A raw food diet for a healthy dieter

Q: I'm 20 years old, female, 5'6" and 125 lbs., my diet is already fruit and vegetable rich but I would like to eat raw foods.

Everything I have read regarding switching to a raw food diet has shown benefits for people who come from a junk-food background, but what about people who already eat a healthy diet? Will I notice any benefits? The major changes I see occurring are in changing my protein sources (from eggs, fish, turkey, chicken) and eliminating the majority of my grains.

A: From all I know about the raw food diet, the health benefits should continue for as long as you are on the diet. However, the longer you are on ANY diet, the greater its dangers because there is no such thing as 'healthy' diet - any restrictive (qualitatively or quantitatively) eating rubs your body of one group of essential nutrients or the other.

For one thing, none of plant-originated foods provide all amino acids your body needs so you have to supplement the two of them that can be found only in animal-based foods. Same is true for vitamin deficit after eliminating the grains.

So I'd be careful about planning your diet. You might want to learn from the experts (see the reading suggestion).

Also, be careful about your body composition: check your body fat percent rather than just body weight.

Reading:

• Healthy Raw Food
• Learn Where the Raw-Vegan Diet Has Failed
• Losing weight can be as bad as being overweight
• Body Fat calculator
• Why Do We Need to Think About It?

Tanya Zilberter, PhD