May 14, 2012
Raw food diet ? by request of Joe Koncoski.
Raw foods? What is the deal?
Claims:
1) heating food above 118 degrees F causes chemical changes that create toxins including carcinogens and free radicals.
2) Cooking destroys enzymes that help you digest your food.
3) Benefits include the alkalinizing effects of the fresh fruits and vegetables.
Ingredients of the diet: fruits, vegetables, sprouts, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and yeasts.
Reality check! There is very little data to validate a raw diet as a key to health.
Lets look at the benefits first.
We know that eating large volumes of colorful fruits and vegetables is associated with decreased illness and mortality. Good!
Cooking certain foods can reduce the content of some beneficial chemicals like sulfurophanes in broccoli.
Eating organic products and no meat(higher chemical burden) will reduce toxin burden that is believed to have a negative affect on health.
Raw fermented foods can help digestion and the maintenance of a stable gut ecosystem.
Problems:
Plain raw foods are harder to digest. Ask anyone with inflammatory bowel disease.
Cooking foods can destroy some unhealthy chemicals.
Heating foods can increase some healthy chemicals like lycopene in tomatoes which are known to be low in a raw diet.
People at risk for oxalate induced kidney stones can increase their risk with increased consumption of nuts.
Vitamin B12 can be very low without animal meat consumption.
Low calcium intake can be an issue for bone health.
