Raw & Vegan Diets

Raw food diets refer to a food regime that endorses preparing all foods, including meats, without cooking. The theory is that the more processed the food, the fewer nutrients remain when eaten. Vegan diets are vegetarian diets that preclude the use of any animal products in their preparation. Some of their foods may be cooked, others may be served with minimal preparation. Some vegetarian diets allow the use of renewable animal products, such as milk. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Raw Carnivorous Diets

Proponents of the raw carnivorous diet say that human ancestors ate unprocessed, uncooked meats. They believe that cooking deteriorates the nutrients in the meat. Risks involved in eating raw meat include salmonella, botulism and trichinosis.

Raw Omnivorous Diet

This diet suggests that participants eat all food items raw. However, "raw" is a somewhat misleading term. Allowable food preparation includes chopped, ground and dried foods, which can change the composition of the foods before ingestion. Included in this diet are raw milk and raw eggs -- both of which have been shown to be carriers of disease in our modern food industry. In order to safely ingest raw milk or raw eggs, the animals producing them need to be in optimal health and excellent sanitation should be employed while collecting and storing the products.

Raw Vegan Diet

The raw vegan diet includes chopped, ground and dried foods, as does the omnivorous diet. It excludes all animal products, removing the risk of illness from contaminated meat, milk or eggs, but may lack in certain essential nutrients such as B vitamins. Some of the B complex can be found in complimentary vegetable proteins, such as beans and rice, or peanut butter and whole grain bread. B12, however, is found only in animal products. Vegans can obtain B12 by eating fortified breakfast cereals or by taking a vitamin supplement.

Vegan Diet

Vegans cook some of their foods and eat some food raw. Cooking certain vegetables releases vitamins that are otherwise bound up in the plant products and unavailable to human digestion. Carrots and spinach are two examples of food that may be more nutritious after being cooked than when eaten raw. In carrots, vitamin A is bound up in cellulose, which is indigestible by humans. Cooking, even lightly steaming, makes the vitamin available. Spinach is often recommended for its iron content. Although a raw spinach salad is delicious, its iron content is more readily available after cooking. Healthy vegans usually include whole grains, nuts, legumes, processed soy products and other types of vegetable protein in their diet, as well as the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Many include a vitamin supplement to insure that they are getting all essential nutrients.