Nov 30, 2010 Bernard Coogan
Grapefruits are powerful healing fruits - Jonathon Wrigley
Raw food diets are becoming increasingly popular across the US. Superfoods, raw chocolate and goji berries are promoted heavily by nutritionists, such as David Wolfe.
What is a raw foods diet? Can it fulfill the promises? And, Is it going to help you shed those extra pounds?
Raw Plants Make up a Raw Food Diet
The typical raw food diet consists primarily of raw fruits and vegetables. It is vegan and the produce is organic wherever possible. The basic premise is that when food is cooked, nutrients are degraded and it's enzymes destroyed. Enzymes within the food we eat helps the body to digest food properly.
Over the years I have developed a healthy degree of skepticism about any new and fantastic diet 'fad'.
They invariably promise amazing things but unfortunately fail to deliver on most occasions. The orthodox logic regarding calories seems to make sense. If you eat more than you use, you will put on weight and vice versa. Following this principle, not consuming enough calories will lead to low energy.
People who follow a raw food diet generally do not count calories. They believe that healthy, 'clean' foods are non taxing on the body. If they over consume calories, their bodies will still be able to efficiently process the excess.
Polar Opposite to Heavily Processed Standard American Diet?
A raw food diet is diametrically opposed to the typical, heavily processed, American diet. Processing foods requires cooking and recooking several times. Shelf life requires the addition of chemical preservatives and excess salt and sugar is added to provide flavor. They require the body to work even harder to process them.
Are Raw Foodists Healthy?
It does seem to be common for people on raw food diets to appear above averagely healthy. They generally appear more energetic, have clear skin and rarely have weight problems. Their does seem to be some variance however. While essential fats are very important, any diet that is too heavy in nuts, oils and seeds will not have the same extent of positive effects, as one based on fruits and vegetables.
It is very common for raw foodists to have lost drastic amounts of weight. People who are already slim to begin with, have lost more weight than desired. Drastic dietary changes take time for the body to adjust. If you are not used to them, raw foods make the digestive system work hard to extract the nutrients.
Most raw foodists do seem to be healthy. They also all appear to fall in the desired weight categroy. My advice to anyone considering transitioning is to take it slowly. It is a total lifestyle change and your chances of success are dramatically increased when you take it slowly.
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