Updated March 3, 2024
This article discusses the basics of the diet, its benefits and outcomes, preventable issues, and whether veganism is enough for optimal health and wellness.
Basics
Raw veganism is a subset of veganism. In veganism, followers refrain from eating animals and their products. They live a lifestyle that doesn’t exploit them and lessens their suffering, from buying cruelty-free products to avoiding going to the circus. The food choices exclude animal flesh, eggs, milk, blood, and fat. Included are fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Raw vegans simply take it a step further by only eating raw vegan foods. This means food that is not cooked above 118°F. Within the raw vegan category, there are even subgroups such as fruitarians (eating all or mostly fruit).
Foods included:
- Fruits (raw, juiced, dehydrated)
- Vegetables and leafy greens (raw, juiced, dehydrated)
- Grains, beans, legumes (sprouted, soaked)
- Nuts, seeds (raw, soaked, sprouted)
- Cold-pressed oils (raw)
- Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi or miso
- Seaweed (raw)
A good-quality raw vegan diet consists mostly of raw fruits as humans are frugivores by anatomical and physiological design. Raw vegetables would be the next category to consume while keeping the rest of the categories minimal. Grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds are higher in either protein and/or fat which is not optimal for the body to consistently consume in large amounts. Protein and fat are only required in small amounts for maximum efficiency. Too much of either slows down digestion and detoxification processes. Fermentation, sprouting, soaking, juicing, and dehydrating are all forms of processing food and, therefore are less optimal versions to consume it. For one to thrive in this way of living, maintaining the bulk of daily calories from whole, raw fruit produces such a result.
Benefits
Live Plant Enzymes – Enzymes are found in our bodies and nature, including living plant foods. They are used in nature to break down complex matter into simpler matter. The most commonly known enzymes are digestive enzymes (ie. amylase, lipase, protease) and there are hundreds more in the human body. Raw plant foods (bananas, papayas, mangos, lettuce, etc.) also contain enzymes to assist with proper digestion. While digestion is possible without enzymes from natural foods (food will break down to an extent), the best digestion requires digestive enzymes from both the food and the inner terrain. Heat destroys these beneficial enzymes in fresh food.
Quality Hydration – Raw fruits and vegetables contain structured water, the water contained within the fiber in its raw and whole state. If you were to cut a watermelon in half and hold one of the halves with the red side facing down, water would not pour out. The gel-like water stays within the fiber until it’s bitten into and is perfectly structured to be absorbed efficiently into the cells. Drinking water (tap, distilled, purified) has no fiber, enzymes, and very little electrolytes if any. While drinking water is still important to continue on a raw vegan diet, it should not be considered as a primary method of hydration as it only hydrates to a certain extent. Consuming water through fruit, bite by bite, is easier for the body to absorb versus drinking several ounces in a short period.
As water enters our bodies, it is absorbed into the digestive system and diffuses into the bloodstream to be delivered to the cells of organs and tissues. Any excess (and other waste material) is eliminated primarily through the kidneys via urine. As food is broken down, most water is absorbed by the small intestine, and the “chyme” continues to move toward the colon. Chyme consists of the remaining undigested food matter, water, gastric juices, bile, and enzymes.
Human stool normally contains 75% water and 25% solid matter. This water is provided through two main methods. One method is the food is already hydrated (raw food) and provides adequate amounts to the small intestine and chyme. The other method is the food contains very little water to start (dehydrated, cooked food) and demands it from the bodily reserves to move it through, leading to further dehydration overall. Any small amount of water may be absorbed in these dehydrated foods, but there is less water available for the full digestive process. Peristalsis, the involuntary muscle movement of the intestine, can only mechanically excrete so much, so cooked food often leaves food residue to rot on the walls.
High-quality nutrition – Raw fruits and vegetables offer the body the most bioavailable nutrition. Cooking any food will lessen its nutritional profile and permanently alter its chemical makeup. Technically, cooking is a form of processing, as it permanently and chemically changes the food from its original state. You cannot reverse a solid fried egg yolk back to its raw, liquid state. You cannot bring dead trees in a wildfire-stricken forest back to life, only promote new life. Heat kills live plant enzymes (diminishing digestive potential), diminishes vitamin content (especially water-soluble vitamins), and reduces minerals. While some vitamins and minerals may remain after cooking and some vitamins are more sensitive to heat than others, this isn’t better quality nutrition and is a poor excuse to cook foods. There is not one person in a hospital with an admitting diagnosis of lycopene or beta-carotene deficiency.
Clean, first-hand protein – When proteins are exposed to enough heat or acid, the proteins vibrate quickly and chemical bonds are broken, creating a simpler strand of amino acids (AAs, the fundamental units of protein). The body uses amino acids for its structural needs, not proteins. This breakdown process from complex to simple also occurs in the stomach where it’s digested by stomach acids and enzymes (hydrochloric acid and pepsin). Therefore, heating proteins (flesh or plant) is not necessary when the stomach does the metabolic work.
Animal proteins exist because the animal itself ate plant proteins, or their prey ate plants. Why eat the middleman’s (or “middle animal’s”) flesh for our own needs when we could go straight to the source? Why then cook the middle animal’s flesh when we can eat raw plants with higher bioavailability?
Heating animal proteins not only denatures them, but further digestion also creates by-products such as phosphoric and sulfuric acids. These acids provide more harm than structural benefits. Additionally, carcinogens such as heterocyclic amines form when meat is cooked. Let’s not forget the modern environmental pollutants and hormones found in meat as well…this doesn’t sound clean to me.
The body needs about 20-22 amino acids. About 9-11 of these AAs we need to get from food while the others are obtained internally. Raw plant proteins contain essential AAs that are unprocessed and not denatured. Higher amounts of electromagnetic energy demand less work for digestion. On the other hand, cooked protein lacks this energy and is harder to digest in the first place.
Clean, quality protein is a protein that doesn’t contain anything harmful (toxins, hormones, chemicals) and that will digest, be absorbed, and utilized by the body best. For a closer look at protein, read my article, Protein.
Dynamic Energy – Raw food in its whole form is unprocessed and energized by the sun through photosynthesis. Once digested, the body takes this energy in and uses it. When we pick ripe fruit off of the tree or pull a vegetable from the ground to eat, we are receiving the best form of energy the earth can provide in our food. Fruits, of all food categories, contain the most electromagnetic energy. Cooked food contains almost zero, most if not all of it has been taken out. Humans are energetic fields as well, and disease is simply the obstruction and destruction of this energy. By worrying about calories and micronutrients, humans overcomplicate proper human nutrition and lose sight of what’s equally, if not more, important…energy. Wild animals don’t worry about calories. Why should we?
The following information from The Detox Miracle Sourcebook by Robert Morse N.D. can give you an idea of the energy stored in foods and bodies:
ENERGY OF HEALTHY FOODS
| Fresh raw fruits | 8000 to 10,000 angstroms |
| Vegetables (fresh, raw) | 8000 to 9000 angstroms |
| Vegetables (cooked) | 4000 to 6500 angstroms |
ENERGY OF TOXIC FOODS
| Milk (pasteurized) | 2000 angstroms |
| Cheese | 1800 angstroms |
| Refined white flour | 1500 angstroms |
| Cooked meats | 0 angstroms |
BODY FREQUENCIES
| Human (average) | 6500 angstroms |
| Cancer Patients (generally) | 4875 angstroms |
There is a difference between dynamic and stimulated energy. Energy from processed sugar, alcohol, caffeine, preservatives, and meat is stimulated energy, not dynamic. Dynamic energy is what we receive from our cells (think adenosine triphosphate, ATP), and just like a car, the cleaner fuel it runs on, the better it performs. The better quality carbohydrates we consume, the better we perform. Dynamic energy from our cells is steady yet powerful. It’s the type that leads to no crash. While the carnivore cheetah tires out after a long chase, the herbivore antelope continues to gallop for miles on.
These substances that create stimulated energy simply do because it’s the body’s reaction to a toxic substance and to eliminate it. An example is when people state that caffeine raises their heart rate and promotes a bowel movement, sometimes it’s even diarrhea. These are not exactly desirable effects, but only a direct response to a toxin that doesn’t belong in it. The body’s energy reverts from normal activities to strong elimination of the toxins in coffee, tea, etc. With alcohol, same process. The physiological response to its consumption occurs to eliminate this substance. Raw natural foods do not have this eliminative effect, it demands no response to drastically shift energetic distribution. Energy consumed by eating meat comes from the adrenaline that’s present in it. Animals are sentient beings and fear for their lives moments before they’re slaughtered. When this occurs their adrenaline levels shoot up and their muscles absorb it (fight or flight response). The adrenaline, a stimulant, remains to an extent in the flesh when packaged for human consumption. Energy from meat is stimulated, not dynamic. Searching for frequent stimulation leads to exhaustion, dependency, and chronic weakening of cells. Heavy and violent music is stimulating and builds up to a crash, meditative music provides a calm and enduring experience.
Outcomes
Most people choose to go raw for additional health improvement. These include:
Weight loss – This is a natural response of the body as it is better able to detoxify and eliminate what doesn’t serve it. Excessive weight loss may occur, but this eventually fixes itself on the same diet as the bodily processes become more efficient with time and consistency.
Increased energy – Raw foods, especially fruits, have the highest energy of all other foods. They are the most hydrating and nourishing foods of all. The body no longer needs to put in the work to break down cooked food which yields more vitality to the individual.
Better digestion and bowel movement regularity – Increased hydration, fiber, and vital energy intake all contribute to improved digestion and bowel movement regularity. Hydrated mucous membranes can move food smoothly compared to dehydrated ones. Fiber acts like a broom to the membranes by sweeping food particles on the way down. Living plant enzymes and the life force of raw foods assist the body in digesting food thoroughly.
Less risk of ALL disease – Raw fruit and vegetables are cleansing and alkalizing to the cells. The cleaner and more detoxified the cells are, the less inflammation there is, leaving less opportunity for obstruction and disease to present itself. There is no one dietary protocol for cancer prevention and another for fibromyalgia. The high quality of components that raw food provides creates a healthy inner terrain, free of disease.
Healthy hair, skin, and nails – Raw foods contain the perfect ratios and combinations of water, carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals for our cells to stay hydrated and nourished from the inside and out. The health of the outer terrain reflects that of the inner.
Less odor (from any bodily orifice) – Believe it or not, bad breath and foul-odored stools, while common, are not healthy. In nature, bad odors are found near rotting, decomposing matter (dead animals, scummy ponds). When the average digestive tract is full of rotting, putrifying, and fermenting food residue, it makes sense that bad odor would result. A clean and efficient organism does not produce foul odors.
Improved mental health – With improved physical health comes improved mental health. A cleaner body through a proper diet promotes ease in movement for exercise, drastically improves sleep quality, lessens or rids the body of pain, detoxifies the brain and gut, and is better able to absorb nutrition from the sun. Meeting these needs is crucial for better mental health.
A heightened sense of spirituality – As raw food gives the body more life force energy and vitality for life, there’s no reason why heightened spirituality is not a product of this. An efficient organism contains very few obstructions in oxygen, nutrients, and energy overall, so these components can flow through it freely. One with a cleaner body is better able to enjoy life pain-free, joyfully, and with gratitude. It reminds us of the simplicity of life. Living in agreeance with nature by eating our species-specific foods, brings us closer to our Creator, or universal consciousness. This brings a sense of belonging and gratitude for what we have and rids our minds of fear and negativity.
Preventable Issues
Often seen as either risks or inevitable outcomes, these side effects that may occur during transition can be prevented if it is done safely and properly. These include:
Significant weight loss – When one moves from a diet that includes animal products and/or cooked foods and transitions to raw vegan foods, detoxification will speed up and the body will get rid of what is not serving it. Decade-long accumulation of cellular waste, acids, heavy metals, and mucus do not serve it. Excess fat and unnecessary muscle do not serve it, therefore they will exit. This is why people may find themselves losing a significant amount of weight in the beginning. This is a valid concern, especially for those who are excessively thin to begin with. While people can usually maintain a normal BMI when transitioning to other diets, raw vegan foods are the only ones that truly cleanse the body and eliminate the unneeded material to regenerate. To regenerate one’s cells, one must clean out first before building up. It doesn’t make sense to apply new paint on a dirty wall. As the saying goes regarding healing: “It will get worse before it gets better”.
Our societies and cultures admire and normalize overly chubby infants, children that grow abnormally rapid (vertically and outwardly), children that eat anything and a lot of it, “finishing your plate”, teenage girls that put on extra “hormonal” weight, and “curves”, teenage boys that are always hungry, men that build abnormally large muscles at the gym, pregnant mothers that “eat for two”, middle-aged men that develop a “beer belly” or “dad-bod”, and so on…there’s a hint of ill-health in all of these norms.
As a result, it’s normal for one to make the connection between losing weight from eating raw foods and believing it’s detrimental to human health. But, be aware of what this “detriment” is compared to…the average “healthy” person in our society is not healthy and carries loads of useless waste material. What is normal is not always healthy. Most would be surprised to find out how little materials their body needs not only to survive but thrive. Understanding true detoxification and regeneration is crucial to understanding this weight loss.
Nutritional deficiencies – Any dietary routine, not only raw vegan, has a risk of nutritional deficiencies. There are 2 reasons that nutritional deficiencies occur, either (1) the food doesn’t supply enough of a particular nutrient or (2) the body is not efficient at nutrient uptake. The majority of nutritional deficiency cases are due to inefficient nutrient uptake, not an inadequate diet. Most people in our society are overfed, not underfed. Every food that we consume, like a pharmaceutical drug, goes through the same processing steps. These steps are digestion, absorption, utilization, and elimination. When there is an interruption in any of these processes, problems can occur. With nutritional deficiencies, problems with digestion and absorption are the initial issues to pay attention to. If a body cannot digest a certain food properly, it is unable to extract nutrients from it. Without digestion, absorption cannot occur well. When absorption is compromised, the blood has less of a nutrient to move into the cells, and so on. A nutrient’s journey through the biological systems is a chain of events, each one depending on the one prior. When one or more events are compromised, waste accumulates upstream and the system becomes weaker.
What exactly compromises this crucial process? What gets us to the point of inefficient nutrient uptake and subsequent deficiency? It is due to one’s unique combination of acid/toxin accumulation, lymphatic congestion, and cellular performance (genetic strengths and weaknesses). A diet improper to our design is what creates the combination of these issues. Consuming chemistry improper to our design makes our inner chemistry inefficient. Poor digestion is often due to a poor-functioning pancreas (lymphatically stagnant/acidic) and/or low hydrochloric acid (gastric juice in the stomach). Malabsorption also exists because the lymphatic system in the gastrointestinal tract is backed up and full of cellular waste. The actual cells of the wall are congested with cellular waste and acidic by-products. This creates a state where the cells cannot absorb anything. Digested food simply passes through unacknowledged.
While all dietary supplements are not necessary, it can be helpful to continue some during the transition to raw vegan foods. Taking supplements should always be for a temporary period. Working with an experienced detoxification specialist can help address whether a client needs supplements, or other useful monitoring tools to ensure a smooth transition. Most find that they can simplify and eliminate their supplements as consistency is established over time.
There are a variety of blood lab tests that can be performed to diagnose a nutrient deficiency. Unfortunately, this method is flawed. Blood is used to carry and transport nutrients (iron, albumin, vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, etc.) to the cell so it can absorb and use it in the way it’s designed to. The lymphatic system is the sewage system of the body and a major role is to carry the cellular waste out of the body once the cell has used nutrients and the energy it needs. So for a nutrient to be of any use to the body, it must eventually end up inside the cell. Its journey does not end at the blood. It is only when a particular nutrient, for example magnesium, enters the cell that it can perform its function of managing ion transport through the cell membrane for proper muscle contraction. If magnesium stops in the blood and doesn’t enter the cell, these functions cannot occur. Therefore, the proper place to look for a nutrient deficiency is not the blood, but the cell itself. Somehow bloodwork is still the current and accepted way of diagnosing nutrient deficiencies. This explains why one’s blood lab results can show low levels of vitamin B12 (showing adequate cellular absorption), yet they show no symptoms of a B12 deficiency.
The bottom line, moving towards our species-specific diet will only help with nutritional deficiencies in the long run, not hurt them. It will drastically improve the body’s ability to digest and absorb the food’s nutrients. Keep in mind that no other species in nature consumes isolated chemistry in the form of supplements.
Raw vs. Cooked Vegan
Is veganism enough? It depends on what you want.
What is “enough” for you?
What does health and well-being look like to you?
Now reassess. Is this idea limited?
When eating a variety of plant foods on a cooked vegan diet, one can experience significant health benefits (including complete diagnostical disease reversal). Choosing to eat this way has a lesser impact on the environment because it reduces the carbon footprint required to raise and manage cattle or food. Since no animal is harmed for food, it is a more ethical way to eat. For some, these reasons are enough to keep it vegan.
However, to dig deeper into cellular detoxification and regeneration, raw vegan foods are essential. Nothing good in the foods is removed and nothing bad is added.
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We’re all captains on our ship of life and we can sail it as we wish. Veganism has changed lives for the better. Raw veganism has taken many of us to an even higher level of awareness and living. Which way will you sail?
References:
https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/nutr1100/chapter/protein-digestion-and-absorption/
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet
The Detox Miracle Sourcebook: Raw Foods and Herbs for Complete Cellular Regeneration by Robert S. Morse N.D.