Weight Loss
Moderators: duke3522, devilish_patsy, topanga1485, nycgirl, spoiled_candy, cmillington, coach_k Raw Food Diet-what do you think?
I was watching a talk show yesterday and they were talking about the raw food diet and this woman Alissa Cohen said it works magic, not just for weight loss but lots of other things too including cancer. I looked at her website and I think the diet looks fine but who really has THAT MUCH time to make hamburger buns out of nuts?? what do you guys think?
9 Replies (last)
Some foods are actually healthier in a cooked state... like tomato and
broccoli. The cooking breaks them down, so the body can better
absorb the nutrients.
In other recent posts, we have discussed the reasons why a high fiber diet helps you lose weight... one of the main reason is that fiber prevents you from absorbing some calories. At the same time, it is known that fiber also hinders absorption of some nutrients... calcium is a main one.
So all things in moderation... some raw, some cooked.
In other recent posts, we have discussed the reasons why a high fiber diet helps you lose weight... one of the main reason is that fiber prevents you from absorbing some calories. At the same time, it is known that fiber also hinders absorption of some nutrients... calcium is a main one.
So all things in moderation... some raw, some cooked.
I've read that juicing tomatoes and broccoli is just as good as nutritious as cooking them :)
I recommend any of David Wolfe's books on raw food nutrition, they're wonderful!
I recommend any of David Wolfe's books on raw food nutrition, they're wonderful!
It is my experience that extreme diets are a big problem. Although I believe in getting substantial amounts of my diet from raw fruits, vegetables and nuts. I don't think I would be interested in raw meat and I am certainly not going to try raw fish again. By the way are cheese and yogurt really "raw"?
At any rate, if I wanted to go raw or vegetarian, my wife and I would be eating at separate tables. Lunch at work would be a nuisance. Dining out would be impossible. So regardless of the supposed benefits of such dietary approaches, I am going to pass.
Besides, you can overeat whether the food is raw or cooked or includes or excludes meat. Nuts are a good example. Do you have any idea how many calories a handful of nuts packs -- around 180?
At any rate, if I wanted to go raw or vegetarian, my wife and I would be eating at separate tables. Lunch at work would be a nuisance. Dining out would be impossible. So regardless of the supposed benefits of such dietary approaches, I am going to pass.
Besides, you can overeat whether the food is raw or cooked or includes or excludes meat. Nuts are a good example. Do you have any idea how many calories a handful of nuts packs -- around 180?
Alissa Cohen is one of those raw foodists who's trying to engage cooked food eaters on the "you don't have to give up the foods you love" angle. Unfortunately, this approach generates a menu of foods that are completely unrealistic, both from a time-and-effort standpoint and from a proper diet / digestive health perspective.
I can describe exactly my opinions on Cohen's recipes, but it requires a lot of background info, i.e. writing time I don't have at the moment. :)
As a raw foodist, I pretty much never eat Alissa Cohen's idea of a raw diet. I'm also not a vegan, and I eat raw fish, raw egg yolks, and (very rarely) some raw red meat.
I can describe exactly my opinions on Cohen's recipes, but it requires a lot of background info, i.e. writing time I don't have at the moment. :)
As a raw foodist, I pretty much never eat Alissa Cohen's idea of a raw diet. I'm also not a vegan, and I eat raw fish, raw egg yolks, and (very rarely) some raw red meat.
It is my experience that extreme diets are a big problem.
Yes, that's been my experience too. That's why I reject the USDA food pyramid.
By the way are cheese and yogurt really "raw"?
Cheese and yogurt are considered "raw" when they are made from unpasteurized milk.
From a purely hedonistic perspective, try raw-milk brie when you get a chance. TOTALLY different beast than pasteurized milk brie, even in texture. When you see the difference between these two products, it's hard to maintain the assertion that there's no fundamental chemical difference between raw and pasteurized milk.
Besides, you can overeat whether the food is raw or cooked or includes or excludes meat. Nuts are a good example. Do you have any idea how many calories a handful of nuts packs -- around 180?
Yeah, in terms of calorie balance, there's nothing magical about raw foods... except for the fact that most people feel far more satisfied eating far fewer calories when eating raw foods. The reason for this -- and I can only speak on high-level terms here -- seems to be the fact that the human body seems to experience increases in appetite for food beyond calorie needs when faced with deficits in vitamins and minerals. A proper raw diet is so fantastically abundant in micronutrients that it's pretty easy to wind up with the unexpected problem of undereating!
Yes, that's been my experience too. That's why I reject the USDA food pyramid.
By the way are cheese and yogurt really "raw"?
Cheese and yogurt are considered "raw" when they are made from unpasteurized milk.
From a purely hedonistic perspective, try raw-milk brie when you get a chance. TOTALLY different beast than pasteurized milk brie, even in texture. When you see the difference between these two products, it's hard to maintain the assertion that there's no fundamental chemical difference between raw and pasteurized milk.
Besides, you can overeat whether the food is raw or cooked or includes or excludes meat. Nuts are a good example. Do you have any idea how many calories a handful of nuts packs -- around 180?
Yeah, in terms of calorie balance, there's nothing magical about raw foods... except for the fact that most people feel far more satisfied eating far fewer calories when eating raw foods. The reason for this -- and I can only speak on high-level terms here -- seems to be the fact that the human body seems to experience increases in appetite for food beyond calorie needs when faced with deficits in vitamins and minerals. A proper raw diet is so fantastically abundant in micronutrients that it's pretty easy to wind up with the unexpected problem of undereating!
Some foods are actually healthier in a cooked state... like tomato and
broccoli. The cooking breaks them down, so the body can better
absorb the nutrients.
"Healthier"?
Heat turns fibers from indigestible carbohydrates into somewhat-digestible carbohydrates. So, you get more calories from it. Uh, great.
Fewer fibers do generally mean less stuff standing in the way of micronutrient absorption, but unfortunately the application of heat tends to reconfigure minerals locked in organic molecules into inorganic compounds that aren't as easily used and absorbed. Calcium and iron are two such minerals that are susceptible to this effect.
Inorganic iron compounds in the diet can be a major problem for some people, usually to the tune of laxative abuse to relieve its effects.
Certain compounds are apparently made more bioavailable by cooking, such as lycopene in tomatoes. But simultaneously, heat denatures many cofactors in the vegetable that assist in the use of those compounds.
"Healthy" is a very relative term.
If you wanted to build the most theoretically optimal diet using the available scientific research, I would advise eating about 70% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, 10 to 15% raw or nearly-raw animal foods, and 15 to 20% cooked vegetables (including starchy roots).
I'm basically describing the Paleo Diet. I eat a lot more raw than this, but I admit that my more-raw-ness is based on faith that the current trend of raw-affirming research is going to continue well into the future.
"Healthier"?
Heat turns fibers from indigestible carbohydrates into somewhat-digestible carbohydrates. So, you get more calories from it. Uh, great.
Fewer fibers do generally mean less stuff standing in the way of micronutrient absorption, but unfortunately the application of heat tends to reconfigure minerals locked in organic molecules into inorganic compounds that aren't as easily used and absorbed. Calcium and iron are two such minerals that are susceptible to this effect.
Inorganic iron compounds in the diet can be a major problem for some people, usually to the tune of laxative abuse to relieve its effects.
Certain compounds are apparently made more bioavailable by cooking, such as lycopene in tomatoes. But simultaneously, heat denatures many cofactors in the vegetable that assist in the use of those compounds.
"Healthy" is a very relative term.
If you wanted to build the most theoretically optimal diet using the available scientific research, I would advise eating about 70% raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, 10 to 15% raw or nearly-raw animal foods, and 15 to 20% cooked vegetables (including starchy roots).
I'm basically describing the Paleo Diet. I eat a lot more raw than this, but I admit that my more-raw-ness is based on faith that the current trend of raw-affirming research is going to continue well into the future.
Technically, a raw food diet, you do eat "cooked" food, just not above I believe 102F, bc past that some of the nutrients can "cook out".
Also know that "raw food" includes bread, and EVERYTHING that has to be made at over that certain degree limit. With a raw food diet, there's a lot you can't eat. I tried it for about a week and just couldn't do it, because I loveee granola too much, haha!
If you have the will power to do it though, more power to you!
Keep us posted on progress. =P
Technically, a raw food diet, you do eat "cooked" food, just not
above I believe 102F, bc past that some of the nutrients can "cook
out".
That would be pretty much impossible, since a lot of raw restaurants serve "gently warmed raw soups" at 105 or 110 degrees. Most raw foodists have chosen 110 or 118 degrees as their magic number.
If you're thinking that raw foodists eat "cooked" food because they do more with it than just eat raw tomatoes off the vine, then the word you want is "prepared". No raw foodist would ever agree that their food is "technically cooked".
Back on the temperature thing -- I've had a fever temperature of about 105 degrees, and I don't consider myself "cooked". :)
Also know that "raw food" includes bread, and EVERYTHING that has to be made at over that certain degree limit.
Raw diets very rarely include bread. Conventional bread is definitely not raw, and all of the sprouted loaves in the freezer section of natural food stores have been baked at around 150 degrees (minimum).
You CAN make a raw bread called Essene bread, but it's very preparation-intensive and for most raw foodists is more of a special treat than
Other items that have been labelled "bread" in the raw diet have nothing to do with their conventional counterparts -- not made out of wheat or rye or anything like that. They are more like chips and crackers, e.g. dehydrated flax crisps, onion flatbread made from onions, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds, stuff like that.
With a raw food diet, there's a lot you can't eat.
Well that's kind of a "glass half empty" viewpoint. :)
I tried it for about a week and just couldn't do it, because I loveee granola too much, haha!
THere is such a thing as raw granola. I made some out of sprouted buckwheat and brought it to Burning Man. It was a popular gift.
If you have the will power to do it though, more power to you!
I eat fruit all day and chocolate smoothies whenever I want. Who needs willpower?
That would be pretty much impossible, since a lot of raw restaurants serve "gently warmed raw soups" at 105 or 110 degrees. Most raw foodists have chosen 110 or 118 degrees as their magic number.
If you're thinking that raw foodists eat "cooked" food because they do more with it than just eat raw tomatoes off the vine, then the word you want is "prepared". No raw foodist would ever agree that their food is "technically cooked".
Back on the temperature thing -- I've had a fever temperature of about 105 degrees, and I don't consider myself "cooked". :)
Also know that "raw food" includes bread, and EVERYTHING that has to be made at over that certain degree limit.
Raw diets very rarely include bread. Conventional bread is definitely not raw, and all of the sprouted loaves in the freezer section of natural food stores have been baked at around 150 degrees (minimum).
You CAN make a raw bread called Essene bread, but it's very preparation-intensive and for most raw foodists is more of a special treat than
Other items that have been labelled "bread" in the raw diet have nothing to do with their conventional counterparts -- not made out of wheat or rye or anything like that. They are more like chips and crackers, e.g. dehydrated flax crisps, onion flatbread made from onions, sunflower seeds, and flax seeds, stuff like that.
With a raw food diet, there's a lot you can't eat.
Well that's kind of a "glass half empty" viewpoint. :)
I tried it for about a week and just couldn't do it, because I loveee granola too much, haha!
THere is such a thing as raw granola. I made some out of sprouted buckwheat and brought it to Burning Man. It was a popular gift.
If you have the will power to do it though, more power to you!
I eat fruit all day and chocolate smoothies whenever I want. Who needs willpower?
I'm not a big meat eater and have dabbled with raw food eating. I could eat that way my entire life and never feel deprived. Well, except for beer. I love beer.
venix if you have time can you go a little more into Cohen's recipes? I like her stuff and I don't know a lot about raw foodism (but probably enough to follow along). Thanks!
venix if you have time can you go a little more into Cohen's recipes? I like her stuff and I don't know a lot about raw foodism (but probably enough to follow along). Thanks!
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