Variations of the Raw Food Diet

The raw food diet is rapidly gaining more popularity, as more and more studies are coming out to prove that it is in fact healthier for you than the modern conventional diet. These studies show that the raw food diet can not only help to prevent serious and life-threatening diseases, but it can also reverse the diseases in many cases.

The diet promotes raw and organic foods such as vegetables, fresh fruits, herbs, nuts, seeds, sprouts and protein powders as well as other superfoods that you can get in health food stores or online.

In addition to all the raw plant-based foods, some raw foodists also enjoy consuming dairy and eggs, as well as raw meats. Thus there are several variations of the raw food diet to accommodate everyone who is trying to eat healthier.

Foods are considered to be raw if they have not been heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Studies show that anything above this temperature destroys the living enzymes, as well as many vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimum health.

The diet does not require that you eat all your foods raw 100% of the time, as you will be able to avoid most health problems as long as you eat raw for at least 75% of the time. However, the higher the percentage of raw foods that you eat, the better your health will be.

Any foods that you do not eat raw should be as close to natural as possible in order to avoid as many unnatural sweeteners, preservatives and other food additives as possible. Unnatural foods are toxic and have been shown to contribute to many diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, fibromyalgia and many more.

Raw Omnivore. This is the least popular amongst the raw food diets, as it involves the consumption of raw meats, dairy and eggs, as well as raw plant-based foods.

Eating raw animal proteins often sounds scary to many people because of the high amounts of harmful bacteria that is found in conventionally raised animal products.

However, according to test results, animals that are allowed to roam around in the fields carry fewer harmful bacteria. Thus raw omnivores choose their meat and other products from these sources as they are much safer to consume raw.

Raw Vegetarian. The raw vegetarian diet also allows for some raw animal products in addition to raw plant-based foods. These products include raw dairy and dairy products, eggs and honey.

However, it is up to each individual to decide exactly which animal products they wish to consume. Some like to consume eggs, but do not drink milk or consume any dairy products, and others are the opposite, where they enjoy milk and milk products, but do not eat eggs.

Raw Vegan. The raw vegan diet is not only the most restricted raw diet, but it is also said to be the healthiest, and thus it is the most popular. This diet is a raw plant-based diet where no animal products are consumed, and thus you can avoid many unhealthy fats.

Within the raw vegan diet fall three other raw diets known as the fruitarian, sproutarian and juicearian diets. The fruitarian diet involves eating mostly fruits, the sproutarian diet involves mostly sprouts and the juicearian diet involves drinking the fresh juice from fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Due to the nature of the fruitarian, sproutarian and juicearian diets they are not long term as they do not provide you with all the essential nutrients that your body needs in order to remain healthy in the long run. However all three of them can be very beneficial in helping to detoxify and restore certain nutrients back to the body.