Cooked food weakens your immune system. Many believe that cooking is needed for food to get rid of bacteria and make it more digestible. True, there are a few vegetables that are more difficult for some to digest raw, such as those in the cruciferous family (broccoli), but most foods do not become more digestible once cooked.

In 1930, Dr Paul Kouchakoff observed that after eating a meal, a person`s white blood cells (leukocytes) would increase. An increase in white blood cell count usually indicates a stress reaction by the body. Eating a raw meal does not have this same effect on the body. He also observed that most foods that have been altered produce this immune suppressing effect. Your immune system is basically finishing your digestion process for you, which is a function that it is not meant to do.

You can minimize this effect quite easily. If you have anything cooked on your plate, you should have fresh, raw vegetables to go with it. As well, chewing your food thoroughly will lessen the immune response of the cooked food.

The best practice is to eliminate as much processed, altered, and cooked food from your diet as you can. That includes milk, as it is pasteurized and homogenized. That also means removing sugar and white flour from your diet.

Getting used to eating most meals with a big salad, or some cut vegetables will save your immune system a lot of harm. After years of only ingesting cooked foods for every meal - you can imagine the toll this has unknowingly put on your immune system. If you at least include raw vegetables with your cooked meals, you are giving your immune system a break. It has other effects, like keeping you healthy!! Cooking also can take away the antioxidants, and reduce the amount of bioavailable vitamins. So you are doubling your benefits when you eat raw.

Many won`t be able to give up cooked food. But if you add some raw foods to your diet, then you won`t be further harming your body. Reduce the cooked foods in your diet, and replace them with raw foods. Give your body a chance to heal itself. You body has built in properties to heal. Eat the right foods, and you will have a healthier body and mind!