When we go on a raw food diet, we experience major improvements in our health. Even researchers who don't necessarily embrace this way of eating admit that the beneficial changes are unmistakable. Weight becomes normal, which typically means a reduction in fat, and the person is energized. It's seems as if energy is better burned up than being stored in fat. This energizing effect can presumably be attributed to the fact that much cooked food goes into fat production. Raw food, on the other hand, breaks down in components that can be directly metabolized. Fat is made up primarily of fatty acids that can be saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. The solid ones at room temperature are those that contain a high proportion of saturated fatty acids, and they typically come from animal sources. On the other hand, the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated ones are mostly plant fats although palm and coconut fats are, in fact, highly saturated. The human body makes its own saturated and monounsaturated fats, so we don't need to include them in our nutritional intake. Two that can't be made by the body are both polyunsaturated fatty acids and must be provided by the diet. They are called essential fatty acids. These essential fatty acids are vital because they maintain the membranes of all our cells and make the prostaglandins that regulate many of our body processes such as blood clotting.
Fat Consumption
Just about anyone who is anyone in health, especially those who are concerned with diet, recommend a reduction in how much fat we consume. The general consensus is that fat should not contribute more than 35% of the total intake of adults and older children. Saturated fats are blamed for the high levels of cholesterol in the blood streams of many Americans that contribute to atherosclerosis and heart disease. Polyunsaturated fats have the opposite effect. A raw-foods diet, of course, is very low in the bad guys–saturated fatty acids–and high in the good guys–the polyunsaturated fats.
The Role of Fats in the Raw-Foods Diet
In the first place, you should not be afraid of adding plenty of nuts to your diet because of the fat in them. This is not the kind of fat that causes obesity or cardiovascular disease. The real dietary culprit is animal protein when it comes to fats that cause heart disease. You can add as much fat from nuts and avocados as you need to meet your energy and nutritional requirements. Also, a good measure is whether or not you are satisfied; when you are faithful to your raw-foods commitment, you can trust your own feelings and still maintain a healthy body weight. If you add them to the high-calorie kind of diet you've been used to, they will, of course, cause your weight to get out of control. In fact, a research team at Harvard University found that women who ate nuts reduced their risk of diabetes by almost 30 percent compared to women who ate no nuts at all. This is solid research–the study was carefully designed and extended over 16 years.
A Healthy Raw Foods Diet
You need to look at this from an energy-balance viewpoint. You need to get enough balanced calories to meet your energy needs, and nuts can make that possible. A body-builder in Hawaii who has a website at http://www.charliesgym.info/ and who practices a raw-foods diet, says that he prefers to get his calories by eating only about 10% in high fat foods such as nuts and avocados; however, he says he has tried eating lots of nuts and fats and it didn't make any difference in his weight. For one thing, it takes at least four hours to digest a high-fat meal of nuts and avocados and he can get a lot more calories into his system if he eats fresh fruits and dried fruits like dates. Besides, they’re easier to digest, he says, and he doesn't feel as groggy as when he eats a lot of high-fat raw foods. Also, because he's a weight builder, he needs to maintain his energy, so he eats a lot of bananas. He doesn't necessarily recommend that, but he says it works for him.
The Magnificent Avocado
If you want to transition from a cooked diet and you feel you can't get along without meat, try the avocado. It's fatty, creamy, and hearty with none of the cholesterol and toxicity of meat. You can eat it with a meal or you can eat it alone. Add some nuts and seeds to your diet and you won't miss meat. Avocados have fresh vitamins, soluble fiber, organic minerals, active enzymes, high water content, and fats and proteins that are easily digested. This is not food that complicates your arteries and makes you overweight. It can help you become and stay lean. Avocado trees have been growing in the tropics in Central America for thousands of years, and natives there have long thrived and survived on them. They have been called the butter pear by some. The consensus seems to be that you need not worry about too much fat as long as you stick to your raw-foods diet and balance it according to your own needs and feelings.
By TTS Health Consultant Gabrielle Gingras
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