Let Food Be Thy Fuel, Not Thy Medicine

I recently responded to a question about rejuvelac (a drink made from fermented grains that is used to treat indigestion) that:

Food is not medicine; food does not heal.

I’ve received a couple of questions on this comment so I figured today was a good time to elaborate on the topic.

Food Is Not Medicine

Food is fuel.

I know most people—cooked and raw foodists alike—will beg to differ.

Many like to believe that food can and should be used as medicine (hence the popularity of the oft-quoted Hippocrates line “Let food be thy medicine, medicine by thy food”).  That we should eat cherries because they alleviate symptoms of arthritis or prunes because they cure constipation.

This is just plain bad science.  No food, be it fresh fruit or fruit-flavored candy, has the power to cure or heal anything.  It’s just food!

Food Does Not Heal

The body heals.

But don’t get me wrong.  What you eat does play a HUGE role in how effective the body is at taking care of itself, which is why…

You Should Go Raw

There is a reason that so many people see benefits after switching to raw, but it is not because of the food per se.

It is because of the massive effect that what we consume has on our body.  It is no coincidence that the majority of Americans living on a diet of bacon, bologna, and “healthy” baked bread have ever-increasing rates of obesity, heart disease, atherosclerosis, on and on…

Eating a simple, species-appropriate raw vegan diet means you are providing your body with optimal nutrition while at the same time (and this part is really the key) eliminating harmful substances such as meat, dairy, and alcohol that so heavily affect the body’s processing power.

Just look at the difference in digestion between a complicated gourmet raw dish of various kinds of nuts, oil, dried fruit, salt and spices and a simple mono-meal of fruit.  The gourmet dish, with its high fat content and poor food combining, requires quite a bit of work for the body to digest it.

In the second case, the fruit (even a large quantity) requires very little work to be digested and moves through the body easily.  Often time within minutes, all four processes of digestion – digestion, absorption, assimilation, and elimination – have been completed.

Don’t believe me?  Go eat a big meal of sweet fruit on an empty stomach and see how soon afterward you’re saying a big “Hello” to Mr. Potty.

Because your body is not spending hours and hours (and in case of fatty cooked foods, even days) digesting what you eat, it can busy itself on more important bodily matters.

Eating raw – along with adequate exercise, sunshine, fresh air, etc. – allows the body to do what it does best: HEAL!

No Really, Go Raw!

Eat delicious dates, savory celery, and creamy avocado because they fuel your body, not because you think they cure your candiasis or increase your awareness of your third eye chakra.

Go raw and be FUELED,

Swayze

P.S. Wanna FUEL your body right so it can HEAL all day and night?  Check out these tasty, nutrient-packed treats:

www.fitonraw.com/low-fat-raw-vegan-favorites