Has anyone else heard about this "raw foods" idea? I first read about it in the horrible magazine Vegetarian Times, and thought it sounded completely bogus. But I didn't think much of it because lots of stuff in that mag is completely bogus. Then, however, I saw an article in a recent Martha Stewart Living, plus she's had "raw foods" chefs on her show. The basic idea, I gather, is that eating foods heated to above 118F somehow destroys their vitamins and "enzymes." According to this chef on Martha's show, "enzymes" are why we eat food. I'm not sure I've ever read anything about eating food for enzymes, but I'm no nutritionist. Anyway, the whole thing sounds fishy, and bad for you to boot. Also, arent' some veggies really tough to digest if eaten raw? Any real information would be appreciated. The only articles I've seen so far are very credulous. No big surprise there, though.
This "Raw Foods" silliness
- Thread starter Phaycops
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roger
Penultimate Amazing
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I'm allergic to those raw veggie enzymes. Seriously. I count on cooking to render them edible, otherwise a little while after eating I'm practically clawing at my throat trying to itch the scratch. Not to mention my proclivity for breathing, which is hard to do with a throat that is rapidly swelling shut.
cbish
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The raw foods idea is based on the 19th century philosophy of vitalism. That is that live systems have a "vital force" that separates living systems from dead.
Raw foods concept has been around for decades but has been most prominently promoted in the alternative health circles. One promoter of this idea is Jay Kordich, The Juiceman. Kordich claims that juicing raw fruits and vegetables is superior to canned or processed foods because "live foods contain live enzymes". According to Kordich, live enzymes can aid in digestion freeing up your own enzymes for more important work such as boosting immune response.
Of course, anyone who as ever taken high school biology could explain to poor ol' Jay why he's full of carp!
1. Plant enzymes won't work in animals.
2. Enzymes can't change function. (or substrate for that matter)
3. Enzymes are large proteins and will digested into their amino acids for absorption by the small intestine.
Juicing and consuming raw fruits and vegetables is nutritious. I'm afraid it won't do anything for your vital force, though.
Raw foods concept has been around for decades but has been most prominently promoted in the alternative health circles. One promoter of this idea is Jay Kordich, The Juiceman. Kordich claims that juicing raw fruits and vegetables is superior to canned or processed foods because "live foods contain live enzymes". According to Kordich, live enzymes can aid in digestion freeing up your own enzymes for more important work such as boosting immune response.
Of course, anyone who as ever taken high school biology could explain to poor ol' Jay why he's full of carp!
1. Plant enzymes won't work in animals.
2. Enzymes can't change function. (or substrate for that matter)
3. Enzymes are large proteins and will digested into their amino acids for absorption by the small intestine.
Juicing and consuming raw fruits and vegetables is nutritious. I'm afraid it won't do anything for your vital force, though.
Unfortuanately, all these raw foodists seem to die by the time they hit 70. Which means, unforuanately, they stop writing books about all this crap.
A guy I know is big on this. Anyone who opposes, is clearly working for Monsanto.
A lot of them will reference a woman called Anne Wigmore (sp?). Apparently after adopting a "more chlorophyll-rich diet", she recovered from the "condition" of grey hair, and it returned to it's "natural shade of lustrous brown" (clearly, Ms. Clairol could have nothing to do with this).
They're all a bunch of crackpots.
A guy I know is big on this. Anyone who opposes, is clearly working for Monsanto.
A lot of them will reference a woman called Anne Wigmore (sp?). Apparently after adopting a "more chlorophyll-rich diet", she recovered from the "condition" of grey hair, and it returned to it's "natural shade of lustrous brown" (clearly, Ms. Clairol could have nothing to do with this).
They're all a bunch of crackpots.
Goshawk
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Re: Re: This "Raw Foods" silliness
I do remember Bigfig, but I mostly tended to ignore her. Heh. Aparently, this was a wise move
What about this idea that if you cook vegetables, they lose their nutritional value? I thought this had been debunked pretty well.....not that that ever stopped these folks from claiming things.
About enzymes....I'm not a biologist, so let me just be sure I have this right.... We humans have our own enzymes that do things in our bodies, and plants have other enzymes that presumably perform different functions, because plants are different from people, right? So eating one plants enzymes doesn't really help our enzymes any, except for the fact that we digest down the enzymes into their component amino acids to use for our own nefarious purposes? If this is the case, this whole (har!) thing sounds pretty silly....
Psi Baba said:
I do remember Bigfig, but I mostly tended to ignore her. Heh. Aparently, this was a wise move
What about this idea that if you cook vegetables, they lose their nutritional value? I thought this had been debunked pretty well.....not that that ever stopped these folks from claiming things.
About enzymes....I'm not a biologist, so let me just be sure I have this right.... We humans have our own enzymes that do things in our bodies, and plants have other enzymes that presumably perform different functions, because plants are different from people, right? So eating one plants enzymes doesn't really help our enzymes any, except for the fact that we digest down the enzymes into their component amino acids to use for our own nefarious purposes? If this is the case, this whole (har!) thing sounds pretty silly....
Phaycops said:
Yes, it's a complete load of crap. The most experience I've had in recent years with this issue is on pet health/nutrition sites, which are riddled with woowoos. Raw foods diets are the rage with many of these folks, fueled by books by nincompoops such as Ian Billinghurst from Australia. As others have correctly pointed out, the entire "living enzymes" story is complete fantasy.
ktesibios
Worthless Aging Hippie
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Didn't the conept of "vitalism" also hold that compounds produced by living organisms were the product of the vital force and could not be synthesized from substances of non-living origin?
In other words, if vitalism were correct, wouldn't most of what's been accomplished in organic chemistry be impossible?
In other words, if vitalism were correct, wouldn't most of what's been accomplished in organic chemistry be impossible?
Eos of the Eons
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double post.
Eos of the Eons
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I heard something that made me roll around laughing.
At our World of Women show in town, where vendors peddle their wares, there was a booth selling cookware.
They claim that it will keep foods in the "raw state" of nutritional value (not break down enzymes, etc.)
The kicker is, it costs $5, 000 for everything, or you can get a set for just $1500.00.
AND
You have to completely pay for it before you get the cookware.
Yes, you can make monthly payments until you pay it off. You can get a loan too.
(Let's see, in five years the Co. dissappears with all the money before people have their cookware long enough for someone to point out the food is still cooked)
Edited to add, Yes people did buy it. One person I know is putting off getting life insurance until the cookware is paid for.
At our World of Women show in town, where vendors peddle their wares, there was a booth selling cookware.
They claim that it will keep foods in the "raw state" of nutritional value (not break down enzymes, etc.)
The kicker is, it costs $5, 000 for everything, or you can get a set for just $1500.00.
AND
You have to completely pay for it before you get the cookware.
Yes, you can make monthly payments until you pay it off. You can get a loan too.
(Let's see, in five years the Co. dissappears with all the money before people have their cookware long enough for someone to point out the food is still cooked)
Edited to add, Yes people did buy it. One person I know is putting off getting life insurance until the cookware is paid for.
cbish
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ktesibios wrote:
Ummm......YEP!!
and Louis Pasteur had a little something to do with the debunking of vitalism.
epepke wrote:
Yes it does! I cook my steaks RARE!!
The point I want to stress again is that raw fruits and vegetables are nutritious and should be incorporated into a diet. However, there is nothing 'magical' about them as these people would have you believe. If you have cancer, powering down carrots isn't going to help you. Please see a doctor (a real doctor!)
Ummm......YEP!!
and Louis Pasteur had a little something to do with the debunking of vitalism.
epepke wrote:
Yes it does! I cook my steaks RARE!!
The point I want to stress again is that raw fruits and vegetables are nutritious and should be incorporated into a diet. However, there is nothing 'magical' about them as these people would have you believe. If you have cancer, powering down carrots isn't going to help you. Please see a doctor (a real doctor!)
cbish
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Eos wrote:
This may be another thead, but you know I 've noticed this. Cooking is my passion so I seek out food shows and the like. It always seems that at every food show there are several booth's selling woo-woo-isms like magnetic bracelets and such. Coincidence?!? Correlation?? Hmmm......
This may be another thead, but you know I 've noticed this. Cooking is my passion so I seek out food shows and the like. It always seems that at every food show there are several booth's selling woo-woo-isms like magnetic bracelets and such. Coincidence?!? Correlation?? Hmmm......