Paleo Extreme: Eating Raw Food

People often asked if Paleo is the caveman’s diet then shouldn’t eating raw food be an integral part of it.

The fact is the Paleo diet encourages the consumption of food in their most natural state as possible. Eating raw food is therefore an essential part of it. But it is not so much because our Paleolithic ancestors ate food that way but mainly because it brings significant nutritional benefits which must not be ignored.

For one thing, raw food is live food. Aside from being rich in nutrients, it also contains natural life energy. Cooking food diminishes this life energy and destroys the nutrients substantially rendering it nutritiously useless. Doesn’t it make more sense to put living food into your body than food that has been rendered lifeless by cooking? But that's the paleo challenge...

If the concept of live food and life energy seem farfetched to you, then at least consider this. Food contains natural enzymes which help break down the nutrients and aid the digestion and absorption of food. Cooking destroys much of these enzymes. Of course, the body has the ability to produce these enzymes to help in the digestion and absorption of the cooked food we eat. But it makes the body work harder to produce enzymes every time the body takes in cooked food and the body can only do so much. On the other hand, eating raw food saves the body from the trouble of producing these enzymes.

Cooking food at 116 degrees Fahrenheit or higher destroys all the natural enzymes and much of the nutrients in them. Eating cooked food with much of the enzymes destroyed due to cooking at high temperature actually forces the body produce these enzymes thus unnecessarily adding stress to it. Raw food diet already contains these enzymes and so it saves the body from this added stress.

Popular raw food diets taken by most raw food converts consist of uncooked and unprocessed fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, eggs, sashimi dish from fish, Carpaccio from meat, non pasteurized and non homogenized raw milk, cheese, and yogurt.

Raw food enthusiasts will swear that eating raw food is an exceptional energy booster. They profess that it gives them an instant energy recharge. They also claim they get to sleep better after eating raw food, thus, they need less number of hours of sleep than is normally required. Accordingly, they always wake up feeling full of energy all the time.

These are their claims but the more concrete benefits that can be gained from a raw food diet according to nutritionists include:

• Significant weight loss - since it is basically a low fat, low carb diet
• Better digestion because of the natural enzymes in the diet
• Regularity in the vowel movement since the diet is high in fiber
• Lessens the risk of having cardio vascular diseases and other illnesses linked to trans-fat and saturated fats in the food we eat
• Less water retention because the diet is low in sodium which means it aids in maintaining an ideal weight
• Protects against cancer since it is rich in cancer fighting phytochemicals
  

Paleo Raw Food for Detoxing

There is another significant benefit that can be gained with a Paleo Raw Food Diet - it rids the body of accumulated toxins. Toxins are harmful wastes or free radicals which are residues resulting from breaking down food. They can accumulate in the body through the years and damage cells which may even lead to cancer. The body is actually unable to completely rid itself of these harmful toxins and through time they accumulate to a point that they hamper cell functions and affect energy production and ultimately lead to the development of diseases like cancer.

Eating fiber rich raw food diet helps the body get rid of these toxins. Raw food diet contains antioxidants that neutralize the cell-damaging free radicals. It actually cleanses our digestive systems and fortifies the immune system. Hence making paleo diet for athletes an apt choice.