Healthbeautyidea.com – The higher public awareness of a healthy diet and its effect on the body, the more variety of diets. Well, one of the popular diet patterns today is the raw vegan diet.
As the name implies, this vegan raw diet includes raw food, or not cooked above 47 degrees Celsius. For its variety of foods, it consists of 100 percent plant-based foods, which means there is no milk, gelatin, or honey at all in it.
What is a raw vegan diet?
Commonly known as raw Veganism, it consists of unprocessed foods.
Food that has not been heated above 48 ° C and has not been processed in any form. The diet allows a person to try other alternatives such as juicing, blending, soaking, or sprouting.
A raw vegan diet can improve heart health due to its focus on fruits and vegetables, both of which are consistently associated with low blood pressure and a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. This way of eating also includes a lot of nuts, seeds, whole grains and sprouted nuts. Studies show that these foods can increase blood cholesterol levels and further lower the risk of heart disease.
Raw Vegan Diet Benefits
One of the main advantages of a vegan raw diet is that we do not eat processed foods.
Because, not a few studies that find that excessive consumption of processed foods can cause various health problems, such as obesity, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, to irritable bowel.
In addition, because it is not cooked, some of the nutrient content in the food will not be damaged or reduced.
Nevertheless, research shows that when vegetables are cooked, the heating will increase the absorption of antioxidants.
Unfortunately, until now research related to vegan raw diets is still little. However, one long-standing study that asked participants to follow this diet for one to three weeks proved that 12 weeks after their arrival, the researchers found improvements in emotional and mental quality.
The participants’ anxiety was reduced by 18.6 percent and stress was reduced by 16.4 percent. In addition, the participants stated that they could take better care of themselves.
Side effects of raw vegan diet
Before you start with this diet, you should know how to get started, as well as risks associated with vegan raw foods.
Depending on the diet, raw vegan foods can be low in calories, vitamin D, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids, as not all fruits and vegetables are healthy when consumed raw. Some vegetables may be harmful to health if eaten raw, such as potatoes, etc.
According to a study published in Advanced Research in Life Sciences in 2019, raw vegan can result in a lack of protein intake, selenium needed for thyroid function, DNA production, and cell protection from free radical damage and infection. Another study also revealed that this raw vegan diet can be associated with low bone mass and density.
In the long run, a raw vegan diet has been shown to trigger amenorrhea or loss of menstrual periods, both partially and intact. A raw vegan diet will also be difficult in the long run. Then, because cooking can eradicate bacteria, those who adhere to this diet are at risk of suffering from food poisoning.
Not only that, raw foods can also contain high fiber, making digestive health can be disrupted. Because, fiber intake must be increased over time so that our digestive system is able to adapt. Weight will also be affected, can decrease drastically due to limited food, but can make weight rise drastically if you consume too many calories from raw nuts or fruits.
If this diet is good for you, you can choose it, but first you should consult a specialist who will help you in this regard. The best way to be healthy is through healthy eating, but not risk losing bone density or other health problems.
