How does eating all your foods raw sound to you?  This includes eating eggs and even meat totally uncooked.  Surprisingly this method of eating has an interesting history but some precautions you should know before considering it.

History of the raw food diet

Out of all the countless diets and ways to prepare food, the raw food diet or raw foodism may seem to be just another trend but it actually goes back more than a hundred years ago.  The person credited with being the diets biggest proponent was a Swiss nutritionist and physician named Maximillian Bircher-Benner born in 1867.  When Bircher-Benner developed jaundice, he claimed he became well again eating raw apples.  He went on to experiment with the health effects raw foods had on the body and also was the creator of muesli, a dish based on raw oats, fruits, and nuts.  He eventually came to the belief that raw fruits and vegetables had the most nutritional value while meat had the least.  Bircher-Benner was also a contemporary of John Harvey Kellogg, inventor of the breakfast cereal, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. 

Over the years, the raw food diet has undergone many transitions and changes with the diets popularity spreading throughout.

Following the raw food diet

 Back in 1923, a group called American Raw Food, Health and Psychological Club, defined raw food as “not been subjected to the devastating heat of the flame and the consequent devitalizing changes which destroy its freshness and render it so much waste when taken into the human system.”  Basically, raw food proponents believe cooking destroys nutrients, makes food toxic, and less digestible.

The diet primarily includes fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbs.  Not allowed is cooking of any food above 116 degrees Farenheit, microwaving, using processed, irradiated, genetically modified foods, or any food exposed to herbicides or pesticides.  Other foods allowed can be:

·         Raw, unpasteurizedmilk

·         Cheese made from raw milk

·         Raw honey

·         Raw fish

·         Raw meat

·         Raw legumes and grains like chickpeas and mung beans

·         Extra-virgin olive oil

·         Raw virgin coconut oil

·         Raw coconut butter

·         Freshly squeezed juice

·         Herbal teas

Foods not allowed:

·         Refined sugar

·         Refined flour

·         Table salt

·         Caffeine

·         Pasta and baked goods

·         Pasteurized juice andmilk

People following a raw food diet are allowed to use juicers, blenders, dehydrators and can germinate and sprout their own food.

Concerns with the raw food diet

A commonreasonwhy someone would consider following a raw food diet is to lose weight.  Following a raw food diet can promote weight loss but at the risk of compromising health.  Here are the reasons why:

·         A study in the Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism found eventhough consuming a raw food diet is associated with a high loss of body weight, it showed about 30% of women under age 45 had partial to complete amenorrhea (absence of menstruation) when following >90% of their food choice being raw.  

·         Preventing foodborne illness is another concern with following a raw food diet.  Consuming raw, unpasteurized milk can be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria compromising the health of pregnant women and increasing the risk of delivering a premature or stillbirth baby.  Eating raw meat is always risky as it can contain the bacteria E coli 0157:H7, which is potentially deadly. 

  ·         Raw foodists will claim that cooking destroys nutrients and enzymes.  In this case, they are partly right.  Vitamin C found in food is destroyed when exposed to heat or cooking.  However, other foods nutritional content is enhanced when it is cooked.  A couple of examples are mushrooms and asparagus.  Cooking these two vegetables increases important nutrients within them.  Cooked mushrooms have higher amounts of niacin, potassium, and zinc than raw mushrooms.  Cooked asparagus increases the phytochemicals quercetin, lutein, and zeaxantin.  Tomatoes contain the phytochemical lycopene, known for possibly reducing men’srisk of prostate cancer.  Lycopene is released when the tomatoes are cooked as in tomato paste or sauce.  

·         If a person is eliminating dairy, meat, or fish from their raw food diet, they will risk nutrient deficiencies of calcium, vitamin B12, zinc, and iron.  A true raw foodists also eliminates eating beans or grains since they need to be cooked, which once again can possibly lead to nutrient deficiencies unless they are taking a supplement. 

To go raw or not? 

The decision to follow a raw food diet must be weighed carefully being mindful of the pros and cons.  It is not a decision to take lightly.  A person following this way of eating will need to make wise food choices making sure they are obtaining adequate nutrients to prevent any deficiencies and to take precautions preventing food borne illness. 

If you decide to follow this diet, include some cooked food and go with no more than 90% of your food choices being raw.  This allows more variety and makes it easier to follow.