Raw foods meaning fresh fruits and vegetables including salads, juices, and smoothies made from dark leafy greens are an important source of nutrients and therefore must be part of every Vegetarian meal.
We however do not endorse those who advocate 100 % raw food as the only source of the human diet. Excluding all forms of cooking and all cooked foods altogether does not make any reasonable sense. 100 % raw food lifestyle is very expensive, time-consuming, unhealthy, and unnecessary.
All 3 food requirements- Nutrition, Energy, and Taste must be so balanced that we exclude a few unwanted/unhealthy items only, do not have to spend a lot of money on our food, and still be able to enjoy a large variety of Vegetarian cuisines both cooked and uncooked. A 100% raw diet does not meet the test of energy and taste requirements.
Regarding Nutrition also, many researchers have found that a raw diet may cause deficiencies in Calcium, Vitamin D, Iron, Zinc, and B12 along with low bone density and body fat so low that women either had very light menstrual periods or none at all. In our view therefore a 100 % raw diet could be suitable for the super-rich but certainly not for the masses.
