Experts talk about raw food health benefits.
We’ll show you why eating raw food can be dangerous, and which people may need to avoid or reduce raw foods in their diet.
So, let’s consider the pros and cons of raw food and cooked food and first, and the benefits and hazards of eating raw.
We’ll also look at how healthy cooking has a place in your diet, and how it can actually increase the nutritional value of food.
We’ll start by defining raw food, to make sure we are on the same page.
What is raw food?
The true definition of raw food is simply ‘uncooked food’.
Some people say that heating or drying below 40 degrees Celsius also counts as raw.
What you may not realise is that the term ‘raw food’ is also used by marketing companies to describe food that is unprocessed, untreated and organic.
FAST FACT – Many of the foods that we commonly eat raw, are also considered to be alkaline foods.
While there are raw food diet benefits, there are also some things you need to be careful of.
Benefits of a raw food diet plan
Depending on the foods you choose, raw food can be rich in:
- Fiber
- Vitamins
- Minerals and
- Phytofactors.
So therefore, a raw food diet weight loss plan works because by eating more raw foods, you tend to be:
- cutting calories
- substituting junk food and processed food with raw foods
- eating foods of high nutritional value
- replacing processed grains and cereals with more raw leafy greens
- replacing fatty, salty and sugary snacks with healthy nutritious raw snacks!
Some people think that raw foods are great for detoxing.
That might be true if it means you’re replacing unhealthy, processed foods with vitamin-rich foods that specifically help your liver work more effectively.
Examples of typical raw food detox strategies include:
- Replacing caffeinated drinks and alcohol with water and a little lemon juice
- Replacing a nutrient-poor breakfast with a more nutritious green smoothie
- Use vegetable juices as energy-boosting snacks.
Raw food health dangers
Raw food diets sound great, but are they really as good as they sound?
Not always.
Before starting a raw food diet plan, consider the following raw food health problems.
There are two main types of problems – digestive/disease issues, and safety.
1. Raw foods, digestive problems/diseases
These days, many people suffer from a range of digestive problems, from minor symptoms to full blown disease.
Having a digestive problem usually means other health problems, such as:
- A struggle to get nutrients from your food – raw or cooked
- Nutrient deficiencies or chronic absorption problems and eventually, deficiency diseases
- Trouble digesting raw foods (the food molecules are larger) which are tough on your digestive system
- Worsening of disease symptoms.
A serious disease like Crohn’s disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) might be aggravated by eating some raw foods, particularly those prone to fermentation (FODMAPS), which may be included in raw food diet plans
Click here for more info on digestive problems.
If your digestion needs support, get help from your doctor or health coach before starting a raw food diet plan. It’s best to sort the digestive problem out first.
In the meantime, lightly cook the fibre-rich and starchier foods in your diet to make them more digestible.
Aside from that, there are many other good reasons to cook some foods.
2. Raw food health and safety precautions
Some foods definitely need heating or cooking to:
- Destroy harmful microbes in the food
For example, Salmonella in meat or raw eggs, potentially lethal bacteria in raw milk
- Destroy natural toxins or chemicals in the food that can cause allergenic reactions and food intolerances (1)
For example: lectin glycoproteins in legumes (disrupts cellular metabolism), phytic acid in grains (blocks the absorption of iron and zinc in the grain), proteins in raw eggs which can block iron and biotin absorption.
- Alter the properties of part a food so you can get more nutritional value (1, 2)
For example, the nutritional value of eggs is increased by cooking.
A protein in raw egg white prevents the absorption of biotin in the yolk, but cooking disables this protein. Biotin is needed for metabolism of sugar and fat and for skin health.
- Make the food easier to digest and therefore easier on your body (2)
- Make the nutrients in food more digestible and even more bioavailable compared to raw foods. Yes, that’s right, the right cooking method can increase antioxidant activity in some foods (1, 2, 3).
From what you have seen so far, it’s clear that there are some important raw food health risks to consider.
A good way to go is to get a balance of both raw food and cooked food.
Let’s explore those two things a little more.
Eating raw foods
A list of raw foods in a typical raw food health diet may include any of the following:
- Many vegetables (especially non starchy)
- Most fruits
- Nuts
- Seeds (including sprouted whole grains)
- Eggs
- Fish (sashimi)
- Some meats
- Raw milk and cheese
As stated above, it may be better to lightly cook some of the foods in this raw food list to improve their safety, digestion and nutritional value.
Just to restate the facts, foods that may need to be cooked for one or more of these reasons include:
- fresh and dried legumes
- some vegetables (spinach, brassica family – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale)
- eggs
- whole grains
- meats.
This page explains the best cooking methods for these foods.
Cooking food
With digestive deficiencies being so common, it’s important to make heat food just enough to improve digestibility but still maintain the nutritional value of food.
Light cooking methods, where heat is applied for a short period (2 – 5 minutes), are the best for retaining or even boosting the nutritional value of food.
Healthy cooking methods include:
- steaming
- sautéing
- blanching
especially using pans made of stable materials such as stainless steel or cast iron.
Problems with overcooking food
Cooking the right way is usually fine.
But if you overcook a food (too much heat/pressure) e.g. microwave cooking, you may reduce raw food health benefits by:
- Destroying water-soluble vitamins (e.g. vitamin C) (3)
- Denaturing proteins
- Altering the structure carbohydrates to increase the glycemic index of the food
- Altering the structure of fats (e.g. create trans fats by reusing and reheating plant oils)
- Creating carcinogens and mutagens that can cause cancer, heart disease and other problems.
It’s plain to see that there’s a lot more to raw food health benefits and cooking foods than meets the eye.
What’s the moral of the story?
Do your research before you start following a raw food diet plan.
References
(1) Worlds Healthiest Foods www.whfoods.org
(2) ABC Science www.abc.net.au/science/articles
(3) Wachtel-Galor, S, Wing Wong, K, Benzie, IFF (2007). The effect of cooking on Brassica vegetables. Food Chemistry 110 (3), 706 – 710.