The Stone Age Caveman Diet

Raw Food Diet &  Weight Loss

Thinking about the raw food diet plan for weight loss? The raw diet plan can indeed take off unwanted weight, but the dieter who goes raw must be willing to put in a little elbow grease to enjoy the diet to the fullest. If you're into juicing, dehydrating, chopping and coconut milking, you just may be the things that raw dieters are made of....

Another health benefit?  Raw foods are generally crunchy and aid in cleaning the teeth, and are much better for dental health than sugary, fatty foods.  Here are just a few raw food suggestions for healthy weight loss:

- Ditch those fatty regular snacks and replace with a healthy raw fruit or raw vegetable.  Apples, bananas, and raw carrots will satisfy hunger with a minimal of calories.

- Rather than beef, garlic bread and tacos for dinner, enjoy a large salad that consists of field greens, chopped apple, a few chopped nuts or hulled sunflower seeds, tomatoes, peppers, shredded carrots, shredded squash, sliced cucumber drizzled with a bit of low fat dressing.

- Incorporate protein food sources with raw foods if you don't want to go totally raw.  Our favorites include peanut butter and apple, omelets filled with raw sliced mushrooms, REAL cheese (not cheese food) with sliced apples and sliced bananas with a wedge of sponge cake.

The Raw Food Diet, Living things thrive on other living things.

One of the key points of the raw diet is that food enzymes found naturally in raw foods are destroyed with heat during the cooking process.  The decline of essential enzymes in raw foods occurs at a temperature of 116 degrees.

Another theory of the raw diet is that when heat hits the food, precious vitamins and nutrients escape and create foods that are harder to digest. When foods are unable to be fully digested, they are a source of sludge to the system.  (And who wants a half-digested cheese pizza lingering inside?)  These life preserving enzymes are thought to produce the essential elements necessary for complete digestion without the use of the stomach's natural processing of foods.

Controversy - The Raw Food Diet

Controversy on Raw Food Diet: Although raw foods are widely considered healthier than cooked foods, some raw foods contain not-so-healthy phytochemicals which are very easily absorbed by the body.  Cooking banishes phytochemicals from some foods, thus making cooked foods a healthier choice.

Food dehydrators are a useful tool for the raw dieter because they work effectively at drying out raw foods at a temperature below the 116 degree magic mark.  They also alter the taste of the raw food and that helps to keep the diet interesting.

Here's the basics for the raw food plan:

- 75% of the daily diet should comprise of raw (uncooked) foods

- raw foods that are organically grown are highly encouraged

- The following foods help make up the raw food diet plan:

Foods on the Raw Diet Plan - Food List for Raw Food Diet

Fresh fruits & their juices (fruits are often juiced on the raw diet plan) , fresh vegetables & their juices (vegetables are often juiced on the raw diet plan), beans & legumes (often sprouted which is a fun activity!) , sun dried fruits & vegetables, nuts & seeds, seaweeds, grains, purified water, and coconut milk.

Raw Diet  Nutritional Benefits & Data

Nutritional Elements of the Raw Diet Plan May Lead to a Deficiency in Some Vitamins. The Raw Diet Plan is high in fiber, high in potassium, low in sodium, low in fat, low in calcium and low in iron.

About Raw Food Dieting

Most raw fruits and vegetables are very low in calories - bananas, potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes being a few exceptions to the rule. A raw food diet is high in fiber and allows the dieter to eat very frequently throughout the day.  A raw food diet is so low in calories that it can be difficult to obtain all the nutrients that your body needs on a daily basis. Salt should be used sparingly in raw food diets.

Most raw food diets advise that fruits and vegetables are not mixed, and should be eaten at different times throughout the day. Dried fruits may be added to the raw diet and they provide more calories than their non-dried, plump counterparts.

Raw foods consist mainly of water and fiber and the dieter must eat very frequently throughout the day.

Due to pesticide concerns, organically grown foods are recommended for raw food diets. If you are planning on pursing a raw food diet, consider a personal garden.  

Lentils can be sprouted in water by soaking for 7-10 hours - depending on your climate. Drain and keep moist by misting with a spray bottle. Lentils are a great source of raw protein. They may even be enjoyed in their 'lentil' state by soaking to soften before eating, while not yet at the 'sprout' stage.  

Supplement with vitamins B-12 (Vitamin B-12 is normally garnered from meats), copper, zinc, and chromium. Seek out the benefit of flax seeds for the important Omega 3's in your diet, but limit intake to a spoon.  Too many flax seeds can interfere with the thyroid.

Always meet with your doctor before pursuing your diet plan or weight loss program, particularly when contemplating fad diets such as a Raw Food Diet.

Health Benefits of the Raw Diet Plan

Other than weight loss, the raw dieter can look forward to the following: more energy, release of toxins from the body, improved digestion, healthier skin and nails, reduced risk of some diseases, in particular, some cancers, heart & circulatory disease. How to Grow Sprouts

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