Of course I realize the forum is called Living and Raw foods, however just reading someone talking of Ann Wigmores work, she made a point of saying she only ate living foods.
Sorry for being stupid, what exactly is the difference? I figured the majority of raw food would be living because it has enzymes.
I look forward to being enlightened.
Peace.

Raw means not cooked. Living means that the food is still alive.

Some raw foods, say like those that have been sun dried or dehydrated, are not cooked but but they are definitely not alive.

Some living foods, may not be raw, but could be alive - say like a unpasteurized miso - the beans are cooked, but there is a live culture of bacteria in the food.

What I think works best are whole fresh raw foods, that are still alive and have not been subject to any processing (save slicing or cutting). This means fresh produce that is as it was when it was harvested.

Just as Bryan says. Don't get caught up on the word 'raw'. Think fresh, unprocessed plant foods.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

Bryan's answer is good.

As a rough rule of thumb however, in the raw food world, those who emphasise the word 'living' are usually sprouts enthusiasts.

OK so all raw food is living unless its been dehydrated. Is that a good definition? Some food is more living than others. What role does enzymes play in this equation? Somehow I am still confused. Doh!
Thinking about it, Dr. Ann would use dulse in her energy soups, that dulse is dried therefore not alive. So maybe that lady was exaggerating.
Scrambled brain.

Foods that are still growing when you chomp down on them are the most alive. For example sprouts that are still sprouting away are top of the list of live foods IMO. Wilted lettuce and other foods that have been picked and sat around for awhile are further down the list of live foods. I also consider fruits that are continuing to ripen after being picked to be high on the list as long as the fruit dosn't get to the stage where it is over ripe. Its a matter of eating the foods at the peak of their life cycle.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2009 11:24PM by EZ rider.

OKunDeji: Your brain is only scrambled because you are still looking mostly at what other people have said....and trying to draw a consensus. As stated, 'living' food could strictly be interpreted as any plant foods which are actively growing at the time they are consumed. Enzymes are certainly present in live food.....but not everything that has live enzymes is (in my opinion) a raw food. And just because Dr. Ann used dulse doesn't mean YOU have to! Heh...heh. I've never put the stuff between my lips....and I've eating this way for many years now.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

One experiential litmus test: do you feel more alive after eating it? =D

Or do you feel tired, sluggish, ill, foggy, etc...

Foods dehydrated below a certain temperature (usually 118F) are considered "live" because it doesn't kill the enzymes. But, most things in bulk at the grocery store, like dates, sundried tomatoes, raisins, we have no way of knowing what temperatures they are actually dehydrated at, and, economically, it would make sense to dehydrate them at much higher temperatures for speed of production, and to kill any possible outbreaks of mold (along with the enzymes).

Basically, unless it SAYS raw, it probably isn't. (And even when some things SAY raw, you still really have to use the biofeedback from your body to determine what is good.)

Now, super-ripe and fresh crispy produce, blended into, say, crackers, and then dehydrated below 118F, would be considered "live." For the clarification. =)