What are the benefits of raw foods and crudités? by Eric Darche

Why Should We Consume Raw Vegetables

Raw vegetables are uncooked foods that should preferably be organic and as fresh as possible. Raw vegetables provide the living and easily bioavailable nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of our body: enzymes, vitamins, bioflavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and many other phytonutrients. Their regular consumption is essential for biochemical processes.

What Are Raw Vegetables?

Raw vegetables include, among others: salads, carrots, beets, celery, turnips, cabbages, cucumbers, parsley, radishes, sprouted seeds (or young shoots and sprouted seeds of sunflower, lentil, wheat, barley, alfalfa, mung bean, clover, fennel, hemp, leek, etc.), seaweed, and oilseeds (such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, walnuts, sunflower seeds). Some of these vegetables, like celery, turnips, and cabbages, are often used in various preservation methods, allowing their freshness and nutritional value to be prolonged.

What Are the Roles of Raw Foods?

As living foods, raw vegetables provide numerous vitamins (groups A, B, C, E, etc.), trace elements, minerals, and also biological substances (such as enzymes, bioflavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, anthocyanins, carotenoids) that stimulate the immune system, protect and slow down the process of cellular oxidation, control and slow down inflammatory mechanisms, and strengthen the walls of veins, arteries, and capillaries. They also help neutralize heavy metals that affect the body.

What Are the Benefits of Raw Vegetables?

Here are all the areas in which raw vegetables are beneficial:

• Rebalancing the body's pH (balance between acids and bases), as almost all fresh vegetables (except sorrel, rhubarb, chard, or pear) are alkalizing.
• Increasing the volume of the food bolus and the fecal bolus, which facilitates transit and prevents constipation.
• Stimulating the secretion of digestive glands and intestinal peristalsis by rubbing against the intestinal mucosa.
• Hypoglycemic role and, consequently, participation in weight regulation.
• Reducing the absorption of toxins and, thanks to their fibers, playing a protective role by binding and eliminating undesirable, even carcinogenic, substances from metabolism.
• Hydrating the fecal bolus.
• Providing a feeling of satiety by filling the stomach, which helps avoid excess carbohydrate-lipid or protein foods.
• Accelerating transit thanks to fibers, thereby reducing the contact time between the intestinal mucosa and potential toxins.

The cellulose in raw vegetables ensures an aerobic fermentation flora throughout the small intestine. The fibers containing carbohydrates promote the presence of "good bacteria" from the second part of the small intestine to the cecum (end of the small intestine) where they reach their maximum intensity. This prevents the putrefactive flora from developing and spreading, which is one of the main sources of pathogenic imbalances in the intestinal flora. The putrefaction phenomenon normally begins from the second half of the transverse colon and along the descending colon.

What Are the Benefits of Raw Vegetables on Intestinal Flora?

Raw vegetables allow:

• to stimulate and strengthen local and general immunity;
• to facilitate the synthesis of vitamins in the intestine, particularly those of the
B and K groups;
• to improve digestion and the assimilation of nutrients and minerals;
• to promote the digestion of lactose (milk sugar that intolerant individuals
cannot assimilate);
• to avoid bloating, intestinal gas, diarrhea, and constipation.

What precautions should be taken with raw vegetables?

It is essential to consume raw vegetables daily at each meal to promote various biochemical processes vital to our body. Watery raw fruits (such as apple, pear, orange, and mandarin) should not be consumed during meals, whether at the beginning or the end, as their combination with other foods (such as starches or cereals) can cause digestive problems leading to bloating, gas, diarrhea, and other health issues.

Regarding fruits, watery fruits in the acidic fruit category (lemon, grapefruit, orange, etc.) and to a lesser extent fruits in the semi-acidic category (apple, pear, cherry, apricot, etc.) are also part of the raw foods to be consumed regularly, but acidic and semi-acidic fruits should be consumed in more moderate proportions than other fruits considering one's organic terrain to avoid promoting acidification.