Raw Versus Cooked - What's Better?

If raw food gives you gas, the toxicity created by the gas & fermentation outweighs the nutritional benefits of the food. Indigestible food is considered poison in Ayurveda. Many under cooked foods are hard and chewy, and hard to chew usually means hard to digest. The measure of good food is not just its contents, but its interaction with your body.

Pitta people have the strongest digestive strength and can tolerate more raw foods than other doshas. Juicing fresh raw vegetables or blending fruits into a smoothie might make them more digestible for some people. Once food has been pulverized and thoroughly blended, the body does not have to do as much work to process it. But, it still depends on the power of one's agni.

The qualities of raw food itself are light, cold, rough, difficult, and clear. Raw food feels cold in the stomach and rough on the GI. It has the qualities of Vata and can therefore increase Vata if consumed in excess. Many claim that raw food can be a path to spiritual development, attesting to its light and subtle qualities. A person on a raw food diet might feel inspired and light - like they are floating on air, living off the prana of raw fruits and raw vegetables.

Another danger in raw food is that undercooked food often contains parasites. Whether or not the issue is publicized, parasites are common in every country including developed industrialized nations.