The Pros and Cons of 4 Trendy Diets (Page 6)

3. Raw Food Diet

Demi Moore, Amanda Seyfried and Uma Thurman are all supposed celeb fans of this diet.

A raw-food diet is just that—you eat raw food. Your food can’t be cooked above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. So you’re eating mostly raw and dehydrated fruits and vegetables and things like smoothies and cold soups that you prepare without heat.

Some raw foodists drink unpasteurized milk and eat cheese made from raw milk, as well as eating raw fish and meats. The big thing to note here is that this can be risky; these foods can carry foodborne-illness bacteria.

There are a small number of studies that suggest there may be some health benefits to a raw-food diet, though: in one study, raw foodists had lower levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.

Next: What’s Missing From the Raw Food Diet? »