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What is The Raw Food Diet and Will It Work For You?
A relatively new food trend has appeared on the diet landscape.
It's known as the raw food approach, and from California to
Connecticut, the trend appears to be gaining strength. The
centerpiece of the diet is uncooked, highly nutritious foods.
The idea behind the diet is that a number of foods lose
nutritional value when they are cooked.
For the most part, those who subscribe to the raw food diet eat
fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. Beverages consist
of unpasteurized milk, water, juice, and tea, but the diet
excludes beer and liquor. It is a revolutionary way to eat, and
many of those who use it say it keeps them thin and healthy.
However, while the raw diet is rich in some nutrients, it lacks
others. For instance, it tends to exclude such vitally important
nutrients as protein, iron, and calcium. Therefore, it may not
be an appropriate diet over the long term. Also, one
disadvantage to the raw food diet is that the food tends to be
loaded with pesticides. Therefore, it might be best to consume
only organic raw food.
For health reasons, the diet is not recommended for children,
women who are pregnant, people suffering from osteoporosis, and
those who are anemic. Critics of the diet also note that it can
be extremely time consuming trying to prepare food with all the
chopping and blending that's involved. As a result, a raw food
diet isn't for everyone.
If you decide to turn to a raw food diet, you may have to |
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have
supplements to make up for the nutrients you are not getting.
These supplements include vitamin B12, zinc, copper, and
chromium. Also, since proteins from plants do not have as many
amino acids as animal protein, you'll have to consume a number
of different raw foods in order to remain healthy.
Some medical experts have suggested that a raw food diet is a
good antidote to eating disorders. This is because such food
provides nutrition without creating fat. Eating raw foods can
give you a positive outlook on food in general, enabling you to
combat psychological addictions to fatty and high sugar foods.
Some supporters of the raw food diet believe that some raw
foods are superior to others. These experts recommend focusing
on fruits and vegetables and eating only minimal amounts of nuts
and seeds. They also say that the fresher the food, the better.
In other words, the best raw foods come from your own garden
rather than from a supermarket.
At this point, it might be helpful to say some additional words
about proteins. According to the World Health Organization,
people need to consume five percent of their calories from
protein. Interestingly enough, five percent of the calories in
fruit are derived from protein, while as much as half of the
calories from vegetables are protein-based. Beans and grains
derive about a quarter of their calories from protein. Backers
of the raw food diet insist that raw foods provide a better
source of protein than cooked foods, since the cooking process
itself may |
