It's not something I'm willing to try myself, but I saw some videos on youtube by a popular user called C0nc0rdance who's some sort of scientist who spoke about it. He's a skeptic (so you may find him a bit strident- but that's my style).
Basic points from the two videos (called "Raw Food" and "Raw Food Part 2"), rather than linking them (please note that I'm trying to give you the key points, I just think he's a good video maker and seems to know what he's talking about, I don't know anything about this stuff):
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1. Many of us eat far too much meat and not nearly enough vegetables and fruit. There's no doubt that diet has a profound impact on many health conditions and the health of people's children. There's lots of encouragement to eat better out there, but a lot of us make really bad choices.
2. Although most of us should change our diet, we don't have to be extreme about it. "It's possible to eat a hamburger every once in awhile and not drop dead at 40" (or vegetarian alternative- he doesn't say that, I am). We don't have to eat a raw food diet to be healthy.
3. Raw foodism takes a good idea- high nutrient, low calorie content foods- and can take it to a ridiculous extreme.
4. Raw foodism can cause health problems (including dental decay).
5. While some nutrients are destroyed during cooking, some are increased. A raw food diet (70% or more raw) is typically deficient in vitamin D, calcium, some types of vitamin B, iron, zinc, protein, and calories. Low density foods require a larger amount be consumed for the same amount of nutrition- cooking removes water and bulk. This can good for weight reduction. Some nutrients are also not available without cooking. It's difficult to get the right amount of nutrients from a raw diet (although it can be done). The idea that fibre is lost during cooking is false.
6. The enzymes in raw food, which might be destroyed by cooking, are also destroyed by our digestive process.
7. Cooking foods (esp. to high temperatures) can produce toxins and carcinogens, as claimed by some raw food advocates, but the way they're cooked makes a difference, and making smart choices about how you cook can minimise/ reduce that risk.
8. It's perfectly possible to live well/ be well without an -ism.
Video 2 (health risks/ benefits):
Potential health risks of raw food dieting:
1. Tooth decay (particularly over long term- compared to people not on raw food diets). This could be because of the high acid content of some things in a raw food diet, like orange juice, or the roughage and bulk of the food accelerates tooth decay. It's also possible that people on a vegan raw food diet have calcium deficiency.
2. Low weight. A low calorie high bulk diet might be a good way to lose weight. If you're already a healthy weight, it might be difficult to eat sufficient calories. The longer someone's on a raw food diet (and the higher percentage raw), the more likely someone is to be underweight.
3. Amenorrhea (correlated with percentage raw and duration of diet)
4. Nutrient defiency- vegan raw foodists need to supplement heavily, especially B12, iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamin D. This will be challenging, especially with high quality protein. He advises that any percent of diet that isn't raw should be lean meat or cooked beans to help overcome this.
5. Bone loss. Long term implications aren't clear
6/7/8- bloating, nausea, vomiting. Body has difficulty adjusting to all the fibre (he shows examples from raw food websites where new users feel terrible)
9. Infection/ poisoning. Cooking kills things (bacteria, viruses, and reduces amount of pesticides on vegetables), and home made fermented foods carry a risk of botulism. This isn't a big risk, but it's there. (We process foods to make them safer)
Benefits (although these are largely the same as any vegan diet):
1. Decreased cholesterol (increased fruit and vegetable consumption is protective for heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer- even just a single extra serving)- but both HDL and LDL. This benefit is outweighed if B12 is deficient (a related problem and apparently quite common).
2. Decreased inflammation. Cooked foods are more likely to stimulate the immune system and cause inflammation. This should be good for arthritis and fybromyalgia.
3. Probiotics. Eating foods fermented with lactobacillus allow for the colonisation of the gut which aids digestion and decreases colon cancer risk. (This is only true when you're eating lactobacillus- flora convert fairly quickly)
4. Weight loss (benefit and risk). Could be a fast way to drop a lot of weight while feeling quite full.
5. Low sodium. Usually doesn't include added salt with processing. (He thinks a benefit of raw vegan over cooked vegan diets, but doesn't have any citations)
6. (According to one study) Increased antioxidants- although this may be from omnivore/ vegan rather than raw/ not raw.
Back to discomfort (6/7/8 under risks)- it's hard to keep people on this diet if it really is as uncomfortable as people say. It's not a useful diet if you can't stay on it.
Talk to your doctor before starting on this diet, rather than relying on the sheer amount of bad information on the internet.
There are risks with any diet.
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Back to me. I just thought this would be useful for anyone thinking about this diet, I certainly found it informative when I watched it. Not trying to talk anyone out of anything- I agree with the videographer that you should be able to do what you want with your health but it's important to have good information before you do it.