Is a raw food diet actually bad?

[healthiskey]

I see a lot of people who are on the raw food diet who look malnourished and old for their age, mostly youtubers i come across. It's making me think that the whole raw food idea is wrong and not as healthy as people think?

[BeFitCoach]

Hi Healthiskey

In my opinion and supported by my studies of human nutrition, excluding parts of macronutrients from your diet is never healthy thing. It may work for some time, but at the end something is going to give.

We need approx. 30% of fat, 40% of carbohydrates and 30 percent of proteins of our calories intake. To achieve this by following raw diet is not easy and requires a lot of planning and knowledge. I am not saying that it is impossible, but for average person it's very difficult.

Therefore my recommendation to anyone looking for healthy eating is to eat all types of real food (understand - not processed) in moderation. I do eat a lot of raw vegetables and fruits myself,but I also have approx. 10% of nutrients from animals and I do cook a lot. Some most beneficial plants, like Amaranth and Quinoa, have to be cooked before you can eat them, you see.

So, to conclude, raw food diet is robbing you of some important nutrients, if not executed properly, with planning and supporting knowledge.

[Activity2004 Administrator in reply to BeFitCoach]

What about the LCHF diet?

[BeFitCoach in reply to Activity2004]

Hi Activity

Low carb high fat diet has nice results at the start. However in clinical trials which lasted over 6 months, the plus side disappeared.

Don't take me wrong, I am not against it. However, it's short term way to lower weight. In a trial lasting for a year, the difference achived between low carb and high carb diet were significant in month 3.

In month 6 was difference significant, but smaller. In month 12 the difference all but disappeared.

nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/N...

Therefore whoever want's to start this diet, run it for 6 months and after continue healthy eating . More bellow in response to Dottie

[healthiskey in reply to BeFitCoach]

You mind me asking what your typical day looks like in terms of meals and food consumption?

[BeFitCoach in reply to healthiskey]

I don't mind at all

First, after getting up - 2 glasses of water (0.5 litre)

Within half an hour breakfast, usually shake mixed with fruits or oats with apple and cinnamon.

Afterwards, within next 2-3 hours mostly fruit snack, but sometimes egg or salmon with rye bread and a butter

Another 2-3 hours - light lunch, some meat, sweet potato or buckwheat or millet or quinoa or amaranth. If pasta, than wholewheat.

For afternoon snack mostly vegetables either as salads or sticks

For dinner fish or egg or oats (depends what I had at morning)

During day I drink a minimum of 2.4 litre of water (I have Brita filtering jug of 2.4 litre so it is easy to measure) plus some tea and only occasionally coffee. Total of 3 litres of drink (most of it water)

These are just examples, the variety is big, I have plenty of different recipes using mostly veg and some meat.

If at any time during day i have need for some food, usually I eat a handful of nuts or I add them to some meal. I eat them daily.

[healthiskey in reply to BeFitCoach]

That's a lot like my food plan. Would you say you are in top health? My body is currently detoxing at the moment after changing my eating habits and fixing my terrible sleep schedule and lack of sleep so it's pretty difficult at the moment but i know the outcome will be good health so i'm excited for that.

[BeFitCoach in reply to healthiskey]

Last year I had heart surgery. Leading to it and afterwards I gained a lot of weight. I had problem to get 2 flights of stairs. I had problem to walk for more than 10 minutes

Since I changed my eating habits, I shed weight, I am able to play football and I am able to briskly walk for an hour.

I am not in top shape yet, but I feel amazing and it seems tome, that I shed not just weight, but also minimum of 10 years.

[BeFitCoach in reply to BeFitCoach]

Oh I forgot, I use cheese and butter - always full fat. I never use the light or "diet" version of anything. It's artificially made and I never trusted it. Good for me as you might noticed that recent study found out that diet coke drinkers have 3 times higher possibility of stroke.

Having said that, I don't drink milk, I use almond, coconut or soya instead. I use it for my oats as well.

When I use oil, I am a fan of rapeseed oil. It's even healthier than olive oil. And its British so it helps local economy. When I buy things, I always look at the label or buy from farmer markets - if I have choice of UK made and elsewhere, I always take UK

[healthiskey in reply to BeFitCoach]

I'm glad to see how eating healthy has changed your life for the better! keep going at it and stick to it as i'm sure you will. What age are you btw?

[BeFitCoach in reply to healthiskey]

48

[healthiskey in reply to BeFitCoach]

Okay thanks and good luck on your health journey!

[benwl]

Another possibility is they were unhealthy before they started the raw food diet. If as you say they look old for their age, this isn't going to be instantly reversed when they change their diet.

Or maybe they are not really following the diet they say they are - can you trust everything someone says in a youtube video?

Or maybe they are following a raw food diet but binging on drugs on friday evening. (It's sometimes called a 'health halo' effect, people who generally eat healthy feel that that lets them get away with some unhealthy behaviours)

[happydodderer]

The term "raw food diet" by itself is too broad for us to give a considered opinion. We need to know more to do that. Do they really eat ONLY raw food. If so what types. It's quite possible they could be very healthy from such a diet but a lot of consideration needs to be given to ensure all the essentials are included; including all the proteins and minerals much more easily obtained from meat and fish, unless of course they eat those raw too. A final thought - they could look a bit rough but be very fit inside !

[BeFitCoach]

Hi Dottie

You made a strong claim over here and therefore I would like to see the scientific support for your claim, that 40% carbs will "lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease"

Let me explain

While there is big hype about LCHF diet at the moment, I am absolutely certain, that this, as all previous diets, will fade out.

As I mentioned before in different comment - the key is in moderation.

There are 3 different groups of macronutrients and all of them are equally important.

Healthy diet is not to exclude one kind of food, nor starving the body. Such approach always leads to Jo-Jo effect.

While government recommends much higher intake of carbs (up to 60% of calorie intake) and lower intake of fats (approx 10% of calorie intake) the even approach - 30-30-40 or even, if you wish 33-33-34, is much more balanced and able to bring results which lasts.

Carbs are immediate source of energy fuelling your body and brain. Without them you will stop functioning. When not enough carbs are available, body starts to break down fat storage into carbs (sugars) to fuel all and every movement and all and every thought. At the moment, when this happens, the body will start to prepare for starvation and start storing all available fat. That will actually lead to weight gain.

As I said, low carb high fat is good for some people for short term (up to 6 months) but afterwards, the normal, healthy nutrition is needed. And healthy means balanced.

[BeFitCoach in reply to BeFitCoach]

Sorry mistake - While government recommends much higher intake of carbs (up to 60% of calorie intake) and lower intake of FATS (approx 10% of calorie intake) - is wrong

Should be actually - While government recommends much higher intake of carbs (up to 60% of calorie intake) and lower intake of PROTEIN (approx 10% of calorie intake)

(see difference in CAPITALS)

[Fran182716 Prediabetic]

I've no idea whether it's healthy ( and I do enjoy salad, veg and fruit ) but an exclusively raw diet sounds thoroughly miserable in terms of taste and temperature, I really feel the cold and sometimes can only get warm when I'm exercising or have a hot meal, and I can't exercise all day at work.

[Activity2004 Administrator]

Does your partner eat low carb high fat for blood sugar control, Hidden ?

[Activity2004 Administrator]

I will have send you a PM later today. Please check after 3 pm USA time.

[Rusti]

I agree with BeFitCoach! The body needs healthy fats and protein sources as well. Raw food may be good on short-term only. Or one meal a day...something like that.

[healthiskey in reply to Rusti]

Yeah i kinda agree too although my mind is still open and i will continue to do research and try to come to a conclusion.

[BeFitCoach]

Dottie, it seems, that you don't understand the calculations of calories..

Even one of the links you sent me contain info about carbs intake up to 150 grams.

I am saying that your intake should be around 35-40% of calorie intake.

1 gram of carbs is approx. 4 calories (kCal)

150g of carbs is 600 kCal

if your intake is 1500 kCal per day than my advice is to take 450 - 600 kCal in carbs, which counted into grams is 112g to 150g of carbs per day.

Therefore you are saying the same as I am saying, the only thing is that you don't know that it is actually the same.

I did not write to eat 400g of carbs, but 40% of calorie intake.

We are on the same page.

Mark Sisson i the first link wrote:

"...my advice to “generally keep carbs under 150 grams a day unless you’re an athlete”..."

This is exactly what I am saying - only I used calories instead of grams.

[andyswarbs]

As with any diet, I would go to the research. Here is one paper academic.oup.com/jn/article...

Research is so much more valuable than anecdote.

Personally I would not go raw food despite knowing some people who thrive on it. I have raw food in my diet each and every day, that's for sure. If I an keep that at 50% then I am a happy person. But I love soups, stews, the added variety of textures and tastes.