As the temperature climbs during spring and summer, salads start to look much more appealing. For some, however, a ‘raw food’ diet is a way of life all year round.
If you have never heard of the concept, ‘raw food’ (in the context of a lifestyle diet, and not just the contents of the veggie drawer in your refrigerator) is food that has never been heated above 40–48C. It might sound like nothing more than a plate-full of crudités, but it can be much more adventurous than that, with some restaurants even specialising in it as a type of cuisine, using alternative preparation methods such as juicing, sprouting, blending, dehydrating and soaking — some of which are necessary with some foods to ensure proper digestion.
Fans of raw food claim that there are many associated health benefits including higher energy levels, clearer skin, improved digestion, and reduced risks of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. It is also claimed that following a raw food diet can stabilise blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation, and help promote weight-loss — although, arguably, such health benefits may simply be due to the fact that it entails eating a large amount of fruit and vegetables and no processed foods.
Registered nutritionist Minna Wood explains that part of the benefit of a raw food diet comes from taking in beneficial enzymes that are released from plant cells when vegetables are cut. These enzymes “play a role in the production of certain phytochemicals with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour or other beneficial activities,” she says.
“The main argument for not cooking food above 47C is to preserve enzymes and nutrients that higher temperature cooking destroys or decreases.”
Conserving nutrients
This story is from the Spring 2018 edition of Optimum Nutrition.
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This story is from the Spring 2018 edition of Optimum Nutrition.
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