Live foods are plant-foods that have not been heated, cooked, processed, or refined in any way. Live foods (or raw foods) include uncooked, organic vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and seeds, and sprouted grains and seeds of all kinds (alfalfa, sunflower, lentil, etc).
Instead of being cooked, they are eaten whole or are merely chopped, diced, shredded, juiced, or blended. These foods are loaded with nutrients and healing properties and should ideally comprise about 70% if not 100% of your diet.
As regards quantities, it's important to note that every body has different needs and there are NO rules with this way of living - you must listen to your body and see how you feel.
The generally ideal percentages seem to be:
65% fruit (including tomato, cucumber avocado, red and yellow peppers, green beans - if it has seeds then technically, it's a fruit)
25% green leafy vegetables and root vegetables
10% nuts and seeds, oils, avocados
The nutritional ratios you want to aim for (again, feel what's best for YOUR body) but as a guideline
80% CARBS (Fruit and vegetables)
10% PROTEIN (Found within most fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds)
10% FATS (nuts, seeds, avocado, oils)
Ample protein can be found in most raw foods - it is a myth that protein comes only from meat and dairy.
But every individual is unique and you can see which ratio's suit you best. Be careful of having too many nuts and seeds in the transition phase as we try to satiate that addiction for the denseness of cooked food. You won't get the best benefits of fruit and vegetables if they are coated in fat. Nuts and oils are fats.
Most important is to try and source the freshest organically grown produce you can find, or better yet - grow your own. There is nothing quite like picking your own greens and eating them right away - the freshest most nutritious choice!
Live, raw foods have a high degree of life force or energy . Life force, also known as prana (in India ), or chi (in China ), is the most basic and primary nutrient on which our bodies thrive. The substances that increase our life force energy, include oxygen, sunlight, and live foods. You can actually see the life force energy of a particular food through a technology called Kirlian Photography. You can see from the pictures that a fresh, raw food has a large life force field, yet when cooked, the life force field is diminished.
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| Raw Tomato | Slightly cooked Tomato |
From www.superfoods.co.za
It is also interesting to note that people who have degenerative health conditions have been shown, through this same method, to have small life force fields, and those who are healthy have much larger life force fields. Different cooking methods affect the life force field of foods dramatically differently. Fried foods, processed and sugar-laden foods, and red meat, for instance have little to no life force energy. Lightly steamed vegetables, legumes, or grains have a far greater vitality than deep fried foods or cooked meat.
Live foods, including uncooked, organic vegetables and fruits, and raw or sprouted seeds, nuts, grains, and grasses, have the highest life force energy of any foods.
Sprouted foods are particularly powerful, and are referred to as biogenic foods. They contain the secret of life itself, the germ, which contains the reproductive power of the plant. When seeds, nuts, and grains are sprouted, many of the nutrients are increased and they become easier to digest. When nuts and seeds are soaked and sprouted, digestive enzyme inhibitors contained in the nuts and seeds are destroyed, and the carbohydrates, fats and proteins become predigested into simple carbohydrates, free fatty acids, and free amino acids, allowing the body to absorb them more readily.
The more we include these high-energy foods in our diet, the more we enhance our own energy and health. If you want more energy, eat more live, raw foods.
Live foods have live enzymes which aid digestion when we eat them. If food is cooked, then these enzymes are de-activated and we have to draw on our own body's stores of enzymes to break down the food. The more we age and the more we eat processed, over-cooked foods, the more we deplete our enzyme reserves. Enzymes are essential for life (they are called often referred to as "the stuff of life"), and are integral in so many functions in our bodies from metabolism to fighting disease. The fewer enzymes we have, the quicker we age. So, by eating live, raw foods, we can actually start reversing this process.
Live (raw) foods contain loads of minerals, vitamins, and phyto-nutrients in their undestroyed state that boost immunity, increase energy, and help cleanse (detoxify) rather than clog the body, helping prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Live foods enhance and maximize the electrical potential in cells and between cells, which gives cells the power to rid themselves of toxins and absorb nutrients and oxygen. Every time we eat over-cooked and processed foods, our immune system is stimulated to produce white blood cells, which stresses our immune system and eventually depletes it.
Live (raw) foods are alkalinizing to the body's fluids. This is important because acid build-up in the body from over-eating meat, sugar, and processed, refined carbohydrates suppresses the body's energy production and immunity. Keep in mind that cancer can only thrive in an acidic environment. And, acid leads to arterial clogging and heart disease. The more alkaline foods we eat, the better our health and energy, and the greater our resistance to disease.
Live (raw) foods are high in water content and fibre. Just think about it... Your body is 75% water. Your brain is 80% water. Doesn't it make sense that we would want to eat high water-content foods to feed our bodies the water it needs. Water is necessary for transporting nutrients into your cells, and toxins out of your cells. Water and fibre are essential for proper elimination of toxins from the body. Often when we experience hunger, we are really experiencing thirst. Eating high water content food helps to eliminate cravings and hunger. Water and fibre also help to stabilize blood sugar.
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