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10 Great Arguments for Eating Raw Foods

November 13th, 2009

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What Is a Raw Food Diet? — powered by eHow.com
When our ancestors discovered the advantage of eating cooked meat instead of raw, they started applying the same principle of cooking to all foods. In the following years, most people have been consuming a lesser amount of raw food with the exception of few salads here and there. With our recent concern about health problems like heart disease and diabetes, our awareness of the benefits of raw foods on health has resulted in our attention to raw foods.

Eating raw foods is just the consumption of foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts in their original state; uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic. If you are still unsure, here are ten tips on why eating raw food is advantageous.

Foods that are heated at the temperature above 104 °F (40 °C) loose most of their nutritional value. You get most of the nutritional value of foods by eating them raw or cooked below the mentioned temperature. Besides destroying most of the vitamins and minerals of food, temperature above 104 °F (40 °C) destroy the digestive enzymes in food which aid digestion.
Since raw foods are full of flavor, they require less addition of extra flavorings like salt, sugar, and spices which can overburden the liver and kidneys as they try to detoxify the body of these additives.
Raw foods like fruits and vegetables are high in water content and contain huge amount of fibers which help fill you up more quickly. This can ultimately help you to lose weight.
People who find preparing meals to be time consuming will love the simplicity of the raw food diets. The time you save can be put to other uses.
There will be less mess for you to clean up in preparing for raw food diets. Leftovers can be given back to nature as fertilizers. You will even save on the dishwashing detergent because of the lesser amount required since there are no grease on the dishes.
You do not have to worry about overcooking your food or burning your fingers, mouth or lips with the raw food diet.
Because raw food diet is believed to have higher nutrient values, it helps keep your body fit and working well. You are more likely to be shielded against common colds and flu and less prone to suffer from digestive disorders like gas, heartburn, constipation and indigestion.
Raw food diets allow you to save money on food bills, energy costs, and medical bills.
Since there is no free radical being produced by heat, raw food diets are great for your general health and have been shown to have positive effect on heart disease. The raw food diets reduce the risk of cancer cause by harmful chemical toxins that are the by-products of cooking food.
Since raw foods like fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, they can help to stifle signs of aging

The raw food diet is a great approach to salvage your body, conserve your money and rescue the planet.

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What You Could Do To Make Your Food Healthier

November 5th, 2009

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Low Fat Substitutes when Baking & Cooking — powered by eHow.com

There are ways that you can modify the ingredients of most of your favorite food recipes to make them healthier while still tasting good. Most of your favorite foods are saturated with fat and calories, while some comprised of ingredients that induce food allergies in lots of people. You just need to educate yourself on how to make the necessary changes to make the food healthier without stripping away the taste.

Deciding to take control of what you eat does not necessarily mean that you have to completely give up food with wonderful flavors. You can add vast arrays of food to your menus just by implementing some of the following modifications to any food recipe.

The most critical adjustment you can implement to any recipe is to decrease the amount of sugar you are adding by one third of the original amount, thus greatly lowering the amount of consumed calories. This can be applied to food like cakes, cookies, muffins, puddings, etc. You can make sure that these foods still taste good by adding flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla.

Another great option is to reduce the amount of fat used in your daily cooking. You could grill food instead of frying. Problem might arise when baking cakes or cookies because when you reduce the amount of total fat of certain recipes by up to one third, you could considerably change the texture or the taste of the baked goods. Applesauce can be used to replace half the fat in cookies and cakes. Fat-free buttermilk or yogurt can be used to replace all the fat in most baked goods and at least 1/2 that in cookies.

Finally most of the foods we eat contain too much salt and it is entirely unwarranted. All you have to do is just cut back on the amount of salt you use in your food by half. Use herbs, spices and salt-free seasonings to add flavors instead. It might take some getting used to, but after a while you will find that you could really enjoy the natural taste of food without the added salt.

By just making these minor changes to the food recipes, you can enjoy the food you like without having to omit them from your menu. All you are doing is just making your food much more nutritional and beneficial to your overall health.

If you have the will power to go on a strict healthy diet then go for it, but if you cannot, making these minor changes can greatly benefit your overall health. Remember that any attempt on your part to improve your health is better than doing nothing.

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Tags: fat substitutes, healthy diet

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What Comprises Healthy Eating?

October 9th, 2009

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Before you can determine what constitutes healthy eating, you need to have some basic understanding about food. Your main concern would be to eat food that is wholesome and nutritious.

Your daily intake should comprise of all the basic food groups in the right proportion. You should consume a wide variety of food in moderation.

There are basically five food groups: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and meat or meat substitutes. These food groups should be a part of your daily diet. It is a good idea to acquaint yourself with the appropriate servings of each food group. The daily recommended servings of each food group are dependent on various factors such as age, sex and activity level of the individuals.

The following servings are for a 30 years old woman with an average weight and height and the physical activity of more that 60 minutes a day.

The suggestion is to take three cups of vegetables, because they are your primary source of vitamins and minerals. Incorporate the different colors of vegetables into your diet and make sure that you consume vegetables that are fresh and are in season (less use of pesticides). It is advised that you eat more dark green veggies, orange veggies and dry beans and peas.

It is recommended that you take two cups of fruits which are also full of vitamins and minerals. Eat variety of fresh fruits like apple, oranges, bananas and grapefruits. If you choose to consume fruit juice make sure that sugar is not added to the juice. For the juice, choose fruit that is low in sugar like grapefruit.

Three cups of dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt are the recommended daily servings. Dairy products supply the needed calcium. Be sure to opt for the low-fat or the fat-free alternatives. For those who are lactose intolerant, soy milk and soy products are great substitute.

Grains compose of bread, rice, pasta and cereal. The recommended servings are 8 ounces of grains per day. Choose the whole grain options like the whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta and oatmeal and avoid white grain like white bread and white rice which are pure carbohydrates without the added nutritional value.

The major sources of protein are meat like beef, fish, poultry, eggs and meat substitutes like beans and tofu. It is suggested that you take 6.5 ounces of this food group on a daily basis. It is a good idea to choose the leaner options like fish, turkey and shellfish; avoid meat that is high in fat. You should bake, broil or grill food in this group, to avoid adding fat to the food. You could also vary your choices with more fish, beans, peas, nuts and seeds.

Finally, make sure that most of your fat sources are from fish, nuts and vegetable oils and limit solid fat like butter, margarine, shortening and lard from your diet.

Healthy eating tips from http://www.mypyramid.gov: