Executive Chef at the Six Senses Destination Spa, Phuket, Thailand
In our modern and fast paced lifestyle we quickly forget that the food we consume directly affects our health, longevity, and most importantly the way we feel. While there are many diets, many fail to live up to the promise of sustained weight loss and increased energy.
Fact is, to achieve a sustainable healthy diet, it is important to not only consider the quantity of food but also the quality and type of food we choose to eat. This is where Raw Food comes in.
The Secrets of Raw Cuisine
You will be delighted to learn that Raw Food includes more than just salads and fruit. If this were true how boring would it be?
Raw, or Living Food as it is also referred to, is far more than that. Nature has provided us with an abundance of wonderful foods that are full of colour, textures and tastes to be turned into mouth-watering delicious and nutritious culinary miracles.
Raw food follows simple guidelines and you do not need expensive kitchen equipment or a culinary background to create delicious meals.
– The cuisine is based on a vegan diet of organic vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and sprouts that are artistically and creatively used to make enjoyable and healthy dishes.
– Most importantly, raw food is not heated above 42°C as this would destroy the enzymes in the foods.
– Keeping the enzymes alive is of the utmost importance because they are essential to proper digestion and absorption of food.
– When these natural enzymes are destroyed, digestion is inhibited and the nutrient value of the food is diminished.
An Ancient Fad
Raw Food is not a new “Fad” diet; it has been around for millions of years. Before fire and hunting equipment were discovered, our ancestors ate unprocessed and uncooked fruits, nuts and vegetables. However, with evolution and intelligence we learned to adapt our culinary skills and control our food supply in order to consume more calorie dense food and utilise less energy.
We now face the problem of consuming too many high-calorie and low-nutrient dense foods resulting in new illnesses and diseases, such as diabetes. Raw food provides high quality nutrition and obtains satiety without adding to your waistline through Uncooked, Unprocessed and Unheated Organic food.
Impact on your Body and Mind
You surely remember the festive season meals that left you tired and lethargic. Raw food does the opposite: it will help you to maintain and boost your energy levels and keep you pleasantly filled in between meals.
If your daily life makes it difficult to prepare a well balanced meal with all the necessary vitamins, proteins and minerals, help rejuvenate the body with a small amount of raw food a week to reduce toxins.