In the past, I’ve challenged readers to make certain they eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal. I’ve suggested this strategy is a fundamental principle to better health and wellness. Today, I’d like to raise the stakes on that challenge and ask that you consume these fruit and vegetable sources raw or uncooked.
By now, nobody argues the benefits of eating real food that is grown in the ground and comes unadulterated from nature. But what is so beneficial about eating these foods raw? Food is more than its individual parts. Even though I advocate multivitamins, there is no vitamin out there that is as healthful as what you get from organic whole foods. Nutrients work synergistically, meaning that they work best when combined in the proper ratios. We get these proper ratios in nature-made whole foods. Cooking foods at high temperatures destroys many of the health benefits we would otherwise receive. For instance, high heat destroys the enzymes that work to facilitate chemical reactions in the body. When these enzymes are damaged, you will not digest some foods properly. Likewise, when these enzymes are depleted, it puts extra stress on your stomach, pancreas, and liver and can exhaust these organs. Fruits and vegetables are a carbohydrate which means they contain large amounts of glucose. What makes these sugars different from the unhealthy glucose found in processed foods is that they are bound to high amounts of fiber which allows the sugars to be released more slowly at a rate that can be metabolized without spiking insulin. Cooking fruits and vegetables breaks down this fiber and alters the benefits. Finally, cooking also destroys the healthy bacteria (probiotics) found in these foods. Getting these healthy bugs is one of the main reasons to spend more money on organically grown foods, but that benefit is lost when the food is exposed to high heat.
Whenever I assess a proposed health benefit for myself, I try it and listen to my own body. For me, I like to base this on my energy – do I feel this strategy gives me more fuel in my tank or less? So, pay attention. If after a meal, you are sluggish, bloated, depressed, or nauseous; something probably wasn’t right with those choices. In closing, I’d like you to try a new challenge – eat a raw fruit or vegetable with every meal for two weeks and see if you can tell a difference.
