I agree with your comments David that for long term health we need to
incorporate some animal products into our diet. To maintain our health we
need a  balance between  build up and break down foods.
For cleansing purposes raw fruit and vegetables are great but when one
cleanses excessively it can compromise the integrity of the body too much.
While I dont wish to compare us to birds I would like to point out that when
birds migrate south some die not from starvation but from the poisons that
are being eliminated into their bloodstreams.  With humans excessive detox
can compromise our organs of elimination , especially the liver.
  If you have become the "enemy" due to your dietary changes it makes me
question the physiological health of the people in  question. If strict
adherence to  a dietary theory causes rigidity and intolerance then I would
question  its health benefits.
Yours
Martha
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Karas" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2001 10:07 PM
Subject: Re: RAF


> Gary Orlando wrote:
> >
> > thank you very much for your comments, David.
> >
> > I wonder why some people seem to do ok without the raf, and
> > others seem to not do well on raw vegan.
>
> I did very well initially as a raw food vegan. I was 48 and noticing
wrinkles
> around my eyes when I started. I had been a Dr McDougal high complex
> carbohydrate vegan for a little over a year when I went raw. For about 6
months
> before the switch to raw I had been aware of the possible benefits of all
raw
> but I kept on eating my beans and rice. Finally I decided to try going all
raw -
> not sure if I could eat all raw. This was a major shock to my body. I was
> ravenously hungry and my body started cleansing. I had some very difficult
times
> with tiredness, 5 days of sore throat and mucus being eliminated. I would
have
> stopped many times during this period except for the fact that I was
noticing
> good changes in my body. After about 2 months, I realized that I was doing
very
> well and tried to convert everyone I knew. Needless to say there was very
little
> interest. One of the nice things was the change in my skin. It became
softer and
> resilient. Wrinkles went away.
>
> I feel that a raw vegan diet is good for cleansing and healing but for
most
> people lacks some nutrients needed for long term health. I am the
listowner of
> paleofood on this server. This is a hunter/gather animal food eating list.
A
> recurring subject on this list is from former vegan/vegetarians who had
> developed health problems that went away when they went back to animal
foods.
> This is not proof (we don't know "how good" their diets were) but it is an
> indication of possible problems. We know that animal foods are common to
all
> societies on this planet and have been for a long time. Is this just
> coincidence? Probably not. It is certainly possible to survive without
animal
> foods but survive does not mean the same as optimum health.
>
> I have been involved with the raw food (almost all vegan) people in Los
Angeles
> since 1986. Some have not stayed all raw but seem to be doing well. Of
those
> that have stayed vegan, IMO they are not as healthy looking as they think
they
> are. I am now recommending adding animal products to any that will listen.
Some
> I don't even bother other than to say how much better I feel with animal
foods
> than before. I have lost a number of friends because of my diet change. I
have
> become the "eneny".
>