The Truth About Raw Food Diets

There is an ongoing feud between scientists and nutritionists over the health benefits of a strictly raw food diet. Numerous studies claim that raw food diets promote good health, but there are also just as many stating otherwise. For this reason, taking a stance on the subject all boils down to personal preference. But one thing is for certain: adopting a healthy lifestyle is always a step in the right direction. For seafarers abroad, most meals are selected by marine catering professionals; however, this does not restrict one from giving the raw food kick a try. Whether or not you wish to become fully vegan, or would like to implement more raw foods in your diet, it is important to first look at the information available. In doing so, you will educate yourself on all of the benefits, as well as the hazards, associated with this radical lifestyle. Many nutritionists claim that a raw food diet helps to increase energy, clear skin, lose weight, combat diabetes and heart disease, as well as calm the mind. These effects are achieved by avoiding caffeine, processed and refined foods, sugar, and alcohol – without exception. Essentially, raw foodists believe in keeping their food “alive”, as opposed to what it becomes after meeting the flame. Although cooking is out of the question, raw foodists often dehydrate their food at 115-degrees Fahrenheit, giving their meals a cooked texture without having gone all the way. Day-to-day, a raw food diet primarily consists of fruits and vegetables; however, nuts, seeds, grains, and other protein sources are often incorporated. As long as the dieter does not go to extremes – by losing weight rapidly or depriving their body of necessary nutrients– many of the benefits emerge within the first month. Raw foodists believe that high temperatures leach enzymes, which in-turn hurts our digestive system. Similarly, over 50 medical studies suggest that the raw food fad could hold the answer to eliminating oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal, and gastric cancers. On top of all this, the low-fat, low-sugar, high-fiber intake is a perfect way to avoid high cholesterol. In support of these claims, take these three common foods and consider what happens to them after they’ve been cooked:

1. Nuts – Roasted nuts are bereaved of their healthy fats, instead replaced with free radicals that harm the body. Roasted nuts can increase plaque build-up as well as heighten the risk of cardiovascular disease.
2. Broccoli – Once streamed, broccoli loses almost two-thirds of its cancer-fighting compounds. Fully cooking broccoli eliminates all of these enzymes, leaving it with little-to-no nutritional value.
3. Cacao Bean – The oils and fats in the cocoa bean become toxic when exposed to high temperatures. Add sugar, dairy, and other additives, and you have chocolate – a very unhealthy concoction.

Your Global Catering professionals work hard to keep you healthy on the job; but if you’ve chosen to try a raw-food diet, it is best to look over the following suggestions put together by the American Dietetic Association:

• Consume twice the iron as non-vegetarians would
• Eat eight or more servings of calcium rich foods
• Look for cereals, yeasts, and milk with fortified B12
• Take omega-3 supplements

Although the American Dietetic Association offers guidelines on how to stay healthy, their point-of-view on the matter challenges many of the common beliefs. Firstly, cooking food below 180-degress Fahrenheit could be dangerous, as the temperature is not hot enough to kill harmful bacteria. Secondly, in opposition to the enzyme assertion, the body produces its own enzymes for digestion and does not rely on those the plant uses. By cooking the food, it does not demand more enzymes of the body; it only stops us from ingesting extra nutrients. What may surprise many raw foodists, however, is that cooking may better serve our bodies. For instance, the anti-oxidant level in corn elevates when exposed to heat. Most of the time, cooking or non-cooking is a trade-off: increased anti-oxidant levels in corn when cooked, but lower Vitamin C; a raw-food diet helps maintain low cholesterol and triglcerides, but may lead to vitamin B-12 deficiency. Crew members on cargo ships, oil rigs, and offshore platforms need to keep these things in mind because staying healthy is important on the job. Improved energy may be useful during the day, but if other areas of the body start to shut-down, energy will mean very little overall. The biggest objection to the raw food diet lies in the theory of evolution. While some scientists are not at all convinced by the data, there are a few doctorates that stand behind their work. Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a licenced neuroscientist and co-author, believes that raw food diets do not supply our bodies with enough calories to fully develop the human brain. In her own words: “We can afford more neurons, thanks to cooking.” The concept of neuron production in-line with what we eat is an interesting notion; one expanded upon by her co-author Karina Fonseca-Azevedo, researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. These two women have shown that each gram of brain requires more energy than each gram of body-weight. For this reason, primates are unable to develop a human’s brain-power, due to the amount of time it would take to reach adequate calorie levels. Overtime, humans have developed ways in which to increase their calorie-intake, boosting neuron production, thus expanding our brains. On an evolutionary scale, at some point our species discovered cooking, and as a result, began growing the brain into the size we have today. Richard Wrangham, another qualified neuroscientist, supports this theory through his own work. Using rodents, pythons, and other little critters, he proved that cooked foods helped these animals grow larger, more quickly. By the end of his study, he arrived at a similar conclusion: evolution would not have occurred without cooked food. Of course, for studies like these to continue holding any scientific merit, further studies should be conducted. Despite all of the scientific babble in the news, there are some undeniable benefits to eating raw food. The consensus reached by many nutritionists, however, is that a balanced diet of cooked and raw foods may better serve our bodies than one or the other. Even a diet consisting of 80% raw food and 20% cooked food could produce the same health benefits, while limiting the consequences. If you are considering a raw-food diet, be sure to do it safely – it is important to stay healthy while out at sea for long periods of time. Crew members on cargo ships, oil rigs, and offshore platforms need an able-body in order to contribute as a valuable member of the team.