Have you bought the idea that a completely raw food diet is the ultimate, most logical, best diet for all humankind, no matter where they live in the world? (Like eskimos eating watermelon…)
It seems to me that it’s the implied idea transmitted by many raw-foodists, raw food website, books and seminars.
The idea is:
Raw Food is Good, Cooked Food is Evil, and the World Would Be a Better Place If Everyone Ate Only Raw Foods
OK, I may be exaggerating, but often that’s the general tone of many of the raw food gurus’ message.
Is it actually true?
Would it be possible that the resources required to transport those foods would actually make the raw food diet fairly unecological, considering the fact that eating a diet of bananas and mangoes in Northern Canada isn’t the most natural choice?
How much food do you need as a 100% raw food eater?
It’s fairly well-known that anyone deciding to eat only raw foods in a sustainable way (for health) needs to eat a tremendous quantity of fresh fruits and vegetables.
In order to get enough calories from fruits and vegetables, without using too much raw fat (which would be detrimental for health), here’s the average amount of food that’s necessary:
For a 2000 calorie diet: 10 pounds a day (with peels and all)
For a 3000 calorie diet: 15 pounds a day (with peels and all)
I based those numbers on average consumption most 100% raw foodists go through in a typical day (those who are not on a detox program!).
So basically, 70 to over 100 pounds of food per week!
That’s a lot.
Where does your food come from?
If we would want to get a more accurate picture on the ecological impact that eating a large quantity of imported fruits would have versus a smaller quantity of local cooked, animal or grain foods, we would need to analyze a lot of variables. I haven’t been able to get an accurate estimate from the data that’s available.
But just knowing that most imported fruits come from fairly far away, and that large quantities are necessary on a completely raw food diet, I can draw the obvious conclusion that eating this way is not necessarily the most logical, natural and ecological choice.
Consider that:
- Grapes from Chile travel a minimum of 4000 miles to get to you
- Bananas from Costa Rica travel about 2000 miles or more to get to you
- Mangoes from Mexico at least 1000 miles to get to you
- And so on…
All of the fossil fuels used to transport all of these foods leave an impact, which may offset or even counter-balance the possible environmental benefits of choosing a raw vegan diet (which requires less resources when produced locally), versus a local diet that would contain both raw, cooked, plant and possibly even animal foods.
It’s always been obvious to me that a diet of all raw foods in Canada makes less sense on many levels that one that includes some cooked foods, more local foods and fewer imported fruits.
There’s also the fact that these fruits are picked unripe in many cases, the acidity level is too high and the nutrient level too low.
So is the solution for all raw-food enthusiasts to move to the tropics? Certainly not!
My point is:
- There’s no need to demonize cooked food – A diet that includes both raw and cooked food makes a lot of sense on many levels. You don’t have to eat 100% raw. This is really an individual choice based on your health, your location, and your preference.
- A raw food diet can be unnatural – Eating 100% raw foods in the north can be unnatural and unsustainable. And for many more reasons that I can expand on in future articles, it’s certainly not a solution that can be proposed to the entire world!
- If you live in the north, follow the seasons – Many people, as summer approaches, have the desire to include more raw food in their diet. But in the winter, instead of freezing to death, they choose to incorporate more raw, cooked foods. That is perfectly fine, natural and even desirable for most people.
Here’s a list of some additional tips to enable you to eat more ecologically and sustainably, while incorporating more raw fruits and vegetables in your diet, no matter where you live:
1- Freeze Berries and other Fruits in Season – Berries are some of the most nutritious and antioxidant-packed foods you can eat. To avoid the consumption of too much imported foods in the winter, I encourage you to freeze a huge quantity of ripe, local, organically grown (or wild) fresh berries when they are in season. I personally freeze a lot of wild blueberries, which are local. Then, use them throughout the winter in your recipes. You can thaw them in advance to avoid the negative effect of consuming cold foods.
2- Grow Sprouts – Grow some fresh, toxin-free sprouts such as clover and sunflower greens, to get a supply of cheap, fresh, local vegetables in the winter!
3- Avoid out of Season Fruits – Some fruits may be available in your store, but may actually be out of season in your hemisphere of the world. If you live in North America, the season for grapes usually ends in September or October. Grapes during the winter are imported from countries situated in the opposite hemisphere, such as Chile, where the seasons are reversed. Avoid that! Learn the seasons of different fruits and vegetables and choose to avoid foods imported from such far-away places.
4- Make Different Salads and Vegetable Dishes in the Winter – In one of my recipe books, I give different kinds of salads and dressings depending on the season. In the winter, I recommend salads made with cabbage, carrots and other root vegetables. In the summer, I incorporate more lettuce, tomatoes and fresh vegetables. You should do the same.
5- Shun Exotic Fruits – Exotic fruits such as durian, Thai coconuts and litchis can be great to try, but they inevitably come from faraway countries such as Thailand. In addition to leaving a huge ecological impact for being imported from so far, they are also heavily sprayed with toxic chemicals. Durians are particularly notorious for that. Try them for fun, but stick to fruits and vegetables as local as possible – at least from somewhere you could drive to.
Finally, I would like to encourage you to continue making the best choices for your health. Sometimes, that may sometimes mean:
- Eating fresher, locally grown commercial foods instead of less fresh, imported organic foods
- Eating ripe, local commercial food instead of unripe, imported organic foods
- And eating some cooked, warm “local” food instead of just cold imported fruits
Lookt at true consequences of your own choices, and realize that there’s not one size that fits all.
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Diet and exercise are an important part of overall health. In many diseases, your diet can affect the frequency and severity of your symptoms. There are many foods that can trigger the onset of arthritis symptoms. Extra weight can also increase the onset of arthritis symptoms. If you suffer from arthritis, it is important that you maintain a healthy weight in order to decrease the onset of symptoms. If you are overweight, this will cause extra pressure on joints such as the spine, hips, and knees – the main joints that support your body.
In order to manage your arthritis, it is essential to maintain a healthy diet. Studies have shown that the best arthritis diet for most patients is one that is low in protein and high in carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables should be an important part of your arthritis diet because of the vitamin content. As with many illnesses, there are also foods that can trigger arthritis symptoms and should be avoided.
Foods to Avoid in Arthritis
The following foods can trigger the onset of symptoms and should be eliminated from your arthritis diet – or used as little as possible:
• Milk and dairy products
• Flour
• Sugar
• Red meat
• Butter and margarine
• Chocolate
• Sugar
• Foods containing sugar – such as syrup, honey, and jelly
• Caffeine
• White potatoes
• Red peppers
• Salt – use as little as possible
• Wheat flour
• Bran
Foods that are beneficial in Arthritis
As well as foods that may trigger symptoms, there are also foods that are beneficial to your arthritis diet. These foods can help to decrease the onset of arthritis symptoms:
• Apples – great inflammatory fruit
• Blackberries
• Kiwi fruit
• Peaches
• Mango
• Cantaloupe
• Strawberries
• Other fruits high in vitamin C
• Sardines
• Herring
• Salmon
• Mackerel
• Tuna
• Trout
• Other oily fishes that are high in Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin E
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Spinach
• Brussels sprouts
• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Collard greens
• Squash
• Other vegetables that are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C
• Sunflower seeds
• Linseeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Walnuts
• Brazil nuts
• Almonds
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat bread
• Chick peas
• Lentils
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Turmeric
A Balanced Diet for Arthritis
It is necessary to maintain a healthy, balanced arthritis diet for your overall health and to decrease the symptoms of arthritis. Many foods can trigger the inflammation associated with arthritis – and these foods should be avoided as often as possible. With any diet, portion size is one of the key ingredients to a successful diet. Some foods on the avoid list can be consumed in small quantities without adverse effects. It is important that you eat a variety of foods – fruits, vegetables, breads, and meats.
Different types of foods have different nutritional values and a combination is important in order to obtain the greatest benefits from these foods. Some things can be successfully consumed in moderation, such as alcohol, sodium, and sugar. As with any diet, you should avoid too much fat and cholesterol. Be sure your arthritis diet includes foods that will help with your overall health by providing the necessary vitamins and that your diet will help you to maintain a healthy weight. Pay attention to portion sizes and avoid overeating, which can cause you to feel less energetic and can cause you to gain extra weight, which will increase the pressure on the joints.
Arthritis Exercises
Along with a healthy arthritis diet, a regular exercise regimen is essential for your overall health. Exercise can help to keep the joints from stiffening and can decrease the onset of stiffness and inflammation associated with arthritis. It is important that you maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy diet and regular exercise – not only for your overall health, but to help in the management of your arthritis symptoms.
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More than ever before we are striving to live longer and stay healthier longer and your diet food healthy living invokes making sure the food you eat is healthy. It’s important that you combine food types to create a well balance meal.
Your diet food healthy living invokes making sure that you eat the right portion of each food group to make sure that you are getting the right nutrition. You need to eat the right amount of foods from the bread, cereal, and potato group; fruits and vegetables group, milk and dairy foods group; and the meats and fish group.
Diet food healthy living invokes visions of living to the ripe old age of 100 and feeling like your 50. A diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables can have that kind of impact on your healthy because not only are you getting the right vitamins and minerals you are also getting excellent anti-oxidants which are important for removing free radicals and keeping you younger and healthier.
Diet food healthy living invokes visions of spending a lot less time sick and that includes from simple illnesses like the common cold to more serous diseases like cancer. Combining foods that provide you with the correct nutrients, proteins, and carbs each day to create a balanced diet can go a long way to keeping you healthy. The earlier you start to practice good eating the better. In fact if you have children of your own start them as soon as you put them on table foods while they are still young enough to be receptive to whatever you feed them.
Diet food for healthy living is meant to achieve your goals which include eating a variety of foods; eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables; plenty of grains; low fat intake; low saturated fats; reduced sugar intake; reduced salt intake. By living by your goals you will achieve overall better health.
As we learn to understand better how the food we eat interacts in our body we are better able to quickly learn what we need to do to keep get the most out of our food to keep us younger and healthier. Diet food for healthy living invokes visions us at the perfect body weight with a lean waist, toned muscle, and the proper body weight for our height within our BMI. After all if you are eating right you are going to look great.
Diet food for healthy living encourages the eating of not just the right foods but the right amount of calories in a day. It helps us to learn to calculate what calorie intake is needed to maintain our weight, loose weight, or increase weight. It’s very important that we understand how our calorie intake and our calorie burn work to determine our body weight.
Diet food healthy living invokes what we want to look like, what we want to feel like, and how we want to achieve that more youthful feeling and more youthful appearance. We truly are what we eat and so a healthy diet means a healthy you!
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