So back to raw food?
One day, at the dawn of ages, a caveman accidentally dropped a piece of meat or a handful of cereals in a fire. And having tasted the products that passed through the "fire test", I came to the conclusion that in this form they are much tastier! Thus ended the era of primitive raw food, and the epoch of civilized cooking that has continued to this day has come. However, having tasted the delights of modern cuisine, many people do not mind to return to the sources of food culture. Their main argument is that raw food does not change the original composition of products, they conserve all the vitamins and valuable minerals that are inherent in nature. A fashionable system of raw food is not exactly a diet, but rather a way of life. And yet, as a rule, successive "russula" really do not suffer from excess weight. Moreover, having switched to raw diet, for the first 3 months it is easy to lose up to 8-10 kg. After all, they eat rich with such a useful fiber, but not too high-calorie gifts of nature - vegetables, cereals, beans, nuts and fruits.
Fodder forage
Fiber found in vegetables and fruits is an important ingredient in almost every dietary diet, its strength is that it quickly fills the stomach and gives a feeling of satiety, while there is little fat in the plant food. raw foods are allowed, but how much do you eat in almost raw form? And, naturally, no sugar, alcohol, chocolate, bread and baking - all these products have undergone significant heat treatment. organisms of "raw food" from fresh fruits and vegetables: it is known, for example, that there is more sugar in a bulb than in a cookie! Unpasteurized dairy products, raw mushrooms and cereals harmoniously complement the diet of the adherents of the living food system. It's much faster: I bought a cucumber and a tomato (or tore them from a garden bed), washed it, ate it, and I do not need to cook it! However, the practices of the fashionable gastronomic current are not some "desperate housewives" who are tired of standing by the stove. Cooking for them is often a favorite hobby. They cook with imagination, spending hours in the kitchen, cleaning, shredding, mixing the gifts of nature, enthusiastically sprouting seeds and beans, drying herbs, and drying fruits. Also, followers of raw food are simply obliged to understand food products perfectly, because if you plan to eat a piece of raw meat or drink a glass of unpasteurized milk, absolute confidence in their exceptional freshness is the main guarantee that this will not be the last meal in your life.
Special Cooking
According to a kind of "raw food code", a stove, an oven or an open fire for cooking can not be used, but it's still not worth it to refuse heating. For example, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms can be dried in the sun. After such treatment, they not only preserve, but also increase their useful properties (the concentration of vitamins increases due to evaporation of the liquid), and also acquire a more vivid taste. This way of cooking products is not so laborious and exotic as it may seem. For example, sun dried cherry tomatoes are a traditional delicacy widely used not only in such a specific way as raw food, but also in the quite familiar and almost "anti-diet" Mediterranean cuisine. However, being carried away by drying and drying by the most natural of ways, do not forget about how much the ecology of the earth and the quality of solar energy have changed (and not for the better) over the past couple of million years. Realizing this, practical "raw food" resort to the help of civilization - they are replaced without a pity by dehydrators or electric dryers. These adaptations allow full preparation of various dishes, significantly changing their taste, consistency and appearance. At the same time, the temperatures used do not exceed the maximum permissible raw foodstuffs that are quite low 50 ° C! But, of course, this way of cooking is not so simple as processing food on a stove or a fire. It would be logical to assume that the preparation of a dish with such a mild heating is a very long process. So it is: sometimes a culinary masterpiece is prepared for several hours or even a day! But such a gentle approach to heat treatment of food enthusiasts of raw food is considered ideal for good reason. The fact that the vitamin and mineral composition of dried vegetables and fruits is virtually indistinguishable from the composition of fresh fruits has been repeatedly proven by scientists. By the way, using such low temperatures, these patient people manage not only to cook raw materials for soups and compotes, but even bake cakes and so-called "rough", incredibly useful breads from ground cereals and cereals!
Scientific approach
So, back to scientific research. Empirically, leading nutritionists of the world have proved that thermal treatment actually kills practically all valuable substances contained in food. Do you want to spoil a good product? There is nothing easier! Just add water to it and cook it well. From 30 to 90% of the vitamin C, which is strategically important for maintaining the beauty and health, remains in the pan, and the B vitamins necessary for energy production "evaporate" completely. About that, in what useful substances are transformed after processing of products in the deep-fryer or on a frying pan, dieticians even are afraid to say aloud. Therefore, for example, any cabbage is better to use in kind. This is very useful: it is enough to eat this vegetable raw 6-8 times a month - and you do not face cancer of the bladder. Cooked and stewed cruciferous loose their valuable properties. There is evidence that the use of any raw vegetables - excellent prevention of cancer, especially cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. In the body of "raw food" found a high level of carotenoids - substances that strengthen the immune system. Although another natural immunostimulant - lycopene - lovers of "live" food is lacking. It is much, for example, in tomatoes, but, alas, it is assimilated only after thermal processing of the carrier. So ketchup, oddly enough, is more useful than a fresh tomato.
Choosing the best
Raw food, like everything in our life, is useful in moderation. Do not go to all serious! Take from this nutrition system really valuable principles and "determine" them to serve their health.
Natural advantages:
In the diet of the adherents of the system of raw food are many vegetables and fruits, the benefits of which are obvious. Norm - 5 to 7 servings of such products per day (remember that its size is limited: each should not be more than 100-150 g. Abusing plant fiber, you risk "overload" the digestive system, which will respond with problems with pancreatic and osteoporosis). Raw vegetable products are rich in fiber, which helps to lose weight and is a good preventive tool that helps reduce the risk of cancer. If you do not expose meat to heat treatment such as frying or grilling, then it retains much more vitamins. And most importantly, no additional harmful substances are formed, such as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and mutagenic pyrolyzates, capable of causing adverse changes in the human body at the level of DNA! In fish dishes, the preparation process of which is not delayed, the polyunsaturated fatty acids (primarily omega-3) remain unchanged and actively protect the heart and blood vessels from the formation of thrombi, reduce the viscosity of the blood and the amount of fat contained in it, and normalize the arterial pressure.
Natural minuses:
For those who prefer vegetable food, it is necessary to actively replenish stocks of some minerals of "animal origin". So, good sources of iron are almonds, beans, tofu. Compensate for the lack of calcium can be, including in the diet more cabbage, soy, figs. Fatty acids to draw from linseed, olive oil, walnuts. The abundance of raw food, and especially the irrepressible consumption of fiber, can cause upset of the gastrointestinal tract, and in people with chronic gastroenterological problems - exacerbation of existing diseases, as its digestion is always a big load on the digestive organs, especially the pancreas. There are products that are not only better absorbed after heat treatment, but can be dangerous without passing it. In this list: tomatoes, potatoes, eggs, meat and fish. The lack of heat treatment can lead to the fact that not all pathogenic bacteria and harmful substances will be destroyed. The risk of "catching" salmonella, a dangerous bacterium Vibrio para-heamolyticus, E. coli or toxic alkaloid solanine for "russula" is great. So it's really not worth using raw foods from the list given above. Nutritionists advise: all depending on what diet you adhere to, your diet should be full and varied. This applies to both the products themselves, and the methods for their preparation. Known since childhood, the rule of the "golden mean" and here is right! How many simple precautions - and you can safely enjoy the "live" food!
Products must be perfectly fresh!
To vegetables and fruits have saved more useful substances, wash them under running water. Greens and lettuce "rinse" in a bowl. If it is necessary to grind vegetables or fruits, grate them on a plastic grater. Remember that when the fruits come into contact with the metal, all the vitamins contained in them are instantly destroyed. Dishes cooked "raw", eat immediately. In light and under the influence of oxygen, the benefits evaporate, "while harmful microbes multiply rapidly, during the meal do not drink a lot of liquid to avoid bloating, chew each piece for at least 15 seconds longer. Use condiments: olive oil, lemon juice , spicy herbs, spices, marinades.Then you refine the taste of dishes, provide the body with additional nutrients, facilitate the assimilation of food Pepper, cinnamon, tarragon, coriander, in addition, are able to neutralize the pathogenic microorganisms contained raw foods.