Raw Foods

[tdprater]

Hi!

Just wanted to see if there's anyone here who has any experience with a raw food diet. I've been reading some stuff on it, but I'm not quite convinced that cooked food is not as bad as they say. Anyways, just been thinking about eating more fruits and veggies in general, cutting back on the processed grains and sugars.

Any thoughts? Any good reading on the subject?

[Michael]

Have you seen people on raw food diets? They look like death warmed over. Generally speaking, invention of fire and preparation of food was a step forward back in the 1970's when it was invented, LOL. No, actually, that's apparently what the raw food fashion followers would have you believe, that cooking is some kind of short-sighted fad.

[GrahamB]

Does eating raw food mean you have to give up wine and beer? That would be bad....

[Steve James]

a raw food diet

Humans ate raw food long before they cooked it, but that's just talking about fruits and vegetables. We still eat apples and even carrots raw, with no ill effects. Meat is another thing. Steak tartare and sushi are still considered delicacies --that people eat every day. Otoh, it's hard to eat raw rice and beans At any rate, "raw" should be contrasted against "processed", not "cooked."

The raw food movement, that I remember, was about eliminating processed foods with added salt, sugar and chemicals. It wasn't about eating everything raw or uncooked. That would be possible, as it is for fruitarians. But, it's healthier, imo, to have a more varied diet; and, cooking just makes eating some foods easier. There are things that can't be eaten unless cooked, but it's not necessary to eat those things.

[Ian]

I would personally do a 30 day trial and see how it feels.

[Brady]

The raw food movement, that I remember, was about eliminating processed foods with added salt, sugar and chemicals. It wasn't about eating everything raw or uncooked.

As I understand it, raw usually means not heating something up past about 110 degrees F, or the temp that usually denatures proteins. This is what I read in a raw food restaurant at least, so its not just processed food that is "evil."
Either way, I could not do gongfu and expect to survive on raw food, unless I had abundancies of very clean meat.

[Ian]

Either way, I could not do gongfu and expect to survive on raw food, unless I had abundancies of very clean meat.

I am willing to experiment with subsisting on steak tartare, sashimi, and caviar (is caviar allowed?) for a month in the name of science. Any sponsors?

[Steve James]

raw usually means not heating something up past about 110 degrees F

Well, I don't believe that is true or safe for any meat, especially chicken and pork. YMMV.

[Michael]

Now Steve has gone and made me post the brain worm link. It's Steve's fault if the thread gets derailed.

[David Boxen]

http://www.beyondveg.com/

[Steve James]

Well, yeah, it's arguable that "cooking" is something that distinguishes "humans" from other (or earlier) primates, hominids and hominins. I.e., it's about the use of fire. So, tracing it back a long way in evolutionary history is easy enough. It's also easy to separate "raw food fadism" from the hazards of eating over-processed and/or over-cooked foods. Humans have always cooked what they felt needed to be cooked. That doesn't mean that they cooked everything they ate.

[Steve B]

Someone mentioned "people on a Raw food diet look like death warmed over" - I would not agree with this.

In my experience people on a good raw food diet look very healthy - clear eyes, lean, shiny hair etc.

I have been eating a lot of raw foods and I feel great for it, lots of extra energy and clearer mind - Don't knock it till you have seriously tried it.


Some good information here.
http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/

This raw foodist look healthy to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUIimYiMGaw

Has anyone seen film about reversing diabities in 30 days with raw foods - cannot deny the results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzdhBo4pbgE

give it a try

[Brady]

Well, I don't believe that is true or safe for any meat, especially chicken and pork. YMMV.

Steve, this is true, if you aren't intimately aware of where your meat is coming from. If you know and have spoken with the farmers who sell your meat, and are certain of the animal's healthy living and slaughter/preparation, than the risk is minimal.
It costs a hell of a lot more but is well worth it to have tasty rare meat! Here's one of many articles on the subject

Cook Your Meat Less or Not at All to Help Decrease Cancer

How people cook meats can have major health implications. Women who consistently eat their meat very well done with a crispy blackened crust face almost five times the breast cancer risk of those who eat rare or medium cooked meats. For years scientist have been investigating the conditions under which a family of carcinogens known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) develop in cooked meats. HCAs can bind to DNA in breast cells forming molecular structure called adducts, a first step in cancer development. Well done meat was shown to contain ten times the amount of HCAs than less well done meat. Fat content can also prove important. When fried under the same conditions, hamburgers that started wit 5 percent fat developed up to five times the HCAs as burgers with 15 percent fat.

Science News Novermber 28, 1998 page 341

COMMENT: The Price Pottinger Foundation has long advocated raw foods and raw meat. Most people balk at that due to the risk of infection. However, there are clearly down sides to cooking and these new studies clearly show that the HCAs are one important mechanism to cause harm. An excellent book on the subject is We Want to Live by Vonderplanitz which details the successful treatment of hundreds of cancers with raw meat.

[tdprater]

Some good information here.
http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/

You know who else liked it raw?

[Michael]

Someone mentioned "people on a Raw food diet look like death warmed over" - I would not agree with this.

In my experience people on a good raw food diet look very healthy - clear eyes, lean, shiny hair etc.

I have been eating a lot of raw foods and I feel great for it, lots of extra energy and clearer mind - Don't knock it till you have seriously tried it.


Some good information here.
http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/

This raw foodist look healthy to me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUIimYiMGaw

Has anyone seen film about reversing diabities in 30 days with raw foods - cannot deny the results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzdhBo4pbgE

give it a try

I've only known a couple of people who said they did not cook anything they ate, period, no exceptions. Probably they just didn't know what they were doing, but if you do have the right knowledge, diet is everything and is a huge influence on your health.