I do a lot of yoga. I consume granola, kombu and green juice (not together). Lately, I don't even like meat or even cheese as much as I used to. There. Now that that's out of the way, I should add that I have no intention of giving up shawarma or pizza on any sort of permanent basis. While I may feel better after a meal of brown rice, seaweed and tofu than I do after a night at Mr. Bartley's Burgers, there is nothing social, or even particularly fun about brown rice, seaweed and tofu, unless you find yourself surrounded by high-on-life (or pot) vegans.
However, I must admit to being tempted by the raw food movement. I'm surrounded by these so-called "raw foodists" every day, and am constantly bombarded with unsolicited information about how this lifestyle change keeps their skin clear and bright, makes them look younger, gives them a ton of energy, keeps them in a better mood all day, gets rid of digestive issues, and allows them to eat as much as they want while still losing weight. It's that last one that truly gets to me (I guess this proves I'm not all that good a yogi). Not that I'm fat. Just cause I like sandwiches doesn't mean I'm fat. I'm just not as skinny as I was when I was an anorexic teenager. And, according to these people, I could be, while consuming twice my body weight in avocados and cashew butter!
So, of course I looked into it.
Apparently, cooking destroys enzymes in food. I knew that already. But, what I didn't know, what raw food sites tell me, is that if these enzymes are destroyed, our body has to make its own in order to digest the cooked food. This uses energy that could be better used making us beautifuler. I didn't know this, because what I do know- that during digestion, proteins contained in food, such as those functioning as enzymes, are spliced apart into amino acids, absorbed into the blood stream, and then put back together into whatever proteins the body needs to make- seems to contradict it. Cooking denatures enzymes, meaning it changes their shape. It does not change their amino acid make-up. Therefore, theoretically, a raw almond contains the same nutrients as a roasted almond.
But, say you didn't believe that. I feel substantially different when I eat a raw apple than when I eat apple pie, so there must be something to this raw thing. There's this other theory about the body's immune response to cooked food vs raw food. Supposedly, cooked food induces an immune response and mucus production, where as raw food does not.
If that's good enough for you (I'm still stuck on the eat as much as you want and not gain weight bit), there are three very notable caveats to making this switch:
1) To truly go raw, to jump in 100%, you'll need a varied diet. You can be raw and still eat crackers, granola, even pizza (cheeseless, I assume). All you need are:
-a VitaMix blender ($400)
-dehydrator ($40+)
-Juicer ($50-$300)
-a lot of space for soaking and sprouting seeds and grains.
If all these seem like reasonable purchaces, do bear in mind that going raw isn't akin to going vegan. Vegans can eat cooked rice and beans all day. If you're raw, you're eating fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, nut butters, tahini, organic grains, agave syrup or honey, raw cacao beans, seaweed, and carob. In short you're eating very well. But, after one week of this, you're going to have to decide between your diet and shoes...
2) As it turns out, raw food isn't very easily digestible. Who knew? In order to stay healthy and full of energy, you shouldn't eat nuts unless you soak them over night first, and then dehydrate them in the dehydrator, about 24 hours total. To eat grains, you need to soak them for a long time, then sprout them, then dehydrate them. In short, if you start now, you can eat in about 4 days. Raw food recipes are not all so invloved, but to make anything fun like granola or crackers, you need to plan ahead. Days ahead. Maybe even a week ahead. As a spontaneous person, i find this disturbing.
3) Unless you live in LA, you're not going to be eating out very often. There are some raw food resturants, even take out places, but, never again will you get to be out, get hungry and eat at the first nice/cute place you see. NEVER. I mean, I guess you could order a salad, hold the dressing, croutons, cheese etc., but that's so 1970s.
Still, it sounds good, if you're the type of health nut that like to be the best you can be. I'm not going to point out that is its own special eating disorder. Instead, a script:
MARY AND ROGER MAKE RAW GRANOLA:
MARY: I'm hungry.
ROGER: Yeah. You know what I'm craving right now? Granola!
MARY: Mmmmm. Good idea. I'll start soaking the barley.
ROGER: I'll soak the almonds and sunflower seeds. I'm psyched!
12 hours later
MARY: Let's get the barley and sunflower seeds on the sprouting tray. I can taste it now. I love granola!
ROGER: I know. Isn't it great that we can eat all the foods we love and live the raw lifestyle? I'll dehydrate the almonds.
12 hours later
ROGER: The almonds are done. I'm gonna eat some.
3 days later
ROGER: I'll soak some more almonds.
8 hours later
MARY: Sprouts! I am on such a raw high right now! Let's dehydrate these and the almonds.
12 hours later
ROGER: Time to make granola. I need the agave, coconut oil, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla.
MARY: Let's dehydrate that baby. Smells good already.
12 hours later
ROGER: It's done.
MARY: I'm actually kinda in the mood for a fresh fruit smoothie!
ROGER: Ooh. Good Idea. Good idea.
However, I must admit to being tempted by the raw food movement. I'm surrounded by these so-called "raw foodists" every day, and am constantly bombarded with unsolicited information about how this lifestyle change keeps their skin clear and bright, makes them look younger, gives them a ton of energy, keeps them in a better mood all day, gets rid of digestive issues, and allows them to eat as much as they want while still losing weight. It's that last one that truly gets to me (I guess this proves I'm not all that good a yogi). Not that I'm fat. Just cause I like sandwiches doesn't mean I'm fat. I'm just not as skinny as I was when I was an anorexic teenager. And, according to these people, I could be, while consuming twice my body weight in avocados and cashew butter!
So, of course I looked into it.
Apparently, cooking destroys enzymes in food. I knew that already. But, what I didn't know, what raw food sites tell me, is that if these enzymes are destroyed, our body has to make its own in order to digest the cooked food. This uses energy that could be better used making us beautifuler. I didn't know this, because what I do know- that during digestion, proteins contained in food, such as those functioning as enzymes, are spliced apart into amino acids, absorbed into the blood stream, and then put back together into whatever proteins the body needs to make- seems to contradict it. Cooking denatures enzymes, meaning it changes their shape. It does not change their amino acid make-up. Therefore, theoretically, a raw almond contains the same nutrients as a roasted almond.
But, say you didn't believe that. I feel substantially different when I eat a raw apple than when I eat apple pie, so there must be something to this raw thing. There's this other theory about the body's immune response to cooked food vs raw food. Supposedly, cooked food induces an immune response and mucus production, where as raw food does not.
If that's good enough for you (I'm still stuck on the eat as much as you want and not gain weight bit), there are three very notable caveats to making this switch:
1) To truly go raw, to jump in 100%, you'll need a varied diet. You can be raw and still eat crackers, granola, even pizza (cheeseless, I assume). All you need are:
-a VitaMix blender ($400)
-dehydrator ($40+)
-Juicer ($50-$300)
-a lot of space for soaking and sprouting seeds and grains.
If all these seem like reasonable purchaces, do bear in mind that going raw isn't akin to going vegan. Vegans can eat cooked rice and beans all day. If you're raw, you're eating fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, nut butters, tahini, organic grains, agave syrup or honey, raw cacao beans, seaweed, and carob. In short you're eating very well. But, after one week of this, you're going to have to decide between your diet and shoes...
2) As it turns out, raw food isn't very easily digestible. Who knew? In order to stay healthy and full of energy, you shouldn't eat nuts unless you soak them over night first, and then dehydrate them in the dehydrator, about 24 hours total. To eat grains, you need to soak them for a long time, then sprout them, then dehydrate them. In short, if you start now, you can eat in about 4 days. Raw food recipes are not all so invloved, but to make anything fun like granola or crackers, you need to plan ahead. Days ahead. Maybe even a week ahead. As a spontaneous person, i find this disturbing.
3) Unless you live in LA, you're not going to be eating out very often. There are some raw food resturants, even take out places, but, never again will you get to be out, get hungry and eat at the first nice/cute place you see. NEVER. I mean, I guess you could order a salad, hold the dressing, croutons, cheese etc., but that's so 1970s.
Still, it sounds good, if you're the type of health nut that like to be the best you can be. I'm not going to point out that is its own special eating disorder. Instead, a script:
MARY AND ROGER MAKE RAW GRANOLA:
MARY: I'm hungry.
ROGER: Yeah. You know what I'm craving right now? Granola!
MARY: Mmmmm. Good idea. I'll start soaking the barley.
ROGER: I'll soak the almonds and sunflower seeds. I'm psyched!
12 hours later
MARY: Let's get the barley and sunflower seeds on the sprouting tray. I can taste it now. I love granola!
ROGER: I know. Isn't it great that we can eat all the foods we love and live the raw lifestyle? I'll dehydrate the almonds.
12 hours later
ROGER: The almonds are done. I'm gonna eat some.
3 days later
ROGER: I'll soak some more almonds.
8 hours later
MARY: Sprouts! I am on such a raw high right now! Let's dehydrate these and the almonds.
12 hours later
ROGER: Time to make granola. I need the agave, coconut oil, coconut, cinnamon and vanilla.
MARY: Let's dehydrate that baby. Smells good already.
12 hours later
ROGER: It's done.
MARY: I'm actually kinda in the mood for a fresh fruit smoothie!
ROGER: Ooh. Good Idea. Good idea.
