Vegan vs Raw Vegan

Just throwing this discussion out there out of curiousity, and also what you guys things about Vegan versus Raw Vegan.

Are their many Raw Veganists body builders out there? or are they mostly just Vegan.

Does it impact much on a bodybuilders' lifestyle?

Personally I'm just going to try stay Vegan as I'm still pretty new to it, and later on down the track I may flirt a bit with the idea of going Raw.

http://veganbodybuilding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28151&hilit=raw+vegan

To re-quote what I posted over there:

Raw veganism is a subset of regular veganism. Regular vegans do not eat anything that came from an animal. That includes all meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and usually even honey. Raw vegans only eat foods that have been uncooked, or cooked to less than 115 degrees. This means mostly fruits and veggies, with some nuts and seeds thrown in.

Personally I think the most important thing is to look at why you are changing your lifestyle. If you are doing it for purely health reasons, then my best advice is to eat as many whole foods as possible, raw or not. Also make sure you get a lot of sun for Vitamin D intake, as well as a B-12 supplement. Drinking or eating a fortified food like soy milk can also help you get everything you need.

Many raw foodists (and some vegans too!) are quite fanatical about their lifestyle, saying things like, "raw food is the only way to be healthy," or, "you will only have success on a high-carb raw diet." Please be wary of someone who says that THEIR way is the ONLY way. Many diets are quite healthy if done right, and it is just as important to pick a lifestyle that you enjoy and can stick with. So, ask any questions you have, do your own research on the subject, and try to only listen to people who have hard research to back up their claims.

If you are interested in the nutrition and health aspects of veganism and raw food diets, I recommend Becoming Raw. It is well-researched and does not make any claims that it cannot back up with scientific studies. The Amazon link is: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Raw-Essential-Guide-Vegan/dp/1570672385

The word "vegan" was coined in the 1940s to refer to people who have the ethical belief that it is wrong to exploit animals ( use for our own reasons only ).

Thus, one can eat a 100% plant based diet without being a vegan.

Raw foodism started in the late 19th century as an alternative health kick. While some raw foodists are also vegans the two sets of things don't logically have anything to do with each other.

Raw foodists that food prepared below a certain temperature have beneficial things to human health that cooked foods do not.

The only book that looks at the facts (scientific evidence ) around this idea is "Becoming Raw".

Most of the scientific evidence seems to indicate that the benefits of raw foodism, if any, are really the benefits of cutting out junk and increasing produce consumption.