Raw to the Rescue?

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As you're working on your power pantry, and maybe reading up on better choices you can include, you may come across the raw-food / cooked-food debate. Contention over the right form of food has raged on for decades, and from what I can see, there is still no clear winner. What we can conclude is that including more raw foods in our pantry and diet is better than an overabundance of cooked and processed foods.

Read up on the benefits of a raw diet from experts like Dr. Joel Fuhrman and Dr. Andrew Weil. I appreciate that both of these doctors take a middle of the road approach to food choices and diet advice. The guidance they offer is repeatable and holds value for majority of our population. What we can glean from their perspectives is that there are great benefits to eating a substantial amount of our foods as raw foods, but there is also value in including cooked foods in our diet.

If you're experiencing significant health challenges, you may consider a time of a strict raw diet, like a raw juice fast, as a means of detox. This is a great way to benefit from a supercharge of antioxidants, fiber (if you're blending instead of juicing) micro-nutrients and phyto-nutrients available in raw fruits and vegetables. Big picture, and long-term, cooking of some foods is beneficial because it corrects and improves what may be unhealthy or even poisonous (like carcinogens in most mushrooms which dissipate when cooked).

Check out this article from Dr. Weil about choosing raw over cooked foods, and this one from Dr. Fuhrman. What we can conclude is that consuming more raw foods (fruits and veggies) has great health benefits, and there is also a place for cooking of some foods. If you're really into the raw/cooked debate, read up on Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, M.D., whose research concluded that at least 51% of our diet should consist of raw foods in order for our bodies to digest and metabolize in a healthy way.

Wherever you fall on the raw/cooked food spectrum, try including a substantial amount of raw foods in your choices today. The reality is that we don't get nearly as much raw, unprocessed food as we should, so making the effort eat raw more often is a great addition to a power pantry.

By the Way

I've always appreciated a scripture verse written by Paul, an avid Christ-follower who shared great guidance and wisdom with the early church. In his letter to the Corinthian christians Paul said:
"Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.' " (1 Corinthians 10:25) Of course, Paul was describing the 1st century marketplace, where everything sold was basically local and 'organic'... wise choices which we may do well to follow.