10 replies to this topic

[cmr924]

I wanted to get some blood work done prior to a 30 day raw foods trial, what specific things should I be looking at?

How to review your blood test results - lists some of the basics

HealthCheckUSA - Online Lab Tests - I could order some from here and go get them tested. Any from there that stand out?

Thanks!

[ajnast4r]

i think the more important question is WHY are you going on a raw food diet, and do your understand the problems associated with a raw food diet?

[cmr924]

Well, with proper evaluation, I would be able to find out first hand the benefits or consequences. That is the best way of going about it.

[ajnast4r]

Well, with proper evaluation, I would be able to find out first hand the benefits or consequences. That is the best way of going about it.

no, the best way of going about thing is to have a proper understanding of human dietetics and nutrition.. not to experiment with your health.

i can tell you the first and biggest consequence will be protein deficiency.

the whole raw food diet is a bunch of BS... its not supported by any modern or traditional understanding of nutrition

Edited by ajnast4r, 19 January 2008 - 08:17 PM.

[eric29]

I remember a few studies that showed at least some nutrients have better bioavailabilty from cooked foods compared to raw foods.

Here is one example. The thermal processing they refer to is standard cooking and canning procedures which they explain in the full text, which is available free online, at jn.nutrition.org

J Nutr. 1998 May;128(5):913-6.
Bioavailability of beta-carotene is lower in raw than in processed carrots and spinach in women.

Rock CL, Lovalvo JL, Emenhiser C, Ruffin MT, Flatt SW, Schwartz SJ.
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0901, USA.

Populations at risk of vitamin A deficiency usually rely on dietary provitamin A carotenoids to meet vitamin A needs, yet bioavailability of these compounds is influenced by several factors as follows: location in the plant source, the presence of other influencing dietary components, and type and extent of processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the plasma beta-carotene response to raw vs. processed carrots and spinach. Subjects were eight healthy females aged 23-36 y who consumed approximately 9.3 mg beta-carotene daily from either raw or thermally processed and pureed vegetables in two 4-wk treatment periods in a crossover study. Plasma concentrations of total, all-trans-, and cis-beta-carotene and alpha-carotene were measured at base line and the end of each treatment period by using HPLC assays. Total and all-trans (but not cis) plasma beta-carotene concentrations were significantly greater than base-line concentrations in the processed feeding period (P < 0. 04) and tended to be greater in the raw feeding period (P = 0.08). Daily consumption of processed carrots and spinach over a 4-wk period produced an increase in plasma beta-carotene concentration that averaged three times that associated with consumption of the same amount of beta-carotene from these vegetables in the raw form (P = 0.09). Increased cis isomers provided in the processed vegetables did not result in significantly greater plasma cis-beta-carotene isomer concentrations. These results suggest that isomerization of beta-carotene by heat treatment does not negate the enhanced beta-carotene uptake associated with consuming commercially processed vegetables compared with raw vegetables.

PMID: 9567003

[cmr924]

Well, with proper evaluation, I would be able to find out first hand the benefits or consequences. That is the best way of going about it.

no, the best way of going about thing is to have a proper understanding of human dietetics and nutrition.. not to experiment with your health.

i can tell you the first and biggest consequence will be protein deficiency.

the whole raw food diet is a bunch of BS... its not supported by any modern or traditional understanding of nutrition

No, I disagree with you completely. The only way to know for sure is to try it out. You can read about it all you want, but that simply can't compare. Also, protein deficiency is laughable. There is quite a lot of studies that show that the RDA is inflated. But say I am 150 pounds. Their recommendation is for me to eat 54 grams of protein a day. I could get that eating raw foods.

I agree, eric. Some foods also change very little when cooked. Although, the beta carotene issue is a controversial one as well.

Can anyone actually put their differences with the diet aside, and recommend blood tests? Who cares what I am doing? I just want to know what tests would help show whether the diet was good or bad.

[ajnast4r]

thats like saying... hey a lot of people jump off cliffs, so ill just jump off without researching proper parachutes. going into anything blindly without a good understanding of how it will effect you is FOOLISH.

protein deficiency is not laughable, i dont know what would make you think its such an impossible thing. the RDA is based on rather solid science, and in many peoples opinions is not ENOUGH let alone too much... imo, no male over 120 lbs should ever consume less than 80g of protein per day.

how would you go about consuming 50g of protein per day, from uncooked food, without consuming HUNDREDS of grams of fat?

we care what you are doing because that is the nature of this forum, to help its users to make informed decisions that will have a positive impact on their life. there is no blood test that will show that your diet is good or bad after a month... many deficiencies take years to show symptoms... and i can ASSURE you, being that i have a thorough understanding of nutrition, they will show up if you stick with a raw food diet.

[Shepard]

Warning: Raw food diets may give you mad skills:



But, yeah, you're probably not going to see any significant changes in blood work within 30 days. But, if you're still looking for blood tests, I like the LEF Hormonal Packages.

Also, take some pictures to see if you get "the glow".

Edited by shepard, 20 January 2008 - 02:44 AM.

[ajnast4r]

Warning: Raw food diets may give you mad skills:

post of the year

[Shepard]

And, it kills babies:

http://www.courttv.c...enings_ctv.html

[eternaltraveler]

how would you go about consuming 50g of protein per day, from uncooked food, without consuming HUNDREDS of grams of fat?

And even if you get 50g of protein it is important to consume the proper ratios of essential AAs, or it will just be burned as fuel anyway.