Organic Raw Food Diet

A raw food diet involves eating mostly uncooked plant foods. People who follow a raw diet claim their way of eating provides exceptional nutrition, energy and healing. Choosing organic foods while on a raw diet is encouraged to limit exposure to pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

Features

A rawist is someone who eats at least 75 percent of his meals raw, says the Living and Raw Foods website. Many raw-diet followers eat 100 percent raw. Any foods cooked above 116 degrees Fahrenheit are discouraged as heating above this temperature is believed to destroy essential enzymes in food. Organic fruits and vegetables are featured prominently in a raw diet as they are not tainted by most chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.

Cooking Techniques

Rawists do no subsist on salads alone. Techniques like sprouting grains and beans, dehydrating, soaking nuts, marinating, sun drying and blending create different textures and flavor profiles. "Noodles" may be made from the shaved skin of summer squash and zucchini. Often, pesticides are concentrated in the skin of fruits and vegetables, so organics are preferable in such preparations.

Considerations

Eating 100 percent organic foods is not essential to a raw diet, although it is recommended by many rawists, including Penni Shelton, author of "Raw Food Cleanse." If eating all organic food is simply not possible due to budget or availability, always choosing organic versions of 12 specific fruits and vegetables can decrease pesticide exposure by 80 percent, reports the Environmental Working Group. These "dirty dozen" foods are celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, kale or collard greens, potatoes and imported grapes.

Strategy

Look for produce with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, "organic" seal. Conventional produce should be washed with specially made commercial vegetable and fruit washes available at health food stores. Even foods with inedible peels should be washed as slicing them distributes the pesticides from the outside to the fruit or vegetable inside. When only conventional versions of the dirty dozen are available, it is best to peel them to help minimize your ingestion of pesticides.

Considerations

Eating an organic raw diet helps a person avoid irradiated foods and genetically engineered foods. Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis in their book "Raw Food, Real World" point out that nutrition in conventionally grown produce has declined significantly since the 1940s, with fertilization and genetic manipulation of seeds potentially to blame. Locally grown produce, especially from small organic farms, is a way to decrease your grocery bill and obtain the most nutritious and natural products for your raw food diet.