**Types of Raw Food Diets**:
– Raw food diets consist of uncooked or low-temperature cooked food.
– Varieties include raw animal food diets (raw meats, dairy, eggs) and raw veganism (unprocessed plant foods).
– Examples of diets within these categories like The Peoples Primal Potluck, Raw Paleolithic Diet, Primal Diet, etc.
– Traditional diets such as the Inuit’s raw meats and berries.
– Raw animal food diets involve foods not heated above 40°C to retain nutritional value.
**History and Advocates of Raw Foodism**:
– Early associations with hermits and monks practicing asceticism.
– Pioneers like Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Eugene Christian, and Norman W. Walker promoted raw food diets.
– Bircher-Benner’s belief in raw food based on Darwin’s ideas.
– Criticisms from the medical field and the British Dietetic Association labeling raw foodism as a fad diet.
– Raw veganism gaining popularity as a fad in the 21st century.
**Controversies and Criticisms**:
– Raw food diets criticized for potential nutrient deficiencies and health risks.
– Claims by proponents considered pseudoscientific.
– Association of raw foodism with right-wing movements and politicization.
– Concerns about children’s development and food poisoning risks with raw diets.
– Criticisms of raw food advocates like Shelton and the need for attention to essential nutrients in raw vegan diets.
**Health Effects and Risks**:
– Impairment of children’s development with raw food diets.
– Attention required for vitamin B, D, and calorie intake in planning raw vegan diets for children.
– Risks of food poisoning and increased foodborne illness cases with raw foods.
– Outbreaks of gastroenteritis linked to consumption of raw or undercooked animal products.
– Long-term raw food diet linked to specific cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
**Food Safety and Disease Risks**:
– High-temperature cooking of meat can lead to cancer-linked chemicals like PAHs and acrylamide.
– Concerns about microbial pathogens in dairy foods and raw animal products.
– Transmission of parasitic zoonoses through raw or undercooked fish.
– Outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis and infections like E. coli 0157:H7 associated with raw dairy products.
– Importance of proper hygiene, pasteurization, and awareness of food safety risks for public health.
Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include a selection of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fish, meat, and dairy products. The diet may also include simply processed foods, such as various types of sprouted seeds, cheese, and fermented foods such as yogurts, kefir, kombucha, or sauerkraut, but generally not foods that have been pasteurized, homogenized, or produced with the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, solvents, and food additives.
The British Dietetic Association has described raw foodism as a fad diet. Raw food diets, specifically raw veganism, may diminish intake of essential minerals and nutrients, such as vitamin B12. Claims made by raw food proponents are pseudoscientific.