We know fresh, whole fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are good for us. So, why don’t eat more of them? With farmer’s markets popping up everywhere, widespread awareness campaigns about GMOs and organic farming, and more social support than ever before.
Here are 15 great reasons to go raw this year:
1. Finally lose that weight
Weight loss is a naturally occurring benefit when you eliminate super-processed foods from your diet and replace them with more raw foods. As our bodies become less inflamed and our digestion becomes more efficient, fat loss changes from a frustrating struggle to a natural byproduct of a healthy lifestyle.
2. Increased energy
By eating mainly raw foods, you will experience better work productivity and steadier energy levels. Memory, ability to concentrate and reason all become sharper. Rather than getting fatigued from breaking down hard-to-digest foods, enjoy the clean, lasting energy contained in fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. Have clarity and a sense of wellbeing
Living food promotes clarity and emotional stability. Chemicals and preservatives in processed foods have been linked to hormonal imbalance and menstrual irregularity. A raw food diet helps you feel emotionally balanced and joyful.
3. Clear up your skin
After your body gets a chance to rid itself of built-up toxins, you will notice your skin starting to clear, tighten and brighten. Eating only whole, fresh raw foods will clean your skin from the inside out. Say goodbye to expensive facial cleansers that use harsh chemicals like salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide.
5. Save time
Once you get into the flow of raw food preparation, you will spend less time in the kitchen. Many raw foodies ascribe to the “5-5-5 rule” which is no more than five bucks, five minutes or five ingredients to prepare a meal. However, if you enjoy cooking, it is possible to make raw cuisine an art form that requires the same amount of time as preparing cooked meals.
6. Save money
Eating raw foods does not have to mean buying expensive, exotic “super foods” or lots of powders, supplements, and pricy dehydrated goods. Sticking with local, in-season produce can help keep your pantry budget-friendly. Not to mention the money you will save on medicine. Getting sick is expensive! By using your diet to heal and prevent disease, you will save thousands over your lifetime by avoiding doctor, dentist and dermatologist fees plus various prescriptions and pills.
7. Feel Happier
When we cleanse our colons with a fiber-rich, plant-based diet we reawaken the store of serotonin receptors that line the colon. Having more active serotonin receptors means an increase in frequency and duration of NATURAL feelings of happiness and euphoria.
8. Go raw for your kids!
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, childhood obesity has increased two times for 2-5 year olds and three times for 6 -11 and 12-19 year olds in the past ten years. There has been an 18% increase in food allergies in children under 18 years of age, while food allergy related hospitalizations increased by more than three and a half times. Cancer rates have also increased among children, with the highest occurrence seen in a child’s first year.
Our children are being born sicker and growing up sicker than ever before. What better time to improve YOUR life and set the example for your children or future children. Healthier parents have healthier babies and raise happier, healthier children. What greater gift can you give to yourself or your family this year?
9. Easy clean-up
Imagine never having to clean the oven! Dirty dishes can simply go in the dishwasher after a simple swoosh. No more baked-on grease requiring soaking and scrubbing! Grease won’t collect on the walls, stovetop and ceiling. You’ll find that gentle biodegradable cleaners really work. Never again leave the house and wonder, “Did I leave the stove on?”
10. Be environmentally friendly
It requires less land to produce fruits and vegetables than animal products. Animals aren’t exploited when you eat a raw vegan diet. Think of all the energy saved from not cooking: less fuel, packaging and pollution! Most of what gets throw away can be composted back to the earth. Plus, in many countries, fires used for cooking food contribute to deforestation.
11. Have a clearer conscience
We won’t drown you with impassioned rants about animal cruelty and the widespread suffering of living creatures to produce enough eggs, dairy and meat to meet our societies insatiable cravings. The truth has been revealed time and time again whether or not we choose to turn the other cheek. A plant-rich raw foods diet means you can live knowing your choices are a vote towards kindness and freedom for all living creatures.
12. Get “the glow”
Raw foodies often talk about the “glow” – that luminous look of healthy skin, circulation and energy reminiscent of youth and vitality. Raw vegan diets have as pronounced an effect on your exterior as they do on your interior. Bad breath and body odor go away. Eyes become brighter, voices more clear. Skin and muscle tone improve. Blemishes and irritations caused by toxins go away. Body weight reaches a natural, healthy level. Overall, your body will become lighter, brighter and other people will notice.
13. Heal your body
A raw food diet can help you overcome health ailments. Raw food programs have been shown to improve allergies, arthritis, asthma, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, digestive disturbances, diverticulitis, fibromyalgia, heart disease, weakened immunity, menstrual problems, multiple sclerosis, obesity, psoriasis, skin conditions and hormonal imbalances. No bottled supplement or prepackaged food can compare with the life force of fresh raw food.
14. Live longer
While no definitive study has been done on the average lifespan of raw foodies, the USDA has recognized veganism as the healthiest diet they have studied. Vegans, on average, live 6 years longer than their meat-and-dairy-eating counterparts. Dan Buettner, who studied the world’s “blue zones”—those areas and cultures where the highest percentage of people lived to be over one-hundred years old–found that a plant-based diet was a common thread amongst the healthiest, happiest, longest-living people in the world.
15. Have GREAT digestion & bowel movements
This just might be one the most important topics out of the 15. The fact is, a healthy body is one that can take in food, digest it and then be able to clean it out. If the trash stays in, than multiple health problems begin to occur, it’s that simple. You’ll be amazed by the amount of extra weight and junk is inside you when you go raw. The result is a lighter, healthier, happier you:)
Want to go raw? It’s easier than you think.
The secret is in education.
Remember, going raw doesn’t mean you have to become 100% raw. As a matter of fact, an average raw food lifestyle consists of eating raw 70-80% of time. It’s not about starving, forcing veggies down, dieting or feeling like you can’t eat food…. it’s about choosing to becoming food educated.
It’s very simple, the more food education you have the better food decisions you make and the better you feel.
Hi,
I subscribed your mag. for awhile now I loved it, so much to learn and love the energy bites or snacks,I’m a vegetarian but winter time , I found it hard not to have my hot soups, I’m 50-50 raw. Unfortunately, I don’t have a friend that I know who is into raw or vegetarian lifestyle, so sad, they love their big steaks. I’m always into health stuff, I grow my own veggies as much as I can and buy organic for my green smoothies. A lot of my friends think I’m a bit strange, being a vegetarian, it is hard sometimes to be with them but they are nice people they just don’t get it.
Thanks again, keep up the good work.
Marina
Thanks for your kind words Marina. We admire you for maintaining your healthy lifestyle, I’m sure you’re a positive influence on your friends to eat healthier.
Hi, just read your comment and I say, don’t worry at all what your friends eat or think of you , let them do what they have to so, but you just keep going with your way and be vegan. Nothing and nobody could stop me from eating raw vegan(at least 80-90% now) I love so much how it makes me feel. I also have no friend doing the same, but I really don’t care, I am so sure it is right for me, I could never stop it. Been 8 years Vegetarian , but it was not as good as eating raw vegan, I still eat a lot of “junk” before, but now it has all changed, even lost my sweet tooth completely. I am nearly 65 and never felt better.
So please keep going, you will feel the benefits.
Just smile with your friends and family ,,,,and know.
Live and let live
All the best
Love
Waltraud
( I live in Australia , but I am from Germany )
I love the energy from raw foods. The problem I had was I gained weight. mostly felt bloated all the time without eating nuts, seeds, avocado.
Don’t understand why. Read that not everyone’s digestive system can handle raw. I hope this is incorrect because I have invested quite a bit into this and enjoyed it.