You Ask, I Answer: The Raw Food Diet

A friend of mine swears by the raw food diet (she actually calls it a lifestyle). She says it’s good not just for losing weight, but for feeling energetic and staying healthy. What do you think?

-- Susan Gribes

Portland, OR

I think you should sign your friend up for a nutrition class.

The raw food diet is actually one of my biggest pet peeves, mainly because most “raw foodists” I’ve met have a certain aura of culinary superiority about them, as if people who cook their food belong in an era where dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

According to the raw food camp, food should not be heated above 116 degrees Fahrenheit.

Otherwise, they believe, precious enzymes (proteins that, once consumed, kick off a variety of processes in our body) are lost.

Raw food advocates will also be quick to point out this is how we are "meant to eat". They support this statement by pointing out that we are the only animal species to cook our food, and that our ancestors were just fine before fire was "invented".

Of course we are the only species to cook our food; when was the last time you saw a cat sauteeing greens on a stovetop?

The raw food diet is wrapped in spiritual mystique, as many people who go on it -- including the Hollywood crowd, of course -- claim they finally "feel as one" with their bodies.

The raw food diet tends to be vegan, as there are usually no dairy or animal products allowed.

As far as practicality goes, going raw certainly misses the mark. For instance, want some beans on your salad? Forget pouring them from a can. You would need to soak them overnight (this also means you very likely would not be able to eat beans at 95% of restaurants).

Want to snack on some almonds? Go ahead – after you soak them for 12 hours in order to “activate enzymes”.

If you want to heat something, you must purchase a dehydrator -- an appliance which blows hot air through its roof and does not heat the food at more than 116 degrees.

Let's begin with the enzyme claim. Yes, it's true -- enzymes in food are killed by heat. So what? A plant's enzymes help it grow, but these enzymes don't do a darn thing in our bodies other than pass through our digestive system and get excreted. Our body uses its OWN enzymes for digestion.

Not to mention, some nutrients (such as beta-carotene) are more easily absorbed when they are heated. Spinach offers more calcium when it's cooked, and we absorb more lycopene (a plant chemical) from tomatoes when heat is applied to them.

As far as this being how we "are meant to eat" -- how was this determined?

As for the claim that eating raw is great for weight loss: raw foods do not make you lose weight; eating less calories makes you lose weight. Considering the extreme limitations to this diet, it’s pretty hard to have a high caloric intake.

It’s certainly fine – and beneficial – to eat fresh raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts (especially if these foods replace the overly artificial, sugar and fat-laden snacks that are so readily available to us), but the concept of shunning anything that is heated above a certain temperature is ridiculous.