Raw Food Diet: The ultimate detox

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Raw Food Diet

Love healthy food but hate cooking? The raw food diet could be perfect for you!

According to some, eating food 'as nature intended' can be the best way to control your appetite, cleanse and reboot your body and get that incredible shape - interesting no?

The raw food diet has been around for a while with Christine Healey's The Raw Food Diet and Natalia Rose's The Raw Food Detox Diet starting the craze a little while ago.

But we talked to Geeta Sidhu Robb, Nutritionist and founder of Nosh Raw Smoothies to find out a bit more about this way of life and what benefits going raw can have for your health.

How it works
The raw food diet centres around the idea that the healthiest food for the body is uncooked, raw food.

"A raw food diet takes food in its most natural state into your body and allows your body to break down the majority of it onto useable nutrients.

It also contains high levels if fibre which is really helpful for your system to purify and generally it is also low fat," says Geeta.

It shouldn't be assumed that you have to work 100 percent raw food into your diet 100 percent of the time though. Although this is preferable it can be a little unrealistic. If you're adopting a raw approach to eating - try to aim to have three quarters of your intake as raw food.

A typical day
What you eat depends on how much you want to follow the 'raw' principal but here's your average day:

Breakfast: Generally soaked tablespoon of chia seeds and ground flax seeds in coconut milk with perhaps a few raw oats.

Snacks: Either raw nuts; blended fruit smoothies; kale chips etc.

Lunch: Salad with proteins (e.g. seeds, sprouts, tofu) green leaves, seaweed.

Dinner: Raw soups, avocados, courgette/ vegetable pasta with pesto.

Results

Geeta says you should see some pretty amazing results in your body and your health with this new way of life:
"Typically, once you start with the raw food diet you find that all bloating issues disappeared, your skin glows, you eat less, get hungry later, sleep better and you have more energy.

It's like having a high octane fuel instead of a murky petrol - faster to break down and easier to assimilate."

Plus points
It encourages a high intake of fruit and vegetables - always a good thing! It also claims to stop bloating, increase energy levels, encourage weight loss and revive the body's natural bounce and balance.

Downsides
Although some restaurants are becoming more vegan friendly, it can be incredibly difficult to eat out. It can also be a lot more expensive, buying fresh produce; nuts etc. can be a tad pricey.

In general it can be quite impractical for day to day life, is very limited and can be socially isolating but this all depends on how far you take it.

Celebrity Fans
Fans include Demi Moore and Natalie Portman - that's a reason in itself to try it surely?

Find out more
There are plenty of books available on the Raw Food Diet and Detox Diet if you want to know a little bit more and you can find them by clicking on the links above.

More Diets
See more diet tips, plans and celebrity crazes in our comprehensive Diet A-Z