Fresh fruit and vegetables are essential for health, fitness and vitality. The feeling after eating fresh raw food is lighter and more energetic without the post meal torpor or digestive nap that follows a heavy cooked meal. Some effects are immediate.
raw and fresh
Many nutrients are destroyed, lost or degraded in cooking. Most raw and fresh foods have more nutrients including minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.
High temperature cooking of some foods produces toxic by products. Slow, low temperature cooking, dehydrating at low temperatures (below 45° C) or brief cooking like blanching or brief stir frying are alternatives to preserve nutrients, taste and texture.
satisfaction
Feelings of satisfaction can only set in when we have eaten enough of the nutrients we need. Raw and fresh foods have more nutrients and are more satisfying than old, cooked or dehydrated foods.
It is difficult to stop eating roasted nuts but a few raw ones are satisfying. It is difficult to stop eating lollies but a couple of pieces of fruit are satisfying.
going raw
When I was introduced to raw food a few years ago I realised that I had been eating about 60% raw for a decade or more. Since shifting to around 80% I noticed a difference including better physical endurance and energy levels and surprisingly no sunburn after a half day in the sun. (I used to burn after a couple of hours and peel the next day).
Most raw vegans are aware of both striking and subtle effects of different plant foods on their energy levels, health and feelings.
The digestive system may take a few months to secrete different enzymes and adapt to a raw diet. Transition to 100% raw food can take a year or more. Cooked food cravings are common in the beginning and might be a sign of nutrients not being absorbed.
Many report not having to eat as much to maintain weight and energy levels. Cooked food is no longer as interesting. Those bags of sweets in the supermarkets are now revolting. Even many of the organic vegan treats seem sickly sweet and less satisfying.
Like hot food in winter? Raw veggies can be introduced into cooked meals by grilling, baking, boiling, steaming or frying them for a few seconds to bring them up to temperature or by mixing them raw into a hot meal. For instance sliced vegetables or soaked or sprouted grains or beans can be set aside before the rest are cooked and added just before or just after cooking is finished.
The same spices can be added to raw as to cooked food – they can be soaked to release their flavours. For most spices this is not as effective as cooking.
pH
The body is a hydrogen ion economy where biochemical reactions are driven by electron transfer across pH gradients. pH has to be not too high and not too low for reactions to proceed normally. If the pH of a body fluid shifts outside of its normal range then its biochemistry may not proceed as usual and that part of the body might not work as usual or might break down.
Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Chlorine and Sulphur compounds in food after being digested leave an acidic ash (residue) that lowers the body's pH. Sodium, Potassium and Calcium compounds leave an alkaline ash that raises pH.
Too much animal protein leads to acidosis (low pH) which is common in a junk food diet. If pH falls too low the body mines calcium from bone and teeth as a buffer to raise pH.
A raw and fresh plant based diet usually has lots of alkaline forming foods which cures this quickly but can eventually lead to the other extreme of alkalosis (high pH) which unsurprisingly has similar symptoms of physical breakdown as acidosis, with lethargy often the first to show up. Eating more grains and other acid forming plant foods can be the remedy.
Paper test strips can be used as a useful rough guide to monitor pH. Urine is a more reliable for most purposes than saliva which fluctuates more with food and activity. But the optimal pH range of each body fluid is different so this measure does not give a complete picture.
100% raw
I know several people whose health has broken down within a few months of going raw vegan and have heard stories of others within the raw community. Fatigue, minor ailments and confusion were the first signs of trouble that replaced an initial high 2 to 6 months before. After that the symptoms were different and unusual for each person. Breakdown seemed to occur at their body’s weakest point. Some of the ailments were terrifying and diagnosis not clear-cut.
Some assumed the symptoms were signs of detox. The symptoms worsened after messages from the body like cooked food cravings or cooked food dreams were ignored.
I speculate that pH levels might be part of the cause. The solution for this could be to increase acid forming foods like nuts and grains.
Cooking makes some nutrients more available to digestion. If nutrient absorption is part of the cause then eating some cooked food until the body adapts can be a solution.
raw fruit
Many raw vegan athletes especially endurance athletes thrive on a raw fruit diet with some greens and get all the oils and proteins they need from the large quantity they have to eat to get the energy they need.
Others may not be able to eat enough to gain the nutrients they need to survive without running into problems with excess sugars that athletes burn off.
suggestions
The vegan debate is pretty mature with good information but raw information is mostly commercial and some of it unsound, inaccurate or over simplified. I have found information from people who have been raw for years more reliable than those making a living or a religion of it.
In the Ayurvedic tradition sages have the strong gastric fire to eat 100% raw.
An unbalanced raw diet can lead to problems just like a junk food diet. Processes can break down through lack of nutrients. It is also possible to over-eat raw food and become obese if the body is food- addicted, missing nutrients or not exercising enough.
As a general rule of thumb I suggest listening to the body and having a wide range of foods and recipes at hand to choose from so the body has a chance to select foods that will satisfy pH and nutrient levels.
On waking in the morning ask “what do I want to eat today”. Each person and each day is different.