Raw Cleansing – What the Heck is a Raw Cleanse?

A raw cleanse is when someone who eats cooked foods intentionally increases their raw food intake.  Ideally it is going 100% raw for a period of time.  This is done to release inflammation and toxins in the body and to experience some of the many benefits such as improved eating habits, weight loss, clear glowing skin, Improved energy levels, clearer mental function, improved intuition and feeling connected and alive.

Some people will do a “juice fast”, a “juice feast”, a “detox”, a “master cleanse” or some version of these and while it is similar, I really like the raw cleanse plan I have created much better.  I believe a raw cleanse is all about super charging nutrition and not limiting intake, but rather boosting the vitamin and mineral content while reducing foods which people can be reacting to at a very subtle level.

Raw foods include:

• All fruits
• All vegetables
• Berries
• Raw nuts that have not been pasteurized or roasted
• Raw organic herbs and spices
• Raw seeds
• Sea vegetables
• Sprouts
• Superfoods

Raw food is food that has not been heated above 118 degrees F or denatured by chemicals, pasteurization, or irradiation.  A dehydrator is the main way people heat up raw foods, but that is not necessary for a raw cleanse.

By keeping food as close to its natural state as possible, we can preserve its nutritional content by up to 70 to 90%.  Enzymes are also kept alive by not overheating the foods.  Enzymes provide life as is shown by trying to grow a raw seed versus one that was cooked.  The cooked seed will not grow as cooking has destroyed its life-giving force.

New life in the form of a seedling

What a raw cleanse excludes:

• Alcohol
• All cooked foods (with the exception of using a dehydrator at 118 degrees F or less)
• All processed foods
• Baked goods
• Caffeine
• GMO foods
• Sugars and most sugar substitutes

Some people will use sprouted grains on a raw diet, but on a cleanse I do not include those.  By going with simple more healing foods and gradually adding in more complex raw foods, you get the most healing benefits while also having something to look forward to.

Keep Calm and Eat Plants

I will go into more details about my plan as we prepare to do our own raw cleanse.  Tomorrow I will talk about the benefits of a raw cleanse and some of the benefits just might surprise you!