The Anthropological Reason Raw Diets Are Stupid

For some ungodly reason, one diet that’s become trendy in the last few years is the “raw diet.” According to Healthline, the classic raw food diet has to follow a couple of main rules, most notably: The food can never have been heated over 104 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The supposed benefits feel overwhelmingly vibe-based — with vaguely positive promises like “gut health” and “fighting disease.” Or, if you want to follow the direct claims of the guy who invented it in the famously medically educated 1800s, that it can cure your jaundice. It, of course, also often promises weight loss, since modern humans would rather eat only foods off a weird dietary bingo card in an attempt to lose five pounds than admit that there’s nothing more at play other than caloric intake, boring old math and basic thermodynamics.

The thing is, even we exclude taste and possible parasitic infection from the equation entirely, there’s still an incredibly important argument to be made for the importance of cooking. One so significant that it directly contributed to the development of our civilization. 

In fact, biological anthropologist Dr. Richard Wrangham makes the case that ancient human ancestors’ development and preference for cooked foods is part of the reason we're not monkeys anymore. This is because, in direct opposition to what some trichinosis-addled TikToker might tell you, cooking actually aids in absorption and digestion of the food you’re eating. That ease of both consumption and digestion means that you’re getting more calories from the food you eat, reducing the sheer mass of foodstuffs you have to force down. 

This, he hypothesizes, allowed human forebears to suddenly have access to much more energy in a day than animals, giving them the fuel to build huts, etc.

All of which is to say, despite raw diet evangelists’ claims, your body actually absorbs less nutrients from the raw food that you eat. For example, he cites a study from Belgium on eggs, one of the more popular raw diet inclusions (thanks, Rocky). Eggs are prized for their protein content, and the belief seems to be that throwing back pure, cold yolk should provide it to your body, not your frying pan. The results, though, showed that with cooked eggs, 94 percent of the protein was digested. Raw eggs, on the other hand, provided roughly half of that.

So why do people continue to insist there’s benefits to a raw diet when it provides less energy, less nutrients and is an absolute day-to-day nightmare that brings zero joy? Probably because they need something to talk about at parties, and a reason to believe that life is more mysterious than it seems. 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but most things are exactly as they appear. If you need a scientifically wonky theory to spice up your life, try aliens. That one still lets you go to barbecues.