Want to try a healthier diet? Try going on a raw food diet

Going on a raw food diet means more than subsisting on crudite for every meal.

Try banana smoothies, kale salads topped with sun-dried tomato tapenade and fresh hummus, all uncooked and all as fresh as possible.

“The health of our ancestors is unparalleled, compared to what we have today.”

Holmes, who works at Peggy’s Natural Foods in Stuart and runs a monthly workshop on raw food, said the concept of raw foodism is simple: buy produce seasonally and locally and keep it as close to its natural state as possible.

Food considered raw has not been heated above 115 degrees, because cooking and overprocessing food for packaging removes nutrition and dietary enzymes the body needs to smoothly digest food.

There are a number of health benefits to going raw, including increased energy, weight loss, better skin and better digestion.

“I have never spoken to, read about or seen anyone who has incorporated raw and not seen a significant change,” Holmes said.

“Removing one thing the body has to work really hard to digest is freeing up a lot of the energy your body needs to work,” she said.

Judy Tomasi, of Indiantown, recently started incorporating raw food into her diet to curb her diabetes.

She was diagnosed with the chronic disease three years ago after a quadruple bypass and five heart attacks.

She found out about raw foodism while shopping at Peggy’s for healthier food, through a magazine and several books on the subject available at the store.

Tomasi usually makes a raw food smoothie for breakfast, and has been eating more fruits and vegetables.

Since she started, her blood sugar levels have dropped drastically and she hopes to cut down on her daily insulin shots.

“I have more energy, I sleep better,” said Tomasi, 63.

-Adam

technorati tags:raw, food, diet, energy