Diet, diet, diet. It’s a big issue, and one’s that has been discussed on this and other sites before. With the diaspora of foodstuffs and food-culture that has spread all over the world in this modern age, there are a wealth of different plans to choose from when it comes to good eating. One of these is the “Raw Foods Diet.”
Just as it sounds, the Raw Foods Diet is focused on unprocessed and uncooked plant foodstuffs such as fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, sprouts, seeds, grain, even seaweed. Proponents of the diet believe any food heated to over 116 degrees Fahrenheit looses potential enzymes that help boost the nutritional value of the food. Increased energy, better digestion, weight loss, clearer skin and a decreased risk of heart disease are all projected benefits.
The diet is lower in trans and saturated fats and sodium than the traditional Western diet, while providing a high amount of fiber, magnesium, and potassium. But at the same time this is a diet not to be taken lightly. The limit to edible foods requires imagination and time when preparing dishes and calcium, iron, protein and B12 deficiencies can occur.
Critics of the diet go on to say that while cooking food does destroy certain enzymes, in the long run it is our bodies own enzymes that help with absorption, not those that come from the food. In addition, cooking some foods in fact makes their nutrients easier to digest, such as the beta-carotene in carrots.
Others argue that the human body has in fact changed in response to cooked foods with traits such as smaller jaws and teeth, smaller stomachs, and longer small intestines for increased digestive surface area, making the raw foods diet an inadequate source of nutrients, even though it may have served for ancient man.
But there are techniques for “cooking” food which still holding to the “raw foods” title. Dehydrated fruits and foods like raisins are permissible, as well as juicing foods or using a food processor, and sprouting or soaking beans. None of these techniques necessarily change the makeup of the food, but they can affect flavor and consistency.
So how does the diet sound to you? There’s a lot of controversy surrounding the diet considering the deficiencies it can cause, and supplements should probably be taken with it, but in the end any diet consisting mainly of non-grain plantstuffs will lower blood pressure and help loose weight. In the end it all comes down to a personal decision; to cook or to go raw.
