In considering what it takes to get to the best health, many consider the raw diet. This may be a bit of an extreme when it comes to eating right and nutrition, but it can work well for some. You always want to consider what your current diet and lifestyle looks like as a starting point. Though you may need to make some improvements, most of us do.
Will a Raw Diet Benefit You?
Though you may think that you’re doing all the right things, changing things up a bit can really pay off. Is this the way to go and the right direction for you? Can you maintain this moving forward into the long term? There are a lot of things to consider before taking the plunge, so think through it all carefully.
A raw diet can work well for you if you are willing to put in the work that it requires. This is all about eating what comes to you from the earth. This is comprised of mostly fruits and vegetables, and so that’s what you need to consider.
Sure, you can add in a certain amount of good fats and lean proteins, but the fruits and vegetables will be at the heart of it. First and foremost, you want to consider your picture of health to ensure that this is best for you. Though you are eating from the earth and getting back to basics, be sure that your current picture of health can support this. Also think through if you can maintain this into the long term.
It’s All About Getting Back to Basics
You are going to get rid of all packaged foods in a raw diet. You are no longer going to eat foods that have preservatives, additives, added sodium and salt. This means that it’s good for your health, but it does require some serious input on your part. You need to be sure that you can maintain this and that you are willing do to the shopping, preparation, and cooking that goes along with it. This can be an excellent diet for your health and ability to maintain weight loss, but it also requires that you put in a significant amount of work on your part.
A raw diet can bring about great results and it helps you to get rid of the foods that aren’t working for you. Though you may think that this is just for celebrities, it can work if you are realistic about what you have to put into it. You will be amazed at how much better you feel as these natural foods give you great energy and power. If you think through what you will need to do and put in each week it gives you an excellent point of reference. The work is all worth it in the end, so just be sure that you can give this diet what it takes for true success.
A Raw Diet Can Be Balanced with Light Cooking
While a raw diet can be a delicious and interesting way to help keep yourself away from highly processed ingredients, don’t forget that there are some foods that provide better nutrition when they’ve been cooked. That said, some ingredients are simply safer to eat when they’ve been cooked.
For this reason, many raw diets will permit some light cooking so that you can still continue to consume those foods and get the most out of them too. Foods such as carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, eggplant and green beans – among many others – make more of their nutrients available to your body when they have been cooked. The reason is that they have cell walls which must be broken down in order to release the nutrients so that they can be absorbed by the body. Cooking provides that gentle breakdown of the cell walls.
That said, make sure you’re cooking the foods properly according to what they contain. While some foods are healthier to eat when steamed, others are better briefly boiled or baked. Many raw diet rules account for this by allowing this process provided the foods aren’t heated above a certain maximum temperature.
