While some nutritional therapists and nutritionists recommend “everything cooked,” others, like Irene Grosjean, a French celebrity of alternative food trends, recommend a strictly vegetable and raw diet. To analyze.
At 92 years old, Irene Grosjean is a veritable advertisement for the raw food she recommends: healthy legs, good eyes, her mind is as lively as if she were thirty or so. For her, there is nothing like a healthy diet adapted to our physiognomy to stay in shape.
For the local French pope, this diet is justified by the fact that cooking food depletes it of energy.
“This means that when we eat cooked food, we are taking in dead food and therefore need a stimulant (alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, etc.) to give us extra energy. which we miss. “And let’s remember, in the process, that the greats of this world also adopted a ‘raw’ diet. “Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Theodore Monod, Leonardo da Vinci and many other inspired people ate water, fruit, sprouted seeds and vegetables,” she recalls.
Go rough and then what?
It’s not necessarily easy to go raw overnight. From a physiological point of view, one can really feel certain inconveniences. This would actually be a consequence of the ongoing “cleaning”. “Intestines are often contaminated by years of dead food. Their detoxification leads to concerns such as
swelling, heaviness, pain, etc. And the stronger the intoxication, the more intense these inconveniences. »
Fortunately, the fruits and vegetables we enjoy the most are the ones we need the most. On the other hand, the cooked or processed foods that we love the most would also be the most harmful. “In this case, we function like the food addicts that we are, and feed on whatever hurts us the most…”
DID YOU KNOW?
Raw, so-called “living” food is associated with a larger movement, that of raw food. The latter itself consists of several subgroups: granivores (mainly with the consumption of seeds), frugivores (especially fruits), instincts (consumption of food, including animals, without mixing them), liquidators (almost only juices) and followers of “food ecology” (eating raw, but everything, including meat and insects). What all these diets have in common is that the food is mostly eaten raw or whole.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
A LOT
- This diet includes a wide variety of foods rich in dietary fiber and protein, which contribute to satiety.
- There are no restrictions on quantities. Normally one should not experience hunger.
- Most people who follow this diet lose weight. German researchers also observed an average weight loss of 9.9 kg in men and 12 kg in women after switching to a raw diet.
- A feeling of lightness and intense detoxification.
- The disappearance of certain pains.
THE LITTLE ONES
- Eating only plant-based food and always raw can be quite monotonous.
- This strict diet can lead to isolation. In addition, only vegetarian restaurants can (partially) meet the requirements.
- According to a study, 30% of raw food women suffer from partial or complete amenorrhea (stopping menstruation).
- Eating an all-raw, vegan diet can lead to vitamin B12 deficiency and raise homocysteine levels in the blood, which predisposes to cardiovascular disease.
- This type of diet is associated with low bone density, suggesting that it may not be adequate in terms of calcium and vitamin D.
- This diet is not recommended for children and adolescents, pregnant women or women who wish to become pregnant, as energy intake is often lower than energy needs.
A typical raw food menu
It is not always easy to change your habits… Switching to raw products is actually a difficult lifestyle that needs to be planned. In the morning, raw foodists can start their day with wheatgrass juice, fresh fruit, sprouted wheat bread and a glass of almond milk with figs. At lunch, make room for lacto-fermented vegetables, sprouted lentil salad with cashews and avocado. All washed down with green tea. The meal will be sprinkled with fresh fruit and sunflower seeds. Finally, for dinner you can count on raw carrot soup, sprouted quinoa with arame seaweed and olive oil, with herbal tea for a good night’s sleep. By going raw, you’re not only detoxing, but losing weight every time!
Virginie Stassen