8 AMAZING Benefits to Eating RAW!

I get asked all the time – but why focus on RAW?? Well let me tell you friends – there are many good reasons, here are just a few!

1) Plant based diets have been shown (in medical literature) to reduce  instance of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer! That’s a pretty powerful reason to be pro-veggie, and if raw plant foods are the healthiest of the plant foods imagine what incorporating more raw plant foods can do for your health!

2) Raw foods are ‘living foods’, meaning that because they are not cooked they have all of their enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals intact. Enzymes help us to digest our foods and our body can make them, but the more enzymes our body has to produce (due to a high processed and high cooked diet) the harder it is on our system – so raw living foods are ideal. The best way to intake vitamins and minerals is the natural way – through foods, and cooking can destroy some of these vital nutrients. Phytochemicals are important plant compounds like antioxidants, and some are also destroyed in the cooking process. Scientists have yet to determine all of the benefits phytochemicals have on our health. You may as well make every bite count and make it RAW!

3) Raw foods give you ENERGY! Cooked foods tend to make us feel tired, while raw foods make us feel energized – how would you rather feel? I find that the way I wake up in the morning (groggy or ready to jump out of bed) is very closely tied to what I ate for dinner the night before. If you still want to enjoy a cooked dinner try eating at least 50% of your meal raw (start with a huge salad, finishing with a bit of cooked something), I know you’ll feel the difference!

4) Raw foods help you lose weight! Most raw foods are nutrient dense, low in calories, and rich in fiber. This means that you will feel more satiated from eating less, which is great for your waist line. A healthy waist to hip ratio is related to lower cardiovascular risk and other health risks associated with being overweight.

5) Raw foods make your skin look younger! Studies have shown that eating raw plant based foods will improve the elasticity and appearance of your skin – and who doesn’t want that??

6) The fiber content in raw foods keeps your bowels healthy! Bowel movements are a topic many people are uncomfortable with, but c’mon people we need to get real about health here! A low fiber, highly processed and cooked food diet does not make your bowels happy and can lead to a whole host of health issues (as simple as uncomfortable inflammation and as serious as cancer). We need high amounts of fiber and water to keep things moving smoothly to be able to prevent disease, and raw foods are an A+ student in the bowel movement department. Elimination is just that, eliminating wastes and toxins from your body. If you don’t ‘keep moving’ then you will reabsorb wastes and toxins, so make sure you have at least 2-3 bowel movements per day. Do your colon a favor and eat more raw!

7) Raw foods give you mental clarity. The more raw whole plant based foods you consume, the less processed chemically laden foods you consume. The more nourished your body becomes and the less burdened by toxins, the more clear your thinking will become. It is a very lovely ‘side effect’ to this lifestyle.

8) Raw foods help your sex life! You’re losing weight, your skin looks great, you’re no longer constipated, people are telling you that you look fabulous, and you have abundant energy – OF COURSE YOU FEEL SEXY! But more so, I believe this lovely aspect to the raw lifestyle is due to the increased flood of nutrients to your body and an improvement to cardiovascular health (ie. better blood flow). All the good stuff is flowing to all the right places, THANK YOU RAW FOOD!  And on that note, I’m going to go and eat some fruit!