Raw food trends

Sun diet according to Helmut Wandmaker

The sun diet is a vegan nutritional concept. Fresh fruit is considered a first-class food and makes up the majority of the diet. Vegetables are only included in the diet in small quantities, as are nuts. Wild herbs are completely omitted.

The basic idea behind the sun diet is that humans only do not interfere with nature when eating fruit. Animals are killed for their meat and vegetables have to be replanted after harvesting. Fruit trees and berry bushes, on the other hand, bear fruit again after the harvest.

Helmut Wandmaker, the founder of the sun diet, describes fruit as nature's "fast food". When eating mainly fruit, the body needs significantly less time for digestion and can look after itself again more quickly.

The sun diet doctrine recommends distilled water as a drink. The concept also involves spending a lot of time in the fresh air and sunshine and strengthening your body with sufficient exercise.

Evers diet according to Dr Joseph Evers

The Evers diet is a mainly raw food diet founded by the German physician Dr Joseph Evers. The basic idea behind it is that industrially processed foods are causing many diseases of civilisation.

In general, it is important to eat raw, natural foods wherever possible. This includes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fruit and roots. Wholemeal bread and raw milk butter are also permitted.

Raw or lightly fried meat, raw fish, raw ham, nuts and sprouts can also be eaten. Water is drunk. Potatoes and raw leafy vegetables are taboo.

The Evers diet concept also includes a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet also includes sufficient exercise in the fresh air. Kneipp treatments are also recommended.

Natural health teachings (Natural Hygiene)

The best-known representative of the Natural Hygiene movement was the American Herbert M. Shelton. This doctrine is often attributed to him alone, but in fact the natural health doctrine emerged from a movement of doctors.

Around 1822, a number of doctors came together who were critical of treatment with medication and no longer saw any health benefits for people.

The basic idea of natural health is that people can lead a physically, mentally and emotionally healthy life. To do this, he must orientate himself on the eating habits of his ancestors, cultivate loving social relationships, pursue a satisfying profession, maintain a balanced alternation of waking and sleeping, and integrate cleanliness and sufficient sunshine, pure water and fresh air into his life.

Shelton recommends a purely plant-based diet, while other hygienists also recommend animal-based foods that are mainly eaten raw. The Natural Hygiene movement offers three diets, as it is not known exactly how our early ancestors ate:

• Palaeolithic or Stone Age diet: mainly animal foods (only partially raw), salads and green juices are consumed. Fruit was eaten at most once a day.
• Instinctive diet: Here, mainly plant-based foods are eaten. Animal foods are only eaten once a day at most and then mainly raw. The food is chosen instinctively.
• Ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet: In this variant, animal foods are consumed in the form of milk and eggs. However, the majority of the diet consists of raw plant foods.

In addition to Herbert M. Shelton, the founders of the Natural Hygiene movement include Prof. Arnold Ehret, Dr Norman. W. Walker, Dr Paul C. Bragg and Dr John H. Tilden. In the 1980s, Helmut Wandmaker, the founder of Sonnenkost, brought the ideas of Natural Hygiene to Germany. Franz Konz also incorporated the ideas of Natural Hygiene into his original diet.

Fit for life according to Harvey and Marilyn Diamond

Fit for Life is the name of a school of nutrition that was published in 1985 in the book of the same name by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. It is a food combining diet based on raw food, which goes back to the theories of the US American Natural Hygiene movement of the 19th century.

In the Fit for Life model, 70% of the dietary requirement is covered by fruit, vegetables and salads. The remaining 30% is made up of bread, cereals and meat. Meat is therefore not generally taboo, but should only end up on the plate very rarely. Distilled water and freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juice are available to drink.

The Fit for Life principle divides the nutritional cycle into three phases: From 4 am to 12 noon, the body is busy with elimination work. From 12 noon to 8 p.m., food intake takes place and from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. the body digests and metabolises.

According to the Fit for Life doctrine, fruit should always be eaten on an empty stomach and not combined with other foods. The first meal of the day therefore consists of fruit and freshly squeezed juices. Salads and vegetables are served for lunch. Meat, potatoes and vegetables are allowed in the evening.

Wholefood diet rich in vital substances according to Dr Max Otto Bruker

The model of a wholefood diet rich in vital nutrients is based on the nutritional recommendations of the German physician Dr Max Otto Bruker. The wholefood diet is based on the principle of consuming food in its natural form wherever possible. Wholefood nutrition includes cereals, wholemeal bread, raw fruit and vegetables as well as natural fats - including butter and cream. Fresh grain porridge plays a special role.

Bruker's wholefood diet, which is rich in vital nutrients, is primarily based on the teachings of the Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner and Werner Kollath. All three were concerned with the connection between nutrition and the so-called diseases of civilisation.

The school of wholefood nutrition, which is rich in vital substances, considers its diet to be ideal for the human organism due to its naturalness. Wholesome and largely natural foods are at the centre of this doctrine. Meat products, eggs and fish should be avoided as far as possible. Fruit juices are rejected as valuable organic ingredients remain in the pomace.

Giessen concept of wholefood nutrition

The Giessen concept of wholefood nutrition has its origins in the 1980s. It was developed by three nutritionists at the University of Giessen: Dr Karl von Koerber, Prof Claus Leitzmann and Thomas Männle.

These gentlemen define their wholefood diet as predominantly plant-based (lacto-vegetable). Fruit and vegetables, wholemeal products, potatoes and pulses as well as milk and dairy products are minimally processed and prepared into tasty, easily digestible meals. Meat, fish and eggs may also be consumed in small quantities. About half of the diet should consist of fresh raw vegetables.

In addition to a healthy and varied diet, sustainability factors also play a role in the Giessen concept of wholefood nutrition. Food should come from organic farming. In addition, regional and seasonal products are favoured and attention is paid to the environmental compatibility of packaging and support for fair trade.

Wholesome nutrition according to the Giessen concept is not only aimed at improving one's own quality of life. Rather, it is a holistic concept that also includes the careful treatment of the environment, social justice and fair economic relations.