Hello awesome people. Welcome to another article about optimal food.
These days we're encouraged to be more responsible in the name of health. Optimal food can help us have optimal health.

Fortunately, we can find what’s optimal food with a simple test:

• Would we eat this food in nature?

Previous articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, Raw-vegan desserts are prtty popular as they’re delicious food.

How about raw-vegan desserts?

It's pretty tempting to make delicious desserts without cooking: raw-vegan cakes, raw-vegan cookies, etc. No debate here. There are multiple delicious products out there on the market. However, the fact they’re delicious doesn't necessarily mean they're healthy, does it?
What do raw-vegan desserts contain?
The base consists of: nuts, seeds, dates. On top of this base, various recipes contain various other ingredients: coconut oil, cacao butter, cacao powder, etc.

How about seeds?

You already know the role of seeds from part 1. Seeds don't want to be eaten. They want to survive, in order to ensure the reproduction of the plant. No wonder why almost all seeds aren’t edible. Even though sprouts and microgreens are popular, seeds are harder to digest than fruits, even in their germinated / sprouted form. Sprouting isn’t as lucrative as many people think it is. Nuts and seeds are extremely concentrated in fat. Our bodies don't need too much fat. When we eat to much concentrated fat (nuts, seeds), we exceed the fat need. More than enough fat is not better. You already know the effects of excess fat from a previous article. When we eat sugar (dates) and more than enough fat (seeds), we follow a recipe for high blood sugar (aka diabetes), as fat blocks the effect of insulin of bringing sugar to cells. So when optimal health is our goal, germs and sprouts wouldn't be part of our lifestyle. Eating them sparingly is better than eating them in large quantities and often. Raw-vegan desserts become more and more popular because they’re delicious. However, it's more about taste and less about optimal health. An effect of promoting these products is that people get inspired and they complicate themselves with foods that are not even healthy. When in fact they’re better off without these foods. When we share unhealthy foods, we can inspire people to make those foods, especially when they're delicious. We can avoid unhealthy inspiration when we’re mindful about what we share. Other popular raw-foods are dehydrated raw-foods.

How about dehydrated raw-foods?

How many dehydrated foods are there in nature? I don't know and i don't think there are enough. So Why are they so popular?
Foods made up with a dehydrator are pretty popular because they're presented as raw foods. E.g. raw crackers, raw-vegan bread, raw fruit chips, raw-vegan burgers, raw cookies. They are in fact raw food and they're similar to cooked foods regarding water content. The common lifestyle made up of processed foods is low in water, as processing removes water from food. Dry foods are not completely dry. E.g. oatmeal still have some water. Stool contains 75 % water, so dry foods have a dehydration effect as they need more water than they provide, to move through our digestive tract. After the dehydration process, some water remains in those foods. Still, How much water is there in those dry foods? i don't know and i don't think there is enough to allow them to pass through the digestive tract. No wonder why so many people are dehydrated. Regarding digestion, raw dried foods have a similar effect as cooked dried food: they dehydrate us. When there is as little as 2% dehydration, our brain won't work as well as in conditions of optimal hydration. What's the problem with foods that dehydrate us since we can just drink water?
Here are more facts about our reality which is where we live:

In the water we drink there are no individual water molecules. Water is made up of clusters of minimum 5 molecules. Even in spring water we have clusters of 25 - 35 molecules. Our optimal lifestyle is water-sufficient regarding digestion, as fruits give more water than they need for digestion. Plus, the water surplus from fruits is about 10 times more useful for hydration than drinking water, as the water in fruits is 5 to 6 molecules. The water in fruits have been purified by the plant to greater extent than the water in leaves. Because of that, in an optimal lifestyle we need less water than in the common lifestyle that consists in dry foods. Our water need would require another article as it depends on multiple factors. You can educate yourself about it from the resources of this article.
Even though we’re conditioned to believe it's safe to drink tapwater, there’s more to the story.

Water is needed in the body for itself, not for inorganic compounds. Compounds from agricultural fertilizers, chemical industries, pesticides and homes pollute our waters. Purification systems only eliminate bacteria, not inorganic minerals. Purification systems add inorganic compounds such as chlorine and fluoride. Inorganic minerals are non-usable, as the body can only use organic minerals such as the ones in plants. The body must expend considerable energy to eliminate inorganic minerals. The ones that are not eliminated have multiple negative effects: they’re deposited in our joints, muscles, interstitial spaces and lymphatic system. Also, they combine with body fluids, oils and wastes and form compounds that cake our vascular system. A better option might be distilled water, as the process of distillation, eliminates inorganic minerals, leaving only the water. You can make sure your distilled water is truly pure by doing your own distillation. Thus, How about dry foods, after all?
In this case

• we can eat more fruits so we have a water intake from the water surplus from fruits,
• we can drink distilled water that’s harder to use than the water in fruits,
• we can drink spring water that has inorganic minerals and eventual compounds from pollution,
• we can drink potable water that in addition to the initial inorganic minerals, has inorganic minerals that come from the purification process.

I hope these facts clarified the curiosity about the digestion of dry-foods. Seeds are not designed to be food.

What is food?

Why do plants invest a lot of energy to include seeds in sweet fruits?
Even though plants don't want to be eaten, they want to reproduce. Plants invest a lot of energy to create sugar in fruits to make the fruits sweet, to entice animals to eat the fruit and leave the seeds on the ground.
This reproduction strategy is an example of the win-win scenario:

• Plants ensure their reproduction need with the help of animals
• Animals ensure their nutrition need with fruits.

Are you sure fruits are good regarding fat intake?
Don't worry. There's no excess fat in fruits, as they contain the optimal proportions of fat, protein, sugar.
Hunger is a current worldwide problem despite the fact we consider ourselves a civilised society. So, How can we ensure enough fruits for everyone?
Here's an interesting fact: Fruits need less land than animal products. So eating fruits is a solution not a problem. Plus, How about we plant some fruit trees to solve the hunger problem once and for all.

How many animals are eager to eat chili pepper?

I don't know and i don't think there are enough to create competition. How is chilli pepper plant (another member of the nightshade family) sure it reproduces? Don't worry, there’s no competition for the bird that's adapted to eat chilli. This is another form of the win-win scenario: The chilli pepper plants are sure they ensure their reproduction need, as one species of birds will surely ensure its nutrition need by eating chilli peppers, since it’s competition-free. What's the species adapted for chilli? That’s not my business. My business is the food for which i'm adapted. The same goes for other plants: some fruits aren't optimal for us, as they're optimal only for some animals.
What other plants are part of the family?
Eggplant, Potatoes, Tomatillo, Goji Berries, Pimentos, Peppers (Bell, Chili, Paprika, Cayenne), Tomatoes. On a live-food lifestyle, we're only really talking about red bell peppers and tomatoes. The natural pesticides produced by all nightshades have negative health effects also for us, as they don't differentiate between pests and humans. No wonder why some people have leaky gut and other digestive problems. Even though tomatoes and bell peppers pass the test, the negative health effect of their natural pesticides still exists. When optimal health is our goal, we can avoid negative health effects. How many negative health effects can we avoid without information about negative health effects? I don't know and i don't think we can avoid enough. I share what's optimal and what’s not, as complete information can enhance someone's health. You’re still totally free to eat whatever you want.

Resources:

water, 2, 3, hydration, seeds, nuts, 2, peanuts, sprouts, 2, fat, food, 2, 3, Hive community For people who like the messenger function, here's a MeWe community, in which you can also find resources in the form of files. MeWe is a social media with no ads that also has messenger function.

Bottom line

Raw-vegan desserts, dehydrated raw-foods, don't pass the test, despite the fact they're raw-food. So it's good to know that:

• optimal food is not all the raw-foods available for sale. Just as,
• optimal food is not all the food available for sale (meat, dairy, etc.)

Seeds are not optimal food, despite the fact some of them are edible in their natural form (e.g. sunflower seeds). So it's good to know that:

• optimal food is not all the foods that are edible in their natural form. Just as,
• optimal food is not all the food (meat, dairy, etc.)

Chilli pepper doesn't pass the test, despite the fact it’s a fruit. Tomatoes and bell peppers are not optimal food, despite the fact they pass the test. So it's good to know that:

• optimal food is not all fruits available for sale. Just as,
• optimal food is not all foods available for sale (meat, dairy, etc.)

This article are part of a book.
How about smoothies and juices?
We can explore even more foods in the next article. Until then, in the comment section you can share your opinion for the questions of this article. Thanks so much for reading. Have a great day.