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a raw food diet but don’t know where
to begin.
Giving up meat, dairy, refined sugar,
refined wheat, caffeine and alcohol may
shock some into detoxification. Decades
of eating processed foods damages the
body, setting up potentially severe health
risks. Those who buy and eat processed
foods risk health problems down the
road — health problems that can be
altered or avoided through the adoption
of a raw food diet, Delair says.
“When people are growing up with
processed foods loaded with sugar, salt and
bad fats, their taste buds don’t recognize
fresh flavors. Real food seems bland, and
it’s hard to break the processed food addiction,”
Delair says.
Additionally, processed foods carry
with them some insidious additives;
dairy by-products, for example, are
known to contribute negatively to osteoporosis,
obesity and diabetes (among
other illnesses).
The most important part of switching
to a raw food diet is to know what
foods to combine for the most beneficial
results and what nutritional role each
food provides. Delair says that nuts, for
example, satisfy the body’s need for protein
and fat.
Stephanie Davis, one of Delair’s
mentees, is now a living foods educator
certified by the Living Foods Institute in
Atlanta. Davis, a vegan, says her diet is
primarily raw.
“Processed food is not part of my diet
anymore; when it is, I certainly feel the
effects,” Davis says.
As an employee of Paula’s Health
Hut on Wrightsville Avenue, Davis is
in a perfect position to help educate the
general public. And she wants others to
know that the body has an amazing way
of healing itself, given the proper diet.
“Letting food be your medicine and
medicine be your food, is really what I’m
all about,” says Davis.
Davis says she has transitioned into a
whole foods diet through seasonal eating.
She is also a steadfast advocate for juicing
and juice fasting.
“I threw myself into the raw food
world. That’s when I met Pat. I always