Getting Nutrients From the Raw

I use to think that I could get my nutrition needs out of just eating the processed form of fruits and vegetables as most people have. "I have a bowl of applesauce there is my fruit", or "I have a glass of juice I am good". I did some research on nutrition between raw and processed foods and would like to discuss my findings.

Over the years processing and packaging food have become easy therefor lowering the prices of that quick meal. This can be a negative and a positive. Having all of our nutrients come from a glass of murky green stuff is not appealing to me but to others who need a quick in and out of the door meal it is. The negative however is how much are we really sacrificing for that quick meal?

Here I have created two examples (by using the nutrition labels provided by caloriecounter.com and Nutrition and You by Joan Salge Blake) that show the real difference between frozen, raw, sauced and juice. Each represents one cup of each product. With blueberries you can see that there is a dramatic difference between the frozen/raw and juice, but little difference between frozen and raw. There are sugars and sodium added in the juice to create a better tasting and a better staying product without the benefits of the dietary carbs and even protein (which was not presented on the label). Apples follow a similar trend. However, with apple sauce you can see that you would need to eat 2+ cups more apple sauce to receive the benefits of one cup of apple slices.

There are many more benefits of eating something raw or even frozen. The skin of fruits are full of antioxidants and other things that help decrease your cholesterol and even increase your DHEA (anti-aging hormone). There is natural dietary fiber which help you digestive track stay healthy and strong. When the juice is squeezed out of the fruits it leaves the fruits behind and all the benefits with it. Why not squeeze your own fruits or make them into a smoothy? That way you get the benefits of the skin and the juices while still enjoying  nice drink in the hot summer days?

I personally am becoming more and more of a fan of raw foods. I have my little garden outside where I have been growing green beans, tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, cucumbers, and carrots. It honestly takes very little of my time to go and attend to my garden and they make for fantastic snacks just raw. I am already seeing a huge change in my body from doing this. I am already thinner in my legs and even though I am pregnant (YEAH!) I feel better physically than I have in a long time. I am blaming this positive on my new fondness of raw fruits and vegetables. Give it a try, go raw (or frozen) and stray away from those processed nasties.