Good for you? Putting raw food diets under a white-hot spotlight

Raw food diet. Is it really healthy or another extreme food movement? Just like everything else, there are arguments for both sides.

The fundamental principle behind raw foodism, also sometimes called rawism, is that plant foods in their most natural state—uncooked and unprocessed—are also the most wholesome for the body.

There are different ways that people follow a raw food diet.

Some follow a raw vegan diet while others consume raw animal products, such as raw milk, cheese made from raw milk, sashimi or ceviche (raw fish), or carpaccio (raw meat).

Some people eat only raw foods, while others include cooked food for variety.

The proportion of raw food can be anywhere from 50% of the diet to a diet that is all raw.

The raw food diet is a lifestyle choice, not a weight loss plan.

Odds are you would lose weight if you took up this kind of eating pattern, but once “other” foods were added back into your diet you would most likely see your weight increase.

After looking into this type of eating, I believe the weight loss is due in part to how much WORK it takes to eat in this way!

Sticking to a raw food diet isn’t easy.

Most raw foodists spend a lot of time in the kitchen peeling, chopping, straining, blending, and dehydrating.

That’s because the diet is typically made up of 75% fruits and vegetables.

Staples of the raw food diet include: seaweed, sprouts, sprouted seeds, whole grains, beans, dried fruits and nuts. Alcohol, refined sugars, and caffeine are taboo.

Specific methods can be used to make foods more digestible and to add variety to the diet including sprouting, soaking, juicing, dehydration, pickling and blending.

So, isn’t anything cooked? No, at least not by using a traditional stove or oven.

Food dehydrators lend crunch to vegetables and cookies. They are also used to dry out fruits for fruit leather and other raw food recipes.

The dehydrator works with heat, but temperatures cannot be higher than 115 to 118 degrees.

People who follow this diet believe high heat leaches enzymes and vitamins critical for proper digestion.

But according to the American Dietetic Association it is the body, not what goes in it, that produces the enzymes necessary for digestion.

The ADA also says cooking food below 118 degrees may not kill harmful, food-borne bacteria.

And let’s face it, with today’s frequent recalls of fruits and vegetables, this is a concern.

Some foods that are not safe to consume raw are:

Kidney beans, soy beans, fava beans, Buckwheat greens, mushrooms, peas, potatoes, rhubarb leaves, taro, cassava and cassava flour and parsnips.

Is it really healthier to eat raw foods?

There tends to be more research focus on vegetarianism/veganism and the health benefits of a plant-based diet, and research does show a plant-based diet is a healthy way to eat.

A few studies have shown that cooking may destroy some nutrients.

But studies have also shown that cooking vegetables such as tomatoes (yes, I know it’s technically a fruit) and carrots helps the bodies to utilize them more efficiently.

One showed that eating raw, cruciferous vegetables (such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale) may reduce the risk of bladder cancer.

Another study that reviewed findings of about 50 medical studies on the raw versus cooked debate showed that eating raw vegetables helps reduce the risk of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal, and gastric cancers.

Sounds great, right?

Maybe not. Researchers who studied the impact of a raw food diet found that study participants had low cholesterol and triglycerides.

They also had a vitamin B12 deficiency.

B12 is found naturally only in animal products and is critical to nerve and red blood cell development.

Deficiencies can lead to anemia and neurological impairment.

A German study of long-term raw foodists showed that they had healthy levels of vitamin A and dietary carotenoids, which comes from vegetables, fruits and nuts and protect against chronic disease.

Yet the study participants had lower than average plasma lycopene levels, which are thought to play a role in disease prevention.

They are found in deep red fruits like tomatoes.

Lycopene content is highest however, when tomatoes are cooked (see, I told you!).

Next week I will review the American Dietetic Association’s recommendations for people who choose an eating raw lifestyle.

Have a great week!