Is there any benefit to a raw food diet?
All that I know about raw food diets is what I have picked up from the Web, which is not much. I have not found any discussion of it from an unbiased scientific point of view. Are you or anyone that you know on a raw food diet?
My “gut” reaction is that it probably makes sense to have some raw foods in one’s diet, though I have no idea what percentage this should be. I would guess that there is no society that does not do cooking. Hunter/gatherers must cook most of what is hunted and possibly a portion of what is gathered.
On a related issue, Macrobiotics advocates say that raw and cooked foods should not be eaten together because of differing digestion requirements. I find this (sorry) a bit difficult to swallow. I would think that the digestive system should be able to handle together all kind of different foods.
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8 Answers
I just wonder whatever could be the benefits of uncooked food.
I’d wager that a strictly raw diet would either be very low in protein or very high in harmful bacteria; you really ought to cook meat, eggs or fish before eating it. So then you’ll only have vegetable protein sources, which tend not to be complete proteins, or diary, which is rather low in protein (milk is 3.2 grams per 100; for comparison, eggs are 12, canned tuna is 26 and chicken breast is some 28 grams per 100).
During “the raw food diet” you eat uncooked veggies and fruits. Fruit is acceptable but your encouraged to eat less of it then the vegetables because of natural sugars found in the fruits. THE RAW FOOD DIET IS NOT MEANT TO BE LONG TERM. For a two to three week period, you get so much fiber and natural vitamins that your body supposedly is able to clean it’s self out. It also helps drop a few pounds but expect to gain them back when you go back to your regular diet.
any fad diet is just that, a fad. You can be sure some shyster is making a buck off this somehow. Raw food is great in moderation, but tomatoes need to be cooked to get the most benefit from the cancer fighting antioxidants and such.
I eat my fair share of raw fruits and veggies, mostly by juicing. Some things are suitable to being juiced, like apples, pears, grapes, etc, but bananas and avacadoes, are not. A varied diet of many foods is by far healthier than a straight diet of just one thing or another, be it fruits, veggies, fats, meat, dairy, grains, etc. I haven’t completely researched the whole cleansing procedure, but there seems to be a lot of people espousing that lately, which raises red flags. A good 48 hour fast would probably do just as well. and there’s no book to buy.
As a skeptic, I have found that the many of the new and popular diets are not based on sound science, but on pseudoscience and folk lore. There might be a reason you aren’t finding an unbiased review. When in doubt, I always go here. Joining the forums is a great way to get the answers you seek.
I do believe there are people who are trying to eat a raw food diet on a permanent basis. I read an article saying that you cannot get enough protein from a raw food diet and that it is unhealthy to try to stay on one for the long term.
It is remarkably beneficial for my dogs.
Moderation and excercise.
It’s simple and it’s true.
i think they sound like nonsense. i read an article by some woman who had tried it, and although i tried not to be influenced by her negative bias toward it, i just don’t think there are any health advantages worth it to be that extreme. adding more raw food to your diet? sure. not frying everything? that’s a great idea. but i just think it’s silly to eat only raw food. but it doesn’t affect me in the least, so i don’t terribly care.
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