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- TORONTO - A new food fad
has dethroned veganism as the most rigid diet in North America. Some people
thrive on a diet of uncooked foods, and a new study has found that eating
this way actually reduces cholesterol to the same extent as cholesterol-reducing
drugs.
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- Vegetarians eat no meat, and vegans take that regime
one step further by avoiding dairy products and many other processed foods.
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- The "living foods" enthusiasts are trying to
stay healthy by not eating any cooked foods.
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- Erika Wolf has gone beyond vegetarianism to raw foodism.
She eats a diet of fresh fruit, vegetables, sprouted seeds and nuts.
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- The idea has been around for decades, but the message
is just now catching on, with Web sites and books on how "not"
to cook.
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- Bill Nasby frequents super sprouts, Canada's first store
to promote raw foodism. Nasby, 72, used to tire easily and was overweight.
He went on the raw food diet four months ago, lost 30 pounds and gained
energy.
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- "With this type of diet, you're totally alive. It's
unbelievable," Nasby says. "I want to get out sometimes and run
down the road beside my car."
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- Catererer George Zuwala says raw foodists feel an energy
boost because cooking kills enzymes in food that the body needs for digestion.
"We take more energy to digest that food, and instead of doing whatever
it is that we want to do, like spend more time with our family, with our
friends, we're sitting there after a three or four-course meal, we're
just kind of dead."
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- Nutritionist Carol Greenwood of the University of Toronto
says the raw food concept is flawed, because only the body's enzymes break
down food. She does agree that the diet is healthy, but doubts it will
catch on.
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- "Just from that long-term perspective of palatability,
it's unlikely that somebody would be on it for a long period of time,"
Greenwood added.
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