Discussion Board

Hi Jeff, my husband and I are 5 month-old McDougallers. It's going great, we love it! We're learning everything we can to start taking better care of our mid-life selves.

I've been browsing the raw food websites and they make lots of statements regarding the signigficance of the loss of enzymes in food cooked over 110 degrees (I think that's the number) which eliminates a lot of the foods we're eating like beans, whole grain breads, etc. And they seem to endorse much more oil intake as long as it's "living" such as avacados and seeds.

What is Dr. McDougall's view of the raw food diet? Thanks so much.

Valerie

Hi Valerie,

Congrats on all the changes you are making.

You would have to ask Dr McDougall for his opinion but I am sure it is not much different than mine.

The enzyme theory the raw fooders discuss is completely scientifically invalid. Even the more knowledgeable raw fooders like Dr William Harris will debunk that theory.

There is a vido of him debunking many of the raw food myths at the Hawaiin vegetarian society website.

You can aslo read the beyondveg website which has some very thorough discussions debunking many of the raw food myths.

I will share this with you that I thought was pretty funny. I was at the NAVS conference and was eating lunch at a table and had just finished eating a HUGE salad made up of raw lettuces, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, sprouts, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green onions, celery, etc. When I was done, someone next to me said, "Are you going to go get anything from the "raw food" counter?"



Raw foods are beneficial and your diet should include plenty of raw fruits and veggies. But following a 100% raw diet is not required for optimal health. "Raw" is a philosophy, not a guide to dietary excellence.

Focus your diet on fruits, veggies, starchy veggies, whole grains, legumes, eat a variety of foods, get some activity, fresh air, sun, and enjoy life.

In Health
Jeff Novick, MS, RD

Jeff's response is excellent and his last sentence is a fine summary of healthy living. Beware of the "all or none" kind of thinking with regard to nutrition, of which the raw foods group is an example. The McDougall Program is balanced, sensible and gets great results. I did a detour from it this past summer and found out that I no longer tolerate seeds and nuts. I now follow Dr. McDougalls's recommendations about those foods.

Kathy

I ate an exclusively raw food diet for several years and thrived on it. Later i reaslised that most of the improvements came about because I was not eating gluten. Eating this way over time led to some pretty low iron figures. Now eating a lot of my foods raw, but also some cooked, i feel so much better. Hopefully this will be reflected in my latest blood tests.

Try not to be caught up in the raw food hype. A lot of the information being bandied about come from data from the 1030s. We know a lot more about the human bodies systems now and a lot of it is just poor science.

Here is a good link on raw vs cooked from Dr. William Harris' website


http://www.vegsource.com/harris/raw_vs_cooked.htm