With so many things going on in all of our lives we tend to be overwhelmed at times and want to take an easy way out. This is the reason why so many people reserve to going out to eat on daily basis, eat fast foods, including fast food restaurants and TV dinners, pre-packaged foods, etc., because they want to have one less thing to worry about [one less thing on their plate : ) so to speak]. It is unfortunate that out of all things we choose to cut corners on is one the most important aspects—nutrition.
Now it is time for my confession. For the last couple of days I succumbed to the stresses of my life and decided that I wanted a break. I did not have much of a desire to as much as make a smoothie for myself. No, I did not go out to eat, neither did I eat a pre-packaged meal. I did, however, eat more cooked meals than I normally would. Since we are living with my Mom now, who is not into raw foods, and neither is she vegan, we do share the same fridge and the same kitchen. Since we would not eat anything with animal products Mom started to make more vegan dishes, mostly soups, which provides an easy meal for us once in a while [considering the fact that it is already made]. However, I do follow my 80-20 [raw/cooked] rule very closely, so I never have a problem of “overdoing” it.
What I did not realize is how being mostly raw had retrained my body. Fortunately/unfortunately for me Mom had made delicious soups both days—in fact my favorites. So, as you might have guessed by now, I “overdid” on cooked foods [hard to believe for most of you]. To make things more interesting, the day before yesterday Demetrye craved pizza and apple pie, so I decided to spoil him and made both. I had some pizza, and a little bit of pie, and by 6 pm yesterday felt EXHAUSTED! The problem was not that I had cooked foods; the problem was that I ate less raw foods to aid digestion of cooked foods, so my body had to work a bit harder. I still had my veggies and some fruits, but apparently not enough, so my body tried to shut down and preserve energy by trying to put me to sleep.
Lesson learned! I am back on high raw intake today and feel great! Woo-hoo! I feel enough energy to run around the block a couple of times. Interestingly enough today I read a very good article on the same topic that I want to share with you [see below]. I had also read a very poignant statement today that puts in a nutshell what I just took several paragraphs to convey (same source as the article below):
“Cooking kills any life force left in food. The immune system responds immediately when this lifeless food is consumed by quickly and sharply raising the white blood cell count, just as if a poison or an infection had entered your system.”
Enjoy the read and Stay Well!
“What do enzymes do for your body?
Enzymes are particularly sensitive to the molecular destruction of cooking. Unfortunately, each of us is given only a limited supply of enzyme energy at birth that must work to keep every body system in working order throughout our lifetime. The only other backup source we have comes from the food we eat. But food cooked above 115° F. kills enzymes! So what happens if you make some big enzyme withdrawals when you catch a virus, do something physically strenuous, face an emotional crisis, breath unclean air, get extremely angry, and then eat cooked and processed foods? The balance is your enzyme account drops low, is not replenished, and your body faces enzyme bankruptcy.
When this happens, the body puts out an emergency call to enzymes throughout the body. The body will rob enzymes from glands, muscles, nerves and blood to help in the demanding digestive process. Eventually there is a deficiency of enzymes in those areas, and this, many scientists’ throughout the world believe, is the real cause of various allergies and diseases. According to medical research compiled by the pioneering enzymologist, Dr. Edward Howell, enzyme shortages are commonly seen in a number of chronic illnesses such as allergies, skin disorders, obesity, and heart disease, as well as in aging and certain types of cancer.
The healing power of enzymes is absolute and proven. Almost every regulatory system in out body depends on enzymes and suffers by their depletion: coagulation, inflammation, wound healing, and tissue regeneration, to name just a few. The enzyme account throughout the body is replenished by the living foods we eat as the enzymes are absorbed into the blood to reestablish normal blood-serum enzyme levels. To track the whole-body value of an enzyme-rich diet, researchers have tagged enzyme supplements with radioactive die and traced them through the digestive tract. They discovered that the tagged enzymes could be found in the liver, spleen, kidneys, heart, lungs, duodenum and urine.
…Few withdrawals and large deposits [into the enzyme account] are the key to becoming richly supplied with the metabolic enzymes that are responsible for building, cleansing, and healing the body.
FOODS THAT HEAL
List of foods that [should be]… an everyday part of your diet…
Asparagus – many of the elements that build the liver, kidneys, skin, ligaments, and bones are found in green asparagus. Helps in the formation of red blood corpuscles. The green tips are high in vitamin A.
Avocado – contains a high amount of fruit oil. Fruit is a rare element giving high food energy value. Contains no starch, little sugar and very few carbohydrates, 14 minerals, all of which regulate body functions and stimulate growth.
Beets – High vitamin A, good for eliminative system and also digestive system.
Broccoli – High in vitamin A and C. Low in calories. Best if eaten with proteins because the combination helps drive amino acids to the brain.
Carrots - The most neutral of all vegetables. So high in vitamin A it has been used extensively to improve eyesight and as a general body builder.
Cauliflower – A sulphur vegetable is more easily digested than cabbage, but is high phosphorus content means it is gas – forming.
Celery – An alkaline, protective food, aids digestion, counteracts acidosis, halts fermentation and purifies the bloodstream. It can help clear up high blood pressure. One of the best foods for keeping the body well, celery can be a brain tonic, and the sodium in it will neutralize acids in the body. The leaves are rich in potassium, sodium sulphur.
Corn – one of the easiest foods to digest and one of the beast balanced starches. Yellow corn is high in magnesium, a wonderful bowel regulator, bone and muscle builder and an excellent food for brain and nervous system.
Cucumber – alkaline, non-starchy, cooling effect on the blood. A wonderful digestive aid, purifying effect on the bowel and very beneficial to the skin.
Garlic – An internal antiseptic, it contains allylic sulfides, which work by waxing chemicals inside cells.
Greens – Are the healers of the body. They bring in chlorophyll, carotene and calcium, all important to the healing process.
Kale – Very high in calcium, vitamin A and iron. Builds strong teeth, and is beneficial to digestive and nervous system
Red Pepper – Peppers are classified as a protective food because they contain so many elements that build up resistance. Best eaten raw, they are very high in vitamin C. They contain vitamin A, which makes our tissue more resistant, especially to colds and catarrhal infections in the respiratory organs, sinuses, ears, bladder, skin and digestive tract and Vitamin B, aids in food absorption and normalizes the brain and nervous system by increasing metabolic processes.
Seeds - Food that have seeds are the greatest foods for us. Seeds are the glands of the plant. Foods with seeds help us nourish the glands, nerves, and brain. Pumpkin seeds in the diet may actually prevent cancer in the prostate.
Snap Beans - Beans, especially green beans, are an alkaline vegetable. Beans are high in protein and essential on a vegetarian diet.
Spinach – an excellent source of vitamin C and A, and iron, contains about 40 percent potassium. It leaves an alkaline ash in the body. Good for lymphatic, urinary, and digestive systems.
Sprouts – Very high in silicon. They come from seeds that contain all the elements necessary for life, and when they first begin to sprout they are rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and prostaglandins.
Squash – all squashes are low in calories, high in fiber and easily digested. Great for the eliminative system, they produce absolutely no gas in the intestinal tract. Winter squash contains more vitamin A than summer squash.”
[As published by http://www.aliveraw.com/]
