Read my interview with Omid, a creative raw food chef, great writer, and wonderful teacher, who wrote this informative article.

Here are some statistics for those of you who are arguing about whether cooked foods is really that bad: cooking makes 50-70% of protein in food non-bioavailable, it interferes with the body’s absorption of minerals, it denatures essential fats, and destroys 70%-90% of water-soluble vitamins and phytonutrients and 100% of enzymes. With that in mind think about this: we all have natural enzymes working in our bodies that fulfill their function, like little soldiers all throughout our organs. What happens when you eat and then try to digest foods that no longer have living enzymes to aid proper digestions, you body pull on your enzyme “account” that you naturally have. The balance is your enzyme “account” drops low, is not replenished, since you are taking in “enzyme-free” food over and over, and your body faces enzyme bankruptcy. The enzymes that your body pulls from its organs are vital in keeping you healthy. When natural enzymes are depleted your body starts to slowly fail, most of the times without you knowing about it. The only way to replenish your enzyme “account” is through consuming enzyme-rich foods, which would be your plant foods before being cooked.

So, even though you still get some of the vitamins and minerals in cooked foods, you hurt yourself by killing all of the enzymes. So, if you do decide to eat something cooked, as I do once in a while, you have to make sure to supplement it with a lot of “live” foods to help your body.

I don’t want to take too much more space on this post, since this is not my blog, but THERE ARE studies that support these statements (and the statements in the post). All you have to do, instead of being a nay-sayer right off the bat, is to actually make an effort and read some literature on it. This is not pseudo-science—it’s a life proven fact! (And I am not just rambling—I do have a science degree : ) )

Those who are concerned about having too much gas when eating raw foods, do realize that if you mix fibre-rich plant food with simple sugars and processed foods, that is what creates the “gasy” atmoshphere–fiber does not mix with simple sugars! The two cannot coexist peacefully :) Try taking out processed foods for about 2-3 weeks and properly combine your foods, and you will quickly find out that gas and upset stomach are a thing of the past–and a happy tummy a thing of the future :)

All the best to this blog! Keep up the good work!

Elena – thank you for your very informative commentary. Excellent points you brought up! Hurray for a high raw diet! Please feel free to express yourself as you’d like anytime, you are always welcome to do so here. :-)

There’s a lot good information in Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” and Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal Vegetable Miracle.”

I do agree with Omid that adding a lot more fresh, unrefined and organic produce to your diet is always a good thing.

Hi Cheris – Glad you enjoyed the article. :-)

Zara – Glad you enjoyed Omid’s article ~ more to come. I’m happy to know you are incorporating more fruits and veggies into your diet. Thank you for sharing this news with us.