Raw food diet?

[piratebrido]

What do folks think of it? Insane or sound? Raw broccoli and the like. They claim raw food has enzymes that aids digestion and has other health benefits which are lost through cooking.

I don't trust these muesli knitting tree huggers, so I thought I would ask what people here think?

[Smiler]

Sound.

There's alot of research showing that food nutrients are lost in the cooking process, especially the micronutrients and antioxidants. Check out how a microwave can degrade enzymes and stuff too.

Mind you, some foods need to be cooked to help aid digestion...

I just cook as little as possible, and find that the veg is better crunchier than soggy anyway!

Smiler

[Lou]

Isn't steaming good? I steam the majority of my veg ,so there is still generally a crunch. I have tried eating raw brocolli and it really isn't good at all!

[Lou]

From wiki:

[edit] Food enzymes in the stomach
Some raw foodists claim that ingesting enzymes aids digestion in the mouth, stomach, and intestines. Specific human digestive enzymes are secreted into the gastrointestinal tract, each catalyzing a specific reaction in the digestion of food from macromolecules to small molecules which can be absorbed over the epithelium of the small intestine by active transport. Most plant enzymes will fulfill completely different roles important for metabolism in the plant; the majority will be denatured in passage through the acidic stomach; and others will lack required cofactors in the intestine, rendering them useless in digestion. Accordingly, there is no evidence that ingestion of raw foods or plant enzymes aids digestion under normal conditions, in the lower stomach. Also, commonly enzymes are very sensitive to pH and their activity will be nullified outside a specific pH range.[42] The digestive enzymes produced by the stomach are active in the low pH (2-4) of the stomach, whereas enzymes found in most foods will be most active at cellular pH (approximately 7).[43]. Some enzymes found in acidic plant foods such as fruits are active at low pH similar to that of the human stomach, but there is no evidence that they participate in digestion. However, it has been pointed out by Weston-Price/WAPF advocates that enzymes in raw foods survive for a while in the upper stomach, thus facilitating digestion during that time. It has also been pointed out that overreliance on the human body's ability to make enzymes, rather than supplying enzymes via raw foods, helps to weaken the body over time[44]

Some fruitarians counter that dietary enzymes such as bromelain and a protected form of SOD have been shown to be absorbed through the intestines and into the bloodstream. This is a misunderstanding of the process of digestion: all ingested enzymes (including bromelain and SOD) are proteins themselves, and can be digested to free amino acids by human proteases and peptidase in the stomach and intestine - allowing the absorption of these (but no functional enzyme) into the bloodstream.

And....

[edit] Potential damage
A 2005 study has shown that a raw food vegetarian diet is associated with a lower bone density.[49] This may not be a problem however, as new research appears to indicate that high bone density early in life is associated with osteoporosis, regardless of genetic variation.[50]

Douglas N. Graham (a raw foodism advocate) warns that most raw diets obtain a high percentage of daily calories from fats, by including significant amounts of avocado, nuts and seeds. According to him, these diets tend to be unsustainable since too much fat, even raw fat, causes health problems and results in the underconsumption of carbohydrates. He promotes a low-fat raw vegan diet which draws the great bulk of its daily calories from fruits, along with liberal amounts of vegetables and small amounts of nuts and seeds.[51] However, most Raw-Animal-Food diets, such as the Primal Diet, repudiate this advice, and recommend large, daily amounts of raw animal fat as being needed for greater health.

One study of raw veganism shows amenorrhea and underweightness in women,[52] another one increased risk of dental erosion.[53

[Alex Gold]

Good plan, I eat peppers, carrots, spinach, tomato etc etc raw. Stuff that needs a little cooking like broccoli I will lightly steam or even stick on the george foreman (!), leaving them still crunchy.

[piratebrido]

George Foreman broccoli? Never tried that!

[TTDKing]

George Foreman broccoli? Never tried that!

I george foreman nearly all my food that i cook, perfect for most veggies, cook quickly and still crunchy!

[Al Wallace]

I usually have carrots and peas for dinner and I eat the carrots raw and the peas cold, I prefer it that way tbh, tastes fresh

[ocuana]

I tried the raw food diet but found the chicken gave me the shits and the pork gave me tapeworm :(

[Wiegieboard]

Raw food is good food.
I even believe that raw meat is awesome, if raised on your own land and fed properly.

[Keltik]

but isnt raw meat dangerous?

or am i missing sarcasm?

[Alex Gold]

Raw meat can be dangerous, but a lot of people are doing very well eating it.

I'd never be one however, I need my meat cremated before I'll eat it!

[Keltik]

Raw meat can be dangerous, but a lot of people are doing very well eating it.

I'd never be one however, I need my meat cremated before I'll eat it!

lol fair enough, ive been known to eat stuff thats a few weeks past the sell by date, but its always cooked! i dont think i'll be trying raw meat anytime soon lol