Raw food is catching on in Bengaluru. Among those experimenting, some eat raw all through the day, while others include it in some meals. A majority see it as a means to reduce weight.

Being a food consultant and founder of 'Arha - Natural Essentials', Neetha Bhoopalam, tries to include  the raw food diet in some of the meals during the week. She explains, "The whole idea of raw foods is to consume uncooked and unprocessed foods. It's to preserve the nutrition  without adding artificial flavours or additives to it. It's even become a big revolution now since it's easy to digest and  offers several health benefits."

You can choose raw  organic foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, sea vegetables, honey and so on. These items are known to provide more dietary fibres, clear your skin, treat constipation, heart diseases and hormonal imbalance.  

However,  choosing wrongly produced raw foods can be dangerous. When one chooses to go on a raw food diet, organic vegetables are a better choice as they will be chemical and pesticide-free. If possible, pick them up from your own garden!  

Nutritionist Ryan Fernando from 'Qua Nutrition' suggests that raw food diet  is a good way to stay healthy as long as you balance it with the right principles and components of the diet. "The advantage of raw food diets is that it provides the 'rainbow colours' of food which many of us lack otherwise. So, instead of having all your meals with raw foods, maybe a snack or two and a meal a day is ideal," he explains.  

The raw food  is known to have  helped people lose weight and stay hydrated as the items have higher water content. The high nutrient and protein value is also an added advantage. However, this diet is not recommended for those who have irritable bowel syndrome,  piles and haemorrhoids.  

While it may seem like this fad is not too difficult to follow, getting the right ingredients  is the main challenge. Ryan says, "Let's take lettuce for example. You pick it up from the market and wash it like you normally would. But  doing a final rinse with filtered water is your way of monitoring the cleanliness of it. Whereas, if you are to go to a restaurant and have a salad, most  of the fruits and vegetables served are not washed properly. As I have worked in the food industry before, this is something I can point out confidently."

So how practical is it for one to go on a raw food diet? "It's not impossible but it requires discipline and good planning. You will have to carry a fruit peeler and vegetable knife as the whole point of the diet is to have food that is fresh and not something that is cut into pieces a few hours ago," adds Ryan.