Raw Food Diet with Vital Enzymes

I have experienced surprising health benefits from switching my cooked diet to a raw food diet. It is well documented that people and animals who eat raw foods age less quickly and are free of degenerative diseases. Switching to a raw food diet enabled my body to heal a lifelong eczema and a host of other diseases that plagued my life and which conventional medical treatment could not cure.

Also See: SuperFood Nutrition for Optimum Health

The Road to Healing with a Raw Food Diet

"Forty years ago I began to gradually switch my standard cooked food diet to a raw food diet to give my body the proper nutrients it desperately needed to heal of its lifelong chronic diseases. After a lifetime of suffering I experienced profound health benefits from the raw food diet and rapidly shed 60 lbs of extra weight effortlessly." Shirley

With the growing popularity of vegan and vegetarian lifestyles, raw food takes this lifestyle to another level with growing body evidence to support the health and benefits of eating healthily. It’s a simple way to detox, improve your skin, lose those extra pounds and feel great!

Fresh, organically grown raw foods promote optimum health and longevity! Raw food contains the highest level of live enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Enzymes are the catalyst for the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body.

There is no doubt that uncooked food is much easier for the body to digest and assimilate. When cooked food is the primary source of nutrition the body's digestive enzymes are forced to work overtime to overcome this loss of food enzymes. As we age production of digestive enzymes usually diminishes in quantity and nutrition may suffer."
Dr. James Howenstine M.D.

The fastest way to restore wellness is to stop putting into the body the things that have caused the physical problem to develop in the first place, and then give the body the nutrients it needs to repair and rebuild itself. The body is self-healing when the infraction is stopped and proper nutrients provided.

The relationship between unhealthy eating and the development of disease is undeniable. When most people get a cancer diagnosis their doctors are quick to prescribe drugs and harsh treatments such as radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. All of these treatments have a harrowing effect on the body opening it up to a whole host of other problems.

Dr. Charles Northen- "Do you know that most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come are brought into proper mineral balance! The alarming fact is that foods---fruits and vegetables and grains--now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed minerals, are starving us, no matter how much of them we eat!"

The case for the B 12 vitamin- In my journey into health, " How I Achieved Optimum Health After a Lifetime of Suffering "I explain how live raw foods played a huge role in my health recovery. I've been a live raw fooder for 3 decades, but I'm not a vegetarian. I eat meats that have been salt cured (still raw) such as Prosciutto, ham or gravlax salmon. I eat soft boiled eggs to keep the yolk uncooked, and occasionally I drink cultured raw goat milk known as Kefir. Although many vegan foods are said to have active B-12, few are proving to actually raise B-12 or prevent its loss. There are a variety of symptoms of B-12 deficiency, which is a danger for vegans and live fooders. The initial symptoms can include low energy, but it can eventually cause permanent nerve damage, depression, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, chronic stress and nervousness, paranoia, hyperactive reflexes, impaired memory and behavioral changes.

"The body has the inherent ability -the vitality -not only to heal itself and restore health, but also to ward off disease. Illness is not caused simply by an invasion of external agents or germs, but is a manifestation of the organism's attempt to defend and heal itself. Prevention Is the Best Cure. Health is a reflection of how we choose to live." TC Fry

"True good health is more than just the absence of disease; it is a state where you enjoy all the energy, vitality and benefits life has to offer. One of the keys to achieving good health is to use the power of healthy foods to positively affect how you feel, how much energy you have, and the length and quality of your life. There is clear and definitive scientific evidence that proper nutrition plays an important and significant role in reducing the risk of degenerative diseases, and in providing long-term health and longevity." - George Mateljan

Health Benefits of Animals Eating a Raw Food Diet

I've seen amazing results and health improvement in my dog Shasta simply by switching her diet to raw food. The raw food diet strengthened her immune system dramatically. It cured her allergies and improved her resistance to flea bites. At 11 years of age her health and vitality were radiant.

Related: Raw Food Recipes for Our Pets

Certified Organic does not just mean chemical free, it’s about the whole system; Soil, Plants, People and the Environment. The organic movement began at the same time as industrialized agriculture.

Processed food and fast foods are depriving us of even more essential nutrients. Many scientists believe that commercial farming, which burns out nutrients and adds poisons to the soil, as well as shipping foods "green" to ripen upon trucks, are major contributors to ill health.

A Live-Food Approach for Children of All Ages

"We began transitioning our children to a raw food diet over a year ago as an experiment to alleviate the symptoms of ADD my eight year old son was experiencing. I'm happy to say that the experiment was astonishingly successful! We have been delighted at the changes in my son's behavior and capabilities, which occurred almost immediately. His moodiness, irritability and inability to concentrate were gone. His mental processes cleared, his memory improved and so did his performance in school.

There are many things that come up as you change your child's diet; the special nutritional needs of children, social gatherings, disapproving relatives, school functions and sack lunches, your own self doubts, children who don't want to try new foods, and the attitude of other family members, just to name a few.

When my son's story was published in Living Nutrition Magazine with the title Triumph over Attention Deficient Disorder Kyle Stoycoff's Story, I began getting inquiries from other parents eager to change their children's diets and needing advice and guidance. Raw Kids is my attempt to fill this need. I hope our experience can help pave the way for those wishing to improve their children's diets and quality of life."

Disease proliferate only where there is not enough oxygen for cells to be healthy. Raw foods contain an abundance of oxygen. In cooked foods, oxygen is destroyed.

Joel Fuhrman MD -"Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. A vegetarian whose diet is mainly refined grains, cold breakfast cereals, processed health-food-store products, vegetarian fast foods, white rice, and pasta will be worse off than a person who eats a little chicken or eggs, for example, but consumes a larger amount of fruits, vegetables, and beans." Joel Fuhrman., MD, is a board-certified family physician specializing in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods.

Raw Food versus the Cooked, American Diet

“It has been found that a group of rats were fed diet of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains from birth grew into completely healthy specimens and never suffered from any disease. They were never ill. They grew rapidly, but never became fat, mated with enthusiasm and had healthy offspring. They were always gently affectionate and playful and lived in perfect harmony with each other. Upon reaching an old age, equivalent to 80 years in humans, these rats were put to death and autopsied. At that advanced age their organs, glands, tissues all body processes appeared to be in perfect condition without any sign of aging or deterioration."

“A companion group of rats we fed a diet comparable to that of the average American and included white bread, cooked foods, meats, milk, salt, soft drinks, candies, cakes, vitamins and other supplements, medicines for their ails, etc. During their lifetime these rats became fat and, from the earliest age, contracted most of the diseases of modern American society including colds, fever, pneumonia, poor vision, cataracts, heart disease, arthritis, cancer and many more."

“Most of this group died prematurely at early ages but during their lifetime most of them were vicious, snarling beasts, fighting with one another stealing one another’s food and attempting to kill each other. They had to be kept apart to prevent total destruction of the entire group. Their offspring were all sick and exhibited the same general characteristics as there parents".

“As this group of rats died one by one or in epidemics or various diseases, autopsies were performed revealing extensive degenerative conditions in every part of their bodies. All organs, glands and tissues were affected, as were the skin, hair, blood and nervous system. They were all truly total physical and nervous wrecks. The same condition existed in the few, which survived full duration of the experiment."

“A third companion group of rats was fed the same diet as the second group to an age equivalent to about 40 years in humans. They displayed the same general symptoms of the second group – being sick and vicious so that they had to be separated to prevent them from killing each other and stealing one another food.

“At the end of this initial period all rats in this group were placed on a strict fast, with o water to drink for a period of several days. Then they received the natural (raw) diet o first group of rats. This diet was alternated with periods of fast and within one mouth behavioral pattern had changed completely so that the now docile, affectionate, playful creatures were once again able to live together in a harmonious society and from this point on never suffered any illness.

“Several rates put to death and autopsied at the end of the initial period revealing the same general deterioration as that exhibited in the second group of rats. However, the remaining rats lived out the full duration of the experiment, to the equivalent of 80 years in humans, and when they were topside there were no signs of aging or deterioration or disease - just as those in the first group. The obvious disease, degeneration and deterioration of body parts evident in their first half of life had been completely reversed and excellent health restored.

“The same principles apply to human life as there is only one TRUTH! Thus it may be concluded that sick people may be restored to health simply by choosing the proper diet, fasting observing the other rules of health. There is no mystery. There is no external force that will help – all healing being accomplished within the body in accordance with the laws of organic life and health.”

How Cooked is Too Cooked?

There is enough evidence to show that the more food is cooked, the more difficult it is to digest and metabolize. The higher the temperature that food is cooked, the longer it stays in the gut. This makes it more difficult for the food to absorb and work on a cellular level where it needs to work. When the food cannot work at the cellular level, the cells can become deficient and/or toxic. This leads to deficiency and toxicity of the whole body making the body less able to function optimally. All food deteriorates during commercial food processing and during storage. Three different things happen to food that is overcooked or over-processed:

1. Destruction of essential amino acids.
2. Decrease in digestibility.
3. Production of anti-nutritional and toxic compounds.

It is the liver's job to detoxify toxins, but the liver can become overloaded and unable to do its job. In the bloodstream, the undigested or partially digested food (in the form of macromolecules) is in too large a particle to get into the cell to function. Undigested or partially digested food moves through the bloodstream causing havoc in the body.

When food is heated past the heat-labile point, its chemical configuration changes. Pasteurization, deep-frying, and barbecuing are all forms of cooking where food is heated past the heat labile point. The body does not understand these new chemical configurations and does not have the enzymes to digest the food easily.

The Case for RAW MILK

"For years I suffered from allergies to milk and cheese. I had to use strong willpower to never touch cheese which are one of my favored food. It wasn't till 2016 at age 68 that I realized that I was actually only allergic to pasteurized milk and cheese. One day, I couldn't resist buying raw Kefir and raw cream from grass fed cows. To my toal dismay, the terrible allergic reaction that I anticipated never materialized. To the contrary, my health actually improved. Now days I eat daily lots of raw homemade cheese. raw cream and raw kefir" Shirley

Police raided the Rawsome Foods organic grocery store with guns drawn in search of "raw-foods". George Hemminger (George4Title) said the battle over organic foods is heating up because large agricultural businesses and corporations feel threatened by local co-ops and have hijacked the FDA and other government regulatory agencies. "This is about control and profit, not our health," said Aajonus Vonderplanitz, co-founder of Rawesome Foods.

LA Times Story:
"How can we not have the freedom to choose what we eat?"

The Raw Milk Group

Many diseases that exist today were rarely even heard of before the 1920's when most Americans used raw milk and when raw milk was readily available nationwide. If all mankind used raw milk, from the days of Adam and Eve up to the early 1900's, yet they lived long lives while enduring the harshest of weather and living conditions, it would seem to imply that raw milk is highly beneficial to our bodies.The raw goat milk group is an Internet forum that was created to bring raw goat milk suppliers, raw milk seekers, dairy farmers, raw food enthusiasts and those who want to learn more about the health benefits of raw goat milk all together in one convenient place.

The raw milk underground is one of the most contentious battlefields in the revolution to reclaim our food from industrialization, over-processing, and corporate control. In The Raw Milk Revolution, David Gumpert investigates in great detail the health claims of both raw milk advocates and public health officials, as well the legal tactics being employed by government agencies to stop the growing movement to obtain and supply raw milk.

His comprehensive analysis effectively deconstructs and illuminates the many complex issues of health, safety, and freedom that are raised by this debate."--Sandor Ellix Katz, author of Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America's Underground Food Movements

Enzymes in Raw Food - The Spark of Life!

Enzymes are proteins that facilitate chemical reactions in living organisms. They are required for every single chemical action that takes place in your body. All of your tissues, muscles, bones, organs and cells are run by enzymes. Your digestive system, immune system, bloodstream, liver, kidneys, spleen and pancreas, as well as your ability to see, think, feel and breathe, all depend on enzymes. Systemic enzymes, sometimes called metabolic or proteolytic enzymes, are produced by the pancreas to repair the body ... to build and restore tissues. In fact, they are a necessary component of all other functions in the body besides digestion, and your body is unable to produce enough of them because we eat cooked foods.

Enzymes are delicate dynamos. Delicate because they are destroyed by temperatures over 118 degrees (some by as little as 105 degrees), which means that they may not survive even light steaming. Dynamos because they are powerful biochemical catalysts; they speed burning or building reactions in the body according to need. They are specialized proteins, often with long complicated names ending in -ase.

Professor Jackson of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Minnesota, has shown that rats fed for 135 days on an 80% cooked food diet resulted in an increased pancreatic weight of 20 to 30%. What this means is that the pancreas is forced to work harder with a cooked food diet. "Although the body can manufacture enzymes, the more you use your enzyme potential, the faster it is going to run out..." wrote Dr. Edward Howell, who pioneered research in the benefits of food enzymes. A youth of 18 may produce amylase levels 30times greater than those of an 85 year old person.

The best enzymes that I have ever taken are the Peak Enzymes from the Whole Wellness Club. (The "WITHIN" are to be take *with foods* and the "WITHOUT" are to be taken *without food", on an empty stomach. After 4 weeks of taking the the WITHOUT Peak Enzymes also known as SYSTEMIC ENZYMES, my energy level increased dramatically and the dry, leathery skin and deep cracks at the bottom of my feet completely healed into a solft, pink, healthy skin.

Edward Howell, M.D. - "Enzymes are the catalyst for the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body; they are essential for the digestion and absoption of foods as well as for the production of cellular energy. Enzymes are essential for most of the building and rebuilding that goes on constantly in our bodies. Among the many thousands of species of creatures living on this earth, only humans and some of their domesticated animals try to live without enzymes. And only these transgressors of nature’s law are penalized with defective health. It is not surprising that dogs (and cats) have many human diseases since they are given only canned or packaged, heat treated, enzyme free food."
Dr. Edward Howell MD is the author of Enzyme Nutrition.

Cooked food passes through the digestive tract more slowly than raw food, tends to ferment, and throws poisons back into the body. Colon cancer is second only to lung cancer as a killer in America and is related, in various ways, to eating enzyme-deficient cooked food. Prolonged intestinal toxemia may manifest the following symptoms: Fatigue, nervousness, gasto-intestinal discomfort, recurrent infections, skin eruptions, hormonal disturbances, headaches, arthritis, sciatica, low back pain, allergies, asthma, eye, ear, nose and throat disorders, cardiac irregularities, pathological changes in the breasts, and so forth.

All of these conditions have been shown to respond to therapy directed to correcting the bowel toxemia. Of course, it is important to have fiber in the diet to scrub the colon walls clean, but even more important are the enzymes which will allow proper digestion and assimilation of vital nutrients. Cooked food often passes into the bloodstream as unsplit molecules that are deposited, as waste, in various parts of the body.

 If it is a fat molecule we know it as cholesterol plaque; if calcium, arthritis; if sugar, diabetes. White blood cell count rises dramatically after ingesting a meal of canned or cooked foods ("digestive leukocytosis"). Elevated WBCs are correlated to bacterial infection, inflammation and depressed immunity. Raw foods do not produce this reaction. All raw foods contain exactly the right enzymes required to split every last molecule into the basic building blocks of metabolism: Amino acids (from protein), glucose (from complex carbohydrates) and essential fatty acids (from unsaturated vegetable fats).

Each of us receives a supply of enzymes at birth. The supply is NOT limitless; it must supply the organism with life sustaining enzymes for the duration of its existence. When the enzyme supply is exhausted, it signals the breakdown of the organism (the dog). Enzymes are needed to run all body systems. Metabolic enzymes are used by the heart, lungs, kidneys, immune system, and for brain functions; digestive enzymes convert protein, carbohydrates and fat into fuel to maintain the organism.

Over taxing the body to supply digestive enzymes can reduce the supply of metabolic enzymes. Eventually, the body becomes enzyme-deficient making it vulnerable to disease. Not suprisingly, glands and major organs suffer most from enzyme deficiency. How can one prevent the body from depelting its own supply of enzymes? Nature solved the problem for us by providing those enzymes in RAW FOODS. Food enzymes begin the process of digestion in the stomach. If there are no food enzymes, the body must produce additional digestive enzymes resulting in fewer metabolic enzymes.

Fresh Raw Juicing for Health

"We have found that many digestive systems are not functioning well and the sicker the person, the more difficult it is to digest and assimilate the nutrients in raw vegetables, because they contain the pulp or fiber. But with the pulp or fiber removed, the nutrients can pass directly into the blood stream and within minutes are feeding the cells and restoring the immune system.

I changed from a meat-centered, cooked and processed food diet with plenty of sugar desserts, to an all-raw diet with lots of carrot juice. I stayed on this total raw diet for approximately one year. I didn't eat any cooked food during that year ... just raw fruits, raw vegetables and one to two quarts a day of freshly extracted, raw carrot juice.

The results were spectacular! Almost immediately I started to get well! In less than one year, my tumor had totally disappeared. It simply got smaller and smaller until it was gone. But that was not all. In less than one year, every physical problem I had been experiencing also disappeared! Such physical problems as hemorrhoids, hypoglycemia, severe allergies and sinus problems, high blood pressure, fatigue, pimples, colds, flu ... even body odor and dandruff were gone! Totally healed!

In the years that have followed - and I am over 60 years old at this writing, I have not experienced as much as a cold, sore throat, upset stomach, been to a doctor or taken as much as an aspirin. It is so thrilling, at my age, to still be able to play football, basketball and softball with the boys, jog five miles with ease, and have more energy, endurance and stamina than I had when I was 20 years old." Rev. George Malkmus

Juice Fasting and Detoxification

The human body has an incredible capacity for healing and longevity. Within it is an innate intelligence more powerful than any drugs or a surgeon's knife. Fasting gives your body a well deserved vacation and the potential to repair itself. The power that made the body can heal the body. Fasting and juice therapy revamp your health from the inside out. This book shows you how to tap that power and how to fit it into a busy lifestyle. It's easier than you think. Even just one fast day per week provides 50 rejuvenating days per year. Give your cells and yourselves the opportunity to cleanse, nourish, rejuvenate and heal. Fasting helps increase energy and improve mental alertness; Heal chronic ailments without drugs; lose weight without the hassle of diets; maintain stamina with absolutely no hunger. Fast at home or at work ---it's perfect for a busy lifestyle and all the while enjoy dozens of quick and delicious juice recipes.

Overcoming lifelong chronic illnesses and dramatic weight loss with natural/raw/living food diet

"...The Naturopathic doctor gave me a homeopathic remedy and made me switch my diet from the SAD (Standard American Diet) to eating mostly RAW organically grown fruits, nuts and vegetables; I eliminated meat and dairy products and cut down drastically the starchy stuff like grains, pasta, and breads.

In 6 weeks, the lumps were completely gone. In 12 weeks I had lost 60 pounds effortlessly and my energy level and stamina improved dramatically. My overall resistance to infections became excellent and I'm proud to say that in the past 14 years I have not had a cold, flu, ear, throat or breast infections or any other infections. Raw food and homeopathy also strengthened my weak back and I have not suffered from back pains since. My eczema condition improved dramatically after an initial aggravation which lasted several months, but was completely cured.

I'm not a vegetarian. Strict vegan diets often lead to health improvements in the short-term but in the long-term they are often disastrous.*Beware of long term strict vegan diet. When I eat animal products, I try to always eat it in a raw form: smoked or salt-cured meats or fishes, raw or soft egg yolks, and raw butter and cheese made from unpasteurized cow or goat milk from organic farms. Why I leave the highly refined, rapidly absorbable carbohydrates alone; cane and beet sugar in all forms and guises, all cereal flours which means breads, pies, cakes, spaghetti, macaroni, etc., all refined cereal products such as cold and hot breakfast cereals, the quickly absorbable carbohydrate vegetables, potatoes, corn, and rice, and all sweet soft drinks.) I never microwave anything and I never use the following in my diet: sugar-free products, canola oil, and soy products.

EXAMPLE OF ALL-RAW PRIMITIVE DIET, WITH ANIMAL PRODUCTS

I continued eating raw meat once or twice weekly, and my health gradually increased. Whenever I experienced detoxification, healing was always a progress toward better functionality. I did not deteriorate as most people do on cooked foods or meatless raw foods. I knew I was on the right track by eating raw meat, but I could not set aside the bacteria and parasite phobias. I was especially concerned because the vagus nerve to my stomach had been severed in surgery for stomach cancer. I had no hydrochloric acid to dissolve and annihilate bacteria and parasites upon entering my body. Science and medicine put me in the category of octogenarians who they say, are in danger of death from bacterial and parasitic invasion from lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. I continued to eat meat anyway.

After I learned about the tremendous properties of raw fats my successes reached 60%. After I learned about the fantastic healing characteristics of eating raw meat, my successes with disease rose to 75%. After I learned the techniques for amounts and particulars that certain foods had, my successes reached 85% and better, depending upon the disease.

Why eat uncooked food," you might ask. Well, a better question to ask yourself is, "Why eat cooked food?" The truth is that there are a great number of reasons to eat fresh, raw foods. There is growing evidence that raw foods are much easier for our bodies to digest and assimilate. As we cook or otherwise process fresh raw foods, nutrients are altered and damaged, making it harder for our bodies to optimally use the food we consume. Gradually changing to a diet rich in raw foods, including raw animal foods, can facilitate very positive and lasting health benefits.

Aajonus Vonderplanitz is the author of a marvelous book 'We Want to Live'