Raw foods rock when it comes to promoting health and well-being. Don’t get me wrong, though. In principle, there is no big problem if you consume cooked foods in parallel. However, make sure you also eat enough of the raw foods (and enough of the raw organic juices as well).

Living in the nowadays modern age, you simply have to eat plenty of processed and cooked foods. Period. But, eating too much of it can potentially cause physical problems that are easily reflected on the emotional and mental planes of existence. One should be aware that the condition of the body influences the soul (and vice versa).

Why the Food is Cooked at the First Place

Let’s see what the main reasons for cooking our foods are.

• Easier digestion: Cooking makes the food softer. It can be chewed and swallowed more easily.
• Safety reasons: Cooked food is safer for eating. Cooking eliminates the bacteria and other harmful microorganisms, making the food safe for eating.
• Hedonistic reasons: The taste of some foods might be better after cooking. This is a matter of personal taste and disposition. Also we are biased by having certain eating habits from our earlier age.
• Aesthetic reasons: Cooked food might be visually more attractive and can be presentable in different ways.
• Finally – cooking helps in preserving the food for latter use.

Reading the above pro-cooked-foods arguments, one naturally asks the question. Is then the raw food safe enough? If I’m going to consume raw foods, what if there is Escherichia coli, salmonella, or parasites that cause food poisoning? Remember that not so long ago people were not able to use refrigerators. Actually, the first fridge as a self-contained unit was invented in 1923. That’s why a couple of decades earlier,  Pasteur had to think about a method, his famous pasteurization method, to keep the food safe. As much as this method works great for killing the bacteria, it also diminishes the health value of the foods, annihilating the enzymes, increasing its acidity, and altering the vitamins.

Raw is Healthier

Apart from the safety reasons, all the other arguments are pretty much a matter of personal taste, habit, and convenience. And the safety reasons are obsolete if you properly store (freeze or vacuum) your raw foods. One thing is certain. Cooked and processed food is certainly good to sustain life, but it potentially fails on the level of regeneration of our cells and tissues. Fresh juices, when extracted from organic fruits and vegetables, are the nourishment our body needs – they are easily assimilated and readily used for cleansing and revitalization of our bodily systems. Juices contain some of the most important amino acids, vitamins, and enzymes. Just make sure you use them fresh – without preservatives – and raw.

When there is not enough fresh, organic, living substance for your organism, you can take several large meals a day, at the same time failing to assimilate the vital elements, vitamins, and enzymes.

If you are already used to consuming cooked foods, don’t change your eating habits abruptly. That’s not a good idea. Sudden changes of eating habits might cause disturbances, even if later on they may prove to be beneficial. It is much better to incorporate raw foods, together with fruit and vegetable juices, in a gradual manner.

What about the Fried Foods?

Simply put, try to diminish the amount of fried food in you daily diet. Here is a nice article about how to approach fried foods, so that it remains safe and healthy. Wrapped up from the above link – frying foods under the right conditions can be acceptable. Again do not make frying food a daily routine.

Energy Spent on Digestion

Fresh raw juices should accompany any diet, or even if there is no special diet. Juices are vitally important. They will deliver to the body all the live elements and vitamins that are nowhere to be found in the cooked food. In case of a raw food diet, vegetable and fruit juices should also be consumed. This is due to the fact that raw foods are not so easily digested, and a lot of energy is being spent on digesting, aiding the assimilation of the food. So the vital energy obtained by the raw food itself is used up as fuel, instead of being used for regenerative purposes.

Juices extracted from fresh fruits and vegetables are being digested after just 10 to 20 minutes. This markedly contrasts the time needed for assimilation of raw foods, which is usually good three or four hours. Juices provide a lot of vital energy, enzymes, salts, vitamins and minerals. All this happens with minimal effort on the part of the bodily digestive systems.

It is very important to drink freshly prepared juices on a daily basis. The more completely the juice is extracted, the more efficiently it will be. It does not matter much if you are also regularly consuming cooked foods. You need not make sudden changes to your diet. In addition to the juices you should also take some raw foods just to provide enough fibers necessary for the proper functioning of the intestines.

A tip. Never consume your fruits with the meal plentiful of starches and sugars (like pastas, potatoes…). Carbohydrates are already present in the fruits…