Will be discussing eating healthy foods, eating organic foods, eating natural foods, as well as info on being a vegetarian, vegan, or raw food eater. Make sure you do research before you start any of these suggestion. Knowledge is power!
Definition of Healthy Eating
The philosophy is often coupled with the belief that organic and/or unprocessed foods–ie, produced without pesticides and chemical preservatives, are superior to adulterated foods Healthy diets features
• High consumption of fruits & vegetables
• Low consumption of red meat & fatty foods
• Raw foods & whole grains are preferred to processed or refined foods
• Protein primarily from fish, dairy products, nuts
• Consumption of salt, pepper, sugar, coffee & other caffeinated beverages, and alcohol, is discouraged
What does it mean to eat natural?
Food that contains no artificial ingredients (e.g., colors, flavors, preservatives and other chemicals) and is only minimally processed (so the raw product is not fundamentally altered).
Just because a product says it is natural, that does not mean that it is good for you.
Eating Organic
Organic food is: food grown and processed without the use of genetic engineering, any sort of synthetic or artificial fertilizer, in other words real fertilizer. It is grown without use of all of the 'cides, referring to pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide. It cannot be grown or processed with antibiotics, preservatives, chemicals or use of radiation. Actually it sounds pretty good, and its sort of scary thinking of food being irradiated and eaten!
This is true of a single ingredient food; beef, corn or a multi ingredient food like canned chili or soup. To be considered organic all of its ingredients must be processed organically.
Organic food can be expensive, so here are some tips on organic eating and saving money. More info Link
Vegetarian and vegan
Vegetarianism is the practice of following a plant-based diet including fruits, vegetables, cereal grains, nuts, and seeds, with or without dairy products and eggs. A vegetarian does not eat meat, including: red meat, game, poultry, fish, crustacea, shellfish, and products of animal slaughter such as animal-derived gelatin and rennet.[1][2] There are a number of vegetarian diets. A lacto-vegetarian diet includes dairy products but excludes eggs, an ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs but not dairy products, and a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet includes both eggs and dairy products. A vegan diet excludes all animal products, including dairy products, eggs, and honey. Vegetarianism may be adopted for ethical, health, environmental, religious, political, cultural, aesthetic, economic, or other reasons.
Semi-vegetarian diets consist largely of vegetarian foods, but may include fish and sometimes poultry, as well as dairy products and eggs. With these diets, the word "meat" is often defined as only mammalian flesh.[3][4] A pescetarian diet, for example, includes "fish but no meat".[5] The colloquial application of the word "vegetarian" to such diets has led vegetarian groups, such as the Vegetarian Society, to clarify that such fish or poultry-based diets are not vegetarian, due to the fact that fish and birds are animals.[6]
How to be a vegan
The raw food diet is a diet based on unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds, nuts, grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, and seaweed.
Heating food above 116 degrees F is believed to destroy enzymes in food that can assist in the digestion and absorption of food. Cooking is also thought to diminish the nutritional value and "life force" of food.
Typically, at least 75% of the diet must be living or raw.
What are the Benefits of the Raw Food Diet?
Proponents of the raw food diet believe it has numerous health benefits, including:- Increased energy
- Improved skin appearance
- Better digestion
- Weight loss
- Reduced risk of heart disease
These properties are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. For example, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that consumption of a raw food diet lowered plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations.
What are the Guidelines of the Raw Food Diet?
1. What can I eat?Unprocessed, preferably organic, whole foods such as:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Beans
- Grains
- Legumes
- Dried fruit
- Seaweed
- Unprocessed organic or natural foods
- Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables
- Purified water
- Young coconut milk
2. What cooking techniques are used?
Specific cooking techniques make foods more digestible and add variety to the diet, including:
- Sprouting seeds, grains, and beans
- Juicing fruit and vegetables
- Soaking nuts and dried fruit
- Blending
- Dehydrating food
- A dehydrator, a piece of equipment that blows air through food at a temperature of less than 116 degrees F.
- A good-quality juice extractor for juicing fruit and vegetables
- A blender, food processor, or chopper to save time
- Large glass containers to soak and sprout seeds, grains, and beans
- Mason jars for storing sprouts and other food
Side Effects
Some people experience a detoxification reaction when they start the raw food diet, especially if their previous diet was rich in meat, sugar, and caffeine. Mild headaches, nausea, and cravings can occur but usually last for several days.
Precautions
The raw food diet may not be appropriate for certain people, such as:- Children
- Pregnant or nursing women
- People with anemia
- People at risk for osteoporosis - A Washington University study found that people following a raw food diet had lower bone mass. Bone turnover rates, however, were similar to the group that ate a standard American diet.
People must be aware that certain nutritional deficiencies can occur on the raw food diet, including:
- Calcium
- Iron
- B12 – The Journal of Nutrition study found that a raw food diet increased levels of homocysteine due to vitamin B-12 deficiency.
- Protein
- Calories
Another critique is that the human body has changed in response to eating cooked foods. Some of these changes are that are jaws and teeth have become smaller, our stomachs have shrunk, and our small intestines have grown longer, lengthening the digestive surface area.
According to other alternative diet theories, such as macrobiotics, Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine, a raw-only diet may not be appropriate for people living in colder climates or for people with certain constitutional types.
