The idea of eating nothing but raw vegan food may sound tempting for those who don’t like spending too much time cooking, but it definitely comes with its challenges. The raw vegan diet basically consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, and we couldn’t help but wonder—is leaving out all the other food groups actually good for your health?
A raw vegan diet eliminates all products derived from animals, such as meat, eggs, dairy, and even honey and gelatin. The idea is to only consume plant-based foods, but unlike regular vegans, you can only eat these foods raw—uncooked or unprocessed in any way. Other than raw, the food can also be dehydrated, blended, soaked, heated at low temperatures, juiced, or sprouted. This means no sugar, salt, flour, store-bought non-dairy milk, pastry, jams, and other fruit products, etc. Of course, there’s no processed snacks, cookies, or candy, no matter if they can be considered vegan.
There’s not enough data that shows whether a raw vegan diet is truly healthier than other diets, so there’s a risk that people who follow it can miss out on some important nutrients that come from other food groups. The restrictions that come with diets like this can also be harmful to mental health and make social situations difficult.