Eating Raw Foods

Since the time I have become conscious of my food choices, I have read conflicting views on raw food diet v/s cooked foods. There are people who are completely off anything cooked and then there are some who believe eating raw food puts a lot of strain on your digestive system. I fall somewhere in the middle - I believe both cooked and raw food has its own specific advantages and I like to eat a good mix of cooked and raw stuff. The ratio changes from season to season - I tend to eat more raw in the summers and move to a warm diet made of more cooked food as winters approach. Here is what I have understood and concluded: 

There is no denying that temperature changes the chemical structure of the food, in turn destroying many of the vital nutrients our bodies need for optimal health and healing. That being said, not all heating is bad as cooking some foods such as grains and lentils unlocks their nutrients. This is a well know fact that all enzymes in the food are deactivated at a wet­-heat temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry-­heat temperature of about 150 degrees. That is why foods and liquid at 117 degrees can easily be touched but liquids over 118 degrees will burn you - this is nature's way of telling you that the food is still alive and full of active enzymes. Because of this reason, these days I try and cook everything on a very low heat especially dals and Indian style veggies - it definitely takes longer but at the same time doesn't require constant monitoring and since I am not worried about burning anything I usually take care of other chores while the food is getting cooked. Investing in a good slow cooker might be another good way to transition to slow cooking.

I wanted to go a bit deeper into the role of enzymes and how they aid in digestion - I was quite fascinated by what I found. There are three major classifications of Enzymes: 

Metabolic Enzymes: The largest enzymes which play a role in all bodily processes including breathing, talking, moving, thinking, behavior and maintenance of the immune system. A subset of these metabolic enzymes acts to neutralize poisons and carcinogens such as pollutants, DDT and tobacco smoke, changing them into less toxic forms that the body can eliminate. 

Digestive enzymes: As the name suggests these enzymes help in digestion and there are 22 of these in total. Most of these enzymes are produced by the pancreas. They are secreted by glands in the duodenum (a valve that separates the stomach from the small intestine) and work to break down the bulk of partially digested food leaving the stomach.

Food Enzymes: These are present in raw foods and they initiate the process of digestion in the mouth and upper stomach. Food enzymes include proteases for digesting protein, lipases for digesting fats and amylases for digesting carbohydrates. 

This is why including raw foods in your diet is so important: The enzymes in raw food help start the process of digestion and reduce the body’s need to produce digestive enzymes. A diet composed exclusively of cooked food puts a severe strain on the pancreas, drawing down its reserves of enzymes. If the pancreas is constantly overstimulated to produce the enzymes that ought to be in foods, the result over time will be inhibited function.

As I mentioned in an earlier post - digestion is the most energy consuming function that our body performs. Depending on what you are eating your body may take anywhere from 15-30 minutes (juices and fruits) , 2 hours (salads etc) to up to 8 hours to digest improperly combined meals (food combination - a topic that needs a whole new post). Whenever you eat something - your body stops any of the repair or healing process that it might have been working on to focus on digestion and assimilating the food that you have just eaten.  When you eat raw foods - you are aiding digestion by providing the enzymes that help break down the nutrients in the food - thus helping the body spend less energy on digestion. The simple carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients available in fruits and veggies are readily used as fuel by the body. That is the reason, you will not feel lethargic and sleepy after eating even a big bowl of salad. 

• Apart from their nutrient content and digestive assistance, raw fruits and veggies tend to be more bulky because of their higher water content as compared to their cooked versions - this extra bulk helps full you up - making you less likely to over eat. 
• Another effect of eating raw foods is higher content of fibre in your diet which results in better elimination and detoxing of your system. 
• Also, since you will be assimilating higher percentage of nutrients from raw foods your body will be well nourished on the cellular level and therefore may not have as many cravings as a result.  I have to tell you something about cravings - when you are eager to eat a particular food - its your body's way of telling you that you are low on that particular nutrient and need to refuel it. For eg. when you crave chocolate - your body is actually is asking for the magnesium in the cacao butter used in chocolates that helps in reducing stress and promotes relaxation. (NOTE: Although, the whole craving phenomenon is a bit more complicated than this - will write another post on this)
• You also get more variety of foods in one meal when eating raw thereby getting a more wide variety of different nutrients. For eg- a typical salad contains a mix of a couple of vegetables and greens whereas a cooked meal usually contains 1-2 veggies and a type of grain. 

When you transition to diet higher in raw foods, you might experience some uncomfortable symptoms like increased bowel movement, headaches etc as your body is trying to detox and eliminate as much waste as possible (because it does not know for how long this raw food diet will last and its built to take the most advantage of a good opportunity but when the system realizes that this is more permanent change  - it kind of settles down) These symptoms are all temporary and last anywhere from a day to at most a week.

Organic + Local: While we are on the topic I cannot stress on the importance of choosing not only organic produce but locally produced food as far as possible. Eating Organic ensures that your immune system will not have to waste its precious energy on fighting off toxins that sprayed on conventional produce. But going organic is not enough at least not in my opinion - what is the point of Organic if my tomatoes are coming all the way from Mexico and spending multiple days in transit. Try and shop at your local farmer's market or opt for CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes. In my personal experience, organic food tastes better than conventional produce for sure, but there is a marked difference in store bought organic produce and farmer's market stuff. 

Over the last 2 years I have gradually increased my intake of raw foods. On an average, I will say our diet is bout 50% raw. Our weekday breakfasts are usually a glass of green juice and a fruit bowl, some kind of salad for lunch on most days and dinners are almost always something cooked. Weekends are when we eat a typical Indian meal - with dry cooked veggies (sookhi sabzi) or Rajma-Chole etc. This format works well for my household and like everything else in life you will have to find your sweet spot.