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The Raw Food Diet
Nutrition | August 06, 2014
The raw food diet became quite popular after celebrities such as Demi Moore actively preached the benefits of it. It’s a deceptively simply diet that focuses on eating foods that have not been cooked in any way, shape, or form. Strict raw foodists insist that cooking our foods renders them toxic or strips them of their nutritional value. That means that any type of heat – be it a grill, an oven, a microwave – are out. However, foods can be prepared using appliances such as dehydrators or blenders as long as no actual cooking takes place.
Much of the raw food diet consists of primarily eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and sprouted grains. Some raw food diets even go so far as eating raw meat and eggs – a practice that should honestly be avoided given the potential of consuming harmful bacteria such as salmonella or, worse, E. coli.
The high amounts of fruits and vegetables in the raw food diet make it incredibly high in essential nutrients and vitamins. Natural raw foods are also low in calories, sodium and sugar. This makes the diet, potentially, an ideal one for losing weight. The lack of saturated fats and processed sugar of any kind is a definite high point of the raw food diet.
Unfortunately, aside from nuts, protein is hard to come by. Vegans and vegetarians can easily find an abundance of protein in beans and legumes, but these require cooking. For building lean muscle at the Zgym, the raw food diet can be quite limiting. As many of you already know, protein is essential for building muscle. Also, the lack of carbs in the form of healthy grains and legumes doesn’t allow our bodies to effectively fuel up and recover before and after workouts.
The argument raw foodists make that cooking destroys nutrients and makes food toxic is not a very convincing one either. According to Dr. David Katz at Yale University, the enzymes found in fruits and vegetables raw foodists claim cooking destroys are naturally eliminated by our digestive process anyway. Also, while it’s true that eating some foods in raw form is more beneficial from a nutritional standpoint, some foods are actually more nutritional when cooked as well. Dr. Katz points out that foods such as tomatoes and eggs are more nutritious when cooked. And, of course, as I said earlier, Dr. Katz insists that cooking is the best method to insure that we’ve rid our food of potentially harmful bacteria.
Have any of you tried the raw food diet? What did you like or dislike about it? Share your thoughts with me.
Private Member |
Hello there, I love your site and follow you since the body rock times, I’m myself a vegan and I’ve been training for a bit now, steadily gaining some muscle and shredding fat, I am not “against” raw food movement,but I find it way too limiting, no legumes, no wholesome cereals,yes you can sprout legumes,but it’s not as convenient as having a lentil+oatmeal burguer made,honestly. It’s awesome to add more raw food,all fruits I eat are raw,but that’s as far as I go.
Private Member |
What about raw-till-4? and then cooked high carb food, like rice, pasta, potatoes?
Private Member |
I have been on an all raw diet and though it did make me a little bit leaner it also made me anemic. I did not really feel energized and the amount of food that needs to be consumed such as fruits and vegetables is ridiculous. Also, where I live at (Bulgaria) it is very expensive to constantly buy fruits, vegetables, and nuts for a long period of time. For those of whom the diet works, great for them, but I certainly am not a fan of it.
Private Member |
Zuzka…check out Thomas Tadlock’s you tube channel. He’s a vegan and he has built muscle while on this lifestyle. I personally want to try it and think you should give it a go, even if it’s just for a month or so.
Private Member |
I drink smoothie every day,32 onz of whether spinach, cucumber,ginger, parsley, cilantro, pataste, beet, carrot and lemon. I play around with veggies, their combination, but this way I get my raw unharmed nutrients and minerals, enzymes in for the day. This smoothie very well replaces one meal for the day.besides, this is a great way to detox and re energize your body.this is how far I go with eating raw.oh, and I also eat raw quail eggs.
Private Member |
Hi Z, funny thing you write about this today, I’ve actually tried some raw food recipes recently and when I did one of your older zwows today I thought to myself that you might enjoy them (that’s my assumption based on some recipes you posted).
The recipes I’ve tried are from a book which is based on a blog called greenkitchenstories.com. I really liked what I tried so far, a lot of it is gluten free and some even vegan. I for myself am not in any way strict concerning my diet. I’ll have some chocolate cake or pasta here and there but I try to find a balance with lots of veggies. My approach is just to stay conscious of what I eat and when I notice I’ve been having quite some pasta, rice or fatty stuff lately I just squeeze in a week of salads for dinner and I’m back on track. I feel like this works a lot better for me. It’s like eating in phases and I enjoy tasty salads a lot more when I know that I can eat pasta three days in a row whenever I want to. =) It’s like with a lot of things, if I tell myself I HAVE to do it, then I HATE to do it. If I’m free to eat whatever I want that makes it a lot easier for me to make a healthy choice.
Anyways, I don’t think one should be too strict with themselves in any way since it can be a grand source of frustration (IF you have a healthy attitude towards food in general. I know there are a lot of people who consider this kind of advice pure crap and I know that it really is a hard thing to do for those who for instance substitute emotional cravings with food. I know you probably need some other kind of advice.).
So yes I eat and enjoy raw foods (I’m thinking of a surprisingly great tasting salad of raw broccoli, pomegranate seeds, raisins… and a bunch of other things. I really was amazed by the great taste… and I’m a picky eater.)
But I personally think one should not ONLY have raw food. As you said there’s protein missing and I just can’t help but think there’s benefits from both types of food, cooked and raw, that we shouldn’t miss out on. =)
Good night from Europe to LA!
Nadja
Private Member |
I decided to share the recipe I was talking about (I’m really not too big a fan of broccoli but in this salad I just love it):
2 heads of raw broccoli
1 little red onion
seeds of 1 pomegranate
150 grams of raisins
75 grams of sunflower seeds
250 grams of plain yoghurt
sea salt and black pepper (from the grinder of course)
Preparation: Dice onion and broccoli, toast sunflower seeds in frying pan (does that count for raw?! =), mix it all up in a big bowl with your hands!
The book is called “Die Grüne Küche” (the green kitchen) in german. I don’t know if they got the recipe on the blog though.
Private Member |
Hi Nadja, it seems we share the same attitude towards eating, I’m glad to find a person who is as relaxed as me when it comes to food. And since you say you are a picky eater, I have to try your recipe soon. Maybe even try to find the book you recommended if I (or better said my picky husband) find(s) it tasty 🙂
These days I am really inclined to try some raw deserts, I have the recipes and also bought most of the ingredients, still… I am afraid nobody will enjoy it and it will be just a waist of food. Have you ever tried the raw deserts?
Private Member |
Hi Ana, I just found your reply, glad to hear that! Have you tried it yet and did you like it?
I’m happy there are some other people out there who don’t freak out about their diet too much…
As for the raw desserts, no I didn’t try that yet. But I am interested in new ideas for sure! Anything you can recommend? =)
Private Member |
My attempt at eating mostly raw didn’t work for me, I didn’t feel full or energized enough.
Eating high carb is the answer for me. I no longer binge. I feel full and have energy. If I don’t eat high carb for a few days I definitely don’t feel smart and find it difficult to think, learn and be active.
What can I say, I LOVE potatoes! and smoothies! =)
Private Member |
I tried a raw food diet a few years ago and I became severely anemic. It was the most unhealthy I have ever been. I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables every day but I would never go back to a raw food diet. In my opinion, it’s especially a bad idea for athletes.
Private Member |
I’ve been on the raw till 4 vegan diet for 10 days now, not long enough to see all the changes people who promote it talk about but I can already notice an improvement in my body, the way I feel and sleep and mostly in my workouts.
I’m a bit of a fitness fanatic, I like working out at home (in the garden) and LOVE your workouts. After about three days on this diet I felt much lighter and found it easier to switch from one exercise to the next, also less soreness in the muscle. So far its been working great for me and I lost about 1-2 kg as well. But Im more interested in improving my fitness and endurance which so far has turned out great.
Thank you for being such an inspiration! Love you
Private Member |
I followed a raw food diet previously. My skin never looked more fresh and radiant. My eyes sparkled and glowed. But this is a hard diet to follow year round in colder climates and yes it can get boring too, just eating uncooked veggies,fruits and greens. But if you want a beauty boost, it really works magically.
The low carb/high protein diet does work very effectively to keep one lean and control/suppress the appetite. It can shrink your female fat zones and problem areas but I think it can also do a number on your face (make you look tired) at least in my experience.
Private Member |
I totally agree with everything you just wrote! When I tried a raw food diet my skin never looked so fabulous. I lost weight but only because my total calorie consumption was extremely low. Like you, I found the diet to be extremely limited. Kudos to people who can maintain this diet. By the way, I also cut out caffeine and alcohol when I tried the raw diet. That was tough!
The biggest downfall I had personally was my lack of energy to exercise. I think yoga and pilates compliments this diet. Not Zuzka! I prefer a balance of protein and vegetables and Zuzka. Everyone can benefit from incorporating more raw fruit and vegetables in their life. But eating nothing more is extreme.