When I first heard the raw diet, I instantly thought about sashimi and all of the uncooked fish you can eat all day. And then I thought about how Donna Karan gets to eat raw fish daily and still manage a successful worldwide brand. Not that the raw diet has anything to do with it, you know how successful people are always holding their cappuccinos and sipping it like there’s no tomorrow. But it seems like the days when the secret weapon to success is all cigarettes and sodas are long gone by, it’s actually a healthy lifestyle.
Eat Raw
So how does the raw diet define raw food? According to their website,
Raw food hasn’t been cooked, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically engineered or exposed to pesticides or herbicides.
You can basically eat anything as long as it hasn’t gotten close to any kitchen appliance. Aside from eating raw fish, the bulk of the diet actually comes from everything green, fresh produce of vegetables and fruits. Imagine an eat-all-you-can salad buffet! You can eat any kind of vegetable, as long as it has not been heated above 115 to 118 degrees.
The reason why the raw diet doesn’t want you eating anything heated more than 115 – 118 degrees is because heating food will lose the natural enzymes, that help in digestion, minerals and antioxidant content. There is a variety of versions of the raw diet, there’s even the vegan version that I really like, just like this one:
But not everyone can follow a strictly vegan and completely raw diet. So I suggest that if you’re just beginning, include some raw fish and eventually lose it.
Is there fun in all raw and green?
Of course there is! Some claim that this is one of the most difficult diets because you will totally lose all the carbohydrates from eating bread, pasta, rice, etc., and you will definitely miss meat. But it’s worth it.
It’s proven to be an effective weight loss diet, helps lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases because of the lowered consumption of saturated fat and salt. But you won’t be missing any carbs or proteins, as long as you eat everything on the raw diet food pyramid.
And it won’t be boring if you start doing your own juicing. To bring more life into that green plate of yours, try to blend some fruits and vegetables, and even putting a wee bit of raw milk, and you have already made the diet more interesting. You can even create your own recipes and put together different fruits. Who knows you might discover the next great fruit blend?
This video elaborates more on how you can start a raw diet, and how to ease up into it. Watch and let us know if the raw diet is for you! 🙂