Raw diets are gaining popularity due to their reputation for providing radiant health and reversing many common ailments. People adopt raw diets to lose weight, for ethical reasons, or because fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds are nutrition powerhouses. Becoming Raw will help you design a raw or mainly raw vegan diet that is nutritionally safe and adequate and is optimal-nourishing your body, mind, and soul. It offers sound nutrition guidelines based on current research from peer-reviewed medical literature and includes simple, delicious recipes along with sample menus to get you started. Nutrition experts and registered dietitians Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina explain how you can meet your recommended intake for every nutrient with an entirely or mainly raw vegan diet. They provide science-based answers to the tough questions surrounding raw vegan diets: Can you get enough protein by eating mainly fruit? 12, iron, and calcium? Do enzymes in raw foods really contribute to human health? Can cancer and other chronic diseases be prevented by eating a raw vegan diet? You'll learn whether cooking truly destroys nutrients, is necessary for food safety, or removes "antinutrients." Plus, for the first time anywhere, vegetarian historian Rynn Berry presents a coherent, objective narrative tracing the history of the raw-food movement in the United States. Book jacket.