RAW & LIVING FooDS
What are Living Foods?
Ann Wigmore Foundation: “Living foods or raw foods are uncooked,
free from animal products, organic, easy to digest, rich in enzymes, and
highly nutritious. They include home grown sprouted grains and beans,
vegetables, fruits, nuts, fermented preparations, dehydrated snacks and
delicious deserts such as fruit and nut pies and fruit ice cream.”
There is no nutritional loss caused by the heat of cooking. Raw foods are
easier for your body to digest than cooked food. The enzymes are what
make raw foods easier to digest than cooked foods. When food is cooked
the enzymes become deactivated by heat. During the digestive process,
the natural food enzymes assist your body’s digestive enzymes in breaking
down food into digestive proteins.
Dehydration is the best way to preserve the essence of raw fruits and
vegetables. Dehydrating does not subject foods to the high temperatures
associated with cooking, or traditional canning methods.
Why Excalibur
®
is Superior for Living Foods
There are two important elements when dehydrating living foods to
preserve the enzymes. The first element is the proper control of temperature,
and the second, is the time it takes the food to dehydrate.
Excalibur’s adjustable thermostat allows you to control the air temperature,
and the rear-mounted fan that creates the Parallexx™ Horizontal-Airflow
Drying System provides fast and even drying. With these two features,
Excalibur
®
Dehydrators are able to keep the food temperature low enough
to preserve the enzymes while raising the air temperature high enough to
dry the food quickly, preventing mold and bacteria from growing.
Excalibur
®
adjustable thermostat has been specifically designed to create
a proper fluctuation in the air temperature. This keeps the food temperature
very constant throughout the entire dehydrating cycle.
Food Temperature vs. Air Temperature
During the dehydration process the food temperature is generally 20
to 30 degrees F cooler than the air temperature, due to the effects of
evaporation.
Enzymes and Temperature
There are many varying opinions among raw foodists concerning
the temperature at which enzymes become deactivated. The most
frequently quoted temperature is 118ºF/47ºC (food temperature) based
upon the studies of Dr. Edward Howell.
how to use your Dehydrator for Living Foods
According to Ann Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas, the best way to
preserve the living enzymes, and overcome the potential of spoilage
or bacteria growth, is to set the dehydrator on the highest temperature
setting for the first two or three hours, then turn it down to less than
120ºF/49ºC for the remaining time.
™
Excalibur dries BETTER, FASTER & SAFER thanks to our hYpERWAvE
™
FLUCTUATioN TEChNoLogY!
parallexx® horizontal Airflow — Fast, even dehydration.
ordinary dehydrators produce constant, unchanging heat causing “case hardening,” a
dry surface with moisture trapped inside — a perfect environment for yeast, mold, and
bacteria growth.
Excalibur’s Adjustable Thermostat lets you take advantage of Hyperwave™ Fluctuation
(changing heat through the drying cycle) for faster, better, safer dried foods. As the
temperature fluctuates up, the surface moisture evaporates. Then, as the temperature
fluctuates down the inner moisture moves to the drier surface. The food temperature stays
LoW enough to keep the enzymes active, and the air temperature gets high enough to
dry food fast, overcoming yeast, mold, and bacteria growth and spoilage.
The fan, heating element, and thermostat are in the back. Cool air is drawn in, heated, and distributed
evenly over each tray. This exclusive design helps the food dry faster, retain more nutrients, and look and taste
better, without tray rotation.
Dry outside Dry inside
ordinary dried foods
Excalibur dried foods
Dry outside
Still moist
inside
ExCALIBuR HYPERWAVE
™