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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters eat only raw foods for their next meal, we'll save almost enough energy to power two homes for a year.
COCKTAIL FACT
One of humanity's earliest known ancestors, Lucy, is currently on her first-ever U.S. museum tour, but she's banned from the Smithsonian (a protest by museum officials, who say her remains are too fragile to travel).
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home › tip library › Raw Food
What if the cavemen didn't discover fire?
The Bite
We might be a lot healthier. Cooking your food at temps above 116 degrees depletes nutrients and uses more energy. Eating more raw foods boosts your health and saves energy - no loincloth required.The Benefits
- Getting your nutrients. One study found that stove-cooked spinach lost 77% of its folate; another study found that broccoli lost up to 97% of its antioxidants when nuked in the microwave.
- Better digestion. Your body has to use its own metabolic enzymes to digest food that's cooked above the 116-degrees mark, which requires energy and can leave you feeling sluggish.
- Tasty dishes. Nope, you're not relegated to eating only cold veggie sticks - raw foodies can nosh on delectables like chocolate truffles and pumpkin butter.
Personally Speaking
Heather'd be all over the raw food diet if corndogs counted.Wanna Try?
- Raw: The Uncook Book - tons of delicious raw food recipes ($24).
- Rejuvenative Foods Pumpkin Seed Butter - organic and lighter-tasting than peanut butter, but just as tasty ($10).
- Go Raw Chocolate Truffles - an organic, vegan, raw party in your mouth, made with organic cacao and agave nectar ($11).
- We Like It Raw - raw-foodie blog with tons of info and recipes.
- Raw Restaurants - a directory of raw-food restaurants all over the world.
Oct 24,2007
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Cuckoo for Coconut Water
A few months ago, I took part in a “cleansing” program that involved drinking blended raw foods for five days. It was very difficult, and I realized that liquid lunches aren’t quite enough to fuel my busy life.
But I did happen upon the most wonderful thing in the process: fresh coconut water. Wonderful flavor and texture, chock-full of electrolytes…and remarkably difficult to come by.
Here’s hoping that someday we can get it – and every other fresh, raw, delicious good thing - from a vending machine…or at least at a few more grocery stores and restaurants.
If you’ve got a favorite source in your home town, share it with us in the blog!
-Jenifer Morgan…off to eat dinner before I go coconuts…
But I did happen upon the most wonderful thing in the process: fresh coconut water. Wonderful flavor and texture, chock-full of electrolytes…and remarkably difficult to come by.
Here’s hoping that someday we can get it – and every other fresh, raw, delicious good thing - from a vending machine…or at least at a few more grocery stores and restaurants.
If you’ve got a favorite source in your home town, share it with us in the blog!
-Jenifer Morgan…off to eat dinner before I go coconuts…
Biter Comments...
This daily bite was a little too vague- not all raw food is healthy! Raw (unpasterized) milk carries a higher risk of Salmonella, Shigella other illnesses with other dairy (cheese), & raw meats E. coli. Raw eggs- Salmonella. Sorry to burst your bite bubble...
I'm always wary of articles that lists the benefits of certain diets without giving any of the disadvantages. Shouldn't we consider how the cooking process makes some nutrients more readily available for absorption in some foods? Also, I believe that cooking aids the digestion of starch and protein, if I remember correctly. I'm not a nutritionist, but I'm leaning toward more of a balance on this one.
Ayurvedic practices recommend not eating cold food. It should be "cooked" somewhat so we don't waste our own bodies' energy in "heating up" the food. Raw doesn't always mean uncooked, but rather not cooked at high temperatures. Personally, I'm not ready or willing to give up meat at this point... and the idea of eating meat "undercooked" (outside of sushi and perhaps a delicious tartare every so often) is not entirely appealing. But bring on the veggies!
Hey gals! Thanks for the link to welikeitraw.com
We do very much appreciate it.
Anyone interested in trying out a raw food diet without going all cold turkey should check out "The Raw Food Detox Diet" by Natalia Rose, a renowned Manhatten-based nutritionist. She offers a lot of information on the benefits of eating raw, as well as the dangers of doing it the wrong way. She also outlines a transitional program that allows people of all dietary walks of life to ease into a raw food based diet by slowing incorporating different elements of it into your existing routine. It is a wonderfully written book and it has completely changed my life, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a healthier lifestyle!
raw food doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing deal (unless you are some type of freaky extremist)... we often eat a 'raw' dinner, or have a raw day... especially in the summer, it's pretty easy and i think it's cleansing. and after the holidays, a couple of days of raw food are a welcome relief.
so try it! (p.s. raw food = vegan food... no raw meat, milk, eggs... not that those are bad either. i live in france, home of raw milk cheese! ;)
I recently "discovered" fresh coconut water myself while on a trip to Trinidad. Imagine my surprise that the coconuts growing on the tree in my back yard really were good for more than looking festive and staining the patio. Now grabbing a coconut off the tree for a glass of water is a family event!
It's not very friendly to the environment to fly coconuts around. I think that you could find a local food to go raw with and save the planet as well as yourself. Hint: try blueberries or other local berry type things as they are prized for their antioxident qualities. Squash/pumpkin have a purpose too. Seasonal and local foods have qualities to help them survive in the same environment that you live. If your local environment includes coconut then enjoy!
I tend to agree that balance is the key, I have an emergency nutritional product called In-liven, which has 26 Living Wholefoods and the full spectrum of Lactobacillus bacteria. Great for re-balancing the intestinal tract and getting a big whack of enzymes and amino acids. Certified organic too :)
www.loveorganicenergy.mionegoup.com
Had a few galsses of wine last night and chocolate and crap food, I def needed it this morning before training!
Hey Jay Zimmerman,
Sorry to burst your bubble, but true raw foodist are vegan. Try research, it looks like you know how.
Don't eat meat or dairy people!!! no matter organic or not!! seriously no good for good bodies! UNLESS you have raised your cow and all the generations before it on your own farm in a rural place and you love that cow like it's your own and you want to eat it...even then I don't think us human species really need it...scam!
Keep MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIN!!!
Coconut water that I've had in the tetrapaks are just simple terrible. The reason why you might think it cleanses you , could be it's high potasium level compared to other electrolytes. Potasssium makes your body lose water and high concetrations of it that are in coconut water can even dehydrate you.
Hi Lisa (or should I call you "Lisha" as per another one of your blog postings ;) ),
I highly suggest you research electolytes. Until then, here's the beginning of your electrolyte education, free of charge :)
Potassium is a critical electrolyte that does not dehydrate you like too much sodium. One of its primary physiological purposes is to create electrical potential gradients across nerves to regulate muscle contraction (i.e. to stop cramping). Not all electrolytes serve the same purpose.
For you cooks out there, you can substitute Zico for nearly any recipe that calls for water to add a mildly sweet, unique flavor. It was the hit of the weekend at this year’s Cook Eat Drink Live event in Manhattan. Cook Franklin Becker of Brasserie called it “the find of the weekend” at the gourmet food event.
Zico Pure Coconut Water’s naturally high potassium content makes it the perfect addition to mixed drinks because it adds a mildly sweet flavor and helps to fight hang-overs via hydration and electrolyte replenishment.
Namaste,
JRF
Zico is my favorite coconut water! It is all natural and has no added sugars or preservatives--uugghh i hate perservatives, oopps i mean preservatives. Zico is packed with electrolytes and for the comment above from Lisa, where do you get your info from? Potassium does wonders for your body, it doesn't dehydrate you at all. Potassium is critical for muscles and nerves to work together and stop cramping or even prevent it. If anyone is a dedicated to fitness or just wants an all natural drink that is great for your body, check out Zico. Zico refreshes and replenishes you faster than any drink I have ever had.
Coconut water is very usefull thing for the digestive porpuse and widely used in Indus and most of the parts of India valley since centuries. In addition to its medical benefit coconut has become the part of the tradition in the above parts of the world. Many stories are attached with coconut and till today many business ferm belong to these areas put the coconut figures in their logo. Oh leave this history now hereunder some medically uses of coconut, it is widely use for softness of skin and for common problems of hair like baldness and pre mature whitening of hair. Here is another amazing benefit of coconut and very few people know this, that it is usefull for pigmentation disorder such as vitiligo and for the proof of this see the following site http://www.antivitiligo.com/
which use it in their remedy for the treatment of vitiligo.
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Mary | October 24, 2007 at 05:29 AM