Raw Food Explored

Raw and Organic Foods and the Environmental and Economic Impacts

If you are interested in switching to organic foods, you may first do a little bit of research. If so, you are likely looking to find more information on the benefits of eating organically. When doing so, you will see that there are a number of health benefits to eating organically, but did you know that organic foods can also help to improve the environment and the economy? They can and for more information on how so, please continue reading on.

It is no secret that many farmers use pesticides and other chemicals when growing many fruits and vegetables. Although many of these pesticides are “technically,’ considered safe, many still have concerns. After all, if the chemicals can be used to kills bugs and bacteria, what can they do to our bodies? This is a huge concern for many individuals, especially those who are concerned with their health and exactly what it is they are putting in their bodies. Also, does simply just rinsing a vegetable make the food any safer? What about the impact on the environment? These are all common questions that many have.

Speaking of the environment, did you know that many soils become contaminated when pesticides and other similar chemicals are used? Contamination is more than possible. In fact, did you know that many of the farmers who wish to switch to growing organic foods need to overhaul their fields or wait a specific period of time until their soils can be considered clean again? This is true in many cases. This just goes to show the impact that unnatural foods an have on the environment.

Another one of the many ways that organic foods can help to improve the environment and the economy is with the survival of quality food manufacturers. All organic food should be certified by the QAI (Quality Assurance International). This certification process is not easy to pass, as there are a number of strict rules that must be followed and certain qualifications must be met. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to meet these standards. This means that only the quality and dependable organic food makers are likely to survive. Although many do not look at it from this point of view, it can be good for the economy.

In keeping with the economy, many farmers are getting a second chance with organic foods. Now, it is costly to run a farm. In fact, that is why many farms are shutting down. Although some farmers are choosing to give up their operations, others are choosing to make the switch to organic foods. Although it does take a lot of hard work, determination, and a large investment to make the switch to organic, many farmers are finding big payoffs. There are also many economists who believe that switching to growing organic foods is the only way that many farms, especially those that are small in size, will be able to survive.

As you can see, there are a number of ways that organic foods can impact the environment and the economy. Fortunately, these ways are all positive in nature. As a reminder, organic foods are also safe, healthy, and natural to eat. What does this mean for you? It means that there are a number of benefits to eating organically. For that reason, if you are interested in making the switch to organic foods, you should go ahead and do so. Click on the picture above for more information about the raw food diet lifestyle.

Does moving to a raw foods diet mean never eating hot food again? No, it doesn’t. Sometimes you want something hot. Hot food has always signified comfort for many of us. And on a cold, rainy day, carrot sticks or wheatgrass juice probably won’t cut it for most of us.

Most raw food, like our bodies, is very perishable. When raw foods are exposed to temperatures above 118 degrees, they start to rapidly break down, just as our bodies would if we had a fever that high. One of the constituents of foods which can break down are enzymes. Enzymes help us digest our food. Enzymes are proteins though, and they have a very specific 3-dimensional structure in space. Once they are heated much above 118 degrees, this structure can change.

Once enzymes are exposed to heat, they are no longer able to provide the function for which they were designed. Cooked foods contribute to chronic illness, because their enzyme content is damaged and thus requires us to make our own enzymes to process the food. The digestion of cooked food uses valuable metabolic enzymes in order to help digest your food. Digestion of cooked food demands much more energy than the digestion of raw food. In general, raw food is so much more easily digested that it passes through the digestive tract in 1/2 to 1/3 of the time it takes for cooked food.

Eating enzyme-dead foods places a burden on your pancreas and other organs and overworks them, which eventually exhausts these organs. Many people gradually impair their pancreas and progressively lose the ability to digest their food after a lifetime of ingesting processed foods.

But you certainly can steam and blanch foods if you want your food at least warm. Use a food thermometer and cook them no higher than 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Up to this temperature, you won’t be doing too much damage to the enzymes in food.