Is Eating Raw Food Healthy?

A raw food diet is one in which most or all food eaten is uncooked and unprocessed. Usually people who advocate a raw food diet choose only organic food and many practice vegetarianism. Some also consume unpasteurized dairy products, raw eggs and even raw meat and fish. Of course, most people eat raw food some of the time, whether it be fruit, vegetables or raw fish at a sushi bar. There are both benefits and risks to raw food, just as with food that has been cooked.

Health Claims

The cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, says raw food proponents believe heating food above 116 degrees Fahrenheit kills enzymes and significantly decreases nutrient content. The claim is that raw food is healthier than cooked food, even crediting it with lowering blood pressure and diabetes risk. The University of California points out that raw food diets typically contain more vegetables and fruit than the average American diet, as well as less saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Evidence in Favor of Raw Food

Vanderbilt University's Health Psychology website reports a 1990 study by two Japanese researchers, Mieko Kimura and Yoshinori Itokawa, examined cooking's effect on calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc. Results showed approximately 30 to 40 percent of the minerals were lost, with boiling causing the most loss. Another study done by researchers D. Rumm-Kreuter and I. Demmel showed vitamins are indeed lost during cooking. The amount lost was found to be dependent on method of cutting and cooking, with steaming resulting in the least loss.

Evidence Against Raw Food

Nutrients in raw vegetables and fruit are sometimes hard for the body to absorb, while cooking makes them more available, according to the University of California. For example, an antioxidant in tomatoes called lycopene is more available when tomatoes are cooked. Cooked carrots release more beta carotene, another antioxidant, than when eaten raw. A Cornell University study found cooking corn reduced its vitamin C content, but released ferulic acid, a compound bound to cell walls in raw grains. Ferulic acid has known anti-cancer benefits.

Food Safety

Animal products, such as meat, fish and dairy, can contain parasites and bacteria, which are killed by cooking. Vegetables and fruits can harbor bacteria. Raw dried beans, especially red kidney beans, contain a toxin called phytohaemagglutinin, which is rendered safe through cooking. Eating as few as five uncooked or undercooked beans can cause nausea, severe vomiting and diarrhea.

Precautions

Other than raw dried beans, there is no reason to avoid raw food from plant sources. Clean thoroughly to remove bacteria and contaminants, including washing outer skins before cutting into them. If you eat raw fish, the University of California says dry-salting fish or putting them in saturated salt brine for five to seven days kills nematodes and tapeworms. Or use commercially frozen fish; temperatures in home freezers are not low enough to kill parasites. Eating raw or undercooked meat and eggs and unpasteurized dairy products is always a risk.