Many of dieters out there are trying this kind of diet. What is it, actually? What are the advantages and disadvantages? How to do it?
Let me help you get all the answers in the following detailed explanations about raw food diet before you decide to apply it:
What is Raw Food Diet?
Raw food diet is a diet composed mainly or entirely of raw and living foods. These foods include mostly raw vegan food, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
The raw foodists can consume any foods which have not been cooked, frozen, or treated with chemical preservatives.
There are 3 types of raw foodists:
1. Living foodists, who eat a diet made up of plant food in active form, such as sprouted nuts and seeds.
2. Juicarians, who eat a diet made up entirely of juices.
3. Raw foodists who are not vegetarians, and therefore eat raw meats and unpasteurized milk
How to Start a Raw Food Diet?
Going on a raw food diet can be similar to detoxifying your body, and there can be some side effects. So when considering the raw food diet, you should start slowly, with one or more raw meals per day, and one or more meals with a raw main dish and a small cooked side dish. This can be easier on your body as well as your habits.
Where to Find the Foods?
The best kind of raw food is organic food. Organic foods are now available in a wide variety of products, not just fruits but even cookies.
While organic foods can be more expensive then regular foods, they can also be more convenient, as there are many companies starting in cities that will actually deliver organic fruits and vegetables to your front door.
What Are The Advantages?
Many raw foodists choose the diet because they believe that cooking, freezing or otherwise processing foods can destroy vitamins, bacteria, and enzymes. They also believe that cooking food makes food harder to digest, partially due to destroying enzymes which are acting as catalysts in the digestion of food.
Raw foods contain less chemicals and preservatives, which are not natural in foods. Raw food is also less toxic and more easily digested, while containing more vitamins and minerals than processed foods.
The raw foodists also believe that the diet can improve health, lower risk of heart disease (because of a diet low in trans-fats), improve digestion, improve skin appearance, and increase the energy levels.
What Are The Disadvantages?
Main concern with any plant based diet is B12 Deficiency, a raw foodist might need to take B12 supplements.