Raw food craze sweeping the UK

Why in today’s day and age, in the era of convenient, ultra-processed foods, are an increasing number of people the length and breadth of the UK turning to the raw food lifestyle? Is it due to celebrity-inspired diet fads, or perhaps it’s just a simple case of people looking to adopt a healthier alternative way of life?

Raw foodism does what it says on the tin. Followers of this diet choice are able to eat anything that’s 100 percent raw. This eliminates the consumption of cooked foods, but there are many different interpretations of eating under the heading of ‘raw food’. From ‘high raw’ which includes some cooked foods, to ‘raw till 4’ – cooked foods only after 4pm, raw food diets and in particular raw veganism is set to gain momentum in 2017. “We now have an understanding, based on 150 years of solid research, that there is superior nutrition in raw food versus any other kind of food; processed food, roasted food, microwave food, etc.” said raw food guru David Wolfe. Cooking food by any method and heat-processing can cause it to lose in excess of 80 percent of its nutritional value, destroying digestion-aiding enzymes and creating tissue-damaging toxins. Eating raw means that live enzymes, good bacteria and cultures remain intact and the food retains its vitamins and minerals, which can be directly utilised by the body when consumed. In addition to having a beneficial effect on a person’s wellbeing, raw foodism is also great for the planet, it’s resources, animals and world’s pollution levels.

The raw food diet is widely recognised as a valid and healthy diet that can benefit people of all ages from all walks of life. The British Dietetic Association have come out in support of the diet stating that, “well-planned plant-based, raw and whole food-friendly diets can be devised to support healthy living at every age and life-stage.”. However, many people, including leading scientific experts on the matter, refute this claim. “We do think in today’s world,” says Rachel Carmody, a leading researcher at Harvard University, “that for people who are interested in remedying their caloric intake, they might think about switching some of their foods over to raw.” The key word here is ‘some’, and Carmody goes on to say that those who have a complete diet consisting of raw foods are very energy limited, which brings with it a host of health problems. “The majority of raw foodists are underweight and half of the women that are strict followers of the diet and are under the age of 45 stop ovulating” says Carmody. “Many people are so energy limited that their bodies shut down reproduction and, from an evolutionary biologist’s perspective, this is really mindboggling.”

Although Britain is currently suffering from an obesity crisis with two-thirds of adults in the UK now classified as overweight, the younger generation are embracing healthier eating options and pay far more attention to their health and lifestyle choices. From food ingredients and where food comes from to how the food is produced, healthy, clean eating seems to be the order of the modern day. Studies have suggested that young adults under the age of thirty and predominantly women, would be willing to spend more on healthier food products. Since there are many different sub-groups within the raw food movement and because people have different preferences, statistics relating to 100 percent raw foodism are hard to come by. Nevertheless, it’s estimated that 2 percent of the UK population is vegetarian, and the Vegan Society estimates that there are at least 150,000 vegans in the UK, approximately 1 percent of the population. These are by no means large numbers when taken into the grand scheme of things, and these numbers don’t necessarily signify the statistics relating to the conversion of people to raw food diets. But when compared to data from the early 2000s, there has been a national shift in consumer patterns towards cheaper, healthier vegetarian and vegan foods, indicating that many people are now reducing or completely shunning meat consumption in favour of raw, unprocessed foods.

There are growing signs that 2016 could be the year that raw foodism – often regarded as a fringe diet and the lifestyle choice of orthorexics and animal activists – takes off and becomes more mainstream and trendy, gaining more followers than ever before. Raw food diets are now associated with high-status celebrities such as Beyoncé and Demi Moore which has been instrumental in bringing this way of life into the spotlight.

Many people who consume a variety of foods and tend to steer clear of dieting have persistent misconceptions about raw foodism. False impressions that raw foodies eat nothing but nuts, grains and vegetables are increasingly prevalent in today’s society, whereas in actual fact, with a little creativity, the lifestyle can open up a new and wonderful eating experience. Whether it’s a fulfilling experience is up for debate, as there has been plenty of research to suggest that eating a complete raw diet does not constitute a healthy diet. Rather than having a diet that consists solely of raw foods, being a balanced food consumer is the best eating plan to follow. Health-conscious eating is all about balance and variety, so eliminating certain types of foods in preference for raw, whole foods, whilst flooding your body with nutrients, isn’t recommended to be followed as a strict lifestyle choice. There’s nothing wrong with eating a hunk of red meat, a juicy steak or a slice of succulent chocolate cake, as long the habit doesn’t become an every-meal occurrence. There aren’t foods that are classified as ‘bad’, there are just bad diets. So rather than eliminating foods, having treats in moderation and balancing food intake by eating raw foods is the recommended diet to follow, as opposed to going to the extreme and cutting out cooked foods it their entirety.

Balance and variety are vital to good health and it remains to be seen, although raw food undoubtedly has its benefits, whether it’s a healthy dietary regime to adhere to strictly as part of a long-term lifestyle choice. Nevertheless, raw food blogs and magazines are becoming increasingly more popular and raw food restaurants are popping up throughout the country in an effort to satisfy the growing demand and upward trend of clean, raw food, back-to-basics-eating.