The rewards of eating raw, say its followers, are a wonderful sense of wellbeing and amazing energy.

Raw food retains its integrity with no loss of nutrients or enzymes. Raw-food protagonists follow eating regimes that include wild or organically grown vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, and, now and then, sprouted grains.

Fresh fruit shakes and colourful salads, make up a lot of the diet, with no animal products and nothing chemically processed or pasteurised being eaten. Only cold-pressed oils are used and nut milks and nut butters replace dairy. Miso is permitted, as it is packed full of natural digestive enzymes and vitamin B.

Shoyu soya sauce, too, as it has not been pasteurised. Natural sweeteners are used, such as agave syrup from the agave cactus, or stevia, a South American herb that contains no sucrose but whose glycosides make it 300 percent sweeter than sugar.

Dates, with their high concentration of fruit sugars, are also enjoyed by raw-food advocates. Because it changes the colours and textures of food, cooking, as we know it, is not allowed in a raw-food diet. However, the technique of dehydration is allowed as it does not exceed a  temperature of 55°C.

A great raw food cookbook is Raw by Charlie Trotter and Roxanne Klein, published by Ten Speed Press for R354.