Dear Lara,

I spent six years eating a whole food diet (nothing processed) before going
raw.  I was about 50% raw then, and during that time, I was able to do a
significant amount of detoxing.

After going raw, I fasted quite a bit for the first several years, in fact I
still fast, on average, four or more weeks per year.

I feel pretty well detoxified, and great most of the time.  But I still live
near a city, breathe polluted air, don't always get enough sleep, and
occasionally eat commercial produce.  So I'm still taking in toxins, and
doubtless, producing them internally all the time.

I no longer experience any detox symptoms, though my sinuses will become
clogged very quickly if I eat too many nuts or seeds.

I don't worry at all about the difference between hybrid and wild fruits.
Most hybrid fruits are fine, and if eating bananas or grapes causes your
blood sugar to rise, you can simply avoid those foods.  You will find that
most fruit will not cause this to happen.

Cavities are most often caused by mixing fruit with other foods, as the
residue left on the teeth from other foods will often cause the sugars to
stick, and decay to form.

Avoid dried fruits, and eat fresh fruit by itself, rather than as dessert.  I
eat almost nothing but fruit, and get no cavities at all.

If you are eating chocolate and other refined sugars, you very well may have
a problem, as this stuff wreaks havoc on the body.  Natural sugars as found
in fruit are absolutely necessary, and are the body's primary fuel source.
It would be hard to overeat them.

Our taste buds are there for a reason, and are designed to inform of us what
to, and not to, eat.  Of all the things available to us in nature, what are
you most attracted to?  I can bet it's not broccoli, or seaweed, or dead
animals.  Most likely, as a frugivore, it's fruit.  Trust your instincts.

Namaste,

Loren
In a message dated 3/6/01 3:44:03 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Loren, how long did it take for you to detox?  Are you
 still experiencing any detox symptoms, or have you
 finished with all that a long time ago?

 I REALLY wanted to be a fruitarian, I loved the idea
 of a diet of almost all fruit.  But what do you think
 about the difference between modern cultivated, mostly
 hybrid fruit, and truly wild fruit, which is higher in
 fiber and lower in sugar?  One of the things that
 scared me off of the fruitarian diet (and it's very
 difficult for me to cut down on fruits, I love them
 and crave them constantly) is the fact that in the
 last year I have been developing cavities like crazy.
 I have nine cavities right now that need filling.  Now
 I can't be sure that fruit is the culprit, because I
 have been cheating with other foods, even chocolate
 occasionally, but I've had perfectly health teeth all
 my life up until now, with no cavities, and it seems
 strange to me that I would get so many all of a sudden
 when it seems that instead my health should be
 improving (with the allowance of detox symtoms like
 skin problems or headaches or elimination of mucous or
 whatever) since my diet has become so much more
 raw-foods intensive over the past several years.

 I heartily agree about the benefits of fasting, but I
 am a little bit worried about the degree to which I
 may have harmed my body with excessive sugar
 consumption.  I am not trying to argue with your
 convictions so much as I am trying to get you to
 convince me that they are correct.  As I've already
 said, I would LOVE to be a fruitarian, I'm just
 beginning to have doubts.


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