Many people get real food confused with the processed food. There is a huge difference between real food (i.e. fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, etc.) and fake food (i.e. processed foods that are refined, contain chemical additives, preservatives, flavor enhancers, coloring, etc.). Dherbs recommends people to eat only raw foods while cleansing to have the best possible results.
The benefit of a raw food diet is that raw foods offer essential nutrients that keep the body functioning properly. In fact, cooking fruits or vegetables kills the nutritional content, which means you aren’t reaping the benefits from the food you cooked. Once the heat exceeds 118 degrees Fahrenheit, nutrients start breaking down. Cooking at higher temperatures reduces the effectiveness of enzymes and other nutrients found in the food.
A raw food diet is by its very nature a vegan diet, but you can’t have grains, legumes, quinoa, or other foods that are cooked or processed. The only things you can eat are raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits (so long as they are free of sulfur and don’t have added sugars or preservatives).
What Can You Eat?
Many people, especially people who are cleansing for the first time, want to know what they can eat. More importantly, they want to know how much fruit, vegetables, seeds, and nuts they can eat while cleansing. One of the best things about this diet, aside from replenishing your body with nutrients, is that you can eat as much as you want. You don’t have to count calories and you can eat until you are content.
One thing you have to be mindful of is that you shouldn’t go nuts on nuts. And it is best to eat one type of nut, like almonds, at once without combining other nuts into the mix. Use nuts and seeds as a snack between meals and not as full meals. Try not to eat more than one cup at a time. Dried fruit is acceptable to eat, but make sure that it is free of sulfur, preservatives, and sugar.
Fruits and vegetables are going to be your best friends while cleansing, and you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you like; just as long as they are raw and preferably organic. If organic is not available, eat what is available. Also, follow these rules of food combining.
People are typically skeptical of eating as many raw foods as they want. Remember: real food cannot hurt you. Eating a ton of meat, four bags of chips, three sodas, and a pint of ice cream is how you hurt your body.
Raw Foods To Avoid
- Buckwheat greens
- Mushrooms (button mushrooms are ok to eat raw)
- Peas
- Potatoes (you can juice sweet potatoes if you have a juicer)
- Rhubarb leaves
- Taro
- Cassava and cassava flour
- Parsnips
How To Prepare Raw Foods
- Soaking
- Sprouting
- Dehydrating
- Blending
- Juicing
- Fermenting
What You Can Expect
When you transition from the Standard American Diet to a raw diet, your body will go into withdrawal. The idea of the cleanse is to rid the body of what it is used to so that you can experience a newfound health. The raw food diet does not make you feel terrible; rather, the symptoms people experience are because toxins are leaving the body. You could experience:
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Cravings
- Fatigue
Some people may also experience some nutrient deficiencies, depending on your food choices. Raw food diets may put people at risk for deficiencies in:
- Vitamin B-12
- Zinc
- Iron
- Omega 3
Be sure to get your fair share of green leafy vegetables and avocados for the above nutrients.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
