How Raw is Raw?
There are many more questions people ask when transitioning into a raw vegan or fruit based diets. The following answers are intended to help us overcome doubts and challenges along the way.
Let’s start with a basic question: What is raw and what isn’t?
When it comes to food, most people think of anything raw as being uncooked. The definition of “to cook” is “to prepared by combining and heating the ingredients in various ways”. Another definition of “to cook” is “to alter, tamper with, interfere with, or manipulate”.
Some raw foodists consider cooked food to be raw, if it has been heated to temperatures below 48°C (118°F). This is based on research that shows enzymes in raw foods are destroyed when heated above 48°C. Anything cooked over this temperature is considered “dead” to most raw foodists. Most processed foods are seen the same way, unless they have been dehydrated at less than 48°C.
This debate has been going on for a while in the raw vegan community. What is cooked and what is not? In My opinion, anything that is heated is no longer raw, because it has been altered, tampered with, and manipulated. Raw means fresh.
It is likely that completely raw foods are better than partially raw foods. It’s hard believe dehydrated foods are as healthy as truly raw foods, unless they are dried in the sun. The only foods that seem to be healthier when cooked, are those that are inedible in their raw state.
Water is life. A fruit or vegetable that comes with water should be consumed with water. I don’t think eating a raisin will kill me, but eating a fresh grape right off the vine is likely to be more nutritious.
Despite advances in research and technology, we are yet to fully understand the power of fruits in their natural state. At the same time, we are able to recognize that our bodies run on electricity. This is the main force that powers our nervous system. We also know water is an excellent conductor of electricity, while fat and dead matter are poor conducts of electricity. We already shared that we can turn on a light bulb with a fresh lemon, but its impossible to do it with a dehydrated lemon, stake, or a slice of bread.
The importance of hydration through fruits and vegetables is often overlooked. Plants are some of the most effective water filtering systems on earth. Hydrating through consumption of raw foods may be ideal, and far superior to drinking purified, alkalized, or structured water. The water in fruits and vegetables could also be superior to reverse osmosis and distilled water.
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Acknowledgments
