Unlock Ultimate Health and Weight Loss with the 80/10/10 Diet – Your Life-Changing Nutrition Guide!

The 80/10/10 Diet has garnered attention, promising a sustainable lifestyle that promotes weight loss, improved health, and disease prevention. This low-fat, raw-food diet has proponents who praise its transformative physical effects, but also critics who deem it unsustainable and overly restrictive. So, does the 80/10/10 Diet truly deliver on its promises, and is it a safe dietary approach? This article explores the ins and outs of the 80/10/10 Diet.

What is the 80/10/10 Diet?

The 80/10/10 Diet, sometimes called 811, 811rv, or LFRV (low-fat raw vegan), is a low-fat, raw vegan diet created by Dr. Douglas Graham, a raw foodist, retired chiropractor, and former athlete. The diet proposes that the optimal nutrient distribution should consist of at least 80% of calories from carbs, with no more than 10% of calories from protein and 10% from fats.

Unlike many diets with a set time limit, the 80/10/10 Diet is promoted as a long-term strategy to increase longevity and reduce obesity and disease. It encourages focusing on eating raw, low-fat plant foods.

The Rationale Behind Raw Foods

The 80/10/10 Diet operates on the principle that humans are naturally frugivores, preferring to eat fruit, rather than omnivores. It posits that the human digestive system is physiologically optimized for digesting fruit and tender, leafy greens. While the diet acknowledges that humans can tolerate other foods, it suggests that these foods are not ideal.

In nature, a diet based on fruit and tender greens would naturally provide approximately 80% of calories from carbs and no more than 10% of calories each from protein and fats, forming the basis of the 80/10/10 nutrient distribution. Raw fruits and tender, leafy greens are believed to contain all the necessary nutrients in optimal proportions. Cooking is thought to diminish the nutrients naturally present in foods, making them nutritionally inferior to raw foods. It is also suggested that cooking produces toxic compounds that can cause various diseases, including cancer, arthritis, hypothyroidism, and chronic fatigue. Raw foods, conversely, are presented as detoxifying, easier to digest, and conducive to weight loss and optimal health.

Foods to Eat on the 80/10/10 Diet

The 80/10/10 Diet primarily promotes the consumption of low-fat, raw, and unprocessed fruits and soft greens. The diet doesn’t restrict the intake of sweet fruit, and all types are technically allowed. To achieve the 80/10/10 diet ratio, it’s recommended that 90-97% of your calories come from sweet and non-sweet fruits, 2-6% from leafy greens and 0-8% from other vegetables, fatty fruits, nuts and seeds.

Here's a breakdown:

Sweet Fruits: Apples, bananas, mangoes, berries.
Non-Sweet Fruits: Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, okra, eggplant, zucchini, other squashes.
Soft Greens: Lettuce, spinach, leafy greens.
Other Vegetables: Cabbage, celery, broccoli, and cauliflower (though these should be a smaller proportion of the diet due to being harder to digest).
Fatty Fruits (limit to less than 10% of total calories): Avocados, durian fruit, ackee, olives.
Nuts and Seeds (limit to less than 10% of total calories).

Foods to Avoid

Followers of the 80/10/10 Diet are advised to avoid cooked, high-fat, and protein-rich foods. The diet discourages the consumption of:

Meat and Seafood: Red meat, chicken, fish, and other sea animals.
Eggs: Eggs from all birds and any products containing them.
Dairy Products: Milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream.
Processed Fats: Butter, margarine, vegetable oil, and nut oils.
Cooked, Dehydrated, and Processed Foods: Most grains, starchy vegetables, beans, peas, lentils, dried fruit, baked goods, and junk food.
Taste Enhancers: Foods containing added sugars, artificial sweeteners, monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable protein, sodium caseinate, natural flavoring, or spices.
Certain Beverages: Alcohol, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and energy drinks. Fruit and vegetable smoothies or water are the preferred beverages.

Health Benefits: Claims vs. Science

The 80/10/10 diet is touted to provide a wide variety of health benefits. However, only a few are actually supported by science. The 80/10/10 Diet claims to provide several health benefits. For starters, its high carb content supposedly helps prevent eating disorders, fends off severe food cravings and improves symptoms including lethargy and weakness. On the other hand, its low content of protein and fat is said to offer protection against cancer, diabetes, organ failure, weak bones and heart disease. In addition, the diet recommends against cooked food with the aim of preventing chronic fatigue, hypothyroidism and arthritis. Other alleged benefits of the 80/10/10 Diet include weight loss, clearer sinuses, easier breathing, better sleep, clearer skin, heightened mental clarity and an overall longer, healthier life.

The most significant advantage of the diet lies in its emphasis on unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Research consistently associates a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables, as part of a balanced diet, with a reduced risk of illnesses, including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and certain types of cancer.

There is also evidence that diets that provide less than 10% of total calories from fat can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels . Several studies further report that vegan diets, in general, may help lower the risk of heart disease, reduce blood sugar levels, increase insulin sensitivity and lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 78%.

Moreover, several high-quality studies report that low-fat vegan diets are particularly effective for weight loss. However, although there is scientific evidence to support some aspects of the 80/10/10 Diet, it’s noteworthy that no strong scientific evidence could be found to support the benefits linked to consuming nutrients in this particular ratio. There is also no strong scientific evidence to support the remaining list of alleged health benefits.

Major Drawbacks of the 80/10/10 Diet

The 80/10/10 Diet has several potential downsides.

High Food Volumes: The 80/10/10 Diet promotes a very high intake of carbs and a limited intake of protein and fats. You would need to eat around 6 lbs (3.3 kg) of fruit, 4 lbs (1.8 kg) of vegetables and two tablespoons of nuts each day to meet your needs. This volume of food is larger than most people are accustomed to. Those who struggle to eat such large volumes of food may have difficulty meeting their daily calorie and nutrient requirements.
Low Protein and Fat Intakes: The 80/10/10 Diet recommends limiting your intake of protein and fats to 10% of total calories each. Although there is scientific evidence to support the benefits of a low-fat diet, there is currently limited evidence to support the 10% cutoff point. That’s because studies generally compare low-fat diets to the high-fat American diet, which typically provides more than 30% of calories from fat. Even if a very low-fat diet is shown to be healthier than the standard American diet, that doesn’t mean that a moderate-fat diet is unhealthy. There’s little proof that consuming fewer than 10% of calories from fat is any more beneficial than consuming a diet of 15% or 20% fat, for instance. In addition, there’s no strong evidence that you’ll achieve health benefits if you restrict both protein and fat to less than 10% each of total calories. While these low protein and fat levels may theoretically be sufficient to meet basic biological needs, there are several advantages to consuming more than the minimum daily amount of protein your body requires. For instance, adding a little more protein to meals can help guard against hunger, reduce cravings and promote bone health. A little extra protein can also help preserve muscle mass, especially during a period of weight loss. Similarly, a little extra dietary fat may also fend off hunger. In addition, dietary fats help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins more easily and are required to keep your skin, hair and brain healthy. Thus, restricting them too severely can become worrisome.

Read also: A deep dive into the Suzanne Somers Diet.
Insufficient Vitamin B12: Another big criticism of the 80/10/10 Diet is that it may limit intake of certain nutrients, including vitamin B12. Several studies show that while anyone can have low vitamin B12 levels, vegetarians and vegans, especially those not taking any supplements, are at a higher risk of deficiency. Vitamin B12 serves important roles in protein metabolism, the formation of oxygen-transporting red blood cells and the health of your nervous system. Too little vitamin B12 can lead to anemia, nervous system damage, infertility, bone disease and heart disease. The 80/10/10 Diet assumes that humans already produce sufficient amounts of vitamin B12 themselves and can get the rest from organically grown produce. However, no scientific evidence could be found to support these statements. Thus, anyone thinking of trying this diet should strongly consider taking a vitamin B12 supplement. The current recommended daily intake is 2.4 mcg per day.
Insufficient Iodine: Iodine is another nutrient of concern in the 80/10/10 Diet. Dr. Graham recommends avoiding salt. This includes iodized salt and seaweed - two good sources of iodine. Individuals following vegan diets already tend to have 50% lower blood iodine levels than vegetarians. Avoiding these two sources of iodine may put followers of the 80/10/10 Diet at an increased risk of iodine deficiency. Iodine is crucial for the healthy functioning of the thyroid gland, which controls your metabolism. Thus, insufficient dietary intake can cause low energy levels, dry skin, tingling in the hands and feet, forgetfulness, depression and even weight gain.

Other Potential Downsides

Besides the nutrient deficiencies, this diet has other potential drawbacks.

Exaggerates the Negative Effects of Cooked Foods and Spices: The 80/10/10 Diet recommends that followers minimize their intake of herbs and spices. The rationale is that these ingredients allegedly irritate your gut, increase mucus production and deliver toxins to the nervous system. However, there is no strong scientific evidence to support this belief. In fact, there’s a lot of evidence to the contrary.
Unfairly Demonizes Cooked Foods: The diet also presents cooked foods as nutritionally inferior, toxic and the cause of many diseases. It is true that cooking can reduce the nutrient content of certain foods. However, different cooking methods have different effects on nutrient loss. The overall best technique for minimizing nutrient loss seems to be cooking foods for short periods at low temperatures with minimal water. That said, there is no strong scientific evidence supporting the belief that all cooked foods are toxic to your body or increase your risk of disease. In fact, certain cooked foods can be nutritious and healthy. For instance, research shows that regular consumption of legumes may reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by 9-18%. What’s more, some foods are more nutritious cooked than raw. For instance, cooking increases the nutrient availability in asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes and carrots.
Not Sustainable Over the Long Term: Another potential downside of the 80/10/10 Diet is that it may be difficult to follow for the long-term. For instance, you might have a hard time finding suitable meal options in restaurants or other social situations. In addition, the diet restricts how much protein and fat you’re allowed to eat. While the 80/10/10 Diet is likely high in fiber, it contains very little protein, which may lead to increased feelings of hunger in certain individuals. This may make it more difficult to sustain this diet over the long term.
Largely Based on Pseudoscience: The 80/10/10 Diet makes several other claims that aren’t supported by science. For instance, no strong scientific evidence could be found to support the claim that all types of cooked foods, regardless of cooking method, increase the risk of disease. Other unsubstantiated claims include those surrounding gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The 80/10/10 Diet claims that gluten is highly addictive and can lead to serious neurological disorders. However, no scientific evidence supports this claim. Finally, the 80/10/10 Diet makes frequent reference to the idea that certain foods are “acidifying” to the body and thus promote disease. This concept, popular among proponents of the alkaline diet, is based on the idea that certain foods can acidify the blood by lowering its pH level. In turn, this “acidification” is thought to be harmful to your bones and increase the risk of cancer. However, this concept is not supported by science. In fact, several studies show that the foods you eat have a very limited effect on the pH of your blood. That’s because the human body is designed to tightly regulate the pH of your blood, always keeping it slightly alkaline. What’s more, research does not support the idea that “acidifying” diets increase the risk of cancer or are harmful to your bones.

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