A raw food diet or a diet rich with raw foods is an essential way to maintain optimal health. Raw foods are also known as "living foods" - foods with the maximum nutrition and enzyme content which means they digest extremely well. Living foods are fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, sea vegetables and other organic/natural foods that have not been processed.

Living food is provided by nature; organically grown in its original, uncooked state. Live foods provide the body with the life-giving, easy-to-digest nourishment needed to strengthen the immune system. Seeds, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables in their natural, uncooked state are the living food used to rebuild health - physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Raw foods are easily digested, requiring only 24-36 hours for transit time through the digestive tract, as compared to 40-100 hours for cooked foods. The longer that undigested food remains in the digestive tract, the higher the chances of putrefaction and disease. When you eat cooked carbohydrates, proteins and fats, you are eating numerous mutagenic (carcinogenic) products caused by not only cooking but incorrect food combining.

A diet of living foods is not a revolutionary new idea; in fact throughout history it is evident that in many ancient cultures live foods have played an important role in longevity as well as in the treatment of illness and disease.

In more recent times, Dr Ann Wigmore, a pioneer in the use of wheatgrass juice and living foods for detoxifying and healing the body, mind and spirit, healed herself of colon cancer with the use of wheatgrass juice and living sprouts. Wigmore states that ‘a living food diet turns the body chemistry from acid to alkaline, thus it also establishes the bodily biochemical balance for spirituality’ and ‘one gift of nature; chlorophyll, more closely approximates a miracle food than any other we've encountered’.

The health experts had no doubts about the beneficial qualities of wheatgrass. Wigmore went on to start a revolution in the world of nutrition that has continued to grow to this day. Her name is synonymous with the history of the natural health movement that has pushed complimentary healthcare measures to the forefront of US and world consciousness.

Dr Brian R. Clement, Director Hippocrates Health Institute, Florida, states that ‘the healing qualities of sprouts especially when juiced are evident, as sprouts are the most alive of the living foods’. The Hippocrates philosophy is dedicated to the belief that a pure enzyme-rich diet, complemented by positive thinking and complementary therapies, are essential elements on the path to optimum health.

Dr Norman Walker (1874-1983) is recognized throughout the world as one of the most authoritative students of life, health and nutrition. For almost 70 years, Dr Walker has researched man’s ability to live a longer, healthier life. He was his own example of achieving vibrant health through proper thought, diet and body care. Dr Walker, who lived to the age of 109 years, found his secret to a long, healthy and productive life. He first introduced the concept of living juice when he declared that the enzymes in fruit and vegetables die at temperatures which exceed 50 degrees Celsius. He explained that any juice extractor that used high-speed blade or centrifuge created friction heat leading to the destruction of enzymes.

One of the oldest nutritional approaches to cancer treatment; the Gerson therapy, was developed by Max Gerson; MD, a German doctor who in order to treat his own migraine headaches, found that one of the most important features of his therapy was the hourly administration of fresh vegetable juices. These supply ample nutrients, as well as vital fluids in the form of an enzyme-rich distilled water to help flush out the kidneys. When the high levels of nutrients re-enter tissues, toxins accumulated over many years are forced into the blood stream. He later expanded his method to treat other conditions such as arthritis, tuberculosis, and cancer. In 1945, Gerson published a preliminary report of his results in treating cancer in the Review of Gastroenterology. After his death in 1959, his work was carried on by his daughter, Charlotte Gerson Strauss, who established the Gerson Institute in 1977.