The live whole food discussed on this website include all of nature's plant-based food.

What is live whole food?

Live whole food is food that contains their specific natural enzymes. Generally speaking, the act of over-heating plant food destroys their enzymes. Enzymes start to degenerate in as little as 105ºF and are totally destroyed at 126ºF. By over-heating food you not only destroy the enzymes, you change the molecular structure of the food and render it toxic. Live whole food has an enormously higher nutrient value than that of cooked food.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes assist in the digestion of food. They are known to be the "life-force" and or "energy" of food. In the dictionary, the word "enzyme" is a noun: "Any of the various complex organic substances, as pepsin originating from living cells and capable of producing certain chemical changes in organic substances by catalytic action, as in digestion.

Why are enzymes important?

Enzymes are vitally important because they assist in the digestion and absorption of food. If you eat food that contains dead enzymes, your body will not get maximum utilization of the food. This will cause toxicity in the body. Can you guess why over 65% of Americans are overweight?

Doesn't the acidic pH of the stomach destroy enzymes?

Viktorus Kulvinskas, one of the world's foremost and most experienced active researchers into enzyme nutrition has shown that stomach acid merely deactivates food enzymes while it remains in the stomach. Plant food enzymes are then reactivated in the more alkaline small intestine. Many people who eat live whole food, sense a world of healthful difference in their energy, digestion and connectedness with nature.

When we stop eating cooked protein food that requires large secretions of stomach acid (which is not healthful for several reasons) our stomach doesn't produce much stomach acid. Many people who eat live whole food eat a low protein diet and are free from the stomach acid secretions and have much more energy and lighter dispositions.

Is there a difference between live whole food and other raw food?

Live whole food is plant food in its raw state. Raw food can be both live and dead. Dead food that we talk about predominately is processed food and raw meat. Raw meat contains enzymes until overcooked above 140ºF . Processed food enzymes are dead. In live whole food, the enzyme content is much higher. Take for example raw, un-sprouted nuts that contain enzymes in a "dormant" state. To activate the enzymes contained in almonds, for example, soak them in water for 12 hours or more. Once the almonds begin to sprout, the enzymes become "active" and are then considered live whole food. In the context of this website, the terms live whole food and raw food are used loosely.

Why eat only organic food?

When juicing or eating live whole food, it is very important to choose to consume only organically grown produce. "Conventional" or "industrial" produce is grown with pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, and other chemicals that are toxic and/or harmful to your body. Organic food is grown without the use of these harmful substances, taste better, and are more nutritious.

Will rinsing wash off the pesticide from industrially grown produce?

Rinsing with cool water will remove some surface pesticide residue, but not the pesticide that was absorbed into the produce as it was grown. Some of the most severely tainted types of produce are strawberries and bell peppers. Some of the least tainted are carrots and avocados.

Ask your Geri for information on a product that will help cleanse your fresh vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

Is this a "new" fad diet or something?

Not at all! Consider the following: during the vast majority of our existence on this planet, what choices did we have for food? What COULD we have eaten during the first 10-50,000 years or more before we discovered fire, tools and implements to kill animals?

The original diet of homo-sapiens MUST have been vegetables, fruits, and nuts! What other choices did we have? Clearly, a live whole food plant based diet is the main food staple throughout the vast majority of the history of mankind! Before humans started killing and eating dead animal carcass, we ate fruits, leaves, nuts, berries, etc. See Gen: 1-29

Is this just another vegetarian or vegan diet?

Yes and NO! This is the ULTIMATE vegetarian/vegan diet. It should be the goal of all vegetarians, vegans and Standard American Dieters to eat live whole food.

The benefits are out of this world! Once you embrace an all-live whole food diet, you will be more alive, have more energy, better health, think more clearly, and become more in tune with your body. This type of diet even gives you a "competitive edge" over people that eat enzyme-less food.

How can you tell if something is live whole food?

Live whole food is food that has not been processed in any way, shape or form. It is your natural fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and sprouted grains that have not been cooked or processed in any way. Processed food (canned, bottled or prepackaged), is most often alterated by changing its original state, by heat, additives, preservatives, colorings, salt, and sugar. Don't think this is all for your benefit; the benefactor is the manufacturer's profit margin, NOT YOU. Try to purchase food that is in its natural state.

What do live whole food people drink?

Water (purified - never tap water), freshly made juices (made with your own juicer - and consumed immediately), coconut milk (from a young coconut), are some of the liquids live whole food people drink. Most all drinks purchased through commercial outlets have been processed, (soda, bottled juices, coffee, alcohol, etc.) and are not included in a live whole food person's diet. Contact Geri for more information to find out about nutritional drinks that are easy to make.

Where do live whole food people get their protein?

The WHO (World Health Organization) says humans need about 5% of their daily calories to come from protein to be healthy. The USDA puts this figure at 6.5%. On average, fruits have about 5% of their calories from protein. Vegetables have from 20-50% of their calories from protein. Sprouted seeds, beans, and grains contain from 10-25% of their calories from protein. So if you are eating any variety of living plant food, you are getting more than adequate protein. Numerous scientific studies have shown the daily need for protein to be about 25-35 grams per day. So if you consumed 2,000 calories of live whole food per day and taking just an average of 10% of those calories, this would give you 200 calories or 50 grams per day for protein. This is more than adequate to support optimal well being.

Other studies have shown that over heating a protein such as with cooking makes about half of it unusable. So live whole food protein is even a better source than cooked plant food or animal food. There is still a huge, foolish, misguided idea that plant protein is not "complete". This is based on studies done on rats in the 1940's. This false conclusion was drawn before medical science discovered the body's protein recycling mechanism and its ability to "complete" any amino acid mix from our body's amino acid pool, no matter what the amino acid composition of a meal consumed. This false idea is still perpetuated by the meat and dairy industries in an attempt to influence people to continue consuming their enzyme deficient products.

Why do people eat a live whole food diet?

Health: People embracing this type of lifestyle/diet invariably experience improvements in their general physical and mental status, including more energy, better health, weight loss, detoxification, and a sturdier immune system that better resists and recovers from just about any kind of disease... and the list goes on. No animal products are used, so the animals appreciate it.

What type of live whole foods do you eat?

Geri and Bill have eaten only Live Whole Foods for over 5 years. They eat all fruits, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, that are organic/natural food that has not been processed. Attached is a group of recipies that explain how they prepare their live whole food meals. Go to: Recipes