Karunee Kwanbunjan1, Corinna Koebnick2, Carola Strassner3, Claus Leitzmann3 
1Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Tropical Medicine , Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand; 2Institute of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Erlangen- Nuremberg, Germany; 3Institute of Nutrition, University of Giessen, Germany 

Abstract 
Among a number of alternative dietary regimens, raw food diets are interesting and increasingly popular in western countries. A high proportion of raw foods in the diet is the general concept, while raw food eaters follow different raw food dietary recommendations. The subjects are composed of 230 male and 342 female raw food eaters between the ages of 25-74 years, having maintained raw food diets for 2.3 years on average. Health habits were investigated by means of a detailed questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire, which were used to estimate food intake and food habits of the subjects. The raw food eaters in this study had high awareness concerning health. Most of them refused smoking, alcohol and frequently exercise. Findings indicated that 29.5% of male and 24.9% of female raw food eaters were underweight according to their body mass indices (BMI). Underweight was more pronounced in the raw food eaters with a higher proportion of raw food intake. An obvious relationship between the proportion of raw food consumed and menstrual situation was observed. Most raw food eaters consumed vegetarian diets. The average amount of fruit and vegetables consumed by the study cohort was 1,836 g/d. The most favored fluids among raw food eaters were water, mineral water, fruit juices and herbal tea. Some raw food eaters did not drink at all (3.0%) and 31.6% drank less than 500 ml/d. Raw food diets contain a lot of vitamins and minerals as well as phytochemicals, but the strict vegan group with high proportion of raw food diets may pose nutritional problems. Antinutrients and toxic substances in some raw foods should be correspondingly considered. Moreover, food safety is another point for concern in the consumption of raw food diets due to possible contamination by parasites, bacteria and soil-transmitted pathogens. Keywords: raw food diets, raw food eaters, vegetarian, vegan