Health Benefits of Eating a Raw Food Diet

Raw foods are very good for human health and either making raw foods a larger part of your diet or switching to an entirely raw food diet can provide a number of benefits. A raw food diet consists entirely of uncooked preferably organically grown plant based foods; largely fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, seeds, nuts and juices - dried fruits and vegetables may also be added to these diets.

Raw food diets are almost entirely vegan, with many of the health benefits of these diets being due to the large quantities of dietary fiber and nutrients; components which are often lost when cooking or processing food. Raw foods are generally lower calorie and are easily digested, since raw foods contain all of the enzymes which aid in their digestion - these are destroyed by cooking fruits and vegetables.

Allergy Season Is Here

Examples of some allergens' are: pollens, molds, dust mites, bee stings, stings by other insects, and foods, of which there are many. Some very distinct foods are allergy triggers, such as, peanuts, milk, eggs, gluten products, but it can be any food that will prove to be an allergen to a particular individual. When an individual reacts to any type of allergen, they are called allergic or "atopic". Allergic reactions occur in different forms such as:

·Allergic rhinitis (nasal allergies), which affects approximately 35 million or more Americans. Of these, 5 or 6 million are children.

· Asthma affects about 15 million in America-about 5 million are children.

5 Reasons Supplements Are Useful

The daunting variety of vitamins and other supplements on the market today can make choices difficult. Alongside traditional multivitamins and single-nutrient pills (such as vitamins C or E, or individual minerals such as zinc) there are also condition-specific supplement formula combinations, high-potency versions of the classics, and vitamin-infused waters. Which of these do you need - if any? I have long recommend supplements as insurance against nutritional gaps or shortfalls in your diet. If your diet is consistently "ideal" or "optimal" you may not think you receive much benefit from supplements, but recent research shows that optimal amounts of certain key nutrients are hard to obtain from diet alone. Even if you are conscientious in your food choices, supplementing with certain micronutrients may provide long-term benefits. Nutritional supplements may especially useful for those who: