Rather than a conventional diet used to lose weight or become healthier, the Raw Food Diet is much more. Although it includes these factors, especially the latter, the raw food diet is a lifestyle rather than exclusively a diet. The diet is vegan, in which the person eats only vegetables, fruits and other foods of plant origin. Foods can be dehydrated or heated up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Followers of the diet believe that foods contain raw foods that contain powerful enzymes; these enzymes are the foundation of the diet. Raw followers firmly believe that the diet has incredible abilities to aid the functions of the human body and prevent disease (Mark Sherwinsky pers. com., Haupt 2013). Recently, my cousin converted to a raw food diet. Due to his dietary transition, my family and I were curious about his new dietary choice. I clearly knew that I wanted to research the diet that my family was exposed to and became so intrigued about. Raw food, or rawism, is a two hundred year old practice. Dr. Maximilian Bircher-Benner discovered that jaundice was cured by eating exclusively raw apples. Once he made this discovery, he tested the health effects of other raw fruits and vegetables. This was the birth of the diet and it has developed and expanded ever since (Haupt 2013). The belief behind raw foodists, or raw foodists, is that food in its natural state is full of incredibly powerful enzymes that allow the body to thrive at peak health. For a food to be considered raw, it must not be subjected to any processing other than dehydration or heating up to 120 degrees. Fruits and vegetables cannot be boiled, baked, microwaved, genetically modified, or grown in an environment where herbicides or pesticides are used. Due to the lat...... middle of paper ......ne, it has been proven that rawism can help prevent cancer and other pathogenic diseases. Rawism is able to provide most of the vitamins and minerals needed to maintain a healthy state. With dedication, rawism has very positive potential to help maintain the health of the body, despite the unknowns it possesses (Mark Sherwinsky pers. com., Johnson 2012, Haupt 2013). Works Cited Haupt, Angela. 2013. Raw Food Diet. US News Health and Wellness. Retrieved from: http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/raw-food-diet.Johnson, Kimball. 2012. Raw Food Diet. WebMD. Retrieved from: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/raw-food-diet.American Cancer Society. 2012. Gerson Therapy. American Cancer Society. Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/dietandnutrition/gerson-therapy.