

more relaxed form,

and generally as part of the High-Quality Diet.