[SoFlaVeg] Answer to a Nutrition Student Raw Food Diet

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Misty L. Trepke

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Answer to a Nutrition Student About the Raw Food Diet

 

http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/purehealth/102005.html

 

" I am a dietetics student at McGill University. I have been hearing a

lot about this raw food diet. I have done some reading about it, but

I still do not see the point in it. Is it a personal choice, or is it

actually healthier than eating cooked products?

 

You mentioned that you have been doing research, have you published

your results? If so, where can I find them? I am very curious as to

the benefits of this diet.

 

You have also written a book. Does it contain methods to obtain all

of the essential nutrients?

 

Thank you for your help. I would appreciate it if you could write me

back (I get bonus points in class for having researched or asked a

question pertaining to nutrition). " Claudia

 

ANSWER:

 

Dear Claudia,

 

Without any question, those following a raw-food diet do it because

they believe it is a healthier choice. I personally believe it's a

much healthier choice, and that for many reasons.

 

1- Fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods there is. There's

no question about that. We're not saying anything new here, it's just

that we recommend making them the foundation of our diet!

 

2- The Standard American Diet, or any assorted version of it, is a

recipe for disaster. Most nutrition experts agree that we at least

need to eat differently.

 

3- Cooking destroys many nutrients and creates toxic compounds in the

process. This has been proven scientifically. Of course this depends

on the mode of cooking, but cooked foods are less nutritious than raw

foods.

 

4- It is impossible to live without raw foods. Eventually, you would

die of nutrient deficiency. However, it's perfectly possible to live

without cooked foods or with only very minimal amounts of it.

 

5- More than 13,000 scientific studies show a link between

degenerative diseases and the consumption of animal products.

 

6- Grains and dairy products have been consumed by humans for only 5

to 10,000 years - which is a fleeting moment in the history of

humanity. Allergies to grains and dairy products are very common.

 

7- Biologists and anthropologists classify human beings as being

anatomically frugivores - that is essentially similar to the

anthropoid apes who eat a diet that consists primarily of fruits and

vegetables. Although we are omnivores by choice, we are not omnivores

by design.

 

8- The reason people follow a raw-food diet is because they feel so

much better on it. Results are everything, and people are getting

amazing results from the raw food diet.

 

9- Many people who go on a raw-food diet do so because they have

health issues in the first place. And the reason they stay on it is

because eating this way tremendously helps them.

 

10 - Fruits and vegetables are the most beautiful foods, and also the

most delicious foods to eat. If you didn't have salt and spices,

you'd realize very quickly how bland cooked foods really are (ever

tried to eat plain pasta or rice?).

 

Although there are different variations of the raw diet, the idea is

basically to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Although

some raw-food authors seem to promote a different idea of the raw

food diet, which is to just " avoid cooking " and instead dehydrate,

chop and mix and find other ways to prepare food - the raw-food diet

as most people understand it is a diet based on fruits, vegetables,

nuts and seeds.

 

Some schools of thoughts will encourage the consumption of raw animal

products, such as raw fish, raw meat, etc., but even then, it only

represents a small percentage of the diet. This is not something that

I personally recommend. I recommend a diet of basically fruits and

vegetables (also including nuts and seeds).

 

The benefits that come from eating this way do not necessarily come

just from the fact that cooked food is avoided, but more from the

fact that many different foods are avoided, which raw-foodists

believe to be harmful. Those foods include:

 

- Dairy products, bread, grains and most cooked starch, refined sugar

and anything refined.

 

The key with the raw-food diet is to eat enough to get enough

calories. If a person gets enough calories from raw fruits and

vegetables, they are also simultaneously getting enough nutrients

(even way more than what is recommended, in most cases). The only

nutrient that is missing is vitamin B12 - but in ideal circumstances

it would be manufactured by the body from the bacteria in the

intestines. Since there is a bit of controversy around that, I still

recommend a vitamin B12 supplement.

 

Although the calcium generally falls short of the RDAs, it is

generally accepted by vegetarian doctors that we don't need all the

calcium that is being recommended to us in the form of dairy

products. The important thing is to be able to assimilate the calcium

that we eat.

 

Fidyl

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