freshblessings.net

I have put some of this information together here– For instance, did you know that:

“Eating cooked food prevents the immune system from working on what is really important in keeping us superbly healthy and young in body, mind and soul. We exhaust and dissipate the body’s strength by using the immune system to combat the unnatural cooked foods, chemically based supplements, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones (in meats, poultry, fish and dairy) and numerous other toxins we ingest, breathe in or absorb through our skin. When we really need the immune system to support us (as when a disease or infection develops or an injury occurs), it then lacks the strength to defend us properly.” cancertutor.com

AND:

“There’s no question the immune system fundamentally is influenced by overall health — and a balanced diet is key,” says David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Yale Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Connecticut. “Not only are essential nutrients critical for the production and maintenance of key germ-fighting cells in the immune system, but a balanced diet also has a strong effect on vascular function, and the immune system is dependent on blood flow.”

AND:

“The pathological average WBC count of 4,300-7,000 is exceedingly high and is based on the general populace who routinely consume junk food, cooked foods, condiments, soft drinks, teas, coffee, tobacco, and fermented foods: all of which cause abnormal proliferation of white cells. This phenomenon repeated each meal, each day, each week, each year for decades slowly lowers resistance to disease and hideously drains your immune defensive response.

Raw foods are easily digested, requiring only 24-36 hours for transit time through the digestive tract, compared to 40-100 hours for cooked foods. Eating overly heated nutrients increases the threat of putrefaction and disease. As you consume cooked carbohydrates, proteins and fats, you are eating numerous carcinogenic products generated by heat.”  Living-Foods.com

It just makes sense!  So what are a few things you can do to increase your raw factor and immunity too?

• Eat  more uncooked fruits and vegetables. To maximize the variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, aim to consume two different colors of vegetables and fruits with each meal.
  

• Include healthy fats: The type of fat you consume is equally important as the amount. Trans fats (found in margarines and many commercial baked goods) can contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation in the body. So, look for sources of unsaturated fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocados, and seeds.
  
• Tea time: Green tea is a rich source of a type of antioxidant called a catechin, and preliminary research has found that a specific catechin — epigallocatechin gallate (egcg) — may give the beverage antigen-fighting abilities. When researchers at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada added green tea to lab samples of the adenovirus (one of many viruses that causes colds), they discovered that egcg inhibited the virus’ ability to replicate. Similarly, researchers in South Korea found that egcg can also stop the influenza virus from replicating. While these studies were conducted in petri dishes instead of human subjects, some researchers believe you can reasonably bank on green tea’s benefits — particularly when it’s consumed in place of colas or other sugary beverages with little nutritional benefit. “Green tea catechins can improve lymphocyte responses and seem to have anti-inflammatory effects,” Stephensen says. To derive the optimal amounts of catechins from your tea, let the bag steep for at least three minutes in hot, but not boiling water.