The most important aspect of eating living or raw foods is enzyme preservation. Enzymes help you digest food, and they act as catalysts for every metabolic reaction in your body. Without them, there can be no cell division, energy production, or brain activity. In addition, no vitamins or hormones can do their work, nor can your immune system.

Every food contains the perfect mix of enzymes to digest it completely. These are called food enzymes. Nature in her never-ending perfection sees that all food, whether flesh, fruit, or vegetable, decomposes and returns to the earth from which it came. Cooking foods above 118°F destroys their natural enzymes, forcing our bodies to generate the enzymes necessary to digest them. Two main problems occur because of this enzyme destruction. First, your body cannot produce enzymes in perfect combinations to metabolize your foods as completely as the food enzymes created by nature do. This results in partially digested fats, proteins, and starches that can clog your body's intestinal tract and arteries.

The Eskimos are a remarkable example of the transformative power of enzymes. The word Eskimo means “one who eats raw”. While living for centuries on a diet that consisted primarily of raw whale or seal blubber, Eskimos developed no arteriosclerosis and experienced almost no incidence of heart disease, stroke or high blood pressure. Established nutritional doctrine would predict a high rate of these ailments given the diet, but even blubber will digest itself completely if it is not cooked since its enzymes are intact. Once you heat even the finest olive oil above 118°F you will not be able to digest it completely.

More important, many authorities believe that eating cooked foods depletes our finite enzyme reserve. Proof of this effect is that an eighty five year old lady has only one thirtieth of the enzyme activity level of an eighteen year old. In other words, your enzyme reserve is slowly exhausted over a lifetime of eating cooked foods.

(Roxanne Klein, Raw Food Expert, Chef and Co-author of “RAW”)

Dr John Douglass, a tireless experimenter with raw foods said: “For many years I struggled with obesity and was frustrated in treating patients because nothing ever seemed to work – not biofeedback or hypnosis or diets or anything. Then I discovered the potential of uncooked foods and found that the more uncooked foods patients used, the less they wanted to eat. These foods are more satisfying for patients and they lose weight on them.”

Maintaining the usual level of fat that it is accustomed to is part of your body's self-protection mechanism. The solution to weight loss is to work with, not against, that protection mechanism. This means doing three things:

• eliminating craving by giving your body all the nutrients it needs (at least 50 essential nutrients are known but fresh raw foods probably contain more);
• calming an irritated and over-active digestive system so that its functions return to normal. Then you will derive full benefit from the food you eat and eliminate the ravenous hunger; and
• getting rid of accumulated toxins because these block proper assimilation and adversely affect the endocrine and nervous system.

A diet of well chosen raw foods will do all of these things and it will do them gradually, without you having to pay attention to calories and without alerting your body's fat preservation defences. And the wonderful thing about losing weight the high-raw way is that you do not end up looking drawn or flabby. Skin and muscles become firm and the whole body undergoes a slow process of rejuvenation which is little short of miraculous.

(Leslie & Susannah Kenton, Co-authors of “Raw Energy”)

This is a way of eating that embraces healthful living, of course, but it is also a wonderfully exciting approach to food preparation that opens up fresh ways to celebrate flavour and texture. It presents us with exciting new roads of exploration. In the not-too-distant future all serious chefs and home cooks will have a decent understanding of how to prepare raw and living foods and have at least several raw dishes in their repertoire. Even if the primary objectives with all food – raw and cooked – are flavour and purity, and although appreciation of the aesthetic possibilities of raw foods is foremost, also interesting is the expansion of one's culinary arsenal. Thus, it becomes effortless to incorporate this new and intriguing style of eating into how one communicates gastronomically.

(Charlie Trotter, Chef and Co-author of “RAW”)

Experimenting with animals at the University of Rostock just before World War 1, Professor Werner Kollath discovered an extraordinary phenomenon: he called it 'meso-health', which means 'middle-nourishment'. He found that a diet which did not produce high-level health nonetheless sustained 'normal' health. He took animals and reared them on a diet of purified, processed foodstuffs devoid of nearly all vitamins and minerals. Despite their poorly nourished condition his animals grew and showed no clinical signs of disease.

Later on, however, by the time they reached adulthood, they showed signs of degeneration similar to those common among humans in the Western industrialised world – dental caries, constipation, large populations of harmful bacteria in the colon and loss of calcium from their bones. Autopsies of their vital organs revealed damage similar to that found in humans suffering from degenerative diseases. No amount of vitamin supplements appeared able to reverse these unpleasant changes. The only thing that did, provided it was given early enough, was an abundance of fresh raw food containing green leaves, cereals and vegetables. Kollath's findings were later confirmed by researchers working in Stockholm and Munich.

(Leslie & Susannah Kenton, Co-authors of “Raw Energy”)

Chronic fatigue, marked by irritability, lethargy and the feeling that almost everything is too much bother, has been called 'the plague of modern civilisation'. Over 80% of people who feel chronically tired are told there is nothing wrong with them according to laboratory tests and X-rays. A deficit of the minerals potassium and magnesium is known to be a major cause of fatigue. A high-raw diet, because it is rich in fresh green vegetables and sprouts, is rich in chlorophyll, therefore in magnesium, for chlorophyll is built around a core of magnesium. It is also, in contrast to the average Western diet, very high in potassium.

In the 1960s an American physician, Dr Palma Formica, was curious to know what effect magnesium and potassium supplements would have on fatigue. Her volunteers for the experiment were a hundred chronically tired people, 84 women and 16 men. For five or six weeks she gave them extra potassium and magnesium. Then she recorded her findings: “The change was startling. They [became] alert, cheerful, animated and energetic, and walked with a lively step. They stated that sleep refreshed them as it had not done for months. Morning exhaustion had completely subsided.” Eighty seven of the volunteers improved, even though some had suffered from debilitating fatigue for two years or more.

Another reason why a high-raw diet so successfully counters fatigue and lifts the spirits is that it affects blood sugar levels. It is now widely accepted that functional hypoglycaemia (low levels of sugar in the blood), which is believed to be widespread, is responsible for that mid to late-afternoon tiredness peak that affects so many people and has them reaching for strong cups of coffee and sweet snacks 'just to keep going'. The same low blood sugar levels are probably responsible for many feelings of lowness and depression too. Raw fibre helps to stabilise blood sugar levels. It does the same for someone suffering from persistently low blood sugar levels, and abolishes the mood swings and other symptoms that characterise hypoglycaemia.

(Leslie & Susannah Kenton, Co-authors of “Raw Energy”)

All fruits and vegetables contain both calcium and amino acids (the building blocks to protein) in just the ratio we need.

In fact, onions and turnips are loaded with calcium; almonds contain as much protein as red meat and 6% more calcium per 100g than plain yoghurt. Spirulina is the highest natural protein food on the planet with all of the essential amino acids required for optimum health. It's also worth pointing out that the largest animal in the world, with the biggest teeth and some mean muscles, is a bull elephant; and it's an animal which is a vegan – consuming no meat and dairy whatsoever.

The fear of us wasting away and becoming deficient in certain essential nutrients if we don't have a steak with cheese on top solely derives from massive propaganda over the years by the meat and dairy industries. Steve Arlin, author of Raw Power, has been a raw vegan for years yet has a body akin to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He eats only fruits, seeds, nuts and vegetables – that's it.

(Jason Vale, a.k.a. The Juice Master, Author of “7lbs in 7 days super juice diet”)

One of the most important aspects of live foods is that they are live wires. The bioelectricity of live foods is not normally considered when we think about qualities of food and its effect.

In Russia, Dr Israel Brekhmann did a simple experiment. Mice were fed cooked food and live food at different times. Then he measured the amount of energy and endurance that the mice had. When the same mice were eating only live food, they had three times more energy and endurance than when they were eating cooked food. Theoretically, if it were simply a matter of calories, there should not be a difference in endurance. However, there is. This is because food is not simply calories. It is all the subtle ingredients, general nutrients, and electrical energies of the food. The electrical potential of our tissues and cells is a direct result of the aliveness of our cells. Live foods enhance the electrical potential in cells, between cells, and at the interface of cells with the micro capillary electrical charge. When cells have the proper micro electrical potential, they have the power to rid themselves of toxins and maintain their selective capacity to bring in appropriate nutrients and oxygen supply.

(Dr Gabriel Cousins M.D., one of the leading holistic medical doctors in the US, Author of “Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine” and other books)

Certain vitamins and minerals which are available in far greater quantities on a diet high in raw food than when living on a 'normal' diet are absolutely essential to maintaining shining strong hair and nails and protecting your skin from the ravages of early ageing. For instance, vitamin C and the bioflavinoids – those brightly coloured substances with quite exceptional properties for a women's health and beauty – guard the heart of collagen. Collagen is the fibrous protein which gives your skin its firmness and contour. Both are present in good quantities in raw fruits and vegetables. Most of these, like other water-soluble nutrients, can be completely destroyed by heat. The mineral zinc, plentiful in pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sprouted wheat, is also needed to maintain healthy collagen. Women who have insufficient zinc (as do a large majority on the standard Western diet – particularly those taking birth control pills) tend to get stretch marks on their breasts and stomachs when they are pregnant or if they lose weight. Vitamin A, which is made in abundance in the body when you are supplied with beta-carotene from fresh green vegetables and carrots, helps regulate oil balance in the skin.

(Leslie & Susannah Kenton, Co-authors of "Raw Energy")

Bryan Adams, singer, high-raw vegan: “I became vegan for my health 20 years ago. I abide by the rule that if it looks like it's going to clog your system, it probably will. People don't understand about me being vegan, but I'm not a preacher, I simply have my own view on what works for me. It would be wonderful to convince people without having to say much. For example, I'm very slim due to my diet. When I see men and women my age with their guts hanging over their trousers I wish someone was able to explain the benefits of diet, and that they are likely to be toxic and blocked from the things they've eaten.”

(Observer Food Monthly, January 2008)

Research studies have shown that eating a high-raw diet can lead to improvements in a number of aspects of health, notably mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Inspired by her own positive experiences going raw, Lenka J. Zajic went on to obtain a Masters in Vegan and Live Food Nutrition from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona, where she conducted an in-depth 500-participant survey of raw foodists. The study’s findings showed that people who followed an 80 to 90% raw foods diet for 2 years reported marked improvements in immunity, digestion, allergies, weight moderation, chronic illness, and mental, and emotional well-being.

One of the most dramatic and encouraging areas of improvement observed among respondents was that of “Mental/Emotional/Spiritual Health.” Here, 68% of respondents felt they had developed intellectually “quite a bit” or “tremendously” since transitioning to live foods. 81% felt they had developed emotionally “quite a bit” or “tremendously”, and 77% felt they had developed spiritually “quite a bit” or “tremendously”. Overall, the vast majority of respondents (87.5%) reported an improved mental/emotional/spiritual state after transitioning to a live foods diet, and, most attributed this primarily to their change in diet (88.2%), followed closely by spiritual/energetic healing (50.5%) and self-inquiry (50.3%). The percentage of respondents reporting a “good” or “excellent” mental/emotional/spiritual state after transitioning to a live foods diet rose in all categories surveyed including: general sense of well-being (36% to 91%), enthusiasm/optimism (43% to 91%), patience/tolerance (29% to 84%), self-sufficiency (54% to 88%), openness to change/flexibility (53% to 89%), non-attachment (32% to 77%), memory/focus/clarity (36% to 82%), creativity (48% to 82%), efficiency/multi-tasking (53% to 82%), relationships (37% to 80%), occupational satisfaction (34% to 71%), faith/hope (47% to 85%), passion (for anything) (53% to 88%), intuition (52% to 91%), compassion/love (55% to 90%), social comfort (36% to 77%), comfort being alone (61% to 89%), depth of meditation (28% to 68%), spiritual desire and interest (50% to 85%), quietness of mind (25% to 74%), non-causal contentment (30% to 80%), non-causal peace (32% to 80%), and non-causal joy (31% to 79%). There was an increase from 32% to 51% in the number of respondents who felt they were experiencing ecstatic bliss “sometimes” on a live foods diet versus before, and an increase from 6% to 31% in those reported feeling ecstatic bliss “often/always”!!

Based on these results, it was concluded that people who have been on a raw foods diet for two years or more experienced and generally continue to experience significant improvements on many physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. There appear to be very few, if any, consistent negative effects or areas of serious concern that can be identified from this preliminary study.

(Lenka J. Zajic, “An Investigation of Over 500 People Who Have Eaten a Raw Food Diet for Over 2 Years”)