The raw food diet is more of a philosophy and
lifestyle choice than a conventional weight-loss diet.
A
raw food diet is one in which 75% or more of the food
a person eats is uncooked. Generally, raw foodists
believe that the closer a person can come to eating a
diet that is 100% raw, the better that person’s health
will be.
Raw food, as defined by many raw foodists, is
unprocessed food whose temperature has never reached
above 116 F (47 C). Some raw foodists make a distinction
between ‘‘raw’’ and ‘‘living’’ foods.
Raw foods,
they define as uncooked foods, while living foods
are uncooked foods that contain more enzymes
because they have been ‘‘activated.’’
As an example,
an unsprouted almond would be considered raw, but
an almond soaked in water that has begun to sprout
would be considered living.
For discussion here, raw
andliving are used interchangeably tomeanfoodthat has
not been processed or heated above 116 F (47 C).
Raw foodists can be vegans and eat no animal
products, vegetarians, who eat dairy products and
eggs but no meat, or omnivores who eat both vegetables
and meat, so long as their food is raw.
The majority
tend to be vegetarians or vegans who prefer to eat
uncooked, unheated, unprocessed organic food. Some
go so far as to advocate that the raw foodist grow his
or her food instead of purchasing it from commercial
growers.
Some foods that are mainstays of the raw food
diet include:
fresh fruits and vegetables
seeds
nuts
-legumes (dried beans and peas)
-whole grains
-dried fruits and vegetables
-unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juices
-young coconut milk
-seaweed and sea vegetables (not acceptable to all raw
foodists)
-wheatgrass
-sprouts of all kinds
-purified or bottled water
-unpasteurized milk and dairy products made with
unpasteurized milk (non-vegans)
-raw eggs (non-vegans)
Although a raw diet eliminated the time it takes to
cook food, food preparation can be quite time consuming.
Meal planning is essential to get a proper
balance of vitamins and minerals from this limited
diet.
Raw foodists may need to take dietary supplements
to meet their nutritional needs. In addition,
many raw foods need to be soaked, ground, chopped,
mixed, or handled in other ways before being eaten.
Raw food preparation often requires a blender, food
processor, juicer, and food dehydrator whose temperature
does not exceed 116 F (47 C).
Although weight loss is not a goal of a raw food
diet, weight loss inevitably occurs because this diet is
very low in fats, protein, and calories.
More importantly,
raw food tends to be part of a lifestyle choice
that involves a desire for purity, rejection of conventional
medicine, and an effort to be closer to nature.
Raw foodists believe that raw food contains
enzymes that help digestion. In their vies, cooking
inactivates or kills (denatures) these enzymes, making
it harder for the body to digest cooked food.
Some raw
foodists go so far as to claim that cooked foods are
toxins. Raw foodists also believe that living food contains
bacteria and microorganisms that are beneficial
to digestion and that raw foods contain more nutrients
than cooked foods.
