thrive in this increasingly polluted environment and to reverse illnesses, our bodies need extra support through detoxification. Many diseases are a form of toxicity in the body, and in order to reverse illness, we must first remove the toxicity. This can be achieved by eating a living foods diet.
Detoxifying is a vital part of any program designed to restore your body to optimum health and vitality, and can be one of the finest tools we have for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. The elimination of processed and acid-forming foods leads to reduced stress on the digestive system, allowing the body to focus its resources on healing.
As you rid your body of old toxic matter and provide it with an abundance of nutrients, the body goes into balance and does what it was designed to do—heal and stay healthy.
When the body is cleansed, it becomes more efficient at digestion, assimilation, and elimination. Detoxifying strengthens the immune system and gives your body greater energy. It also reduces inflammation and results in a slimmer body. Skin becomes softer and more youthful in appearance; your eyes sparkle and become brighter, you will shed excess weight, and you will feel much more vibrant, happy, and alive!
Detoxification also gives your body a much needed rest from poor dietary and lifestyle habits that have wreaked havoc on your health. When we eat an unnatural diet high in fats, meats, dairy, processed foods, and chemicals, detoxification becomes necessary, particularly to those who eat excessively. We need to cleanse more frequently and work harder to rebalance our bodies, depending on how far away from nature our diets and lifestyles have become.
The benefits of detoxing include:
• reduced toxic buildup
• increased energy and vitality
• stronger immune function
• improved digestion, absorption, and elimination
• slimmer figure
• blood purification
• reduced allergy symptoms
• clearer sinuses
• healthier, softer skin
• improved sleep patterns
• reduced cravings
• heightened mental clarity, focus, concentration, and memory
• better mental and emotional well-being
• a feeling of rejuvenation on all levels
• freedom from addictions to sugar, salt, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, caffeine, nicotine
Why organic?
“Until we have a more complete understanding of pesticide toxicity, the benefit of the doubt should be awarded to protecting the environment, the worker, and the consumer—this precautionary approach is necessary because the data on risk to human health from exposure to pesticides are incomplete.”
—The British Medical Association Guide to Pesticides, Chemicals and Health. Report of the Board of Science and Education, 1992
Organic produce has repeatedly been shown to be of higher nutritional value than conventionally grown produce. Toxic elements such as synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotics, sewage sludge, growth hormones (to produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products) and confined-livestock operations are not permitted in organic production or certification. This means that there is a lower risk of pesticides affecting the soil, ground water, rivers, lakes, and atmosphere.
According to the Organic Council of Ontario, going organic has benefits for health, the environment, and livestock. Purchasing local organic foods brings an added benefit of sustainability as well as reducing transportation needs. Organic practices also aim to preserve biodiversity through the use of traditional seed varieties, crop rotation, and respect for the natural diversity of the local environment.
Organic foods are one of the most important choices we can make, and when we choose to purchase them, we are not only choosing higher-quality products, we are sending a powerful message by voting with our dollars. Organically grown foods:
• eliminate intake of chemicals and heavy metals linked to cancer and other diseases
• offer higher nutritional value than regular, conventionally grown foods
• protect future generations from widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food
• are not genetically modified (GM). It is currently not mandatory to label GM foods, and it is estimated that at least 60 percent of conventional food in grocery stores contain ingredients from genetically engineered crops.
• save energy
• minimize topsoil erosion
• protect water quality
• support smaller family farms dedicated to sustainability
• provide better working conditions for farmers and workers
• offer pure and natural taste (many top chefs use only organic produce)
If you must use commercial produce, always soak in a vegetable wash and/or peel well—but note that many nutrients are close to the peel.
Raw and living foods are high in enzymes that assist your body to digest food and absorb nutrients into the bloodstream. Enzymes play an important role in energy production and the repair of tissues, cells, and organs. They are the catalyst for life and are needed for every chemical reaction that takes place in the human body. Raw foods contain the enzymes required to convert molecules into the basic building blocks of metabolism: protein is converted into amino acids, complex carbohydrates and starches into simple sugars, fats into fatty acids.
In our modern world, our bodies are under stress from pollutants. To help combat the stress load and prevent disease, we need to nourish our bodies with easy-to-digest food. Raw and living foods are packed with the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, chlorophyll, oxygen, and antioxidants needed to fuel our cells.
When eating a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables, your body is able to focus its resources on cleansing and rebuilding the immune system. These nutrient-rich foods increase energy, assist healing, rebuild healthy tissue, and invigorate the entire body. You feel vital because all cell functions are operating at peak performance.
Dr Edward Howell writes, in Enzyme Nutrition (Avery 1995): “Enzymes are the catalyst for the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body; they are essential for the digestion and absorption of foods as well as for the production of cellular energy. Enzymes are essential for most of the building and rebuilding that goes on constantly in our bodies.”
Harmful effects of cooking
Cooking literally destroys the life of food. During the heating process, valuable nutritional substances are altered. Once cooked above 115 to 118 degrees F, enzymes are destroyed. Proteins are greatly altered, fats oxidized, vitamins diminished.
