Vegan Diet - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

Baby_hands · 08-06-2006, 06:26 AM

I am interested in what I have been told is called the..Raw Vegan diet?

Does anyone know the benefits and downfalls of this diet?

What does it involve?

Lenin · 08-06-2006, 06:42 AM

Vegan is hard enough...RAW VEGAN is nearly impossible.
You won't be able to do it very long.

One of the main reasons is that the main source of protein for vegans is the legume family of beans, peas, and lentils...and these MUST all be cooked or fermented (like TOFU.)
Unless you eat TOFU at almost every meal, you will starve (kwashiorkor...protein starvation) and TOFU at every meal, while POSSIBLE, seems highly improbable long term...the boredom factor would become overwhelming.

COOK your beans, peas, and lentils and you have a good VEGAN diet...one that is healthy, low in saturated fats, and that will promote weight loss. A diet like that can go on for a lifetime.

Baby_hands · 08-06-2006, 09:07 PM

Ohh well the girl said to me that 70% of her food is raw. Not all of it.

My aim is to avoid processed food as much as possible. Because I used to suffer from acne and realised that my acne is linked with my diet. I went on a special diet that cut out most processed food and it cured my acne.

The vegan diet just sounds like a step further of ridding processed food. Is this right? Does anyone know of a basic meal plan so I can get an idea of a typical day of eating?

Ankh · 08-06-2006, 11:25 PM

oh and a little something else.

if you are eating tofu as a source of protein, you need to eat double the normal portion to obtain the same protein benefits as found in meat.
i do not eat red meat and hardly ever eat any meat actually, and the dietician said that your tofu intake has to be pretty large in order to compensate for the protein not taken in with meat. beans and other legumes are obviously a very good choice.
good luck

Lenin · 08-07-2006, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby_hands

Ohh well the girl said to me that 70% of her food is raw. Not all of it.

In that case, 70% raw is just fine, just make sure that COOKED beans, peas and lentils and fermented soy are all regular parts of the diet long with complementary proteins from grains, sprouts, nuts and even seaweeds.

(I guess any of the rice and wheat foods must also be cooked for palatability.)

The tough part of VEGANISM is getting the proteins.