9 reasons to eat more raw food

Everyone knows that eating healthily is vital for the wellbeing of your body, mind and soul, and a largely raw food diet has long been considered a great way to ensure you get all the nutrients your body needs.

With trendy raw cafes like Tanya’s and Nama having become the latest fave eateries of healthy eating gurus and celebrities alike (as well as the Time To Log Off team!), it’s little wonder raw eating has been thrust back into the spotlight.

The thinking behind eating raw is that by cooking food, we’re altering what nature intended and essentially killing our food.

When food is heated, the enzymes are destroyed, and it’s these enzymes that enable the body to use vitamins and minerals. If we eat raw food, we give the body’s own digestive enzymes a well-earned rest.

While eating a 100% raw food diet has been proven to leave our bodies lacking vital nutrients, incorporating more raw foods into a typical Western diet has been shown to have many health benefits.

Most raw foodists stick to raw foods 75% of the time, but just what are they actually eating? Usually vegan, a typical raw diet focuses on fresh, unprocessed, uncooked, unrefined, plant-based foods like raw fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. You can warm food, but not above 42 degrees Celsius.

If that sounds tricky or unappetising, check out some of our fave raw food blogs for some inspiration. We’re always amazed at their incredible concoctions: This Rawsome Vegan Life, Live Love Raw, Rawmanda and Rawmazing.

And if you still haven’t been persuaded to up your raw game, here are 9 perks you can expect after stepping away from the oven:

1. Increased energy. You can wave bye bye to the 4pm slump!

2. Weightloss. By incorporating more raw foods into your diet, it’s likely that the pounds will drop off until your body stabilises at its optimum weight.

3. Improved digestion. Many people claim to have fewer symptoms of IBS after switching to a predominantly raw diet. What’s more, you’ll avoid a lot of the most common food allergens such as dairy, gluten and eggs.

4. Fewer cravings. Although it’s hard at first, you’ll stop craving things like alcohol, sugar and coffee after you cut them out. Trust us.

5. Eased health problems. Many raw foodists have found their symptoms of arthritis, diabetes, Crohn’s disease and more common health problems have improved after upping their raw food intake.

6. Improved skintone. Clearer, brighter, smoother skin will be yours!

7. Decreased risk of heart and cardiovascular diseases. 

8. Stronger immune system. For many people, a raw food diet enhances their ability to prevent and fight diseases.

9. Fewer headaches.

While we’re all individual and our bodies react uniquely to different diets, we reckon most of us could greatly benefit from eating more raw foods. By maintaining a healthy balance between raw and cooked foods, you’ll nourish your body with all the goodness it needs and keep yourself in tip-top condition.

So, raw peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake, anyone?