Living Raw: Part One

Posted June 13, 2007 at 03:00 PM by Katie Drummond

Section: Her Health, Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Vegetarianism, Weight Control, Special Features

From the grapefruit diet to the Atkins craze, fad eating plans have long been an American obsession, each claiming to alleviate health problems and promote weight loss in a country where obesity has become increasingly common. While you may think you’ve heard of every approach to healthy eating, one lifestyle - which has stayed under the radar despite thousands of followers and celebrities touting its benefits - has stood the test of time: the raw food movement.

Though it might sound ridiculous at first, the raw approach to eating, in which at least 75% of food is eaten uncooked (not heated above anywhere from 92 to 118 degrees, depending on who you ask), raw foodism has had followers since the early 1900’s. The lifestyle took off in 1984, after Leslie Kenton released The New Raw Energy, a book endorsing meals of sprouts, nuts, and fresh vegetable juices as the best preventative measure against degenerative diseases, and an ideal approach to boosting energy and finding emotional balance. In the 1990’s, raw foodism caught the attention of trendsetters, as celebrities like Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson adopted raw food diets, and raw restaurants opened across the U.S.

But raw eating is more than just a trendy diet – proponents of the lifestyle claim that it has major health benefits (if done correctly). According to them, raw foods contain natural enzymes that assist in their own digestion. When we cook food, these enzymes are destroyed, forcing the body to work overtime just to break down what we eat. Some raw foodists also claim that the micro-organisms and bacteria in raw foods produce helpful flora in the digestive tract, further aiding digestion and the absorption of valuable nutrients. An approach to eating that emphasizes raw, unprocessed foods has been endorsed by well-known doctors, including Dr. Joel Fuhrman, who blames the North American diet of prepared, packaged foods for the explosion of degenerative ailments, cancer, and diabetes among our population.

So how would a raw approach to eating differ from an everyday routine of cooked, packaged foods? First, a raw foods diet is usually vegan, with very few raw foodists following a “primal” diet of raw meat and dairy products. For the most part, raw meals consist of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, and fresh juices, eaten in their natural form. While the common kitchen is equipped with pots and pans, different tools come in handy for raw food preparation. Juicers, dehydrators, and sprouters are three mainstays of the raw lifestyle: many advocates claim that juiced fruits and vegetables are more easily digested, and that sprouted grains offer the nutrition of breads while preserving valuable enzymes. And thanks to dehydrators, raw living doesn’t mean munching on broccoli all day – thin, crispy “breads,” cookies, and even pizza crusts, can all be made with this gadget.

Most people could surely cut back on the amount of prepared, packaged foods in their diet, but does the raw food lifestyle take the fresh approach to an unsafe level? Many health experts think so, and argue that some claims of the raw food diet – like the idea that raw foods contain vital enzymes – are simply untrue. A 1995 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that the vitamin B12 status of longtime raw food eaters was “compromised,” and another study correlated female amenorrhea with a raw vegan diet.

Despite the science that may seem to disprove the merits of raw foodism, many claim that any diet plan, from plain old omnivore to vegan or low carbohydrate, can lead to health problems if people don’t watch what they eat. We all know an Atkins’ devotee whose weight swings up and down like a yo-yo, or a vegan who munches fries all day – proof that any lifestyle can easily be unhealthy or dangerous.

In terms of a raw food diet, other studies have uncovered valuable health benefits. Raw, vegan lifestyles seem to alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia and arthritis, and a major American study tracking raw eaters found that average protein, fat, and calorie intakes were all within healthy ranges.

So what is the best advice for someone interested in raw foods? Do your research. David Klein, a health consultant with Living Foods, an organization that promotes raw living, says that a healthy transition involves self-education and the gradual incorporation of more raw foods into one’s routine, with the goal of eventually finding the right balance. And while an all-raw lifestyle might not be for you, the raw foods emphasis on fresh, unprocessed foods is good advice for anyone looking to eat for long-term wellness, energy, and better athletic performance.