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FROM THE MAGAZINE

Many of us are looking for healthier alternatives these days. We’re all tired of being sick and tired. Becoming more conscious about the food we choose to fuel our body is a perfect place to begin in placing us on the path to feeling better. Eating a raw and living foods diet consisting of uncooked fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains, rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients, can play an important role in improving your health. Eating this way makes you feel better and more energetic.

So why are living foods so crucial to your total wellbeing? Simple; we are what we eat. If you’re feeling a bit sluggish, lacking energy, experiencing digestive problems or are not sleeping well, it is likely due to your body’s intake each day. Other symptoms of a toxic diet include skin problems, inability to focus and get things done; and a general malaise. If you’re gaining weight and depression is creeping in, or perhaps you’re fed up with taking prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications, chances are you just need to make some adjustments in what you’re eating. Heating food beyond 110 degrees destroys the natural enzymes in the food that aid in predigestion. When this happens the body goes into overdrive to create an overabundance of digestive enzymes. It means that metabolic enzymes that are needed for other vital functions are called on to aid in the digestive process. The result is a loss of energy. People feel sleepy after a huge cooked meal because the enzymes required to keep their body functioning are being called on to digest the meal.

Cooking destroys many vitamins and minerals in food, and studies show that vitamin and mineral pills are poor substitutes for eating the naturally occurring nutrients in foods. In addition, cooking reduces the oxygen in fresh food, which is needed to resist disease. Eating living foods in their natural state gives the body the energy it needs, as well as strengthening the immune system to avoid colds, flu and infections. Cooking can also rob the flavor from many foods. The aroma of cooked food going up in the air is your loss of flavor disappearing. Raw and living foods, when prepared properly, retain their flavor to create a sensuous sunburst in your mouth. Eating heat-processed food triggers a massive release of white blood cells by our body – a similar response that happens when we have an infection or are poisoned.

Eating a high percentage of cooked food creates an acidic and toxic environment. Animal products and cooked food leave the most residue behind. Eating a high percentage of raw and living foods offers the body a clean environment with friendly bacteria – an alkaline state, where disease cannot survive.

I’m not on a mission to convert people to a raw food diet. My objective is to get people to include more fresh foods into their diet and to open their eyes and mind to the methods they’ve been blindly following that are not making them function at their absolute best.

CURRY SOUP INGREDIENTS
3 cups Thai Coconut (you can also use spring or filtered water)
2 avocados
3 cloves garlic
2-inch piece ginger
1 tbsp. curry powder
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup nama shoyu

DIRECTIONS
1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Top with the following: chopped avocado, chopped tomatoes,
chopped red bell pepper, and chopped mint leaves.

— Enjoy!

— Tegra Little