Heating food above the human body temperature of 38 degrees will change the food. This heated food affects our health much differently than natural, unchanged foods.

When we eat, there is an immune system response as if we have been poisoned. There's an immediate rise in white blood cells, by about 300%. White blood cells are our body's soldiers; they are produced to fight off threats, like poison, trauma or disease.
This reaction to eating was called Digestive Leukocytosis and thought to be normal.

In 1930, Dr Paul Kouchakoff conducted research to compare the effects of cooked food versus raw food. He discovered that Digestive Leukocytosis occurred only when cooked or processed food was eaten. He therefore deduced that there is no immune system response when we eat our food in its natural, unheated and unprocessed state.
Because of Digestive Leukocytosis, eating cooked food keeps our immune system in a constant state of emergency.
Even what we call ?allergies? are just our over burdened immune system literally freaking out when a new irritant is encountered.
Another immune system response to cooked food is mucus. When cooked food is eaten, our bodies try to protect us from this invasion by creating mucus. This mucus makes a wall between the food and our bodies. The mucus builds up in our guts, causing Mucoid Plaque. This is a rubbery hose which lines the intestines and severely reduces the amount of nutrition we can take in from our food.

After years of cooked food, our immune system literally becomes worn out. We become run down, and illness becomes a normal part of life. We think that we are just ageing and we believe we have no choice other than to be sick.
When we eat live/raw foods, our immune system rests and recovers. People who switch to eating raw foods often experience the same thing and the same benefits: Lifelong problems, conditions and diseases go away, usually within a matter of weeks or months.
Some people even attribute complete reversals of cancers, diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, autism, depression, skin disease to eating raw.

Our immune system can heal anything, if it's not continually engaged in a war against cooked food.

Our bodies treat cooked food as poison. Does this therefore mean that cooked food is poison?
When food is heated, the enzymes are also destroyed. Enzymes are the life force in food, the magic elixir of life. They merge with our bodies and tell us how and where to use the food we eat.
Some believe that enzymes are destroyed by stomach acids, but research shows that enzymes are mainly absorbed in the mouth, before our food even gets to the stomach.
Our body cannot communicate with the food unless the enzymes are there.

Raw food contains its own digestive enzymes and literally digests itself inside you.Without its enzymes, cooked food sits in you like a brick. Your body has to use its own digestive enzymes to deal with the cooked food. Many now believe that humans only have enough digestive enzymes to last them into their 40?s. When they are gone, everything seems to be harder work physically; many become apathetic and lose their zest for life.
Enzymes also allow Transmutation. We can eat one raw substance and turn it into something completely different. This recent discovery shows that when we eat purely raw food we can create things that weren?t there before. It's like saying that 1+1=3! This is how a 20 foot tall giraffe can build its entire body, bones, muscle, coat and mane whilst eating only a few types of tree leaves. Elephants are raw vegans too!

Cooked food changes our PH. It makes us acidic, when we are meant to be alkaline.

The PH level of our bodily fluids affects every cell in our bodies. We thrive when our bodies are in an alkaline state.
When we are in an acidic state, we experience many health problems. Acidity constricts us, causing stiffness and tissue degeneration. Alkalinity does the opposite, we let go and our bodies can release tension and stress, and our blood and lymph can flow more easily. Being in an alkaline state is absolutely lovely. Alkalinity soothes away our heath problems and we become balanced, calm and peaceful.

Finally, vitamins are destroyed and deformed by cooking. This is why people steam food, rather than boil or bake it. Steaming is a little less damaging for the vitamins, but the enzymes still die, and digestive leukocytosis still occurs. Steaming has become popular because it is commonly known that the less you have cooked something, the better it is for you.
So, why cook at all? GO RAW!

Richard Patrick Cracknell, N.D., PhD is a traditional naturopath, and as such, is not a medical doctor and does not diagnose, prescribe, or treat disease or illness, but treats the "human triad" - body, mind and spirit with nutrition, supplements and natural therapies.

Dr Cracknell has specialised for over forty years in 'Body Work and Chiropractic Care'. He integrates the modern scientific advances of conventional medicine with traditional healing arts and a holistic approach. He also runs and manages the Living Food Caf?, based in Rawai, Phuket?s only ?raw food? restaurant.

The views expressed by Richard Cracknell, in no way reflect those of the Phuket Post. His beliefs and advice should be referred to as an alternative and not as a replacement to any treatment you are currently receiving for an existing ailment.