Book review

Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets By Brenda Davis, RD; Vesanto Melina, MS, RD; with Rynn Berry Book Publishing Company, 2010, 208 pages, $29.95 ISBN: 978-1570672385

About 25 years ago I read my first book by Norman Walker, the pioneering author who influenced many toward the raw food lifestyle. since then I’ve turned many more pages on this subject, but none that I would have called riveting— that is, until finding myself engrossed in Becoming Raw.

If there can be a “meaty” book about raw vegan diets, this is it! Kudos to the Book Publishing Company of Tennessee, whose visionary mandate since 1974 has been to publish uncommon health-seeking book titles with unwavering integrity. For Becoming Raw two experts in plant-based nutrition are brought together to produce a balanced and comprehensive volume that is exactly as its unabashed subtitle claims: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets. There is much information here, and the book easily hits its mark.

Becoming Raw is intended to serve as a guidebook for anyone curious about raw diets, but its true calling is as a reference for those who promote and share this lifestyle with others. Don’t expect a photo album of larger-than-life raw foods. Nor is it about recipes—the few included at the back of this book only left me wanting more. But there’s gold here—in the facts, the questions, the answers, and all the referenced articles a raw hungry mind could possibly want. It’s a well-organized and purposeful book that serves inquiring readers exactly what they need.

Do you wish you knew more about acid-base balance, optimal essential fatty acid intakes, or the appropriate amount of carbohydrates to consume? This book will educate and empower. In a chapter about “The Great Enzyme Controversy” I learned about the facts and myths surrounding food-enzyme theory and raw-food safety issues (who knew?!). Nutrition guidelines and menus are included, but you might just find yourself having more fun with an historical overview of the raw-food movement from erudite contributor Rynn Berry. Fascinating!