Eat like a caveman

Because they allow our bodies to function in the way they were designed to in caveman days raw foods are one of the keys to a great anti aging diet.

Although our bodies have evolved over the many millions of years that we’ve been present on the earth, human beings were designed to live only on raw, living foods. Is it surprising then, that when we compare ourselves with wild mammals who survive on a raw food diet, we’re far more prone to disease?

Unlike humans and their domestic pets - most mammals live to around eight times their maturation age. Compare that to our normal life span around four times our maturation age. While the prevalence of disease in humans and our expected lifespan isn’t purely down to our diet, there’s absolutely no doubt that raw foods are critical to anti-aging health.

Whenever you cook vegetables you destroy between 50-80% of their nutrient value. Cooking also alters the proteins in food to such an extent that they become difficult for the human gut to digest. Frying, high roasting and char-grilling are the worst - causing oxidization of food leading to the production of damaging free radicals which we then eat.

If you’re still not convinced that living foods are healthier consider the fact that enzymes are completely destroyed when any kind of food is heated above 118 degrees. Enzymes - as you probably know - are very important for health and longevity. They are vital to cell renewal and division without which our immune system is unable to function properly, energy levels drop and brain function is impeded.

Raw food on the other hand has powerful anti-aging properties. As we grow older, our bodies run out of natural enzymes so our cells stop dividing and renewing themselves.

This effects every organ in our bodies, from our internal organs to our skin, eyes and nails. Eating plenty of living foods replenishes these vital enzymes so your body is better equipped to continue the renewal process for much longer - keeping you looking and feeling younger.

You may be about to abandon this article thinking that you can’t possibly live off a diet of grated carrot, nuts and seeds - no matter what it does for your looks! No-one is advocating that so don’t worry. What you should aim for is increasing the amount of raw food you already eat - combining raw and cooked food in a healthy and delicious diet that will make you feel great and take years off the way you look.

Eating more raw food is easy and there are so many ways in which raw food can become a delicious part of your normal diet. Think about a fresh juiced drink for breakfast, a mid-morning smoothie, natural yoghurt with fruit berries as a desert, combined colorful salads with superb salad dressings, having raw sliced vegetables and delicious dips like guacamole as a starter, fresh tomato salsa with just about anything you like, basil pesto with fresh pasta - the list goes on and on.

If you like any of these things then you are already on the way to a good balance of raw and cooked foods in your diet. All you need to do is eat more of the raw!

Aim to eat something raw with every meal to boost your intake of key nutrients and preserve all their anti-aging power. You’ll soon look and feel better for it.