Looks like the food editors at Newsday have been a little tardy in their "Sex in the City" viewing this season. (Thank goodness for HBO On-Demand!) Today's food section offers up a story about the raw food movement, a trend which garnered the spotlight a couple months ago when a SITC episode aired, featuring Samantha dining at a restaurant called Raw in order to hook up with a hot waiter. But it looks like the spotlight might be dimming:
Despite the claims of raw foods enthusiasts, many doctors and dietitians scoff at it. Katherine Tallmadge, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, said..."The diet is protein-deficient and nutrient-poor," said Tallmadge, who also is author of "Diet Simple" (Lifeline), a book promoting weight loss by making only a few changes to the average diet. "The idea that cooked food is toxic is absurd. There is absolutely no science to back that up."
Tallmadge is not alone in her assessment. Five months ago, Florida authorities said the death of 5-month-old Woyah Andressohn probably was the result of malnutrition brought on by a raw food diet. Investigators also found that Andressohn's four brothers and sisters, who also were allegedly on the diet, were severely malnourished...
But many raw food enthusiasts maintain that any initial discomfort of the diet is worth the tremendous health benefits. And that eventually many people become huge supporters of the lifestyle.
Mmmm good - and good for you too. I don't think Samatha's boy toy Smith could even get me to convert.
Jeffrey Steingarten has an interesting take on raw food in "The Man Who Ate Everything". The gist of this essay is that there are in fact a lot of toxins and chemicals that cancel out the nutrients in raw food. These chemicals are part of the natural defense mechanisms of the plants, but are broken down by cooking. He goes into a lot of examples and cites his evidence.
It wasn't enough to keep me from snacking on some yummy carrots every now and then, but I'd avoid a "raw food diet" like the plague after reading that.
Posted by: Alan | October 24, 2003 at 12:57 PM
Interesting. I'll have to take a look at that essay. And, yeah, I've been known to enjoy crudite when it's put in front of me. But, this raw food regimen seems much too extremist - and taste-challenged - for me.
Posted by: The Vamp | October 24, 2003 at 01:20 PM