Is the Raw Diet Worth All the Hype?

What is the Raw Food Diet?
It is exactly what it says. People who support such a diet eat only raw food which is often organic. They tend to be vegan or vegetarians who eat raw (unpasteurized) cheese and raw eggs. Some do eat raw fish (sashimi) and raw meat (carpaccio). The diet includes fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts. Grains, oils, coffee, alcohol, sugar are no-nos. If someone eats 75% raw they are considered to be a raw foodist. The idea is that by keeping the food raw all the enzymes and nutrients stay intact and therefore the food is healthier for you. The diet claims not only weight loss but also helps recovery and prevention of chronic disease and greater vitality.
Is it a healthy diet?
Health concerns to watch out for include calcium deficiencies, anemia, vitamin B deficiencies, lack of essential fatty acids and vitamin D deficiencies. That's a lot of health concerns! No healthy diet should have any health concern.
I do agree that eating raw food equals healthier bodies but I think the raw food diet is to an extreme. I think cooked meats and fish are healthy as well. Medium-rare meats hold more nutrients than well-done meats. I also think olive oil is excellent to cook with. Olive oil is ideal for frying. In proper temperature conditions, without over-heating, it undergoes no substantial structural change and keeps its nutritional value better than other oils, not only because of the antioxidants but also due to its high levels of oleic acid. Its high smoking point (210ºC) is substantially higher than the ideal temperature for frying food (180ºC). Those fats with lower critical points, such as corn and butter, break down at this temperature and form toxic products. This less extreme diet is coined as the Paleolithic Diet.
But I also disagree with the Paleolithic Diet on the intake of fruit if you are trying to lose weight. Fructose, fruit sugar, is absorbed slower into the body than glucose, table sugar, because of the fruit fiber that is eaten with it. However, fruit is loaded calories, which can put on the pounds. So if your goal is weight loss it's better to stay away from the fruit, especially, dried fruit and juices because they will definitely spike the blood sugar.