Can a Raw Food Diet for Dogs be Harmful?

Modern advertising is constantly pounding us with ads about how and where to eat. Or what we should be eating. Common sense tells us that a much of this

Raw foods recipes may seem intimidating to you at first, but they are actually quite simple. Let’s take a look at some of the foods you can enjoy on a raw diet.

Fruit - obviously, fruit can make a tasty monomeal for breakfast lunch or dinner. Fruits can be divided in sweet fruits (tropical fruits, persimmons, sweet grapes), acid fruits (lemons, citrus), sub-acid fruits (apples, pears, tart grapes) and fatty fruits (avocados, durian). Melons constitute a separate category of fruits.

But did you know that combining foods properly in raw foods recipes can affect your health?Sweet fruits are to be eaten with other varieties of sweet fruits only or with sub-acid fruits. Don’t eat acid fruit with anything other than celery and lettuce. Avocados and olives should be eaten with non-starchy vegetables. Melons should be eaten alone or not eaten at all.

Vegtables - Some of the vegetable categories are non-starchy greens (spinach, cabbage), fruit vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes) and root vegetables (carrots, celeriac). Another category of vegetables includes lettuce and celery. Veggies can be mixed together as salad, sliced and rolled into lettuce wraps or veggie sushi, or juiced and drank.

Nuts and seeds - should be eaten to give proper fat and protein content to the body. Some of my favorites include almonds, walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Most plant foods are used in the raw foods diet although some avoid starchy tubers like potatoes or gluten heavy grains like wheat in their raw food recipes. This is a personal choice. There are many cookbooks out there with extensive directions as to how to prepare these foods.
Also, here are a few combinations that you should try to avoid like starch and acid (tomato and potato), protein and protein (avocadoes and nuts), sweets and starch (maple syrup and rice). Think about these combinations when you are developing your own raw food recipes.

Why eat raw foods in the first place? Well, there are some amazing benefits from eating a raw foods diet. After reading several books and hundreds of articles on the subject I have highlighted some of the major features of a raw foods lifestyle:

1) Resistence to disease -  Humans are the only species that cooks their food, the only ones that suffer cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes.Scientific evidence shows that raw vegan diets decrease toxic products in the colon (From: J Nutr 1992 Apr;122(4):924-30). Furthermore, studies have shown eating more raw foods such as leafy greens extends one’s life span, although this is probably due to the fact that you live longer when not fighting illness or disease.

2) Digestion -  Raw foods are easily digested, requiring only 24-36 hours for transit time through the digestive tract, as compared to 40-100 hours for cooked foods. This means less risk for colon and digestive cancers as well as a "lighter" feeling in your gut, and less heartburn and indigestion.

3)  Energy - Raw foods will not leave you with a tired feeling after the meal, unlike their cooked counterparts that leave you fighting the urge for naptime. Raw foods require less total sleep and achieve a more restful sleep. Some people who’ve adapted to the raw food lifestyle have noticed a change in sleeping habits to the extent of only needing 5-6 hours sleep per night! Imagine what you could do with an extra 3 waking hours per day.

4) Nutrition - Cooking destroys protein (50%) in foods, brings about loss of water content, and not to mention destroys between 50 and 80 percent of the vitamins and minerals in our food. Then there are the enzymes. Enzymes are lost when food is heated above 118 and some studies have suggested that this brings about immune dysfunction and inability to lose weight.

As you can see there are many different benefits to eating more raw foods. And it does not take a total switch to raw foods to see results. Just adding one raw meal or snack to your current diet can bring about an increase in energy and a more restful sleep. Who knows where it could take you?

In reading about raw foods weight loss, I came across the story of Angela Stokes. Angela weighed around 300 pounds and had numerous health problems. She decided to get her health on track and start eating raw foods. Just over a year later, she had lost 160 pounds and had cleared up her health issues. She no longer takes the 14 different medications that she used to.

Nowdays, Angela teaches others how to live the raw foods lifestyle.  Her program, The RevitaLive Plan, shows you how to lose weight and het healthy.

Release weight naturally using a system that has been proven.

 

Let go of unsupportive habits that hold you back from reaching your goals.

 

Eliminate food cravings for good.

 

Create simple yet powerful meals and snacks for weight loss and great health.

 

Satisfy your sweet tooth and still stay healthy.

 

Discover the right supplements for your weight loss and overall health.

 

Stick to your exercise plan.

 

Succeed with your meal plans.

 

Find motivation ALL the time, whenever you want.

 

Clear your mind from self-defeating chatter.

You receive, complete instructions including videos, meals plans, exercise plans, community support and it all comes with a ONE YEAR money back guarantee!

Angela’s system is amazing. Her story is so inspiring it energizes you and your quest to lose weight and change your life.

For more information on Angela’s RevitaLive Plan, click here: http://tiny.cc/tY36v

What have you got to lose except weight???