Everything about the raw food diet: from basic principles to motivation. The Basics of a Raw Food Diet: A Simple Path to Health and Longevity

18/11/2015 14:35

A raw food diet is a philosophical way of life that can be achieved by people with a strong will and a clear mind. Not everyone can give up their usual dishes and put up with the constant hungry rumbling of their stomach.

So what exactly are raw foodists? People who have given up the pleasure of pampering themselves with delicious food or healthy and vibrant individuals? You will find answers to these questions in our article!

What is a raw food diet, and what types is it divided into?

A raw food diet is a nutritional system in which the basis of your diet consists of raw foods, without heat treatment(cooking, frying, baking, smoking, pasteurization).

Proponents of such nutrition argue that processing foods using the heat method is unnatural, because our ancestors ate exclusively raw, natural products.

Modern culinary innovations are a tribute to fashion, which does not benefit our body in any way - this is what adherents of a raw food diet believe.

A recognized fact why many people choose a raw food diet concerns vitamins and minerals. It dies when heated most of vitamins and useful microelements, and in raw food they remain intact and are better absorbed by the body.

The raw food diet system is divided into several types according to the acceptability of products:

Omnivorous raw food diet– the diet can include meat, fish, eggs, raw or dried.
Vegetarian raw food diet– consumption of meat and fish is prohibited; raw eggs and dairy products are allowed. This is the most common type of raw food diet in the world.
Vegan raw food diet– excludes foods of animal origin, including eggs, milk and dairy products. A vegan diet contains only raw plant foods.
Fruitarianism- this is nutrition from plant fruits - fruits, berries, nuts, fruit vegetables.

Raw food diet options also differ in diet planning methods:

Mixed– products are divided by composition, and products of similar composition are used at one meal – vegetables + vegetables, fruits + nuts, and so on.
Monotrophic– only 1 product without heat treatment is consumed at one meal.

Where to start - how to switch to a raw food diet correctly?

A raw food diet is not a diet, but a nutritional system in which you give up your usual foods and cook food using heat.

Important!

A sharp refusal from an established diet can negatively affect the body. Therefore, you should switch to a raw food diet smoothly and with the understanding that you really need it.

First of all, give up industrially produced products, in the 2nd week - from red meat, in the 3rd - from white meat, in the 4th - from eggs, in the 5th - from fish, in the 6th - from milk and fermented milk products, from the 7th week - from porridge. Eat more raw food every week.
Keep a raw food diary, where you will write down all the sensations, thoughts, information about harmful and healthy products, your goals (losing excess weight, getting healthier, and so on) and, of course, results.
Plan your diet depending on the time of year. Summer and autumn are the most favorable periods to start a raw food diet, because your diet will be dominated by fresh fruits and vegetables. In winter and spring, you can include in the menu products that are stored in the cellar (onions, carrots, potatoes, apples). In spring, you can add more greens to your diet.
An important factor when switching to a raw food diet is willpower. Main principle of this food system - duration. If you want fried fish, then indulge yourself once in pleasure. The rest of the time, eat on a raw food diet.

Benefits and harms

What are the benefits of a raw food diet?

Adherents of a raw food diet claim that by adhering to this nutritional system, you can cleanse the body of toxins, waste and other harmful substances. At the same time, you are adapting to a new way of life, becoming one step closer to natural, simple food.

Nutritionists include the following benefits of a raw food diet:

Developing immunity to colds.
Food endurance. If harmful substances are found in products, the body senses them, neutralizes them and rejects them without consequences for the gastrointestinal tract and health in general.
Losing body weight through eating healthy foods without heat treatment.
Increased energy, improved well-being, and the ability to lead an active lifestyle.
The body of raw foodists does not contain harmful trans fats and saturated fats, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart muscle. The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is reduced.

The harm of a raw food diet

According to experts, a person eats fully if the body receives six elements daily - proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins and water. With a raw food diet, the body does not receive sufficient quantity useful substances.

The disadvantages of a raw food diet include:

Lack of proteins. Some essential amino acids found only in foods of animal origin. According to doctors, a lack of nutrients in the body of a raw foodist leads to a decrease in immunity.
Lack of B vitamins. Vitamins B12 and B2 are found in beef liver and in dairy products. They are important for correct exchange substances and the full functioning of the central nervous system.
Lack of healthy plant foods in winter. The raw food diet was founded in countries with hot and humid climates, where fruits and vegetables are available to residents all year round. But the winter period in our country is characterized by a minimum of fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as their dubious usefulness. Most often, greenhouse products contain many harmful chemical additives, which means they will no longer be useful.

Who is contraindicated for a raw food diet?

With diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (acids in fresh foods irritate the gastric mucosa).
In case of allergic reactions to certain products (nuts, citrus fruits, pollen).
In addition, experts do not recommend switching to a raw food diet before the age of 30. Before this age mark, some processes in the body are still actively forming, but after 30 years the body is already fully developed.
A raw food diet is also contraindicated for pregnant women, since good protein nutrition is important for the full development of the fetus.

Raw food diet rules and advice for beginners - what are the most common mistakes beginners make?

You already know that the transition to a raw food diet should be gradual so as not to injure the body. However, beginning raw foodists often admit typical mistakes at the beginning of his journey.

Mistakes of beginner raw foodists:

Lack of water. Many new raw foodists believe that they get enough water from plant foods, but this is not true. In addition to plant foods, a person should consume at least a little purified water in order to saturate the body with it.
Lack of green vegetation. There is a danger that raw foodists do not have enough animal protein. To compensate for this deficiency, you should eat greens (parsley, onions, dill, celery, nettles) and nuts.
Use of vegetable oils in the diet, large quantity dried fruits, honey, canned, fermented foods. Oils are concentrated foods that contain a lot of fat. And fat disrupts metabolism and impairs the functioning of the digestive system. Dried fruits for raw foodists are acceptable in cases where raw food is temporarily unavailable (for example, on the road).
Binge eating. Abuse of food leads to drowsiness, lethargy, lack of energy, and difficulty getting up in the morning. Over time, you need to reduce the amount you eat.

Raw food diet - creating the right menu for 7 days

Monday:

Breakfast. 2 bananas, 1 kiwi.
Dinner. Green buckwheat, salad from fresh cucumbers with tomato, onion and sweet pepper, seasoned olive oil cold pressed.
Afternoon snack. A handful of any raw nuts.
Dinner. 1 glass of vegetable smoothie (tomato, avocado, basil, herbs).

Tuesday:

Breakfast. 2 persimmons.
Dinner. Sprouted with tomato and onion, garlic, parsley.
Afternoon snack. Raw carrot cutlets.
Dinner. Salad of tomatoes, mushrooms, and cheese.

Wednesday:

Breakfast. Fruit and vegetable smoothie.
Dinner. Pumpkin porridge With linseed oil and pumpkin seeds.
Afternoon snack. 2 apples.
Dinner. Squash caviar with rye flatbread.

Thursday:

Breakfast. 2 slices fresh melon.
Dinner. Vegetable cream soup (from onions, cauliflower, carrots, new peas and herbs).
Afternoon snack. Salad of fresh cabbage, cucumbers, herbs, dressed lemon juice and linseed oil.
Dinner. Sprouted wheat porridge with black currants.

Friday:

Breakfast. 1 glass of banana and strawberry smoothie.
Dinner. Pumpkin porridge with pine nuts, zucchini salad with herbs.
Afternoon snack. 2 oranges.
Dinner. Salad of arugula, cauliflower and tomato, with the addition of sesame seeds, seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil.

Saturday:

Breakfast. A handful of fresh strawberries.
Dinner. Sprouted chickpeas, salad of young zucchini and carrots in Korean.
Afternoon snack. Apples stuffed with dried fruits.
Dinner. Salad of seaweed, broccoli, onion, seasoned with lemon juice and flaxseed oil.

Sunday:

Breakfast. Smoothie made from kefir and blackcurrant.
Dinner. Gazpacho soup.
Afternoon snack. A handful of any nuts.
Dinner. from vegetables.

And most often only products plant origin. There are four main dietary options for raw foodists.

1. Raw food diet consists of fresh raw fruits, berries, vegetables and their juices, air-dried fruits and berries, wild edible plants, nuts, raw oilseeds and other plants, sprouted grains, soaked in cold water whole grains or cereals close to whole grains, vegetable oils obtained by cold pressing, natural honey. Pickled vegetables are acceptable. The drink is pure raw water. Juices of fruits, berries and vegetables, as well as drinks of raw grain products or nuts, are classified as food and not as a thirst-quenching drink.

This diet is common among supporters of a raw food diet. In terms of the range of food products, it is very close to a strictly vegetarian diet - veganism. What distinguishes it from ordinary veganism is that heat treatment of foods during cooking is completely excluded.

2. Raw food diet basically repeats the previous one, but whole grains and cereals soaked in cold water, pickled vegetables, and sometimes vegetable oil are excluded from it. Sprouted grain is acceptable. This is the strictest raw food diet. The most consistent raw foodists include mainly fresh raw fruits and berries in their diet. This diet is called fructoriapism.

3. Raw food diet represents products of the 1st diet, but is supplemented with raw milk and, in some cases, dairy products: yogurt and other fermented milk drinks, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese. At the same time, true raw foodists reject industrially produced dairy products. You can include raw eggs.

Raw foodists who eat raw plant and dairy products are called “omnivores,” in contrast to absolute, or ideal raw foodists, who eat only raw plant foods. The word "omnivore" has a relative meaning, since raw foodists of any type do not consume meat or fish.

4. Raw food diet corresponds to the 1st or 3rd diet, but is supplemented with bread baked, if possible, from whole grains and without the use of yeast. If baked bread is included in a 3-1 diet (vegetable-milk-egg), then such a diet can be considered the least strict in a raw food diet.

Many raw foodists consume whole apples and other fruits with the seed pod, so as not to disturb the “food complex”. In grated apple or ground pumpkin, the seeds are less noticeable. Great importance is also attached to the peel - fruits, berries and vegetables should be eaten with the peel. A whole egg is considered more nutritious than one yolk or white, and whole milk is more nutritious than cream or sour cream.

You should not eat a lot or often. Only once a day can you eat thoroughly, and two more times - little by little. This is the limit. Anything beyond this is harmful, especially snacking between three meals. You need to eat slowly, chewing your food thoroughly. This is especially important when it comes to raw plant products. When they are poorly chewed, stomach and intestinal disorders, bloating.

When eating a raw food diet, you can do without table salt, hot spices, spices and seasonings. Due to the complete or almost complete exclusion of table salt from the diet, thirst decreases and excess liquid is not introduced into the body, especially since fruits and vegetables contain natural juices.

A diet menu of raw fruits and vegetables could be like this:

Breakfast:

Apple salad (see recipe below), 20-30 g of nuts - separately or in a salad, 100-200 g of fresh fruit, dried rosehip tea.

Dinner:

150-250 g fresh fruit, 50-100 g green salad, 100-150 g fresh vegetables, 20 g nuts, fresh juices fruits or vegetables.

Dinner:

Same as breakfast.

Apple salad

1 tablespoon oatmeal soak for 12 hours in 3 tablespoons of water, then add the juice of ½ lemon or other sour fruit, 1 tablespoon of milk, kefir or honey, 2 grated apples and 1 tablespoon of grated nuts, if they are not given separately for breakfast.

Raw food diet can help normalize body weight, especially in obesity, strengthen muscles, and facilitate body movements. The famous Australian naturopath K. Jeffrey in his book “Natural Food” (1974) indicated an approximate set of products (in percentage) that should comprise a daily food ration with a total weight of about 1.5 kg:

raw fruits and berries (except bananas) – 50%;
raw vegetables (except potatoes) – 35%;
grain products (mainly whole grains), legumes, potatoes, bananas - 10% of the diet; these products can be eaten after light cooking or raw;
dried fruits, nuts, seeds, cottage cheese, cream, eggs, honey – 5-10%;
boiled vegetables (except cabbage) can be consumed 1-2 times a week, provided they are heated briefly;
vegetable oil, fruit juices, onion, garlic, table salt and other seasonings - 1% of food consumed.

According to Katsudzo Nishi’s “Health System” (1936), which incorporates raw food nutrition, fasting, yoga, bioenergy and other techniques, you should start the day with juicy fruits, which should be eaten raw and whole - with peel and seeds. It is not wise to juice them. IN winter time You can soak dried fruits and eat them as a separate dish along with the infusion.

For people who still continue to eat “unnatural” cooked food, K. Nishi recommends taking cold and hot shower or air baths. It is imperative to combine cooked food with raw vegetables. Wherein raw foods should be 3 times more than boiled ones.

Breakfast:

Raw fruits in season (2-3 oranges or 200 g of grapes and one apple or 2 pears, etc.) or in combination with soaked dried fruits.

Dinner:

Salad of raw grated or finely chopped vegetables (carrots, cabbage, turnips, etc.) with herbs and, if desired, with the addition of vegetable oil; you can use them instead of vegetables sour fruits and berries, adding to them 100 g of nuts or oil seeds (sunflower, etc.).

Dinner:

Vegetable salad, nuts (seeds) or a combination of green salad, green or red pepper, beet tops and nuts; Instead of vegetables, you can eat fruits as for breakfast.

To salads, mainly in winter, you can add dried herbs, powdered seeds and berries (rowanberries, blueberries, etc.). In the summer it is worth drying pine, nettles, and other wild plants. It is advisable to use apricot kernels, pollen(2-3 g per dose). Raw vegetables can be eaten with vegetable oil, fruits and dried fruits with honey. Fresh fruits can be replaced with freshly prepared vegetable juices.

Raw foodists believe that the main cause of obesity is eating unnatural food. When eating natural, raw food, obesity cannot occur. Indeed, firstly, it is difficult to overeat raw plant foods. Secondly, calculations accepted in nutrition science show that the energy value of the recommended six diets ranges from a maximum of 2.94 to 5.88 MJ (from 700 to 1400 kcal) per day. This corresponds to diets used in the treatment of obesity in modern dietetics.

Switching to a raw food diet requires a lot of endurance and the ability to limit yourself in food. Becoming an absolute Raw Foodist, a person not only stops consuming animal products, but also abandons the familiar taste of boiled, baked, stewed, fried, salted and other foods. In addition, the transition to raw food rarely occurs without adverse effects of varying manifestations and intensity. side effects. Therefore, rules for the transition to a raw food diet have been developed.

Rules for switching to a raw food diet

The doctrine of a raw food diet provides for a gradual transition from a regular diet to eating only raw food and gradually limiting the range of foods until the diet consists predominantly or entirely of raw fruits, berries, vegetables, wild plants, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. Only a few supporters of a raw food diet, in particular G. Shelton, recommend a quick, without hesitation or addiction, transition from “dead” food to “live”, raw plant food.

The first step to a raw food diet is to exclude animal and poultry meat from the diet, then fish. Further, if desired, eggs can be excluded from the diet. A diet consisting of raw and cooked plant and dairy products or plant-milk-egg foods is called a semi-raw food diet.

Raw foodists believe that the transition to a semi-raw food diet usually occurs without significant difficulties, especially for those people who have already been able to wean themselves off meat and fish. However, the transition from cooked food, not even meat or fish, to a complete raw food diet is rarely accomplished immediately, easily and irrevocably. In adults, such a transition should be careful and gradual. We need to “re-educate” our digestive system.

The amount of time required to switch to raw food depends on the person's age, health, character, profession and other factors. Adaptation can take years, since the body's habits have great value in nutrition. In addition, during the period of getting used to raw food, one must endure a number of possible unpleasant sensations or disorders from the gastrointestinal tract and general malaise.

in the morning and evening - raw foods, in the afternoon a lunch of raw and boiled food or only boiled;
in the morning and evening - boiled food, in the afternoon - lunch of raw food;
During each meal, they first eat a raw dish, then a boiled one; Fruits and nuts should be eaten before a main meal, and not after it, then they are better used by the body.

However, most people do not need morning food and it is better to limit themselves to two meals: around 11 and 17 hours. In the morning and evening, the same liquids are recommended: juices diluted with water, vegetable “milk”, raw “teas” from herbs, leaves, roots or flowers. From a vegetable-milk or vegetable-milk-egg diet, including boiled food, you should step by step eliminate first eggs, then dairy products, then milk, while at the same time replacing cooked food with raw food.

Raw foodists claim that the gradual elimination of all animal products provides the “purest and most toxin-free” diet. It is recommended to carry out a “trial raw food diet”: every semi-raw foodist who has the will, endurance and a healthy digestive system, who is already partially accustomed to raw vegetable and dairy products, can carry out such a trial course for 2-3 weeks. Raw foodists believe that even such a trial raw food diet “cleanses, heals and rejuvenates the body, provides it with rest and a solid vitamin boost.”

Late summer and autumn are the most the right time for a “trial raw food diet”, especially during the holidays. According to raw foodists, as a result of a trial of eating only raw food, a person feels extraordinary ease of movement, clarity of mind and cheerful mood. Body weight almost always decreases, but then after the body adapts to the new diet, it returns to normal.

During the trial period of a raw food diet, at first it is better to eat little rather than a lot, and only when you have an appetite. It is advisable to eat mainly seasonal products of this time of year. Thorough chewing of raw food is extremely important, and if the chewing apparatus is poor, some raw foods (for example, nuts) must be finely crushed, ground or pureed.

You should not eat after drinking or drink while eating. In the cold season, raw food must be heated in a warm room to the air temperature of the room. Cooked raw foods should not be left for long periods of time. Table salt, vinegar, spices, seasonings should be replaced with tomato, lemon, cranberry and other juices.

Of course, these rules retain their meaning even with a complete transition to a diet consisting of raw fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, etc., i.e. on an absolute raw food diet. Consumption of yeast-free bread baked from whole crushed grains or from wholemeal flour with the addition of bran is acceptable during the transition period. Some raw foodists include such bread in their regular diet.

Yuri Okunev School

Hello friends. Yuri Okunev is with you.

Surely you have thought about how to maintain health while living a long and fruitful life? Do I need to change my diet? And what to eat? I will give my thoughts on this topic. The topic of our conversation is the basics of a raw food diet. IN Lately This food system is rapidly gaining popularity, both here and in the West.

It's time to debunk the myths that a raw food diet means eating the same foods without taste. In fact, the dishes of raw foodists are varied and are in no way inferior in calorie content to traditional cuisine. There are nuts, honey, dried fruits, cheese, and cereals. What not!

If, out of curiosity, you visit the raw foodists forum, you will be surprised to discover that, it turns out, there are

Cakes for raw foodists;
Various pastes;
Soups;
Candies.
Cookie
And so on.

And believe me, they taste no worse than regular dishes. There is even bread for raw foodists - this is a dried mass of sprouted and ground wheat grains, very healthy and quite pleasant to the taste.

Classification

What is a proper raw food diet? In simple terms, this is when a person eats only raw foods, avoiding cooking them. Why is that? I'll explain a little later.
The large army of raw foodists is divided into categories:

Vegetarians– eat dairy products and any plant foods. They do not eat fish, meat, or eggs.
Vegans– feed on fruits, roots, vegetables and herbs. In addition to the restrictions for vegetarians, a ban on dairy products is added.
Fruitarians– eat the above-ground parts of plants: grass shoots, seeds, vegetables growing above the ground (cucumbers, for example), nuts and fruits. Cereals and root vegetables are prohibited.

A raw food diet can be mixed, when several foods are consumed at one meal, and monotrophic (mono-raw food diet) - one type of food at one time.

Dr. Max Bircher-Benner is considered the founder of the scientific theory of raw food diet. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he was the first to say that heating food to a temperature of 50°C and above negatively affects its composition - most of the beneficial properties of the product are lost, and carcinogens and harmful substances are formed instead. Bircher-Benner also noted the harmfulness of using any chemical additives to food, including salt.

So what is a raw food diet and how is it beneficial? And why is it so popular?

Such necessary enzymes

Have you ever heard of enzymes? These are substances that are contained in any product natural origin. They take part in the process of converting one substance into another. Their other role is to act as catalysts for one or another action in the body, including digestion.

In other words, the enzymes contained in every fresh product contribute to the digestion of this particular type of product. Each product has its own.

IN human body There are also enzymes, but they serve to perform completely different tasks: renewing blood cells, freeing the liver of toxins, transporting carbohydrates, accelerating or slowing down metabolism, and so on.

Take, for example, a tomato - its peel contains enzymes that help me digest this tomato if I eat it raw. What happens if I put this tomato in soup or make ketchup out of it? Unfortunately, the enzymes will die; they cannot withstand heating above 45 degrees. In this case, my body will be forced to use its enzymes to digest food, distracting them from other vital tasks.

In fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, seeds;
IN fresh meat, fish, seafood;
Unboiled milk and fermented milk products;
Raw eggs.

Enzymes are completely absent:

In boiled or fried meat/fish;
In canned food (any kind);
In boiled and baked vegetables;
In bread;
In artificially created synthetic products.

Herbivore or predator?

So, we found out that for high-quality digestion and absorption of nutrients, you need to eat food rich in enzymes, that is, fresh and not synthetic.

Probably, meat lovers here will be quite puzzled: what to do with familiar dishes? And where do you get protein?

There are quite a few adherents of a carnivorous raw food diet. These, as a rule, include people living in the far north, where plant food is difficult to find. By the way, the life expectancy of such raw foodists is relatively short.

As for protein, its daily requirement is quite small - about 40-50 grams per adult per day. This can be replenished with plant foods.

Revival of the body

Haven't you read the revelations of blogger Izyum yet? I recommend to read.
By practicing a raw food diet and consuming only fresh, “live” food, we free our body’s enzymes from excessive overload. Once released, they begin to work hard and... completely cleanse our body.

What does this give?

Improving the health of all human systems and organs, improving their functioning;
Increasing the reserve of strength - energy simply rushes out of the body;
Increased heat transfer;
Strengthening the immune system, as a result, curing “incurable” diseases.

The body is transformed before our eyes - skin color improves, endurance increases, neuroses and depressive states disappear.

Izyum wrote about this very well. In just 3-4 years, eating only fruits and nuts, a person achieved success in bodybuilding (what more!), completely stopped getting sick, although previously there were ARVI 10 times a year, increased his temperature exchange so much that he began to go to one T-shirt even at zero degrees.

N. Kurdyumov in his book “About Health” writes that raw foodists are characterized by a state when they achieve unity with nature. This means that wherever a person is, he will be able to feed himself: the stomach becomes such that it can digest any food (except perhaps nails), the need for calories decreases (satiation comes from one apple or a handful of berries).

With the help of a raw food diet, you can get rid of many diseases: obesity, heart disease, myopia, neurological conditions. Even curable cancerous tumors. The latter is explained by the fact that the same enzymes, as true fighters for the health of their owner, begin to expel all diseased cells from the body and destroy the affected ones.

Start

After some deliberation, you finally decided to become a raw foodist. Where to begin? Get your thoughts in order!

Take a piece of paper and write down what goals you want to achieve, what diseases you want to be cured of by stopping eating cooked food. This is important, because at first, switching to a different diet will require serious effort from you. Motivation must be strong.

The most common mistake made by raw foodists just embarking on this path is to abruptly give up all their usual foods and switch to a raw mono diet. An organism that is not ready for such changes may rebel.

Another mistake is calculating calories incorrectly. Fruits and vegetables are lower in calories than meat, for example. Until the body is accustomed to more rational digestion of food, you should monitor the energy balance, preventing complete depletion. You can read about how to correctly count calories.

As with any new business, there are other pitfalls and unobvious obstacles.

Preliminary receipt of information from knowledgeable people. And an ordinary nutritionist will not always help you. We need a practitioner who specializes in this particular topic. Incorrect use of such a powerful tool as a raw food diet can bring you not only benefit but also harm.

In order to get a more detailed understanding of the subject of raw food diet, I advise you to read a short book by P. Sebastianovich "Why are cows predators" with a detailed description of the basic ideas and rules of the raw food diet. Well, if you have already decided to become a raw foodist, take advantage of the experience of a practitioner. Denis Terentyev, a raw foodist with five years of experience, who meticulously studies the theory of the issue, has developed a special course for beginners “A system for effective transition to a raw food diet”

Results

Raw food diet is a transition to another level of self-awareness and nutrition. This is newfound health, a surge of strength and clear thoughts in the head. The body itself will know what it needs and what it should not eat. In other words, this is a transition to natural nutrition, originally intended for humans.

Be healthy!
I will look forward to your comments and reviews, subscribe to the news so as not to miss the next articles.
Goodbye. Sincerely, Yuri Okunev.

The raw food diet, a fashionable way of eating today, preaches the idea that food becomes dead when it is processed at high temperatures.

This means that raw foodists are the only category of people who fully enrich their body with useful substances by eating properly, in accordance with human nature.

Raw Food Diet Basics for Beginners

In traditional cooking, there are many ways to prepare food without using heat treatment by boiling, frying or baking. Since ancient times, the preparation of fruits, berries and mushrooms for the winter was carried out by pickling, pickling, and drying. Dried fish, salted lard, balyk, sauerkraut and cucumbers are a popular food for the average person, which omnivorous raw foodists will not disdain. Raw food diets can also be vegetarian, G. Carringston was the first to scientific level proved the benefits of eating exclusively raw agricultural products.

Raw food diet - products

Raw food diet is a special way of eating in which the following foods are consumed:

NOT boiled.
NOT fried.
NOT smoked.
NOT baked.

At the same time, cold heat treatment is allowed, dried, dried and other methods of non-hot cooking are also allowed.

You can eat:

raw fruits and vegetables;
dried fruits, nuts, seeds and grains;
other products, depending on the form of raw food diet.

There is an opinion that a raw food diet is one of the strict forms of vegetarianism. This is an erroneous judgment, because there are different shapes raw food diet.

Stages of raw food diet

There are different stages (forms) of raw food diet:

Omnivore. A wide range of foods is acceptable on an omnivorous form of raw food diet. The diet consists of vegetables and fruits. You can eat meat, fish, milk, eggs and seafood. Among the cooking methods, drying is appropriate.
Vegetarian. In addition to vegetables and fruits, raw food vegetarians can afford to drink eggs and milk, yogurt and other dairy products, the preparation of which does not require heat treatment. Meat and fish cannot be eaten.
Vegan. Vegans are people who eat absolutely nothing related to the animal world. You can't have milk - a calf could drink it. You can't have an egg - a chicken could hatch from every egg you drink. Meat and fish are the flesh of living creatures just like us. You can't eat them either.
Carnivorous. This form, on the contrary, recreates the way cavemen fed. The basis of a carnivorous raw food diet is animal products, especially meat, fish and seafood. At the same time, vegetables are allowed, but are not predominant in the diet. This form of raw food diet has its place, but is not as popular as the vegetarian one.

Fruitarian. Raw foodists, practitioners this form food, they don’t even eat vegetables, not to mention animal products. Raw fruits are the basis and only component of their diet.

Raw food diet: where to start?

Wake up with the decision to become a raw foodist and suddenly switch to special regime nutrition – shock therapy for the body, which can have unpleasant consequences. Before switching to a raw food diet, ask yourself: “Why do I need this?” Answer options:

For company with a friend/boyfriend, so that there are more common topics.
Many people say it's great.
Raw food diet is trending.
I don’t understand why cook food, because you can not cook at all, but eat everything raw.
I need a raw food diet - that’s what my body wants.

All answers except the last one indicate the wrong approach. Give up the idea of becoming a raw foodist - it’s not your thing. And even if the answer “5” fully reflects your thoughts and state of mind, you should weigh the pros and cons many times. The transition to a raw food diet should not be carried out independently without medical report: Not every person is able to survive the transition to a raw food diet and this lifestyle.

Contraindications to switching to a raw food diet

You can't be a raw foodist:

People who want to become parents in the near or distant future. Raw food diet will not work good nutrition reproductive cells, which can lead to infertility.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers whose milk reflects what they eat. The baby should receive all possible beneficial substances from milk, and the mother should help him with this.
Children and adolescents are growing organisms whose nutrition must be balanced. Raw food diet causes developmental delays, disruptions endocrine system and energy depletion.
Old people. The metabolism of older people is slow, so it will be difficult for their body to synthesize useful substances from exclusively raw foods.
Patients with stomach problems (gastritis, colitis, whose digestion of food is difficult).
Patients with tuberculosis, whose body should receive the maximum amount of useful and healthy food, especially protein-containing products: meat, fish, seafood, milk.

A raw food diet is recommended for people over 40 who have high arterial pressure, overweight or gout. They are prescribed a special short-term raw food diet.

How to switch to a raw food diet from a regular diet?

Becoming a raw foodist for a long time is a serious choice for which the body needs to be prepared. For a very long time and smoothly – at least one year – the average person’s body must switch to a raw food diet. The body will need this time to completely adapt to eating from a new source of energy - raw food. The most difficult period for a raw foodist is the first winter, so try to start preparing for a raw food diet in the spring, and start a new way of eating next summer, when a raw food diet will be a pleasant pleasure due to the abundance of vegetables and fruits.
Gradually, smoked meats, meat and fish products, canned food and semi-finished products need to be removed from the daily menu. Afterwards, you should limit yourself to flour and sweets, tea, coffee, alcohol, gradually removing these products from your diet.
Drink a lot of water. 2 liters is the minimum volume of liquid allowed when switching to a raw food diet. Do not overeat on fruits and vegetables containing fiber - the microflora of the gastrointestinal tract must be gradually accustomed to consumption raw vegetables and fruits.
Instead of the usual cereals, you can eat cereals and nuts, soaking them overnight in water. For example, oatmeal - left for 8 hours in water, in the company of dried fruits - is a completely decent raw foodist breakfast, not much different from everyday food. Fruit and vegetable salads– what is not tasty, familiar and healthy food from the point of view of a raw food diet? A lot of raw foodist dishes arouse the interest of the average person.

When eating a raw food diet, it is important to remember that the body, in addition to the vitamin-mineral complex, must receive sufficient, balanced amounts of proteins and carbohydrates. Meals per day can be from 2 to 6, depending on the individual needs of the body and the energy value of the products.

Switching to a raw food diet - possible consequences

There is no scientific or public consensus on the raw food diet. On the one hand, this is a natural (not distorted by civilization) way of feeding a person as a biological unit, which treats many diseases and helps improve the figure. On the other hand, it is a debilitating abuse of the body that can cause health problems.

Is a raw food diet healthy? Is it harmful? It is necessary to understand the experience of practicing raw foodists and medical experts.

The benefits of a raw food diet

People call for a raw food diet for two reasons: it is natural and it is healthy. It is natural for a person to eat a raw food diet, but not everyone is ready to decide on such a way of eating, losing in many ways compared to a raw foodist.

Raw food treatment. People often become raw foodists, having once switched to a similar diet in the fight against diseases of the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous or digestive systems. Taras Gavur, a practicing raw foodist from Kyiv, switched to a similar diet for at least five years. The impetus for this was problems with gastrointestinal tract. He was bothered by sharp pains radiating to his spine. On the recommendation of doctors, he paid attention to his diet and completely abandoned fried foods, and within five years he became a raw foodist. The reason for the young man’s choice of diet was his wife. The girl got rid of asthma by practicing a raw food diet.

Human battery charge. Raw foodists recognize that they have an abundance of energy resources. They are ready not only to work actively, but are also able to anticipate certain life events. According to Artem Voloshchuk, a cook at a specific cafe for creative vegetarians, the feeling of a surge of energy does not evaporate even after a hard day at work. According to statistics, raw foodists sleep less than the average person by 2-4 hours a day. A short six (or less) hours is enough for full recovery human biological resources. A raw foodist is full of energy and ready to work after a deep, quiet short sleep. A raw food diet refreshes the mind, that is, it makes the nervous system work more intensely and productively: thoughts are clear, the mind is enlightened and ready to make the right decisions.
Raw food diet for weight loss. Switching to a raw food diet causes a sharp decline weight due to a decrease in the amount of energy intake valuable products. Raw foodists cannot eat bread, porridge can only be infused in cold water, meat and fish can only be raw or dried (which not everyone can eat). Thus, very few high-calorie foods remain in the diet, which leads to the use of reserve resources (accumulated fats) to obtain energy for the day. For this reason, a raw food diet is sometimes prescribed for medicinal purposes as a temporary type of nutrition - a diet. A constant raw food diet can become a habit for the body, which subsequently leads to weight regain.

The harm of a raw food diet

The picture of the raw food lifestyle would be more rosy if it did not cause health problems. Opponents of raw food diet warn of irreversible negative consequences this method nutrition.

Raw food diet - the results of an experiment by a novice raw foodist

Avitaminosis. The period of transition to a special diet of raw foods is the most vulnerable to vitamin deficiency. An unbalanced diet causes insufficient intake of the vitamin and mineral complex into the body. The first symptoms of this are a feeling of numbness in the arms and legs, and a weak ability of the body to heal wounds. Raw foodist Yuri Volkov shares his impressions of a 3-month painful transition to a raw diet. Abdominal pain, constant loss of strength and weakness, aggravated allergic reactions- the person suffered all this during a crisis transition period.
Poisoning. If the combination of raw foods is incorrect, the food may not be digested at all. Try to follow the rules of nutrition so that everything is in order with digestion. The second cause of poisoning is substances and microorganisms found in products. Meat or fish may contain worm larvae; raw legumes themselves can release toxic substances in the stomach. Vegetable protein, contained in many products, can cause allergic reactions.
Aggression . The transition period to a raw food diet can result in a lack of multivitamins of group B. This is a consequence of a vegetarian or vegan raw food diet, in which meat and other animal products are not eaten. B-vitamins are responsible for the ability to control oneself - mental calm. Imbalance among raw foodists often manifests itself in those people who lead the opposite lifestyle.

Raw food diet - reviews from practicing raw foodists

Forced consistency. The diet of a raw foodist is very strict. You can't do this, you can't do that. What if someone sees it? My conscience will torture me! This is especially true for those who are surrounded by people practicing this lifestyle. Public opinion plays a significant role here. But it is important to remember that you became a raw foodist at the call of your body, and if at the call of the same body you want to deviate a little from the intended path, then you need it. You will come to your senses, admit it is a sin and return to a raw food diet. Voloshchuk Artem, a raw foodist whom we mentioned earlier, frankly says that it is everyone’s personal choice what he eats. And you are doing a raw food diet exclusively for yourself - you don’t care what others think. Even if you call yourself a raw foodist and adhere to a certain way of eating, no one has the right to reproach you for eating a roll of sushi or a piece of kebab. First of all, it is important to listen to your body, and not other people’s words.
Expensive. This criterion hits not the body, but the wallet. For a city dweller shopping in a supermarket, purchasing a month of raw food diet costs the same as 2 or 3 purchases for 30 days of regular food. The exception is land owners who always have vegetables and fruits on hand - it is cheaper for them to eat a raw food diet than to spend money on meat. Eating in a restaurant for a raw foodist is an unaffordable luxury. It's not even a matter of prices, but the availability of establishments, of which there are very few even in the capital.

Raw food diet - menu

We found out how useful it is to be a raw foodist and how harmful it is to become one. All that remains is to try to cook something from the kitchen of a raw foodist to experience the taste of dishes prepared without hot heat treatment.

Raw food diet: menu schedule for the week

There is no strict raw food diet schedule. This is a way of life that takes several years to achieve and live constantly. Try not to forget about the necessary intake of calories and vitamins. For this purpose, you need to be able to correctly combine foods when eating a raw food diet. There are several rules for this:

Do not eat fat-containing foods (nuts, avocado, coconut) with sweet berries, dried fruits or fruits. A thoughtless combination of fat and sugar will result in fermentation in the stomach, minimizing the benefits of the foods eaten.
But sour fruits (orange) are an exception to the previous rule. Acid promotes the breakdown of fat, and such fruits contain less fructose than others.
In turn, sour foods (tomato, orange) should not be eaten with starchy foods (potatoes, banana). The carbohydrates that make up starch cannot be synthesized by saliva, which contains a lot of acid. It is better to avoid eating potatoes and tomatoes, and eat bananas with sweet fruits (mangoes, apples).
An abundance of fat can lead to digestive problems. Don't eat fatty foods with fatty foods - avoid combining any of them listed products(walnut, coconut, avocado, vegetable oil).
Eat everything with greens - they are ready to be combined with any other food.
Eat fruits, sweet with sweet, sour with sour.
Eat vegetables only with vegetables.
Sprouts of grains or legumes, nuts soaked in water should be eaten as independent dishes, not combined with anything else.

Knowing the simple basics of combining products, you can create your own recipes.

Raw food diet, recipes

The raw food diet is interesting because of its inventive varieties of dishes. If you use grinding kitchen appliances, you can prepare very tasty nutritious goodness.

Raw food diet - simple recipes for the first and second

Borsch. Even such a dish can be eaten by raw foodists, but it is prepared somewhat differently than we imagine. We chop the carrots and beets partly on a grater, partly in a blender. Celery and greens - cut as convenient for us. Mix everything, add salt (not table salt), spices and water. The first dish is ready. Please note that just enough water is needed to turn the thick mixture from a blender and coarsely chopped products into a slightly liquid dish, but not into slop.
As for the second courses, porridges of non-standard preparation predominate: cereals soaked in water, sprouted green sprouts of cereals and many other hearty foods. Vegetables, oils, and herbs are added to grains, turning them into worthy dishes that are pleasant to eat. For example, a salad of sprouted green buckwheat with cucumber, bell pepper and dill - varied, healthy and satisfying.

Raw food recipes for snacks

Almond cheese. Almonds in a volume of 2 glasses are poured with a large amount of water and left for 8 hours. After this, the swollen nuts are ground in a food processor, adding little by little mineral water(no more than 2 glasses). Lemon juice, crushed garlic and other seasonings are added to the mixture for taste. Place gauze folded in 3 layers into a deep plate. They pour out the pulp, tie the gauze scroll with a rope and hang it up, just like cheese. The bundle can hang indoors or outdoors at a moderate air temperature of about 23 ° C.
Champignon mushrooms, which can be eaten even raw, can be marinated with green onions in lemon juice, salt and oil. Within 2 hours the dish is ready.

Raw food diet - sweets for every day and on holidays

Desserts are often based on nuts, dried fruits, bananas and other delicious foods. They are crushed, dried with dehydrate, laid in layers, mixed or frozen. The result is wonderful sweets: cakes, rolls, ice cream and other desserts.

Rafaelki. For 300 g kernels walnut take 250 g of liquid honey, 3 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (or nutmeg, ginger - whatever you like). Crush the nuts in a blender and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Rolled in sesame seeds or coconut flakes. The result is an energy-rich dish that contains proteins and fats, which is important for maintaining the vital functions of the body.

Beverages

Prepare drinks by mixing vegetables or fruits in a blender. For example, pumpkin, beets and apples in equal proportions or celery and banana are very tasty combinations. It's not hard to come up with own recipe drink If the juice or gruel turns out to be thick or concentrated, the mix is diluted with water.

Fresh fruits and berries are very tasty and healthy.

Raw food diet: before and after

Becoming a raw foodist is a person’s personal choice. This is not to say that it is irreversible, but this is often what happens. A raw food diet is becoming not only a way of eating, but also a way of life.

The worst thing about a raw food diet is the transition to a way of eating that can destroy the body. Therefore, you need to change the menu very slowly and unobtrusively. Adaptation of the body should occur from 1 to 5 years so as not to cause complications.

If you eat food in the right sequence and with the right energy value, a raw food diet will not turn you into a living skeleton. A raw food diet can maintain a person’s normal weight and enrich him with essential substances.

The choice is yours.

When switching to new system nutrition - raw food diet - a person very often takes with him old bad habits, namely eating everything at once, filling the stomach (feeling of heaviness), eating without taking into account biorhythms, rushing while eating, etc. All this can cause constipation, diarrhea, colic, weakness, bad feeling etc. That is, no healing effect occurs from plant foods, and health deteriorates even more. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to adhere to the principles of an effective raw food diet and switch to a plant-based diet wisely.

Only moderate nutrition, the right combination of foods and accounting guarantee energy, good mood, and the absence of weakness both after eating and throughout the day.

Principles of an effective raw food diet

Eat fruits separately

People tend to save fruit for dessert (after the main meal), but in reality, fruit and fruit juice should ALWAYS be consumed separately from other foods, otherwise they can cause fermentation, which manifests itself in the form of diarrhea, heartburn, bloating, and belching. After taking them, 20-30 minutes should pass before you can start another meal.

Don't mix different types of fruits

Each food requires digestive juices of its own composition for better absorption and digestion. From the right combination different types The amount of food you eat determines whether your breakfast or lunch turns into nutrients or toxins.

Sweet fruits(bananas, all dried fruits, figs, persimmons, dates) can be combined with each other and with semi-acidic fruits.

Semi-acidic fruits and berries(apricots, watermelons, grapes, cherries, blueberries, pears, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, peaches, plums, blueberries, apples) are combined with each other and with sour fruits.

Sour fruits and berries(pineapples, oranges, pomegranates, grapefruits, blackberries, cranberries, lemons, tangerines, currants) are compatible with each other and with semi-acidic fruits.

In addition, bananas, grapes and melon are known for their “scrupulousness”: they are perfectly digestible if eaten on their own, but are incompatible with any other product. Therefore, it is necessary to eat them not before or after meals, but as the main meal.

Take water and food at different times

It is best to drink 30 minutes before meals, and an hour should pass after meals. Their simultaneous use causes irritation of the gastric mucosa due to the fact that acidity gastric juice rises. The result is indigestion.

Eat only when you are hungry

A person’s habit of constantly chewing something causes a feeling of heaviness and bloating, caused by the fact that the stomach does not have time to absorb food from a large amount of it. You can eat any amount of plant foods, but still try to get up from the table with a feeling of lightness.

Chew thoroughly and do not eat on the go

Try to stick to the principles.

Listen to your body and eat according to biorhythms

06:00-10:00 - a period of relaxation, calm and cleansing of the body. When you wake up, you need to drink a glass of water.

10:00 - 14:00 - time for rapid metabolism. During this period, you can safely eat as much as you want, the food will be fully digested.

14:00 - 18:00 - increased mental and physical performance. If a person is involved in sports at this time, then exercise will help better digestion food and cleansing.

18:00 - 22:00 is a period of mental relaxation and maximum joint mobility, so you can safely do some stretching.

22:00 - 02:00 - time for digestion of evening food and recovery: tissue and damaged cells are regenerated. It is best to go to bed during this period, and not eat, like many people. :)

02:00 - 06:00 - this “window” is characterized by vivid dreams and active activity of the nervous system. If you get up at 5 am, then a person will feel cheerful all day, and if at this time he has not yet gone to bed, the body is exhausted.

In conclusion, I would like to add that the transition to a raw food diet is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. It takes time for you to get rid of old bad habits and learn new ones. useful rules for Your health. After mastering the rules of eating plant-based foods, your new schedule and diet will become the norm and you will begin to truly enjoy it!