The Raw Facts

What About Raw Food Diets?

BY CHRISTINE SCHRUM

Nothing compares to the satisfying crunch of carrots, the sweetnessof sugar peas straight from the vine, or the leafy green goodness of a forkfulof salad. For many of us, raw fruits and vegetables are largely seasonal pleasuresassociated with farmer’s markets, CSAs, and the hot summer months. Comeautumn and winter, we welcome hearty soups and steaming casseroles.

For others, raw food is a year-round way of life. Endorsed by thelikes of designer Donna Karan, model Carol Alt, and actors Woody Harrelsonand Demi Moore, “raw foodism” is becoming increasinglypopular—and generating mixed media attention.

Proponents of the trend claim that consuming a diet consisting of75 percent or more raw foods greatly enhances overall well-being andcan improve or eliminate a wide range of health complaints. Criticssay the regime is for dietary fanatics and can lead to a host of physiologicalimbalances. Seems like, between the two perspectives, there shouldbe a healthy medium in there somewhere—we’ve outlined theraw facts below.

Dining in the Raw

As one might expect, the raw food diet consists primarily of plantfoods including fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains,legumes, seaweed, and dried fruit. Raw foodists believe that heatingfood above 116 degrees F. destroys the naturally occurring enzymesthat assist in digestion and absorption—and saps vitamin powerto boot. Therefore, cooked foods are out, as are all processed foods,refined sugars and flours, caffeine, and acid-forming foods, like meat,fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy.

“Raw foods supply the body with important vitamins and minerals,which would otherwise be mostly depleted when cooking,” saysStella Metsovas, a certified nutritionist in Laguna Beach. “[They]contain beneficial living enzymes that help to digest foods naturallywithout pulling from your physiological reserves.” Accordingto Metsovas, live foods also contain beneficial fibers that can helpregular blood sugar.

To make their meals more digestible and palatable, raw foodists employpreparation techniques including sprouting, juicing, soaking, blending,and dehydrating. In general, raw diners aim for a diet of at least75 percent raw foods; hardcore enthusiasts shoot for 100 percent raw.

The Raw Benefits

Many people who’ve gone raw rave about the diet’s numeroushealth benefits, especially noticeable in the first few months or years.

“I saw weight loss, improvement in my menstrual cycle, betterdigestion and elimination, thicker and shinier hair, much better skin,and better emotional and mental health,” says Lenka Zajic, currentlyof San Diego (see LenkaZajic survey of raw foodists). “I madethe most fun, yummy things and totally indulged, and I still lost 25pounds, had the energy of a 12-year-old, and was extremely happy.”

The raw diet has many apparent health boons. Because it is low insodium and high in potassium, magnesium, fiber, and phytochemicals,it can help dieters to easily shed pounds and can also help fend offdiseases like diabetes and cancer, particularly colon cancer.

“The raw diet is extremely cleansing,” says Jeanette Bronee,a Holistic Health Counselor and Nourishment Consultant from New Yorkstate. “That’s why it feels so good.” In particular,says Bronee, eating raw foods can help cleanse the system of toxinsthat can accumulate in the digestive tract due to eating too many starches,flour-based foods, meats, and dairy.

Studies show that the raw food diet, having little or no saturatedfat and trans fats, can also be extremely heart healthy. A 2005 Journalof Nutrition study found that a long-term raw food diet can lower andbalance serum LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, thus reducing therisk of heart disease.

The Drawbacks of Raw

In spite of its many seeming benefits, though, going raw may not bea wise choice for some.

“The problem with raw food,” says Bronee, “is thatwe can’t necessarily absorb it. Sometimes, to be able to absorbfood, we need to cook it, and that varies from person to person really.”

According to Bronee, people with weak digestive systems, “which,by the way, is most people out there, people who eat excessive amountsof sugar and highly processed foods,” may simply not possessthe digestive enzymes required to break down the nutrients in raw foods.

Genetics and culture can play an important role as well. “Ifyou have lived your life thus far on traditional [cooked] Indian cuisine,” saysMetsovas, “your physiology has a blueprint to metabolize foodsin a certain way.”

Both Metsovas and Bronee agree that a person’s digestive enzymescan slowly be “trained” to tolerate raw foods, but bothadvise a cautious approach. “Transitioning to a raw food lifestyleshould be treated as a process and not as an instant switch,” saysMetsovas. “Beware of the detoxifying properties a live food dietis capable of producing.” Headaches, nausea, lightheadedness,and extreme cravings are all symptomatic of rapid detoxification anda good cue to take it slow.

Long term, the raw diet may have questionable benefits. The same Journalof Nutrition study that touted the heart-health benefits of diningraw also found that study participants had increased levels of homocysteinedue to vitamin B-12 deficiency. Further, a Washington University studyfound that people following a raw food diet had lower bone mass, althoughapparently healthy bones.

Critics of raw foodism also warn against a host of nutritional deficienciesincluding low calcium, iron, protein, and insufficient calories. Theypoint out that while it’s true some enzymes are destroyed whenfood is heated, the body in fact produces and uses ample digestiveenzymes on its own. Further, cooking can actually make certain nutrientseasier to absorb, as with the beta-carotene in carrots. As Bronee pointsout, “Not all cooked foods are created equal. There’s abig difference between deep fried and blanched.”

Bronee feels that the raw diet may not be for everyone. “Thegroundedness that you can get from cooked food you don’t reallyget from raw food. People with weak digestive enzymes might feel coldafter a raw meal, especially in the wintertime. And some people getreally spacey.”

And as it turns out, sometimes even the most zealous raw foodistsmay find the initial appeal of the diet can wear off.

“It was all great for about a year and a half, two years,” recallsZajic, “Then I started to feel a decrease in metabolic rate andpossibly some protein deficiency.” At that point, Zajic saysshe not only began to crave and overeat raw fats and carbs, but shealso started gaining back some of the old weight, among other healthcomplaints.

“That’s when I began to question how I could modify mydiet to address these needs,” she said.

The Middle Road to Raw

In the end, as with so many things in life, a moderate approach maybe the answer.

“I think there’s a virtue to the raw food diet; it’svery, very nourishing,” says Bronee. “But I don’tnecessarily think that everyone can be completely satisfied or nourishedby it.”

Zajic says that once she dropped her attachment to eating a specificpercentage of raw foods and started “tuning into” her body’sneeds, her physiology balanced itself once again. She now incorporatesa small amount of cooked foods and fish into her largely raw diet,when her body “asks for them.”

“It’s really about balance, one word: balance,” shesays. “I think it’s essential to eat a large proportionof fresh, organic, highly mineralized, hydrating foods, but even moreimportantly, to do it consciously, so you’re eating what youwant when you want it, not following a book.”

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