www.therenegadehealthshow.com – In these two clips from the talk, I present a prevalent problem in our society and then address how you can start on the raw food diet or any diet.

A dietary food supplement is intended to provide nutrients to your body that are either missing from the food you eat or you are just not consuming adequate amounts for many different reasons. The reasons are as vast as our lifestyles. Various lifestyles can dictate why you need to increase your nutrients. For instance, an athlete expends a lot of energy working out and needs additional nutrients.  Someone who is pregnant needs added nutrients for the baby. Dieters trying to lose weight decrease their food intake.  Children need more for growing bodies, just watch a teenage boy eat, his body is constantly telling him to add more nutrients by screaming I’m hungry. The elderly do not expend as much energy, they eat less so they are not getting enough nutrients. Medications can also suppress the appetite.  You could run the gamut on the different diets that people eat anywhere from fast food to raw whole foods.  Even if you are eating a very healthy diet, you may just want to compliment it to assure you are getting enough nutrients every day.

In order to consume all the nutrients our body needs each and every day we would have to consume a wide variety of diverse foods. Different categories of food contain assorted nutrients in varying amounts.  Taking a dietary food supplement does not take the place of eating. It is meant to add and enhance the nutrients we provide our body with everyday. There are just as many different types of a dietary food supplement as there are different types of foods in quality and nutritional value. These supplements come in different forms, such as liquid, powder or in a pill.  Ones that come from natural whole foods are derived from plant sources and contain the highest nutritional value.  All their elements are balanced and work together synergistically, just like in nature.  They consist of phytonutrients, the organic components that occur naturally in plants and are thought to have health promoting qualities. More common ones are beta carotene found in leafy greens, sweet potato, and carrots; lycopene is found in tomatoes. Macronutrients that are required in larger amounts as in amino acids, proteins, macro minerals, essential fatty acids, carbohydrates and fats.  Micronutrients are minerals or trace elements that are required in smaller amounts.  Antioxidants that prevent cellular oxidation and enzymes that convert molecules into a usable form.

Now consider this, over the years science has discovered many different nutrients, and they are always revealing new ones. Envision the possibilities of all the healing elements from natures valuable plant sources that science has not yet discovered.

Providing healthy nutrients everyday is vital for rebuilding your cells and creating health. If you want to be on top of the health game, choosing a supplement that comes from whole foods is a wise choice since they provide such a wide range of nutrients.  Imagine getting a complete spectrum of these nutrients from one dietary food supplement.

www.RawFood.nl and www.RawFoodAcademy.com Some people do very well, if they start with a 100% raw food diet right away. For others it may be better to start more slowly. A balance of 80% raw food and 20% other foods is ideal for those people. What should those 20% be, if not raw foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, seaweeds, wild edibles etc. In this interview Annet van Dorsser (www.RawFood.nl) asks Gabriel Cousens what he thinks about adding grains and beans to a raw food diet. Watch this video on how to transition to a raw food diet in the most ideal way.

This article was written to answer many of the most frequently asked questions on this topic. I hope you find information helpful. Unless we really love cooking or plan and prepare ahead with our meals, we can fall victim to the easy way out – fast food or junk food.

Here is a story; could it be you? The weekend is here and you think you now have a couple of days to relax. Saturday morning – you make the coffee to start the day and then you’re off shopping. You get back just before lunch and discover that you have to get the kids to their hockey practise. Too late for a healthy lunch, by the time they are organized it will be time to go. So you pick up a hamburger on the way. Traffic is a nightmare. By the time you put your feet up, you find it is time to get the kids. It’s almost supper time and you’re really tired now and you’re in no mood to prepare a meal so you pick up pizzas from a well-known fast food outlet. Sunday and time to prepare brunch and you go downhill from there so you pick up some chicken with chips and some salad…

So what is a good diet? One which contains the nutrients your body needs in the correct amounts. That is the key to a healthy lifestyle. The main things your body needs from food are proteins (for growth and repair), carbohydrates (for energy), fats (gives a store of energy and the fatty layer protects and insulates your body from impacts and temperature loss), vitamins (for good health), minerals (for the correct functioning of your body systems) fibre (aids digestion and production of faeces) and water (70% or so of the body is water).

Does the hamburger provide all the things your body needs? Does it supply the nutrients you need? The answer is yes. The burger itself contains some meat, so there is the protein, some minerals and fat, the burger also contains fillers and those, plus the burger bun provides carbohydrate. The salad that comes with the burger meal provides fibre, water, vitamins and minerals. The fries provide more fat and carbohydrate and the main bulk of the water comes from the drink. To our surprise, the burger meals do provide all you need!

The problem is with the quantities of these nutrients. There is usually way too much fat and carbohydrate compared with the other nutrients. There is very little fibre. The vitamin and mineral proportions are low, unless you have a shake with the meal, which will increase the proportion of dairy product based minerals such as calcium. Now you need to make sure your next meal makes up for this out of balance meal. For your evening meal you should eat a low fat, high fibre meal, plenty of vegetables cooked lightly or eaten raw so as not to destroy the vitamins. If you must eat between meals, snack on fruit or vegetables.

Another issue is the use of additives. For example, the addition of salt improves the flavour of food so naturally manufacturers put it in so eating processed food increases your salt levels – increases blood pressure and leads to heart problems. A little salt is necessary; it provides your body with the mineral sodium which is needed in small quantities. Preservatives are another issue here. In small quantities, these are not supposed to be harmful. Do you eat processed food all of the time? This is something for you to think about because you are really causing great harm to your body.

Antioxidants are so important. They help to prevent damage to the cells of your body, damage that can lead to cells becoming cancerous. Teas are a very good source of antioxidants. Ordinary (black) tea provides some but a lot of the beneficial constituents are lost during the fermentation process. Unprocessed, pure organic teas like Green Tea or Oolong (the latter is only partly fermented) are the best. So instead of coffee in the morning, try tea, because it is more beneficial. Tea also contains the caffeine, but not as much as in coffee. You might have to drink more but think of the extra benefits to your health. Also, Green tea is thought to inhibit the absorption of cholesterol. The high levels of animal fats in burgers inevitably mean more cholesterol so there is another good reason for switching from coffee.

Simple changes to your diet can make your hectic lifestyle more healthy. Enjoy the odd burger or other fast food; just compensate healthier foods for the rest of the day.

I must say, a system that works very well for me is when I am making meals, cook extra and freeze them. When I come home tired, I just get the individual meals out of the freezer, heat them up and in minutes I’m eating a super meal. It’s even faster than fast food and tastes better too!

Thank you for joining us. We hope you have a look around while you’re here.

All food pyramids are not created equal.  The beloved “USDA Food Pyramid” that we all grew up with and were reminded of every single day in school, does not quite satisfy the nutritional needs and desires of vegetarians and vegans.  Two reasons why many people fall off the “vegetarian wagon” are; people do not “feel full” or people say they become sick on a vegetarian diet.  The main causes of these two ill symptoms of vegetarianism are rooted in one issue; the lack of nutritional foods and supplements to support the body.  Often times, vegetarians don’t know how to eat properly, thus, leading them to feel sick or not feeling full and satisfied from the foods they are consuming.  This leads to vegetarians loading up on veggie burgers, pre-packaged foods, pizza, cheese sandwiches and junk food, just to try to satisfy their hunger, all the while sacrificing their health.

To prevent vegetarians from failing at their lifestyle and diet; to prevent vegetarians and vegans from eating too much of the wrong types of foods (i.e. veggie burgers, soy-based meat alternatives, and carbohydrates) and to prevent vegetarians from getting sick, here is a vegetarian food pyramid to empower vegetarians and vegans with the foods that they should focus on eating everyday to support their bodies and their appetites.

Vegetables and Fruits – The foundation of your vegetarian diet should be fresh vegetables; hence the word “vegetarian.” Vegetarians should eat at least 6 servings per day of vegetables and fruits. This is really important because the plant kingdom provides many nutrients, vitamins and trace minerals that vegetarians and vegans need to provide their bodies with energy and vitamins to support cell growth and development.  Avoid canned fruits and vegetables as these types of products do not add much value to the body.  Instead, opt to eat fresh or lightly steamed vegetables to maximize the healthy benefits that the plant kingdom has to offer.  Vegetables and fruits are also packed with fiber and are a great way to naturally cleanse the body.  Vegetarians will be surprised at how much more energized they can feel just by eating fresh vegetables and fruit.
Pasta, Rice, Whole Grains, Cereals, and Bread - Remember a couple of years ago, everyone was “anti-carbohydrates?”  During that time, carbohydrates caught a bad rap.  The trick is eating complex carbohydrates in moderation.  As a vegetarian, grains and pastas are a staple of this meatless diet.  Vegetarians and vegans should not eliminate this important fuel from their diets.  Just make sure to eat at least 4 servings per day to support the functioning of the brain and provide your body amino acids.
Legumes (beans), Seeds, Nuts – Beans and nuts are great sources of healthy fats, fiber and proteins for the vegetarian diet. 3 servings is the ideal amount that vegetarians and vegans should consume to balance their meatless diet.  Try to avoid canned beans because these beans are loaded with preservatives and salt.  To really receive the most nutritional value from beans, use dried beans cooked slowly in a crock-pot.
Meat Alternatives – Meat alternatives such as veggie burgers, textured vegetable protein (TVP), tempeh, tofu, and seitan should be limited to about 2 servings per day.  It is better to eat tofu, seitan, and tempeh then it is to eat the processed “faux meat” products on the market.  The less processed the foods, the more nutrients vegetarians and vegans will receive from meat alternatives.
Fats, Oils, Sweets – Incorporate fats, sweets, and oils in to your vegetarian or vegan use sparingly.  When selecting fats and oils to eat or cook with, try to select the healthier fats such as oils from Avocado and Olive Oil.  You can apply the same principal for sweets.  Try using agave or applesauce as sweetners instead of sugar.  If sugar is all you have access to, try cooking with the raw sugar cane.

If you are a vegetarian that consumes dairy and eggs or a lacto-ovo vegetarian, then you want to make sure that you are consuming no more than 3 servings per day of dairy products such as cheese and milk.  If you eat eggs then you should eat eggs sparingly. Only 2 to 3 times per week.

As a vegetarian, your primary goal is to have a healthy and diverse diet that includes a range of different meatless foods.   Eat a variety of the foods in the vegetarian and vegan pyramid to ensure that a strong dietary foundation has been established to support the commitment to a meatless lifestyle and the commitment to a healthy life.