RAW food is slowly gaining in popularity.

In the middle of last year, Mr Paul Yeoh, 27, gave up a banking career to be a raw food instructor and chef.

He said he used to live a typical young executive's lifestyle - eating at hawker centres, smoking and clubbing after work.

He also often fell sick, had stiff and aching joints and was prone to acne.

A detox holiday to Thailand changed his life. He said: 'I moved towards meals like fruit for breakfast, soupy all-vegetable yong tau foo for lunch and something similar for dinner, munching on fruits, nuts and seeds in between.'

He found he had more energy and was losing weight, after having struggled to pass fitness tests earlier.

'I had given up my job in search of something with deeper meaning before I decided to study raw food (at the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute) in the US.

'It was bliss.'

Financial trader Chris Turner, 44, who has been an organic raw vegan for 12 years, gave a talk last Sunday at Library@Orchard on raw vegetarian recipes.

He said: 'When it comes to reducing our carbon footprint, changing our diet has more impact than changing the car we drive.

'So why not tread even lighter by eating raw food?'

Unfortunately, he says he is unable to grow his own food in Singapore or he could reduce his carbon footprint further.

When you mention raw food, many assume salads are all that you can eat.

But Mr Yeoh said: 'A salad can be dense and hearty like a stew. It can be salty and tasty. It can be flavoured as if it were pan-fried with garlic and sesame oil.

'Eating a wide variety of salads is probably the easiest and most sustainable way to eat raw, but to have more fun with food we also prepare raw gourmet cuisine to mimic cooked food such as pizzas, pies, curries, noodles, cakes, jams and breads.'

He believes such food can provide more than enough protein.

Mr Yeoh, who has been running raw food classes, said people who attend are quickly convinced by the taste and how the food feels in their bodies. 'In contrast, trying to convince somebody that the food they've been eating is unhealthy and they need to change to a diet of rabbit food is like smashing bricks.

'Clearly this kind of diet change requires motivation and that motivation needs to come from within.

'For most people, myself included, the motivation comes from being in poor health.'

But Mr Yeoh does not like to label himself a vegetarian, a vegan or a raw vegan. He said: 'I do not adhere strictly to any diet. I eat what I feel like, which tends to be uncooked, fresh plant foods. I still go to eat at my favourite restaurants sometimes, and I always enjoy the opportunity to have someone's home cooking.'

For more information on Mr Yeoh's classes, see http://www.rawfoodcuisine.com.sg