Raw food may fall short in some nutrients

[Guest guest]

By Susan Bowerman, Tribune Newspapers. Susan Bowerman is a registered dietitian and assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Los Angeles Times August 19, 2007 Growing interest in vegetarianism, driven by health and environmental concerns, has spawned an offshoot known as the raw-foods movement.Raw-food diets often are described as "uncooked vegan diets," which exclude all animal products and byproducts. Adherents consume from half to virtually all of their foods raw. Aside from fruits and vegetables, the diets include raw nuts and seeds and are rounded out with sprouted grains and beans.Those who aim to consume "living foods" do their best to eat foods as quickly as possible after harvest. Devotees say that beneficial components in plants, variously referred to as enzymes, energy or even a life force, are destroyed when foods are heated above a temperature

of about 118 degrees. Little research exists documenting such eating habits. In one report, interviews with 17 leaders in the movement indicated that they had followed their diets an average of 13 years, and most consumed a diet consisting of at least 85 percent raw foods.They cited health as the primary driver in adopting the diet as well as a number of perceived advantages, including disease prevention, faster healing, weight control, better digestion, more energy and a greater connection with nature.Research has yet to prove whether raw food can provide all of these benefits, but the diets have some potential shortcomings.A raw vegan food plan may lack adequate protein and calcium and is likely to be deficient in vitamin B-12. A compound found naturally only in animal foods, vitamin B-12 protects nerve fibers and genetic

material. In a recent study of 201 raw-foodists in the Netherlands, published in the Journal of Nutrition, 38 percent were vitamin B-12 deficient, and more than half had elevated blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that requires vitamin B-12 for processing and that, when elevated, increases heart disease risk.It should be noted that the plant enzymes that raw-foodists try to preserve are no match for the highly acidic environment of the stomach. There, they're rendered inactive before digestion is complete. And some phytonutrients, such as the brightly colored carotenoids found in tomatoes, spinach and carrots, are not as readily absorbed from raw foods as they are from cooked foods.Peter H

 

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[Guest guest]

i am really getting sick of seeing this statement

A raw vegan food plan may lack adequate protein and calcium and is likely to be deficient in vitamin B-12. A compound found naturally only in animal foods, vitamin B-12 protects nerve fibers and genetic material.

now if only they'd EVER mention it actually ONLY comes from bacteria in said animals, or from bacteria on the plants said animals eat

Peter VV Aug 20, 2007 3:26 AM Re: Re: Raw food may fall short in some nutrients

 

 

 

 

By Susan Bowerman, Tribune Newspapers. Susan Bowerman is a registered dietitian and assistant director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. Los Angeles Times August 19, 2007

Growing interest in vegetarianism, driven by health and environmental concerns, has spawned an offshoot known as the raw-foods movement.Raw-food diets often are described as "uncooked vegan diets," which exclude all animal products and byproducts. Adherents consume from half to virtually all of their foods raw. Aside from fruits and vegetables, the diets include raw nuts and seeds and are rounded out with sprouted grains and beans.Those who aim to consume "living foods" do their best to eat foods as quickly as possible after harvest. Devotees say that beneficial components in plants, variously referred to as enzymes, energy or even a life force, are destroyed when foods are heated above a temperature of about 118 degrees.

 

Little research exists documenting such eating habits. In one report, interviews with 17 leaders in the movement indicated that they had followed their diets an average of 13 years, and most consumed a diet consisting of at least 85 percent raw foods.They cited health as the primary driver in adopting the diet as well as a number of perceived advantages, including disease prevention, faster healing, weight control, better digestion, more energy and a greater connection with nature.Research has yet to prove whether raw food can provide all of these benefits, but the diets have some potential shortcomings.A raw vegan food plan may lack adequate protein and calcium and is likely to be deficient in vitamin B-12. A compound found naturally only in animal foods, vitamin B-12 protects nerve fibers and genetic material. In a recent study of 201 raw-foodists in the Netherlands, published in the Journal of Nutrition, 38 percent were vitamin B-12 deficient, and more than half had elevated blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that requires vitamin B-12 for processing and that, when elevated, increases heart disease risk.It should be noted that the plant enzymes that raw-foodists try to preserve are no match for the highly acidic environment of the stomach. There, they're rendered inactive before digestion is complete. And some phytonutrients, such as the brightly colored carotenoids found in tomatoes, spinach and carrots, are not as readily absorbed from raw foods as they are from cooked foods.

Peter H

 

 

 

For ideas on reducing your carbon footprint visit For Good this month.

 

When I see the price that you pay

I don't wanna grow up

I don't ever want to be that way

I don't wanna grow up

Seems that folks turn into things

that they never want