Raw Foods Diet One of Seven Most Popular Diets in The World Today

2/27/04

"The Top 7 Diets in the World", an article on "Medical News Today" on February 11th cited The Raw Foods Diet as being amongst the seven most popular diets in the world today, along with The Atkins Diet, The Zone Diet, and the Macrobiotic Diet. The report is based on an extensive survey conducted by Medilexicon. The Raw Foods Diet was one of the only two diets on the list that doctors claimed had no undesirable side effects.

What the heck is the Raw Foods diet, where did it come from and why is it suddenly so popular?

Raw Food Educator Jinjee Talifero at the Ekaya Institute of Living Food Eduction (E.I.L.F.E.) (http://www.thegardendiet.com) believes that the Raw Foods diet has become a major trend due to the Internet, where there are literally thousands of articles, bulletin boards, and websites where raw foods advocates share with others the many ways in which they have improved their health through this diet. People around the world claim to have healed themselves of everything from acne, asthma and multiple sclerosis to cancer, heart disease and diabetes by consuming only unheated fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and juices and avoiding all heated foods.

The online raw food community has generated a slew of books about raw foods. A search for "Raw Food" on Amazon.com yields 355 books on the subject. David Wolfe, author of several books on raw foods appears on Sci-Fi Channel's Mad Mad House this spring. Roxanne's, a 5-Star Raw Food Restaurant in Larkspur California has a 6 week waiting list for reservations. Countless celebrities and Hollywood Industry trend-setters such as Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Alicia Silverstone and Angela Bassett have all embraced the Raw Foods Diet. And famous Chef Charlie Trotter's book "Raw" will be available in May.

Unlike Atkins and the Zone there is no best-selling raw food book or central figure in the movement. There is no large corporate interest such as a big publisher or a vitamin manufacturer providing money to promote the raw food diet. But somehow this diet has crept from a little known secret of enlightenment-seeking initiates such as Shaolin Monks and Essene Priests to a leading-edge lifestyle being accepted worldwide.

The raw food diet is based on eating only unheated foods. According to the FDA heated fats become trans-fats, heated proteins are potential free-radicals, and heated carbohydrates contain numerous toxins. Heating also damages the vitamins, enzymes and nutrients in foods. So when we eat heated foods we are not only lacking nourishment but we are in fact taking toxic substances into our body. The raw food diet is considered radical and extreme because mankind has been eating primarily cooked food for millions of years. It is interesting to wonder whether if we prove this practice to have been in error we will be able to alter our course as a species and perhaps improve our lot in life.

Since raw meat and dairy are unsafe, the raw food diet does not allow these foods. A raw food diet consists of unheated fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted grains. Rather than being boring, raw food dieters claim that there are 1000's of recipes you can make with these basic foods. Other raw food eaters claim that there is no need for recipes because you become so sensitive on the raw diet that a simple piece of raw fruit or a raw vegetable tastes and satisfies better than a gourmet meal. Most raw food advocates agree that it is important to eat only organic food to avoid chemicals present in commercially grown produce and because it tastes better.

Talifero sells 8 raw food eBooks on her website at http://www.thegardendiet.com based on the experiences and example of her husband Storm who has been consuming a raw food diet for over 30 years. Storm, who is 54, has the physique and appearance of a 20-something year old athlete. His diet on a typical day consists of fresh squeezed organic orange juice for breakfast, a large salad with a dressing made of avocado, lemon and cold-pressed olive oil for lunch and a nutmilk shake made from germinated almonds and sunfllower seeds, water, raw honey, unrefined sea salt, and cold-pressed flaxseed oil for dinner. His diet is very low in calories, which is one way in which the raw diet is similar to the Calorie Restriction (CR) Diet. CR dieters also eat a lot of raw foods in an attempt to consume foods that are nutrient dense. According to recent studies in which mice who were fed a reduced calorie diet lengthened their lifespan by a third, the CR diet and raw food diet could potentially allow us to live until an average age of 130 years old.

For more information about The Raw Foods Diet visit Ekaya Institute of Living Food Education online at http://www.thegardendiet.com

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