What Does the Raw Food Diet Consist Of

The raw food diet, also known as the living food diet, has been getting a lot of attention in the media, which leads many people to wonder, what does the raw food diet consist of? The raw food diet is a vegan diet that also contains the stipulation that foods cannot be cooked to a temperature higher than 118 degrees. Raw foodists, as people on this diet are called, feel that food that is heated to very high temperatures loses much of its nutritional value. Some find this diet to be very limiting, while others feel freer due to the health benefits they claim the diet offers.

There is lots to eat on the raw food diet!

Many raw foodists divide their diet into two groups: completely unprocessed foods and minimally processed foods.

Completely unprocessed foods consists of those that basically go straight from the plant to the dinner plate. Some foods that fit into this category are the following:

• Fresh fruit
• Fresh vegetables
• Beans and legumes
• Nuts and seeds
• Seaweed and marine plants
• Edible flowers, sprouts and roots
• Spices and natural herbs

When people with traditional diets think of processed foods, they often imagine Twinkies or boxed dinner kits that are packed with sodium. However, no self-respecting raw foodist would go anywhere near these items. They have a different definition of what constitutes processed. For them it means foods that are altered somewhat from their natural state but are still in their purest form.

Foods that fit this description are:

• Syrup made from pure tree sap
• Dried produce
• Foods fermented in vinegar (pickles, kimchee, soy sauce)
• Vinegar

There are actually a large variety of beverages that fit into the raw food diet. Most fruit or vegetable juices qualify, as long as the juice is either fresh squeezed or made with the help of a juicer. Commercially available juices usually have additives, such as sugar, and may be pasteurized. Pasteurization heats foods to a temperature unacceptable to raw food diet followers. Soy and nut milks are also acceptable, as long as the ingredients are not heated. Of course, there is always pure, unadulterated water, which is about as raw as it’s possible to get.

Raw food recipes create new and exciting tastes, or recreate popular cooked recipes. There are thousands of raw food recipes available. In fact, there is a comprehensive listing on living-foods.com and there are several popular raw food “uncook” books. People following the diet can mix items from the above two lists to create a myriad of sauces, soups (gazpacho style), dehydrated breads, smoothies and even mock meats. This can keep the diet far from boring and will benefit those who are new to the diet and unsure of what to eat.

People that wonder what does the raw food diet consist of should also be aware of the fact that many on the raw food diet have to supplement the food they eat with vitamins or nutritional supplements to get the nutrients they need. Some argue that this is because cooking food can help with vitamin absorption. Others attest that the problems may lie with the fact that like the traditional vegan diet this one may lack sufficient amounts of B vitamins, protein and iron.

Some find that rather than sticking to the stringent rules of the diet 24/7, they fare better by eating raw only 75% of the time. This doesn’t mean they chow down on bacon one day a week, but rather that they enjoy some minimally cooked vegetables and foods.

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