Pros And Cons Of A Raw Food Diet
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
The benefits of a raw food diet, according to advocates, are vast. Some of the major benefits are increased energy, better digestion, weight loss or gain to reach an optimal size, reduced risk of disease, and increased spiritual awareness. Other benefits are increased intake of water, increased connection with the earth, and a general feeling of lightness and well-being.
There are many who question the benefits of the raw food diet, though, and even claim that it can be very detrimental. According to Gabriel Cousens M.D. in Spiritual Nutrition (2005), one of the major criticisms is that a vegan raw food diet does not supply the body with B12, an essential vitamin in the production of DNA, RNA, normal red blood cells, and other important physiological functions, which according to Gabriel Cousens is indeed true for most of us. However, Gabriel suggests that to be a successful vegan raw foodist it is essential to take a B12 supplement, and there is even a live B12 supplement on the market. Other ways to get B12 on a vegan raw food diet are to eat plenty of wild food. B12 is created by bacteria that live on plants. Once the food has sat in a grocery store or been washed, the B12 is gone.
Other criticisms of the raw food diet are that it can be difficult to obtain all the necessary nutrients. Raw foodists point out, though, that cooked food has been proven to lose nutrients when it is cooked and that raw food retains all its nutrients. Also, raw foodists have shown that all essential nutrients can be found in raw foods, and as with cooked food nutrition, it takes understanding of what you need and then how to achieve it.