The raw food diet is touted by many in the health community to be beneficial to almost everybody especially those with health issues like obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

The benefits are attributed to the higher levels of macronutrients, micronutrients and antioxidants in raw foods on one hand and the lower levels of preservatives, pesticides and other potentially harmful substances on the other hand.

This diet however can be unsuitable for certain people and you should consult your doctor for a professional view.

Food You Can Eat Under This Diet

For other individuals, the raw food diet is a great diet to be on especially when trying to lose weight and yet being unsuccessful at it. Its main thrust is the consumption of raw, fresh and unprocessed foods from fruits and vegetables to fishes and meats, this can be taken to include organic food as well.

In the general sense, nonetheless, the diet should consist of one-third of uncooked food while the rest can be cooked using healthy methods like drying, smoking and grilling. Boiling the food is often discouraged because the nutrients evaporate with the heat.

Your food needs to be prepared by chopping, blending and juicing with little to no additives. If heat must be applied, only a dehydrator is used. This blows hot air into and through the food at controlled temperatures not exceeding 116 Fahrenheit.

Typical foodstuffs allowed on this diet include beans and legumes’ dried and fresh fruits and vegetables and their freshly-made juices; grains and whole wheat grasses; nuts and seeds; seaweeds and mushrooms; milk from young coconuts and coconut meat itself; and purified water.

Except for strict vegetarians try adding eggs, dairy and raw fish such as sushi.

Things To Be Careful About

The raw food diet offers a range of positive benefits. You will enjoy higher levels of energy, better digestion, faster weight loss, a reduced risk for chronic degenerative diseases, and clearer skin, among others.

Please take the time to consult your doctor about eating raw food before you start, you may unknowingly be in a risk group for whom raw food should be avoided.

Other point to note:

Make sure you do not consume too many kidney beans, buckwheat or alfalfa seeds as these contain substances which can be toxic.

There were also scares a while back about raw eggs containing salmonella, you should take this as a real threat and cook them instead.

Raw meat can contain potentially fatal bacteria, parasites and viruses, milk may contain Mycobacteria bovis, the bacteria that causes non-pulmonary tuberculosis.

The good news is that when done properly, most people only experience minor side effects when first starting on the raw diet with emphasis on organic diet. These include mild headaches and nausea, which will pass in a few days.

So, before you plunge into the raw food diet, make sure that you know what it takes to succeed. And always be safe when eating the foods in the diet.

Visit her site to download 7 free organic recipes and more free organic food articles.. Unique version for reprint here: Getting Started With The Raw Food Diet.

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