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Living and Raw Food Recipes
What are Living and Raw Foods?
Raw and Living Foods are foods that contain enzymes. In general, the act of heating
food over 116 degrees F destroys enzymes in food. (Enzymes start to degrade
in as little as 106 degrees F). All cooked food is devoid of enzymes, furthermore
cooking food changes the molecular structure of the food and renders it toxic.
Living and raw foods also have enormously higher nutrient values than the foods that have
been cooked.
What are Enzymes?
Enzymes assist in the digestion of foods. They are known to be the
"Life-Force" and or "energy" of food.
From the dictionary:
Noun: Any of the various complex organic substances, as pepsin originating
from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical
changes in organic substances by catalytic action, as in
digestion.
Why are Enzymes Important?
Enzymes are important because they assist in the digestion and absorption of food.
If you eat food that is enzyme-less, your body will not get maximum
utilization of the food. This causes toxicity in the body. (Can you guess why
over 75% of Americans are overweight?)
Doesn't the acidic pH of the stomach destroy enzymes?
Viktorus Kulvinskas, one of the world's foremost and most experienced active
researchers into enzyme nutrition has information showing then stomach acid merely
deactivates food enzymes. The enzymes are then reactivated in the more alkaline
small intestine. Many people who eat all raw foods, sense a world of healthful
difference in our energy, digestion and connectedness with nature by eating enzyme-rich
living foods. When we stopped eating cooked protein foods which require large secretions
of stomach acid (which is not healthful for several reasons) our stomach doesn't produce
much stomach acid. Many people who eat raw foods eat a low protein diet and
are free from the stomach acid secretions and have much more energy and a lighter
disposition.
Is there a difference between living foods and raw
foods?
Living and Raw foods both contain enzymes. In living foods, the enzyme content is much
higher. Raw, unsprouted nuts contain enzymes in a "dormant" state. To activate
the enzymes contained in almonds, for example, soak them
in water for as just 24 hours. Once the almonds begin to sprout, the enzymes become
"active" and are then considered living. In the context of this web site, the
terms are used loosely.
Why eat only Organic Foods?
When juicing or eating foods, it is very important to choose to consume only
organically grown produce. "Conventional" or "industrial" produce are
grown with pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilisers, and other chemicals that are
toxic and/or harmful to your body. Organic foods are grown without the use of these
harmful substances, taste better, and are more nutritious.
Will rinsing wash off the pesticide from industrially
grown produce?
Rinsing with cool water will remove some surface pesticide residue, but not the pesticide
that was absorbed into the produce as it was grown. Some of the most severely tainted
types of produce are strawberries and bell peppers. Some of the least tainted: carrots and
avocados.
Is this a "new" fad diet or something?
Not at all! Consider the following: during the vast majority of our existence on
this planet, what choices did we have for food? What COULD we have eaten during the first
10-50,000 years (or more) before we discovered fire, tools and implements to kill animals?
The original diet of Homo-sapiens MUST have been vegetables, fruits, and nuts! What other
choices did we have? Clearly, a raw, plant based diet is the main food staple throughout
the vast majority of the history of Humankind! Before Humans started killing and eating
dead animal carcass, we ate fruits, leaves, nuts, berries, etc...
Is this just another vegetarian or vegan diet?
Yes and NO! This is the ULTIMATE vegetarian/vegan diet. It should be the goal of all
vegetarians, vegans and SAD - [Standard American Diet] eaters to eat raw.
The benefits are out of this world! Once you embrace an all-raw and living food diet, you
are more living, have more energy, better health, think more clearly, and become more in
tune with your body! This type of diet even gives you a "competitive edge" over
people that eat life-less food.
What is the difference between a raw/living foods
diet and a vegetarian one?
Vegetarians and vegans believe in only eating a plant based diet.
Living and Raw Foodists believe in eating only an UNCOOKED, UNHEATED,
UNPROCESSED and ORGANIC plant based diet.
What is a Living Foodist or Raw Foodist?
A person who eats 75% or more living/raw food.. The more, the better.
Optimally one should eat 100% raw and living foods if it feels right for
them.
Is there just one type of living/raw Foodist?
There are many subcategories of living/raw Foodists. Some include:
- Fruitarian - People who consume mostly fruits.
- Sproutarian - People who consume mostly sprouts.
- Juicearian - People who consume mostly fresh juice.
Why would someone want to eat a raw and living foods
diet?
There are many reasons why people eat a raw and living foods diet.
- Health: Persons embracing this type of diet invariably
experience improvements in their general physical and mental status, including more
energy, better health, more energy, weight loss, detoxification, and a sturdier immune
system that better resists and recovers from just about any kind of disease...and the list
goes on...
- Energy efficiency: Since you no longer have to cook, you don't
waste electricity, and save the environment.
- Since you eat organic agriculture, you help to save the
planet. Most become more in-tune with their body; many report definite spiritual
improvements.
- No animal products are used, so the animals appreciate it.
What do raw/living Foodists eat?
Raw and Living Foodist eat all fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds,
grains, sea vegetables, and other organic/natural foods that have not been processed.
In some instances, there are special ways to prepare the foods (example: most
raw and living Foodists soak/sprout nuts, seeds and grains before consuming them).
How can you tell if something is a raw/living food?
Most foods that have not been processed in any way, shape or form are raw and
living foods (until cooked). Processed foods (canned, bottled or prepackaged) are most
often adulterated, (changed from their original state) by heating, additives,
preservatives, colourings, salt, and sugar. Don't think this is all for your benefit; the
benefactor is the manufacturer's profit margin, NOT YOU. Try to purchase foods that are in
their natural state.
What do raw and living Foodists drink?
Water (purified water - never tap water), Freshly made juices (made with your own
juicer - and consumed immediately), coconut milk (from a young coconut), are some of the
liquids living and raw Foodists drink. Most all drinks purchased at the
store have been processed (Including: soda, bottled juices, coffee, alcohol, and most
others) and are not included in a living / raw Foodist diet.
Where do raw and living Foodist get their protein?
The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily
calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On
average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50%
of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of
their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of living plant foods, you
are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily
need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you ate 2,000 calories per day,
and ate raw plant foods that had an average of 10% of their calories from protein, you
would get 200 calories worth of protein, or 50 grams. This is more than adequate to
support optimal well-being. Other studies have shown that heat treating a protein (such as
with cooking) makes about half of it unusable to the human body. So raw plant food protein
is even a better source than cooked plant foods or animal foods. There is still a huge,
foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not "complete". This is based on
studies done on rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before we discovered
the bodies protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino
acid mix from our bodies amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a
meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries, in
an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their truly health destroying
products.
Some things to ponder:
What other animal on earth denatures its food by cooking?
What other animal on earth suffers from all the health challenges that we face?
What did people eat before there was fire?? They ate it RAW!
The most profound truths are simple. They hide right in
front of our faces, but we have been so conditioned to "not" believe them.
What are Living-Foods? Living foods are foods that contain
enzymes. Enzymes begin to be destroyed at 102° F and are completely destroyed by 126° F.
The Value of Sprouts
Several Articles from Various Sources
Sprouts: Year-Round Vitamins
Sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritional of all foods tested.
Sprouts are real 'Life Vitamins, Minerals, Proteins, and Enzymes. Their nutritional value
was discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Recently, in the USA, numerous
scientific studies suggest the importance of sprouts in a healthy diet.
As an example, a sprouted Mung Bean has a carbohydrate
content of a melon, vitamin A of a lemon, thiamine of an avocado, riboflavin of a dry
apple, niacin of a banana, and ascorbic acid of a loganberry.
Because sprouts are predigested food, they have a higher
biological efficiency value then whole seeds, raw or cooked. Less food is required, yet
more nutrients reach the blood and cells. The sprouting process under the action of light,
creates chlorophyll. Chlorophyll has been shown to be effective in overcoming protein
deficiency anaemia.
Sprouts also have a regenerating effect on the human body
because of their high concentration of RNA, DNA, protein and essential nutrients which can
be found only in living cells. (Synthetic supplements are not life food.)
The chemical changes that occur in the sprouting seed
activate a powerful enzyme factory, never to be surpassed in later stage growth of any
regimes (see article by Dr. Peavy). The rich enzyme concentration can lead heightened
enzyme activity in your metabolism, leading to regeneration of the bloodstream. Sprouted
grain appears to prevent depletion and earlier disappearance of youth due to sexual
practice (vitamin E). Some vitamins increase during sprouting by 500%! In wheat, vitamin
B-12 quadruples, other B vitamins increases 3 to 12 times, vitamin E content triples.
Fibber content increases three to four times that of whole wheat bread.
To begin with, sprouts are the most reliable year-round
source of vitamin C, carotenoid A, and many B vitamins (such as folacin), all of which are
usually in short supply in our diet. Sprouting seeds, grains, and legumes greatly
increases their content of those vitamins. For example, the vitamin A content (per
calorie) of sprouted Mung beans is two-and-a-half times higher than the dry bean, and some
beans have more than eight times more vitamin A after being sprouted.
Dry seeds, grains, and legumes, while rich in protein and
complex carbohydrates, contain no vitamin C. But after sprouting, they contain around 20
milligrams per 3.5 ounces, a tremendous increase. Also, if grown in decent soil or taken
from your own garden, seeds, grains, and legumes will be high in organic minerals - so
your sprouts will be an excellent source of minerals as well as vitamins.
The great advantage in getting vitamins from sprouts you grow
yourself is that you get a consistently high vitamin content without losses. In the dead
of winter, when you can’t grow anything or get fresh produce anywhere, sprouts will
provide a consistently reliable source of fresh, high-nutrient vegetables rich in vitamin
C, vitamin A, and B vitamins. This will keep your immune system strong and your health in
top condition when almost everyone else is getting sick. Why do you think so many people
come down with colds and flu in the winter more than any other time? Because they’re
not getting the vegetables and fruits that would keep their immune systems strong.
Have you ever heard of a vegetable that continues to gain
vitamins after you harvest it? Sprouts do! Sprouts are living foods. Even after you
harvest your sprouts and refrigerate them, they will continue to grow slowly, and their
vitamin content will actually increase. Contrast that with store-bought fruits and
vegetables, which start losing their vitamins as soon as they’re picked and often
have to be shipped a thousand miles or more in the winter.
Make Your Own Sprouts Year-Round
While fresh fruits and vegetables provide enzymes, sprouts are far more
concentrated and should be eaten in the summer with every large meal even when you have
your own vegetables and fruits. In the winter and spring, when your own vegetable and
fruits are not available, sprouts are doubly important. Sprouts should become an integral
part of your diet year-round.
But you need to make your own sprouts for highest food value.
Sprouts are living food. They need to be fresh. Freshly picked from your own sprout
garden, they contain the highest level of enzymes and vitamins. If they are immediately
refrigerated, the "life force" will stay in the seed as they remain fresh and
slowly continue to grow.
If they are not immediately refrigerated after harvest, they
will stop growing and the enzymes and vitamins will start decomposing. As that happens,
the enzyme and vitamin content will decline rapidly. When you buy sprouts at the
supermarket, there’s no telling how long they’ve been out on the shelves and
exposed to room temperature. Even several hours of sitting in room temperature will cause
a rapid loss of enzymes and vitamins. But what’s even worse is that some sprouts are
treated with mold inhibitors to keep them fresh looking as they sit at room temperature.
Those long, white, Mung bean sprouts seen in the store or at the salad bar have probably
been treated with inhibitors so they could be grown to that length and preserved at room
temperature. To really get the rejuvenating value of sprouts, you need to grow your own
and eat them fresh".
(By Dr. William S. Peavy and Warren Peary , from the book
‘Super Nutrition Gardening’ available from Avery Publishing Co. 1 800 548 5757)
Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Fountain of Youth
"The Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon searched off the Florida coast for a
marvellous fountain he had heard could restore youth. He never found this legendary
fountain, but you can. It is the eating of sprouted seeds that have not been heated over
118 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature at which enzyme destruction begins. Sprouts are
freshly germinated edible seeds such as beans and grains. In fact, all you need is a
Kitchen counter and five minutes a day. Even if you’re in an apartment in the middle
of a city, you can sprout!
The rejuvenating and life-giving properties of sprouts may be
one of the great health secrets of our time. Sprouts provide two important things in our
diet - a steady year-round source of vitamins and a high concentration of food enzymes.
Both keep the body’s enzyme activity high. Enzymes, which are made out of vitamins
and minerals, are the most vital factor that sustains our body’s life processes.
Without enzymes, we would be dead. And it is that very thing, enzyme depletion that is a
fundamental cause of aging. It is the loss of the body’s enzymes which decreases the
life processes in the cells. As the cell’s life processes decrease, they are not able
to replace themselves as quickly. At the same time, as enzyme activity decreases, the
cells become more susceptible to damage by free radicals and other toxic substances, which
further hinders cell reproduction. It is the body’s inability to replace old cells
with healthy new ones at a fast enough rate and the concurrent loss in the body’s
enzymes that is precisely responsible for aging and increased susceptibility to disease as
we get older. This is why immunity tends to decrease with age - immune cells aren’t
being replaced at a fast enough rate to protect the body adequately from disease. Staying
biologically young and healthy is a matter of keeping enzyme activity in our bodies at a
maximum. That is exactly what sprouts do, which is why they can be called the fountain of
youth.
(By Dr. William S. Peavy and Warren Peary , from the book
‘Super Nutrition Gardening’ available from Avery Publishing Co. 1 800 548 5757)
Reprinted with the permission of the author.
Sprouts Save Our Enzymes
Sprouts preserve our body’s enzymes, which is extremely important. How do
they do this? First of all, sprouted beans, grains, nuts, and seeds are extremely easy to
digest. Sprouting essentially pre-digests the food for us by breaking down the
concentrated starch into simpler carbohydrates and the protein into free amino acids, so
our own enzymes don’t have to work so hard. If you’ve ever had trouble digesting
beans properly, just sprout them and you’ll have no trouble at all. Sprouting also
removes anti-nutrients such as enzyme inhibitors, and that makes sprouts even easier to
digest, further sparing enzymes. Another anti-nutrient is phytates, which is what stops
some people from enjoying grains such as wheat. Many people who can’t eat unsprouted
wheat find they can eat all the sprouted wheat they want with no problem.
The Magic of Food Enzymes
Perhaps the greatest thing sprouts provide is enzymes. The enzymes in sprouts are
a special protein that helps our body digest the nutrients in our food and boosts the
life-giving enzyme activity in our body. Food enzymes are only found in raw foods. Cooking
destroys them. While all raw foods contain enzymes, the most powerful enzyme-rich food are
sprouted seeds, grains, and legumes. Sprouting increases the enzyme content in these foods
enormously, to as much as forty-three times more than non-sprouted foods.
Sprouting greatly increases the content of all enzymes,
including proteolytic and amylolytic enzymes. These enzymes digest proteins and
carbohydrates (starches). They are normally produced inside the body but are also found in
great concentration in raw sprouted foods. Researchers such as Dr. Edward Howell have
shown how food enzymes aid us in the digestion of all the proteins, starches, and fats
eaten in the same meal through their action in both saliva and the upper part of the
stomach. These food enzymes can take the place of some of our body’s own enzymes, and
this is very significant.
The digestion of food takes a high priority and forces the
body to produce a copious flow of concentrated digestive enzymes when there are no enzymes
in our food. All of us loose our ability to produce concentrated digestive enzymes as we
grow older. As this happens, we are less able to use the vitamins, minerals, and other
nutrients in our food, and we lose the ability to produce adequate amounts of all the
other enzymes we need.
Dr. David G. Williams explains some of the consequences of
inadequate enzyme production:
"As we age, our digestive system becomes less efficient.
This should be obvious when you consider that anywhere from 60 to 75 percent of all
hospitalisations are related to problems concerning the digestive system...ulcer and
indigestion medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, are among the top sellers
of any class of drugs; as we age, our stomach’s ability to produce hydrochloric acid
lessens (New England Journal of Medicine 85; 313: 70 - 74); and by age 65, almost 35
percent of us don’t produce any hydrochloric acid at all."
Researchers such as Dr. Edward Howell have shown that much of
this breakdown in the body’s ability to produce enough enzymes is due to the
overproduction of concentrated digestive enzymes over many years. It should be obvious
from all this that our bodies were made to eat far more raw food than we currently eat.
The body has only a limited capacity to make enzymes, and this overproduction of digestive
enzymes over many years is directly responsible for the body’s loss of all the other
enzymes.
By squandering our enzyme-making capacity on digestive
enzymes, the production and activity of all the other enzymes needed in our body is
reduced. This is one reason why enzymes are depleted from our cells as we age. As enzyme
activity is diminished in the cells, there is an acceleration of the aging process caused
by free radical damage and other things that make us increasingly susceptible to disease.
When we get enzymes from our food, it spares our body from
having to make such concentrated digestive enzymes. This sparing effect increases the
activity of all the other enzymes in our body. Eating enzyme-rich foods such as sprouts
allows our body to maximize its production of non-digestive enzymes, and that helps us
produce an adequate level of enzymes all our life. And the higher the level of enzyme
activity, the healthier and biologically younger we are going to be.
Since aging is, to a large extent, caused by enzyme
depletion, slowing the aging process might be a matter of eating lots of enzyme-rich food
every day along with an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals. Sprouted seeds, grains,
and legumes are the most powerful enzyme-rich foods that exist.