Raw Food Diet

AIM

Depends, but may include weight loss, improved health and helping the environment.

THE CLAIM

Raw food is packed with natural enzymes and nutrients that help the body reach optimal health – and you’ll shed pounds.

Raw diet may decrease our body
eight. Source: google.com

THE THEORY

Raw foodism traces back to the late 1800s, when Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a doctor, discovered he could cure his own jaundice by eating raw apples. Thus began a series of experiments testing the effects of raw food on human health, and the diet has continued to evolve. Raw food hasn’t been cooked, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically engineered or exposed to pesticides or herbicides. It includes fresh fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds and herbs in their whole, natural state. Proponents say cooking obliterates most of the vitamins in food and nearly all of the immune-boosting plant nutrients (though scientific evidence to support these claims is lacking). Most who follow the plan consume only half the calories they would eat on a cooked diet.

HOW DOES THE RAW FOOD DIET WORK?

            There are numerous variations of the raw food diet, and you have the power to shape your own. Typically, though, about 75 to 80 percent of what you eat each day will be plant-based foods never heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. (Very few people follow a 100 percent raw diet.) Most followers are vegan, but some choose to consume raw animal products, such as raw (unpasteurized) milk, cheese made from raw milk, sashimi, raw fish and certain kinds of raw meat. You’ll eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, sprouts, seeds and nuts, including cashews, sunflower seeds and raw almond butter; some foods are marked as raw and sold at grocery stores, while others require home-prep. Grains are also OK, as are dried organic legumes (think lentils, chickpeas, adzuki beans and mung beans) eaten raw. Other common choices include cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil; raw virgin coconut oil; and raw coconut butter. Freshly-squeezed vegetable juice and herbal tea are also staples.

What’s off-limits? Anything pasteurized, all processed foods, refined sugars and flours, table salt and caffeine. Say goodbye to pasta, baked goods, junk food and most store-bought juices, drinks and milks. (Homemade juices using fresh fruits and veggies are OK.)

You’ll need to learn how to properly prepare your food. Raw foodies become expert at juicing, blending, dehydrating, sprouting, germinating, cutting, chopping and rehydrating. A dehydrator, for example, uses low temperatures and a fan to dry out food. Dehydrate peeled and sliced sweet potatoes for five hours, and you’ll have crunchy sweet potato chips. To make chocolate chip cookies, grind raw cashews and oats in a food processor or blender to create dough; then mix coconut oil, carob and cocoa powder, maple syrup and vanilla to make chocolate chips; and then combine the two and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Source: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/raw-food-diet