For and against a raw food diet. raw food diet

The raw food diet is one of the most fashionable food systems of the present century. Adhering to the classic version of the raw food diet, a person eats food exclusively raw. Moreover, at one time it is permissible to use only one type of product, for example, only pears for lunch, pumpkin for dinner, etc. Meat, dairy products and fish are completely excluded from the diet. Proponents of this nutrition system claim that in just a month, health improves and the figure becomes slimmer. In addition, a person feels an endless surge of energy. So, maybe throw away the pots and pans and join the ranks of the raw foodists? Let's try to figure it out, weighing all the pros and cons.

Arguments for"

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1. In the process of long-term heat treatment of plant foods, many useful substances, for example, antioxidants, are destroyed. It turns out that it is much more useful in its raw form.

2. Raw food helps to avoid the consumption of excess amounts of sodium chloride, carcinogens and trans fats.

3. Raw food diet contributes to the rapid satisfaction of hunger. This happens due to fiber-enriched plant foods.

4. Raw fruit and vegetable crops activate the intestines and normalize its microflora.

5. Raw herbal products stimulate chewing function and strengthen the gums. In addition, they contain little sugar, which destroys tooth enamel.

Arguments against"

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1. There is not enough protein in the raw food diet, since its main source is meat and fish, which are prohibited for consumption by this food system.

2. Vegetable protein is significantly inferior in quality to animal protein. As a rule, it is characterized by a low level of important amino acids.

3. Raw foodists do not get the full list of important organic compounds. For example, some B vitamins are found only in foods of animal origin.

4. Raw foodists often have a lack of calcium in the body. As a result, bones become brittle, tooth enamel is destroyed, and nails break.

5. The amount of iron in some vegetables can be high, but the degree of absorption leaves much to be desired. For this reason, raw foodists are particularly prone to iron deficiency anemia.

6. Excessive consumption of raw fruits and berries, especially out of season, can provoke severe allergic manifestations.

The point of view of official medicine

Diets based on raw fruits, berries, vegetables and their juices are often used in treatment. Such a nutrition system is especially useful for kidney pathologies and hypertension. True in this case its duration is only a couple of days.

The classic raw food diet is categorically contraindicated for children, women during pregnancy and lactation, the elderly, athletes. Also, this nutrition system is not recommended for inflammatory processes in the digestive tract, kidney stones and a predisposition to allergies.

Based on the foregoing, it can be concluded that there should be more raw foods on the human menu than heat-treated foods, but cooked food is also important. Only the right balance in the diet can make your body healthy. Remember, it's best not to experiment with your diet, but to get a qualified professional to help you balance raw and cooked food.

The raw food diet is not so much a diet as a way of life and the flow of thoughts. It promotes the absence in the diet of products subjected to thermal processing - frying, boiling, freezing and stewing. But at the same time, it does not prohibit eating them raw, including raw meat and fish.

The main diet of raw foodists is vegetables and fruits, as well as dried fruits and germinated cereals.

The main argument of the supporters of the raw food diet is the assertion that cooked food could not have arisen in the natural environment, and therefore raw foods are the most natural for the body.

Benefit and reason for popularity

Due to the large amount of fiber stored in raw foods, a small amount of food is required for prolonged satiety.


A raw food diet is extremely beneficial for weight loss: such a diet primarily relieves the body of excess fluid, which contributes to rapid weight loss.

1. It is also good for the skin: pores are cleared, skin rashes and oily sheen disappear.

2. A healthy complexion returns.

3. Improves intestinal microflora, and a low-calorie diet helps to avoid excess fat.

4. After a short intake of raw food - 1-2 months - there are surges of energy and efficiency.

5. Due to the preservation of vitamins, minerals and amino acids contained in raw foods, immunity is noticeably strengthened. Even in cases of illness, the immune system easily gets rid of the infection.

There are cases when patients with oncological diseases are cured due to the exclusion of processed foods from the diet.

It has been scientifically proven that the blood of a raw foodist and a vegetarian is strikingly different. The latter showed a significant increase in cholesterol and serious hormonal disruptions, while the supporters of raw food did not.

With proper and balanced nutrition, a raw food diet has a positive effect on both appearance and physical condition and the immune system.

But do not forget that due to severe restrictions, the body may not receive the elements it needs, which will adversely affect health.

Harm or why doctors are against

Lack of omega-3 fatty acids leads to hypertension, flaky skin, hair loss and dandruff.

Due to a number of vitamins and microelements absorbed only through animal fats, beriberi may occur.

A radical change in nutrition can adversely affect men by lowering testosterone production. In women, this can affect the menstrual cycle.

At first, there is often a lack of working capacity and a sharp decline in strength. Dizziness and emotional instability are possible.

People with problems in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as those prone to allergic reactions, should be careful when choosing products, as raw food can provoke complications and give side effects.

A strong decrease in cholesterol in children can lead to depression and anxiety. And also, become one of the causes of the development of autism.

The benefits of preserving vitamins and minerals are reduced to a minimum due to the oversaturation of foods with pesticides and nitrates.

The raw food diet is healthy - when used sensibly - but its main idea is organic products, which are now extremely difficult to find. Cooking on fire and even steam, rids food of carcinogens, preventing it from poisoning the body.

Like any lifestyle, the raw food diet is extremely unique and not for everyone. It must be remembered that in order to maintain health and longevity, a varied diet is important, aimed at benefiting the body, and not chasing fashion.

Raw food diet is a fashionable practice today. Many have heard about it, but everyone knows what it really is, and what the benefits and harms of this system can be. Therefore, before conducting any experiments with your body, you need to figure out what a raw food diet is and how it is useful. Why do we need food? The answer to this question seems to be obvious, because it is impossible to live without it. However, many people do not eat to live, but live to eat. They cook and eat certain foods no longer for health reasons, but for pleasure. It is understandable that this category is perplexed by the fact that you can eat raw food and get enough of it. At the same time, many experts believe that raw food is much healthier than anything that has been thermally processed. This is the essence of the raw food diet - to eat food without processing, that is, without cooking, without frying, pickling, and so on. Experts identify many arguments, both for the raw food diet and against it. It is necessary to understand in more detail what the benefits and harms of this practice can be.

First, let's talk about the benefits of a raw food diet. In ancient times, our ancestors ate only raw foods, and this enabled them to survive. But is such a diet normal for a modern person. If we talk about such a practice as a raw food diet, its benefits and harms to the body will depend on a number of circumstances. Of course, a raw food diet is useful, and can restore a person's health. It all depends on whether it suits him and whether he needs it.

Real "raw foodists" really get sick rarely. And if they happen to catch a cold or catch an infection, then the body will cope with this problem faster than the body of a person who eats in the usual way. Raw foodists have almost one hundred percent immunity from oncology, diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The protection of their body does not allow chronic diseases to develop.

Fresh and raw foods retain beneficial antioxidants and other active ingredients that cooking can kill. Also when eating raw foods sluggish bowel disappears. Dietary fiber in raw foods helps fight constipation, hemorrhoids, and in fact many cannot cope with these problems for years. The health benefits of a raw food diet are also great in diseases of the kidneys, skin diseases, rheumatism. Raw food diet allows you to normalize water metabolism. By reducing the amount of salt in the diet, hypertension disappears.

Some foods that a raw food diet allows are high in calories, such as nuts and dried fruits. However, a small amount of them allows you to provide a feeling of satiety for a long time and saturate the body with energy, since it will spend much less energy than when digesting heavy food.

Also, on the question of whether a raw food diet is useful, it is worth noting that it helps fight diseases of the oral cavity, strengthens teeth and gums. Raw foodists can get rid of bad breath and get a beautiful and fresh complexion.

Harm and contraindications

You also need to understand what is harmful raw food diet. By itself, the way of eating is not harmful, but you need to know what to eat and how to do it. A raw food diet is not just eating raw foods. This is a whole philosophy, a separate science, closely connected with other scientific fields.

For example, many people on a raw food diet lean on legumes, because they have a lot of protein. But it is better not to use these products every day and not in too large quantities. They also contain those substances that are difficult to digest. With their excess in the stomach, they can form toxins, the removal of which the body will require a lot of effort. Therefore, people who use them uncontrollably can feel the whole harm from raw food.

Carrots are a healthy product that saturates the body with valuable vitamin A. However, raw carrots contain a lot of fiber, which can block its absorption. This component is absorbed along with fats, which are often excluded during a raw food diet. And in plants such as spinach, sorrel, rhubarb, there is a lot of acid that interferes with the absorption of calcium and prevents it from entering the body, so greens should at least be doused with boiling water before use.

It should also be noted that the pros and cons of a raw food diet can change if you are allergic to certain types of protein. Proteins are neutralized during cooking, because the raw food diet in this case can be dangerous. It is not recommended to switch to it completely for people of age and, of course, for children, pregnant and lactating women.

Discussing the benefits and harms of a raw food diet, experts agree that the absolute transition to eating raw foods is extreme. In their opinion, the best option is to use 60% raw and 40% cooked. After all, nevertheless, a lot of useful substances are found in meat, fish, eggs, which cannot be consumed without heat treatment.

In addition, not all "raw" foods available to residents of big cities are not actually processed. Take at least dairy products. It is pasteurized, supplemented with various preservatives. Please note that only homemade fresh milk contains useful substances. Nuts and dried fruits sold in stores are also often roasted and dried in artificial conditions, which already makes them unsuitable for eating on the basis of a raw food diet.

You can find different reviews about the benefits and dangers of a raw food diet, different opinions about this system. Of course, fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts are sources of numerous valuable substances. A raw food diet does not provoke overeating, normalizes the level of cholesterol and sugar, in addition, it allows you to make the diet quite diverse.

However, it should be borne in mind that not everyone can completely switch to a raw food diet. If people have already acquired offspring, and no more children go, then in the absence of contraindications, you can try. But for those who still want to become parents, this is undesirable. For the full maturation of sperm and eggs proteins and fats are required animal origin. Learn it.

Also, a raw food diet is not recommended for children and adolescents, since a complete diet is required for the proper construction of internal organs and the functioning of the glands. In its absence, delays in growth and development are possible. Children need both animal proteins and cooked cereals, which are a valuable source of energy.

Older people also need to be careful. Their metabolism slows down and if they switch to raw food only, the body may not be able to isolate the necessary components from it.

Raw food for a month or two will be useful people over 40 who have excess weight, diabetes, gout, high blood pressure - this will help to recover.

Absolute contraindications to a raw food diet are insufficient digestion of raw food, as well as gastritis and colitis.

How to switch to a raw food diet?

You don't have to join the ranks of raw foodists just because it's trendy, because someone said it was good, and someone you know did. So you're only hurting yourself. The decision must be conscious and 100% personal. We need to weigh the raw food diet, assess your health. A raw food diet is recommended only when the body requires it. For the correct transition, it will take at least a year, since the body must completely reorganize to receive a new type of energy. In order not to cause irreparable damage to yourself, consider the following recommendations:

• Be sure to consult your doctor. Every body is different and what works for someone may not work for you.
• Starting to switch to a raw food diet, leave warm drinks and porridge in the diet for another 7-10 days. Then you will need to exclude them too. The amount of water in the diet should be more than before. It should not be less than two liters.
• Increase the amount of fiber in your diet gradually. Eat more fruits and vegetables. This will help the intestinal microflora to rebuild.
• It's better to start a raw food diet in June-July. Such a transition will be less painful, as there are many seasonal vegetables and fruits. But winter is a difficult period for raw foodists.
• The diet should be built in such a way that it is balanced in terms of proteins and carbohydrates.
• The diet should be determined individually. It is enough for someone to eat a couple of times a day, for someone - 5-6 times, although fractional meals are always preferable.

The raw food diet allows heat treatment of food with temperatures up to 43 degrees.

Thus, it is worth evaluating the benefits and harms of a raw food diet, reviews of which will make it possible to understand more. Most people are better off just borrowing certain features of the diet from this system, and don't switch to it completely.. However, everyone is individual, but first of all it is important to take care of your health.

Pitfalls of a raw food diet in a useful video

The main idea of ​​a raw food diet is that a certain amount of useful substances is lost in the process of cooking, and if a person eats only raw vegetables and fruits, then he receives energy from the sun along with them. Therefore, all useful substances from raw foods are absorbed better, and fire, according to raw foodists, is an enemy, since it destroys all the nutritional value of foods.

Raw food diet is one of the fashion trends of this century. With this type of diet, people exclude from the diet some part of the food, mainly meat and fish, and eat the rest of the food raw. What is a raw food diet - a unique method of losing weight or harm to the body?

There are several types of raw foods.

Mono-raw food - a person consumes one type of product at one meal, for example, for breakfast - only apples, for lunch - only tomato salad, etc.

Mixed raw food diet- A person consumes several types of food in one meal. But at the same time, there are clearly defined laws of mixing products. For example, fruits can only be eaten with vegetables.

Omnivorous raw food diet- a person allows mixing raw food with that which has undergone minimal processing.

As for the advantages of a raw food diet, it is believed that raw foodists are less likely to get cancer, a raw food diet is the best remedy for constipation and hemorrhoids. Raw food is useful for various skin diseases. Uncooked food fills the volume of the stomach faster, so a raw food diet helps to become slimmer.

Cons of a raw food diet: a sharp transition to this type of food is dangerous to health, a raw food diet can exacerbate pancreatitis or gastritis. The raw food diet should not be used by pregnant and lactating women, children and the elderly.

There are two sets of arguments against the raw food theory.

The first group of disadvantages of this type of nutrition is related to the products that enter the body. There are a number of nutrients that are poorly absorbed if foods are consumed raw. For example, carotene from raw carrots is very well perceived by the body in combination with fat. If you just eat carrots, then carotene will be absorbed only by ten percent, and if carrots, grated on a fine grater, are eaten with sour cream, then the percentage of absorption will be much higher. And a substance such as lipocene, which is found in tomatoes, is better absorbed from a thermally processed vegetable. And some plants have developed certain substances in their composition that protect them from being eaten by people and animals. Therefore, their fruits during heat treatment become safe for humans.

The second group of shortcomings is connected with the person himself.. The products that a person consumes, adhering to such a diet, contain a lot of dietary fiber and starch, as well as fiber. And this is quite a strong load on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, people who have problems with the pancreas, a raw food diet is contraindicated.
If you are a beginner raw foodist, and you are not entirely sure how to eat right, you can try to stick to this menu.

The first breakfast may consist of an orange, a grapefruit, an apple and two pears, and about ten more figs and a piece of melon or watermelon. All this can be eaten not all together, but one product at a time.

The second breakfast may consist of a vegetable salad with a small amount of unrefined oil, you can also eat one hundred grams of nuts or seeds.

You can also have a salad for dinner.

At first, the raw foodist's digestion can be uncomfortable, as they are not yet accustomed to the new food. The transition to a raw food diet should be gradual, slowly increasing the consumption of live food.

First of all, a person must decide whether he needs to switch to a raw food diet.. Does it make sense to change the usual diet to extreme. If you nevertheless decide to try, then several conditions should be taken into account: the person must be absolutely healthy, the age must be between thirty and fifty-five years, you should not give up animal products (cottage cheese, milk, fish and meat). Very often, raw foodists try to compensate for the lack of animal protein by eating vegetable protein. However, vegetable protein has a shell of cellulose, so it makes it difficult to absorb. In addition, vegetable protein is not complete in its composition, and this can cause an imbalance in the body.
If you decide to switch to a raw food diet, you need to consult a doctor, analyze your health status, work schedule, diet and physical activity.

You should not blindly follow any type of nutrition, it is much more correct to extract a rational grain from each. For example, from a raw food diet, you can learn that raw foods can and should be included in the diet, but in a certain ratio: there should be more raw foods than processed foods, but cooked food is also necessary for the human body. The main thing is that food does not harm your body, but helps it.

(Photo: Gina Sanders, JuTi, shutterstock.com)