Ellington

Dr. Leo Huddleston, doctor of naturopathy and chiropractic medicine, has been a "living-food enthusiast" for over 20 years. He is also a certified personal trainer.

The raw food movement distances the eater, or the "living-food enthusiast," from the industrial food chain we have today in America, he says. The diet consists of foods in their natural, uncooked, "live" state.

Foods in the living-food lifestyle consist of mainly fruits and veggies, sprouts, nuts and seeds, roots, and fresh herbs or raw spices. These foods should only be cooked at 112 degrees Fahrenheit or below. Above 112 degrees temperature, food is said to lose its nutrients.

"After seven years of being a living-food enthusiast, you got a different body. It's an age-less type body," Huddleston says. "A lot of people get over many degenerative diseases based on the fact that they get off the processed foods and move toward the living food culture."

Huddleston says that a lot of what we eat is overcooked. We abuse food by eating processed foods. "The useful enzymes that process our food have been depleted of the proper nutrients required for the body to metabolize and assimilate food," he says.

The living-food enthusiast wants to keep these nutrients in their diet and maintain these healthy levels of enzymes.

One main tool for raw foodies is a dehydrator, because it doesn't cook food above the required temperature. Kale chips are a popular snack made using this process. Food processors and juicers also come in handy when preparing raw-food dishes.

Adapting a "raw" lifestyle takes work. "When we think in terms of a change, you want to change according to your reality," Huddleston says. "What makes this lifestyle different is you have to find your reality and find where you are most comfortable, or you will crash and burn."

If you would like to learn more about raw food, Huddleston has a living-food potluck that meet the second Saturday each month at the A Aachen Back & Neck Pain Clinic. Please RSVP at 601-956-0010. Organizers ask that guests either bring a dish or donate $10.

Rainbow Natural Grocery and Co-Op (2807 Old Canton Road, 601-366-1602) is also a good local resource.