Why raw food?

What is raw food?

Raw food is not heated food. But where is the temperature limit? Let's look at our body: when we have a fever, our body temperature rises in order to be able to fight pathogens more easily. However, we don't get to more than 42 degrees, because otherwise the proteins in us would denature (source) and we would die. Likewise, our food should not get more than 42 degrees, because it also contains proteins and enzymes. Vital substances change and new substances are created that harm us. So it makes sense to measure raw food at this temperature limit.

There are many forms of raw food:

• Vegan raw food is raw plant food, i.e. wild plants, fruit, vegetables, seeds, but no animal products such as milk, eggs and meat.
• Raw vegetarian food also contains raw milk and raw eggs, but no meat and fish.
• Omnivore raw food means both raw plant foods and raw animal products including raw meat.

The term "raw" sometimes also means "unfinished" or even "violent". Therefore, raw food is also called "primal food" (Franz Konz), "fresh food", "living food", "sun food" (Helmut Wandmaker) and "vital food". More on the different raw food styles below (The raw food scene). I consider wild plants to be the most perfect raw food, which we collect ourselves in remote areas and eat fresh: fruits, blossoms, Stems, leaves, roots, seeds, fungi, mosses, algae...

On the edge...

When fruit is drying on or under the tree in the sun, temperatures often exceed 42 degrees, but they are purely natural products and have not been modified by humans... So we don't necessarily despise them at our events. I think we can tolerate such low levels of heat without damage. We also buy organic sunflower seeds, sesame, buckwheat, lentils, etc., although they are said to have (I'm looking for evidence!) all been briefly heated to 70 degrees. After all, they are still viable; the 70 degrees apparently only reach the outer layers of the seeds and not the inside. However, we can also buy the seeds from mail order companies (e.g. ORKOS) who sell them without any heat treatment at all, and they are said to be even more germinable (which we could check). However, they are usually significantly more expensive and also involve more transport costs.

No raw foods are: soy sauce, mayonnaise, store-bought oatmeal (treatment with hot steam), roasted nuts, roasted cocoa, nut butter made from roasted nuts, etc. Roasting means heat treatment at over 200 degrees! With dried fruits, please make sure that they have no chemical additives; only bring organic products if possible.

Animals and animal products

At least small animals like bugs, worms and insects are abundant in nature and some of them taste good too. Also we can occasionally find eggs of wild birds; However, milk from wild animals is not. But is it really human nature to kill and eat animals, or do we have an innate abhorrence of it? This is very controversial in the raw food scene. Unfortunately, the discussions also lead to insults - on both sides.

Let's treat those who think differently with respect; let's remember to see the similarities in thinking, feeling and acting in good times and mainly! So I recommend: If someone eats differently, we can probably exchange our different opinions and feelings, but then please also consider the positive, our similarities in the alternative life! The food at our events is vegan, i.e. purely plant-based.

Introduction to the raw food scene

Today's raw food scene is made up of many different directions. These links are a personal selection and not representative of the raw food scene:

• Urkost according to Franz Konz ("Der große Gesundheits-Konz"): vegan, emphasizes wild herbs and wild vegetables in addition to raw fruit - e.g. B. dandelion, sorrel, nettle, etc.
• Sun food according to Helmut Wandmaker ("Do you want to be healthy? Forget the saucepan!" etc.): vegetarian with an emphasis on eating fruit.
• Instinctotherapy according to Guy-Claude Burger ("The raw food therapy"): vegetarian or non-vegetarian possible. Following instinct, everything that smells and tastes good in its natural state is eaten. The food is not mixed, all original, unprocessed foods are allowed.
• Fit for Life according to Harvey and Marilyn Diamond: mostly vegan, almost exclusively raw food. Only distilled water and freshly squeezed orange juice are permitted as drinks.
• Bioclimatic nutrition according to Jean Huntziger: Not too much fruit, almost vegan, regionally adapted
• Methusalem nutrition according to Henning Müller-Burzler
• Light food according to Fritz-Albert Popp: vegetarian, with a focus on sprouts, raw vegetables, grains, nuts and raw milk.
• Sun diet according to David Wolfe
• Primal Diet according to Aajonus Vonderplanitz: non-vegetarian with a greatly reduced intake of carbohydrates and emphasis on the consumption of meat, fat, freshly squeezed vegetable juices, raw milk and raw milk products.
• Medicinal food according to Michael Delias: vegetables, fruit, nuts
• Wild raw food according to Walter Schaube and Sven Rohark: only wild fruits if possible, possibly also wild herbs, wild mushrooms, etc.
• 80/10/10 according to Dr. Douglas Graham: vegan, low fat

For more links, see the bottom of this page.

If you find this more confusing than encouraging - me too. I do a mixture of these kinds of raw food nutrition.

Trust in God and nature

I cannot and do not want to scientifically justify the raw food diet, with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, photons, with toxins, with interactions... yes, I think it is harmful to deal with it! Because this would undermine our trust in nature and in ourselves. It seems to me that it is best if we base our way of life on our own common sense, on our experiences and on our intuition. Then we will soon want to live as naturally as possible in all areas of life. We come from nature and we are still not adapted to life in civilization. This is shown by the many civilization diseases. When we try the raw food, we soon find that we feel better with it. It is important that we are always aware of this well-being - and recognize the difference: Wild herbs and wild fruits bring us deep satisfaction, while sweets only seem to give pleasure for a short time! The benefits of a raw food diet are undeniable, in my opinion, because they have been proven by many healing reports. More difficult is the question of a long-term raw food diet; more on that below.

We are also adapted to a simple, natural way of life in other areas. Happy like the monkeys in the tropical jungle, without worrying about money, about recognition at work, without the temptation for chocolate... On the other hand, we didn't grow up there, our home is here, and so we're looking for a compromise. But we don't need any scientific knowledge for that. They always remain imperfect anyway; mankind will never even halfway fully illuminate the complicated processes of nature. Rather, we need the knowledge and skills that are within us. If we trust them, we also strengthen our confidence in our self-healing powers.

Our consensus

At the events we have agreed (at least for meals together) on three common denominators: raw, vegan and (largely) organic. And we prefer (Rainbow style) locally sourced food; Imported goods are rarely on the table. You can decide for yourself when you want to eat what and how, whether you eat everything plain or make salads, whether you take salt (which many raw food people refuse), etc. Because when you eat together, you can choose the food and prepare it according to your taste, and between these meals you will also find something to eat in our kitchen. Our events want to make it easier for us to try living off raw food alone for a while. This is usually easier for us if we don't see any cooked food.

Short-term effect

A lot of raw food lovers (from all directions) used to be ill and have healed themselves with raw food. Even diseases that conventional medicine considers inherently incurable have been reduced with raw food! There is healing from cancer, allergies, rheumatism... And at our events we have the chance to meet people who have been healed. But it's best if we try the effect of the raw food on our own bodies! You may not feel better or even worse at first because you first need to detoxify and adjust to the new diet.

At some point we are amazed to find that good nutrition even makes clear thoughts and pleasant feelings! Body, mind and soul are one and interact.

Long term effects

Of course, we live healthiest when we find a form of healing raw food that we can sustain over time. However, after a long period of consistent raw food nutrition, deficiency symptoms or illnesses sometimes occur. In addition (from my personal point of view) the following recommendations:

• Let's eat a lot of wild herbs and little cultivated fruit!
• Let's not turn our diet into an ideology, but keep our eyes open, listen to our body and our intuition and try out which form of raw food is good for us!
• Let's also try what form of healthy eating we can manage to maintain! Sometimes small compromises (raw food dishes, raw cereals, maybe also cooked legumes or cooked vegetables without salt) help to avoid larger failures ("eating attacks").
• Exercise consisting of strength training (muscle building), endurance training (e.g. endurance running) and flexibility exercises (e.g. many yoga exercises) is just as important as nutrition.
• For many people it is certainly advisable to limit professional work and to lease a garden and live largely in and from the garden.
• Let's respect Mother Earth! That also means not washing up organic food; the remains of the earth are good for us! And no washing your hands after gardening; the remains of the earth on our hands ensure our connection to Mother Earth! (Now two key points from science: positive effects on the vitamin B12 supply, stimulation of the immune system)
• We also need fresh air, little pollution (skin cream, clothing...), sun, a simple life and enough sleep - and love and security. If all this seems a bit much for everyday life and all alone - welcome to our events...

Raw food sites in German:

• academia-diaetetica.de - wissenschaftliche Studie
• Leitzmann u.a. - Ernährungsbuch im wissenschaftlichen Stil, umfangreiche Leseprobe
• roh.webnode.com - Welche Produkte sind roh?
• mundraub.org - Obstbäume, die freigegeben sind
• rohspirit.de - Rohkost-Tipps, Rezepte, Wildkräuter, Bezugsquellen
• rohkost-rezepte.com - Rohkost-Rezepte und Geräte-Testberichte
• rohkostwiki.de - Richtung Instinktive Rohkost
• allesroh.at - Richtung Instinktive Rohkost
• ein-langes-leben.de - noch eine ausführlich begründete Meinung: "Life Food"
• rohkost.ch - "Stiftung Gesundheit und Ernährung Schweiz"

Raw food sites in French:

https://cedricia.ning.com

Raw food sites in English:

• sites.google.com/site/lakatim1/details - Rohkost-Wanderungen in Israel, ganz ähnlich wie unsere Wanderungen!