RAW Eating - How Healthy Is This Trend?

Products such as tofu, soy or almond milk are now available in almost every supermarket and restaurants are increasingly offering vegan alternatives. But there are significantly more forms of nutrition that are not so common, but already have some followers. One of these trends is raw eating, in which only uncooked food is consumed. Salad, vegetables or raw fish - is that really healthy for our body?

In the meantime, special restaurants are opening in world metropolises such as London or New York, which only focus on raw food. RAW-Eaters believe that people who don't eat anything cooked feel better and have fewer skin problems. In addition, this type of diet should reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases should occur less frequently. But the effect of raw food is controversial.

What Exactly Is RAW Food ?

Anyone who eats raw food completely avoids heat-treated healthy food such as UHT milk, cooked pasta or roasted meat. However, they are not to be equated with vegans or vegetarians. RAW eaters eat animal foods such as raw fish, beef tartare or unprocessed dairy products.

The reasons for this radical change in diet are many, many diets have switched to raw foods due to allergies or other ailments. With sprouts, nuts or fruits and vegetables, the raw foodists conjure up a wide variety of dishes.

Benefits Of Raw Food

One thing is certain: heating food destroys important vitamins. Also enzymes that are vital for the organism are destroyed. These are needed for digestion, among other things, and stimulate the metabolism. From a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, they are decomposed and can no longer be supplied to the body. Boiled or cooked foods are dead to RAW food advocates and no longer provide any nutrients.

Avoiding heated food also means avoiding preservatives in the diet. Fortunately, these colorings, flavor enhancers or thickeners are not found in lettuce, herbs and sprouts. Uncooked foods contain a significantly higher proportion of minerals and vitamins, which are beneficial for health.

Against The RAW Eating

But just like with a vegan diet, this type of food also carries the risk of developing deficiency symptoms. Nutrients such as calcium, iron, protein or iodine are often not sufficiently absorbed through food. It is therefore important to have your blood values checked regularly. Another negative aspect is the edibility, because potatoes or rice are only edible once they have been heated.

It is nevertheless proven that raw food is important for the body. Eating a small amount of raw vegetables and fruits daily provides important vitamins and minerals. And even a gentle variant of RAW eating does not have a negative effect on the body. Maybe we'll all just take a break from the heat once a week in the near future?