Unplug your toaster, turn off the oven and forget about your microwave: These cooking basics won't be necessary if you adhere to a raw food diet. Followers of the raw food diet, also known as the living food diet, eat uncooked vegan foods. Some also eat raw milk and cheese. Critics of the raw food diet don't agree with the purported benefits of the diet, and say it is based on myths rather than facts.
Myth #1: The Raw Food Diet is More Nutritious
A basic tenet of the raw food diet is that it's more nutritious. This concerns health experts because the diet is low in calcium, protein, iron, zinc and vitamins B-12 and D, and also is very low in calories. These are special concerns for teens, who are still growing. In order to meet a teen's calcium requirement with raw vegan foods, it would take 3 1/2 cups of almonds. or at least 20 cups of raw broccoli, kale, collard greens or okra, and it would take 21 cups of alfalfa sprouts to provide sufficient zinc. If you're a raw foodist, consult a registered dietitian to determine if your diet meets your nutritional needs.
Myth #2: The Raw Food Diet is Better for Health
Although a diet high in fruits and vegetables is good for heart health, that might not be the case for a diet based mainly on these foods. An October 2005 study from the American Society for Nutritional Sciences found that although a diet predominately based on fruits and vegetables lowered harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, it raised levels of homocysteine due to vitamin B-12 deficiency and decreased levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol. These findings could explain why vegans have a higher death rate from cardiovascular disease than vegetarians who eat eggs and milk products.
Myth #3: Raw Dairy Products are Safe
Some raw foodists include raw, unpasteurized milk and cheese in their diets and believe these products are safe, but consuming raw dairy products can present serious health risks. Outbreaks of illness from unpasteurized milk are on the rise in the U.S., warns a review published in the January 1, 2009, issue of "Clinical Infectious Diseases." Since 2005, outbreaks of E. coli, salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis related to the consumption of raw milk have been reported at more than double the rate than in the previous 19 years.
Myth #4: Eating Like Early Humans is Healthiest
The raw food diet is based on the belief that humans are not meant to eat cooked food because early humans ate a raw diet. Not so, according to scientists who study how our ancestors ate. According to Richard Wrangham, a biological anthropologist at Harvard University, raw foods can't provide enough nutrients or calories to maintain weight because our small digestive systems and teeth are not built to adequately digest them. When early humans began cooking, the range of what was edible expanded. The resulting increased nutrition fueled evolution, population growth and migration.
References
- The Vegetarian Resource Group; Teen FAQs; Reed Mangels, Ph.D, R.D.
- "JN"; Long-Term Consumption of a Raw Food Diet Is Associated with Favorable Serum LDL Cholesterol and Triglycerides but Also with Elevated Plasma Homocysteine and Low Serum HDL Cholesterol in Humans; Corinna Koebnick, et al; October 2005
- The Catalyst; Extreme Eating: Is a Completely Raw Foods Diet Healthy?; Kelsey Grobbel; January 16, 2009
- MD Anderson Cancer Center; Understanding a Raw Foods Diet; March 12, 2009
- Science Notes/08; Are Living Foods Getting a Raw Deal?; Jane Liaw
- ScienceDaily; Unpasteurized Milk Poses Health Risks Without Benefits, Study Shows; December 18, 2008
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