If you want to experience ridiculous amounts of energy, crystal clear mental clarity, more creativity and outrageous joy, raw food is the way to do it.  I went raw about three years ago now, and experienced a radical shift in my overall health and well-being.  I lost 10 lbs within a month and 20 lbs within 6 months, my energy went through the roof, and the abnormal cells that the doctor had discovered were gone. Besides that, my hot flashes disappeared, I require less sleep, and I found a deeper Spiritual connection. Although, most of the three years I have been less than 100% raw, and sometimes I have downright fallen off the wagon, I come back to a high raw diet (75%-100% raw) because I feel fantastic, and the food is gorgeous, delicious, fun, and easy to prepare, plus I never count calories or worry about how much I eat. If I’m hungry and it’s raw, I eat it.

I believe we are meant to live with outrageous joy and extreme well-being.  I believe we are meant to thrive and live lives we absolutely love living.  And I believe raw food is a power tool in the tool kit that helps us create that kind of life.

Here’s a little raw food primer on the what and why of raw food.

What is Raw Food?

Raw foods are fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts that have not been heated above 118 degrees.  It’s that simple. On a raw food diet, you can eat anything you want, and as much as you want, as long as it meets those simple criteria.

A diet is considered raw if it consists of least 75% raw foods, however anyone can benefit from incorporating more raw foods into their diet.

Why Raw?

Enzymes – It’s ALL about the enzymes.

Raw foods contain live enzymes.  Enzymes are responsible for every metabolic process in our bodies from digestion to healing. When food is heated above 118 degrees, enzymes are destroyed.  Most cooked and prepared food is served with up to 100% of the natural enzymes destroyed. When the lipase and amylase enzymes are destroyed, the body cannot digest fats or carbohydrates adequately and they are stored in the body, causing you to gain weight. When you consume living, enzyme rich food, it practically digests itself. This leaves the body with a surplus of energy to heal itself and work more efficiently, giving you ridiculous amounts of energy to fuel your life and your passion.

Vitamins and Minerals

Raw foods are nutrient-rich, delivering to the body all the vitamins and minerals the food has to offer.  Cooking destroys over 80% of the food’s nutritive value.  When you eat more nutrient-rich foods, you’ll find yourself feeling more satisfied than ever before.

Water

The basic substance on which all life is based, is water.  Water performs two key functions in the body – it hydrates our cells, enabling them to function at their peak, and it is the universal solvent for ushering toxins out of the cells and the body.  A great way to get a head start on becoming hydrated is to consume food that has not had the natural water removed from it through cooking. Cooked food dehydrates you further in your bodies attempt to digest it.

Rapid Transit

Raw foods move through your body quickly.  Because raw foods have high water content and because the fiber has not been broken down or altered in any way, this helps raw food move through your body quickly.  This helps eliminate toxins and the accumulation of waste matter, which keeps you healthier and leaner.  Waste =  weight, and the more quickly food moves through your body, the more energy you feel.

Outrageous Joy

It is true that you are what you eat.  Raw foods change our biochemistry.  The enormous energy, crystal clear mental clarity, and extreme well-being you feel on a raw food diet is enough to make you suspiciously happy right there.  But it goes deeper than that…

There is a vibration to everything in the Universe, including everything we eat, and this vibration then becomes reflected in our body. Living raw foods have a high vibration.  High-vibration foods carry a natural, positive, uplifting energy. You can feel it when you eat them. This vibration affects us down to the cellular level.  It literally makes your cells ‘happy’.  It is because of this that people on a high raw diet often experience tremendous joy and sometimes outright giddiness.

Besides my own story of a radical shift in my well-being, I have worked with so many others whose health has changed radically, from losing weight, to completely ridding themselves of acid reflux, to reducing blood sugar levels enough to avoid insulin, to overcoming depression.  The power of raw food is really quite magical.