Raw Foods Summary by David Wolfe
A raw food (also called living food) diet is an uncooked vegan or vegetarian diet, which consists of berries, fruits, vegetables, roots, nuts, flowers, sea vegetables, germinated seeds, sprouts, and sometimes raw dairy products (for maintenance, not cleansing). Plants are rich natural sources of antioxidants and other nutrients. In addition, the live food also contains enzymes which act as catalysts for detoxification and absorption of nutrients. Under Naturopathy, juices of certain vegetables and fruits are used as cancer fighting foods.
Green Leafy Vegetables
This is probably the most important group of foods because it is so desperately lacking in civilization’s diet. Green leaves are the best source of alkaline minerals, contain the best fiber, have many calming, antistress properties, and are the best source of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a blood-builder and one of nature’s great healers. Green, leafy foods are the most abundant foods on Earth. In July of 1940, a comprehensive report written by Dr. Benjamin Gurskin, director of experimental pathology at Temple University, that focused on 1,200 patients treated with chlorophyll was published in the American Journal of Surgery. On the power of chlorophyll, he said, “It is interesting to note there is not a single case recorded in which improvement or cure has not taken place.” In 1950, Dr. Howard Westcott found that just 100 milligrams of chlorophyll in the diet neutralized bad breath, body odor, menstrual odors, and foul-smelling urine and stools.
Enzymes
The most enzyme-active location that exists in any mammal is found in the mouth of a child eating cooked food. If cooked food is eaten, the body attempts to adapt by increasing the enzyme content of the saliva in order to begin breaking down cooked food as quickly as possible. This adaptation lasts as long as the body has enzyme reserves. As we age, our reserves decrease. Doctor Meyer and his associates at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, found that the enzymes in the saliva of young adults were 30 times stronger than in persons over the age of 69. Without the proper enzymes to break down our foods, we begin to accumulate undigested materials in our system. This leads to weight gain, inflammation, stagnation, digestive distress, and fatigue. The saliva of a raw-food eater contains far fewer enzymes than that of a person who eats cooked food. This is because raw foods contain enzymes of their own, making salivary enzymes not as strongly needed for digestion. Our enzyme reserves correlate to our vitality.
Organic Food
In 1993, Doctor’s Data Lab of Chicago conducted a study published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition (Vol. 45, Issue # 1). For over two years, researchers collected foods such as apples, corn, peas, and potatoes from organic foods stores and regular supermarkets in the Chicago area, just like a typical shopper. Their lab test results showed that, by weight, organic produce contained at least twice the nutritional mineral content of regular supermarket produce, and far less dangerous heavy metal residues, such as aluminum, lead, and mercury.
Pesticides
On March 9, 2003, The New York Times reported that 68 pesticide ingredients have been determined to cause cancer. The National Academy of Sciences released a finding reported in USA Today on June 28, 1993, which stated, “By the time the average child is a year old, s/he will have received the acceptable lifetime doses of 8 pesticides from 20 commonly eaten foods.” Pesticides are unacceptable at any level, and definitely should be avoided on our food.
Dangers of Cooking Food
According to a team of Indian and American researchers, the major source of potentially climate changing soot in the air over south Asia is home cooking fires. The Associated Press reported on March 3, 2005 the following: “…of the black soot in the atmosphere, 42 percent originates from cooking fires, 25 percent from burning fossil fuels and 13 percent from open burning such as forest fires.”© David Wolfe 2010
SUPERFOODS…What are they?
Superfoods are a class of the most potent, super-concentrated, and nutrient-rich foods on the planet. Extremely tasty and satisfying, superfoods have the ability to tremendously increase the vital force and energy of one’s body, and are the optimum choice for improving over-all health, boosting the immune system, elevating serotonin production, enhancing sexuality, cleansing, lowering inflammation, and alkalizing the body. Nourishing us at the deepest level possible, they are the true fuel of today’s “superhero.”
Top 10 Superfoods and Tonic Herbs
1. Cacao (Raw Chocolate) — The seed/nut of a fruit of an Amazonian tree, cacao is the highest antioxidant food on the planet, the #1 source of antioxidants, magnesium, iron, manganese, and chromium and is also extremely high in PEA, theobromine (cardiovascular support), and anandamide (“bliss chemical”). Raw Chocolate improves cardiovascular health, builds strong bones, is a natural aphrodisiac, elevates your mood and energy, and increases longevity.
2. Goji Berries (Wolfberries) — Used in traditional Chinese medicine for over 5,000 years, goji berries are regarded as a longevity, strength-building, and potency food of the highest order. This superfood contains 18 kinds of amino acids, including all 8 essential amino acids, up to 21 trace minerals, high amounts of antioxidants, iron, polysaccharides, B & E vitamins, and many other nutrients.
3. Maca — A staple in the Peruvian Andes for thousands of years, this adaptogenic superfood increases energy, endurance, strength, and libido. Dried maca powder contains more than 10% protein, nearly 20 amino acids, including 7 essential amino acids. As a root crop, maca contains five times more protein than a potato and four times more fiber.
4. Hemp Products eaten in their RAW form — Hemp seeds are packed with 33% pure digestible protein, and are rich in iron, amino acids, and vitamin E as well as omega-3’s and GLA. Hemp is a perfect food for growing children and adults looking to increase protein intake.
5. Spirulina and AFA Blue-Green Algae — Spirulina is the world’s highest source of complete protein (65%). Spirulina provides a vast array of minerals, trace elements, phytonutrients, and enzymes. AFA Blue-green algae is a wild-grown superfood that is made up of 15% blue pigmented phycocyanin which, according to Christian Drapeau in his book Primordial Food, increases our internal production of stem cells. Both Sprirulina and Blue-green Algae are vital superfoods.
6. Bee Products (honey, pollen, and propolis) — Bee pollen is the most complete food found in nature containing nearly all B vitamins especially vitamin B9 (folate) and all 21 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Honey, in its organic/wild, raw, unfiltered states is rich in minerals, antioxidants,probiotics, and enzymes, and is one of the highest vibration foods on the planet. If your metabolism can handle sweeteners, honey is the best. Russian research indicates that honey is a longevity superfood.
7. Camu Berry — Highest Vitamin C source on planet. Great for rebuilding tissue, purifying blood, and enhancing immunity, and energy. Camu berry is one of the best anti-depressants, immune building, and eye-nourishing superfoods in the world.
8. Sea Vegetables (kelp, dulse, nori, hijiki, bladderwrack, chlorella, etc) — Rich in life-giving nutrients drawn in from the ocean and sun, sea vegetables help remove heavy metals, detoxify the body of radioactive iodine, provide numerous trace minerals, regulate immunity, and decrease the risk of cancer. Seaweeds benefit the entire body, and are especially excellent for the thyroid, immune system, adrenals, and hormone function.
9. Medicinal Mushrooms (Reishi, chaga, cordyceps, maitake, shiitake, lion’s mane, etc.) — High in polysaccharides and super immune enhancing components, medicinal mushrooms are one of the most intelligent adaptogenic herb/superfoods on the planet! They have also been proven effective in healing cancer and a variety of other ailments.
10. Additional Powerful Superfoods and Supplements — MSM, Digestive and Metabolic Enzymes, Mangosteen powder, Marine Phytoplankton, Activated Liquid Zeolite, Ormus, MegaHydrate, Crystal Energy, Krill Oil (not vegan, lowest on the food-chain, a source of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids).
