How to Start a raw food diet

Overview
The aim:

Depends, but may include weight loss, improved health and helping the environment.

Low-calorie Diet: These diets provide far fewer calories than is generally recommended, which leads to weight loss. Learn More »
Resembles these U.S. News-rated diets: Vegan Diet, Vegetarian Diet
The claim:

Raw food is packed with natural enzymes and nutrients that help the body reach optimal health – and you’ll shed pounds.
The theory:

Raw foodism traces back to the late 1800s, when Maximilian Bircher-Benner, a doctor, discovered he could cure his own jaundice by eating raw apples. Thus began a series of experiments testing the effects of raw food on human health, and the diet has continued to evolve. Raw food hasn’t been cooked, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically engineered or exposed to pesticides or herbicides. It includes fresh fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds and herbs in their whole, natural state. Proponents say cooking obliterates most of the vitamins in food and nearly all of the immune-boosting plant nutrients (though scientific evidence to support these claims is lacking). Most who follow the plan consume only half the calories they would eat on a cooked diet.