Raw Food Diet....and Charlie Trotter

[shroomgirl]

A few weeks ago I picked up a new client whose son is on a severe diet for pancreatic cancer. Mainly raw ORGANIC food and juices.
I'd read something about a raw food group in a Health Food mag and dismissed it as way too extreme.
Well low and behold, I got the IACP (International association of cooking professionals) conference agenda, Charlie Trotter is presenting a couple of sessions on RAW FOOD and the nutrition aspect of eating a raw diet.....Anyone else catch this trend somewhere?

[Pete]

There is a chef out in Cali that runs an all raw, vegan restaurant. I believe that his name is Juliene. Yes, just Juliene. I immediately dismissed the idea of raw, vegan, fine-dining, but I think that has more to do with the fact that he is pompous and self-righteous, and considers himself to be some kind of Adonis.

Though this diet is not for me, I can see the potential health benefits. Cooking tends to draw off many vitamins and minerals in fruits and veggies. When you eat them raw, you eat them just as nature intended. This would really have to be a vegitarian, almost vegan kind of diet. I don't think I would, personally, last a whole week on it. Cooking can also break down certain fibers, so eating a raw diet would greatly increase your roughage intake. My only question is where would you get your protein? Overall, this diet would kill me (LOL), but I think that it could have its benefits. It has got to be healthier than the normal American diet, at any rate.

[Risa]

I first heard about Raw Food diets via one of those food spots on CNN. I thought it was the strangest thing. The tv spot showed a raw food version of apple pie and it just did not look appetizing. I have since looked at raw food websites and books out of curiousity and it still seems strange to me. Even though, cooking on a stove or in an oven is not "allowed", there is no problem with using a dehydrator. Recipes I have seen for breads and crackers use a dehydrator.

Raw food advocates can be very vocal and it can quickly become a hot topic. I have personally seen a raw food diet help a family friend with testicular cancer get better, so I'm certainly not going to dismiss it as a fad. This family friend decided that he didn't want chemo or radiation anymore because it made him feel worse than the cancer itself. He turned to a raw food diet against the advice of his oncologist, family and friends. We thought he was just giving up and letting himself die. Four years later, he's in remission and leading a normal life. He's back on "regular" food now, but he credits the raw food diet. This could have been a complete fluke and/or his previous treatments could have been effective, so I'm not advising anyone with cancer to change to a raw food diet.

[Svadhisthana]

I've been "mostly vegetarian" for a while and recently (day before Thanksgiving) went completely ovo lacto. In reading on nutrition and the vegetarian diet I've come across information on the raw food diet as well as "fruititarians". This is the first I've heard of it being used in a dining establishment.

[ziggy]

Just yesterday we were doing our shopping at Whole Foods and noticed a flyer up for an upcoming seminar on Raw Foods...it included a dinner and the menu looks pretty yummy, really.

we've been eating a more vegetarian based diet for several years now...we thought it might be interesting to go and hear what they had to say on this...

[Shimmer]

HI all

Yes, I've heard of raw foodies. My mother-in-law and her lifelong boyfriend recently picked up the trend, and have been doing raw food stuff now for about a year and a half. Eating with them is pure adventure. Everything is so fresh- guacamole with chips made out of nuts and dehydrated tomatoes, etc, and interesting. For my husband, who has a nut allergy, it wasn't the best thing because they make milk products and bread type products out of nuts, since they grind up and cling together really well.

They traded their oven in for a dehydrator, and it makes them happy, so.....

A large part of it has to do with knowing how cooking vegetables strips them of nutrients, and wanting to eat "whole foods." She is an herbalist and a healer, so naturally they would be concerned with this. They started with the cookbook written by Julienne (the guy in Ca) and went from there, ended up meeting families in southern Oregon who adoped this as their lifestyle.

Anyway


~~Shimmer~~

[Isa]

I believe there is a Raw restaurant in California. I couldn't find any info on it but you might want to look at those websites:

Living And Raw Foods

Raw Foods News

A Raw Food Diet

[shroomgirl]

This client with pancreatic cancer has had it for 1 year and has been on this raw diet for 7 months. Apparently he is doing pretty good...loads of fresh carrot juice every day, raw broccoli, bean/rice ground up into a powder, roots, all organic...only sesame and olive oil....no refined sweetners or flours or dairy.
We have a raw food group in St. Louis, some of the members come to the farmers market to stock up on organic produce.

[kuan]

Frankly, I'd have to question Charlie Trotter's qualifications as a scientist. OTOH, I love raw food. I eat almost all my fish raw, as well as some shellfish and sometimes beef.

Kuan

[monpetitchoux]

But sometimes cooking a food actually helps improve it's efficacy. The levels of lycopene (a powerful antioxidant) rises when tomatoes are heat processed. It's true that perhaps other nutrients are lost. But it's not like you are not benefitting in another way. Okay, so other than this example, I have no other that is vegetable/fruit related. But I am not thoroughly convinced that 100% raw is the way to go. How would tough vegetables like kale and collard greens (both very high in nutrients) be included in the diet. I guess it could be pureed and served as soup or juiced. But are they limited to eating them in only this form?

Personally I couldn't eat this way. But I would reconsider it if I were faced with liver or stomach cancer. And for those who are fighting for their lives, it is worth every ounce of energy we can put in to advancing this cuisine to be as mouthwateringly delicious as possible. I guess we can include a few drops of extra virgin cumin oil to give the kale soup some added dimension.

Wait, What about water? No more hot water? This means tea would also be out of the question since even green teas are roasted. But green teas have also been touted to provide health benefits. I guess you can make sun teas, but not real teas since they've been heat processed.

[Shimmer]

A lot of things can be done with a food dehydrator that was previously done in an oven. And flavors infuse in room temperature water, they just take longer to do so.

Also, my mother-in-law was explaining something about how "hot" is a feeling that can be substituted with correct spices, and doesn't need to be a temperature.

I'm going to try to find a good website about it. I'll report back.

~~Shimmer~~

[Jill Reichow]

I agree that when you are fighting for you very life you should try anything that you feel will help....but my hubby's aunt died from pancreatic cancer. My understanding from her SIL who is an oncologist is that it is fatal and there is no know cure at this time. There are some drugs that will hold it at bay for awhile, but..... is there a medical cure?

[shroomgirl]

That too is my understanding, generally it is a rapid cancer...3-6mos at the outside, is my understanding. I say if it works for you more power to you.

[Jill Reichow]

Dh's Aunt was given 3-6 months...she told her SIL he had 6 months to find a cure. Lived 18 months, saw two new grandbabies, but the last 6 were brutal on her and the family. My sympathy to your clients.

[monkeymay]

The vegan chef's name is Julienne - he has a raw food cookbook that actually has beautiful recipes and instructions for dehydrating...
Health reason behind this concept of eating 'raw' organic matter is providing your body with optium nutrients that are killed when food is heated above 110 degrees, rendering it 'dead'.That's why eating things like sprouted seeds and beans are so important - they're alive.
There is a place called The Optimum Health Institute located in Lemon Grove Ca, just outside of San Diego.They have a program of fasting and eating raw, to detoxify the body as well as the mind.You can book a stay from 1 to 3 weeks depending on your health needs, and they teach you how to prepare and 'cook' raw, along with the concept of food combining, so you can continue
your program in the real world. Many of the people who go there have serious health issues- cancer or immune deficiency - have seen marked improvement/remission from this lifestyle.
As a chef, I occasionally suffer from food 'burnout' and go stay at the institute for a week. Eating raw and fasting not only detoxifys my system, but I can really TASTE food again. You'e got to detox to retox!

Peace.