http://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-healthy-is-the-raw-food-diet.html
How Healthy is the Raw Food Diet?
Q: What are the health benefits of a raw food diet?
A: The raw food diet is a special type of vegan or vegetarian eating in which no cooked foods are consumed (which eliminates the safe consumption of most meat products).
People who stick to a raw food diet (it’s hard to do!!) often consume fewer fats (many of which come from the oils and butter used in cooking). This leads to better cardiovascular health.
Cooking fruits and vegetables can decrease the amounts of Vitamin C and the B vitamins, so eating a raw diet will likely increase your consumption of these healthy nutrients, too.
Just like any vegetarian diet, you need to make certain that you are not robbing your body of important nutrients, particularly proteins. Practitioners of raw food diets have also been found to have thinner bones.
If this is a path you are interested in exploring more, I recommend finding a nutritionist to work with you to create a healthy diet plan that you can eventually manage independently.
Dr. Brent Ridge is the health expert for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. You can call and ask him a question live every Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 112 (1.866.675.6675). You can also follow along as he learns to grow his own food and raise goats on his farm in upstate New York by visiting www.beekman1802.com.
Got a health question for Dr. Brent? E-mail him at drbrent@care2.com.
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8 comments
add your comment »b12 particularly is the great unanswered deficiency inherent to a anti-meat/dairy diet. what with that and canine teeth its like we were meant to eat meat! *SHRIEK!*
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What about B12, D, K2, DHA, EPA, iron, and zinc?
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I agree that a diet with lots of raw produce, nuts and seeds is beneficial, but perhaps not the ultimate (read: unattainable ideal). Studies like the one that found that lycopene in tomatoes is better absorbed when cooked, and the fact that we have some teeth meant for tearing meat, suggest that all-raw might not be what we are best evolved for.
I also tried going raw for a week -not long, I know- and I found that it takes a lot more time to prepare raw foods than it does to just cook them!
Plus, it took the joy out of food for me. Worrying about whether or not something might be cooked when I go out, and not savoring the aromas of cooking food made me not want to bother eating. Not like me at all. :)
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thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner
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I think it's silly to warn veg*ns about getting enough nutrients... Do not vegetables contain all the nutrients we need? Also, most Americans consume too much protein from animal sources. Veg*ns are really not known to have any problems with protein.
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The raw food diet sent me straight to my alternative health practitioner. I will never go 100% raw again!! I couldn't eat anything without feeling pain in my side, and thanks to my alt. medicine doctor, that has improved. In the future, I will be eating raw greens, but not raw everything.
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I've been trying the raw vegan diet for a couple of months now, and my digestion is better, my skin is better, I feel much more energetic, and I've lost 12 lbs!
Lots of seeds, nuts, avocados, and plenty of dark green leafy veggies make sure that you get enough nutrients!
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People on raw food diets eat tons of nuts and seeds so they get plenty of fats and 'available' protein. Probably more than meat eaters.
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