Originally published August 6 2005
Raw food diet gains popularity
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Many people are now turning to raw food diets in an effort to become healthier.
A cool breeze floated in through the windows as the group of food enthusiasts sat down to a gourmet meal.
This group -- gathered as part of Northern Botanicals Lifestyle Center's wellness retreat -- were enthusiasts of raw food.
Going raw, when it comes to food, is a growing trend in the United States, but it's relatively new to Maine, according to Bob and Pat Manning, owners of the lifestyle center on Cobbossee Stream.
Raw-food advocates say heating foods destroys the enzymes that aid in digestion and diminishes the food's nutritional value.
They claim that raw foods help "detoxify" the body, prevent cancer and fight obesity.
But detractors, including some nutritionists, say those who subscribe to a steady diet of raw vegetables and fruits miss out on essential proteins and minerals.
"I have a health condition, growths growing in my brain and right eye, and I'm hoping to shrink them down," Loran Griffin, 47, of Manchester said.
Equipment deemed essential for eating a raw food diet includes a Vita-Mix blender, a juicer and a food dehydrator.
Christopher Maloney, an Augusta naturopathic physician, said studies of Chinese diets also show proper nutrition could have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.
But not as easily as those who eat cooked food.
And while it's true that cooking food inactivates some enzymes, Sullivan said that hardly matters, because the body's own digestive enzymes are adequate for digestion.
"The human digestive system has enzymes capable of digesting cooked food, so people can be perfectly healthy eating cooked food as well," Sullivan said.
A study in the March issue of Archives of Internal Medicine said a strict, raw-food, vegetarian diet has been associated with osteoporosis, a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue.
"He's had a lot of swelling of the extremities," the 69-year-old Fleming said.
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