Excerpt:
Having experienced a popularity surge in recent years, raw food diets have gleaned praise from practitioners, though many caution a completely raw diet could be detrimental.
Also referred to as "living diets," a raw food diet consists of eating what the Earth has provided in its natural state: uncooked fruits and vegetables. These are plentiful in vitamins, as one health professional said, but should be handled like everything else: in moderation.
Janet Draves, a certified nutritionist based in northern Dutchess County, said while fruits and vegetables are undoubtedly healthy, some raw foods, such as fiber-rich broccoli and cauliflower, should be cooked to aid digestion.
"The raw-foods people are under the misconception that if you cook food, you destroy enzymes, which in many cases is true," she said. "But some foods, it's much better to have them cooked because the body can break them down further."
If food is not properly digested, the body cannot absorb the nutrients the consumer intends to benefit from, she said. Draves said it's a good idea to have some raw foods with each meal, which can be easily done by tossing some fruit into your oatmeal and adding side salads later in the day.
But be mindful of everything you're consuming ... .
Click to read the rest of "Raw food diets gain popularity" (Poughkeepsie Journal).
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