Raw Foods Will Help You Keep Those Pounds Off

Some people use a raw diet to shed extra pounds, but it's not just good for losing weight—it will help you maintain a healthy weight forever.

Healthy weight is vital to good health. Obesity is linked to a shorter lifespan, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and a host of other major health conditions. Being overweight also puts extra strain on your heart, as it's more difficult to transport blood to organs and body parts.

How a Raw Diet Helps With Weight Loss

Highly refined foods mainly white refined sugars and trans fatty acids are usually high glycemic foods that stress the pancreas. Not only is a stressed pancreas a contributing factor in the development of cancer and diabetes, but foods often store as fat when the pancreas is working overtime. Trans fats, often found in fried foods, lack an enzyme called lipase, which helps break down stored fats. Raw nuts and seeds, avocado, raw coconut, hemp, flax, and olive oil contain lipase, and in small amounts, they can assist in losing weight.

But a cooked diet also puts a significant amount of stress on the pancreas. When more than one-fifth of a meal is cooked foods, the pancreas becomes stressed and enlarges. Consuming 80 percent of more raw foods has the reverse effect, helping to reduce stress on the pancreas. In fact, in human and animal experiments the pancreas returned to normal size in just three days when 80 percent or more raw food was consumed in the diet.

10 Foods To Eliminate For Weight Loss

Alcoholic Beverages

Most are high-glycemic and stress the liver. The only alcohol I recommend is organic red wine for a special occasion; red wine is fermented raw grapes and does contain some enzymes.

Alternatives: Herbal teas, fresh squeezed juices, and purified water.

Gluten Grains

Gluten grains, including wheat, barley, rye, and oats, prevent the absorption of certain minerals and clog up the colon and are high-glycemic. What's more, they are not necessary in the diet.

Alternatives: Gluten-free grains such as Buckwheat, Amaranth, Millet, Quinoa, Teff, Organic Corn, Brown Rice (though even these are not necessary).

Refined Sugar

Refined sugar comes in many forms, including Corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, maltose. It contains no minerals, puts great stress on the pancreas, and creates imbalance by causing food to store as fat.

Alternatives: 100 percent raw agave or yacon syrup (but use sparingly).

Fats and Oils

Heated, cooked fats are void of lipase, the fat-digesting enzyme, so the fat ends up stored and not able to be fully assimilated, and oxidation damages cells. Avoid roasted nuts and seeds, oils, unnatural fats such as margarine, and fried foods.

Alternatives: Raw nuts and seeds, avocado, cold pressed oils (olive, coconut, hemp, or flax).

Dairy

Dairy in all forms—from milk to cheese to cream—is pasteurized and has been linked to diabetes.

Salt

Common table salt is not a food. Consisting of sodium chloride, and containing dextrose (yes, sugar!), it has nothing to do with nutrition. Just one ounce of salt causes the body to retain seven pounds of water; salt is also acidic and damages cells on contact. You can get plenty of sodium naturally from fruits and vegetables, so you don't need to add salt.

Alternatives: Seaweeds, and the occasional use of Celtic Salt (contains 82 minerals).

Processed Foods

Chips, pastries, breads, and most packaged foods are cooked or pasteurized and have lower nutrition than whole, fresh foods. A simple rule: If you see an expiration date longer than a few weeks, avoid it!

Juice

Ever wonder why most juice brands add extra vitamin C? Juice from a bottle is totally lacking in enzymes, and no enzymes means pure sugar and low nutrition.

Alternatives: Fresh squeezed juices (if you don't want to wake up and work, get a juicer!)

Choosing a raw diet that is free of non-nutriousious foods and minerals will help your body work better, which will almost certainly help you feel better, too.

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