| >> Raw food heats up some pros and cons |
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Raw food as an alternative lifestyle has been promoted since the '50s. In recent years, the success of raw-food restaurants in California has spread the concept nationwide. With Raw (Ten Speed Press, 2003), two visionary chefs -- Charlie Trotter in Chicago, Roxanne Klein in San Francisco -- created a landmark volume celebrating raw food, giving it gourmet glam and nudging it into the culinary mainstream. Certainly, eating some raw food is natural and healthful; raw-food vegetarian diets can promote health and healing. But questions of long-term success, and possible vitamin deficiencies, remain. Face it, the concept runs counter to evolution and thousands of years of cooking. If that's not enough to stir controversy, add the nutritional complexities to the mix and you could have a food war on your hands. Here are a few of the pros and cons: Raw food contains live enzymes that aid digestion, said chef-author Matthew Kenney. Heated past 118 degrees, those enzymes begin to die, leaving only the enzymes our bodies produce to digest what we eat. When the body supplies those enzymes, some believe, it speeds up the aging process. Research has shown that a raw food diet can have a major effect on health, normalizing weight and increasing energy. Raw foods can be more easily digested, producing less acid and bile. Combining raw and cooked foods at the same meal, however, may cause indigestion. There is some concern that raw foods have higher pesticide levels than cooked foods, thus use of organic ingredients is recommended for raw food dishes. A small supplement of Vitamin B-12 is suggested with vegetarian diets since that nutrient is found primarily in meat. Nuts, seeds and sprouts are good sources of protein. But because plant proteins don't have the ``balanced'' amino acid profile found in animal protein, it is best to include a variety of protein sources in vegetarian diets. For essential fatty acids, Omega 3, typically found in fish, is very important. A precursor of Omega 3, alpha-linoleic acid, is found in green leafy vegetables and walnuts. Take note: While eating most foods raw won't hurt you, the nutritional benefits of eliminating cooked foods, or for that matter, of going vegan and cutting all meat and dairy items from your diet, remains a subject of controversy for dietitians and doctors. Katherine Tallmadge, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, has said that a raw food diet is apt to be nutrient-poor, protein-deficient and ``dangerous,'' especially for people whose systems are under stress, such as growing children, pregnant women, the elderly, or those with impaired immune systems.
Source: http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/food/12460765.htm |