The Park Avenue Diet: What It Is

You don’t need to live on Park Avenue to have that well-heeled look -- all you need to do is follow the Park Avenue Diet plan, according to the author of The Park Avenue Diet. The six-week Park Avenue Diet program is more than a low-calorie diet. It includes a lifestyle makeover encompassing beauty, etiquette, poise, fitness, and fashion, designed to give you the look of the rich and famous.

"The Park Avenue Diet can help everyone be more successful by working from the outside in and inside out, because looking better is more than just eating properly," says Manhattan internist Stuart Fischer, MD, author of The Park Avenue Diet.

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Dieting alone won’t do it, Fischer says. You also need to address the seven fundamental components of your lifestyle to have a better chance of physical and mental self-improvement. Those components, according to the book, are: weight, physique, hair, skin, clothing, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills.

"Two behavior modifications work on self-confidence and interpersonal skills, and the other sections focus on appearance, which is so much more than just weight. It is what everyone notices when you walk into a room," Fischer says.  

For the book, he assembled a team of experts (not including any registered dietitians), each of whom offers a chapter of advice on everything from hair styles and make-up to self-confidence.

But no matter how you slice it, this plan is a temporary, low-calorie (1,250-1,350) restrictive diet with some added advice on other aspects of life. It is not intended to be the sort of lifelong healthy weight approach that most nutrition experts recommend.

The Park Avenue Diet: What You Can Eat

The Park Avenue Diet plan is a fairly well-balanced meal plan of three meals and one snack, totaling about 1,250-1,350 calories daily. The diet includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood, as well as a limited amount of dairy products and whole grains.

The book is organized into daily menu plans with recipes and nutritional analysis so you can determine your exact nutrient intake. Anyone watching sodium intake should be careful, as many of the recipes are high in sodium.

All the recommended foods are readily available, and there are no gimmicks or strange food combination, even though Fischer served as the associate medical director at the Atkins Center for years. Dieters are told to forego sweets, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, fruit juice, and milk (except skim in coffee or tea). There are a few dessert recipes that can be enjoyed on occasion, but for the most part, dieters will need to satisfy any sweets cravings with the natural sweetness of fruit.

"We eliminate artificial sweeteners, sugar, and most sweets other than the few recipes included because, in my experience, sweet treats are like giving an alcoholic a drink, furthering the temptation for more," Fischer says.

The book does not encourage dietary supplements, yet the author sells them on his web site and at his practice (which is in Manhattan, but not on Park Avenue).

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How The Perricone Promise Works

There are three basic parts to The Perricone Promise approach:

Diet. Perricone recommends five meals a day -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks. He suggests you eat a lot from his list of "superfoods," including salmon and berries. He also says that you must always eat protein before you eat any carbohydrates. His books include recipes and meal plans.

Supplements. Perricone recommends more than 25 supplements a day taken with breakfast and lunch. He suggests using his own line of products.

Skin care products. Perricone also has an extensive line of skin care products, including cleansers, toners, lotions, lip plumpers, and moisturizers.

In addition, Perricone recommends exercising at least 20-30 minutes a day.

Perricone relies on the glycemic index to guide his food choices. The index is a way of measuring the effect of a food on your blood sugar levels. Perricone says that foods with a high glycemic index cause swelling throughout your body.

However, experts debate whether eating foods with a high glycemic index is a problem for most people. Besides, if you eat foods in combination with one another -- as most of us do -- you can change your body's glycemic response to it.

Some Controversial Science

Some aspects of Perricone's approach are founded on good research. Increasingly, experts do see inflammation as a serious health problem. It can contribute to diseases like arthritis and heart disease.

Omega-3 fatty acids are known to help the heart. Some studies suggest that they can even help with mood disorders. And many researchers think that the results of aging may not be inevitable. A diet with lots of salmon and berries has many benefits.

The problem is that Perricone stretches the evidence too far. He makes grand and often odd conclusions that the science can't completely support.

He tends toward dramatic and alarming pronouncements. "In essence, a wrinkle can be considered a wound," he writes. He says that sugar can be "toxic." It contributes to the destruction of our organs, joints, and "the deterioration of every bodily function."

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Food For Thought continued...

That's a remarkable claim. If Perricone could really do it, he'd be the most famous doctor in the world. So far, the rest of the medical community is unconvinced.

Perricone's diet is problematic in a number of ways. Any diet that forbids a lot of foods and entire food groups is extreme and maybe risky. It's also hard to stick with.

The price of the Perricone diet is also steep. While you don't have to earn Courtney Cox's salary to be on the Perricone diet, it would sure help. The food itself -- lots of fresh berries and wild salmon -- will get pricey fast.

That's not to mention the extremely high prices of Perricone's cosmeceuticals. On his web site, a two to three-month supply of various creams and lotions can cost well over $400. A thirty-day supply of "Skin and Total Body Supplements" costs $140. The fact that his products are only retailed in high-end stores -- like Nordstrom's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus -- gives you an idea of the people who are buying them.

Some readers might also be put off by Perricone's style. He has a rather grand vision of his battle with the medical establishment. He is not shy of proclaiming his "revolutionary breakthroughs" or mentioning his fabulous celebrity clients, which include models and rock stars.

Perhaps time and further research will prove Perricone right. But right now, the scientific evidence to back up his claims just doesn't exist.

If you have the time, dedication, and the money to try the Perricone diet, go ahead. It's not likely to harm you, although you should check with your doctor first. Just be aware that, if history is any guide, the quest for the Fountain of Youth just never pans out.

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How The Perricone Promise Works continued...

While experts praise a few aspects of Perricone's diet, they also have a lot of doubts.

"In general, I don't think that people will be harmed by what Perricone suggests," says Roberta Anding, MS, RD, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association). "Eating more cold-water fish, fruits, and vegetables and having frequent sensible meals are all good suggestions."

But she does think that his limits on foods are too strict. "Although Perricone's plan contains healthy foods, the limitation of some food groups contrasts with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines and the majority of nutritional science," Anding tells WebMD.

"I don't agree with [Perricone's] emphasis on the glycemic index," says Lona Sandon, MS, RD, also a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "The effects of foods with a high glycemic index just aren't proven."

Sandon also dislikes that Perricone hawks his own line of supplements and skin care products.

"Any time a diet is sold along with additional supplements and creams that cost more than what most people spend on a month of groceries, that raises a red flag," says Sandon.

The diet may also not be safe for everyone, say experts. You should never start taking supplements before talking to your health care provider first. Many can interact with common medicines and cause problems. Anding recommends that anyone who is using a blood thinner must check in with a doctor before trying the diet. In addition, pregnant women (and women who may become pregnant) should be careful about eating too much fish, especially tuna, which can contain mercury.

"Perricone has got great marketing," says Anding. "But I think most people need to stop and think before they try this. Deep down, do you really think that a diet is going to reverse the aging process? If I did, I would certainly be on it. But I'm not."

Food For Thought

As a rule of thumb, you should be suspicious when anyone tries to sell you X-ray spectacles, a home alchemy kit, or the secret to eternal youth. Perricone promises something like eternal youth. The book jacket of The Perricone Promise boldly states that the diet can help "reverse the aging process."

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What You Can Eat on The Perricone Promise continued...

Perricone urges you to eat foods with protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. In his view, the good foods are:

• Wild Alaskan salmon (never farm-raised)
• Other fish, such as tuna, shellfish, halibut, and trout
• Turkey
• Eggs
• Yogurt
• Vegetables like leafy greens, bean sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, and tomatoes
• Fruits like berries (especially blueberries), cherries, apples, pears, and some melons
• Avocados
• Olives
• Whole barley
• Beans
• Oatmeal
• Nuts
• Green tea
• Spices, including oregano, ginger, cayenne pepper, and basil
• Spring water (8 to 10 glasses a day)

Perricone suggests that you take more than 25 supplements a day. He recommends his own brand, which are available in some stores and on his web site.

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P.I.N.K. Method Diet: Food for Thought

Eating a wide variety of healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise is a well-known prescription for weight loss.

The P.I.N.K. Method is easy to follow and enhanced by online support and a nutrition guide. But it may be challenging because it is an inflexible, restrictive diet approach limited in calories.

If this program works for you, follow the wellness advice and P.I.N.K. primary recommendations to eat a cleaner diet with lots of healthy foods. Add a once-daily multivitamin/mineral to fill in the nutritional gaps, and get regular physical activity.

When dietary recommendations are not sustainable in the long term, keep looking for a diet plan that promotes healthy changes you can live with forever. Unless you change your eating and lifestyle habits permanently, the weight is likely to return. Better yet, consult a registered dietitian for a customized food plan just for you.

Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, is director of nutrition for WebMD. Her opinions and conclusions are her own.

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The P.I.N.K. Method diet is divided into four phases:

• Reset: This phase lasts for three to 14 days. It's geared toward fast weight loss of up to a pound a day prior to starting the workouts. It's also used for four days between each of the plan's workouts. Sample menu items include a breakfast drink made with whey protein; vegetables for snacks; and protein, whole grains, and non-starchy vegetables for lunch or dinner. Apart from the morning drink, carbs are limited to vegetables throughout the day. It’s a good thing this phase is short, because sticking to the limited amount of food could be tough. "Reset has about 1,025 calories, which is too low. I never recommend going below 1,200 calories because it is impossible to get the nutrition you need," Mangieri says.
• P.I.N.K. Primary: After losing five to 10 pounds, you move on to the P.I.N.K. Primary phase and start the plan's first workout DVD. Meal plans during this phase include protein, vegetables, and fruit. Mangieri estimates this phase contains about 1,600 calories per day. That should be enough to support the exercise component. "This phase has enough calories but is low in vitamin D andcalcium," which are two nutrients that many women don't get enough of, Mangieri says. She suggests adding a few servings of nonfat diary or a multivitamin/mineral.
• 7 Day Shred: When you are within five pounds of your goal weight, the plan calls for you to shift to the 7-Day Shred phase. This phase cuts down on carbs and fats, replacing them with a vegetable soup to help you peel off those last few pounds. Drink lots of water and take a multivitamin/mineral. Workouts are restricted to easy 15-minute activities. Mangieri recommends skipping this phase (and the Reset phase), because they are inadequate in calories and nutrients -- instead, go directly to P.I.N.K.'s Primary and Preservation phases.
• PINK Preservation: This is the plan's maintenance phase, which you start when you reach your goal weight. It contains about 1,400-1,800 calories per day and is the plan's most flexible phase. "Preservation is the forever nutrition and fitness plan that keeps those lost pounds and inches from returning," Pasquella says.

P.I.N.K. Method Exercise Plan

The P.I.N.K. Method comes with three fitness DVDs. Follow them in order, using each one for three weeks.

Each DVD contains three workouts focused on sculpting, cardio, and flexibility for one to two hours. Bonus workouts are also included.

Physical activity is important for everyone, but "these tough workouts may be hard for older women or beginners," Mangieri says.

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What Is the Personality Type Diet

The Personality Type Diet is based on sensible eating and exercise. So what's new?

Author Robert F. Kushner, MD, teaches medicine at Northwestern University and is director of the Wellness Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. After seeing a lot of people who wanted -- and needed -- to lose weight, Kushner realized there's no one-size-fits-all diet.

The Latest Diets

New diets and weight loss tricks pop up every month. Get the facts on how the new diets work and what's right.

• Atkins
• Best Life Diet
• Biggest Loser
• Cabbage Soup
• Hallelujah Diet
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• NutriSystem
• Ornish
• South Beach
• 3 Day Diet
• Weight Watchers
• Zone
• All Diets A-Z

Related to diet and weight loss

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The book, Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet, asks readers to answer 66 questions about their habits and attitudes toward eating, exercise, and coping. Based on the scores, a person falls into one or more categories. For example, when it comes to eating, a person may be a "Mindless Muncher;" when it comes to exercise, an "All-or-Nothing Doer;" in coping, a "Can't-Say-No Pleaser."

In sections of the book appropriate for each type, Kushner offers specific advice helpful in changing the behaviors and attitudes with which a person self-identifies. This doesn't mean other sections of the book aren't full of useful advice. But because you've already identified things you need to change, Kushner's method points you to the areas where diet and lifestyle change will do you the most good. Besides, most people will identify with more than one "type" in each category.

What You Can Eat on the Personality Type Diet

The Personality Type Diet is big on "super foods." These are all plant-based foods: Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, dried beans, lentils, and soy products. All are low- or moderate-fat foods rich in vitamins and other important nutrients.

The Personality Type Diet isn't a vegetarian diet, but there's a definite focus on vegetarian dishes. Fish and poultry are on the menu. Lean red meat is OK, but not encouraged. You won't find any beef dishes in the recipe section. There is, however, a stir-fry recipe using lean pork.

What the Experts Say About the Personality Type Diet

"At first glance, Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet looks like one more over-hyped, hokey weight loss plan," notes the July 2003 issue of the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter. "But the book actually explores practical methods that readers can use to restructure problematic eating and exercise habits tied to, well, their personalities."

The Tufts reviewers say that the book is one of the more responsible weight-loss plans. They hail its "common sense" advise, "divided up into small, doable steps."

The approach targets diet advice to people based on what they need the most help with and focuses strategies in three areas: eating, exercise, and coping with lots of realistic tips and tricks.

Tufts gives the book a five-out-of-five-stars "highly recommended" rating.

Kushner himself is a well-respected nutrition expert. However, neither he nor his co-author -- wife Nancy Kushner, RN, MSN -- is a clinical psychologist.

Food For Thought

Are you really interested in taking a look at your relationship with food -- and changing it? If so, the Personality Type Diet is an easy, fun, and useful place to start. But relationships, whether with food or loved ones, are hard to solve all by yourself. It may be helpful for you to consider exploring your food issues with a clinical psychologist.

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What the Experts Say About The Pritikin Principle

There seems to be little dispute that you will lose weight on the Pritikin diet or that it is generally a nutritionally rich diet low in calories. But there are caveats: "Because fat makes one feel full, the extremely low fat content of this diet will make those following it often feel hungry," says Teryl L. Tanaka, RD, the clinical nutritionmanager at the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center. Consequently, she adds, the likelihood is high of the weight returning after one stops strictly adhering to the diet.

James Hill, PhD, the director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, agrees that the diet is not practical for many people. While observing that people staying at the Pritikin Centers do really well losing weight, he asks: "How realistic is the diet once they get away from the centers and into the real world?"

Both the Pritikin diet and the nutritionally similar Ornish diet are extremely low in fat, Hill notes, down to 10% of total calories. "Yes, if we could do that we would all be healthier, but it is very hard to follow that formula in our environment," he cautions. "It's difficult to maintain such a low-fat content of our diets if you eat out often, and it takes time to prepare good,-tasting low-fat food. Most people do not have the time to spend hours each day preparing food."

Another problem, adds Tanaka, is that the low-fat content may actually be harmful to our health, "Pritikin also inhibits the intake and absorption of fat soluble vitamins, and can even limit the amount of essential fatty acids provided by the diet needed for normal cell function, healthy skin and tissue, growth, and development."

Food For Thought

What do most nutritionists and health authorities like about the diet? Its strict limit of animal products -- often associated with a variety of major diseases -- and that it incorporates exercise and stress reduction, along with overall low calorie intake. But this is qualified with a concern that the extremely low-fat regimen is difficult to stick with over the long haul.

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What You Can Eat on the Protein Power Diet continued...

The book's sample menus don't sound too temperate: Breakfast might be smoked salmon and a cream cheese omelet, one-half cup of fresh strawberries, a slice of light toast with butter, and coffee; for lunch, one-half avocado stuffed with chicken salad made with mayonnaise, served on a bed of fresh greens. Dinner might be a lean cut of meat, ten steamed asparagus spears, salad, one-half tomato, and a small glass of red wine if desired. Diet sodas and artificial sweeteners are permitted in moderation.

To round out nutritional needs, the authors recommend taking a high-quality vitamin-and-mineral supplement, along with at least 90 milligrams of potassium.

The book contains sample menus, more than 100 recipes, and suggestions on how to order in every kind of restaurant.

How Protein Power Works

Like the other low-carbohydrate diets, the Protein Power regimen is based on the idea that controlling the level of insulin, "the master hormone of humanmetabolism," helps regulate blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and fat storage. Researchers have long known that carbohydrates cause the body to produce insulin and that high levels of insulin inhibit the breakdown of fatty deposits in the body. In contrast, low intake of carbohydrates keeps insulin levels low, forcing the production of a counterbalancing hormone, glucagon, which seeks energy from the body's supply of stored fat. Therefore, one loses weight. Do this long enough and the fat seems to melt away, the authors claim, and they add that the usual "low-fat, high-carbohydrate approach won't do it; it has just the opposite effect."

If you are very overweight, the initial phase of the diet (when carbohydrates are severely restricted) will almost certainly put you in a state of ketosis, which happens when fat breaks down to the point where ketone bodies are produced and excreted in the urine. Ketones are incompletely burned fat, say the Eades, so that any ketones "you get rid of without actually using them for energy means you are ditching unwanted fat without having to actually burn it off."

Is ketosis dangerous, as some nutritional authorities would have you believe? Not at all, attest the authors. Ketones are the natural by-product of fat breakdown, normal and important sources of energy. To facilitate getting rid of these ketones, they urge you to increase your fluid intake by as much as 50%, to at least two quarts of water-based fluids a day.

As for exercise, the authors favor resistance-training, such as weight-lifting, because it stimulates the release of growth hormone more quickly than aerobic exercise. Why is this important? Because growth hormone shifts the metabolism to the preferential use of stored fat for energy.

What the Experts Say About the Protein Power Diet

Low-carbohydrate diets, which always mean high protein, usually draw a red flag from conventional nutritionists and medical experts. But since they do jump-start weight loss that you can see quickly, some say they have their place. "Fad dietsare OK for a quick start," notes Bonnie Brehm, PhD, assistant professor of nutritionat the University of Cincinnati's College of Allied Health Sciences in Cincinnati, Ohio. "Some people need to see that five-pound weight loss rather than just a single pound after a week of dieting." Brehm is conducting a study comparing a high protein diet with the low-fat diet recommended by the American Heart Association

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What Is the Protein Power Diet?

The popularity of low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets is not as high as it was years ago when Protein Power graced the New York Times best-seller list for over a year. However, low-carb, high-protein diets continue to offer weight loss options.

Written by a married couple of MDs, Michael R. and Mary Dan Eades, the book promises that you will "feel fit and boost your health -- in just weeks!" The cover includes praise from one of their diet-expert-author competitors, Barry Sears, author of The Zone, who calls their book nothing less than "The Nutritional Primer of the Nineties."

The Latest Diets

New diets and weight loss tricks pop up every month. Get the facts on how the new diets work and what's right.

• Atkins
• Best Life Diet
• Biggest Loser
• Cabbage Soup
• Hallelujah Diet
• Jenny Craig
• NutriSystem
• Ornish
• South Beach
• 3 Day Diet
• Weight Watchers
• Zone
• All Diets A-Z

Related to diet and weight loss

Alli, apple cider vinegar, low carb diet,high protien diet, weight loss,metabolism, Mediterranean diet, diet pills, trans fat, BMI calculator, detox diet, diabetes diet, Body for Life

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

What sets Protein Power apart is the wealth of historical information about low-carbohydrate diets and how these have influenced dieters galore, ever since William Banting wrote his Letter on Corpulence in the mid 1800s. The Eades also provide scientific explanations for the functions of insulin and glucagons, the major hormones involved in the food-to-fuel process, along with plenty of encouragement and practical suggestions, such as what to order in a French restaurant or fast food joint.

What You Can Eat on the Protein Power Diet

Those of you who crave steak, eggs, and cheese will have a great time on the Protein Power diet. Vegetarians will not, because tofu is the main source of protein allowed non-meat eaters. And as even the most dedicated know, tofu three times a day can get tiresome.

To determine your daily protein quotient, the authors take you through a series of steps and measurements to determine your body fat and lean body mass, as well as ask you to assess your physical activity level.

You may choose your protein from fish, poultry, red meat, low-fat cheese (cottage cheese, feta, mozzarella, Muenster), eggs, and tofu. If you want to lose a lot of fat (the authors don't say you lose weight, but fat instead) or correct a health problem, you can add only 30 grams of carbohydrate, or less, divided throughout the day. If your need to lose is not so great, you can up that quota to 55 grams per day. Favorite low-carb foods? Lists of low-carb fruits and vegetables are given to make your life easier. These include leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, green beans, asparagus, celery, cucumber, mushrooms, and a surprise fruit that rarely makes the diet sweepstakes: avocado, high in fat, but low in carbs.

Add in 25 grams of fiber (you can subtract the fiber grams from the carbohydrate grams in commercially processed foods, which gives you more carbs to play with), and healthy fats: olive and nut oils, avocado, and butter. Drink at least eight glasses of water per day. And a glass of wine or a light beer is OK, but their carbs count, too.

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What the Experts Say About the Protein Power Diet continued...

"In the short term, the low-carb diets are effective -- we see weight loss, improvement in some metabolic functions such as blood pressure, loss of body fat, but their real hazard is that they are nutritionally poor," she says. "They are low in calcium, low in vitamins C and A, low in fiber. We don't know if taking a vitamin-mineral supplement is adequate. There are a lot of micronutrients in foods that are not in supplements, including some we don't even know about yet. We do not have any long-term studies on these alternative diets with the extreme modifications of a nutritionally balanced diet."

Susan B. Roberts, PhD, a professor of nutrition and psychiatry at Tufts University in Boston, Ma., and co-author of Feeding Your Child for Lifelong Health, does not recommend the diet because there is no good evidence that low-carbohydrate diets work any more effectively than conventional ones. Furthermore, she says, "Because they cut back on foods that have multiple health benefits, they may reduce health in the long term."

Roberts notes that the Protein Power regimen may work for many, but the reason is different from the theory put forth in the book. It simply may be the lack of variety that works to reduce overall calorie intake. "Protein Power and most other popular diet books substantially reduce the variety of foods you are allowed to eat -- and variety itself is a major promoter of overeating," she says.

Food For Thought

As with any of the currently popular low-carbohydrate and high-protein diets, the Protein Power plan yields weight loss on the short term. However, the established nutritional community warns that these eating plans can be seriously deficient in important nutrients. While this plan does offer a range of sample diets and menus, it requires a reduction in the variety of foods that one can eat, which may be difficult to sustain over the long term.

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What Is a Raw Food Diet?

Depending on the source, a raw food diet is either a path to perfect health or to serious undernourishment. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Devotees insist that a diet consisting mainly of uncooked, unprocessed plant foods leads to a leaner body, clearer skin, and higher energy. They also believe it cuts the risk of disease.

But what exactly is a raw food diet? Is following a raw food diet healthy? Can anyone become a raw foodist? Read on for some answers.

The Latest Diets

New diets and weight loss tricks pop up every month. Get the facts on how the new diets work and what's right.

• Atkins
• Best Life Diet
• Biggest Loser
• Cabbage Soup
• Hallelujah Diet
• Jenny Craig
• NutriSystem
• Ornish
• South Beach
• 3 Day Diet
• Weight Watchers
• Zone
• All Diets A-Z

Related to diet and weight loss

Alli, apple cider vinegar, low carb diet,high protien diet, weight loss,metabolism, Mediterranean diet, diet pills, trans fat, BMI calculator, detox diet, diabetes diet, Body for Life

© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

What Is a Raw Food Diet?

The fundamental principle behind raw foodism, also sometimes called rawism, is that plant foods in their most natural state – uncooked and unprocessed – are also the most wholesome for the body. The raw food diet is a lifestyle choice. It is not a weight loss plan. 

Sticking to a raw food diet isn’t easy. Most raw foodists spend a lot of time in the kitchen peeling, chopping, straining, blending, and dehydrating. That's because the diet is typically made up of 75% fruits and vegetables. Staples of the raw food diet include:

• seaweed
• sprouts
• sprouted seeds
• whole grains
• beans
• dried fruits
• nuts

Alcohol, refined sugars, and caffeine are taboo.

Most raw foodists are raw food vegans, who eat no animal products, but some do eat raw eggs and cheese made from raw or unpasteurized milk.

How Do Raw Foodists Prepare Meals?

Raw foodists do not cook using a traditional stove or oven. They use food dehydrators that lend crunch to vegetables and cookies. Food dehydrators also dry out fruits for fruit leather and other raw food recipes.

Try surfing the Internet for raw food recipe ideas. Web sites, including recipezaar.com, welikeitraw.com, and living-foods.com, all have collections of raw food recipes.

The dehydrator works with heat, but temperatures cannot be higher than 115 to 118 degrees. Raw foodists believe high heat leaches enzymes and vitamins critical for proper digestion. The American Dietetic Association challenges this assertion. It says the body -- not what goes in it -- produces the enzymes necessary for digestion. The ADA also says cooking food below 118 degrees may not kill harmful, food-borne bacteria.

Raw vs. Cooked

Medical literature on the raw food diet is scant. Research tends to focus vegetarianism and veganism and the health benefits of a plant-based diet, among them lower cholesterol and better glucose levels.

A few studies do appear to back up the belief that cooking vegetables tends to kill important nutrients.

One showed that eating raw, cruciferous vegetables (such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale) may reduce the risk of bladder cancer. Researchers noted that cooking cruciferous vegetables robs them of their isothiocyanates, agents that alter proteins in cancer cells. They found that even a few helpings a month of raw crucifers seems to lower the risk.

Another study that reviewed findings of about 50 medical studies on the raw versus cooked debate showed that eating raw vegetables helps reduce the risk of oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, esophageal, and gastric cancers.

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