Over Christmas break in Seattle I read a book my stepmom got me called 12 Steps to Raw Foods. This book will change your life. It is fascinating to see a first-hand example of how eating a diet based mostly or only on raw foods has helped so many people reverse cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, and more.
The author used to be obese, had a husband with diabetes, had a child with diabetes and another with asthma. When the doctors gave her husband a couple months to live, she went a little crazy and felt frustrated. She started asking every healthy-looking person she saw what they ate and/or their health regimen. One day she asked a woman who said she’d reversed colon cancer by eating a diet of only raw foods. They decided to try it. Within months of beginning a raw food diet in the 90s (they were some of the first people to try something like this), they reversed ALL those chronic illnesses. All of them. No more insulin shots for her husband, daughter’s asthma gone, husband’s extremely advanced diabetes gone, and her obesity overcome.
Obviously this is only one story, but there are dozens more like it. So of course it made me think a lot about the way we eat. The phytochemicals in uncooked plants and vegetables are meant to heal and energize our bodies. Also, cooking foods takes a lot of the nutrients out of them—I learned that many raw green vegetables have much more protein than steak. So we’ve tried to change a little. And clearly I have not gone full raw (have you seen all my posts about cupcakes and sweets? I have a major sweet tooth problem. Also a cheese problem!), but we’re trying to eat at least one full raw meal a day, as well as raw snacks like nuts, dried berries, and fruit. I attribute my much-lower-than-last time pregnancy weight gain to this. I hope we can transition to more raw foods slowly.
One thing that has saved me? Green smoothies! These are delicious and Emerson loves them too.
My indulgence smoothie? banana, almond butter, cacao powder, agave nectar, ice, almond milk. Oh man, try this combo please! Heaven.
4 comments:
I knew people that were on raw food diets when I worked at Good Earth (I am sure you did, too, right?) and they were super healthy.
I don't think I could ever do it, because, yeah I like treats & starches & cheese. But! I do think it is good to try to eat raw foods as much as possible, especially in smoothies, snacks, salads, etc.
I have read some on raw foodism and the anecdotal and scientific evidence is pretty astounding. We love green smoothies. Well, ok, Chase and I love them, but I haven't felt like eating them so much this pregnancy. I need to get back into the habit. What an easy way to get tons of greens and healthy raw food into the diet. I have a problem with the sweet tooth and cheese too. That's why I really had a hard time being vegan for my short stint doing that. (That and I hated being a social pariah). However, I think little steps, like a meal a day like you are doing, will do a lot to improve health, especially if you don't have chronic health problems that require you to make drastic changes.
I am so fascinated by this! I know there's no way I could go 100% but a meal a day, a few a week, that seems realistic. Please, PLEASE share some of your fav recipes and snacks. I know there are a ton of resources out there, but I trust them coming from you because I know they'll be raw AND GOOD:)
I was out driving today & caught a bumper stick that said "Cooked food is poison." Thought of this post. Word.
Post a Comment