A natural foods diet is an eating pattern built around foods in their raw or minimally processed state, closely related to the raw food diet concept. Followers emphasise fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains, and unpasteurised fermented foods, avoiding refined sugar, artificial additives, heavily cooked dishes, and packaged products. Proponents argue that high-heat cooking destroys enzymes and reduces the vitamin and phytochemical content of food, though enzymes are deactivated by stomach acid regardless and some nutrients, such as lycopene and beta-carotene, become more bioavailable when cooked. From a food safety perspective, raw-meat, raw-egg, and unpasteurised-milk versions carry real pathogen risks, and long-term adherents can develop deficiencies in vitamin B12, iron, and zinc.