The Experts Say Eat Raw #2

Here's something to think about. In 1930, American doctor Paul Kouchakoff tested and documented the effects of cooked and processed food versus raw and natural food on the immune system. He found that after eating cooked food, a subject's blood showed an increase in the leukocytes (white blood cell) count. We now call this, "digestive leukocytosis". It is a stress response, and from the standpoint of blood chemistry, it is the same type of reaction as occurs when the body is threatened by an infection or exposure to toxic chemicals.

At the same time that Dr. Kouchakoff was conducting his studies, Swiss researchers at the Institute of Chemical Chemistry discovered that eating raw, uncooked food creates no discernable change in a subject's blood chemistry. However, if food has been heated beyond a certain temperature, or if it was processed, refined, or chemicals were added, a rise in the number of white blood cells occurs immediately. The Swiss resesarchers named this phenomenon "pathological leukocytosis".

In the book "Enzyme Nutrition" (highly recommended), Dr. Edward Howell talks about the 3 types of enzymes: metabolic enzymes, which run our bodies; digestive enzymes, which digest our food; and food enzymes, which come from raw foods and start digestion. According to Dr. Howell, all good health depends on these metabolic enzymes functioning optimally in the body. When food is heated above 118 degrees, it's enzymes are destroyed. In order to compensate for this, the body uses it's own limited supply of metabolic and digestive enzymes. Subsequently, metabolic systems get taxed, and an environment is created in the body which actually supports dis-ease.

The good news is that we can sustain and manage our body's limited supply of enzymes just by eating raw and living foods each day (which is a fun and delicious!) When we sensibly transition to more and more raw and living foods, we begin to feel lighter, stronger, clearer and more capable of adapting to every day stress.