Myth Buster: The Truth About Popular Diets

Raw Food Diet

To put it simply, a raw food is any food that has not been cooked (never heated to above 118 degrees F) and is unprocessed and organic. People who follow a raw food diet generally believe that cooking alters the mineral content of food and therefore, by eating raw foods, they retain all of the nutritional value. However, according to a New York Times article, David Klurfield, professor of nutrition and food science at Wayne State University, believes the entire concept of a raw food diet is based on pseudoscience. Klurfield said, “Aside from a slight loss of some vitamins, cooking produces no proven detriment and provides plenty of benefits.”

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Review Date: 
April 8, 2014

Citation: 
Last Updated:
July 1, 2014