As food consciousness increases in popularity, so do all the diets that go along with healthy eating. More and more people are becoming vegetarian and vegan, eating natural and organic foods, and eating locally sourced food items. There are other diets, too, that are gaining followers, and knowing what they all are can be an exercise in memorization. One of the diets that’s increasing in popularity – or is at least getting more press – is the raw food diet. What, exactly, is the raw food diet?

A raw foodist is someone who eats foods that are uncooked and unprocessed. Many raw foodists consume only plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and some raw grains. Some people even consume raw animal products, like eggs, raw dairy, fermented meats, and unprocessed meats and organs.

Within raw foodism, there are raw vegans, who eat only raw plant-based foods, as well as raw vegetarians, who eat plant-based foods, as well as raw animal products, like honey, dairy, and eggs.

Consistent across all types of raw foodists, though, it the rule that foods will not be heated above 115 degrees F. Some nutritionists believe that foods cooked above this temperature lose significant amounts of nutrients, and can even become harmful to the body. Raw foods have certain enzymes that only exist in living and uncooked foods – once cooked, these enzymes break down and can produce harmful toxins in its wake.

Some studies show the raw food diet to have exceptional health benefits such as lower obesity rates, reduced LDL cholesterol, decrease incidence of cancer, and a lower chance of having hypertension. Other studies indicate that long-term raw food diets can result in decreased bone density, low HDL cholesterol, vitamin B12 deficiency, and an increase chance of dental erosion, among others.

It’s debatable whether the raw food diet is a healthy one or not, but the fact remains that it is increasing in popularity and general awareness.