Is the Raw Food Diet for You?

Apparently the Raw Food Diet is continuing to sweep the nation. Consisting of fresh fruit and veg, nuts and seeds, sun dried fruit, fruit or vegetable juices, the list goes on. This diet insists that 90 to 95% of food is raw and is mainly unprocessed; you can however include dried fruits and nuts, vinegars or those cured in vinegar. Although the diet is classed as raw food, food may be cooked providing the temperature does not rise above 115 F.

Essential equipment for any raw foody..... a food processor, a juicer, a large glass container to store or soak food in and........ a dehydrator. Until I began to research the RFD, a dehydrator as far as I was concerned consisted of three glasses of wine and a vodka and orange. Untrue! A dehydrator is a machine which provides temperature controlled drying, available from Amazon (other retailers are available) for approximately £100. Personally, eating fresh fruit and veg is a very attractive idea, especially as I can't think of anything worse than eating our feathered and furry friends, but, the thought of Vegetarian Watermelon Gazpacho...... it just doesn't float my boat. So, will the world continue to follow the celebs who have taken on this diet as another one of their fads? To help you decide, here's a list summarising the main advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

• Raw food is easy to to digest, provides the maximum amount of energy but with minimal effort getting it,
• the digestive system has to work harder and longer to digest processed and cooked food,
• the RFD does not have to be expensive - pop into your local supermarket and you can pick up seasonal fresh fruit and veg at a relatively low cost,
• weight loss is guaranteed,
• salads and smoothies are quick to prepare with many raw food recipes taking little or no preparation,
• enhances mental acuity and cleanses the body of toxins,
• contains next to no chemicals or preservatives,
• improves skin appearance,
• reduces the risk of heart disease due to lack of trans fats in the diet.

Disadvantages:

• Children, pregnant or nursing mothers, people with anemia or those at risk from osteoporosis should take care,
• winter months can present problems with the variety of fruit and veg available,
• you may need to take supplements in order to replace deficiencies in calcium, iron, Vitamin B12 and protein,
• cooking can prevent lethal or harmful bacterial such as salmonella and listeria.

I must admit, on researching this diet my mind was full of romantic images of me switching to RFD, losing all excess weight and obtaining the most fabulous glowing complexion. In reality, it's never going to happen. I love my Chilli Chocolate, I quite like the odd bag of crisps and I couldn't find any reference to wine in any of the 'allowed' lists. I'm sure it's great, and looking at the list above the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages....but it's not for me. So what do you think? Is it necessary to cut out cooked food in order to have a healthy diet? Or can increasing the amount of fruit and veg in your diet provide you with the best of both worlds? Answers on a postcard please.

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