In today's society, the level of vegetable consumption has decreased immensely. This is because more and more people are on the go and eat more and more processed foods. It is estimated that Americans spent more than $110 billion on fast food in 2000, a large contrast to the $6 billion that was spent in 1970. Because of this, it is even more important to get a maximum amount of raw veggies into our diets.
When you consume raw veggies, you are introducing a host of useful enzymes into your body that you would not be able to obtain otherwise. How do you do this? Through juicing, drinking antioxidants and green juices by supplement form. You can gain more nutrients from your vegetables by drinking 8 ounces of fresh vegetable juice - more than you would be able to obtain in a week's worth of fast food and take-out. Sure, eating vegetable soups and cooked veggies are healthy for you, the fact of the matter is that you're cooking away the enzymes and nutrients your body needs. I love the Adaptogreen Plus for convenience and antioxidant science.
Because fresh vegetable juice is made from fresh and raw veggies, the enzymes in them are still alive and thriving. Enzymes are so powerful, that you will often feel an instant increase in your overall well-being as soon as you consume a small 8-ounce glass. The kick of energy is even more noticeable if you are fatigued. In fact, if you juice your veggies on a regular basis, you will be able to consume over 50% of your veggies raw, which means all of the enzymes instead of those that have not been killed by heat.
Raw foods are rich in enzymes because the enzymes are not killed by the heating and cooking process. The most powerful enzymatic foods are legumes, sprouted seeds and grains. There are several conditions that can be relieved by simply consuming more raw foods that are rich in digestive enzymes such as:
·Belching
·Gas
·Bloating
·Bowel disorders
·Cramping in the abdomen
·Food allergies
·Heartburn
·Weight gain
•Skin disorders
Most people just take some sort of antacid to relieve these issues, but many do not work because acid is not the issue. The issue is that you lack in the digestive enzymes that you could get by simply consuming more raw veggies.
By Dr. Roni Deluz, RN, ND RN, ND, PhD
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