Natural Foods While Dieting
the Healthy Benefits

Article by Diet Bites

Why Raw & Natural Foods are Best for the Human Body

Unfortunately, man does not live by cheesecake alone - as the human body requires vitamins and minerals in order to keep running smoothly.

Here are just a few brilliant reasons why raw and natural foods are best when dieting - or not:

1. They are more easily recognizable by the metabolism, making the digestive process quicker.

2. They provide nutritional elements necessary to weight loss. If the minimum is not achieved when on a fat reduction plan, the individual's progress will either stall out or stop completely.

Think of vitamins and minerals as building blocks - each relying on the other to complete a specific process. When one element is missing, the action is stalled.

This is much like a car; with fuel - such as gasoline, it can run. But it can't run on gas alone. Without the addition of oil in the mix, the engine will eventually experience grave issues and stall out.

Where food is concerned, many times a stall-out is incorrectly attributed to the Weight Loss Plateau when the root of the issue is an absence of a particular element in the chain which is preventing the otherwise successful rate of fat loss.

3. Raw foods are not only simple, packed with nutritional benefits - they also hold unique flavors. When they aren't doused in dips or batters - or cooking oils, all hold an earthy flavor and unique textures.

A boiled carrot doesn't taste like one freshly uprooted from the ground - and the natural version holds far more nutritional values.

Another comparison - the potato or the onion, okra, squash or mushroom. All are delicious in their raw state. All are commonly dredged in egg batter, then in flour or a type of breading such as Panko - and then are fried before becoming dipped in another sauce again - whether it's ranch dressing, Italian or ketchup.

When these methods are applied at home we have domestic food engineering going on - and other than the added preservatives that are a part of commercially refined foods - the end result can be just as unhealthy for the body.

Recipes Using Raw Foods

Vegetables: Try shredded zucchini, cabbage of any variety or carrots and adding dried fruits.

A bit of fruit-based dressing that is low in fat can take the raw food to another level without distracting from the healthy values contained in the natural food sources.

Fruits: Spread wedges of apples with nut or seed butters - such as peanut or cashew butter.

Or, make a healthy fruit salad by combining the specimens that you enjoy. A great mix is slices or bite-size cubes of the following fruit mix: banana, apple, orange segments and golden raisins or dried cranberries.