Raw foodism

Raw food diets are diets composed entirely or mostly of food that is uncooked or that is cooked at low temperatures. Raw animal food diets with raw egg, capers and onions Raw animal food diets include any animal that can be eaten raw, such as uncooked, unprocessed raw muscle meats, organ meats, eggs, raw dairy, and aged, raw animal foods such as century eggs, fermented meat/fish/shellfish/kefir, as well as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and sprouts, but in general not raw grains, raw beans, and raw soy. Raw foods included in such diets have not been heated above . "Raw Animal Foodists" believe that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are harmful to the body. Smoked meats are frowned upon by many Raw-Omnivores. Some distinguish between hot-smoked and cold-smoked. Diet examples • The "People's Primal Potluck", anopsology (otherwise known as "instinctive eating"), and the "Raw Paleolithic Diet" (otherwise known as the "raw meat diet"). • The "primal diet" consists of fatty meats, organ meats, dairy, honey, minimal fruit and vegetable juices, and coconut products, all raw. • The "raw Paleolithic diet", is a raw version of the (cooked) Palaeolithic diet, incorporating large amounts of raw animal foods such as meats/organ-meats, seafood, eggs, and some raw plant-foods, but usually avoiding non-Paleo foods such as raw dairy, grains, and legumes. and the Inuit. • Pemmican is the traditional North American travel food, prepared from dried meat, fat, and berries. File:Kefir-insieme.jpg|Kefir preparation Image:Sashimi.jpg|A sashimi dinner set File:Raw Horse meat with labels Oct 23 2020 07-11PM.jpeg|Raw horse meat set File:Kibbe nayye, habra nayye, sowda nayye from Aleppo, Syria.jpg|A variety of raw meat dishes in Aleppo, Syria, such as kibbeh nayyeh. Raw veganism Raw veganism has rarely been practised in history, but it became a fad in the 21st century. A raw vegan diet consists of unprocessed, raw plant foods that have not been heated above . Typical foods included in raw food diets are fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains and legumes. Among raw vegans are subgroups, such as "fruitarians", "juicearians", or "sproutarians". Fruitarians eat primarily or exclusively fruits, berries, seeds, and nuts. Juicearians process their raw plant foods into juice. The British Dietetic Association named the raw vegan diet one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018", raising a concern that it could compromise long-term health. ==History==

Early documentation of raw food dieting has been associated with hermits and monks practising asceticism. For example, John of Egypt, a hermit from the Nitrian Desert in the 4th Century, reportedly lived on a diet of dried fruit and vegetables for fifty years; he never ate anything cooked. Documented evidence of a commitment to raw food was by the Ethiopian monk Qozmos, who in the late 1300s CE committed to the ascetic discipline of eating only uncooked food. This posed a problem for his Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church monastery because he refused to eat the bread of the Eucharist, which is cooked. As a result, he fled the church and went to live with the Jewish community of the Beta Israel. Bircher-Benner eventually adopted a vegetarian diet, but took that further and decided that raw food was what humans were really meant to eat; he was influenced by Charles Darwin's ideas that humans were just another kind of animal and Bircher-Benner noted that other animals do not cook their food. Other proponents from the early part of the twentieth century include Californian fruit grower Otto Carque (author of The Foundation of All Reform, 1904), George Julius Drews (author of Unfired Food and Trophotherapy, 1912), Bernarr Macfadden and Herbert Shelton. Drews influenced John and Vera Richter to open America's first raw food restaurant "The Eutropheon" in 1917. In the 1970s, Norman W. Walker (inventor of the Norwalk Juicing Press) popularized raw food dieting. Leslie Kenton's book Raw Energy – Eat Your Way to Radiant Health, published in 1984, added popularity to foods such as sprouts, seeds, and fresh vegetable juices. The book advocates a diet of 75% raw food, which it claims will prevent degenerative diseases, slow the effects of aging, provide enhanced energy, and boost emotional balance; it cites examples such as the sprouted-seed-enriched diets of the long-lived Hunza people and Gerson therapy, an unhealthy, dangerous and potentially very harmful raw juice-based diet and detoxification regime claimed to treat cancer. In the 21st century, raw food diets (particularly those focused on raw milk, raw eggs, and raw meat) have been popularized and politicized as part of a broader "right-wing bodybuilder" movement centered around hypermasculinity, physical fitness, fascination with ancient civilizations and opposition to feminism and mainstream modern culture. ==Claims==

Claims held by raw food proponents include: • That heating food above degrades enzymes in raw food that aid digestion. Enzymes in food play no significant role in the digestive process before being digested themselves. • That foods cooked at high temperatures, especially meat, may contain harmful toxins, including trans fatty acids produced by heating oil, acrylamide produced by frying, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Not all cooked food contains harmful chemicals, and a diet containing a mix of cooked and raw food is normal. According to the American Cancer Society, it is not clear whether acrylamide consumption affects the risk of cancer. Public health authorities recommend reducing consumption of overly-cooked starchy foods or meats. ==Health effects==

A raw food diet may impair the development of children and infants. Careful planning is essential for a raw vegan diet, particularly for children, as there may not be enough vitamin B12, vitamin D, and calories for a growing child on a totally raw vegan diet. Food poisoning is a health risk for anyone consuming raw foods, and the increased demand for raw foods is associated with greater incidence of foodborne illness, especially for raw meat, fish, and shellfish. Outbreaks of gastroenteritis among consumers of raw and undercooked animal products (including smoked, pickled or dried animal products raw organ meat, raw milk and products made from raw milk, and raw eggs. One review stated that "Many raw foods are toxic and only become safe after they have been cooked. Some raw foods contain substances that affect the absorption of nutrients, interfere with digestive enzymes, or damage the walls of the intestine. Additionally, raw meat can be contaminated with bacteria which would be destroyed by cooking; raw fish can contain substances that interfere with vitamin B1 (anti-thiaminases)". ==See also==