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Raw Food Diet for People

Oct 18, 2010 | By Cynthia Myers
Raw Food Diet for People
Photo Credit Hiroshi Watanabe/Stockbyte/Getty Images

As the name implies, raw food diets consist mainly of food that hasn't been cooked. Proponents of raw food diets believe that they contain beneficial enzymes that are destroyed through cooking. Raw food diets, which RawFood.com classifies as any diet that consists of at least 75 percent uncooked food, also advocate eating organic, unprocessed food without added chemicals or preservatives. Raw food diet adherents may minimally process food, for instance, by soaking seeds or beans in water until they sprout or juicing vegetables and fruits.

History

Ancient mystics and religious figures such as John the Baptist, whom the Bible reports subsisted on locusts and honey, are thought to have eaten restrictive diets of raw food. The University of California at Berkley's Wellness Letter reports that 19th-century health guru Sylvester Graham, of graham cracker fame, advocated a raw food diet. Books such as "Raw Energy: Eat Your Way to Radiant Health" by Leslie Kenton, published in 1984, increased interest in the diet.

Mechanics

Adherents of a raw food diet do more than munch on raw carrots and apples. They soak grains, seeds and beans until they sprout. They make tea or coffee by soaking tea leaves or coffee beans in cold water for long periods of time. They make fruit and vegetable juices, puree different foods together, ferment foods, make them into pastes or dry them. Many raw food recipes strive to make raw foods resemble more conventional cooked foods, such as raw food recipes for cakes, breads and even burgers.

Enzymes

Food contains enzymes that raw food diet proponents believe aid in digestion, and that these enzymes enhance health. The heat of cooking destroys these enzymes. Nutritionist Sharon Fleming of the University of California, Berkeley, told reporter Jane Liaw in a January 2008 article for the University of California Santa Cruz "Science Notes" that there was no scientific basis for this belief. The UC Berkeley Wellness Letter in April 2010 reported that any enzymes in food are destroyed by stomach acid and, thus, can't play much of a role in digestion anyway.

Benefits

Raw food diets are rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber, provided adherents eat a variety of vegetables, nuts and seeds. The foods contain no artificial ingredients and very little fat or cholesterol. This primarily vegan diet appeals to those who want to avoid consuming animal products. When J.M. Douglass and other researchers studied 32 people who consumed a diet that consisted of 62 percent raw foods for six months in 1985, they reported in the "Southern Medical Journal" that these people lost an average of 3.8 kg and lowered their blood pressure 17.8 mm.

Drawbacks

Any diets that restrict consumption to only a few food groups can be difficult to stick to for long periods of time. People on raw food diets may find it difficult to eat out with friends, or in the homes of family members. Raw foods can require a lot of preparation, especially if you want a diet that resembles more traditional foods. Uncooked foods may harbor bacteria that would be killed during normal cooking. Cooking makes foods easier to digest. Some nutrients, such as lycopene, a cancer-fighting compound found in tomatoes, become more accessible to humans when the food is cooked.

References

Article reviewed by Greg Duran Last updated on: Oct 18, 2010

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