Raw vs Cooked

[Dark Silver]

Not so much a discussion concerning Vegan vs Meat-eating outlooks, but more on the benefits associated between eating cooked, and eating raw foodstuffs.


What is your opinion of Raw Foodism. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Raw Foodist are those who consume the primary portion of their daily diet in uncooked form, things such as uncooked fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, even unpasterized dairy products. They normally hold that consuming raw foods aids in the bodies digestion, and assist the human immune system as cooking the foods would destroy some of the enzymes released by the foodstuffs when chewed.

A raw foods diet can include meats, usually dehydrated or carefully prepared (going by the wikipedia article), and some of the benefits of a raw diet (according to those who follow such diets) include a lowered toxicity of the body, better overall health, and improved weight loss. They say that since "lower levels" of degenerative diseases (cancer, degenerative brain diseases, flu, etc) can be found in animals in the wild who do not as a rule consume cooked foods, humans would suffer less by following such a diet.


So, discuss.

[SirNitram]

Good way to become incredibly sick. Yes, the body naturally worked only with uncooked food.

We also naturally never evolved to support a life span much longer than the time required to pop out a kid and ensure it didn't try to eat rocks.

[frigidmagi]

We're also evolved for tribal lifestyles, we managed to move pass that.

As for raw foodism. No thanks, I'll stick to pasta and such... Cooked.

[Cynical Cat]

Cooking can reduce the nutritional value of some raw fruits and vegetables, but that's not a huge deal. We didn't evolve to eat cooked foods, that's true. We didn't evolve to build houses, make vaccines, or domesticate useful animals. That's all recent stuff.

I like hot running water, indoor heating, a water proof roof, cooked food, and hanging out over the internet. And my cats have always appreciated the indoor heating, roofs, and can opener.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Well I actually love raw foods. Not because I believe they're more healthy, but simply because I love the taste of raw meat and fish. Steak tartare, raw oysters, and sushi are my favorites. Yum!

But things got worse when I go to sukiyaki/shabu-shabu restaurant, because I rarely bother to put the materials in the pot and sample them raw instead --sometimes horrifying my friends by doing so.

[rhoenix]

I like almost all fruits and vegetables raw - they just taste better to me that way; they still have the crispness and goodness. Cooked vegetables always taste soggy and somewhat bland to me. An exception would be potatoes, of course.

I also like sushi quite a bit, but that's about as far as I'll go for uncooked meat. Ordinarily, I like my meat medium-well done.

[Dark Silver]

Potatoes are actually amoungst the group of vegetables which are POISONOUS to eat raw. They belong to the nightshade family, and produce a toxic akaloid called solanine, and if the skin is not removed, and the potatoe cooked, it can cause serious illness, or even death.

Hell, even a favorite down in my area of the United States, (South Louisiana), Kidney Beans (especially the red and white bean varieties) is toxic and can cause severe gastric upset.

Some raw foodist, as stated in the OP, beleive eating raw foods to have a cleansing effect on the body - saying their happier with the raw foods. I've a friend who beleives humans should only eat raw fruits, vegitables and nuts - cutting out anything with a animal source. He's been a raw vegan for...almost 5 days now, and has said he's never felt better, more alive and happy than he's ever had. He's even said he felt depressed by eating a baked potato after he's been raw for several days.


I tried going raw for a day...and found I couldn't do a entire twelve hour period, despite eating a good amount of fruit and vegitables. While I didn't eat any meat that day.....by that evening i had to have somethign cooked, even if it was just some popcorn (which I eventually did eat). The feeling of a empty stomach, plus low level headaches (which my friend told me was because I was "detoxing") just made it....hard to continue such a thing.

I can see myself maybe doing one or two days a month raw, if it does provide some health benefits, just to help cleanse the system a bit....not sure if I could live that diet though.....I like my cooked foods (rice, peanut butter and jelly, bread and pasta) to much....

[rhoenix]

Potatoes are actually amoungst the group of vegetables which are POISONOUS to eat raw. They belong to the nightshade family, and produce a toxic akaloid called solanine, and if the skin is not removed, and the potatoe cooked, it can cause serious illness, or even death.

Exactly - hence the "of course" in my post above.

Besides, boiled or pan-fried potatoes and red onions are one of my favorite meals.

Rice and other things I love cooked (though brown rice is my favorite), so for me only fruits and vegetables (with the afore-mentioned exception of potatoes) are eaten raw. Perhaps your friend is right about cleansing and so forth, but I never looked at it that way - I just like the taste better.

Hell, if I want to cleanse myself, I'll fast for four or five days, drinking nothing but tea.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

He's been a raw vegan for...almost 5 days now, and has said he's never felt better, more alive and happy than he's ever had. He's even said he felt depressed by eating a baked potato after he's been raw for several days.

Hmmm. The reason I like raw food is because I love the taste. However, I also believe raw food will make me feel better, more alive, and happier than ever if I eat them while receiving a blowjob.

[Rogue 9]

Potatoes are poisonous uncooked, but if they're thoroughly cooked there's nothing especially wrong with the skin, as long as they haven't been left out in the light and turned green. I never bother skinning potatoes unless I have picky guests over, and it's never made me sick at all.

As for raw-food-only diets, the whole idea is nutty. Sure, before humans learned to use fire we ate food raw... and had ridiculously short lifespans. The whole thing is a prime example of the naturalistic fallacy.

[Batman]

The very fact that KAN prefers it that way probably means there's something inherently wrong with raw food. I like my food fried, cooked or by preference BBQ'd.
Well except for fruit, that admittedly DOES taste better raw.
And I have to agree on the potato skins. Barring the leaving them on the grill too long and the skin going black and crunchy aspect not only is the skin NOT unhealthy, but at least for baked potatoes I think it actually improves the flavour.

[The Cleric]

I don't think they have a jerk-off smiley big enough for the "natural foods" argument.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

The very fact that KAN prefers it that way probably means there's something inherently wrong with raw food.

Is there anything wrong with eating your food while receiving fellatio?

[Comrade Tortoise]

Not so much a discussion concerning Vegan vs Meat-eating outlooks, but more on the benefits associated between eating cooked, and eating raw foodstuffs.


What is your opinion of Raw Foodism. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Raw Foodist are those who consume the primary portion of their daily diet in uncooked form, things such as uncooked fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, even unpasterized dairy products. They normally hold that consuming raw foods aids in the bodies digestion, and assist the human immune system as cooking the foods would destroy some of the enzymes released by the foodstuffs when chewed.

A raw foods diet can include meats, usually dehydrated or carefully prepared (going by the wikipedia article), and some of the benefits of a raw diet (according to those who follow such diets) include a lowered toxicity of the body, better overall health, and improved weight loss. They say that since "lower levels" of degenerative diseases (cancer, degenerative brain diseases, flu, etc) can be found in animals in the wild who do not as a rule consume cooked foods, humans would suffer less by following such a diet.


So, discuss.

The biologist is going to have some fun, I cant believe I didnt see this before.

unpasterized dairy products

Fresh out of the cow is perfectly fine for this. But if the milk is stored for any length of time you will get bacterial growth. What pasteurization does is heat-shock the bacteria and basically induce a bacterial holocaust. I will be fair. Some bacteria is good. Promotes a healthy immune system. Too much however and you die from a GI tract infection that makes you shit out your own blood.

They normally hold that consuming raw foods aids in the bodies digestion

These people are idiots. Cooking denatures proteins and other complex macomolecules so we can digest them easier. It takes a LOT of energy to break those things down, we can either do it chemically, or we can assist the process with heat. We digest food better when it is cooked.

assist the human immune system as cooking the foods would destroy some of the enzymes released by the foodstuffs when chewed.

Flat out BS. For two reasons:

1) our stomach breaks down those enzymes.
2) our immune system does not react to non-surface-antigen enzymes

include a lowered toxicity of the body

No. because any toxins in foods tend to be broken down by cooking.

better overall health

If by that you mean nutritional deficiencies.

and improved weight loss

Through malnutrition. Not only because there are vital food groups you cant eat, but because what you do eat is not processed by your body as efficiently.

They say that since "lower levels" of degenerative diseases (cancer, degenerative brain diseases, flu, etc) can be found in animals in the wild who do not as a rule consume cooked foods, humans would suffer less by following such a diet.

Non sequiteur and false cause. The reasons most animals dont get cancer is because most animals die before they mutations that cause cancer can accumulate. We have longer lifespans, and thus will die of cancer eventually.

Some raw foodist, as stated in the OP, beleive eating raw foods to have a cleansing effect on the body - saying their happier with the raw foods. I've a friend who beleives humans should only eat raw fruits, vegitables and nuts - cutting out anything with a animal source. He's been a raw vegan for...almost 5 days now, and has said he's never felt better, more alive and happy than he's ever had. He's even said he felt depressed by eating a baked potato after he's been raw for several days.

Same fervor felt by a religious convert. It is the result of a placebo effect. You will be able to watch as he becomes skinnier. Not thinner. Skinnier, as in Africa skinny. He will become pale, he will lose muscle tone and strength, will develop nutritional deficiencies like Rickets (because plants dont have calcium) and he will develop protein deficiencies, his body will go into ketosis and eat its own tissue to provide the amino acids needed for basic metabolic processes. And about 5 years from now, when his liver runs out of it, he will develo a vitamin b12 deficiency and need to be hospitalized.

I tried going raw for a day...and found I couldn't do a entire twelve hour period, despite eating a good amount of fruit and vegitables. While I didn't eat any meat that day.....by that evening i had to have somethign cooked, even if it was just some popcorn (which I eventually did eat). The feeling of a empty stomach, plus low level headaches (which my friend told me was because I was "detoxing") just made it....hard to continue such a thing.

Again, your friend is an idiot. You had a slight headache because your body was craving a nutrient, or even sugars,that it needed and was not getting.

I can see myself maybe doing one or two days a month raw, if it does provide some health benefits, just to help cleanse the system a bit....not sure if I could live that diet though.....I like my cooked foods (rice, peanut butter and jelly, bread and pasta) to much....

There are no health benefits

[Devonie]

Potatoes are poisonous uncooked,

No way! You mean I've been poisoning myself for the last 30+ years? And my kids also LOVE raw potatos!

[Comrade Tortoise]

Potatoes are poisonous uncooked,

No way! You mean I've been poisoning myself for the last 30+ years? And my kids also LOVE raw potatos!

I think he means tomatoes, which are non-toxic nightshades

[frigidmagi]

I just have one thing to say about CT's post.


FATWA! FATWA!

[Batman]

Potatoes are poisonous uncooked,

No way! You mean I've been poisoning myself for the last 30+ years? And my kids also LOVE raw potatos!

I think he means tomatoes, which are non-toxic nightshades

Given that one of the usual ways tomatoes are served IS uncooked he'd still be wrong though. Unless I missed something, which wouldn't be a first (or even a 4,397th).

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ok. Both tomatoes and our favorite tubers are nightshades. However the concentration of the glycoalkaloyds that are toxic is so low, in both plants, that you dont need to worry unless the staple of your diet is raw potatos

[Mared]

So, Dark Silver: How's the raw food thing going? Did you listen to advise?

[Dark Silver]

Considering I never started a raw food diet - and the reason for the discussion here was to seek opinions; your question has no answer Mared.