Where to start a raw food diet: a guide for a beginner raw foodist

When a person thinks about his diet, he begins to study its various types and systems, which speak about the benefits of some products and the harm of others. One of the common types of nutrition is vegetarianism. Quitting meat is often perceived with fear, because the dominant paradigm in society suggests that one cannot live without it. However, the experience of many people shows that you can not only live without meat products, but, moreover, get rid of many health problems. Inspired by the results of switching to vegetarianism, a person begins to take a deeper interest in nutrition issues and encounters other types of nutrition.

A more strict form of vegetarianism is veganism, whose adherents, in addition to meat, refuse dairy products. The transition to this type of nutrition is usually due to ethical reasons: the modern dairy industry is a cruel exploitation of living beings. This choice can also be based on health concerns: milk acidifies the body and leads to the excretion of calcium, magnesium, zinc, sodium and other trace elements. It has been noted that in regions or nationalities where the consumption of dairy products is traditionally large, the population loses teeth early, has brittle bones and nails, and is also susceptible to various diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Delving further into issues of proper nutrition, a person is faced with a raw food diet. This approach is based on the fact that nature does not provide for thermal processing of food. And it is the effect of temperature on food that causes inadequate absorption of food, which in turn leads to various diseases.

You can find many conflicting reviews about the raw food diet - from stories of healing from incurable diseases to warnings that this type of diet can cause serious harm to health. Why is that? Firstly, each person’s body is unique and is determined by various environmental conditions, nutrition, upbringing, lifestyle, and so on. What works for one may be fatal for another. And secondly, the transition to a raw food diet is often made with mistakes that the body does not forgive us. This leads to serious health problems. Let's talk in detail about how to properly switch to a raw food diet and not cause harm to yourself.

The essence of a raw food diet

Diseases are a deviation from the norm, the body’s attempts to remove waste and toxins, a signal about the need to change lifestyle. The norm is absolute health, the foundation of which is a raw food diet. The absence of heat treatment allows you to get rid of most health problems.

A raw food diet is not just proper nutrition, it is also an ideology of a healthy lifestyle. After all, switching to natural food changes not only the state of the body, but also thinking, perception of life and its essence. The products used by a raw foodist are everything that grows naturally:

• fresh vegetables, fruits;
• cereals;
• legumes;
• seeds;
• nuts.

In their raw form, these products contain all the necessary microelements and vitamins, providing a person with complete nutrition. Switching to a raw food diet allows you to:

• cleanse the body of deposits of toxins and waste;
• lose weight;
• improve the condition of the skin, as well as the whole body;
• switch to a healthy lifestyle.

Store-bought greens

The most diverse variety is also a frequent guest in our kitchen in the winter and spring. Although, most often - of course, standard onions, dill and parsley. To ensure that parsley and dill do not lose freshness for as long as possible, immediately after purchase, cut off the petioles, wash the bunch in running cold water, wrap it in newspaper or paper kitchen towels, put this wealth in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator.

Basic set of store-bought greens

In this form, our green treasures remain fresh for a very long time.

Types of raw food diet

Types of nutrition for vegetarianism and raw food diet
Each organism is individual, so there cannot be a common raw food diet scheme for everyone. You need to choose the most suitable option for yourself by trying different types of power systems.

Classic

This is the most suitable type of raw food diet for beginners. It is allowed to eat plant foods without heat treatment; heating temperatures up to 40 degrees are allowed. Products in the diet of a classic raw foodist:

• fresh fruits;
• vegetable salads;
• cold pressed oil;
• nuts;
• natural sea salt;
• palm sugar;
• spices.

This type of raw food diet allows you to prepare many different dishes, simply replacing the usual harmful goodies with healthier ones.

Fruitarianism

This type of raw food diet, founded by Douglas Graham, is usually used after the classic one. The diet is based on the principle: 80% carbohydrates, 10% fats, 10% proteins. In his opinion, excess weight is influenced not by calories, but by eating non-specific foods high in fat. Eating exclusively fruits and berries provides the body with enough calories. Proper carbohydrates provide the body with “clean” energy, and fiber promotes the effective elimination of toxins.

Half-raw food diet

This method is based on fruitarianism. At the same time, once a week or once a day you are allowed to eat dishes made from rice, potatoes, and baked vegetables. But they need to be prepared without salt, oil, chemical additives and consumed separately from fruits. This raw food diet system allows you to stay cheerful, in excellent physical shape, cook vegan dishes and not avoid dinners with friends.

Raw mono diet

A raw food diet is eating one type of fruit at a time without limiting its quantity. Breakfast can only consist of bananas or watermelon. This speeds up the digestion process as much as possible, allowing the body to cleanse itself of toxins. But it is quite difficult to maintain such a regime, so for dinner a dish of vegetable salad with herbs is allowed.

Vegan raw food diet

This is the highest form of raw food diet, balancing on the line between feeding on prana and completely refusing food. Many raw foodists strive to achieve this state. The vegan raw food diet is divided into Jusorian (on juices) and Sprutorian (on sprouted grains). Fruit or vegetable juices can saturate the body, remove toxins, and relieve diseases.

This nutritional system is quite easily tolerated due to the surge of strength for the first two months, after which the body begins to suffer from a lack of fiber. Therefore, it is recommended to alternate liquid nutrition with other types of raw food diet.

Carnivorous

This system is based on the consumption of raw, frozen or dried animal products: meat, fish, seafood. The system has a significant drawback - the danger of infection by parasites.

The raw food diet in Russia is based on simplifying the diet and reducing the amount of food. But prolonged malnutrition often leads to breakdown and loss of strength, which forces malnourished people to switch to other types of raw food diet. The Russian cold also makes its own adjustments, so the diet includes honey, sprouted seeds, and green smoothies.

Antiparasitic cleaning

Anti-parasitic cleaning
The task of this system is to rid the human body of all kinds of invaders. By the way, parasites are eliminated not only from the intestines, but also from the entire body as a whole. The advantage of this method is that there is no need to do enemas. The cleaning itself consists of just two steps:

1. Take a head of garlic and cut each of its cloves into several small pieces.

2. Swallow the resulting pieces a few at a time. You can even drink juice if it’s hard to swallow.

The procedure is performed from three weeks to a month, daily, after dinner. Unchewed pieces of garlic, entering the intestines, begin to emit gas, which poisons parasites, but has many benefits for humans.

Where to start the transition to a raw food diet

How to switch to a raw food diet smoothly
A raw food diet begins with the understanding that a serious restructuring of the body will occur. You need a clearly defined goal and a competent plan for switching to raw food. The most difficult moment of the transition is the psychological attitude. You may encounter condemnation and attempts to return the novice raw foodist to his previous position. You need to be prepared for a change in your surroundings, the loss of some friends who are unable to understand and accept a sharp change in established traditions.

The transition to a raw food diet can be accomplished in two ways:

1. Cutting. This is shock therapy for the body, since you need to abruptly stop eating thermally processed food. The method is fraught with breakdowns, stress, and imbalance in the body.
2. Smooth. At the first stage, there is a gradual abandonment of fried, smoked foods and coffee. At the next stage, you can begin to exclude other familiar foods from your diet. The method requires a long time, but allows the body to gently adapt to changes and protects the immune and regulatory systems from stress. This is an ideal method for a beginner.

A person who has decided to take such a step is recommended to keep a diary and replenish supplies of vitamins, trace elements and minerals in the first stages of the transition.

Important Tips

Some tips will help make this transition more comfortable:

• It is worth communicating more with like-minded people, visiting thematic forums and communities.
• Meditation and yoga will help reduce stress levels and reduce the likelihood of breakdowns.
• In order not to break down during the transition period, you should always have nuts and fruits on hand.
• It would also be a good idea to keep a food diary.
• It is important to pay more attention to the advantages of this lifestyle, try to recognize new tastes in food and learn to accept a raw food diet with joy.

Basic rules for product compatibility

The right combination of foods for a raw food diet
Due to mistakes in the diet, people are often disappointed in this type of nutrition, since there is no loss of excess weight or relief from diseases. Beginning raw foodists mistakenly believe that foods can be consumed uncontrolled, in any combination. But that's not true.

During a raw food diet, there is no usual feeling of fullness even with a full stomach. People are faced with unusual sensations for the first time and begin to mix products with each other. The wrong combination of components of a raw food menu can lead to phenomena such as fermentation and putrefactive processes. Ideally, you should eat each ingredient separately or follow a strict raw food diet.

Compatibility of raw food menu components:

1. Fats (nuts, avocado and coconut) should not be mixed with sugar (fruit). The same rule applies to dried fruits; they should not be consumed with fruits and fats.
2. It is forbidden to mix different types of fats, which are heavy food for the stomach. Nuts should not be consumed mixed with avocado or coconut, or seasoned with vegetable oil. Coconut and avocado are also incompatible with each other.
3. Starch (boiled potatoes, bananas, bread) and acids (sour fruits and vegetables) are incompatible. This is due to the fact that various enzymes are used to digest them. When mixed, they begin to neutralize each other, which leads to digestive problems. For example, tomatoes belong to the group of sour vegetables, so you should not combine them with potatoes and bread. Bananas should not be eaten with oranges.

The correct sequence of food consumption also plays an important role:

1. Liquid - fruit juices, it is better to start with sour ones.
2. Slightly denser vegetables.
3. Dense - avocado.
4. Hard – seeds, nuts.

The basic principle of raw food nutrition is a smooth transition from liquid food to solid food. Vegetables and nuts can be combined and swapped. It is recommended to avoid consumption:

• fruits or starch after nuts;
• fruits (including sour ones) after starch;
• sour fruits after bananas;
• fruits after dried fruits.

The basic principle of nutrition is to arrange food in the stomach in layers in the correct sequence.

Green non-starchy vegetables

In the winter-spring period, we most often use white cabbage, stalked celery, onions and garlic.

Cabbage and celery remain fresh for a very long time if you cut the stalk with a lattice, wrap it in damp paper, put it in a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator:

White cabbage

If you have these vegetables, then we are absolutely sure that you can always prepare many delicious and satisfying raw food dishes.

Here are some simple raw food recipes:

• Simple coleslaw
• Delicious red cabbage salad
• Delicious cabbage salad with sorrel and avocado

In addition, quite often we use bell peppers, and from time to time we use daikon, green radish, and other types of cabbage.

Menu for the week

The daily menu of a raw foodist may contain snacks: nuts, honey, marshmallows, dried fruits. A 24-hour water fast is recommended, starting once a week. You can gradually switch to a three-day fast once a month.

Fruits

This is the first and most important thing that is necessary in any (even non-raw food) kitchen. The more and more varied the better.

But citrus

- without fail! A few drops of lemon juice with a morning glass of water or freshly squeezed juice from halves of an orange, grapefruit and lemon diluted with water are classic recommendations from nutritionists of all times. And tangerine juice?! Mmmm... it's a miracle, how delicious it is!

Manual citrus juicer
The beauty of citrus fruits is that you don’t even need a “full-fledged” juicer to squeeze the juice. You can get by with the simplest and cheapest manual citrus juicer or even an ordinary tablespoon!

See also: How to use a knife.

In addition, citrus fruits can be used to make excellent, refreshing salads. And lemon and orange juice are excellent and indispensable assistants in preparing a universal marinade. The zest is also useful - for preparing herbal infusions or as an additive to many raw food sweets.

Here are just a few simple recipes for example:

• Dessert grapefruit salad “Winter Rose”
• Egyptian salad "Munkachina"
• Pickled carrots with mushrooms and universal marinade
• Coconut candies "Delight"

Apples

It will be very good if you always have enough apples in your kitchen. In winter, this is, of course, the “seven” variety. You can always crunch it just like that, or make a light dessert or squeeze out a delicious juice.

Apples "seven"

• “Raw food charlotte” quickly
• Juice cake for delicious apple cakes

Bananas

A small amount of bananas

It’s also useful to always have in the kitchen. They themselves are very nutritious and filling to snack on. Additionally, bananas are a great ingredient in most green smoothies. And using bananas, you can quickly prepare delicious raw food desserts - both for yourself and for guests if they suddenly arrive.

• How to make green smoothies at home

Bananas

If bananas have been lying around for a long time and are starting to overripe, you can make marshmallows or banana chips. As a result, these dishes also always come in handy - either for tea or for gifts. And banana slices can be frozen and kept in the freezer. And then you can quickly prepare delicious soft ice cream at any time.

• Banana ice cream "Eskimo style"

Avocado

Avocado

– it’s also good to have on hand and take care of its availability in a timely manner. Personally, we consider it an indispensable product. It is a wonderful ingredient for almost all raw vegetable salads, many sauces, soups and green smoothies.

• How to choose an avocado

Avocado

In addition to avocado, it will also be very good to have pomegranate on hand at all times. It produces a very tasty and healthy juice.

• How to peel a pomegranate and squeeze pomegranate juice

By the way, a drink made from beetroot and pomegranate juice diluted with water to taste is wonderful - check it out for yourself if you haven’t tried it yet!

Pomegranate juice

The only “minus” is that fruits cannot be stored in the refrigerator - this causes them to lose their flavor.

Popular recipes

Simple raw food diet recipes for every day

Soup with buckwheat and cucumbers

Ingredients:

• sprouted buckwheat – 250 g;
• 1 avocado;
• 4 medium cucumbers;
• 3 tbsp. l. peeled pumpkin or sunflower seeds;
• lemon juice – 4 tsp;
• pepper, salt.

Puree the pulp of avocado and cucumber, as well as buckwheat, in a blender, add lemon juice and seasonings. Pour the puree into plates, sprinkle with seeds, add herbs.

Chia coconut pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of coconut milk;
• one third cup of chia seeds;
• one ripe banana;
• a couple of mangoes or peaches.

Add chia seeds to the coconut milk whipped with banana, then leave until thickened (can be overnight). Before use, add peeled and diced mango.

Green buckwheat, avocado and cucumber salad

You will need:

• two thirds of a glass of green buckwheat;
• one avocado, long cucumber, grapefruit;
• a bunch of greens (arugula);
• salad;
• spices and salt.

Buckwheat is soaked for half an hour, after which it is left overnight to germinate. Then it needs to be washed and dried. Peeled avocado is cut into pieces, grapefruit juice with spices and salt are added to it. Buckwheat is seasoned with sauce and placed in the middle of the plate. In portions, sliced ​​cucumber, chopped lettuce and herbs are laid out along the edge.

Cookies "Rayskoe"

Ingredients:

• 3 coconuts;
• 2 bananas.

Crack the coconut, extract the pulp, peel off the brown skin and cut into pieces. Peel the bananas and cut them. Add coconut liquid to coconut and banana pieces and blend until smooth. Coconut flakes can be coarse or finely ground. The resulting dough-like mass is placed on a dehydrator sheet and dried. When ready, turn the cookies over to the other side to speed up drying.

Pea paste

Components:

• raw green peas – 450 g;
• vegetable oil – 1–2 tbsp;
• water – from 50 to 100 ml;
• salt, herbs as desired.

Mix thawed green peas with all ingredients and blend in a blender. Add water as needed.

Leafy greens

The second most important and important provision. And you can never have too much greenery either! The cheapest way to sprout your own greens. In winter and early spring, we try to make wheatgrass from wheat sprouts more often.

Leafy greens

In winter and early spring, you can collect some pine needles to make amazing pine energy cocktails.

• Pine needle cocktail

Most often, we immediately prepare a concentrate from pine needles and water. Then we pour it into plastic bottles and store it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, and in the morning we simply add honey and lemon juice:

This is a very convenient preparation, as it can be stored for at least a week and there is always an additional source of chlorophyll and a host of other useful substances at hand!

Indications and contraindications

The main indication for switching to natural food is to restore a healthy state of the body. This system is available to any person who has no contraindications.

People with allergies should be cautious about switching to a raw food diet. Only heat treatment can neutralize harmful protein substances to which the immune system of allergy sufferers reacts.

A raw food diet is contraindicated for children, the elderly, and pregnant women. The system should not be used for serious diseases of the digestive system.

Vegetable oils

We hardly use them now, and although we have the highest quality olive oil imported from Turkey, we most often use it for cosmetic purposes.

Vegetable oils

We also have cocoa butter. We took it because we thought it was absolutely necessary for raw chocolate. But, as it turned out, simply ground live cocoa tastes much better.

• How to make raw chocolate

What diseases can be cured

Nature has provided the human body with all the tools necessary to maintain health. But improper nutrition leads to clogging of the body, supplying it with unnecessary substances and depriving it of necessary ones. Organs have difficulty coping with the increased load, their defenses are weakened. The raw food diet method allows you to get rid of many serious diseases:

1. A raw food diet can completely cure type 2 diabetes and reduce the dosage of insulin in type 1 of the disease.
2. Obesity and cellulite are cured. A person loses 8 kg or more of excess weight per month. At the same time, the volume of food practically does not change, only its quality.
3. Skin diseases (furunculosis, psoriasis, acne and others) recede after the cleansing effects of a raw food diet.
4. Varicose veins, which are a consequence of excessive consumption of fatty and salty foods, disappear.
5. Prostatitis can recede after just a month of practicing a raw food diet. Proper nutrition eliminates the source of inflammation and releases the body's reserve forces.
6. A raw food diet is indicated for cancer. Switching to natural food restores the body’s immunity, cleanses it of toxins, and eliminates old inflammatory processes.
7. The functioning of the digestive organs is improved, the gums are strengthened, and tooth enamel is preserved.
8. Blood pressure and heart function are normalized. Normal intestinal function and water metabolism are restored. Urolithiasis recedes, neuroses and joint diseases are eliminated. Cholesterol levels return to normal. And this is not a complete list of the therapeutic effects of proper nutrition.

Benefits and harms

1. A raw food diet has many advantages, attracting more and more new followers. The main arguments in favor of eating plant foods:
2. Due to the lack of heat treatment, all beneficial substances in food are preserved; raw foods contribute to more complete absorption of vitamins and minerals.
3. The entry of harmful substances into the body is excluded: saturated fats, sugar, trans fats, carcinogens, harmful food additives. The body stops becoming clogged with waste and toxins.
4. The fiber in raw vegetables and fruits promotes faster saturation, while the serving size does not decrease and the calorie content remains low. This is a great opportunity to lose weight quickly and safely.
5. There is a relief from many diseases.
6. The overall energy level increases and your well-being improves.
7. In a week of raw food diet you can get rid of 3 to 6 kilograms of excess weight. This is explained by the loss of excess fluid and intensive removal of toxins from the first day of the new diet.

Despite all the benefits, a raw food diet cannot be recommended for everyone for several reasons:

1. Imbalance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Plant foods are poor in protein, which leads to its deficiency in the body. Legumes and some grains used as a source of protein can accumulate toxic substances. Their excessive consumption without heat treatment is harmful to the body.
2. Lack of amino acids (tryptophan, methionine, lysine), vitamins (B12, B2).
3. Risk of developing or exacerbating allergies. Raw legumes, as well as wheat, contain allergenic substances that can cause disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
4. For those who are accustomed to eating industrially processed foods, it is psychologically very difficult to switch to eating raw plant foods. Such people often have a breakdown, accompanied by sudden overeating. Therefore, you need to start a raw food diet gradually, spending fasting days, minimizing dinner.

The transition to a raw food diet is an individual process for everyone. You need to take your time and listen carefully to your own body. Measures and a reasonable attitude will help smoothly transform the nutrition system towards natural and healthy food.

conclusions

People who have made a firm decision to become raw foodists should pay special attention to the tips and recommendations discussed above. After all, whether you will ultimately be able to completely change your lifestyle and diet largely depends on compliance with these rules and the smoothness of the transition. It is important to understand that a raw food diet is a nutritional system, following which a person can improve health and everyday well-being, cleanse the body, lower cholesterol levels, and normalize sugar levels. In addition, general rejuvenation is noted, the person loses weight. However, despite all the advantages of this system, it is important to clearly understand what you will have to give up. Only with such a conscious attitude will the transition be successful.

Seaweed

If you read our review on seaweed, you know that there are many types of edible seaweed.

Wakame seaweed

But we believe that a supply of nori, wakame and kelp is a necessary and reasonable minimum. This set allows you to prepare a lot of delicious, varied and healthy raw food dishes.

If possible, it makes sense to buy algae in large packs - it’s much cheaper, and in a dry and dark place they are perfectly stored for a very long time.

Dry seeds

There is no way to go on a raw food diet without them. Our favorite and usual “necessary minimum” is green buckwheat, flax seeds and sunflower seeds. We believe that these are the simplest and most convenient seeds to use. Buckwheat and sunflower germinate very quickly, and we use flax seeds in dry, ground form. Rarely, but still we use poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds.

Seeds

Lately, if we use wheat, rye and naked oats, it is to produce green sprouts. In addition, we have a stock of amaranth and milk thistle seeds.

Nuts

Our favorite ones are walnuts. Very rarely do we buy pine nuts, even less often do we buy almonds, and very rarely do we buy something like pecans, Brazil nuts or exotic macadamia nuts.

But we take coconuts quite often. They are very filling and tasty, and in winter they are also much cheaper than all other nuts (although they are not really nuts). In addition, we have long been convinced that homemade and store-bought coconut flakes are two very different things.

Nuts

Immediately after purchase, we wash walnuts and almonds in running water and leave them soaked overnight. Then we wash, dry and store in this form. If we see that supplies are running low, we buy a small quantity again and repeat the process. Nuts prepared in this way become much tastier and easier to use.

Honey

Only natural and only from trusted suppliers. If it is not possible to purchase high-quality honey, it is better to avoid using it altogether.

Natural honey

We use other beekeeping products - bee bread or pollen, but quite rarely

• Super tonic natural sweets with beebread

Frozen berries

In the winter-spring period, this is, of course, a salvation! We always stock up on garden berries during the season - honeysuckle, raspberries, sea buckthorn, currants.

Lightly frozen berries

Fortunately, there is now an abundance of fresh frozen berries in stores - cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries, and whatever your heart desires. That is, if you have nowhere to store it, you can always buy it.