Raw Food Diet

Raw foodism can include any diet that eats primarily unheated food, or food warmed to a temperature less than 104 °F (40 °C) to 115 °F (46 °C). The most popular raw food diet is a raw vegan diet, but other forms include animal products and/or meat.

[edit] Raw veganism

Main article: Raw veganism

A Raw veganism diet consists of unprocessed, raw plant foods that have not been heated above 115 °F (46 °C). “Raw foodists” believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body. Typical foods include fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains and legumes.

Some raw vegans can be subdivided into fruitarians, juicearians, or sproutarians.[6] Fruitarians eat primarily or exclusively fruits. Juicearians process their raw plant foods into juice. Sproutarians eat primarily or exclusively sprouted food, such as bean sprouts.

Personal claims are that there are many benefits from following a raw vegan diet, including weight loss, more energy, clear skin and improved overall health.[7] David Wolfe and Tonya Kay are notable adherents of raw veganism.

[edit] Raw vegetarianism

See also: Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is a diet that excludes meat, (including game and slaughter by-products), fish (including shellfish and other sea animals) and poultry, but allows dairy and eggs. Common foods include fruit, vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, dairy, eggs and honey. There are several variants of this diet.[8] This diet is less common than raw veganism.[9]

[edit] Raw animal food diets

Foods included in raw animal food diets include any food that can be eaten raw, so including raw, unprocessed meats/organ-meats/raw eggs, raw dairy, and aged, raw animal foods such as century eggs, rotting (fermenting) meat/fish/shellfish/kefir, as well as, to a lesser extent, nuts/sprouts/plants/fruits, but generally not raw grains, raw beans, raw soy etc., because of digestibility and toxicity issues and also because paleolists tend to reject neolithic or domesticated foods. Raw foods on such diets have not been heated at temperatures above 104 °F (40 °C). “Raw Animal Foodists” believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body[10] Smoked meats are frowned upon by many Raw-Omnivores.[11] Some make a distinction between hot-smoked and cold-smoked.

Those who eat a raw omnivorous diet usually choose to obtain their meats from free-range and grass-fed sources. This greatly diminishes the risk of harmful bacteria. A study by Cornell University[12]has determined that grass-fed animals have far fewer E. coli (approx. 300 times less) than their grain fed counterparts. Also in the same study, the amount of E. coli they do have is much less likely to survive our first line defense against infection, gastric acid. Grass-fed meat also has more nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and Omega-3 fatty acids, than grain-finished meat[12][13][14][15] Other studies show that E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Salmonella, and other dangerous pathogens have been repeatedly isolated from both grass and grain fed livestock and there are conflicting results regarding whether the levels of pathogens are higher, lower, or the same when animals are fed grass- or grain-based diets.[16]

It has been claimed by many pro-raw-dairy advocates that government agencies are biased against raw dairy, providing incomplete facts or erroneous statistics.[17]

Examples of raw animal food diets include the Primal Diet[18][19], Anopsology (otherwise known as "Instinctive Eating" or "Instincto"), and the Raw, Palaeolithic diet[20]("otherwise known as the "Raw Meat Diet".[21]

The Primal Diet[22][23], is a diet consisting of fatty meats, organ meats, dairy, honey, minimal fruit and vegetable juices and coconut cream, all raw. The founder of the Primal Diet is Aajonus Vonderplanitz, a resident of Malibu, California.It's been estimated by Aajonus Vonderplanitz that there are 20,000 followers of his raw-meat-heavy Primal Diet in North America, alone.[24].Books by Aajonus Vonderplanitz[25], the Primal Diet author, include "The Recipe for Living Without Disease"[26] and his book "We Want To Live - 2005 edition[27]

There are also those who follow the "Raw Meat Diet", otherwise known as the "Raw, Paleolithic Diet[28][20]", which is a raw version of the (cooked)Paleolithic Diet, incorporating large amounts of raw animal foods such as raw meats/organ-meats, raw seafood, raw eggs, and some raw plant-foods, but usually avoiding non-Paleo foods such as raw dairy, grains and legumes .[20][29]

The Nenet tribe of Siberia eat a traditional diet consisting of mostly raw meats/organ-meats and raw berries.[30]

Those Inuit people that still follow their traditional diet eat a partially raw diet, including large amounts of raw meats/organ-meats and aged raw foods in the form of caribou and fish, among other foods.[31]

Pemmican is the traditional North American travel food, prepared from dried meat, fat, and berries.

Gravlax (not smoked salmon) is a traditional (without sugar) Scandinavian way of preserving salmon.

[edit] Food preparation

Many foods in raw food diets are simple to prepare, such as fruits, salads, meat, and dairy. Other foods can require considerable advanced planning to prepare for eating. Rice and some other grains, for example, require sprouting or overnight soaking to become digestible. Many raw foodists believe it is best to soak nuts before eating them, in order to activate their enzymes, and deactivate enzyme inhibitors.

Preparation of gourmet raw food recipes usually call for a blender, food processor, juicer, and dehydrator.[32] Depending on the recipe, some food (such as crackers, breads and cookies) may need to be dehydrated. These processes, which produce foods with the taste and texture of cooked food, are lengthy some are fast and simple. Some raw foodists dispense with these foods, feeling that there is no need to emulate the other non-raw diets.

Freezing food is acceptable, even though freezing lowers enzyme activity. This view is only held by some raw-foodists, with many raw-foodists actually viewing freezing as harmful,[33][34] though not as unhealthy as cooking.



[edit] Avoiding poisoning
Opened can of surströmming(fermented Baltic herring) in brine.
Opened can of surströmming(fermented Baltic herring) in brine.

As the consumption of raw foods gains popularity, some unsafe foods have re-entered the diets of humans. The following should be consumed with caution:

* Buckwheat greens are toxic when raw, particularly if juiced or eaten in large quantities by fair skinned individuals. The chemical component fagopyrum is known to cause severe photosensitivity and other dermatological complaints.
* Kidney beans, including sprouts, are toxic when raw.[35]
* Potatoes: a member of the nightshade family, can produce the toxic alkaloid solanine. The flesh of the potato just beneath the skins is usually green if solanine is present, but one may be present without the other. Solanine can be removed by peeling the potatoes.[36]
* Alfalfa sprouts contain the toxin Canavanine.
* Some types of raw Cassava or Cassava flour can be toxic.
* Raw eggs contain Avidin, a Vitamin B6 inhibitor, which can cause “egg white injury”.[37]
* Raw seeds of the genus Lathyrus (peas), can cause Lathyrism.
* Raw Brassica species can contain Glucosinolate.
* Apricot kernels contain Amygdalin, which contains the toxin cyanide.
* Raw parsnips contain Furanocoumarin.
* Raw foods may contain harmful bacteria, fungi or parasites, which may cause foodborne illnesses.

Source: Wikipedia