Raw Food Detox: Cleansing your Body Naturally

A vast amount of research has been dedicated to understanding Western diets and their impact on health. The Western diet consists of pre-packaged foods, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, refined grains, fried foods, and generally deviates from natural food.¹ The rise in popularity of detox diets comes from the numerous health conditions attributed to the Western diet.² Detox diets are aimed at cleansing the body of excess toxins and waste product buildup with the hope of promoting health and weight management.³ There are many commercial programmes and products on the market aimed at detoxing the body but a raw food detox is a cheaper and accessible alternative. A raw food diet is in its name; eating uncooked and unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Vogue India states how cooking food often destroys the natural enzymes and nutrients present in foods, and eating food raw provides you with all their vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting compounds. 

Our body has organs in place to naturally detox and get rid of toxins but there are certain things you can do to help them. Many sources explain why cleansing the body is important, but here are a few reasons: 

• Stimulates the liver to drive toxins from the body
• Promotes elimination through intestines, kidneys, and skin
• Improves blood circulation
• Introduces healthy nutrients into the system⁴

Benefits of a raw food detox

Dr. Komar from the Piedmont Clinic explains how raw foods give you more energy, improve digestion, promote better skin, and contribute to weight loss if that’s your goal.⁵ Overcooking vegetables gets rid of many of the nutrients we actually want from them. Diabetes UK reports the following benefits people have observed after going on a raw food detox:⁶ 

• Higher energy levels 
• Stabilised blood glucose levels 
• Improved skin appearance 
• Better digestion 
• Weight loss
• Reduced risk of heart disease 
• Reduced risk of diabetes 
• Reduced risk of cancer

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of a raw food detox, the rest of the article will delve further into this topic to understand how the detox works, examine the mechanisms behind its benefits, some of its key components, how to implement it into your current lifestyle, potential challenges and solutions, and precautions to take.  

Components of a raw food diet

The following foods are what it consists of, and, if followed strictly, should involve zero cooking:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables 
• Nuts 
• Seeds 
• Beans 
• Grains 
• Legumes 
• Dried fruit 
• Seaweed 
• Unprocessed organic or natural foods 
• Freshly juiced fruit and vegetables 
• Purified water 
• Young coconut milk⁶

Sprouts and fermented foods

When thinking of a raw food diet, organic fruits and vegetables naturally come to mind but there are many other food groups that are included and ways to avoid cooking them. Sprouting and fermentation are methods of food preparation that do not involve cooking. The reason cooking is avoided in this type of diet is that many foods lose nutritional value when exposed to high temperatures.⁷ 

• Sprouting: soaking seeds in water encouraging them to grow in an ambient temperature
• Fermenting: Commonly associated with wine and kombucha, it’s similar to sprouting but no sprouting actually occurs

Raw food detox vs other cleanses

Most cleanses encourage you to fast for 24 hours, severely restrict your caloric intake, and usually only drink juices or fruits. These types of diets are extreme in nature and may lead to short-term results, such as weight loss, but are not maintained once you are back on your regular diet. Our liver, kidneys, skin, digestive system, lungs, and specific enzymes naturally rid the body of toxins so detoxes are not necessary but may enhance your body’s natural functioning.⁸ A raw food detox on the other hand does not force you to severely reduce your calorie intake, encourages moderate participation, and allows you to be flexible. According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are 3 types of raw food diets:⁸

• Raw vegan diet: Solely foods that are raw and vegan - not coming from an animal
• Raw vegetarian diet: Excludes meat, fish, and poultry but includes eggs and dairy so long as they are raw and unprocessed  
• Raw omnivorous diet: Any meat or plant-based food as long as it is raw and unprocessed 

These diets are high in fibre and nutrient-packed which can boost overall health. However, make sure to stay away from raw meat and raw (unpasteurised) dairy as it can contain harmful bacteria which could cause negative health outcomes. If choosing the vegetarian or omnivorous option, it may be better to follow the diet with 50% accuracy rather than risk eating raw meat and poultry.  

Planning and implementation

The advice to starting any new diet is to start small with a few modifications to your current diet and gradually swap more of your current meals for raw ones. Various sources have meal plans you can follow such as the seven-day meal plan by Meraki Lane.⁹ However, before plunging into a new diet here are a few things to consider according to food blogger Laura-Jane:¹⁰ 

• Cravings: Figure out how to handle cravings before you get them so you don’t end up binge-eating and becoming sick
• Kitchen appliances: Most recipes call for smoothies or something similar which requires blenders, strainers, and sometimes a food processor
• Allergies/dietary restrictions: If you’re highly allergic to nuts, for example, this limits your diet even further so it is always best to consult your doctor before starting a new diet
• Health restrictions: If you have any pre-existing medical conditions then an extremely restrictive diet such as this one may not be the safest and you should always consult a doctor first

Challenges and limitations

Fruits and vegetables when eaten raw provide many benefits and should be incorporated into your diet; however, there are some drawbacks of going on a raw food detox.¹¹ Some nutrients, like the ones in tomatoes, are only available after cooking due to chemical bonds within them that need to be broken. Also, eating raw fruits and vegetables does not detoxify your body instantly but rather leads to fat stores being consumed due to the lack of caloric intake. Another large problem with a raw food diet is that many food groups are lacking which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and other health problems in individuals. Carbohydrates and proteins are difficult to obtain without grain and meat products, which is essential for athletes or anyone performing high-intensity exercise. 

Dealing with cravings

There are many ways to deal with your cravings and while many substitutes exist, the most effective way to fight cravings is to rewire the way your brain thinks about them. Suppressing thoughts related to certain foods (not letting yourself think about the foods you’re craving) can help decrease the likelihood of you consuming that food or getting the craving again in the future.¹² 

Detox Symptoms

A detox is something your body is not used to and extreme changes in short amounts of time can shock the system. Some common symptoms to look out for when undergoing a detox:

• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Hunger
• Cravings
• Slight nausea
• More frequent trips to the bathroom 
• Temporary weight loss¹³
• Bloating
• Gas
• Bowel spasms 
• Cramps 
• Dizziness 
• Trouble sleeping
• Cold-like symptoms¹⁴

If you start to experience severe symptoms that persist for longer than a few days it is always advised to consult your doctor and resume your normal diet until advised to continue with the detox by a licensed professional.

Summary

To summarise, detox diets are a way to combat many ailments and health conditions that have arisen due to poor nutrition in Western diets with the aim of cleansing the body of toxins and waste product buildup. Our bodies naturally filter and remove toxins through the kidneys, lungs, digestive system, and other organ systems so the detox process happens regardless of the diet you are on. However, there are diets such as the raw food diet that help this process and have many beneficial effects. 

The raw food diet consists of eating only foods that are uncooked and unprocessed and contain high volumes of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. There are processes such as sprouting and fermenting (like with wine) you can do which does not involve heating or cooking and preserve the compound in its natural state. Unlike other diets, most raw food detoxes do not require a severe caloric deficit but rather encourage participation in moderation so even if you follow a raw food diet 50% of the time, there are still many benefits to be seen. Some benefits include increased heart health, improved digestion, weight loss, and many more. 
Before following a new diet always consult a doctor but also consider how you will fight cravings, plan meals, and figure out if you have the right kitchen appliances used in many recipes. Lastly, going fully raw does not have a significant amount of support from the scientific community as there are many foods that require cooking to release their full nutritional value (e.g., tomatoes). Switching to a completely raw food detox severely limits the food groups accessible to you and can lead to nutritional deficiencies if followed long-term. There are many factors to consider before choosing to go on a raw food detox, but if done temporarily or in moderation, your overall health may improve due to the increased consumption of fruits and vegetables.