By Dr. Bob McCauley
Quora Question:
Is a raw vegan diet better than a vegan and vegetarian diet?
My Response:
The biggest myth that has been perpetuated through the centuries and remains well established to this day is that a diet comprised mostly of cooked foods is healthy. 99% of the population will tell you that some amount of cooked foods is required for us to be healthy, but they are wrong. We’re also misinformed that many foods require cooking to release their nutrients. Cooking can increase the potency, character and effectiveness of certain nutrients. However, any gain we may get by increasing the bioavailability of certain nutrients in the food will be more than offset by the destruction of its all-important enzymes and thus its rejuvenative powers.
Cooking any food transforms it from an alkaline to an acid substance. Lycopene, an immune booster found in tomatoes, is a perfect example of this. Lycopene is found in greater concentration after heating tomatoes above 120°F. But the overall detriment to the tomato is not worth the extra lycopene the body may absorb from it. Also, the smaller amount of lycopene will be absorbed more efficiently by the body from a raw tomato than the larger amount of lycopene found in the cooked tomato. This is essentially true of any food once it has been cooked.
When we eat cooked foods, the body reacts to them as it would to any foreign invader such as a virus, poison or bacterial infection by producing white blood cells called leukocytes, which are meant to attack and destroy any invader. Studies on this phenomenon, which is known as digestive leukocytosis, were done in Switzerland in 1930.[i] White blood cell production is an immune response that also occurs in the body due to poisoning, trauma or infection. Highly processed, homogenized, pasteurized foods or those with chemical preservatives produced the strongest reaction by the body, i.e. the highest production of white blood cells.
The reason the body reacts this way is that since cooked foods are dead, the body does not recognize them because they are lacking enzymes and their natural chemical structure has been altered beyond recognition by heat. This effect was renamed pathological leukocytosis because of the way the body reacts to highly denatured, chemically altered foods. Pathological refers to disease because the production of white blood cells is one of the body’s reactions to invaders or conditions that may lead to disease. Digestive leukocytosis did not occur at all in test subjects who ate raw foods, which were labeled “friendly foods” by the researchers. This reaction happens only when we consume substances that simply don’t belong in the body. This is one of the reasons why eating cooked foods drains our energy. It is direct evidence that the body recognizes cooked foods as toxins or an infection that must be attacked and eradicated before they do damage to the body.
[i] Research was conducted at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry in Lausanne, Switzerland under the direction of Dr. Paul Kouchakoff.
Dr. Bob’s Blog is not intended as medical advice. The writings and statements on this website have not reviewed and/or approved by the FDA. Our products are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Rather they are meant to demonstrate that aging can be slowed and even reversed and that Great Health achieved when the most fundamental nutritional needs of the human body are met. Always consult a medical doctor or other medical professional when you consider it necessary.
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About Bob McCauley
Bob McCauley, ND (Robert F., Jr.) was raised in Lansing, Michigan and attended Michigan State University (BA, 1980 in Journalism). He is a naturopathic doctor, Master Herbalist and a Certified Nutritional Consultant. He has traveled extensively, both domestically and abroad, visiting over 32 countries. He published Confessions of a Body Builder: Rejuvenating the Body with Spirulina, Chlorella, Raw Foods and Ionized Water (2000), Achieving Great Health (2005), The Miraculous Properties of Ionized Water, (2006) which is the only book on the market that exclusively addresses Ionized Water, Twelve (Fiction, 2007) and Honoring the Temple of God (2008). He considers himself a Naturalist, meaning he pursues health in the most natural way possible. He studies and promotes nature as the only way to true health.
From 2002-2004 he hosted the radio program Achieving Great Health, which was heard by thousands of people each day. His guests included some of the most well-known and respected names in the natural health world.
With the help of his father, Dr. Robert F. McCauley, Sr. (Doctorate in Environmental Engineering, MIT, 1953) they started Spartan Water Company in 1992, which sold vended water machines in supermarkets. Robert Jr. founded Spartan Enterprises, Inc. in 1993. He is a Certified Water Technician with the State of Michigan. He is also a Type II Public Water Supply Specialist and has the certifications of S-5 and D-5. The McCauley family has a long history in the water industry. Bob's father pioneered environmental issues regarding ground water and drinking water quality. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1953 for his thesis on removing radioactive strontium from water. He earned his doctorate in Environmental Engineering in less than 2 years, one of the shortest doctoral studies in the history of MIT. He taught civil, sanitary and environmental engineering at Michigan State University for 18 years before retiring to run Wolverine Engineers & Surveyors of Mason, Michigan, for 17 years. His reputation throughout Michigan as a water quality expert was legendary. Bob worked for his father's company for 12 years learning the water business, which dealt primarily with municipalities, including water quality and sanitary sewer issues.
After apprenticing with his father, Bob moved on to the bottled water business. He established greater Michigan's biggest selling bottled water: Michigan Mineral – Premium Natural Water. He was introduced to Ionized Water in 1995 and has done more to promote Ionized Water than anyone else in the industry. Bob often lectures and offers seminars on his Seven Component Natural Health Protocol .
Bob is a Certified Nutritional Consultant and a Certified Master Herbalist. He is also a 3rd Degree Black Belt and Certified Instructor of Songahm Taekwondo (American Taekwondo Association).
