Education comes from within; you get it by struggle and effort and thought. ~ Napolean Hill
There are many diet philosophies, and you need to figure out what works the best for you. What works for you is not necessarily going to work for me. We have different allergies and digestive tracts.
We will review different diets on MindfulEats, and if one appeals to you, experiment with it. You can follow it whole hog or take elements from it that work for you. The first diet up is the Raw Foods Diet. This has gotten a lot of press - a CNN profile on Angela Stokes (raw foodist that lost 160 pounds) generated a lot of interest.
Raw foodists believe that they are eating living foods and that cooking kills valuable nutrients in food. They eat at least 75% of their food raw, and most of them are raw vegans, though some eat raw meat as well. Central to their belief is that raw food contains living enzymes that help digestion and broken down cells. They think these enzymes slow down at 117 degrees, and are completely destroyed at 130 degrees. Raw is basically:
- Eating raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and seaweeds. Nothing is heated or cooked above 116 degrees F. Omnivorous raw foodists add raw dairy, animal products, and meat/organs.
- No combining of uncompatible food groups. For example, fruit is always eaten alone, and vegetables can be eaten with grains or meat. Grains and meat are not eaten together.
Raw foodists claim they feel an abundant source of energy, have clearer skin and are less toxic.
Skeptics note that certain nutrients are more easily absorbed by the body when the vegetable has been cooked or processed, for example, lycopene in tomatoes and carotenoids in carrots. A study in the March 28, 2005 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that raw vegetarians have abnormally low bone mass. Interestingly, the raw diet is directly opposed to other "alternative diets" like macrobiotics, Ayurveda and Chinese.
I was fascinated by the raw diet a few years ago, and started some elements of it though I never went 100% raw. Some of the theories really resonated with me though they have no medical backing whatsoever. Ultimately, I found it to be too much work to get in enough nutrients (I hate work), and when I started adding back more cooked foods, I didn't feel any different. Others have a different experience. I still like many elements of it, and eat a lot of raw foods and juice vegetables. However, I think one of the greatest discoveries for civilization was fire, and when people discovered it thousands of years ago, they started cooking. Who am I to belittle thousands of years of wisdom? Besides, I like grains too much. And can raw broccoli really be alive after it's been harvested?
MindfulEats contributor, Brandi, will go raw for a week and chronicle her experiences here next week. She is a very active triathlete and meat eater that works in the medical industry, so her write-up will be great!
What to do if you are interested
- Learn more about Raw Foods. Get several points of view. Fanboy perspectives: an informative FAQ. Steve Pavlina's post-mortem after 30 days raw (he eventually went raw permanently). I first became interested in raw foods after reading the Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose, and still follow some of the principles. Non-fanboy (but very balanced) perspectives: WebMD, Dr. Weil.
- Start going raw gradually by adding more raw fruits and vegetables.
- Continue doing your research, and be careful that you are getting enough nutrients like protein, calcium, Vitamin D and Vitamin B12.
- Log how you feel, and continue to do your research and talk to raw foodists.
Exercise: None
