Are you worried about your health later in life?

After all, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and other serious health issues are affecting more and more people these days. Despite the tremendous progress achieved in medicine, these illnesses have become a modern plague.

Once thought to be diseases of the elderly, the number of patients from younger age groups has been growing in recent years.

Are you afraid that one day it will be your turn?

Are you wondering whether or how you can influence your health and how you feel later in life? Or to what extent?

Let me help you to find some answers.

Although limits exist, you can do a lot to prevent disease and feel your best. Besides exercise and adequate rest, your daily diet is an essential building block of radiant health.

But which way of eating is best? Do you feel confused because every week new trendy diets pop up like mushrooms? Each claiming to be the magic bullet. “Lose 20 pounds in one week!”, The Banana Miracle”, “The 3-Day Wonder Diet”. The variations are countless.

So let me give you some clarity! Forget about extreme, unbalanced crash diets. Chances are, they will only lead to endless weight yo-yoing. Instead, focus on (science-proven) nutrition facts and a sustainable way of eating. Choose a diet that truly nourishes your body. A diet that provides you with abundant energy. And last but not least, a diet that helps you keep your ideal weight in a healthy way.

A (predominantly) raw vegan diet meets all these aims. And in the following, I will explore why it is so beneficial.

You don’t have to go 100% raw in order to be healthy

Note the addition of “predominantly,” because we are not talking about “you have to be 100% raw vegan or else you’ve ‘failed’”. Actually, in many respects, including some selected non-raw elements in your diet can be an excellent idea.

Uncooked potatoes, for example, are hard to digest, and raw kidney bean sprouts are even toxic. Legumes, which usually come dried, add valuable fiber or protein to your meals – but you need to cook them to make them properly digestible. Or think about a freezing winter’s day. Chances are, instead of eating a cold meal, you might prefer a bowl of hot, comforting vegetable soup or some steamed broccoli.

And last but not least, what do you think is healthier? That cup of steamed broccoli with 30 kcal and 0 % fat – or a serving of a nut-heavy raw cheesecake, which amounts to 350 kcal and contains as much as 40% fat?

So, “predominantly raw vegan” can also mean having non-vegan foods such as eggs or even some fish or meat on occasions. After all, sticking to a 100% raw vegan diet no matter what can prove difficult at times. It is, of course, possible if one wishes to do so, but it might make your life more complicated. So don’t make your diet another stress factor.

So over the next weeks and months, we will look at many of the priceless benefits of this diet. Today let’s discuss why focusing on raw vegan food can significantly reduce your risk of suffering from lifestyle diseases, and thereby help to safeguard your health and quality of life for years to come.

Lifestyle diseases – a new epidemic in our modern world

Obesity, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, atherosclerosis, and certain forms of cancer have become extremely widespread in today’s hectic world.

These illnesses are also called “lifestyle diseases” because they are, to a great extent, promoted through an unhealthy way of living. Unhealthy as in eating a poor diet, lacking physical activity, having chronic stress, smoking, drinking too much alcohol, or drug abuse.

Recent research shows that in the U.S., more than one-third of the adult population struggles with the so-called “metabolic syndrome”, which refers to several conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure or elevated blood sugar levels occur in a cluster. As a result, the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and diabetes increases exponentially. Yet, not only in the U.S. but also in other Western countries such as Australia, the UK, and Germany, metabolic syndrome is threatening the health of a large part of the population.

A balanced raw vegan diet can help to reduce that risk dramatically, because:

And there are many more benefits.

But why are these factors so important for avoiding many lifestyle diseases?

Benefit #1:
“A properly balanced raw vegan diet is low in calories – but high in volume.”

Undoubtedly you know that if you habitually eat more calories than your body burns, you will put on weight. Most likely a LOT over time. There are no two ways about this.

While incorporating other food groups such as nuts, seeds, sprouts, and algae, a well-composed raw vegan diet focuses mainly on fresh, unprocessed, and preferably organic fruits and vegetables.

Fresh produce is rich in water, which contains zero calories; but because of the high water content, juicy produce has a lot of volume (and weight). Thus, after a meal consisting of water-rich fresh fruits and vegetables you will feel full and satisfied – even though the caloric value is low! This is because your stomach can only hold a certain volume before it tells the brain to stop eating. (Fun fact: the capacity of an average human stomach is about 1 kg or 2.2 pounds.)

Let us take a look at some figures. According to the food composition database of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a medium raw apple with skin (182 g) contains about 84% water. A regular-sized “Snickers” candy bar (47 g) scores only 5% water. In calories, our apple has 95 kcal whereas the candy bar contains about two and a half times this amount, i.e. 229 kcal. To make matters worse, the volume of the compact candy bar is much smaller.

Remember why volume matters? Exactly! Because our stomach has only a limited capacity. And once it reaches its capacity, you feel satisfied.

Besides fat and fiber, the water content of a food is the factor, which has the biggest influence on the satiety mechanism. So if a food has a small volume, satiety will kick in much later compared to when eating a fresh juicy apple. As a consequence, your brain takes more time to send out the signal that you are full and wants you to stop eating. And in the meantime, you will most likely have consumed a whopping number of calories …

Benefit #2:
 “A raw vegan diet boasts a treasure trove of nutrients.”

You know, of course, that fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A (carrots), vitamin C (citrus fruits, bell pepper, and kale), or magnesium (spinach). But a raw vegan diet also contains a myriad of other necessary nutrients, including essential trace elements like selenium or food enzymes, which help with digestion.

Our body has a variety of sensors, which are critical to our well-being. You are already aware of the satiety mechanism, which kicks in once your stomach holds a volume of approximately 1kg/2.2 pounds. Another sensor signals the brain when the body has loaded up on the nutrients it needs. The brain then sends out the message that it is satisfied and you are no longer hungry. Thus, you will naturally stop eating.

In contrast, if you rely on heavily processed food, which contains much less essential nutrients, your body continues to cry out for food, hoping that with the next “feeding” it will receive those necessary building blocks. And all the while you continue to pack on calories.

How ironic, though! Never before in history could we enjoy such an abundance when grocery shopping. Most people in the Western world can buy whatever food we like, whenever we like. Yet, at the same time, so many people in Western countries are starving on a nutritional level because they are making the wrong food choices.

The amazing benefits of fiber

Benefit #3:
“A raw vegan diet is high in fiber.”

Another essential element of a healthy diet is fiber – both soluble and insoluble. One distinct advantage of fiber is adding bulk. Why? Because bulk contributes to satiety by making you feel full faster. It also helps to regulate bowel functions and keeps your digestive tract healthy.

Moreover, fiber is also beneficial for preventing lifestyle diseases. It guards the body against coronary heart disease, and it helps to prevent insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. (We will come to diabetes a little further on.)

A vegan diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts as well as legumes is very rich in dietary fiber.

Chia seeds, for example, contain an amazing 34.4 g of fiber per 100 g, almonds score 12.5 g, and boiled lentils have 8 g. Some high-fiber fruit and vegetables include artichokes (9 g), avocados (6.5 g), raspberries (7 g), collard greens (4 g), and pears (3.1 g) (all per 100 g; figures by USDA).

In comparison, the fiber content of two staple foods in the diet of a vast number of people worldwide – white bread and white rice – is much lower, 100 g of white bread contains 2.7 g of fiber. 100 g of white rice only 0.4 g. When we adjust the numbers to actual serving sizes, two thick slices of white bread (60 g) provide a meager 1.6 g of fiber. And one bowl of cooked white long-grain rice (158 g) adds as little as 0.6 g to your diet.

But how much fiber do you need to stay healthy? According to the USDA, studies recommend an intake of 14 g of fiber for every 1.000 kcal consumed. So if you eat 2.000 kcal a day, you would need 28 g. This illustrates how difficult it is to meet your daily recommended fiber intake with foods such as white bread or white rice.

Yet, national studies conducted in the U.S, Germany, the UK and elsewhere show that many people center their diets around low-fiber foods. For this reason, the average fiber intake of people in the Western world often amounts to only half of the recommended value. This, in turn, contributes to various health problems. Some of them severe, such as coronary heart diseases.

How fiber-rich plant foods lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases

Do you ever worry about getting a heart attack or a stroke? They occur when a blood clot obstructs the blood flow to the heart or brain. One reason is the build-up of plaque in the blood vessels. The blood then has to squeeze through a much narrower channel, which in turn raises the blood pressure. Sometimes the layer of plaque becomes so thick that it completely blocks the blood vessel, resulting in a heart attack or a stroke.

One of the culprits for plaque building up inside the blood vessels is an excessive amount of LDL-cholesterol – the so-called “bad cholesterol” – in the bloodstream.

The good news is that you can lower your level of “bad cholesterol” by eating a fiber-rich diet.

So how does fiber help to protect you against coronary heart diseases?

(Soluble) fiber binds to the cholesterol and eliminates it from our system. This means there are no plaque deposits inside your blood vessels, and when the arteries are clean, the blood can flow unobstructed at normal pressure. This lowers your risk of developing cardiovascular conditions. So, eating a raw vegan diet, which is abundant in fiber, is an excellent investment in your health.

We mentioned “bad cholesterol,” so if you assume that “good cholesterol” also exists, you are right. It is called HDL cholesterol and acts as an antagonist to the “bad” LDL cholesterol.

But what is cholesterol? It is a waxy substance, produced by all mammals, including us humans. Despite its bad reputation, cholesterol is, in fact, essential for us. It only becomes problematic if we have too much of it in our system – especially if it is the wrong kind.

Cholesterol fulfills many important tasks in our body. We need it to:

Yet, if we eat (fat-rich) meat (which contains cholesterol since it comes from mammals), our body will have to deal with a double load of cholesterol: the cholesterol contained in the meat and the cholesterol produced by the body itself to aid digesting the fat contained in the food.

Benefit #4: 
“A raw vegan diet contains no cholesterol.”

A raw vegan diet, by contrast, does not contain any cholesterol. Remember? Only mammals produce cholesterol. Plants don’t. Thus, when we eat a plant meal containing fat, our body (= mammal) still produces cholesterol to digest that fat. However, it does not get a “second serving” of cholesterol through the meal itself. This helps to keep the body’s cholesterol levels in check.

Preventing and reversing type 2 diabetes with a raw vegan diet.

Benefit #5: 
“A raw vegan diet helps to keep blood sugar levels stable”.

A fiber-rich vegan diet still has many more benefits, including keeping the blood sugar level stable and in a good range. And an important one, since this counteracts the onset of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes (or adult-onset diabetes, as opposed to the genetic condition of type 1 diabetes) often develops as a result of unhealthy eating habits. Too much sugar and too much fat are two primary culprits. Sugar and fat in excess cause severe blood sugar spikes and wreak havoc with the body’s insulin production system. Over time, this destroys our body’s ability to regulate its blood sugar levels. And when this happens, the onset of diabetes type 2 is only a stone’s throw away.

An ideal raw vegan diet gives fresh, unrefined vegetables and fruits center stage. Sweeteners and fats, both of which interfere with blood sugar levels and insulin production, are used in moderation. So in this way, it helps to prevent diabetes from developing.

A balanced raw vegan diet also comes to the rescue if someone already has diabetes type 2. Research has shown that it can even completely reverse the disease in as little as 30 days. (One example is Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ “Reverse Diabetes Program”. See http://treeoflifecenterus.com/retreat/diabetes-recovery-program/ for more information.) This illustrates how powerful a well-chosen raw food diet can be. Or as Hippocrates put it: “Let food be thy medicine”!

One step at a time

So, a predominantly raw food diet makes sense, doesn’t it?

But now what? Do you feel a little at a loss as to where to start?

Just as you don’t have to be 100% raw to be healthy, you don’t have to change your diet 100% overnight.

Don’t overwhelm yourself – be gentle. Take one step at a time – at your own pace. Any step towards a healthier diet, no matter how small, is a step towards a healthier You.

Remember, every journey begins with the first step. Even a baby step is a step. Take it today!

P.S.: Please share one baby step you commit to so as to level up your health.  I’m looking forward to your comments.