Читать книгу Bernadette Bohan’s The Choice: The Programme: The simple health plan that saved Bernadette’s life – and could help save yours too - Bernadette Bohan - Страница 17
ОглавлениеWe have been habitually conditioned to using foods that are stripped of nutrients and leave us with exhausted immune systems. We very often overlook the simple fact that eating raw food is what Mother Nature intended.
This next section looks at the issues of preparing food, and the benefits of eating an uncooked diet. Nature intended us to eat growing foods and living foods that are full of vitality. What nature did not intend was for us to zap the life out of what we eat, resulting in us consuming tasteless, bland, dead food that in no way resembles nourishment. The result of continually eating highly processed foods is that we become increasingly susceptible to disease as the body loses the ability to repair itself. On top of this is the added concern that we then attempt to reinstate a sense of taste into these now tasteless foods by overloading them with salt and sugar.
The term ‘raw food’ can often conjure up an image of something unwelcoming or even unpleasant. For this reason most of the recipes will be referred to as ‘uncooked foods’. Any negative connotations of raw food soon disappears when you begin to taste how delicious this food can actually be.
I can fully appreciate how the idea of eating raw cuisine can seem strange and daunting. Many people think that raw food consists of a plateful of ‘rabbit food’, believing the meal will consist of leaf or two of lettuce and few sticks of carrot! On the contrary, you will find that the dishes included in my recipes will have you drooling in anticipation of their amazing variety of tastes and flavours. Crackers, crisps, pizzas, biscuits and cakes can all be prepared without destroying their nutrients. Using fresh, colourful foods takes the boredom out of food preparation and you will soon find yourself eating food of a far superior quality while also saving yourself some time and money.
This trend is rapidly gaining momentum, although there is most definitely nothing new about the phenomenon. Humans have been eating this way since the beginning of time. What is new about the trend of eating raw food is the method of preparation. Chefs and novices alike have now created new, adventurous recipes for raw foods that are not devoid of nutrients and yet retain the appearance of cooked food. My experience of this dietary awakening first occurred while on holiday with my husband Ger when we visited ‘Juliano’s’—a raw food restaurant in Santa Monica, California. To this day he still talks about his surprise at the amazing taste of what was a totally uncooked meal. And believe me, this was praise indeed from him, as I am still working (with limited success, I might add) on converting him into a better way of eating. Looking back now, I remember that he was constantly sampling the foods on my plate. It did illustrate to me at that time that the only way to win him over was to learn for myself how to prepare these recipes.
Uncooked and Ready to Eat!
Another fact we often overlook is that eating raw food is what Mother Nature intended. Heating, processing and refining food knocks the life out of it, and I strongly suspect that these practices are conducted more in the interests of the food producers than those of the consumer. Not only are these overcooked foods lacking in nutrients but also of concern is the huge issue of the destruction that occurs in their preparation. When we heat food above 43°C (115°F) we destroy almost all the enzymes (essential for digestion and breaking up foods into smaller nutrients), nearly all the vitamins, and some of the minerals. Even steaming food is not as healthy as you might think. The high temperatures that result from steaming mean that, again, you may be destroying the valuable nutrients originally stored inside the food in its raw state.
Enzymes Explained
Uncooked foods have an abundance of enzymes that utilize and assist the process of digestion. A good digestive system supports the body’s basic needs and functions, and this leads to better health. You cannot have one without the other. On the contrary, poor digestion leads to malnutrition and toxicity. It is within the digestive system that most of the problems of ill-health occur. Uncooked foods are much less demanding on our bodies and are digested much faster than the cooked versions of these foods. Cooked foods, on the other hand, stress the body and trigger its defences, as they are recognized as invaders. When our bodies are constantly working to replace the nutrients destroyed in the cooking process, it has a profound impact on our health. In addition to this, foods that are overheated can produce dangerous free radicals which attack our body tissue and can lead to diseases such as cancer.
On that note, I will provide a quick update on the story of Susie – a wonderful woman I wrote about in my previous book. I have had so many requests for more information on Susie’s health that I felt compelled to give her story a second mention. Susie and her husband John sought my help and advice some years back. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer which had then spread into her lungs. Over the past few years she underwent three separate six-month sessions of chemotherapy. Then, four years ago, she made the choice to introduce some changes to her diet and lifestyle in order to give her body the food it required. She is now reaping the rewards. She recently told me that she truly believes that her new diet has saved her life. Susie is a wonderful example of a courageous woman who took responsibility for her self-healing. Over the past few years we have become good friends and it has been the best tonic for me to see this lovely woman thrive and return to health. Now she can happily enjoy life with her devoted husband John.
It is important to be aware that nine times out of ten we miss the small truths when reading about nutrition, and very often this turns out to be the most vital information of all. The most important fact we seem to misunderstand, or perhaps are reluctant to confront, is around preparing our food. The convenience of cooking is not always a Godsend for our unfortunate bodies. A microwave meal may save you 20 minutes of cooking, but by heating foods at high temperatures we destroy the most important nutrients – the enzymes. These busy workers do all of the work in breaking up foods inside the body, and foods without these precious enzymes can place a heavy burden on the digestive system and leave us feeling sleepy and lethargic. With the absence of enzymes in the food we eat, the pancreas is required to work harder to produce them. Consequently it is difficult for the body to function properly. If we consume uncooked foods, we can provide our bodies with the precious stores of enzymes needed to repair and heal itself efficiently.
It is not left unnoticed by the body when we use unnatural cooking methods. Nature finds a way of fighting back and the process of accelerated ageing occurs, as dead food cannot rejuvenate or regenerate the cells of the body. Many experts believe that enzyme deficiencies are the root cause behind every degenerative disease. You may think that you are getting the necessary nutrients in your food by checking what it says on the label or packaging, but if foods are not properly assimilated
