Raw Food – How Much is Healthy?

Nutrition is becoming more and more important for many people – What do I eat to eat healthy? Many now rely on raw food. A good idea?

What is raw food?

There is no uniform definition of what a raw food diet entails.
The goal is usually a high proportion of unheated food. It is often about vegetarian to vegan diets that also exclude grain and grain products. The diet consists mostly of fruit and vegetables.

However, raw food nutrition does not necessarily have to be purely vegetarian or vegan – as is usually assumed. There are also raw foodists who eat animal components such as raw milk products, raw cereals, raw eggs, raw fish ( e.g. sashimi) and raw meat (e.g. carpaccio/tartar).

The most common definition, which is still valid today as a scientific standard, comes from a study by the Justus Liebig University of Giessen (1996-1998). Raw food is a form of diet that “ contains largely or exclusively unheated plant (partly also animal) foods . Foodstuffs which are exposed to elevated temperatures as a result of the process (e.g. cold-spun honey and cold-pressed oils) are also included, as are foods whose production requires a certain amount of heat (e.g. dried fruit, dried meat, dried fish and certain types of nuts). In addition, cold-smoked products (e.g. meat and fish) as well as vinegar and lactic acid vegetables can be part of the raw food.”

What makes raw food healthy?

Raw food is considered healthy due to its high proportion of vitamins, minerals, fiber and secondary plant substances such as carotenoids and flavonoids. These are considered important antioxidants.

Antioxidants in fruit and vegetables have a health-promoting effect and protect the body from so-called “free radicals”. The body forms these during various metabolic processes. And they are caused by harmful external influences such as environmental toxins, UV radiation from the sun or cigarette smoke.

In addition, all vitamins, enzymes and minerals in the food are fully preserved with raw food. The water-soluble vitamin C, for example, is not stable and is destroyed by heating. In contrast to heated food, raw food provides the body with all the vitamins, enzymes and minerals it can use. However, the fat-soluble vitamins A, E, D and K require some oil so that they can be absorbed by the body.

Vitamin C is involved in many metabolic processes. It is used, among other things, to build up connective tissue (collagen), bones and teeth.

Raw food can also help alleviate physical ailments such as chronic constipation or constipation. The rich fiber content helps the body to get the intestinal function going again. Fiber also makes raw fruits and vegetables satiating.

It has not been scientifically proven that a pure raw food diet can prevent or even cure cancer.

Is cooked food harmful to our body?

Extreme raw foodists assume that cooking, cooking or heating destroys the vitamins and minerals in food and makes them useless for the body. Sometimes they even consider cooked food to be harmful. This extreme thesis is fundamentally not scientifically verifiable.

Acrylamide is formed in certain roasted or deep-fried foods , for example when potato and grain products are heated to high temperatures. Anyone who prefers boiled potato and grain dishes to roasted and deep-fried dishes can reduce their acrylamide intake, advises the Federal Ministry of Food.

The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment explains that “the epidemiological studies carried out in recent years on the connection between acrylamide intake via food and carcinogenesis in humans cannot reliably prove a carcinogenic effect of acrylamide.”

The red pigment in tomatoes, lycopene, which is said to have an antioxidant effect, can be absorbed much better by the body from cooked food than from raw vegetables.

Ecothropologist Monika Bischoff explains: “Even if you can only absorb about 60 percent of the vitamin and mineral content from cooking, this amount is still sufficient for a healthy diet.”

Which vitamins are sufficient in a raw food diet and which are missing?

The answer to this question, of course, depends on the orientation of the raw food diet. The Gießen study (1996-1998) is the most comprehensive survey to date. The results of the study show which vitamins the raw foodists are sufficiently supplied with and which they are lacking.

The scientists examined around 200 adult men and women between the ages of 25 and 64. One of the prerequisites for taking part in the study was that the subjects had eaten at least 70 percent raw food for more than 14 months.

The participants were sufficiently supplied with the vitamins B ₁ , B ₆  and β-carotene.

However, there were deficits in nutrients that mainly come from grain products or foods of animal origin , such as vitamins D, B ₂ , B ₁₂  and niacin as well as the minerals zinc, calcium and iodine – here the values ​​were insufficient according to the recommendations of the DGE.

Although a high intake of vitamins A and E as well as magnesium and iron was recorded in the study participants, this high intake could not be detected in the blood values. The body can only optimally utilize the fat-soluble vitamins A and E in combination with fat. One explanation could therefore be that the subjects did not consume enough fat. A raw carrot provides important beta-carotene, but the body cannot convert it into vitamin A without fat. For the bioavailability of vitamins A and E, it makes no difference whether the vegetables are eaten raw or cooked.

In addition, iron from animal foods is more readily available for the body than iron from plant foods.

Overall, the raw foodists examined also showed an insufficient intake of protein. This is due to the fact that plants with a high protein content – especially legumes such as lentils or beans – cannot be eaten raw .

What shouldn’t you eat raw?

Under no circumstances should legumes be eaten raw , advises the German Society for Nutrition (DGE). Because legumes contain natural toxins, the lectins. They have the function of keeping predators away. In humans, legumes – eaten raw – can cause intolerance and even symptoms of poisoning.

Eating raw beans, soybeans, chickpeas and lentils can cause red blood cells to clump together. When cooking, the toxic lectins are destroyed so that the food becomes digestible.

According to the DEG, the pea is a special case in terms of lectins: “It contains hardly any lectins. However, raw peas are less well tolerated than cooked ones due to their indigestible fiber.” The DGE therefore recommends not consuming large amounts of raw peas. Soybean or mung bean sprouts also need to be heated first . Raw, they could be contaminated with pathogenic germs.

Grain is also difficult for humans to digest unprepared. It contains phytic acid, which prevents the human body from absorbing minerals, trace elements and vitamin B1. Grain is more digestible if it is crushed and soaked overnight before consumption. It is easier to digest as a porridge or baked into bread.

Potatoes are also not edible raw because the potato starch cannot be digested by the intestines without being broken down.

Special care should be taken with raw animal foods . The German Society for Nutrition warns: “Raw food from animals is often contaminated with pathogens. Particularly sensitive groups of people, such as small children, pregnant women, the elderly or people with a weakened immune system, should therefore not eat these foods raw. Salmonella, campylobacter, E. coli including EHEC, yersinia, listeria, but also viruses and parasites can be transmitted with raw meat.”

Does raw food cause gas?

Basically, raw food does not cause flatulence. However , if you suddenly and radically switch from many animal foods to a high proportion of raw vegetables and fruit, flatulence can occur. This is due to the composition of the intestinal bacteria: When eating more meat, other intestinal bacteria are active than when eating raw fruit and vegetables. As soon as the intestinal bacteria involved in the digestion of raw food are active, gas formation no longer occurs.

In principle, adapting the digestive system to a moderate raw food diet is not a problem, confirms nutritionist Prof. Carola Strassner. Ecothropologist Monika Bischoff gives an important tip. She advises chewing well to help the body with the first stage of digestion and to make the raw food more tolerable.

However, an undiscovered fructose intolerance could also be behind strong flatulence after high fruit consumption.

How Much Raw Food Should I Eat?

The German Society for Nutrition recommends eating three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day . This corresponds to around 400 g of vegetables per day, half of which is 200 g of cooked vegetables and the other half is 200 g of raw vegetables or salad and around 250 g of fruit. According to the DGE, your own hand serves as the measure for a portion. This results in amounts that match age and body size.

Raw food – in the amount recommended by the DGE – is part of a balanced diet.

Prof. Achim Bub from the Max Rubner Institute recommends a “plant-based diet with a proportion of raw food.” It is particularly important to have as few “highly processed” – i.e. heavily processed – foods on the menu. These often contain too much fat, sugar and salt .

The scientific consensus is that a pure raw food diet is not recommended from a health perspective . A diet consisting exclusively of raw fruit and vegetables is not recommended, especially for risk groups such as pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children and the elderly.

What do I have to consider when eating raw food?

It is advisable to eat raw food slowly and chew it thoroughly. Chewing is the first stage of digestion and the better you chew, the easier it is for the body to absorb and utilize the vitamins, enzymes and minerals it contains. A balanced diet should include raw fruits and vegetables. It is not healthy to eat only raw foods.