What is Raw Juice?
Ol’ dirty bastard said it best, “Baby, I like it raw.”
He was ahead of his time in the 90s, a bit of Renaissance man and spoke a truth; raw is where it’s at.
You can do what you want in the bedroom, but one place that we get behind Ol’ dirtys’ philosophy 100%, is in the kitchen.
Any diet needs a good amount of raw food and juice to keep the body balanced, the energy levels pumpin and maintain that outward glow that keeps the world on our side. As with most health info, there seems to be a lot of chatter around raw diets, fads and cleanses that turns people away with an all or nothing mentality.
We’re juice pushers for sure, but we see this as a lifestyle and are in it with our work and health for the long haul, so here is what we follow when it comes to livin’ raw.
Raw, defined.
Raw is any food, or juice that was never altered from its original form, as in cooked, heated, or steamed. They rock it naked, straight up, vulnerable and raw. Authenticity is so sexy.
98% of all juices sold in the US of A are pasteurized. Meaning they’ve been heated, as in, burn baby burn. In the process, the heat breaks down vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids, aka the good stuff yo’ body needs to run properly and melts them away in the process.
Fresh, raw juice never gets put in the hot seat, leaving all the nutrients in tack and ready to take the express route to your bloodstream for your body to absorb, make use of and turn into energy and fuel.
Is HPP raw?
Oh we’re so glad you asked smarty pants. In the juice world, High Pressure Processing (HPP), is another alternative to pasteurization which does leave some nutrients intact but still has to destroy some of the good stuff as part of the pressure process.
This process is used by a lot of national juice chains, for us, if you don’t down the juice within 72 hours, you shouldn’t be able to drink it. Or want to. Keep it fresh.
Remember, Life likes life.
We are alive. Consuming juices and foods that are alive, fill us with, life. See how complicated nutrition can be?
We need freshness to feel fresh. So why do companies cook their crop? It’s all about the benjamins. The ‘pasteurization’ process of heating juices increases the days, months or even years, that the FDA will allow the product to sit on the shelf. Saving companies money while we lose out on quality. Hmmm.
Look carefully my friend, your Tropicana just might be older than you are. What a cougar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ali Van Putten is a blogger, entrepreneur, and obsessive compulsive juicer who collaborates with the Raleigh Raw crew to spread the good vibes. She is a certified Holistic Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and a Jivamukti Yoga Teacher. Her site Createapreneur provides tools for creative entrepreneurs to build their brand, business and most importantly, to live life outside of the conventional lines.
