Raw food confusion-some say it is the healthiest way to eat, others say that it is too hard on the digestive?

Question

system and foods needs to be at least steamed. This ranges from many different alternative perspectives-acupuncture, ayurveda, etc. I am very confused-what do you know about this-raw food diet the way to go or no? And why

Answer 1

I believe you need to find the right diet for you personally. I have had digestive problems for as long as I can remember. My food allergies were getting worse and I finally went to a Naturopath Doctor who did a complete blood workup on me and designed an eating plan for me. This was about 7 months ago and when I stick to the plan I feel really great. In my case I am not good with raw foods and always felt crummy after eating a salad.

Answer 2

Hi,

I am a raw foodist. You have to be careful going raw, there is a lot of misinformation out there. There is also a lot of debate even amongst the raw food community. There are two main ways to get your calories when you are raw. One is sugar, from fruit. If you get too much you will be setting yourself up for some big health problems. The other is fat. You don't want to go overboard with either of these, you need to find a good balance. You also can actually be a junk food raw foodist by eating mostly nuts and dried fruit. I think the biggest problem that rawfoodists have is that they don't eat enough veggies, especially dark green leafy vegetables. This is where you get a lot of your minerals and you need to eat a lot or you will start acquiring major deficiencies. There are foods that are hard to digest and you will have to build up your digestive health. Nuts are hard to digest and most raw foodists agree not to eat a lot of them. Personally I feel great when I eat raw but it isn't for everyone. You have to take in to account money, time, planning, kitchen access, social problems and most importantly heath issues. If you are curious try it out for a little while you can always add cooked foods back in your diet.

Answer 3

Man, I have heard so much either way about this. Cooking food destroys many vitamins and enzymes which help you absorb them. On the other hand, cooking some foods helps to break down the lecithins or proteins in them which are difficult to digest. Take mushrooms for example. No one should ever eat raw mushrooms of any kind. They contain phytoproteins which are very harsh on the digestive system and can even cause intestinal bleeding. When you cook them, the phytoproteins are broken down into easily digestible proteins. Beans are another example. I wouldn't eat sprouted kidney beans in a million years. That's just going to land you in a very permanent place on the porcelain throne for a few hours. On the other other hand, raw sprouted soybeans are way more nutritionally awesome than cooked soybeans. According to this here sprout book I got from the library, they contain four times the amount of protein that cooked soybeans have, as well as higher amounts of vitamin A, C, B complex, and E that the dried/cooked beans don't have. So the reality of the situation is that it really just depends on the food. You'll really have to research into each individual food to find out how to maximize its potential. And probably throw out any information you find that doesn't have some good science to back it up. (Sorry ayurvedic cooking.)

Answer 4

There is only one case where steamed is better. Carrots are better steamed. Otherwise raw rules. Any time we process, cook, or change food, it's not good for us. The trick to raw food diet is getting a variety each day. Don't eat the same thing all the time. We need lots of nutrients to stay healthy. Eating the same thing all the time won't fill up the nutrient chart. Also look for raw nuts, seeds, and grains. A variety of beans is useful. Find a diet that tastes good and has a variety of ingredients. Learn to be creative with food. You will enjoy it a lot more.

Answer 5

It depends on the food. Raw meats can cause a bacterial infection like E-coli, raw fish can cause parasites, other raw foods can be toxic until cooked. Eating raw veggies is ok, but cooking some will make the nutrients more bio-available. This is true with carrots and getting the beta-carotene out of them. It is true for other veggies as well. This should be an easy subject to do research on and develop a better diet.

Answer 6

do your research before jumping into a raw food lifestyle. and remember, that it is a *lifestyle*. it can be very easy and very rewarding, you'll have more energy and your outward appearance improves... I lived this way for a while but found it difficult to maintain due to my living circumstances at the time.
check out rawfood.com or David Wolfes book The Sunfood Diet.. lots of tips, recipes and well informed advice..
good luck!

Answer 7

You are not suppose to get raw meat at all, raw veggies fine. Over time eating raw meat will damage your digestive system some studies have show that it will cause stomach cancer as well. All the crap that they but in raw meat is not good.

Everyone I have know in my life (2) who ate raw meat const. have died and the doctors said it was there eating style.

Answer 8

Eat your veggies lightly steamed. This will help your body absorb the most minerals from them. You will not get full benefits from eating the veggies raw.

Answer 9

50% raw would be ideal. Fruits and vegetables can and should be eaten raw and juiced. Fish, meat and poultry should be cooked.

Answer 10

the closest to nature the better.you need life to live healthy.cooked food it dead.i seer my meat because you do need to kill the bacteria on the meat that it came into contact during packing and cutting it.