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Does vegan mean just raw foods? |
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Written by Richard Smith
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Wednesday, 12 May 2004 |
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I try to eat plenty of raw fruits and vegetables. Less fruits because I am diabetic. This way I get plenty of nutrients without a lot of calories intake. It is interesting to me that the medical community is emphasizing the eating of more fruits and vegetables as a way of preventing cancer and some studies suggest that long life comes with moderation in eating of meat.
I tend to have salad but also steamed and stir-fried vegetables and vegetable soups. I also have a few almonds several times a day when I can and, of course I drink a lot of vegetable juice: carrot as one drink and a combination of spinach, parsley, celery, kale and chard as another.
I try to have both raw and cooked. Cooked food is not unhealthy if it is done right. If the food is is baked at high temperatures or fried or barbecued—my old favorites—then carcinogenic compounds are formed and the high heat destroys much of the nutrients. I have learned that little nutrients are lost when making a soup, for example, and some nutrients are improved, in the sense of being more absorbable and digested more easily. Beans are a part of my diet and must be cooked to be eaten—again, not using high heat in preparation.
I mentioned that I eat almonds. We don’t roast any nuts but rather we dehydrate them, keeping the temperature below 105 degrees F so the enzymes are still “live.” More on this on the website!
In conclusion, I am trying to emphsize raw foods, especially salads but I also have stir-fried and steamed. On the siteI will present more on good things like open-face sandwiches, pita bread and the good use of such raw stuff as tomatoes, avocado and sprouts.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 02 January 2009 )
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