Raw Food Diet Myths

[beforewisdom]

Dr. Michael Greger, the director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States talks about some of the myths about raw food diets in this short 3 minute video.

The video was originally posted on his site NutritionFacts.org

[Lordmuppet]

Dr. Michael Greger, the director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at the Humane Society of the United States talks about some of the myths about raw food diets in this short 3 minute video.

The video was originally posted on his site NutritionFacts.org

informative thanks! Of course (obviously) vit d is an issue for everyone and b12 for all us vegans (cooked or raw). I'm not familiar enough with the selenium and zinc situation to say anything about that.

The point about the enzymes seems to be the main thing though.

[beforewisdom]

informative thanks! Of course (obviously) vit d is an issue for everyone and b12 for all us vegans (cooked or raw).

I believe the reason Dr. Greger brought that up is that most authors of raw food books deny the need vitamin b-12 or ANY supplement. Only recently has one of these gurus, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, said otherwise. Most raw foodists still cling to their belief that supplements aren't "natural" and if they just eat natural they will get everything they need.

[Lordmuppet]

informative thanks! Of course (obviously) vit d is an issue for everyone and b12 for all us vegans (cooked or raw).

I believe the reason Dr. Greger brought that up is that most authors of raw food books deny the need vitamin b-12 or ANY supplement. Only recently has one of these gurus, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, said otherwise. Most raw foodists still cling to their belief that supplements aren't "natural" and if they just eat natural they will get everything they need.

Fair enough. It is always useful when people deny the need for b12 supplement as you can figure out they are crazy straightaway and don't have to waste a bunch of time reading all their nonsense.

[powerlifer]

Zinc has to be watched on a vegan diet in my opinion, i come from a history of severe zinc deficiency and know the havoc it can play with health. The problem with a vegan diet is that it tends to be quite a great deal richer in Copper, which imbalances the Zinc/Copper ratio. Copper is antagonistic to Zinc, now there are some good plant sources of Zinc such as tofu/soy, beans/legumes and various nuts/seeds.

But most of the above foods tend to be absent in a raw diet other than a small serving of nuts and seeds, so personally i would watch as like i say Zinc deficiency is no fun. Zinc is crucial for digestion, adrenal health as it is used in the production of adrenal hormones, hormonal and immune health to name some. Vertical ridges on your nails is a good sign you are low on Zinc.

As for B12 i can't count the amount of crazy theories ive heard from these raw gurus about getting your B12 intake as a vegan. Ranging from the air has vitamin B12 all you need to do is breathe in, too play with your dog or walk outside in the soil. The horrible bit is many people fall for the above and by the time symptoms pop up with B12 deficiency you may have already done permanent irreversible neurological damage.

[beforewisdom]

informative thanks! Of course (obviously) vit d is an issue for everyone and b12 for all us vegans (cooked or raw).

I believe the reason Dr. Greger brought that up is that most authors of raw food books deny the need vitamin b-12 or ANY supplement. Only recently has one of these gurus, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, said otherwise. Most raw foodists still cling to their belief that supplements aren't "natural" and if they just eat natural they will get everything they need.

Fair enough. It is always useful when people deny the need for b12 supplement as you can figure out they are crazy straightaway and don't have to waste a bunch of time reading all their nonsense.

I see where you are coming from. I've run into plenty of those people on other veg*n fitness related boards. The problem is that the crazies sometimes misinform younger people who are arrogant and who despite being educated will believe nutrition folklore despite being told otherwise. Those people aren't crazy.

One such person posted repeatedly for years that needing b-12 was a myth. He was a masseuse in his 20s - 30s. One day, after years, he asked me where I got my cheap b-12 from. I figure he either got sick ( I hope not ) or a raw food guru who wasn't completely nuts, like Gabriel Cousens got to him.

[powerlifer]

It has to be said that many of these "gurus" as there known in the raw movement have large followings and are rather popular with many so it is little wonder that many just blindly believe what they say.

When it comes to health and nutrition, blindly believing anything is dangerous. Everyone has a different opinion as to what is the healthiest diet and everyone is different, no two people are the same.