The Fruit And Vegetable Guide To Healthy Living

Foods such as fruits and vegetables contain not only the
vitamins and minerals that are often found in supplements,
but also other naturally occurring substances that may help
protect you from chronic diseases.

Variety also is important because fruits and vegetables
provide other nutrients, such as folate, potassium, calcium,
and iron, which every single public health agency recommends
3 to 5 servings every day.

Using herbs or seasoning instead of butter or fat could make
vegetables more distinctive. Vegetables may be raw or
cooked; fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/dehydrated; and may
be whole, cut-up, or mashed. But certainly the acid test or
taste of the good cook will be in the preparation of
vegetables.

The idea of using raw vegetables is the most desirable for
any menu, and especially for the low-fat menus and raw food
diets, since many of the vital vitamins and minerals in
vegetables may be destroyed by cooking.

The raw food diet is said to provide you with quick weight
loss results. Use raw vegetables almost exclusively, since
the vitamin value is at peak this way, and the crispness of
the vegetables is most appetizing. Various combinations can
be used with vegetables, cottage cheese, or gelatin recipes.


Along with vegetables, fruits also contain virtually no fat
and are entirely free of any cholesterol. When fresh fruits
are not in season, use dried, canned, or frozen fruits.
There is no much restriction on the use of fruits, which are
also certainly ideal for desserts, except avocado and
coconut, which are both very high in fat content and thus
should be used less.

Fruits and vegetables salads are very popular and often
served before a main course. However, a well-constructed
vegetable or fruits salad can be served as a meal all alone
in a low fat or raw food diet.

Aspic salads are excellent when prepared with vegetables or
vegetable juices. And gelatin salads are special favorites
to many, especially when made with fruit juices instead of
water. If cottage cheese is added to gelatin and aspic
salads, more protein and "body" results.

Eating fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of cancer,
particularly cancers of the gastrointestinal tract,
according to a high-level international review of research
findings. And also helps reduce the risk of heart disease,
high blood pressure, diabetes and cataracts.

How You Can Detox With A Raw Food Diet

By George B. Siba

We are continually inhaling residues from petrochemicals,
plastics and pesticides. At no time in the earth's history
has the average person had to live in a more polluted
environment. Along with the environmental toxins there are
toxins the body builds up internally.

The good news is, our body is always cleaning itself,
detoxifying is an constant part of our lives. Detoxification
is what our body does to purge the environmental and
chemical toxins from your body. The skin, lungs, liver,
kidneys and lymphatic system work together to remove these
poisons, as they build up. If this is not done on ongoing
bases toxins can disrupt every system in our body.

If your body does not get toxins out through its own
detoxification system you will get clogged with these
poisons, and it will affect every cell of our body. You will
start to notice a difference in your physical, mental and
emotional health.

Toxins can create such problems as lethargy, foggy thinking,
mood swings, and digestive problems. Raw foods assist the
digestive system in the process of taking away the dangerous
toxins from the cells of the body.

In an attempt to detoxify, our bowels, kidneys and liver can
get overloaded. Our channels of elimination can become
blocked. The western diet is often acid forming, and it just
contributes toward being toxic. To relieve the strains on
the kidneys and liver it is more important than ever to do
what you can to help with the detoxification process.

Most of the healing traditions except Western Medicine offer
body purification as a way to clean out the system so that
the body can heal without hindrances.

Raw food helps to detoxify the body by flushing out these
poisons. In addition to helping your bodies detoxify, raw
foods provide the body with nutrients it needs to feel your
best.

The raw food diet revolves around the consumption of all
natural, organic, unprocessed and uncooked fruits and
vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, legumes, seaweeds,
dried fruit, freshly made juices, raw carob powder, cold
pressed olive oil and certain spices, seasonings and mineral
water. Nothing is heated above 116 degrees F because this
destroys the enzymes in the food that helps with digestion.


What to expect on a raw food diet.

The principle of the plan is to get rid of toxins and waste
from the body. You will look great and you may start to feel
great almost immediately. For many people during the first
weeks, when the process of detoxification starts, you are
likely to experience some negative detox reactions, such as
nausea, headache, fatigue, coated tongue, foul breath,
madness, etc. This is because your body is flushing out
toxins. You need to drink lots of water, get plenty of rest,
and don't eat cooked food or your detox will stop.

Sticking to a raw food diet is not difficult once you get
into it. You will feel so good that you will not want to go
back to the old way of eating.