Rave Diet Foods

The Rave Diet is a long-term nutrition and lifestyle plan based on a program developed by medical researcher Mike Anderson. The diet is centered on four principles that help guide followers toward foods they should eat and foods they should avoid. Although adhering to the Rave Diet affords many advantages, critics point to the difficulty of following the plan for a long period as one of the program's major disadvantages.

Background

Mike Anderson designed the Rave Diet after a number of his friends and family members were diagnosed with serious medical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. He based the diet's guidelines on his research on the effects of nutrition on medical conditions and detailed his findings in his 2004 book, "The Rave Diet & Lifestyle: The Natural Foods Diet With Meals That Heal." In the book, Anderson contends that consuming a traditional Western-style diet directly contributes to the development of serious medical conditions, while following his Rave Diet plan can promote immune system health and keep you healthy.

Guidelines

The basic guidelines for the Rave Diet are contained within the four letters of the diet's name, Rave: R for no refined foods, A for no animal products, V for no vegetable oil and E for no exceptions and regular exercise. Anderson argues that any deviation from these four principles at all--even eating only one meal containing animal-based products -- can weaken the immune system and increase the risk of developing a health problem such as cancer or heart disease. Additionally, Anderson recommends that at least 50 percent of the food you consume should be uncooked.

Rave Diet Foods

The Rave Diet is based exclusively on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Anderson designed a Rave Diet food pyramid to help dieters identify which foods and habits they should center their lifestyle and meals around. The pyramid's base emphasizes that all foods should be organic; the next level up specifies that whole grains, potatoes, rice and oats should be the food items consumed most often. The next level contains low-calorie and low-fat produce, followed by a smaller level consisting of soy products, lentils, beans and other legumes. The pyramid is topped by high-fat produce items and nuts, foods that, according to Anderson, you should eat only sparingly.

Advantages

The Rave Diet strongly emphasizes fresh, unprocessed grains, organic produce and plant-based protein sources, all of which have been linked to a decreased risk of developing medical conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and obesity. The diet does not require the purchase of weight management supplements and is not difficult to understand. Anderson's book contains a number of recipes to help followers adjust to their new diet.

Disadvantages

The most prominent disadvantage of the Rave Diet is the severe restrictions on allowed foods -- many dieters interested in the plan simply cannot stick with it for the long term because all unprocessed foods and animal products are not allowed. In addition, the diet requires that all food items be organic, all-natural and unrefined; unfortunately, many of these items can be prohibitively expensive. Consuming an exclusively plant-based diet can also put followers at risk for developing vitamin and mineral deficiencies.