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I live in the Bay Area, where Cafe Gratitude (that raw food haven) first started, so I'm certainly at an advantage when it comes to hearing about raw foods. When I hit our Whole Foods, I pass by Cafe Gratitude's counter, their shelves full of books and Himalayan crystal salt and to-go cakes, across from the aisle of raw chocolate and raw kale chips and raw cookies.
And yet I still don't understand the basic concepts behind raw food. I get that people say cooking food kills at least some of the enzymes in it, and that that can make it lose nutritional value. I get that some greens, like spinach, need to be cooked in order to make their nutrients accessible, because they have oxalic acid or other juices in there that are somewhat toxic to us and prevent us from getting at the good stuff. And I know that I feel full faster when eating raw food, but I don't know why. So what's the bottom line?
I'm doing some research on it right now, and I thought I'd share it with you as I go. But first, my bottom line conclusions - for those of you who just want the facts, not the journey!
So, in support of raw foods:
* They often contain enzymes which aid digestion, as well as vitamins and amino acids, whereas many of the above are destroyed in the heat of cooking.
* Eating raw generally forces people to stick to high-nutrient foods that contain tons of antioxidants, etc., because the foods that don't tend to be the ones that REALLY need a bunch of processing to be edible.
* Many raw foods, and foods which have been fermented to "cook" them, are good for the immune system because they are packed with probiotic and prebiotic bacteria (i.e. "good bacteria") that support the digestive system, which is closely tied with the immune system - and these also tend to be killed by cooking. Which makes sense since killing off bacteria is one of our major arguments for cooking food.
* There are foods that it's dangerous to eat raw - I don't mean chicken here, but things like sprouted alfalfa - but not as many as I thought, and Wikipedia has what I hope is a complete list - linked below.
If you want to see more information and the process of getting there, read on through!
