A raw food diet consists of uncooked and unprocessed, and often organic foods. An organically-grown apple. ...

Overview

A raw food diet consists fully of foods which have not been heated above a certain temperature. The maximum temperature varies among the different forms of the diet, from 92ºF to 118ºF (33°C to 48°C). Raw food diets may include raw fruits, raw vegetables, raw nuts, raw seeds, raw unpasteurized dairy products (e.g. milk, cream, butter), raw meat, raw eggs, and raw honey. Popular Japanese fashion magazine throughout the 1990s; the photography of which has recently been reissued in two collections from Phaidon press. ... Vegetables on a market Vegetable is a nutritional and culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary fruit, nut, herb, spice, or grain. ... Hazelnuts from the Common Hazel Chestnut Carya ovata nut anatomy Walnuts A nut can be both a seed and a fruit. ... This writeup is about biological seeds; for other meanings see Seed (disambiguation). ... Dairy farm near Oxford, New York A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk (mostly from cows, sometimes from buffalo, sheep or goats) and other farm animals, for human consumption. ... Raw milk is milk that has not been processed via pasteurization (heating) or homogenization before consumption by humans. ... Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. ... Butter is commonly sold in sticks (pictured) or blocks, and frequently served with the use of a butter knife. ... Flesh redirects here. ... An egg is an ovum produced by a female animal for reproduction, often prepared as food. ... A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones. ...

A raw foodist is a person who consumes primarily raw food. Raw foodists typically believe that the greater the percentage of raw food in the diet, the greater the health benefits. They generally believe raw food prevents and/or heals many forms of sickness and many chronic diseases. A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ... Medicine In medicine, a persistent and lasting condition is said to be chronic (from Greek chronos). ...

Freezing food is considered acceptable by most raw foodists. Many raw foodists preserve nuts and seeds in the freezer. In physics and chemistry, freezing is the process of cooling a liquid to the temperature (called freezing point) where it turns solid. ...

Background

History

Raw food, being the diet of almost every kind of animal for all time, necessarily dates to prehistoric eras, before humans began cooking with fire. Some believe that prehistoric humans were largely vegetarians, and thus that the human digestive system is configured for a raw vegetarian diet. Others believe their primitive ancestors were chiefly hunters who ate raw meat. There is evidence for both; modern hunter-gatherer activities range from a low intake of animal product, such as some tribes of Australian Aborigines, to an almost exclusively meat and fish diet, such as the Inuit peoples of the Arctic coasts. Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... Cooking is the act of applying heat to food in order to prepare it to eat. ... Conflagration redirects here. ... For animals adapted to eat primarily plants, sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals, see Herbivore. ... The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract), also called the digestive tract, alimentary canal, or gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals that takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste. ... See also, List of Indigenous Australian group names. ... For other uses, see Inuit (disambiguation). ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ...

Raw foods gained more prominence throughout the 1900's, as proponents such as Ann Wigmore and Herbert Shelton claimed that a diet of raw fruits and vegetables is the ideal diet for humans. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Ann Wigmore (1909-1993) is a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, and whole foods advocate. ... Herbert M. Shelton (b. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... Vegetables in a market Venn diagram representing the relationship between (botanical) fruits and vegetables. ...

Artturi Virtanen (1895 d. 1973), a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, showed that enzymes in uncooked foods are released in the mouth when vegetables are chewed. These enzymes interact with other substances, notably the enzymes produced by the body itself, to aid the digestion process.^{[citation needed]} (This research was unrelated to his Nobel Prize.) Artturi Ilmari Virtanen (IPA: ) (January 15, 1895 – November 11, 1973) was a Finnish chemist and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Nobel Prize medal. ... Neuraminidase ribbon diagram An enzyme (in Greek en = in and zyme = blend) is a protein, or protein complex, that catalyzes a chemical reaction and also controls the 3D orientation of the catalyzed substrates. ... Nobel Prize medal. ...

In 1975, computer programmer-turned-nutritionist Viktoras Kulvinskas published Survival Into the 21st Century. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... In computing, a programmer is someone who does computer programming and develops computer software. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Viktoras Kulvinskas is a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, and whole foods advocate. ...

Leslie Kenton's book The New Raw Energy in 1984 popularised food such as sprouts, seeds, and fresh vegetable juices, which are now moving into the mainstream. The book brought together research into raw foodism and its support of health, citing examples such as the sprouted seed enriched diets of the long lived Himalayan Hunza people, as well as Max Gerson's claim of a raw juice-based cancer cure. The book advocates a diet of 75% raw food in order to prevent degenerative diseases, slow aging, provide enhanced energy, and boost emotional balance. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In 1998, Dr. Don Gary Young visited the Hunza valley in the Himalayas to explore the longevity secrets of the Hunza people, who are commonly thought to live 110 to 115 years. ... Himalayan can refer to: Himalaya, the mountains: Himalayan (cat), the type of cat Himalayan, the breed of rabbit This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Hunza people, or Burusho, are indigenous to the Hunza Valley. ... Max Gerson (18 October 1881 - 8 March 1959) was the developer of the Gerson therapy, an alternative therapy for cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases. ... It has been suggested that Cancerous tumor be merged into this article or section. ...

The raw food lifestyle has gained acceptance, though not all nutrition experts condone it. Restaurants catering to this diet have opened, especially in large cities, and numerous all-raw cookbooks have been published. Celebrities including Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, who have been known to follow a raw food diet, provide additional exposure. Demi Moore Demetria Gene Guynes (born November 11, 1962), better known as Demi Moore, is an American actress. ... Impromptu shot of Woody Harrelson in Eugene, Oregon, 2004 Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961), better known as Woody Harrelson, is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winner American actor. ...

Beliefs

Those who follow this way of eating generally believe that:

• Raw foods contain enzymes which greatly aid in their own digestion, freeing the body's own enzymes to do the work unimpeded of regulating all the body's many metabolic processes. Heating food degrades or destroys these enzymes in food, putting the onus on the body's own enzyme production.
• Eating food without enzymes makes digestion more difficult; deprives the body of enzymes; and leads to toxicity in the body, to excess consumption of food, and therefore to obesity and to chronic disease.
• Raw foods contain bacteria and other micro-organisms that stimulate the immune system and enhance digestion by populating the digestive tract with beneficial flora.
• Raw foods have higher nutrient values than foods which have been cooked.

The benefits of the diet are said to include: a stable body mass index; clear skin; more energy; and minimising a range of common illnesses, from the flu to obesity-related illnesses. Neuraminidase ribbon diagram An enzyme (in Greek en = in and zyme = blend) is a protein, or protein complex, that catalyzes a chemical reaction and also controls the 3D orientation of the catalyzed substrates. ... // Toxic and Intoxicated redirect here – toxic has other uses, which can be found at Toxicity (disambiguation); for the state of being intoxicated by alcohol see Drunkenness. ... Medicine In medicine, a persistent and lasting condition is said to be chronic (from Greek chronos). ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... A microorganism or microbe is an organism that is so small that it is microscopic (invisible to the naked eye). ... The immune system protects the body from infection by pathogenic organisms. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... Gut flora, or intestinal bacteria, are the bacteria that normally live in the digestive tract and perform a number of useful functions involving digestion for their hosts. ... A nutrient is either element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ... An example of a body mass index chart Body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Epidermis (skin). ... Respiratory disease properly named influenza(say: in-floo-en-zah ). Some specific varities of influenza with a vaccination available are: A-New Caledonia, A-California, B-Shanghai. ...

Some raw food advocates believe cooked food is toxic because cooking the food converts some particles into harmful chemicals. They also often believe cooked food is less digestible than raw food because cooking destroys the enzymes contained in food. One source for this belief is the work of Artturi Virtanen, a biochemist. Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ribbon diagram of the enzyme TIM, surrounded by the space-filling model of the protein. ... Artturi Ilmari Virtanen (January 15, 1895 _ November 11, 1973) was a Finnish Nobel laureate in chemistry. ...

Anthropologist Peter Lucas of George Washington University in Washington, DC, US, was reported in New Scientist magazine in 2005 as having the theory that man being the only mammal with chronic poor dentition, and the only mammal to significantly process and cook his food, are causally linked. He believes that the adoption of food processing and cooking reduced the size of our jaw through evolutionary processes, but not the size of our teeth.   See Washington University (disambiguation) for institutions with similar names. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, Gillian McKeith and Professor T. Colin Campbell (author of the China project) advocate diets high in raw, unprocessed foods. They claim that social trends over the past several centuries have diverged from this diet, together with less active lifestyles, contributing to the increase of noncommunicable diseases and obesity-related illnesses in developed countries. These include cardiovascular illnesses, some cancers, diabetes and some auto-immune diseases. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D. is a family medicine physician who practices in Flemington, New Jersey, USA. He specialises in treating some major illnesses through nutrition. ... Gillian McKeith (also known as Dr Gillian McKeith although she does not have an accredited doctorate) (born 1959, Perth, Scotland) she grow up in Dunfermline where she went to Woodmill high school. ... T. Colin Campbell is a nutritionist at Cornell University, director of the China Project, and author of The China Study. ... The China Project is an ongoing extensive study of the correlation of disease epidemiology with the increasing urbanisation of the many provinces of China, and with the changes in eating patterns and lifestyles which this Westernisation is bringing. ... The circulatory system or cardiovascular system is the organ system which circulates blood around the body of most animals. ... It has been suggested that Cancerous tumor be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. ...

Research

Early 20th century

In 1930, under the direction of Dr. Paul Kouchakoff, research was conducted at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland. The effect of food (cooked and processed vs. raw and natural) on the immune system was tested and documented. It was found that after a person eats cooked food, his/her blood responds immediately by increasing the number of white blood cells.^{[citation needed]} This is a well-known phenomenon called digestive leukocytosis, a rise in the number of leukocytes (white blood cells) after eating. Since digestive leukocytosis was always observed after a meal, it was considered to be a normal physiological response to eating. It is undetermined why the number of white cells rises after eating, since is normally a stress response, as if the body was somehow reacting to something harmful such as infection, exposure to toxic chemicals or trauma. Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... Waterfront view of Ouchy, just south of Lausanne Lausanne is a city in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva (French: Lac Léman), across from Évian-les-Bains, France, and about 60 km northeast of Geneva. ... The immune system protects the body from infection by pathogenic organisms. ... White Blood Cells is also the name of a White Stripes album. ...

A 1933 paper by E. B. Forbes says that "...cooking renders food pasty, so that it sticks to the teeth, and undergoes acid fermentation. Furthermore, the cooking of food greatly diminishes the need for use of the teeth; and thus tends to diminish the circulation of blood to the jaws and teeth, and to produce under-development of the maxillary and contiguous bones—thus leading to contracted dental arches, and to malocclusion and impaction of the teeth, with complications of great seriousness." ^[1] Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... The word circulation can mean the following: The transport of blood through the circulatory system. ... The maxillary sinus is the largest paranasal sinus. ... The superior dental arch is larger than the inferior, so that in the normal condition the teeth in the maxillae slightly overlap those of the mandible both in front and at the sides. ... A malocclusion refers to the misalignment of teeth and/or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. ...

In a 1936 work entitled Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, dentist Weston A. Price observed dental degeneration in the first generation who adopt diets high in processed and cooked foods. Price claimed that the parents of such first generation children had excellent jaw development and dental health, while their children had malocclusion and tooth decay. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston A. Price. ... A malocclusion refers to the misalignment of teeth and/or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. ...

Recent research

Dr. Edward Howell, an Illinois physician, published Enzyme Nutrition in 1987, a book which claims that the pancreas is forced to work harder on a diet of cooked foods, and that food enzymes are just as essential to digestion as the body's self-generated enzymes. Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The pancreas is an organ in the digestive and endocrine system that serves two major functions: exocrine (producing pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes) and endocrine (producing several important hormones, including insulin). ...

German research in 2003 on the effects of raw food on cancer incidence, has shown significant benefits in reducing breast cancer risk when large amounts of raw vegetable matter are included in the diet. The authors attribute some of this effect to heat-labile phytonutrients.^[2] 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Cancerous tumor be merged into this article or section. ... Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. ... Phytochemicals are sometimes referred to as phytonutrients and these terms are often used interchangeably. ...

Discredited research

Research was conducted by Dr. Francis Pottenger in 1932 to determine the effect of cooked foods in cats. For 10 years, Pottenger fed half of the cats a diet of raw meat, the other half a diet of cooked meat. At the conclusion of his study, he reported that the cats who were fed raw meat appeared to be in better health. In addition, the exclusively cooked diet led to congenital problems including birth defects and deformities, after several generations.^[3] Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will take you to a full 1932 calendar). ... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus (Linnaeus, 1758) The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ...

Pottenger's study was conducted in a time before the nutritional needs of cats were understood - especially the role of taurine in the diet. Since cats cannot synthesize adequate amounts of taurine, they must get taurine from food. Heat renders taurine inactive; cooked food without taurine supplements can cause health problems in cats. However, this finding does not apply to humans - since humans, like most other animals, synthesize their own taurine.^[4] Taurine (Latin taurus = bull, as it was first isolated from ox (Bos taurus) bile in 1827 by German scientists Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin) or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid is an acidic chemical substance found in high abundance in the tissues of many animals (metazoa), especially sea animals. ...

Raw food movement

The leading magazine in the raw food movement is Living Nutrition magazine, which was established in 1998 by David Klein. The online RawFoodsNews magazine, founded in 2001, provides news and information on the lifestyle. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early proponents include Ann Wigmore and Viktoras Kulvinskas (co-founders of the Hippocrates Health Institute), Arnold Ehret (author and authority on fasting), A Hovannessian and Norman W. Walker (who advocated the consumption of juices, living up to the age of 99 years^{[citation needed]}). Ann Wigmore (1909-1993) is a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, and whole foods advocate. ... Viktoras Kulvinskas is a holistic health practitioner, nutritionist, and whole foods advocate. ... Arnold Ehret is the author of several health and fitness books. ... Fasting is the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food and in some cases drink, for a period of time. ... ... Norman Wardhaugh Walker (January 4, 1886 — June 6, 1985) was an English-American businessman and pioneer in the field of vegetable juicing and nutrional health. ...

The principles of Natural Hygiene promote a mainly raw vegan diet. Famous Natural Hygienists have included TC Fry, Herbert Shelton, Harvey Diamond and Anthony Robbins. Natural Hygiene is a branch of alternative medicine that claims that the human body can and will heal itself if the causes of disease are removed. ... Raw veganism is a variation of the vegan diet consisting of plant-based food which is prepared and consumed uncooked. ... Herbert M. Shelton (b. ... Anthony Robbins (born 29 February 1960, Glendora, California) is an American motivational speaker and writer. ...

Dr. Aajonus Vonderplanitz advocates the consumption of fatty meats, suet, and unpasteurized whole milk, cream, and butter. Suet is raw beef or mutton fat, especially that found around the loins and kidneys. ...

Guy Claude-Burger promotes "instinctive nutrition" which explicitly excludes dairy and allows only raw meats, fruits, and vegetables. Anopsology is a raw food diet created by Guy-Claude Burger. ...

Criticism

Raw food diets have been criticized in the mainstream medical community as being too harsh and restrictive. Critics of the raw vegan diet argue that it requires special care to include the recommended amounts of several important vitamins and nutrients, including vitamin B-12 and protein. They say that any restrictive diet can lead to nutritional deficiency, if adopted for an extended period of time without special attention to essential nutrients. Retinol (Vitamin A) Vitamins are nutrients required in very small amounts for essential metabolic reactions in the body [1]. The term vitamin does not encompass other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids. ... A nutrient is either element or compound necessary for or contributing to an organisms metabolism, growth, or other functioning. ... Cobalamin or vitamin B12 is a chemical compound that is also known as cyanocobalamine. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Much of the research advocating raw food diets has been criticized as not meeting scientific standards.^{[citation needed]} Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ...

Research has suggested that food proteins are rarely utilized in their natural form since they are broken down into base amino acids during the digestion process. The body then synthesizes required proteins from these amino acids.^{[citation needed]}

The structure of some foods makes it difficult to utilize available nutrients without cooking. This includes the lycopene in tomatoes, beta carotene in carrots, and much of the caloric content of starchy foods such as corn, potatoes, manioc, palm, and casava.^[5] Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Binomial name Solanumlycopersicum Linnaeus ref. ... Carotene is a terpene, an orange photosynthetic pigment, important for photosynthesis. ... Binomial name Daucus carota A carrot (Daucus Carota) is a root vegetable, typically orange or white in color with a woody texture. ... Starch (CAS# 9005-25-8) is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water; it is used by plants as a way to store excess glucose. ... Look up corn in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, commonly grown for its starchy tuber. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz Cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, and mandioca, aipim, or macaxera in Portuguese) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ... Look up Palm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz The cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, mandioca, aipim, or macaxeira in Portuguese, and mandio in Guaraní) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ...

Anthropological disputes

The earliest indisputable fossil evidence for the use of fire to prepare food dates to approximately 350,000 years ago ^[6] Other evidence traces cooking to more than 1.5 million years ago, well before the emergence of modern humans.^[7] Evolutionary evidence indicates that the musculature and bone structure of the jaw evolved away from forms most suited for eating tough raw foods.^[8]. A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle is the contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with mandible. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ...

Some critics believe, based on this evidence, that humans have evolved to eat cooked foods. Advocates counter that this is repudiated by the incidence of malocclusion found in cooked-food-eating populations. However, this claim is disputed by dental practitioners who state that malocclusion tends to be an inherited trait.^[9] Since accquired traits cannot be inherited, the majority of maloclusions do not seem to be immediately related to the indviduals' diets. A malocclusion refers to the misalignment of teeth and/or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. ...

However, researchers Robert S. Corruccini and L. Darrell Whitely argue in a paper called "Occlusal variation in a rural Kentucky community" that consumption of softened foods was the major factor in determining severity of malocclusion, and that the occlusal transition found in the Kentucky community "could not be genetic in origin." In another paper by Khang-Lee Liu, "Dental Condition of Two Tribes of Taiwan Aborigines-Ami and Atayal," the authors describe Taiwan aborigines with nearly ideal occlusion. "They have adequate jaw growth since the muscular stimulation from mastication is quite sufficient," they say, and that "raw, dry sweet potato chips and vegetables are the major diet items." Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... ... A term indicating that the state of something, which is normally open, is now totally closed. ... Mastication or chewing is the process by which food is torn and/or crushed by teeth. ... Saratoga chips Potato chips (British English or Hiberno-English: crisps) are slim slices of potatoes deep fried or baked until crisp. ...

Advocates also assert that since no other species cooks its food, it is impossible to estimate how long it would take to adjust to such a diet, or even to know whether it is possible. Unfortunately, this ignores the large amount of fossil evidence which clearly shows the change in human dentition and its relation to the controlled use of fire.

Advocates also argue that since animals do not cook their food and they don't get degenerative diseases, if humans didn't cook their food, humans wouldn't get these diseases either. However, the assumption that animals do not suffer from degenerative diseases is demonstratably untrue. Animals in the wild do suffer from arthritis,^[10] cancer,^[11] liver and kidney diseases, ^[12]and degenerative brain diseases^[13]. A degenerative disease is a disease in which the function or structure of the affected tissues or organs will progressively deteriorate over time, whether due to normal bodily wear or lifestyle choices such as exercise or eating habits. ...

Potential damage

A 2005 study has shown that a raw food vegetarian diet is associated with a lower bone density. ^[14] This may not be a problem however, as new research appears to indicate that high bone density early in life is the cause of osteoporosis, and not a predictor of its future occurence. ^[15] 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For animals adapted to eat primarily plants, sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals, see Herbivore. ... Bone density is a medical term referring to the amount of matter per cubic centimeter of bones. ... Osteoporosis is a disease of bone in which the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in bone is altered. ...

One study of raw vegan shows amenorrhea and underweightness in women, ^[16] another one increased risk of dental erosion. ^[17] Amenorrhoea (BE) or amenorrhea (AmE) is the absence of a menstrual period in a woman of reproductive age. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The 2006 North American E. coli outbreak, involving raw spinach from specific farms in California, served as a caveat on some risks connected with raw vegetable consumption. The further outbreak at some Taco Bell restaurants was initially thought to be from scallions grown in California, but investigators now think it was lettuce. ^[18] See Wikinews article: E. coli outbreak kills 1, sickens nearly 100 In September 2006, there was an outbreak of food-borne illness caused by Escherichia coli () bacteria found in uncooked spinach[1] in 26 U.S. states. ... Binomial name Spinacia oleracea L. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... A typical North American grain farm with farmstead in Ontario, Canada A farm is the basic unit in agriculture. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Caveat, the third-person singular present subjunctive of the Latin cavere, means warning (or more literally, let him beware); it can be shorthand for Latin phrases such as Caveat lector Caveat emptor Caveat venditor More narrowly, caveat can also refer to CAVEAT, a Canadian lobby group; The Paulette Caveat about... For other uses, see Risk (disambiguation). ... Taco Bell Corp. ... Chopped up Spring Onion The common name scallion is associated with various members of the genus Allium that lack a fully-developed bulb. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... A detective is an officer of the police who performs criminal or administrative investigations, in some police departments, the lowest rank among such investigators (above the lowest rank of officers and below sergeants), a civilian licensed to investigate information not readily available in public records (a private investigator, also called... Binomial name Lactuca sativa L. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ...

Raw food diet practices

Food preparation

Many foods in raw food diets are simple to prepare, such as fruits, salads, meat, and dairy. Other foods can require considerable advanced planning to prepare for eating. Rice and some other grains, for example, require sprouting or overnight soaking to become digestible. Many raw foodists believe it is best to soak nuts before eating them, in order to activate their enzymes. Fermenting raw foods such as pickles, yogurt, and kim chee are often time-consuming and require long fermentation periods. Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice is two species of grass (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) native to tropical and subtropical southern & southeastern Asia and in Africa. ... Mixed bean sprouts Sprouting is the practice of soaking then draining and leaving seeds until they germinate and begin to sprout. ...

Preparation of gourmet raw food recipes usually call for a blender, food processor, juicer, and dehydrator. Depending on the recipe, some food (such as crackers, breads and cookies) may need to be dehydrated. These processes, which produce foods with the taste and texture of cooked food, are lengthy. Some adherents of the diet dispense with these foods, feeling that there is no need to emulate the non-raw diet. An electric blender. ... A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate various repetitive tasks in the process of preparation of food. ... A juicer is a utensil used for squeezing juice from fruit. ... Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ...

Care may be required in planning a raw food diet, especially for children. There is little research on how to plan a nutritionally adequate raw food diet; however, nutritionists and raw M.D.s are usually willing to provide professional advice.^{[citation needed]} Raw foodists claim that with sufficient food energy, essential fatty acids, variety and density, people of all ages can be successful at eating raw foods, although whether the diet works for any one person depends on their unique metabolism. Food energy is the amount of energy in food that is available through digestion. ...

Avoiding poisoning

As the consumption of raw foods gains popularity, some unsafe foods have entered the diets of humans. The following should be consumed with caution:^[19]

• Buckwheat greens, particularly if juiced or eaten in large quantities by fair skinned individuals. The chemical component fagopyrum is known to cause photosensitivity of the skin in animals, and some serious human side effects have been reported anecdotally.

• Kidney beans, including sprouts: toxic when raw.

• Rhubarb: when eaten in sufficient quantity leaves can be toxic when raw, stalks are completely safe to eat when harvested early.

• Potatoes: a member of the nightshade family, contain the toxic alkaloid solanine. Most of the solanine is neutralized by cooking.^[20]

• Raw foods contain bacteria and may contain parasites, which may cause foodborne illnesses. Heating to high temperatures destroys most bacteria and parasites.

Binomial name Fagopyrum esculentum Common Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a plant in the genus Fagopyrum (sometimes merged into genus Polygonum) in the family Polygonaceae. ... Species Fagopyrum esculentum Fagopyrum tataricum The genus Fagopyrum in the flowering plant family Polygonaceae includes two important crop plants, the Buckwheat or Japanese Buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum, and the Tartary Buckwheat Fagopyrum tataricum. ... Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons of light. ... Binomial name Phaseolus vulgaris L. The common bean is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean. ... Species About 60, including: R. nobile R. palmatum For other uses see Rhubarb (disambiguation) Rhubarb is a perennial plant that grows from thick short rhizomes, comprising the genus Rheum. ... Binomial name Solanum tuberosum L. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a perennial plant of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family, grown for its starchy tuber. ... Species See text Solanum is a genus of annuals, perennials, sub-shrubs, shrubs and climbers. ... Solanine is a glycoalkaloid poison found in species of the nightshade family. ... A foodborne illness, also foodborne disease, is any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food. ...

References

Further reading

Related diets

• Fruitarianism
• Paleolithic diet
• Raw veganism
• Anopsology (also known as instinctive eating)

A fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... The Paleolithic diet, also known as the caveman diet, paleodiet, Stone Age diet, the preagricultural diet, or hunter-gatherer diet, is the diet of wild plants and animals that various human species (see Homo (genus)) habitually consumed during the Paleolithic period (the Old Stone Age), a period of about 2... Raw veganism is a variation of the vegan diet consisting of plant-based food which is prepared and consumed uncooked. ... Anopsology is a raw food diet created by Guy-Claude Burger. ...

Books

• Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine by Gabriel Cousens (North Atlantic Books, 2003) ISBN 1-55643-465-0
• "Living Cuisine" by Renée Loux Underkoffler (Penguin-Avery, 2003) ISBN 1-58333-171-9
• 12 Steps to Raw Food: How to end your addiction to Cooked Food by Victoria Boutenko ISBN 0-9704819-3-4
• Raw-Pleasure:Loving Living Foods by Piers & Sheryl Duruz (Pleasure Publishing, 2004) ISBN 0-9736539-0-6
• The Raw Truth by Jeremy A Safron, (Celestial Arts, Toronto, 2003) ISBN 1-58761-172-4 (pbk.)
• On the synergistic effects of enzymes in food with enzymes in the human body. A literature survey and analytical report Prochaska LJ and Piekutowski WV, Medical Hypotheses 42: 355-62 (1994).
• Rebuilding the Food Pyramid by Walter C. Willett and Meir J. Stampfer, Scientific American January 2003.
• Detox Your World by Shazzie, (Rawcreation Ltd, Cambridge, UK, 2003) ISBN 0-9543977-0-3 (pbk, 382pp)
• The effects of heat-processed food... on the dento-facial structure of animals by E.M.Pottenger, American Journal of Orthodontics and Oral Surgery August 1946, p467
• Living Food for Health, Dr G. McKeith 2000, Piatkus Books ISBN 0-7499-2540-X
• Eat More Raw, A Guide to Health and Sustainability by Steve Charter, Permanent Publications, 2004
• Human 'dental chaos' linked to evolution of cooking, John Pickrell New Scientist 29 April 2005
• "Angel Foods: Healthy Recipes for Heavenly Bodies" by Cherie Soria
• "We Want to Live" by Aajonus Vonderplanitz (Carnelian Bay Castle Press, US, 2005) ISBN 1-889356-10-7
• The Sunfood Diet Success System by David Wolfe ISBN 0-9653533-6-2
• Naked Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie ISBN 0-9543977-1-1
• "Hooked on Raw" by Rhio ISBN 0-9671683-3-3 (Beso Entertainment, US 2000) 358 pp

Permanent Publications is a UK based business that specialises in the publication and distribution of books related to permaculture. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Raw Foods Recipes

• Raw Foods Recipes

Supporters

• Ekaya Institute - The Garden Diet
• Boutenko - The Raw Family
• Shazzie - raw food enthusiast from the UK
• Alissa Cohen - raw food enthusiast from the US
• Alex Malinsky - raw food nutrition and advice
• Waisays.com

Lifestyle

• Raw Guru
• Happy Cow raw section
• Raw Food Recipes

Blogs

• We Like It Raw - blog
• Raw Food Diet Blog
• Return to the Raw Food Diet - blog

Criticism

• BeyondVeg - reports from veterans of vegetarian and raw-food diets

Community

• Raw-vegan articles, recipes, forum, and raw vegan ezine.
• The raw food diet forums (US)
• SunFood Community Forums
• The RawLovers Forum
• Living/Raw Foods
• RawFoods.com

Commercial

• Best raw food snacks