What is the raw diet? We asked the experts and risk experts

This simple diet may not be as easy as you thought.


You have probably heard of the Welsh classic saying "an apple a day is moving the doctor." Although this proverb does not have scientific support, it is not too far from the origins of how the raw diet has begun. The food plan emerged when Dr. Maximillian Bercher-Bennner started promoting the consumption ofraw food After finding raw eatingapples Healed his jaundice in the late 1800s. Since then, the plan has taken off in popularity and resisted the test of time.

From this starting point, the diet was twisted in a wide variety of forms and sizes in the last century, which has just included and exclude different foods depending on the period. With such a long history, this diet seems immediately as a proven and true recipe forweightloss Success.

So could eating exclusively raw foods really work, and if so, is it in good health in the long run?

What is the raw diet?

In its current incarnation, raw food loss seems to have simple food requirements. In order to follow the diet, each follower must consume only food that has never been cooked in any way, transformed, genetically modified, irradiated or exposed to the insecticide or pesticide. In the case of many Diaganzes, the term "cooked" implies that the food never exceeds 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Foods you can eat

Due to the culinary limitations, most of which try to follow this food plan end upvegan. However, through the semantics of the sentence, diet people can also consume fast and unpasteurized dairy products, andraw meat.

Food encourages the consumption of the following foods:

  • Fresh fruit and dehydrated
  • Vegetables
  • Cabbage
  • Seeds
  • Nuts
  • Uncooked grains (lentils or chickpeas)
  • Cold hunts and fats
  • Herbal tea
  • Fresh juice
  • Gross dairy products not pasteurized
  • Not pasteurized raw meat

Food you can not eat

There is a complete spectrum of food that you can not participate if you want to pursue raw food further. These included:

  • Merchandise
  • Fruit
  • Cooked vegetables
  • Cooked and transformed meats
  • Cotional grains
  • Roasted walnuts and seeds
  • Refined oils
  • Table salt
  • Refined sugars and flour
  • Pasteurized juice and dairy
  • Coffee
  • Most tea
  • Alcohol
  • Pasta
  • Any food processed like crackers
  • Most frozen dinners

Excluding these articles, the diet can seriously compromise the daily daily consumption of the USDA ofcalories.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence, the reason not to cook food lies in the belief that heating and processing exhausted thevitamin Content of the food and can harmNutritional value out of meals. In order to make the most of thedietSome research is needed to determine which foods you should and should not eat. To sort the advantages and disadvantages of food, we consulted Rachel Paul, PhD and RD ofCOLLEGENUTIENTIONRIONISTIST.COM.

What are the rewards of the diet?

Although raw food feeds has little scientific support, some of its claims that food loses part of its nutrition is true.

"Some nutrients are present in higher amounts in gross foods compared to cooked corners eg.vitamin C and a lotB vitamins, "said Paul." In addition, enzymes in foods also turn off more than 117 degrees Fahrenheit. "

While high heat causes the denomination of most enzymes, many enzymes undergo this process naturally in any acid environment and the process occurs naturally in ourstomachno matter if the material is believed ortreaty.

In addition to these benefits, food encourages the consumption ofhigh fiber foods, who can keep your hunger seité more time. By cuttingSugars treated And carbohydrates, participants often lose a large amount of weight quickly, simply because they have a daily caloric horn.

Some studies have tried to gauge how raw food feeds affects weight loss. In a 2005 study published by theDepartment of Internal Medicine at the University of Washington Medicine SchoolThe researchers followed the weight fluctuations of 18 participants on a strict raw diet and 18 participants on a balanced diet as a control group. After four years, thebody mass index (BMI) and average fats were lower among those of the raw food group that the control group and the results were considerable - the total body fatty fat was on average 13.9% for men and 24.1 % for women. 20.8% and 33.5% among average eaters.

RELATED: Be skinny for life with this 14-day flat stomach plan.

What are the risks?

This amount of fat burning is a double-edged sword, as participants lose weight to the cost of destabilizing their diet. In another study published by theInstitute of Nutrition Science Justus Liebig University of Giessen in GermanyMen have lost an average of 21.8 pounds after the raw food and women lost an average of 26.4 pounds. From this group, 15 percent of men and 25 percent of women in the study lost enough fat to be considered as a weight insufficiency. In fact, 70 percent of women on the plan in the study of irregularities in their experiencemenstrual cycle And nearly 33 percent of women have developed amenorrhea due to low body weight.

It seems that the harmful effects of exclusively eating raw food prevails.

You have a high risk of getting sick

"It's incredibly difficult to get all thenutrients You need a raw food diet, especially if you do not eat animal protein and dairy products, "says Paul. "In addition, cooking really kills harmful bacteria and microorganisms that can make you sick."

Some foods like firstGarlic or raw grain can contain thebacteria Which causes botulism and even eating poorly cooked beans allows a natural origin lectin phytohemagglutinin to kill the cells of the stomach, which could lead to death.

"Without meat and dairy products at all in the diet, it is very difficult to get all the nutrients that your body needs for optimal operation," says Paul. "Nevertheless,cookingFor example, kills harmful bacteria and microorganisms that can make you sick, so it is in the interest of heating a person. In practice as well, cooked foods is often easier to chew ".

It is impossible for people in food deserts

Another major gauge of food is the cost and accessibility of the food you need. One of the driving factors against the regime is the rise offood deserts. According toAmerican Nutrition Association, A food desert is defined as the sections of a country that do not have sufficient quantity of fresh fruits, vegetables and other integer foods for consumption. Today, 23.5 million American citizens live in a food desert and the US total population,11.1 percent Food insecurity on a daily basis. Due to the potentially high cost of the fresh products you need to receive a balanced diet, the prohibitive cost of the diet could first make it impossible to follow. If you consider purchases of accessories as a dehydrator andblenders To help you prepare raw foods, you may be looking to spend more than $ 1,000 only on cooking appliances.

The benefits you receive by consuming vitamins in raw food might even be worth it.

You will not consume all the nutrients you need

"Although some nutrients can be present in smaller quantities in a meal, benefits them all bacteria, ease of digestion, and the possibility of obtaining optimal nutrition to eat a variety of foods greatly higher than costs. "Said Paul.

The diet also allows a variety of "hidden trap" the foods that seem healthy, but when they are consumed raw, especially in large quantities and over a prolonged period of time, everything contributes to make you more unhealthy than when you have started your diet. Fruits and vegetables do not borrow enoughcarbohydrates,protein, andfat To keep you satisfied on a long-term basis, and possibly, you will face a potential for health.

"Severe weight loss, anemia, muscle loss, lack of concentration capacity, andlack of energy Exercise are all traps [if you] follow this type of diet ", says Paul.

The largest gap in the raw food diet is in the form of the lack of appropriate nutrition inherent in food to function.

"There are two types of proteins: complete proteins andincomplete proteins"Said Paul. Complete proteins contain allamino acids necessary for our body and muscles to function, and incomplete proteins that contain only amino acids. Complete proteins are in animal products. It is possible to mix and match the sources of incomplete proteins to obtain all the amino acids you need (fromplants sources), but from a raw food diet your food choices areso limited (even among food-plants for example. A person eating raw beans, which, cooked, are a decent source of certain amino acids), it would be easy to obtain a protein deficiency, which is very dangerous " .

Are there similar alternative regimes?

Veganism can be the most comparable alternative to the diet of raw foods if you want to gain some of the same benefits with less risks. "Vegan regimes are similar but more foods are available for protein, [as] cooked beans," says Paul. "In addition, since veganism allows cooking, food consumption is safer (like cooking kills harmful bacteria). »

At the end of the day, it might be better to go vegan rather than trying the diet of raw foods, and Paul agrees. "I would not recommend this diet. »


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