Many autoimmune diseases are prevalent these days. There is an increasing number of people afflicted with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, MS, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases. You’ll hear some people say it’s because we have better tools today to diagnose such diseases, while others say it’s because of the increasing pollution and bad food we are consuming.
In any case, a lot more people today are prompted to go back to the basics in terms of diet. That is, they get on a raw food diet. They avoid eating processed foods. They basically stay away from refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives and additives.
However, one crucial thing that needs to be pointed out is that the raw food diet doesn’t necessarily mean it completely consists of just raw foods. The raw food diet’s goal is to get you to eat foods in their whole state as much as possible. You either eat them as they come or you either boil or steam them. In a raw food diet, you avoid consuming foods that have been processed. For example, instead of eating white rice, you eat brown rice instead.
Interested in getting on a raw food diet? Here’s a list of foods you can eat: all type of beans, brown rice, fermented soy products, fruits, legumes, seaweed, soba noodles tofu, vegetables, and whole grain cereals. What about meat? A raw food diet excludes meats. However, you can eat fish in the diet.
The raw diet calls for combining foods properly as this promotes good digestion. You’ve heard of the term “yin and yang”. In the raw food diet, the yin and yang principle is applied: you avoid eating too much “yin” food and eating sufficient amounts of the “yang” foods. Foods you should try to avoid eating too much of include avocado, beet, eggplant, pepper, potato, spinach, and tomato.
You’ll notice that the raw food diet is very similar to a vegetarian diet. Also, if you decide to get on this diet, you will need to cut back on your caffeine consumption. That means less coffee and soda. While tea has caffeine, there are certain teas that don’t. Water is still the best beverage.
When you are on a raw food diet, you will need to eat small portions and chew food thoroughly. Remember, digestion begins in the mouth. When you thoroughly chew your food, your stomach is able too easily digest food particles.
So what does a typical raw meal look like? Here’s a sample:
(1) Fifty percent needs to be whole grains, including brown rice. If you have a gluten allergy, brown rice is safe for you to eat.
(2) Twenty-five percent needs to consist of vegetables. Dark-colored vegetables are best. Spinach and kale are two of the healthiest vegetables around.
(3) Ten percent of your meal can consist of any type of bean.
(4) Another ten percent should consist of legumes.
(5) Five percent can be any kind of soup.
(6) Toss in a handful of nuts, fish, and juices.
The general idea is to avoid eating red meat. If you just can’t do without meat, make sure you buy locally. You want to avoid consuming anything that has chemicals in it.
