5 of the best raw food buys

You often hear health experts and nutritionists talking about ‘raw’ products, but what does this actually mean? Laura Wilson, a nutritionist and author of The Alkaline 5 Diet explains: ‘Raw food usually refers to uncooked, plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, sprouted grains and oils. Raw food can be as simple as eating ‘mono-meals’ of fruit – such as a plate of six oranges or five mangoes, or a few pounds of strawberries or blueberries. Or it can be as complicated and fancy as a raw cacao torte and whipped cashew cream, or a spinach, tomato and mushroom quiche.’

So why are they so great?

‘By not cooking our plant-based foods and having them raw in the form of green smoothies, big salads and meals of ripe fruits, we are retaining all of the nutrients, instead of losing up to 80% of the vitamins and minerals, which happens during the cooking process,’ explains Laura. ‘The high level of antioxidants and live enzymes in raw food makes it great for beautifying your skin, improving your energy levels, reducing cellulite, and it’s great for fat loss and disease prevention.’

Laura maintains that, as an athlete who has run countless marathons as well as a 32-mile ultra-marathon, her ‘secret weapon’ of eating raw food that has helped her with endurance and recovery, as well as remaining youthful. ‘Many people are becoming more health-conscious and they are taking notice of the evidence, which says that vegan and vegetarian diets are the healthiest diets for us to eat, especially with a raw food element in them.’

Well, now that’s cleared up we’ve tracked down the best raw buys currently on the market. You can thank us later…