A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico. I was there for 2 weeks and learned so much about the living foods lifestyle that my head is still spinning! Below I have outlined some of the basics of the lifestyle.
1. Eat foods that are enzyme rich
- enzymes are the life force in our body; they convert food into chemical structures that can pass through the digestive tract and into the blood stream thus nourishing us
- All raw and living foods contain enzymes to help digest themselves which puts less strain on the body as it is able to use LESS of its own enzymes in the digestion process, this means more energy to make beautiful skin, hair, nails, etc
- if enzymes in the food are destroyed (ie by cooking or heating over 115F or 42C) then the body needs to use more of its own enzymes and digestion becomes more energetically consuming
- when more enzymes are used in digestion they cannot be used for other bodily processes (ie converting food to muscle, elimination, storing food in the liver, making more digestive enzymes, creating healthy skin and hair, etc)
- constantly eating enzyme-deficient or ‘dead foods’ such as cooked foods, refined foods, sugar, pasturized dairy, and cooked meats leads to a deficiency in enzymes in the body and triggers CRAVINGS
2. Eat foods that are easy to digest
- foods that are raw and living contain high amounts of enzymes which leads to easier digestion
- fermented foods such as sauerkraut are pre-digested and replenish enzymes in the body
3. Sprout all seeds and nuts
- raw seeds and nuts are not easily digestible
- seeds and nuts contain enzyme inhibitors that prevent the enzymes within them from being active
- ‘germination’ through sprouting renders these enzyme inhibitors inactive
- enzymes are then able to multiple which makes digestion of the seeds and nuts easier on our bodies
4. Eat LOTS of fresh organic greens, fruits and sea veggies
- by far fresh greens (leaves, sprouts and veggies) have the most nutrition per unit of energy than any other food and are full of chlorophyll
- fruits provide us with important enzymes, vitamins, and minerals
- sea veggies are mineral rich foods that help to restore minerals in the body
5. Incorporate blended foods to make digestion easier
- blending foods makes digestion easier as the food is pre-digested
- many people do not chew their foods well which makes digestion difficult as our stomach does not have teeth
6. Use cultured foods
- cultured foods are enzyme rich and predigested
- they contain high amounts of vitamin C and are blood cleansers, vitamin C rich foods prevent collagen breakdown (hello younger looking skin!)
- they help to restore beneficial bacteria in the gut which helps to increase our immunity (creates a terrain that good bacteria can thrive on but not pathogens such as candida)
Hopefully this will help shed some light on this lifestyle.
~Michelle
References:
Living Foods Lifestyle Textbook
