I’m not one to buy into fads – especially ones obsessively promoted by celebrities! However, repeated trips to Pure Food and Wine, One Lucky Duck, and Candle 79 – three raw/vegan spots in New York City – have gotten me hooked on raw food. I feel amazing about my body and health, and as a result, am totally interested in what nutritionists, beauty and health experts, and celebrities have to say.
Turns out that raw foodism – which entails consuming mostly uncooked and unprocessed foods, and nothing heated above 115 degrees to maintain the highest levels of nutritional value – is not only a growing trend, but one that has translated into beauty as well. Hey, if vegans can get their own cosmetic products, why shouldn’t raw foodists? The idea is that you’re treating your body from the inside out with 100% raw, active, natural, and synthetic-free ingredients, to keep toxins out of your body.
Along with Woody Harrelson, who appears in the documentary Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days, model Carol Alt is the most well known celebrity raw foodist; she’s been a true a pioneer in introducing the principals of raw food into the business of beauty. Her skincare line, RAW Essentials, was the first to be “certified raw” in the United States. As a cancer survivor, she makes a strong case for not wanting any chemicals to pass through her skin; it is, after all, our largest organ! The skin acts as a barrier to keep most of the ingredients found in the creams we apply topically from entering our body, but it’s possible for ingredients to enter the bloodstream.
I’ve felt the positive effects of eating raw food – whether it be fruits, vegetables, nuts, or raw desserts, I can attest to the fact that the claims about eating raw and staying thin are true. Even Weight Watchers now gives fruits (aside from dried ones), and most vegetables, zero points.
I’m not sure if the benefits of going raw are just as intense when it comes to beauty (I won’t be ditching my Chanel or NARS anytime soon), but I’m working on incorporating raw skincare into my routine.
Like Alt, I was shocked to learn that the F.D.A. does not regulate skincare, so it’s important to find out what these ingredients in our favorite skin care lines are. On a final note, for Sex and the City fans who remember the episode in which the four women go out for a raw dinner, and subsequently all cringe, don’t avoid it in the name of comedy!
