The Sunfood Diet is introduced in author David Wolfe's book, "The Sunfood Diet Success System." The diet focuses on how to lead a raw food lifestyle. It outlines nutrition information and how to live off a diet that consists 80, 90 or 100 percent of raw food. While the diet consists of natural food sources, the absence of entire food groups is reason to carefully review the diet and consult your doctor or dietitian if you are considering beginning the Sunfood Diet.
Diet Origin
According to the book, raw plant foods make up 99 percent of all the foods available on earth and provide a wide range of options, including more than 500 varieties of avocados. Raw plant foods fall into 14 categories, including fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, flowers, mushrooms, stems and roots.
Raw Food
The Sunfood Diet recommends that you begin by eating foods of which at least 80 percent are green-leafed vegetables, fatty plant foods and sweet fruits. The remaining 20 percent can consist of any of the other 14 raw-food categories. Once you have developed a good routine of this 80/20 ratio, the goal is to build up to 90 and even 100 percent of raw-plant food. The book notes that this diet is not about denying yourself anything, but rather to explore all the different types of raw plant foods that are out there.
Recipes
The diet outlines a variety of recipes that consist of purely raw food sources. Each recipe is designed by Wolfe and aims to achieve a certain health benefit. Some recipes focus on increasing energy, such as blending five oranges with five tablespoons of flax seed oil. Other recipes are supposed to help alleviate illnesses. According to the diet, blending four oranges, six figs and one medium-sized papaya will help get rid of the flu or a cold. Additional recipes include five leaves of kale, one-half head of green cabbage and one-half head of loose-leafed lettuce to reduce stress and anxiety.
Possible Benefits
Wolfe suggests that adopting the Sunfood Diet will help you strip away mineral debris from the brain's pineal gland and provide you with the ability to think more clearly, but there is no scientific evidence that can support this claim. One goal of the diet is to not only eat in a healthy way, but to change the way you feel, think and act in life. The book claims that eating processed foods tends to take away the natural abilities that humans are born with, and only by eating all-natural foods are we able to regain and regenerate our powers.
Criticisms
As with any diet that completely eliminates one or more food groups, the risk for deficiencies increases. According to the diet review website EveryDiet.org, the Sunfood Diet can lead to a vitamin B-12 deficiency because of the absence of any animal products. Many dietitians advise against diets that ignore entire food groups, and believe that a vegan lifestyle is not natural for humans. Other problems that arise from the Sunfood Diet is that its strict guidelines are hard to apply socially as most restaurants do not serve meals that consist of only raw plant foods.
References
- "The Sunfood Diet Success System," David Wolfe; 2008
- EveryDiet: "Sunfood Diet Success System"
Member Comments