Raw Food Vegan Diet Has Its Benefits
May 3, 2010 – 11:49 pm by MarinaHanes
What can a raw food vegan diet do for you? Well, in addition to living off of your fresh backyard garden and saving money on produce, your health can also benefit from this diet change. If you’re already vegan, stepping into the world of raw foods will be the easiest transition, and it also eliminates the need to cook!
Of course, plants contain vitamins and minerals that your body requires to function properly. One thing you might not know is that fruits and vegetables also contain phytochemicals. The naturally occurring chemicals found in plants can have a plethora of positive health benefits. For example, phytochemicals have been shown to prevent cancer, fight against cell damage with antioxidant power, enhance the immune system, protect the cardiovascular system, and reduce inflammation. These are just some of the major advantages to a raw plant diet.
So why don’t we see the positive effects in the average diet?
When plants are cooked, the heat leaches out the phytochemicals as well as other nutrients, so you’re left with a less nutritious version. From this viewpoint, you’re spending money on expensive produce and making them less healthy when you take them home and cook them.
But how can a raw vegan diet nourish you completely?
When you compare an 85 gram hamburger patty to 450 grams of spinach and 330 grams of baby zucchini, you’re getting the same amount of protein: 22 grams. However, with the two vegetables, you’re consuming 0 grams of cholesterol and thousands of grams of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins A, C and K, folate, carotenoids and others. Depending on how you manage your meals, you can create a raw vegan diet that has all of the essential nutrients you need including protein.
Even if you choose to eat raw foods on certain days of the week or for certain meal times, you’re proving your body with more nutrition and a chance to protect itself from illness.
Tags: benefits of raw food, raw food benefits, raw food diet, raw food vegan diet