The Virtues of an Uncooked Diet

"It is easy to eat raw (food)," says Evansville, Ill., dietitian, Linda Ruff, "it's just not easy to give up cooked.

When you think about it, most people eat raw food all the time without really thinking about it: Leafy salad greens, fresh fruits, vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, peppers, celery, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes and even raw nuts and seeds count as familiar foods.

But giving up cooked food eliminates a lot more that most people are quite attached to: Meat, poultry and fish, for sure, but also our beloved breads, familiar hot cereals and grain products (sprouts are OK), dairy and eggs in addition to traditionally cooked-before-consuming root vegetables like potatoes.

That's a diet of a different stripe.

And it's not for everyone, Ruff says: "Various bodies, various metabolisms are designed for different foods (and) I will not put down any food except junk food."

Ruff says, however, that in the past 20 years she has become increasingly passionate about the health benefits associated with a raw food diet because she knows how she feels and she sees how other people respond to it.

Ruff defines "cooked" as any food that is heated past 118 degrees, after which natural enzymes in food are killed off. This allows for the use of a dehydrator -- one of several appliances Ruff keeps in her kitchen, along with a blender, food processor, food chopper and spice/coffee grinder.

Although passionate about the virtues of maintaining a minimum 75 percent raw diet, Ruff is not a fanatic. She is registered dietitian with a lengthy resume that illuminates her path toward this international, albeit not locally, familiar regimen.

She maintains a private practice in Evansville that includes private nutrition counseling and the offer of raw foods lectures and demonstrations that can feature tastings and even the occasional full meal.

It's in the tasting that Ruff attracts converts: Raw nutritionally balanced foods taste great.

That was the consensus of participants at a recent program Ruff offered at Penny Lane Coffee House where they dined on a Green Fruit Smoothie, Veggie Burgers and raw cookies.

Newburgh, Ill., native Courtney Metzger was among the participants. She says she is familiar with the raw foods movement but, not being a vegetarian herself, she has not pursued it and allows that it is probably much easier to think about in summer when there is a plethora of fresh garden produce available and it's too hot to cook anyway.

Still, she says, "(Ruff's) food was great.. it was almost too much flavor"

Vonciele Slack of Evansville was also in the crowd at Penny Lane and has attended Ruff's presentations in the past.

"I think a 50-50 raw/cooked diet is good for people who follow the "Standard American Diet" and are basically healthy.

"Going to 80 percent raw will make you a healthier person but in reality most of us won't do that," she says.

"I also think someone who is used to eating mostly cooked foods might want to get into raw foods gradually; some of these foods, like the raw veggie burgers, could hit (your digestive tract) pretty hard."

It's not for everyone, Ruff says, "But try it for five days and then see how you feel."