I had a raw food friend stay over recently and she ate like a horse – continously! She admitted to me her diet has become a problem: it drains all of her spare money – which means as a student she’s in constant debt and living in poverty. For her, the search for suitable raw, organic food is a constant pursuit which occupies a large part of her time and money. It also means she is pretty much bound to being in the city, unless she plans well ahead and takes all her food with her. She experiences great anxiety at even the thought of eating anything cooked because she has swallowed the big lie that “cooked food is toxic.”

Some people I have met who are into Raw, it is I believe, a massive ego trip. It’s ALL they talk about, it occupies their time and their life, they organise events /attend events about raw food, and they want to ram it down not just your throat, but everyone elses too. It’s more like a religion or – in some cases – an eating disorder.

Me, I enjoy the best of both worlds – I think it’s great to eat clean, raw fruits and vegetables as well as having the FREEDOM and great PLEASURE to eat Granma’s delicious (and nutritious) home made family recipes from her mother country!

I’ve tried to do the raw food thing and in my own experience, it makes me really bloated, gassy, and terribly uncomfortable. That’s not to say I think it’s complete hogwash for others – but I know it’s not something I could do and feel well doing.

With that said, I don’t think I could go completely primal and feel great either. Both diets offer some really great aspects to them, but for me, personally, neither will work exclusively.

If anything, I think this debate just shows how varied human biology is. And if someone feels healthy, happy, and content eating a certain diet, why should it matter if you agree with their choice?

As people have mentioned about the raw food diet, ALL diets are like religion in the sense that it’s very personal, very sensitive, and very individualized. But in the end, if it’s what makes you feel good, it shouldn’t matter how you get there.

So please, let me eat what feels right for me in peace, and I will respect your decision to eat what feels right for you. We’re all eating high-quality, natural (or as close to it as possible) foods anyway.

-Einstein said “Humans are the only species smart enough to cook their food but dumb enough to eat it.” Go ahead and argue Einstein and look like a moron.

-Live raw food contain bioelectricity and cooked food contains very litte.

-Eating raw adds life energy while eating dead takes energy.

-Digesting raw food is ten times easier and you get almost all the benefits while cooked food takes ten times longer and you get 10% if you are lucky

-digesting cooked protein is like trying to digest leather. Where do cows get their protein?

-If you say we are not cows to argue the last staement then you obvioslyt so not understand nutrition.

-all of your statements are bogus and you should go back to school for real nutrition

-Garbiel Cousins(raw food doctor) Is 70+ and looks 40 while he can do 600 pushups at once. No meat eating cooked protein brute has these characteristics.

-People who eat because they like the taste only, end up in caskets after suffering from terminal illneses.

Get the real facts and not some poor explantion to make excuses for eating cooked food and meat. That was the worse explination I have seen yet.

Whether you agree or disagree with any particular diet or lifestyle, the important issue is to do what feel right and trust your body. I have personally experienced a renaissance of health and vitality over the past four years simply by eliminating fast food (I was a bonafide junkie — aka Subway Jared!), processed foods and simple sugars. I shed 50 lbs (220 to 170) and have easily held this weight for the past two years. Exercising consistently (8 hrs / week) helps too! Like Chef Dan, I too have not been sick at all since I changed my diet and lifestyle.

I am always looking for the ultimate “Fountain of Youth” and the raw food diet is very compelling. I’ve begun to swing my diet even farther towards the raw side, since I do believe plants can provide all of the “raw” ingredients that your body needs to assemble whatever proteins it requires.

What no one has mentioned here is this important point: When you sprout a seed or bean, the proteins that are bound up inside are released as nature converts the proteins into the basic building blocks of life — amino acids. (Take Wheatgrass, for example). When we consume the raw food (Wheatgrass juice), our body can assimilate those amino acids directly, instead of having to break down the proteins. This is incredibly efficient and the end result is that our bodies do not have to do “double duty” to get the muscle-building-brain enhancing-blood supporting amino acids that we require.

I have personally tested this concept during the final two weeks of my Triathlon training last August. I did a total body cleansing for two weeks, subsisting entirely on juiced organic fruits and vegetables, flax and borrage oils, nut milks and lots of water (Avg. daily caloric intake = approx. 1500 KCAL). Oh, and of course my daily 8oz. shot of wheatgrass juice from the local juice bar. I continued my normal training regimen including 3 x 1hr strength training sessions, 3 ea. swim/bike/run sessions and my weekly yoga and massage.

The results? I felt a little weak around days 2 and 3, but after that I felt incredibly strong and energetic. I even placed 4th in my age group in the sprint event — a personal best!

Mark, my point is that even though I agree with you about getting a good variety of clean, wholesome foods (including lean, organic meats and wild fish), I think there is something to the “raw food” thing that might warrant further research. I for one will be delving into this subject (and the sumptuous dishes) and keeping tabs on how I feel! It can only get better from here!

Your’s in health!