What to keep in mind when preparing a vegan meal

If you are vegan or want to know about this healthy lifestyle, you might have heard at least once an expression like “vegans are people who don’t just believe meat is murder, but those who stand up for the rights of cows, chickens, and bees to be released from their indentured servitude.”  Stated like that, it might be unclear if it is a positive comment… or just the opposite!

Maybe the main concern about vegan nutrition is how to create meals with sufficient protein. The good news is that people require far less protein than they realize and that there there are many excellent sources of plant protein. To begin with, it is good to remind ourselves that the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein is calculated as follows:

Body weight (in pounds) X 0.36 = recommended protein intake  (in pounds)

Vegans don’t need to live off protein shakes to get the intake they need, either.  According to Mike Malher, from Monkey Bar Gymnasium, there are vegan friendly foods loaded with protein, especially lentils, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, navy beans, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, almond butter, peanut butter, and hemp seeds.  So it is possible to find a mix for everyone. For example one serving of lentils mixed with one serving of hemp seeds is around 0.7 0z (20 grams) of complete protein. This mix is a nice balance of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fat.  It is also possible to combine beans and rice for a complete protein meal, but this becomes a high carb. meal, which is not a good fit for everybody.

Some people  “eat for fuel and health” and prefer to be moderate in protein, fairly high in fat, and moderate in carbohydrate diet.  An example of such a vegan meal is three servings of lentils (0.85oz of protein) mixed with two servings of pistachios (0.49 oz of protein and 0.91 oz of healthy fat), add two cups of broccoli and two cups of mixed vegetables. A tablespoon of olive oil makes the mix easier.  Then, it is just a matter of adding chef’s secrets to make it tastier (spices, sauces, etc) .  A vegan meal like this will provide around 1.41oz of protein and the fat count is high is appropriate for people who workout.  Thus, at the end, the ratio will depend on each person lifestyle.

But fat is not only useful for “fuel” that last longer than carbohydrates.  Not only mood and energy are low in a low-fat vegan diet, but the skin dries up and altogether will make you look like a zombie (living-death). A very good tip is getting 20-40% or more of your calories from fat.  Of course it has to be healthy fats such as:  Hemp seed olive oil, almonds, walnuts, marine algae DHA, pecans, almond butter, and avocadoes.  It is good to also keep in mind that some saturated fat is required for optimal health.  So you could use a good bran coconut milk.

Also, and because it is not the emphasis of this article, vegan meals don’t have to be dull 0r tasteless. Besides, it is always possible to modify any number of traditional meals or sweets by taking away any animal by-products.  Vegan nutrition opens the door to creative, not time intensive; filling, but not dense; savory, but a little bit sweet meals.

It’s official, vegan meals can be more innovative than the usual rotation of salads, soups, and grains!

Some vegan meal related links:

• a raw food diet and the athlete – the healthy diet podcast this week is about exercise, the athlete and a healthy raw food diet. show notes: don’t athletes need more energy than a raw diet or vegan lifestyle can provide? testimonies from or about vegan athletes. …
• living the raw food lifestyle – display your fruits and veggies – believe it or not, one thing that was hindering our raw food lifestyle was the way the fruits and veggies were being stored in the refrigerator. what i mean is, after shopping friday mornings, we would come home and just kind of stuff …
• Roots and Grubs » Blog Archive » Go vegan! (briefly) – Yesterday Iris and I had a great visit to Pike Place Market. Our main goal was to get some mussels for dinner and check out the new bun bakery, and we were successful. Usually we buy from Pure Food Fish, but I figured mussels are mussels, so we bought from Pike Place Fish, the fish-throwing guys.
• what’s a good vegan meal replacement? – I need to find a good tasting meal replacement that I can drink after lunch before cross country. I’ll only be able to mix it with water, so keep that in mind. Any suggestions?

• New Release: Becoming Raw – Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, the registered dietitians behind the highly regarded Becoming Vegan book, have just released a new title: Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets . The raw foods movement contains tons of …

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“I have the absolute best diet in the world. You will lose weight, you will have more energy, and you will prevent and even reverse any and all diseases. AND you get to eat 60% OR MORE of your calories from fat!”

You would probably a) laugh in my face, b) turn and run, or c) ask if I was a raw foodist.

That’s right, folks. The average raw foodist eats 60% of his or her calories from fat! That’s over HALF of one’s daily calories, all from fat!

Are you surprised? I know I sure was when I went raw. I could not believe that there were people actually promoting a high fat diet when all the evidence for a healthy diet pointed to the exact opposite!

So why are so many raw foodists eating so much fatty foods? What it boils down to is the “If It’s Raw, It’s Healthy” fallacy.

If It’s Raw, It’s Healthy

Many raw foodists will argue that raw fats are much healthier than cooked fats and do not result in such problems as heart disease and atherosclerosis. As long as it’s raw, you can eat as much avocado, nuts, and seeds as you want.

Yes, it’s true that raw fats are much better than cooked fats. Cooked fatty foods have had the majority of the water removed and many necessary micronutrients along with that water (not to mention all the nutrients that are destroyed by the heat alone).

Once fats are cooked, they quickly go rancid and produce harmful carcinogens. The more oxygen that these foods come into contact with, the more rancid they become and the more dangerous carcinogens they produce.

The Problem With Too Much Fat

However, eating an excess of either cooked or raw fats produces a host of problems for the consumer:

#1: Fat takes a long time to digest and it remains in the bloodstream for a long time. When too much fat is consumed, the excess fat in the bloodstream interferes with insulin production from the pancreas. Under normal circumstances, the insulin would attach itself to sugar molecules within the blood in order to carry them to the cells. With the fat in the way, the insulin does not reach the sugar. The pancreas becomes fatigued from producing extra insulin. The blood-sugar level becomes elevated because the sugar cannot be transported out of the blood by the insulin. As you can see, sugar metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes and Candida are not caused by a lack of insulin or too much sugar. They can be directly linked to an excess of fat.

#2: An excess of fat in the body slows down digestion of other foods that are eaten. Fruit, which normally takes minutes to digest, now has time to ferment inside the body. This results in uncomfortable bloating and gas.

#3: Too much fat in the bloodstream also interferes with the red blood cells’ ability to transport oxygen. A low oxygenated body is a perfect environment for cancer cells to thrive.

#4: Excess fat consumption is linked to numerous physical and mental ailments, such as:

How Much Fat?

Dr. Graham, author of The 80/10/10 Diet and a leader within the raw food movement, advocates a diet of 10% fat or less. Personally, this is the guideline that I follow and recommend as well. Anymore fat than this and it is likely that you are not consuming enough simple carbohydrates in the form of fruit.

10% of calories from fat is surprising to many people. However, many reputable sources (including the world-renowned Pritikin Center) recommend that only 10-15% of calories come from fat.

Many people around the world eat diets low in fat. In The China Study, the longest nutritional study ever conducted, Dr. Campbell studies people living in rural China who eat as low as 6% of calories from fat!

It is not surprising that in these areas you find much lower rates of heart disease, atherosclerosis, breast cancer, etc. compared to more industrialized places like the US and Britain.

On most days, I do not eat any overt fats and on those days I average about 5% of my calories from fat. I’ve never experienced any adverse reactions from limiting my fat intake.

In fact, I have only experienced great benefits since limiting fat, such as weight loss, increased energy, deeper sleep, mental focus, and improved digestion.

Take Action!

You can take action right now by simply limiting your consumption of fatty foods to 15% or less. A good way to do this is to replace these foods with high-calorie, low-fat sweet fruits.

For instance, if you usually eat avocados with your greens, try peaches sliced up on top instead. You can even make completely fat-free dressings from fruits and veggies. Here is a personal favorite of mine:

*Tangy Tomato Dressing*

Blend all of the ingredients together.

The best way to track your fat consumption is to use www.nutridiary.com. There are many more sites that allow you to track your calories, but this is the site I recommend. It is easy to use and easy on the eyes.

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While visiting these forums, I have noticed a problem that is expressed over and over again by various members. Many people complain that they find it too difficult to stick to a raw food diet. They find themselves extremely hungry and experiencing cravings for cooked dishes on a regular basis.

And I’m not talking about brand new raw foodists. I’m talking about people who have been attempting a raw food diet for years and still can’t seem to stick with it!

So what’s the problem? Why is it that such a vast majority of raw foodists fail on a raw food diet?

Not enough calories, Too much fat

In general, the raw foodists I’m talking about are consuming lots of greens and vegetables, avocados, nuts, oils, dehydrated mixtures like flax seed crackers, some vinegars, and dried fruit.

Even though the raw foodists described above are eating large amounts of greens and other vegetables, these foods do not offer a substantial amount of calories.

Here’s an example…

*Typical Salad without Overt Fats*

A large salad of 1 pound of romaine lettuce, 1 medium red bell pepper, and one medium cucumber is only 153 calories. All of that food has less calories than just two bananas!

This is a problem because the average person needs between 2000-2500 calories a day. To eat that much food from romaine lettuce, you would need to eat 25 pounds (about 50 heads) of lettuce per day! This is completely impractical, not to mention rather unpleasant. My jaw aches just thinking about it!

We’ve now established that it’s nearly impossible to get enough calories from vegetables. While salads like this are high in volume, the satiation is short lived because the caloric needs are not being met.

So where do these raw foodists get their calories from?

Avocados, raw nuts and seeds, and cold-pressed olive oils. To be precise, fat. These fatty foods are used to make dehydrated dishes like “raw” crackers, breads, and “mock” pizzas. They are also eaten on their own or put atop salads.

Let’s return to the salad example…

*Typical Salad with Overt Fats*

1 head of romaine, 1 medium bell pepper, and one medium cucumber is 153 calories. Now, add just one medium avocado and one tablespoon of olive oil. That takes the calories up to 561 calories!

The avocado and oil alone provide 2/3 of the total calories in this dish. Not only that, but the addition of the avocado and oil took the fat content from 10% to a staggering 61% of fat!

As you can see, it only takes a small amount of these foods (fatty fruits, nuts and seeds, and oils) to exceed your needed calories and fat content for the day.

Again, this is just one meal. Many raw foodists have two salads during their day and often times these are even more fat laden than the example I have shown above. This does not even consider the popular complex, dehydrated recipes that are mostly comprised of high-fat nuts and seeds.

With this knowledge in mind, is it surprising that the average raw foodist consumes a whopping 60% of his or her calories from fat everyday? How many times have you come across people who claim to eat several avocados a day and handfuls of nuts in just one sitting? Maybe this isn’t surprising, but it’s certainly unhealthy.

What’s the Alternative?

While greens and vegetable fruits are very important in a healthy raw diet, they simply do not provide the necessary calories to fill you up and combat cooked cravings. However, you do not have to get your calories from low-volume fatty foods.

You are not destined for raw food failure.

There is another way…

*Sweet fruit*

By eating substantial amounts of whole, raw, simple, delicious fruits, you will feel completely satiated and will no longer suffer from cooked food cravings. You will also be getting the absolute best nutrition available and fueling your body right!

And it’s so easy to get started! If you still eat a cooked diet, simply replace your breakfast with as much fruit as you can eat and move on from there. If you already eat raw, just replace the majority of the raw veggies and fats you eat with sweet fruit.

If you are having a hard time getting enough calories via whole fruit, try blending them into tasty smoothies!

So put down the avocado, pick up an apple, and start succeeding on a raw diet today!

Technorati Tags: Cravings, raw food diet, Raw Foodists, raw foods, raw vegan

Talk about indigestion!

However, the low fat raw way of eating that I was referring to is not the norm.  Instead, many raw foodists rely upon recipes modeled after their favorite foods, often called “mock” recipes.  These recipes contain various ingredients such as nuts, seeds, salt, spices, onions, garlic, etc.

Are these meals really simple?  Here are 3 guidelines for making simple raw recipes:

#1: The recipe has few ingredients

By few ingredients, I mean no more than 5 with the ideal being 1.  Not only does this mean that you can actually taste and identify all of the ingredients, but you will spend far less time in the kitchen.

The ingredients should also be easy to find.  You should be fine with a quick trip to your local grocery store or farmer’s market.

Many raw recipes contain more than 5 ingredients.  They are made with all kinds of raw nuts, seeds, spices, and vegetables.  Not to mention all the salt, pepper, and oil that is commonly used in a single dish.

#2: The recipe is easy to prepare

Each recipe should not take a lot of time nor equipment to put together.  At most, you might need a blender or food processor.  The *best* recipes only require opposable thumbs and take seconds to make!

Most raw recipes require a lot of your time and a bunch of expensive equipment.  Many of the popular raw dishes require a dehydrator, which is rather expensive.  And because it works at such a low heat (yes, HEAT), it can take all day.  Not to mention all the prep time you have to do before, hand chopping veggies and herbs and whatnot.

#3: The recipe is easy to digest

This is probably the most important guideline and relies upon the first two.  If your meal contains too many ingredients, it will be difficult for the body to digest it all.  If your meal is difficult to prepare, it probably means that there are too many ingredients and the meal is very processed.  These conditions also lead to difficult digestion.

As you have probably guessed, most raw recipes do not lend themselves to good digestion.  They are just too complicated!  Most of them are also full of fat, which slows down digestion.

Worst of all, these recipes break the most important food combining rule…

Sugar and Fat

In almost every raw recipe, you will find nuts mixed with dates or some other kind of fruit (usually dried).  While this may taste good and create a suitable texture for many mock recipes, it is not good for digestion.

Simple sugars, like the ones found in fruits, are quickly digested by the body.  It literally takes 30 minutes or less for your body to digest a whole fruit meal!

Fatty foods, like nuts and oils, take much longer to digest.  Just a handful of nuts can take hours to be fully processed by the stomach and intestines.

When you eat these two foods together, the rate of digestion is slowed down by the fatty foods.  Rather than getting through your system quickly, the fruit has to wait for the fat to be digested.

The result?  The sugars ferment inside of you, leaving you bloated, gassy, and uncomfortable.

Putting these guidelines into action

A truly simple meal is one that has few ingredients, can be easily prepared and is easily digested.  The perfect example is known as a mono-meal, or a meal of only one type of fruit.  In this case, you have one ingredient, it can be as easy as peeling a banana, and it digests within 30 minutes.

Not to mention the sense of accomplishment after eating 12 bananas in one sitting.

However, many of you are brand new to raw and cannot fathom eating only one type of fruit at a time.  You certainly do not have to!  You can eat fruit bowls of various mixes or combine your favorite fruits into a delicious, easy to eat smoothie.  You can even add greens to make a green smoothie!  All these options still adhere to the 3 guidelines for making simple raw recipes.

Whatever option you choose, remember to keep things simple.  By eating simple meals of sweet fruit, limiting your fat intake, and consuming moderate amounts of vegetable fruits and greens, you will receive the best nutrition and experience optimal digestion.

And what’s more simple than peeling a banana (or 10)?

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Fortunately for me, I stumbled upon the healthiest diet of all rather quickly. Fortunately for you, I can explain what that diet is just as quickly, with 3 easy guidelines! So let’s get started…

#1: Eat More Sweet Fruit

I want you to think back to a time when you ate some delicious fruit. Maybe it was an exotic mango, a perfect peach, or a juicy orange. Whatever it was, I’m sure it was scrumptious, sweet, and satisfying. And the best part? No guilt! In fact, you probably felt pretty happy with yourself for choosing such a healthful snack over greasy chips or fatty cookies. Now imagine experiencing that satisfaction, both with yourself and your food, every single day… Pretty sweet, huh? How can you experience this? By simply eating a diet based on raw, sweet fruit.

Fruit is full of water-soluble fiber, packed with essential vitamins and nutrients (not too mention the oh-so-popular antioxidants and phyto-nutrients), calorically dense and water-rich, and provides easy to digest healthy sugar in its simplest form.

#2: Don’t Forget Your Veggies!

But it isn’t all about the sweet stuff. A well-rounded, healthy raw diet also incorporates moderate amounts of mineral-rich vegetables. These include tender leafy greens like romaine and non-sweet fruits like tomatoes and zucchini. Not only do these foods provide some extra variety (and maybe a nice break from all the sweetness) in your diet, they also provide higher levels of necessary minerals than their fruity friends.

#3: Hold It On the Fat

Although many raw foodists eat and promote a fatty diet that rivals any standard cooked diet, this is *not* optimal. While raw overt fats like avocados and nuts are healthier than their cooked versions, too much fat in a diet still results in many health issues, including but not limited to heart disease, arthritis, and even depression.

This is certainly not the makings of the best raw diet. The best raw diet does contain these healthy raw fats, but in a limited quantity. For optimal nutrition, the bulk of your calories should come from low fat sweet fruit, not fat.

Final Words

So there you have it! The best raw food diet, in a raw nutshell!

Technorati Tags: raw food diet, Raw Foodism, raw foods, raw vegan

Exercise is a great way to fight osteoporosis early in life.  Believe it or not, exercise is critical for the prevention of weak bones and, besides its other positives, this is just another reason why exercise should be a daily part of your routine.  Any weight-bearing exercise is particularly good for osteoporosis, such as weight training, running, or other high-impact sports and activities.  While you have probably heard that running is hard on the knees or hips, in reality your bones are getting stronger the longer one continues this type of activity.  The striking and impact of your foot on the pavement or hard ground actually works to harden the bones to breakage over time.

Weight training is another very popular exercise that is good in preventing osteoporosis.  Weight training has become increasingly more popular over the years, and gym memberships have risen drastically as men, women and children alike can now be found lifting weights for good health.  Weight training also helps to increase bone density, as well as improve your posture, improve your mood, and many report an improvement in self-confidence.

Other than exercise, you can help prevent osteoporosis with certain supplements.  Some of the most common supplements for the prevention of osteoporosis are calcium and vitamin D.  Most people are aware that calcium is important for strong bones and teeth.  They hear it on commercials and their parents tell them from the time they are little to drink their milk. However, most people probably do not take it as seriously as they should.  It really is a good idea to supplement with calcium every day to help prevent osteoporosis down the road.  Calcium supports bone density and bone healing.

While it is true that milk and other dairy products are a good source of calcium, you may not be getting all the calcium you need from these sources.  If you are a vegetarian or vegan especially, who does not consume any dairy products, it is especially important for you to take a calcium supplement.  Broccoli and fortified orange juice contain good amounts of calcium, but you probably cannot stomach enough broccoli to make it worthwhile.

Vitamin D occurs naturally with sunshine, so getting your exercise outdoors can help provide you with the vitamin D you need.  Remember to wear your sunscreen, of course. While outside activity in the sun can be a wonderful and fun source of Vitamin D, you will likely not get enough of it without supplementation.  Some areas of the country are sunnier than others, and then there are the winter months to consider when people tend to stay indoors more often.  With the amount of Vitamin D supplements available, it can easily be incorporated into your daily routine.

In keeping up with your protein consumption, and also increasing your Vitamin C and Vitamin K intake, you can also help keep your bones stronger and prevent osteoporosis.  Again, you can do this by supplementing if you are uncertain as to whether your diet provides sufficient amounts of these important vitamins.

A supplement called glucosamine chondroitin, which is actually two supplements generally sold in a compound as one, is very helpful with joint pain associated with age and increased activity level.  While not directly helpful for the prevention of osteoporosis, it is used to treat osteoarthritis.  You may want to consider adding this supplement to help prevent the aches and pains that sometimes occur in your bones as you age and try to maintain the same level of activity and fitness.

Supplementing with these vitamins, minerals, and aminos can be very beneficial when used in combination with a healthy lifestyle and diet.  Make sure to keep your alcohol consumption in moderation for healthy bones as well as cut out any smoking habit you may have, since smoking and heavy drinking both increase the risk of osteoporosis.  Follow these simple rules and you will increase your chances of having strong, healthy bones for life.

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Best of all, fruit tastes great and completely satisfies the sweet tooth in the most healthy way possible.

Just like avocado and nuts, fruit is calorically dense.  However, fruit is also high in volume, like vegetables.  This means that a meal of fruit both provides enough calories AND enough volume to leave you completely satiated until the next meal.

Just Fruit?!?

The idea of eating only fruit for a meal is very strange to people.  Much of this confusion stems from the fact that we grow up thinking of raw fruit as a snack or part of a dessert.  The idea of eating more than a couple pieces of fruit in one sitting is completely foreign to us.

As a result, people who are new to a low fat, high fruit raw food diet often under eat on calories at first.

To make the transition easier for you, here is a simple example of a sufficient fruit meal…

*Fruit Meal*

Let’s say you need 2000 calories a day and you like to eat 3 meals a day.  If each meal is divided equally, one meal would be between 600-700 calories.

One medium banana contains about 100 calories.  In order to consume 600-700 calories in one meal from bananas alone, you would have to consume 6 to 7 bananas.

And that’s it!  It really is that simple.

Of course, if eating a meal of only one type of fruit seems much too boring to you, there are many alternatives.  You can combine your favorite fruits into a nice fruit salad.  A popular choice for beginners is to blend fruits into a smoothie.  This is an easy way to get enough calories from fruit.

Here is a delicious smoothie you can make in just a few minutes…

*Two Pears in a Peel*

Blend ingredients together and enjoy!

There are many different combinations you can make.  You can also add greens, which will add some nice variety and counterbalance some of the sweetness.

Problems with Fruit

Many raw foodists believe that fruits should be severely limited, or even eliminated, because they contain simple sugars like fructose and glucose.  These simple sugars are believed to lead to such ailments as diabetes and Candida.

First, I want to clarify that the sugar in fruit does not cause sugar metabolic disorders.  It is an excess of fat in the body that coats the insulin, blocking it from reaching the sugar molecules.  The excess sugar in the blood leads to a high blood-sugar level.

Without the excess fat, the insulin will reach the sugar molecules and transport them out of the blood and into the cells.

Second, there is a huge difference between the simple sugars found in fruit and the simple sugars found in processed foods.  These refined sugars have been removed from whole foods (i.e. fruit, sugar cane) and further processed.  They no longer contain any nutritional value whatsoever.

On the contrary, the sugars in whole fruit have not been processed and are accompanied by necessary water, fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, phytonutrients, etc.

How Much Fruit?

I recommend that the majority of your calories come from fruit.  The best way to determine how much is to simply eat sweet fruit until you are full.  As a general guideline, our closest relatives the bonobos consume 95% of their calories from sweet fruit.  The other great apes consume between 70-90% of their calories from fruit.

Dr. Douglas Graham, a well-known leader in the raw food movement, recommends in The 80/10/10 Diet that 80% of our calories come from simple carbohydrates in the form of fruit.  You can check out this excellent book and the rest of Dr. Graham’s top-quality catalog at FoodnSport.

On average, I consume between 85-90% of my calories from sweet fruit.

Take Action

You can get started today by simply eating all fruit for your next meal.  Many people prefer to wait until breakfast, as it is the easiest meal to transition.

You could also begin your next meal with as much fruit as you can eat, and then finish the meal with your regular fare.  Just be sure to wait at least 30 minutes between your two meals so that your body has time to fully digest the fruit.

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Grains even make up most of our favorite snacks and desserts.

And according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society, this is a good thing.  These institutions feel that “whole” grains, such as wheat and brown rice, should be the foundation of a healthy diet.

Do you wanna know what I think?  (Since you’re reading my blog, I’m going to assume that you do.)

The USDA, American Heart Association and American Cancer Society are completely WRONG.  You do NOT need grains to be healthy.  In fact, it will serve you well to completely eliminate them from your raw food diet.

Would You Eat Them Raw?

Seems like a silly question, but bear with me here for a moment.

If you were out in the wild foraging for food and you came across a field of wheat, would you be inclined to it some?

Would your mouth water at the sight of uncooked, unprocessed, unseasoned wheat kernels?

For the 1% of you who answered yes, I have to wonder about the possible fowl genetics present in your lineage.

On a more serious note, eating raw grains is not just unappetizing to the human palate.  In Grain Damage: Rethinking the High-Starch Diet, Dr. Douglas Graham writes:

“At best, raw grains taste unpleasant and bitter, even when they are sprouted.  More often, they are inedible or poisonous if eaten in the field.  Even birds, the only natural grain eaters, feed their young on insects, as grains are deficient in protein and nutrients.”

On the other hand, ripe fruit is instantly appealing to our senses.  It’s beautiful to look at.  Its smell makes us salivate.  It gives nicely in our hands.

Last but not least, fruit tastes wonderful.  What sane person can honestly resist a perfectly ripe peach or a fragrant muskmelon?

What About Cooked Grains?

You may be thinking that cooking grains is a better option than eating them raw.

Think again.

When a complex carbohydrate food such as wheat or barley is heated, the molecules of the food are fused together into a glue-like substance.  Even though cooking has broken down the complex starches into simple glucose, the body must do extra work to process the now chemically fused molecules.

This presents a huge problem in terms of blood-sugar levels.  In Left In the Dark, authors Graham Glynn and Tony Wright write:

“Carbohydrates also appear to be problematic when eaten in large amounts.  A diet high in carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates (cakes biscuits, pasta, etc.) dumps large amounts of glucose rapidly into our bloodstream.  This can cause insulin resistance in which the absorption of glucose from the bloodstream is disrupted.  This in turn can lead to obesity, adult onset diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks and strokes.”

And a little further down the page:

“If we compare refined carbohydrates with fruit we can see that fruit has a much lower glycemic index, which means it is digested more slowly thus avoiding the problems of the ‘glucose rush.’”

But that’s not all!  Here are some more problems associated with eating cooked grains:

But Humans Have Been Eating Grains For Thousands of Years!

While 10-30,000 years may seem like a long time to we humans with a mere 100-year life span (at best), it is but a flash in the pan evolutionarily speaking.

Here is an excerpt from Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution on the increased consumption of grains since the Neolithic Period (when humans settled down and began farming extensively):

“Becoming dependent on grains reduced intake of fruits and vegetables, often to 20% or less of total energy intake.  Accordingly, access to micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals) previously supplied by fruits and vegetables was substantially decreased.

Of course, cereal grains also provide micronutrients, but not necessarily those to which human biology became accustomed throughout a multimillion-year evolutionary experience, during which fruits and vegetables were the overwhelmingly dominant plant foods.”

Quite simply, we have not been consuming a diet high in grains long enough for our anatomy and physiology to have adapted to them.

And anyway, grains do not fulfill our nutritional needs as fruits and vegetables do.  For instance, they are very low in vitamins A, B, and C and sodium and calcium.

This is why when you pick up a box of cereal or whole wheat pasta, you will often see  “Fortified with,” preceded by a host of vitamins and minerals that have been added to the product.

Not only that, but certain properties in grains affects absorption of vital nutrients within the body.  It is now known that grain consumption decreases Vitamin D absorption.

And while many proponents of a grain-based diet site fiber as a reason to indulge, there is a huge caveat here.  You see, the fibers in grains are not water-soluble like those present in fruits and vegetables; they are insoluble.

This means that they lack the ability to absorb water and move comfortably through the body.  Think of a harsh bristle brush slowly making its way down your digestive track.

Yikes!

Leave It To the Birds

In short, there is no reason for you to consume grains.  Raw or cooked, they are completely inferior to raw fruits and vegetables.

If you are having trouble consuming enough calories on a raw food diet, there is no need to turn to sprouting grains…or legumes for that matter.  Simply increasing your consumption of sweet fruit until you feel satisfied will do the trick.

Remember, fruit always comes first.

Technorati Tags: cooked grains, grains, problems with grains, raw food diet, raw foods, raw grains, raw vegan, wheat

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Protein vegetable diets contain enough energy giving nutrients and calories that provide vegetarians that much recommended dose in their diets. Proteins are actually made up of amino acids that are considered the building blocks of the body. We can produce only a few of these building blocks that are considered very essential for our daily diet since we need these amino acids to produce protein.

Sources that are high in protein include fish, milk, eggs and meat. Other varieties include soybeans, grains, spinach. Usually in a protein vegetarian diet, they would prefer to consume foods that are of non-animal origins, although these sources may contain lesser amounts of protein but nevertheless, these very few proteins are considered as high quality protein.

It is recommended to vary your intake of foods once you indulge yourself in protein vegetarian meals. Different sets would include unrefined grains, nuts, vegetables, and legumes. This is for your body to have a proper distribution of amino acids from your diet. One food may be low in essential, so perhaps another type of food could make up for its loss.

On the contrary, it doesn’t truly matter if you ate only one type of food. This is most common in a vegan diet. In protein vegetarian meals, you will be sure to gather enough amounts of amino acids and protein that you will need. The non-animal sources of protein usually have all the essential amino acids that would answer to the recommended intake.

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A vegetarian diet should be practiced with much disciple and determination from an individual. You have to consistent and persistent in abiding by the strict rules of dieting. Easy Veggie Meal Plans may help pave a way to set you up. It prepares you to begin your healthier lifestyle as a vegetarian. It presents a collection of already set meals for you to have varied options in order to achieve amore delicious and healthier lifestyle without having the demands of preparing meat on your table.

Easy Veggie Meals by Kardena Pauza has indeed reached out to men and women when it comes to her recipes. Aside from its enjoyable taste and presentation, it also fits well with anybody’s budget and is indeed convenient in its preparation. Eventually, you would come to experiment on your style of cooking when you begin to initially pattern your preparation after the styles and techniques of Kardena.

The whole diet system that this was based in assures you of being animal free, this includes dairy and eggs. It is seriously vegan. Easy Veggie Meal Plans, aside from giving you pointers on the different meals you are will be able to prepare, also points out certain types of food that is forbidden by this very strict diet. It generously laid out a 7-day meal plan that you can use as a reference for all your meals.

Being a vegetarian actually promotes having a more energetic, confident, relaxed, and healthier lifestyle. If you think that being a vegetarian is not for you, you should give Easy Veggie Meal Plans a try. The meals inside were actually prepared for anybody to enjoy, so you might want to rethink that thought for a bit.

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