About The Benefits And Risks Of Raw Food?

Author: Dean Rouseberg Time for reading: ~5 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

In this article, learn more about About The Benefits And Risks Of Raw Food?. What can we take from the regime and what extremes should we not allow?.

Proponents of raw food argue that our body is alien to food prepared at a temperature higher than 40 degrees Celsius. According to them, cooking kills the products, and raw tones and maintains the body much more beneficial. However, raw food does not preclude cooking at all, as is the common misconception. ( The text is a continuation of the Benefits of raw and cooked food? )

Indeed, between 70-100% of the food consumed by raw foodists has not undergone heat treatment. However, this is a regime in which the goal is not to eat only raw food, but to consume as much as possible.

Foods that allow this regime are : vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, herbs, nuts, seeds and grains - raw or pickled, sprouts, products heat-treated at low temperatures up to 40 o C or obtained by fermentation (eg kefir). Raw food allows the processing of food by smoking, but up to 46 o C.

As for products of animal origin , raw food does not reject them - the mistake in our understanding comes from the fact that there are also vegans and vegetarians among raw foodists who simply choose not to consume those of animal origin allowed in the regime. Raw foodists consume meat, fish, liver and eggs, but of course in smaller quantities, as they are mostly raw, and this still carries some health risks and requires more attention to food.

In Western countries, proponents of this diet are coming together, building search and delivery networks, enjoying plenty of shops and restaurants, as well as brochures, manuals and magazines for cooking raw products. It is a community with its own culture of behavior and lifestyle, joining which is a matter of personal choice. For these people, the consumption of raw eggs of wild birds, insects and others is not alien, which for others may seem extreme.

The valuable thing we can learn from this regime is the desire to consume more raw products. After all, it is much more beneficial for the body to drink smoothies from several fresh products than to take another drink full of preservatives.

There are proponents of raw food who like to consume certain products whole , even without passing them through the blender, so that the body can get the most out of them. And this is logical, the body absorbs the fruit and its juice in different ways. Even with such processing, the full nutritional value of the products is partially lost, nutrients, vitamins and fiber are lost, which is proven by scientific research. So this recommendation from raw foodists is also useful.

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In this mode, there are recommendations on which products are combined and which are not - for example, it is not good to mix sour and sweet fruits in one meal.

Some raw foodists avoid consuming water , arguing that it should be obtained through food, and when using it, it is distilled to avoid chemical impurities. However, this is not supported by raw food at all.

Organic farming products are preferred , and even local producers are chosen to minimize the damage caused by land cultivation and raw materials and transport.

The arguments of the strongest supporters of raw food are many, but it is still important not to wander to extremes. Some of them are logical, others the scientific community logically refuses to accept. We live in a time when a claim about nutrition can be investigated, confirmed or rejected. For example, the fact is that during cooking, enzymes are lost in the products that would be useful for the absorption of food and the body as a whole.

What should be clear is that raw fruits and vegetables are actually much healthier, but a diet based solely on such consumption carries risks of many deficiencies.

People with such deficiencies should be especially careful. It is advisable, especially in such cases, to consult a nutritionist before starting a diet , who will prepare the desired plan professionally - he will emphasize which cooked foods should not be excluded or what nutritional supplements should be added. to avoid health problems.

This category includes vitamin B12 , which is obtained from foods of animal origin. Needed to maintain red cells in the body, its deficiency is associated with anemia. With a meat-restricted diet, it is good to take the vitamin. A study shows that 79% of raw foodists are severely deficient in vitamin B12.

We associate fats with poor levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood, which is the basis of the recommendations of such regimens, but we must not forget that fatty foods also provide useful fatty acids that are vital for the brain and our health in general. 90% of raw foodists actually enjoy low LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, but half of them also suffer from low HDL - good cholesterol. This can be avoided by eating fish, raw pressed olive oil, olives, nuts and / or taking omega-3 fatty acids.

A third concern in this regard is to ensure calcium intake to maintain good bone density. Raw foodists usually get it by eating tofu, mustard, turnips, bok choy and kale. Although spinach is rich in calcium, it is not an option, as the calcium in it can be converted to oxalate, which stops its absorption.

Proponents of raw food point out that raw fruits and vegetables provide the body with valuable carotenoids and vitamin A , which cooked food does not provide. Indeed, carotenoids and vitamin A are useful in their effect to reduce the risk of chronic diseases, which is why there are positive reviews about their condition from patients, but ...

At this stage, science confirms two things: a good raw food diet maintains normal levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene levels, which can help prevent chronic diseases. However, the same amount of vitamin A can be obtained from another diet, which includes the consumption of fruits, nuts and seeds.

It should not be forgotten that this diet, although rich in fiber , is low in calories and poor in diversity, which is true for countries like Bulgaria, lower financial opportunities and certainly not healthy for certain groups of people, even if are healthy, like children and young people, pregnant and sports.

In a study of a group of raw foodists, researchers found that 95% of the food consumed was raw, eating an average of 1 - 1.3 kg of fruits and about 430 g of vegetables. 97% of the food is naturally plant-based with little presence of bread, rice, lentils, grains and dairy products such as unpasteurized milk and raw yogurt (similar to kefir).

Expect soon what exactly is cooked food useful according to science?

About The Benefits And Risks Of Raw Food?

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