In today’s world of artificial flavors and ingredients you can’t pronounce, some people are taking a more natural approach to food. And what could be more natural than eating everything raw? This is the basis of the raw food diet. The raw food diet, often called raw foodism or raw veganism, is an eating plan composed of mostly or entirely raw and unprocessed foods. The goal is to eat foods in their natural state, without any kind of processing or heating that can change their structure. Supporters of the raw food diet believe eating raw foods has benefits, including for weight loss and overall health. But there may also be drawbacks.
What is the Raw Food Diet?
A raw food diet includes uncooked, unprocessed foods. A food is considered raw if it has never been:
- Heated over 104-118°F (40-48°C)
- Refined
- Pasteurized
- Treated with pesticides
- Otherwise processed in any way
Instead, the diet allows several alternative preparation methods, including:
- Juicing
- Blending
- Dehydrating
- Soaking
- Sprouting
While most raw food diets are entirely plant-based, some may also consume raw eggs and dairy. Less commonly, raw fish and meat may also be included. Proponents of the diet typically discourage supplement use while on the diet. They often claim the diet provides all the necessary nutrients.
Types of Raw Food Diets
Some people follow a strict raw food diet, eating nothing but raw foods at every meal. Others focus on raw foods for the bulk of their diet but also include some cooked or processed foods.
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The raw food diet has three main types:
- Raw vegan diet: This is the most common type. It limits your food choices to foods that are both raw and vegan (not animal-based).
- Raw vegetarian diet: Like other vegetarian diets, this type excludes meat, fish and poultry but allows eggs and dairy products. All foods are raw and unprocessed.
- Raw omnivorous diet: On this diet, you can eat all types of plant and animal-based foods, including meat, but they have to be raw and unprocessed.
How to Follow the Raw Food Diet
To follow the raw food diet, ensure at least 75% of your food is raw. Most raw food diets are made primarily of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Grains and legumes are often permitted but usually need to be soaked or sprouted before eating.
Foods to eat:
- All fresh fruits
- All raw vegetables
- Raw nuts and seeds
- Raw grains and legumes, sprouted or soaked
- Dried fruits and meats
- Raw nut milk
- Raw nut butter
- Cold-pressed olive and coconut oils
- Fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut
- Seaweed
- Sprouts
- Raw eggs or dairy, if desired
- Raw meat or fish, if desired
Foods to avoid:
- Cooked fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains
- Baked items
- Roasted nuts and seeds
- Refined oils
- Table salt
- Refined sugars and flour
- Pasteurized juices and dairy
- Coffee and tea
- Alcohol
- Pasta
- Pastries
- Chips
- Other processed foods and snacks
Is Raw Food Healthier Than Cooked Food?
Raw food diet supporters believe that eating mostly or all raw food is ideal for human health. However, like many core beliefs behind the raw food diet, this idea is not backed by science. Research shows that both cooked and raw foods have health benefits.
The raw food diet discourages cooking because of the belief that cooking destroys the natural enzymes in foods. The diet’s advocates believe that these enzymes are vital to human health and digestion. High heat does cause most enzymes to unravel or change shape. But many enzymes denature in the acidic environment of the stomach anyway. The body already produces its own enzymes to facilitate chemical processes, including digestion and energy production.
Another core belief behind the raw food diet is that cooking destroys the nutrient content of foods. Cooking can decrease certain nutrients in food, especially water-soluble ones like vitamin C and B vitamins. However, cooking increases the availability of other nutrients and antioxidants, such as lycopene and beta-carotene, though this can vary by the cooking method.
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Cooking also helps inactivate or destroy some antinutrients in food. For example, cooking grains and legumes reduces lectins and phytic acid. In large quantities, these can block your body from absorbing minerals. Additionally, cooking also destroys harmful bacteria.
Potential Benefits of a Raw Food Diet
A raw food diet may have some positive points:
- High in fresh fruits and vegetables
- High in nutrients and fiber
- Limited highly processed foods and added sugar
- Weight loss, if needed
- Lowered blood triglyceride levels
- Reduced body fat
A raw vegan diet is generally rich in fruits and vegetables, which gives it some serious health points. Eating lots of fresh, raw produce means you’ll get plenty of:
- Vitamins and minerals.
- Phytochemicals, plant compounds that may fight cancer and other diseases.
- Fiber, which improves digestion.
A raw vegan diet can help with weight loss because you:
- Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories.
- Consume plenty of fiber, which helps you feel fuller, longer.
- Avoid high-calorie processed foods like chips, cookies and fast foods.
Any diet that is based on high consumption of fruits and vegetables is bound to provide some health benefits.
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- While most adults in the US struggle to get adequate daily fiber, those following a raw food diet should get more than enough fiber. Because the raw diet is based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, it is naturally high in fiber and antioxidants.
- Processed foods get a bad rap for being high in sugar, fat, and preservatives. Following a raw food diet severely limits processed foods. This can be good for limiting sugar and other undesired ingredients in the diet.
- Because the raw food diet is based on low-calorie foods and has a restricted list of foods allowed, it can be considered a low-calorie diet that may help people lose weight.
May Improve Heart Health
A raw vegan diet may improve heart health due to its focus on fruits and vegetables - both of which are consistently linked to lower blood pressures and a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.
This way of eating also includes plenty of nuts, seeds, sprouted whole grains and legumes. Studies show that these foods may improve blood cholesterol levels and further lower your risk of heart disease.
Observational studies report that vegans may have up to a 75% lower risk of developing high blood pressure and a 42% lower risk of dying from heart disease.
What’s more, several randomized controlled studies - the gold standard in scientific research - observe that vegan diets are particularly effective at reducing “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Few studies have looked at the effect of raw vegan diets specifically. Yet, their high content of nutrient-rich plant foods may offer similar results - though more studies are needed.
May Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes
A raw vegan diet may also reduce your risk of diabetes. Again, this may partly be due to its focus on fruits and vegetables, which are linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, this diet is rich in fiber - a nutrient linked to lower blood sugar levels and increased insulin sensitivity.
One recent review study linked vegetarian and vegan diets to a 12% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, with vegan diets being the most effective.
What’s more, vegan diets contain good amounts of nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes, which may further help lower blood sugar levels.
That said, few studies have looked at the direct effects of raw vegan diets. However, since they’re likely to include as much - if not more - nutrient- and fiber-rich fruits and vegetables compared to other types of vegan diets, similar benefits may be expected.
May Aid Weight Loss
A raw vegan diet seems very effective at helping people lose weight and keep it off. In fact, studies consistently link raw food diets - including raw veganism - to lower amounts of body fat.
In one study, people following various raw diets for over 3.5 years lost around 22-26 pounds (10-12 kg). What’s more, the participants with the highest percentage of raw foods in their diet also had the lowest body mass indexes (BMIs).
In another study, people following a raw vegan diet had a total body fat percentage between 7-9.4% lower than those eating a typical American diet.
Moreover, several high-quality studies report that low-fat vegan diets - including raw vegan diets - are particularly effective for weight loss.
May Improve Digestion
Raw vegan diets are high in both soluble and insoluble fibers. Insoluble fibers add bulk to your stools and help food move more quickly through your gut, reducing the likelihood of constipation.
Soluble fiber is also beneficial, as it helps feed the good bacteria in your intestines. In turn, these healthy bacteria produce nutrients, such as short-chain fats, which help reduce inflammation in your gut. They may also improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Sustainability
The raw food diet can be beneficial to the environment because it offers:
- Less waste: Raw foods often have minimal packaging, so you’re putting less garbage in landfills. You can also compost unused parts of your food, such as peach pits and avocado peels.
- Lower greenhouse gases: Plant-based foods use less energy, land and water than animal-based foods.
- Smaller carbon footprint: Locally grown fruits and vegetables don’t require long shipping times.
Potential Risks and Downsides of a Raw Food Diet
The cons can include:
- Reduced calorie intake that may make it hard to meet your daily calorie needs
- Reduced digestibility of food, which makes it harder for the body to get calories and nutrients
- Decreased amount of certain nutrients and antioxidants
- Unbalanced, typically high in either fats or fruits to meet calorie needs
- Potentially deficient in some vitamins, minerals, and protein, such as vitamin B-12
- Increased risk of tooth erosion in people who follow a plant-based diet
- Menstrual irregularities
- Lower bone mass
If you’re going hard-core raw vegan, you’re excluding a lot of foods - and that comes with health risks. The raw vegan diet, in its pure form, is very restrictive and can lead to nutrient deficiencies. When you avoid dairy, eggs and meat, you may not get enough:
- Protein
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin D
- Calcium
- Iron
- Iodine
The raw vegan diet can be a short-term way to clean up your diet, but it’s too restrictive to be a lifelong diet plan.
Raw vegetarian and raw omnivorous: Risky business
The raw vegetarian and raw omnivorous diets, which include raw animal-based foods, can be dangerous. The risks outweigh the benefits with eating raw dairy, eggs and meat.
- Steer clear of raw milk: The milk you buy in grocery stores is pasteurized, which is a heating process that kills bacteria. Raw milk is not pasteurized, and it can harbor dangerous germs like E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Stick with pasteurized milk, cheese and other dairy products so you can avoid the nasty illnesses that come with bacteria in raw dairy.
- Choose pasteurized eggs or cook them: Raw, unpasteurized eggs aren’t worth the risk. Even eggs that appear normal can contain Salmonella and make you sick. Luckily, you have a safe option: Buy pasteurized eggs. If they’re not pasteurized (or you’re not sure), cook them until the whites and yolks are firm.
- Raw meats, poultry and fish: Don’t do it: Eating raw meats, poultry and fish can be dangerous to your health. When you eat these foods, cook them to the safe minimum cooking temperatures recommended by the government’s food safety experts.
May Be Nutritionally Unbalanced
Vegan diets can be appropriate for all life stages - as long as they’re well planned. One of the prerequisites to a well-planned vegan diet is to ensure it provides all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. You can do so by consuming either fortified foods or supplements to compensate for the nutrients it is naturally low in.
Vitamin B12 is one example of a nutrient naturally lacking in a raw vegan diet. Getting too little of this vitamin can lead to anemia, nervous system damage, infertility, heart disease and poor bone health.
While anyone can have low vitamin B12 levels, vegans not taking supplements are at a higher risk of deficiency. In fact, one study found that 100% of participants following a raw vegan diet consumed less than the recommended 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12 per day. Moreover, more than a third of the participants were vitamin B12 deficient at the time of the study.
However, the use of supplements is often discouraged on a raw vegan diet, due to the belief that you can get all the nutrients you need from raw foods alone. This can increase your risk of nutrient deficiencies.
Raw vegan diets also appear to be low in calcium and vitamin D, and proponents often discourage the use of iodized salt, which may further put you at risk of deficiency.
May Weaken Muscles and Bones
Several aspects of a raw vegan diet may result in weaker muscles and bones. For starters, this way of eating tends to be low in calcium and vitamin D - two nutrients needed for strong bones.
In one study, people on a raw vegan diet had lower bone mineral content and density than those following a standard American diet.
Some raw vegan foodists may be able to get enough vitamin D from sun exposure. However, older adults, people living in northern latitudes or those with darker skin may be unable to consistently produce enough vitamin D from sun exposure alone.
What’s more, a raw vegan diet tends to provide very little protein - often less than 10% of your total number of calories per day. Though such low protein levels may theoretically be sufficient to meet basic biological needs, some evidence links higher intakes to stronger bones.
Protein is also important for preserving muscle mass, especially during periods of low calorie intake that lead to weight loss - such as can be expected on this diet.
May Promote Tooth Decay
Raw vegan diets may also increase your likelihood of tooth decay. This may be especially true of diets which include a lot of citrus fruits and berries. These fruits are thought to be more acidic and more likely to cause erosion of your tooth enamel.
In one study, 97.7% of people on a raw vegan diet experienced tooth erosion to some degree, compared to only 86.8% in the control group. However, more studies are needed before strong conclusions can be drawn.
May Reduce Fertility
In some cases, a raw vegan diet may reduce fertility. In one study, 70% of women following a raw vegan diet experienced irregularities in their menstrual cycle. What’s more, about a third developed amenorrhea - a condition in which women stop menstruating entirely.
Additionally, it was observed that the higher the proportion of raw foods, the stronger the effects. The researchers calculated that the women eating only raw foods were seven times more likely to experience amenorrhea than other women.
Scientists note that one of the main ways a raw vegan diet may impact a woman’s fertility is by being very low in calories. This may cause women to drop too much weight, reducing their ability to menstruate.
Food-related illness
Eating a raw diet that includes animal foods can be dangerous. Raw dairy, eggs and meat may contain harmful bacteria such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella that can cause serious illness.