Are You Eating All 14 Types of Raw Plant Foods?
Lately, I’ve been reading up more and more on Raw Food Nutrition.
And you know what?
I find it absolutely fascinating to learn about edible foods and what they can do for our bodies.
For instance…
Did you know that the black Peppercorn seeds inside Papaya’s are Anti-Parasitic? Just blend them into a salad dressing or use them as a garnish or in place of capers.
Up until this point, I usually just scooped them into the garbage and considered them useless. Now, I will use them somehow or another every time I eat Papaya.
Did you know that Green Olives are actually unripe olives? This means they do not contain their full mineral or fat content yet. Hence, they do not have the high level of nutrients often found in ripe Black Olives.
And check this out… There are several hundred types of Black Olives.
BE WARNED!
I am not talking about the canned black olives that are all the same… Those have been cooked, and soaked in ferrous gluconate which is an iron compound that darkens them to give canned olives that all similar uniformed look and taste.
I’m talking about Raw Olives that have been either water cured, vinegar pickled or sun-dried. The Olives that you can buy in bulk from the Olive Bar in your grocer or health food store. The Olives that can all have a different taste in the same batch. The Olives that may still have the pits inside. 
And digg this…
Did you know that Olive Oil should be stored in dark glass bottles? Research shows that light (as well as heat) speeds up the oxidation or rancidity process. This process can be slowed by the use of dark glass and by storing your Olive Oil in a cool dark cupboard or space.
This means that the majority of oil sold in clear plastic bottles that you find in most of the grocery stores can actually be rancid and oxidized already. Did you get that? Are you buying rancid oils? If so, be sure to switch over next time your at the store.
Not only that…
Did you know that Raw plant foods fall into fourteen major categories? I had never had it broke down like this before. But ever since I have… I have been using it.
Check them out… The 14 major categories are:
1. Fruits – raw plant foods that contain the seed within themselves for their reproduction.
2. Leaves – contain life-giving chlorophyll pigments; are the best source of alkaline minerals.
3. Nuts – the reproductive agents of certain trees.
4. Seeds – the reproductive agents of plants; grains are seeds.
5. Legumes – all peas, beans and peanuts; often sprouted before consumption.
6. Flowers – the sexual organs of plants.
7. Green sprouts – appear when sprouted seeds or legumes shoot forth green leaves.
8. Roots – the below-ground portion of plants.
9. Shoots – young plants spread by underground runners from their parent plants.
10. Bark – the outer, protective layer of trees.
11. Sap – the life-fluid of a tree (maple syrup, bee propolis).
12. Stems – the fibrous, structural pieces of plants.
13. Water vegetation – sea vegetables such as spirulina and algae.
14. Mushrooms – non-chlorophyll fungus that grows primarily in darkness (reishi, cordyceps).
(list taken from The Sunfood Diet Success System
So ask yourself…
Are you eating from all 14 categories? If not, are you at least going to make an effort to start incorporating a few more?
Anyway…
That’s all I got for you today… Make it a healthy one.
To your health and well-being,
Shawn King
Your Wellness Coach
