There are a few distinct differences between vegetarian and raw food diets. Basically, a vegetarian is someone who is committed to not eat meat, fish, poultry or any animal products, but only consumes vegetables, pasta, and rice. On the other hand, a raw foodist is a vegetarian, but one who eats unprocessed, uncooked, organic, whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, nuts seeds, legumes, dried fruits, seaweeds, etc. It denotes a diet that is at least 75% uncooked! Raw foodist cooks very little and definitely doesn’t cook or process fruits and vegetables. Raw foodist simply eats them raw.

Raw foodist, vegans and frutarians are some of the different categories of vegetarians. Yes, raw foodist is a category of vegetarianism as mentioned earlier. However, to be a raw food purist, you should eat raw vegetables like raw broccoli, not steamed. To a vegetarian, who doesn’t eat meat or fish or any animal products, steamed vegetables are just as good, though every person would concur that steaming can take out nutrients from foods and turn them into less nutritious. A vegetarian might consume dairy or egg products but a vegan will not consume any animal products at all. The raw foodist then is a vegan who consumes only uncooked, unprocessed raw foods.

Enzymes are the life force of a food and that every food has its own perfect combination as believed by raw food diet advocates. These enzymes help us digest foods completely, without relying on our body to produce its own cocktail of digestive enzymes.

The cooking process is thought to destroy food enzymes. It can take so much of the basic nutritional value away. Other than that, cooked foods not only take any longer to digest, but they also let the partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates to block our gut and arteries.

Below are some health benefits cited by the raw diet followers:

• Improved digestion
• Increased energy levels
• Reduced risk of heart diseased
• Improved appearance of skin
• Weight loss

For more information about vegetarian and raw food diets, visit EatRawFood.com.