Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Variations of the Raw Food Diet

The raw food diet is said to be the healthiest diet there is, as the foods are high in antioxidants, which help to eliminate toxins and free radicals from the body. In addition, raw foods also contain all the necessary enzymes, amino acids as well as vitamins and minerals that you need in order to live a long and healthy life.

Foods are considered to be raw when they have not been exposed to temperatures above 115-118 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything that is heated above this temperature is said to lose many of its nutrients and becomes toxic to the body. Studies show that toxins speed up the aging process and contribute to many age related diseases. Thus the raw food diet is the best diet if you want to remain youthful.

The Variations

There are several different variations of the raw food diet, and all of them promote eating raw organic foods for at least 75% of the time. The rest of the 25% you may cook your foods, but you should refrain from processed foods whenever possible, as they are very toxic to the body. If you cannot find organic, then you will have to settle for conventional produce, but just make sure to thoroughly wash them before consuming.

Raw Vegan. The raw vegan diet is the most popular and it requires that you eliminate all animal products from your diet. The diet promotes a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and seeds, as well as a lot of superfoods that you cannot purchase in your local grocery store. Instead you have to go to your local health food store, or make your purchase online.

Raw Vegetarian. This diet promotes the same foods as the vegan diet, but it also allows you to consume dairy and dairy products such as raw cheese, raw yogurt and raw butter, as well as eggs and honey.

However, the thought of eating eggs does not go well with some raw vegetarians, and thus they only stick with the dairy, honey and plant-based foods. And others don’t have a problem with eating eggs, but they do not like the thought of consuming dairy, and so they eat everything else but the dairy.

Raw Omnivore. The raw omnivore diet allows you to eat anything that you want, as long as you eat at least 75% of your foods raw, and stay away from processed foods. This means that you can eat raw meats, eggs and dairy products.

Just make sure that when you eat raw meats or other raw animal products that they are from organic sources such as free range and grass-fed animals. Studies show that animals that are grass-fed do not contain as many harmful bacteria as those that are fed grains and raised on animal farms.

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