Few Americans had heard about
the raw food diet until last year, when Sex and the City's
Samantha, the show's sex-crazed character, downed a shot of wheatgrass
juice before seducing a waiter.
Underground for more than a decade, the raw
lifestyle has lately
sprouted into the mainstream. There are raw cookbooks, restaurants, and
even celebrity devotees like actor Woody Harrelson and model Carol Alt.
In a country that digests fad diets at a rapid rate, raw foodism seems
poised to become the next South Beach diet, doing for avocados and
carrots what South Beach did for brown rice.
So what is raw food? Enthusiasts basically don't
cook, because they
believe that heating food beyond 118 degrees destroys its nutritional
content. The diet is essentially vegan, since most animal products
(besides sushi) need to be cooked to kill bacteria.
Instead of hamburgers, raw restaurants serve
nut-meat patties. Instead
of ice cream for dessert, raw foodies might whip up banana and tahini
smoothies. Although most meals are served cold, sometimes foods are
gently warmed in a food dehydrator.
What's wrong with cooking, you ask? Raw dieters
argue that major health
problems -- including diabetes, obesity, and heart disease -- arrived
with the modern processed, fat-laden diet. Uncooked food is healthier,
because it is higher in fiber and contains "live enzymes" that are
normally killed in the cooking process. Devotees believe that live
enzymes help to remove toxins from the body.
But as much as raw dieters focus on food
temperature, the main goal of
going raw is weight loss. By eating filling, high-fiber fruits and
vegetables, raw foodies tend to eat fewer calories than on a normal
diet. Enthusiasts also say they have more energy, better moods, and
increased resistance to colds. Many dieters claim headaches and
menstrual cramps are things of the past.
So should you consider going raw? That's a
personal question, to be
sure. But it's also important to realize that radical diets have a
strong psychological component that's very appealing to some, says
Madelyn Fernstrom, a nutritional biochemist and director of the
University of Pittsburgh Weight Management Center.
And raw foodism is no exception, she contends.
"Heating instead of
cooking is ritualistic, so it helps people to latch on to the diet,"
she says. "Many people feel devoted to this style of eating because it
gives them structure."
While
strictness of the raw food lifestyle helps some people stick to the
regimen, for others, it is a reason to quit. Many who have tried and
failed complain that it is almost impossible to eat out with friends,
and after a while, raw food becomes boring. Furthermore, the high-fiber
diet may cause gassiness, which has never been known to fill up a
social calendar.
Most nutritionists aren't sold on the raw food
diet either, because
there is nothing inherently unhealthy about cooking. Not only does heat
sterilize food, it increases the availability of nutrients in many
plant foods, including beans, tomatoes, carrots.
Also, it is very difficult for raw foodies to get
vitamins and minerals
such as B vitamins and iron, which are largely found in meat products.
This can lead to anemia. Many women give up the diet because they stop
getting their periods.
Raw foodies argue that humans are the only animals
on the planet that
eat cooked food; therefore, cooking isn't natural. But according to
Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham, for homo sapiens, cooking is
as natural as talking.
Humans have been cooking for hundreds of thousands
of years, if not
longer, and our bodies have evolved to eat cooked food. From the shape
of teeth to the size of our gut, the human body seems made to eat warm,
soft meals.
Still, most Americans -- two-thirds of whom are
overweight -- would be
healthier if they took a few cues from raw enthusiasts and ate more
fruits and vegetables to cut down on calories. However, almost all the
benefits of the raw food diet -- clearer skin, a stronger immune
function and higher energy levels -- can be achieved simply through a
balanced diet and regular exercise.
Jennifer Drapkin is an intern at Psychology
Today
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