Is dehydrating actually raw?

[VeggieVixen]

Forgive the newbie question. :D

But I was making apple chips today and just thinking about how warm my dehydrator gets (feels hotter than 104˚ but I'm a bad judge) would it still be considered raw? It seems more like an exception to the rule that everyone breaks anyway. Ha!

Anyone want to explain that? :D

[iluvmangos]

Maybe your dehydrator runs too hot. Maybe you should stick a thermometer in there to see how hot it really gets. I think the food is still raw as long as the temp stays under 112, but I don't consider dehydrated food to be a whole food since the water is dried out.

[Seedy]

If the temperature is below 118 (or 112 or 104 depending on the source), the food is still raw. The enzymes are destroyed, the vitamins and antioxidants aren't depleted and the proteins aren't denatured. But, while the food is still raw, it's not really living anymore. An apple planted in the ground can grow an apple tree. Apple chips can't. That's OK. We all need healthy snacks and treats, and the dehydrator is a great way to make them. But its best to eat fresh whole foods as the majority of the diet.
Seedy

[Cerellia]

If you leave the seeds in the apple, you have a chance that an apple tree even grows out of apple chips. Dehydrated is just not as fresh, not as wholesome and maybe a bit more stressful on the digestion. It won't harm, thogh, to eat a few of them as snacks.

[VeggieVixen]

I understand. :) Thanks y'all.