How To Avoid Nutrient Deficiencies on a Raw Food Diet

You’ve heard that the raw food diet is supposed to be the healthiest, most nutritious diet there is. And yet I’m sure you’ve also heard that a strict raw food diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies over time. Well, which is it? The good news is that protein, calcium and iron are not generally concerns on the raw food diet. But is there anything else you should watch out for?

Let me start by saying that you do not need to take lots of expensive supplements and superfoods to avoid nutritional deficiencies on a raw food diet as long as you approach your eating with common sense and plan your diet properly. Many raw food “experts” will try to sell you on “must-have” health products, but remember that much of the health information out there is actually ad copy for supplements, superfoods, exercise equipment and all sorts of detox cleanses, parasite removers and “diet systems”. While some superfoods might help you transition or address a certain nutrient need, you probably do not need any of these products if you are healthy and you certainly do not need them if you are eating a healthy raw food diet.

Avoid Deficiencies by Getting Enough Calories

The most important thing you can do to avoid nutrient deficiencies is to get enough calories every day. Calories provide the energy your body needs to survive and thrive. Not eating enough calories will ultimately cause you to fail on raw foods. This was something I struggled with when I started eating raw.

Raw fruits and vegetables are not calorie-dense so I often misjudged the amount of calories that I ate in a day. I thought that I ate enough because I felt full, but in reality, I was 600 calories or more shy of what my body needed. I felt tired and my workouts suffered. It wasn’t until I began tracking my food intake that I realized what I was doing to my body. Once I knew how much food I actually needed to eat, my energy came back and I began to thrive again.

Calorie deficiencies not only set you up for failure on a raw food diet, but they also set you up for nutritional deficiencies in B-vitamins and most minerals. When you hit your calorie target, you will also likely hit your vitamin, mineral, protein, carbohydrate and fat targets as well. Fall below your calorie target and you will fall below your other nutrient targets.

The reason for this is that nature provides raw foods in perfect packages with the exact amount of nutrients you need in the amounts you need them at each meal – but you need to eat the proper amount of food. When you avoid calorie-dense processed foods typical of the Standard American Diet (SAD), you have to eat more fresh, raw foods than you are used to. This is not overeating. It’s eating the amount of food that nature intended you to eat.

Eat Lots of Organic Fruits and Vegetables

A healthy raw food diet is based on generous amounts of organic sweet fruit with a good amount of organic non-sweet fruit (cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers) and organic leafy greens (about 2 bunches each day). Fats like nuts, seeds and avocados should make up a small portion of your daily calories. It’s hard to believe until you track the nutrients in what you eat, but fresh, organic, ripe fruits and vegetables with some leafy greens will provide most of the vitamins, minerals, protein, fat and carbohydrates that you need to stay healthy, fit and thrive on the raw food diet.

A high-fat (gourmet) raw food diet is not optimal in the long term because by eating 60-80% of your daily calories from fats like nuts, seeds, avocados and coconuts, you are going against your body’s physiology and setting yourself up for failure. Ever wonder why so many people struggle on the raw food diet or feel they need copious amounts of powdered superfoods and supplements? I’ve seen many raw foodists return to cooked food or animal products because their high-fat diet is causing health problems.

No amount of superfoods or supplements will save a poor diet, even a heavily processed, fat-laden uncooked one. Eat fruits and vegetables for your health and indulge in raw gourmet creations on occasion.

Nutrients You Don’t Need To Worry About

A well planned, low fat raw vegan diet based on sweet fruit and vegetables (including leafy greens) that meets your daily calorie requirements will provide ample amounts of vitamins A (as beta-carotene), B-complex (except for B12), C, E and K. You will also not likely need to worry about most minerals. That includes calcium, iron (for men), copper, magnesium, manganese, etc…

You certainly do not need a daily multivitamin as a nutritional “insurance policy” unless your diet is severely restricted.

Nutrients You Do Need To Worry About

Vitamin B12

For raw food vegans, you do need to consider taking a vitamin B12 supplement. There is a lot of controversy and misinformation online about this essential nutrient that is typically found in animal-sourced products. Scientific research consistently shows that plant-sourced B12 is not bio-available to humans and therefore cannot be relied on. The analog forms of this vitamin that these plant sources contain can actually interfere with absorption of usable vitamin B12 in the body. Eating unwashed organic produce or relying on your own gut bacteria to produce enough B12 is equally a bad idea.

Studies consistently show that vegans who do not supplement with vitamin B12 are at risk for deficiency. Granted, these studies are typically conducted on cooked food vegans, there is no reason yet to assume that a raw food vegan is less likely to be deficient than a cooked food vegan.

Your body is able to store vitamin B12 for long periods of time, so even if you have been vegan for a while, you might not show any signs of deficiency. If you do not wish to supplement, it is important to get your blood checked every now and then for B12 levels. Don’t assume that you are fine just because you don’t have any deficiency symptoms. B12 deficiency can lead to severe and irreversible damage to your body.

Now I’m not trying to scare you into a supplement, but there is good news for raw vegans who do want to be at peace about this vitamin. Garden of Life makes a raw B12 (in their Vitamin Code product line) which I currently take. The vegetarian gel capsules are easily opened and I pour the powder into water or a fresh juice. Each capsule contains more than 16,000% RDA of vitamin B12 so I only take it about once per week. The price is great too at less than $15 for a bottle with 30 capsules!

Vitamin D

Vitamin D might be a concern depending on a variety of factors. For a light-skinned person, 15-30 minutes of full sun exposure on the face and arms each day will typically be enough to produce enough Vitamin D. If you wear sunblock block, have darker skin, spend most of your time indoors or live in an area where long winters prevents you from getting sun exposure, among other factors, you might need to supplement.

Humans were meant to live in warm climates and get vitamin D from the sun. As a vegan, your best bet is to take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months. Vegans should be aware that there are two types of vitamin D. D2 or ergocalciferol is free from animal products while D3 (cholecalciferol) is sourced from animal ingredients. While D3 is typically regarded as a superior form of vitamin D, recent studies suggest that D2 is as effective.

Again, I recommend taking a look at Garden of Life’s Vitamin Code Raw D3 supplements, which is the only raw and “vegan-friendly” vitamin D3 supplement I know of.

DHA/EPA Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

Typically found in fish oils, these long-chain fatty acids are converted in the body from Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA) which is found in flax seeds. However, your body’s ability to convert ALA to DHA and then to EPA is inefficient and simply eating flax seeds every day will provide ample ALA but might lead to a deficiency in the other two. I would recommend reading up on Omega 3s and possibly consider supplementing with a vegetarian DHA/EPA supplement. I currently use V-Pure which is a vegan-friendly alternative to fish oils. It contains oil extracted from organically grown algae which is where fish get their Omega 3s from. It’s a sustainable, compassionate choice.

Nutrients You Might Need To Worry About

There isn’t a lot I worry about nutritionally on a raw food diet. A couple tricky minerals to watch out for are zinc and selenium.

Iodine is plentiful in sea vegetables like kelp and dulse, but not found in most other foods. Just one tablespoon of dulse provides more than a day’s supply of this mineral. Add to salads, soups or other raw meals.

Selenium is difficult to get adequate amounts from fruit. The best solution is to eat at least one Brazil nut each day. Just one nut contains well over 100% of your daily value of selenium. Eating one nut each day is a much better way of getting your daily dose of selenium than a synthetic supplement pill.

Zinc is the other tricky mineral. My best advice is to track your dietary intake and be sure to include foods that are rich in zinc. You can get enough of it from a raw food diet, you just need to be aware of which foods are rich in zinc and be sure to include them in your daily diet. If zinc is a challenge for you, you might need to find a high quality supplement.

Iron is usually not a problem for vegan men and post-menopausal women who can get adequate iron (14 milligrams per day according to recommendations set by the Institute of Medicine in 2000). However, pre-menopausal, vegan women have a much higher need for iron (33 milligrams/day) that can be challenging to get from plant foods alone. For this reason, women should have their blood checked for iron levels and consider supplementing with a quality iron supplement should they be unable to get enough of it from their diet. Garden of Life Raw Iron is a supplement we recommend.

Take Charge Of Your Own Nutrition

The best advice I can give you about avoiding nutrient deficiencies is to take charge of your own nutrition. Start by familiarizing yourself with foods and what nutrients they contain. Then use this free nutrient-tracking software and monitor your food intake. It won’t be long until it becomes second nature and you’ll know that everything you but in your body is properly nourishing you.

Transition To A Raw Food Diet In 21 Days Or Less

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Tags: calcium, deficiencies, DHA, EPA, iodine, iron, minerals, omega-3, protein, Raw Food Diet, raw food nutrition, selenium, supplements, vitamins, zinc