A raw food diet is an alternative health lifestyle that restricts the consumption food to raw or uncooked foods. It also prohibits foods that processed. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are preferred by people who choose this alternative health lifestyle. The organic foods are much safer for the body since they were not treated with fertilizers that contain toxins. These toxins are harmful to the body. People who follow this program believe that foods which are cooked lose much of their nutritional value. As a lifestyle, people who practice the raw food diet treat it as permanent change in the type of food they eat, and not as temporary solution for their health problems.
There different degrees of doing a raw food diet.
1) Raw veganism
A person who is a raw vegan only eats unprocessed and raw plant foods. This is
the strictest form of raw food diet. They eat only plant based foods such as
fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes. Raw vegans are further
divided into three groups. These are:
a) Fruitarians – These people exclusively consume fruits.
b) Juicearians – They usually turn their food into juices.
c) Sproutarians –They eat only sprouted foods. Example of which is bean
sprouts.
2) Raw vegetarianism
Raw vegetarians also consume raw plant based food. They also exclude any forms
of meat such as fish, poultry, beef, and pork. But unlike the raw vegans, they
allow themselves to eat dairy products and eggs. They typically get most of
their proteins and calcium from eggs and dairy products.
3) Raw animal food diets
These are people who primarily eat raw animal food. These include, raw and
unprocessed meat, meat organs, eggs, dairy, aged century eggs, and fermented
meat. They also eat raw plant based food but to a lesser proportion to raw
meats. One of the famous raw meats is Sashimi or raw seafood. In order to
prevent food poisoning, they often follow a careful procedure in preparing for
their foods. Most of them usually buy their meats from free-range and grass-fed
sources. They can be picky on how the animals were raised.
Different people follow different types of raw food diets. However, there are
some common benefits that most of the “raw foodists” will agree to. The
benefits of raw food diets are:
1) The digestive enzymes found only raw foods are good for the digestive
system. Foods that are stripped of these enzymes make digestion difficult and
lead to the buildup of toxins in the body.
2) Good bacteria and some microorganism that can be found on raw food. It
strengthens the immune system.
3) In general, raw foods contain more nutrients than the cooked variation of
it.
4) Cooked foods can increase pH level of your stomach which can lead to
acidosis.
5) Raw food diet practitioner claims that they noticed changes in their energy
level.
6) It can help people lose weight
7) There is a better appearance on skin tone. It makes the skin healthier.
They prevent harmful toxins found in cooked and processed foods from entering
their system. These toxins can cause chronic disease and other health problems.
