By Elena Voropay

A completely different from Macrobiotic Diet, Raw Foods Diet consists of uncooked whole foods in their most potentially nutritious state. The greatest benefit of uncooked and unprocessed foods is their radiance with the vital nutrients originated by nature. The sun’s energy, water, and nutrients from the earth invigorate fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Foods are full of vitamins and minerals that have not been destroyed or altered by the process of cooking. You can use milk products only if they haven't been pasteurized. Fresh fruits, vegetables, juices, sun teas, sprouted beans and seeds are the main components of the diet. Sprouted grains can be made into breads and wafers.

Also, with no heat added to the foods and an avoidance of the more concentrated and heat-producing foods, the body can become cold. On the other hand, cooked foods (as in Macrobiotic Diet), promotes increasing body heat thus preserving energy. People in warmer climates, those who are overweight, or those with good body heat are more likely to do well on raw diet.

The Raw Foods Diet is really the "living food" diet.Some people may lose weight on a Raw Foods Diet, but this reduction comes from both fat and muscle. One thing that you definitely need to watch out for is indigestion. Raw foods are harder to digest, so that might put a lot of pressure on your digestive tract. (in this case, you might want to think that your body has better things to do with its energy potential rather than only digesting food). Overabundance of fiber, which is likely to occur when beginning Raw Foods Diet, calls for additional water, but you should not drink more than needed since there is a chance of bloating and hypertension.

It definitely goes against the flow of the Western dietary tradition, but anyone can practice this approach for short periods of time to cleanse and rejuvenate the body and soul on deeper levels.