During the past few decades there has been much research done in the area of nutrition. Some of this research casts light on some important insights regarding the foods which Mother Nature offers to us in its whole, raw state, and what happens when we tamper with it. What exactly happens to food when it is cooked? What happens to the body if we eat cooked food? Some key points are covered in this article. Key Points Regarding the Effects of Cooking on Food and Health: The food^s life force is greatly depleted or destroyed. The bioelectrical (energy) field is altered and greatly depleted (as is graphically demonstrated with kirlian photography). Live and bioactive (raw) food is rendered dead and inert. The biochemical structure and nutrient makeup of the food is altered from its original state. Molecules in the food are deranged, degraded, and broken down. The food is degenerated in many ways. Fiber in plant foods is broken down into a soft, passive substance which loses its broom-like and magnetic cleansing quality in the intestines. Nutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.) are depleted, destroyed, and altered. The degree of depletion, destruction, and alteration is simply a matter of temperature, cooking method, and time. Up to 50% of the protein is coagulated. Much of this is rendered unusable. High temperatures also create cross-links in protein. Cross-linked proteins are implicated in many problems in the body, as well as being a factor in the accelleration of the aging process. The interrelationship of nutrients is altered from its natural synergistic makeup. For example, with meat, relatively more vitamin B-6 than methionine is destroyed, which fosters atherogenic free radical-initiating homocysteine accumulation (which is a factor in heart problems). The water content of the food is decreased. The natural structure of the water is also changed. Toxic substances and cooked "byproducts" are created. The higher the cooking temperature, the more toxins that are created. Frying and grilling are especially toxin-generating. Various carcinogenic and mutagenic substances and hordes of free radicals are generated in cooked fats and proteins in particular. Heat causes the molecules involved to collide, and repeated collision causes divalent bonding in order for new molecules, and hence a new substance, to form. In an ordinary baked potato, there are 450 by-products of every description. They have even been named "new chemical composites". Unusable (waste) material is created, which has a cumulative congesting/clogging effect on the body and is a burden to the natural eliminative processes of the body. All of the enzymes present in raw foods are destroyed at temperatures as low as 118 degrees fahrenheit. These enzymes, named "food enzymes" are important for optimum digestion. They naturally aid in digestion and become active as soon as eating commences. Cooking destroys 100% of these enzymes. Eating enzyme-dead food places a burden on the pancreas and other organs and overworks them, which eventually exhausts these organs. The digestion of cooked food usurps valuable metabolic enzymes in order to help digest the food. Digestion of cooked food is much more energetically demanding than the digestion of raw food. In general, raw food is so much more easily digested that it passes through the digestive tract in a half to a third of the time it takes for cooked food. After eating a cooked meal, there is a rush of white blood cells towards the digestive tract, leaving the rest of the body less protected by the immune system. From the point of view of the immune system the body is being invaded by a foreign (toxic) substance when cooked food is eaten. A general augmentation of white corpuscles in the blood and a change in the relative proportions of different blood cells occurs. This phenomenon is called "digestive leukocytosis". The natural population of beneficial intestinal flora becomes dominated by putrefactive bacteria (particularly from cooked meat), resulting in colonic dysfunction, allowing the absorption of toxins from the bowel. This phenomenon is variously called dysbacteria, dysbiosis, or intestinal toxemia (toxicosis). A buildup of mucoid plaque is created in the intestines. Mucoid plaque is a thick tar-like substance which is the long-term result of undigested, uneliminated cooked food putrefying in the intestines. Cooked starches and fats in particular are a major culprit in constipation and clogging of the intestines. A build-up of toxins and waste material in many parts of the body, including within individual cells. Some of these toxins and wastes are called lipofuscin, which accumulates in the skin and nervous system, including the brain. It can be observed as "liver spots" or "age spots." Malnutrition at the cellular level. Because cooked foods are lower in nutrients, in addition to containing wastes and toxins, individual cells don^t receive enough of the nutrients they need. Tendency towards obesity through overeating. Because the cells don^t get enough nutrients they are so to speak "always hungry" and hence "demand" more food. Cooked food is also less likely to be properly metabolized, which is another factor in excess weight gain. From time to time the body experiences detoxification crises (also called purification or healing crises). This happens when toxins are released through the skin or dumped in the bloodstream for elimination by the liver, kidneys, and other organs. The symptoms may include headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, colds, bronchitis, sinusitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, etc. The body can become so toxic that all kinds of particles, such as pollen, can cause detoxification crises, called "allergies". An estimated 80 million Americans suffer from such "allergies". The immune system, having to handle the massive daily invasions of toxins and toxic by-products, eventually becomes overwhelmed and weakened. A key factor in the aging process. Some of the waste material builds up in the arteries and clogs them, leading to high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, strokes, etc. - killing an estimated 50% of Americans. The wastes, toxins, mutagens, and carcinogens that build up within cells, as well as the daily onslaught of excess free radicals eventually cause some cells to become cancerous - killing an estimated 30% of Americans. In general, the natural aging process is accelerated by cooked food. People who switch to raw food often become biologically and visibly younger. Eating natural (raw) foods helps support optimal health, well-being, happiness, spiritual evolution, bliss, planetary reform, and more. Truly, eating the raw food diet is more than just a "diet". The forces of Nature are packaged in natural raw foods. In addition to helping us attain optimal health, raw foods help us in harnessing ever greater levels of consciousness and awareness. Eating a proper raw diet aids us in attaining our full, true potential in body, mind, and soul. Eating raw foods helps to powerfully reconnect us with Nature and the Earth. One reason for this is because, as mentioned previously, energy affects energy, and all things are energy. Food is energy. Like begets like. Things produce after their kind. We are free to choose with what we mold ourselves. The raw vegetarian diet is a blessing not only to you, but also Gaia (Mother Earth). Fruit trees, nut trees, and green leafy vegetables, are the most environmentally and resources-friendly foods produced on this planet. "Livestock farming", grain crops, etc. are actually very devitalizing to the Earth and contribute to massive topsoil loss and waste of various resources. Whereas with fruit and nut trees especially, there is the most efficient use of space and friendliest agriculture for the Earth. Another way in which the raw vegetarian diet is beneficial to the Earth is regarding the subject of materials and waste. A typical cooked/processed food diet is responsible for an enormous amount of waste - packaging, equipment, etc. Cooked/processed foods are usually packaged, whereas natural raw foods do not need packaging - they are a complete ^package^ in and of themselves. A quick look in any urban area will reveal a lot of trash lying around. Most of this is directly related to cooked/processed foods. This is in addition to the massive tonnage dumped into landfills every week, waste which is derived from household usage of cooked/processed foods. Truly, the cooked/processed diet takes a tremendous toll on the environment. On the other hand, not only is the raw food diet responsible for very little waste, but it actually enhances the environment and ecosystem. By enhance, this is referring to composting and adding to the nutrition of the soil. Compost (i.e. peels/shells of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc.) can be recycled back to the Earth. This is fully in harmony with Nature^s intentions -- a natural diet of raw foods will not pose a pollution problem - it will help maintain equilibrium, vitality, and fertility of the Earth. An added benefit is the potential of new fruit trees being planted. Stray seeds can end up being planted anywhere. What a wonderful thing it would be to have fruit trees growing plentifully all over the Earth. Thus, one of the purposes of fruit would be realized. When this happens, it will be a wonderful sign that we have become more in-tune with natural forces and the natural order of things, and that Paradise can indeed be a reality.

Uploaded: 2/21/2004