It was a time that I thought that eating raw was the gold stallion.
No stove, no microwave, not to “kill nutrients”. Just nature, as planned.
I filled my kitchen with spiralized and dehydrators, I filled my refrigerator with germinated seeds and brownies for a raw appointment, and I convinced myself that it was the purest way to eat.
But ultimately, something felt … off.
Despite my best intentions, I did not feel the energy boost I expected. My digestion was a bit slow. And socially, it was insulating – unrolling looked like an obstacle course, and I noticed a crawling feeling of perfectionism around food that was not entirely healthy.
It is not a successful play on raw veganism. For some people, it works beautifully. But for many of us, the pursuit of the “cleanest” version of plant -based diet can become more on control than food.
Let’s talk about what is often overlooked in the conversation on the perfection of raw foods.
Cooking is not the enemy of nutrition
There is a lot of fear around heat and nutrients.
But the truth is that cooking is not only a question of flavor or convenience – it can really improve the availability of certain nutrients.
As English noted Whitney Diedictian Whitney, “cooking increases the bioavailability of Lycopene, an antioxidant linked to heart health and cancer prevention”. It’s true – Your sauce on Sunday could do more for you than this cold cherry tomato salad.
The same goes for beta-carotene in carrots and sweet potatoes, and even some antioxidants in mushrooms. The heat breaks down the hard cell walls that our body cannot digest otherwise.
Yes, a certain vitamin C is lost when food is cooked. But the compromise is worth it, especially if you consider how easier it is to absorb the nutrients that remain.
In addition, cooked foods tend to be more satisfactory longer, especially when it includes fiber -rich legumes or whole grains that benefit from heat to become digestible.
Intestinal health is more a matter of diversity than dogma
One of the most interesting quarters I noticed when I supported myself on my raw diet was in my digestion.
It’s actually better.
I stopped feeling inflated after each meal. I had more regularity, less discomfort. And it turns out that it is not uncommon.
As the microbiome researcher said, Dr. Rob Knight, “The key to a healthy intestine is not only fibers – it’s variety.” This means including a wide range of plant foods: cooked, raw, fermented, mixed, even frozen.
Wind food is rich in enzymes, of course. But our bodies also make enzymes. And all raw foods are not easy for the intestine – think of cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower or cabbage, which can be inductor of gas for many when they are eaten not cooked.
The addition of certain slightly cooked or steamed options can balance things without compromising the advantages.
I also started to add more fermented foods – such as the templeh, sauerkraut and miso – which added a whole new layer of microbial support to my intestine without needing to be raw.
Sometimes “pure” consumption masks a deeper problem
I’m going to be honest – part of what attracted me to raw food was not just health benefits.
It was the feeling of discipline that it gave me. The structure. Identity.
And although the structure can be useful, it can also become rigid. For me, this rigidity began to look like a food anxiety. I refused the invitations to dinner because I could not control the menu. I judged my own desires. I feared cooked grains.
This is something that dietitists now call orthorexia – an unhealthy obsession to eat “clean”.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, orthorexia It is not only a question of food – it is the emotional distress linked to eating something perceived as “imperfect”.
If food choices are starting to look more like moral decisions than nutritional decisions, it may be time to check with ourselves.
Food should make us feel nourished, not anxious.
And here is the thing – mental stress around food can actually have an impact on digestion and absorption of nutrients. So, even if your plate looks perfect, your body may not harvest all the advantages if you eat in a state of tension or fear.
Our ancestors were not just fed – they cooked
The idea that RAW is equal to “natural” and cooked is equal to “treated” is a little misleading.
Yes, raw foods are closer to the earth in some respects. But our ancestors used fire not only for heat, but for digestion.
Cooking was a survival strategy. He made the roots and the tubers safer to eat. He softens grains and legumes. It was a way to keep energy – our bodies did not have to work so hard to extract calories.
Anthropologist Richard Wrangham, in his book Take fire: how cooking made us humanEven maintains that cooking has played a role in our evolutionary development by allowing our brain to develop.
Thus, although raw foods can be absolutely healthy, cooked foods are not a modern betrayal of nature. This is part of the way we adapted and prospered.
In one way or another, fire has become a villain in the culture of modern well-being. But maybe it’s time to get it.
There is no “sense” to make a right -based right
One of the things that kept me stuck in the perfectionism of raw foods was the illusion that I had finally “understood”.
That this way of eating was the right way.
But over time, I realized that health was not a fixed formula. It’s responsive. This changes with your age, stress level, environment. This even changes with the seasons.
In summer, a cold raw salad could be incredible. In winter? My body wants something hot and earthing.
Flexibility to adapt – listen and respond rather than dictate – is not a failure. It is wisdom.
As the integrative nutritionist Ali Shapiro noted, “health is not a question of will – it is a question of developing a deeper relationship with the comments of your body”.
Who marked with me. Because when we listen, instead of prescribing, we start to find a way to eat that is really durable.
Perfection does not mean eating the same way forever. This means evolving with what our body asks us.
The community has more than purity
Something else I learned: food is not only personal. It’s relational.
When my meals became too “perfect”, I found myself eating alone alone.
Jumping brunch with friends because nothing on the menu seemed “clean” enough. Avoid holidays due to “unclean oil” in the family’s recipe.
It was insulating.
And although it is great to have limits and preferences, they should not disconnect us from the people who interest us.
Food is culture. Connection. This is the way we celebrate, mow and we bring together.
You don’t have to eat like everyone else to reach the table, but if your rules keep you from the table, it’s something to think about.
Health understands joy. And joy is often in the company.
The balance is less exciting, but much more liberating
Let’s be honest – The extremes are attractive.
It is tempting to believe that doing 100% gross, or 100% anything, will unlock higher level health.
But in reality, most of us do better in disorder.
A raw smoothie here, a hot lens stew there. Some days we want to bite, others, we need comfort.
This kind of flexible plant food does not make large flashy titles. But that makes a founded life.
And isn’t that what we are really looking for? A lifestyle that energizes us, connects us and makes room for both nutrition and pleasure?
When we stop hunting “perfect”, we finally have room for what is real.
And it is, for me, the most nourishing thing of all.