NOURISH | Raw or Nothing?

Is a 100 percent raw food diet really the best alternative diet? In Raw & Beyond, Victoria Boutenko reconsiders her all raw approach to healthier living. While incorporating green smoothies (comprised of greens, organic fruit, and water) into her family’s diet did in fact reverse many signs of health decline, it didn’t bring perfect health—namely because of a serious deficiency in omega-3’s.

When starting a raw food diet, Victoria explains, many turn to consuming oils, nuts, and seeds to increase their caloric intake which ultimately leads to a lack of omega-3’s and an excess of omega-6 fatty acids which are linked to conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and more. In Raw & Beyond, Victoria, along with Elaina Love and Chad Sarno, ultimately remind us that in order to reap the benefits of raw nutrition we don’t need to go on an all-or-nothing diet but rather a high-raw diet.

Here are two recipes featured in Raw & Beyond by Victoria Boutenko. Do you believe in an all-or-nothing raw diet or have you adjusted to a high-raw diet?

Raw | Celery Soup by Victoria

6 stalks celery, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, cut in large pieces

½ avocado, peeled and seeded

Juice of 2 lemons

4 cups water

1 cup alfalfa sprouts

2 tablespoons dulse flakes

Thoroughly blend all the ingredients except the sprots and the dulse flakes in a blender. Serve with sprouts and sprinkled with dulse flakes. Serves 4.

Cooked | Mushroom-Potato Soup by Victoria

1 ½ cups potatoes, washed and diced

6 cups water

2 cups celery, diced

1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 hot pepper or 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 cup button mushrooms, diced

1/3 cup onion, finely chopped

1 cup diced parsley or basil, or any other herb

1 tablespoon miso

1 tablespoon dulse flakes

Place the potatoes in water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 5-10 minutes. Add celery, tomatoes, pepper, mushrooms, and onion. Bring to a boil. Add the parsley and immediately remove the soup from heat. Stir in the miso and sprinkle with dulse flakes. Serves 6.

Victoria Boutenko, Elaina Love, and Chad Sarno have been leaders in the raw food movement since the 1990s. Each of them maintained and promoted the 100 percent raw diet for years. Since then, all three have independently arrived at the same conclusion: that a totally raw diet is not necessarily the best diet. One reason for their shift in thinking is the latest scientific research on the impact of omega essential fatty acids on human health. Studies show that if eaten in excess, omega-6s can cause inflammation and obesity. A typical raw food diet contains large quantities of nuts and seeds, most of which are extremely high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s.