I'm Charlotte Lawson, a registered and licensed dietitian here in Tampa Bay, Florida and I have some information on how to do the raw food diet. Well, keep in mind, the raw food diet is actually different types of foods and sometimes how you cook or don't cook these foods. Now raw foods are pretty much what they are: your fresh fruits and vegetables and sometimes some raw meats as well. Now, these do have some benefits as far as weight loss but sometimes the raw form of food is not best utilized by our body. For instance, tomatoes that have been cooked and canned actually have a higher antioxidant utilization level versus our raw tomatoes we may have on a salad. So, keep in mind not to shut the door on either end of the spectrum. Also, keep in mind processed itself is not always bad. For instance, take raw almonds compared to a roasted almond. There's not a whole lot different but technically the almond has been processed. It is not any nutrient different, might have a different flavor but, again, no different as far as nutrient components. So, the processed foods only become bad when they become calories in the form of sugar or fat and possibly added sodium as well. Its high sodium intact levels are pretty detrimental to our chronic disease risk and actually hyper tension and other cardiovascular diseases. So, be aware of those processed foods and chose the healthier versions if you can. Eating raw foods, especially our fruits and vegetables, do contain an excellent source of fiber, which has been proven for health benefit as far as moderating our calories and keeping good bowel movements. So, look at the combination of both: eating raw as benefits, but there's some good cooked benefits as well. I'm Charlotte, and eat happy.
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