Nutritional Intake and Biomarker Status in Strict Raw Food Eaters

Abstract

Following a strict raw food diet (primarily based on fresh fruit and raw vegetables, waiving any consumption of heated or processed food) has the risk of undersupply of energy and certain macro- and micronutrients. In this cross-sectional study, we compared 16 non-smoking strict raw food eaters (5 women and 11 men, age 44.6 ± 12.3 years, duration of following the diet 11.6 ± 10.8 years) with the non-smoking participants (32 vegans, 27 omnivores) of the “Risk and Benefits of a Vegan Diet” (RBVD) study. We investigated body composition, dietary intake from 3-day weighed food records, and relevant fasting blood and serum parameters. Food choice and dietary behavior were very heterogenic in raw food eaters. They had lower mean values of BMI and percentage of body fat than the respective RBVD participants. The same holds true for energy supply and intakes of protein, carbohydrate, calcium and iodine. Serum levels revealed lower levels of HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, zinc, and vitamin D3. The raw food eaters with (n = 9) and without (n = 7) supplementation of vitamin B12 had median vitamin B12 levels of 399 and 152 ng/L, respectively. Accordingly, eight raw food eaters (50%) had homocysteine levels above 12 µmol/L. The study allows a close look at strict raw food eaters with respect to possible dietary deficiencies, but also provides insights into motivations and daily life.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of iodine nutrition in modern vegan and vegetarian diets

“…But, none of the included studies recorded estimates above the adequate range for all dietary groups (33,34,49,50,(52)(53)(54)(55)57) . Equally, iodine inadequacy was reported in 75% (9/12) of the cohorts assessed (33,34,49,50,(52)(53)(54)(55)57) . The global scorecard population monitoring uses the WHO recommendation of median UIC from school-aged children (SAC) or women of childbearing age as a proxy for assessing adequate iodine intake on a national level (20) .…”

“…Vegans and vegetarians had significantly lower habitual iodine intake compared to pescatarians in one study (53) . Raw food eaters were recorded to have significantly lower iodine intake than vegans and omnivores (49) .…”

“…Vegans (n = 29) were most likely to consume seaweed as part of their diet. Seaweed intake was also reported in strict raw food eaters (n = 1), vegetarians (n = 8), pescatarians (n = 4), and omnivores (n = 2) (34,49,53,57) .…”

“…Dietary iodine intakes were recorded in 9 studies and included 678 participants (strict raw; 16, vegan; 280, vegetarian; 117, pescatarian; 35, omnivore; 230; Table 4; Figure 3) (33,34,49,50,(52)(53)(54)(55)57) . All studies evaluated iodine intake between vegans and one or more dietary groups (33,34,49,50,(52)(53)(54)(55)57) . Most studies reported mixed gender estimates of dietary iodine.…”

“…Sixty-seven percent of studies (6/9) were conducted in countries considered 'adequate' according to national data from the Global scorecard of iodine nutrition (2021) (20,33,34,52,54,55,57) . Food diaries >3 days (44%, 4/9) and FFQs (44%, 4/9) were the most commonly used dietary method to measure iodine intake (33,34,49,50,54) . Other dietary methods included 24h food recalls (33%, 3/9) (52,53,57) .…”