Make Raw Fruits and Vegetables your Evening Meal :: Food and Nutrition :: Diets

Make Raw Fruits and Vegetables your Evening Meal
by author George Malkmus

Historically, lack of protein has been a primary nutritional concern. However, people are more likely to have a deficiency in vitamins, minerals and enzymes than in protein. The main reason for this shortage is that most people don’t eat a large enough variety and quantity of fresh, raw vegetables and fruit. Enzymes are found only in raw food and most people have exhausted their enzyme potential (the body’s ability to produce digestive and metabolic enzymes) by consuming excessive amounts of cooked food. Raw vegetable salads are also a great source of protein.

Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, carbohydrates, fats, water and fibre are all essential components of a healthy diet. Every one of these can be found in raw, plant-based foods. The more you learn about the nutritional deficiencies in cooked and processed foods, the more you will appreciate your fresh salad, raw fruits and vegetables. Most consider a salad to be an optional, less important part of their evening meal–an appetizer before the "main course." This is unfortunate. A good salad has all the nutritional components required by our body–a claim that can’t be made by any cooked food.

When planning your evening meal, there are many things you could skip–a salad isn’t one of them. You could omit bread and cooked food without creating a nutritional deficiency. You could–and should–skip the meat, dairy products and dessert. But if you want all the essential nutrients needed by your body, you cannot omit a good, raw salad of fresh, living vegetables.

Raw vegetables are more nutritious than cooked vegetables. Heat from cooking destroys all enzymes and most vitamins, while the protein and minerals are altered by heat into a form that’s extremely difficult for the body to use. Enzymes are the force that helps nutrients work in the body and are among the first nutrients lost to heat or long storage. You can add an avocado and Udo’s Ultimate Oil (available in your local health food store) for your essential fatty acids.

Raw fruits and vegetables are composed of between 70 and 90 percent water. Our bodies lose almost four-and-a-half litres of water a day, which must be replaced. The water from raw fruits and vegetables should account for most of this replacement.

The solution to avoiding any dietary deficiencies is to consume a broad variety of fresh raw fruits, vegetables and fresh vegetable juices, especially dark green and deeply coloured vegetables and sea vegetables. You’ll also be well supplied with protein, enzymes, carbohydrates, fats, water and fibre–all from a living, natural source.

George Malkmus is the founder and director of Hallelujah Acres. For additional information, call Hallelujah Acres Canada at 519-935-9999. E-mail: canada@hacres.com.

Source: alive #229, November 2001

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