Someone asked me to explain.

Basically, you don't use the "enzymes" that are in food to digest them. Your body has enzymes and mechanisms (gastric secretions, contractions, etc) to break down food and obsorb its nutrients. Any actual enzyme in a food will be denatured and killed by the acid in your stomach long before and vitamin or mineral absorption occurs (which is later on, in your intestines)

Cooking doesn't alter the fiber or macronutrient concent of foods, and any loss of micronutrients can be avoided by changing your method of cooking (steaming vs boiling for water soluble vitamin loss, for example). Some vitamins and minersals are more easily absorebed after cookin (lycopene for example).

I don't think it's a bad diet, as long as it's being supplemented with a multivitamin, but the enzyme thing really bugs me.

I'm not a raw foodist but lycopene (tomatoes) and potatoes are the only foods I know of that are better for you cooked.
i'm also not sure of why someone on a raw food diet would need to take a multivitamin if they are watching their diets?

yes. by happy coincidence I happened to catch a sampling of raw chocolates by these people:
UliManaMana - Asheville, NC, offers nutritional gifts for your body including raw chocolate, honey, maca and coconut oil to enhance your vitality.
and some of it was very good. I still would never buy it because it's ridiculously expensive. but if I could afford to eat their chocolates, I wouldn't have a problem eating only raw chocolate. the problem that I seem to have with most raw foods dishes involving chocolate is that they have dates as their base. I love dates and I love chocolate but I don't think they taste good together. so obviously these raw chocolates didn't have dates in their recipes, mmm good.

p.s. I checked and those raw choccie cupcakes have dates in them of course.

there might be a tiny bit of truth in the enzyme thing. bruising seeds, grains, pulses, etc by chewing them may begin the enzymatic breakdown of the endosperm that would normally happen at germination. i'd imagine that process would quickly end though, in the less than ideal conditions for such enzymes in the stomach.

__________________
marzipan marzipan marzipan marzipan

Vitamin D, Iron, and B12 are the 3 that come to mind; there might be more, but complications from those things (Iron deficiency and pernicious anemias, osteopenia) are what I've seen in pts related to raw food diets.

Corn and wheat, and actually most grains are healthier when cooked, because the heating breaks the starch down into more digestible pieces.