Raw Vegetables
Man and herbivorous animals must cook their vegetables in order to break down the cellulose box in which the vegetable cell is stored. Man uses heat; herbivorous animals use fermentation, for which they have separate stomachs. But to man, raw vegetables are also of great value, mainly for bulk and roughage as well as to keep the intestinal content from becoming too dry. The human intestinal tract is so constructed that roughage is needed for rapid elimination of waste products and, equally important, for keeping the muscles strong. The enzymes in raw food, particularly raw fermented food, help start the process of digestion and reduce the body's need to produce digestive enzymes.
Cooking foods above 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius) destroys digestive enzymes. When this happens, the pancreas, salivary glands, stomach and intestines must come to the rescue and furnish all these substances. To do this repeatedly, the body must rob, so to speak, enzymes from other glands, muscles, nerves and the blood to help in its demanding digestive process. Eventually the glands develop deficiencies of enzymes because they have been forced to work harder due to the low level of enzymes found in cooked food.
It is one of those interesting designs of nature that foods and liquids at 117 degrees can be touched without pain, but liquids over 118 degrees will burn. Thus, we have a built-in mechanism for determining whether or not the food we are eating still contains its enzyme content.
While we should include a variety of raw foods in our diets, we need to recognize that there are no traditional diets composed exclusively of raw foods. Some nutrients are made more available through cooking and cooking also neutralizes naturally occurring toxins in plant foods. In general, grains, legumes and certain types of vegetables should be cooked. Some people do very poorly on raw foods in which they should emulate the Asians by including small amounts of enzyme-rich condiments with a diet of cooked foods. Even after being subjected to heat, fermented foods are more easily assimilated because they have been predigested by enzymes.
Raw Meat
When Dr. Weston Price made his pioneering studies of primitive peoples around the world, he was struck by the fact that almost every group he visited ate a certain amount of their animal protein raw. The proportion of raw animal protein in the diet varied considerably. Among the Eskimo groups it verged on 100 percent; natives of the Polynesian islands consumed a good portion of the sea food they caught without cooking it; African tribes valued liver in its raw state as essential to good health and promoting growth and strength. Tribes whose eating habits were largely vegetarian nevertheless ingested raw animal protein in the form of grubs and insects. The principle source of raw animal protein for Europeans communities was unpasteurized milk products.
Today, we can and should eat raw meat and fish on a regular basis. Almost every world cuisine offers recipes to satisfy what seems to be a universal requirement for raw animal protein - steak tartare from France, carpaccio from Italy, kibbeh from the Middle East and raw, marinated fish dishes from Scandinavia, Hawaii, Latin America and Asia. Many people have reported the disappearance of numerous symptoms and increased vitality within days of adding raw meat, fish or milk to the diet.
We can eliminate parasites in animal foods without cooking them. Simply freeze beef or lam for 14 days. According to United States Department of Agriculture, this will kill off all parasites. Marinate or ferment fish in an acid solution of lemon juice, lime juice or whey. This will effectively kill off all parasites and pathogens and will serve to predigest the fish as well.
Soups
Clear unblended soups featuring meat, vegetables or grains in a meat-based broth results in a soup that can serve as a meal in itself. Blended soups calls for the addition of cultured cream as a final step. It is important to not add the cream into the pot, for any heating the cream receives will destroy its valuable enzyme content. Most traditional soup recipes call for the addition of cultured cream this way - to the slightly cooled soup in the bowl rather than in the pot. Here is another example of folk wisdom serving as a guide to healthy eating. Another excellent addition to soup is fermented fish sauce, made from small whole fish including the head and organs, rich in iodine, vitamin A and D, and other substances that benefit the thyroid gland. You may add fish sauce to any heated soup instead of salt. The fermentation also delays the oxidation of polyunsaturated oils, because the added bacteria consume all the oxygen.
Fish
Fish is the health food, par excellence. When Dr. Weston Price traveled throughout the world, studying traditional peoples on native diets, he discovered that those who ate seafoods had the best health. Consumption of fish promotes excellent growth and bone structure; it also protects from the degenerative diseases so prevalent in this modern age. All ocean fish are excellent sources of macro and trace minerals, particularly iodine and zinc. Our soils may be depleted of certain trace minerals, but every one we need exists in the boundless oceans; seafood is our only sure source for obtaining them all.
Mercury contamination is a danger when one eats fish from shoreline waters near industrial areas or from contaminated freshwaters. Always check their origin before you purchase your fish. You needn't be concerned about mercury levels in deep-sea fish. Farm-raised fish are best avoided. Their fatty acid profile will not be as good as that of wild fish, and they are usually given inappropriate feed, such as soy pellets containing pesticide residues.
Many traditional societies prepare fish by wrapping it in leaves and steaming it in the coals of a fire. This method best preserves nutrients and protects the fish from possible carcinogens. Classicgourmet recipes call for poaching fish in stock, then reducing the stock to make a flavourful sauce. Butter or cream, or both, are then added. These gelatin-rich sauces are easy to digest and just loaded with minerals (from concentrated stock) and fat-soluble vitamins (from cream and butter). Poached fish may be kept warm in a heated owen, covered with a piece of parment or waxed paper, for up to one-half hour while the sauce is reduced and thickened by boiling and while you eat your first course.
End of part II.
Source: Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon
