You have probably heard a lot of people talking about the health benefits that come with eating raw organic foods. You may have wondered what implications come with a diet of organic foods. A table full of raw beef and oysters does not appeal to most people, but there is more to it than that. An organic foods diet means that you are required to eat the food in its natural unprocessed state. Organic foods may already be included in your diet, if you eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

The processing and cooking of the foods strip them of a lot of vital nutrients. A lot of people say that cooking vegetables leaches out the vitamins and it can also destroy the important enzymes that they contain. Packaged foods available in every grocery store, that have been processed in some way to help you benefit from an easy package meal, have a very low nutritional value and they are not very good for your body because they are hard to metabolize.

Earth gives us natural foods. If you consume them as such, in their raw state, it becomes a lot easier for the body to process them. Raw foods are packed with vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Everything you do costs energy. The energy levels of your body are given by enzymes. These things are not the most popular topics of discussion, but they are very important for your body. Think about how tired you feel after serving a big meal of cooked foods. This happens because you use your body enzymes to process these foods instead of using them for other activities of your daily life. By consuming raw organic foods that contain their own enzymes helpful for digestion, you preserve your energy for doing the things you like, instead of wasting that energy for digesting food you just ate.

People that follow a raw food diet consume up to 75% of raw foods. This includes fruits, vegetables, nuts and other foods in their natural form. Preparing raw foods involves several processes. One of these is juicing. Many people turn the fruits and vegetables into juices. Just by drinking fresh juice in the morning you can benefit from a health boost. Another way of preparing raw foods is by using a dehydrator. The moisture is taken out of the fruits and vegetables so they are good for long time storage. The dehydrator uses hot air to remove the moisture from the foods, but the temperatures it operates under has to be below 1160 F, so that all the enzymes in the food are stored and not destroyed.

Organic cheese can also be a part of a raw food diet. The process used for obtaining organic cheese does not involve temperatures higher than 1160 F, so it fits in the category of raw foods. The government keeps the organic farms under strict supervision, so you don’t have to worry about quality or scams if you purchase products from them. The cows from which the milk is harvested for the organic cheese cannot be treated with any antibiotics or other medicine in case of illnesses. In case they must be treated, they are removed from that farm. This guarantees that the organic cheese or other foods you purchase from that farm are 100% organic.

The amount of raw foods included in your diet should be around 75% (ar at least 50%), but you should not start eating immediately this amount of raw foods. Instead you should increase the quantities gradually. As a precautionary note, if you plan to have any major changes in your diet, you should consult your doctor. Even though raw foods are the base for a healthier life, some of them may conflict with certain medication, so this is the best thing you should do in order to avoid unpleasant situations. Due to the detoxifying effect raw foods have, some people may experience mild headaches and nausea, but only temporary.

Businesses such as GuideMeGreen green directory and the co-op offer a real alternative for people concerned with these issues and with businesses that combine a strong ethical dimension in tandem with making profits.

Here are some of the main features of organic farming:

• Organic farming severely restricts the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

• Instead, organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops.

• Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers common in intensive livestock farming.

Synthetic dyes and ingredients such as Sudan1 were in the national news in February and can cause cancer. See www.food.gov.uk for further details. Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards.

Why Buy Organic?

It has never been easier to shop for organic food, and there has never been so much choice. Every food category now has an organic alternative. Its also common sense; organic food is good food. Good to eat, good for the environment, good for the small-scale farmers and the farm workers who produce it.

Chefs across the country are committed to using organic ingredients because plants from healthy soils and organically fed livestock provide us with more flavorful food. Organic foods allow true flavour to shine through unlike other non-organic foods that look and taste good but are often full of E numbers and artificial flavourings and ingredients.

By supporting local, sustainable and organic farms in your local community you also support the larger community of which we are all a part. By eating organic food you are providing the healthiest choice for your family and supporting the farms that provide us with healthy and ecological neighbourhoods.

The ‘go local’ food movement is flourishing – over 15% of people buy organic food locally and this number continues to rise as the number of farmer’s markets, box schemes, cafes and restaurants serving organic food increase. GuideMeGreen helps you to find locally produced foods which are fresher, healthier and more economical. It cuts down on transport costs and ‘food miles’ where an average shopping basket can include fruit and vegetables transported from all over the world.

The big supermarkets in the UK are about to introduce there own vegetable box schemes. This is good because the supermarket schemes should encourage more people to buy organic food and are likely to raise the profile and public awareness of the benefits of organic box schemes in general. These new organic consumers will hopefully become convinced of the benefits of organic food and become more interested in and aware of the advantages of buying local too. The supermarket schemes could therefore be a positive first step on people’s journey to buying organic, local food generally and perhaps moving on to subscribe to independent box scheme businesses – as well as supporting other local food outlets like farmers’ markets or independent retailers.

The supermarkets themselves may find their businesses becoming subject to more far-reaching changes, as their customers are exposed to the principles and practices which inspire the original local food and grassroots box-scheme movement.