Just five months ago, Ms Lidia Djingga was an overweight and exhausted working mother juggling the demands of a full-time job and a restless baby.

Now, the 30-year-old teacher is coping admirably with both, even finding time to shed 14kg.

The secret to her new-found life is a profound change in diet.

Ms Djingga is a raw food eater and more than 80 per cent of her diet consists of fruit and raw vegetables.

She embarked on her diet last November after she attended a class on healthy food preparation conducted by Our Place International, an organisation which promotes the belief that the human body can heal itself.

Ms Djingga, who is 1.61m, was 72kg after she gave birth to her son last March. She binged on hawker delights like char kway teow and satay due to stress brought on by work and caring for a fitful baby.

Depressed and overwhelmed, she sought change in her life and found it in a 180-degree overhaul of what she ate.

She said of her switch to an exclusive diet of fruit and vegetables: 'It's really because of my son. He fell sick almost every month and woke up three times a night.'

She went for the food preparation class to change her baby's diet, but ended up going on it herself. Breakfast for Ms Djingga now is a carrot, beetroot and celery juice as well as a plate of fruits.

Her lunch comprises salad and tofu with uncooked portobello or button mushrooms or steamed vegetables, but only if she feels like eating them cooked.

Dinner is a simple affair of salad or fruits and vegetarian numbers like zucchini noodles. In between, she keeps her energy up with freshly squeezed juice.

American Ray Kent, 79, founder of Our Place International (www.ourplaceinternational.com), which also promotes healthy living and touts the benefits of eating raw food, told Mind Your Body: 'There isn't a cuisine on earth that is designed to serve the body what it demands. The body demands fruit and raw vegetables.'

Asked how his recommended diet has affected her life, Ms Djingga revealed that she felt 'lighter physically and mentally'.

She is not alone in her conviction to what many perceive as a fad diet - part New Age, part celebrity or testimonial driven and part medical science.

Civil servant Low Kee Hong, 37, is another who swears by his current diet - a 'blood-type' diet recommended by American naturopathic doctor Peter J D'Adamo, who says that people should alter their food intake based on their blood type.

Mr Low started on the diet in October 2006 and has lost 30kg since.

He said: 'Weight loss was not my motivation. It was a bonus. I was more interested in eating foods that my body could process more efficiently.

'Now I exercise at the gym and do classes like Muay Thai or body combat six times a week. It's a whole shift in lifestyle.'

While Ms Djingga and Mr Low have vowed to stay on their diets for the rest of their lives, nutritionists and dietitians were less convinced that such diets include all the nutrients essential for good health.

Mr Charles Lew, a clinical dietitian at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's department of nutrition and dietetics, said: 'They are not sustainable especially in Asian culture, where rice and alternatives remain the main staples.

'Nutrient adequacy is often compromised as the variety of foods eaten is likely to be limited. Weight loss associated with such diets is often a combination of water, muscle and a little fat, which may compromise health in the long run.'

Ms Pauline Chan, a dietitian at Food & Nutrition Specialists, added that Ms Djingga's diet may lack protein, vitamin B12 and minerals like zinc, iron and calcium.

She said: 'She should do a blood test to see if she has become anaemic. She also sounds like she doesn't get enough protein as there's no meat or dairy in her diet.

'Protein is important for repairing tissue and cells and all our antibodies are made from proteins. One of the long-term effects of her diet may be a weakened immune system.'

But Mr Kent said that doctors and nutritionists are not 'kings of health'.

He said: 'What we are cutting out are things that do not complement the body.'

Ms Djingga swears by her diet for now.

'Some people think my diet is too extreme,' she said. 'But I think it's good when the body is 'clean'.'

This article was first published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times on Apr 16, 2008.