A pure, raw food diet is often referred to as raw foodism or rawism. This means that you consume mainly unprocessed, uncooked, organic foods. Following a raw food diet does not just pertain to vegetarian foods; raw dairy and meat can also be included. The main goal of the raw food diet is to eat natural foods without taking away their nutrients through cooking and preservation. While there is no scientific confirmation a raw diet fights a particular disease, the outcome is a lower BMI and overall improved health.
Types
Followers of a pure raw food diet believe that cooking, preserving and adding additional chemicals to food causes health problems and nutritional depletion of vital nutrients and vitamins. A raw food diet is meant to improve digestion, boost the immune system and prevent food toxicity. A raw food diet generally consists of unheated food or food that is only cooked to a temperature of less than 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw foodism is generally split into three main groups; raw veganism, raw vegetarianism and a raw animal food diet. Raw veganism includes uncooked and unprocessed plant foods only, including fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, vegetables and beans. A raw vegetarian diet excludes uncooked meat, but may include dairy products and eggs. A raw animal food diet includes uncooked and unprocessed food including all meat, animal organs, fish, poultry, dairy products, eggs, vegetables, fruit, grains, beans and shellfish.
Sub-Categories
Within the three main pure raw food diet groups, there are sub-categories that include specific foods. Examples include juicearians, sproutarians and fruitarians. A juicearian is someone who may eat all her foods by processing them through a blender or juicer. This process extracts all the juice out of the food so that you can drink it -- this can be a convenient way to get your daily serving of fruits and vegetables. Juicing also strips away many of the vital nutrients of the fruit or vegetable, which is included in the skins, pulp and seeds. A sproutarian is someone who eats only the sprouts of vegetables such as lentils, beans, radishes, and alfalfa. Someone who is considered a fruitarian only eats primarily fruits, and no vegetables.
Benefits
Many people who follow a pure raw food diet believe that cooking foods alters its chemistry -- making it harder to digest. When you cook food, whether by boiling, baking or frying, they believe, it loses the vital nutrients that the body needs and craves. When you eat raw food, you get the most nutrients out of each meal, including phytochemicals that provide a wide range of health benefits. Benefits include increased blood flow, reduced fat intake, improved water intake and a boost in your metabolism. Eliminating processed foods and foods cooked in fat reduces your risk for obesity and diseases such as type II diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and heart disease.
Precaution
Use precautionary measures when eating raw foods. Many raw foods may harbor bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, listeria and parasites that can cause severe illness and death. All food should be washed and kept cold -- under 45 degrees Fahrenheit -- at all times to prevent bacteria from building up. If you follow a strict raw vegetable or meat diet, make sure you take a daily vitamin supplement to maintain optimal health.
References
- Living and Raw Foods: Raw Fresh Produce vs. Cooked Food
- Raw Food Life: The Science of Raw Food
- Start-Raw.com: Why The Raw Food Diet?
- Breastcancer.org: Raw Food Diet
- Minesotta Department of Health: Food Contamination and Foodborne Illness Prevention
- Intelihealth.com; Raw Food Diet; Alexandra Kuznetsov, B.S. February 4, 2011
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