David said:
>I tell you, I am certainly getting confused with all this different
>info on what to eat. Is it best to eat just raw fruit(RF) or should
>one add some raw veggies(RV) and maybe some raw nuts(RN). But then
>will I end up lacking in something and have to add some raw animal
>foods(RAF). Then will I find that I need to have some cooked animal
>foods(CAF) and maybe some cooked veggies(CV) or cooked grains(CG)or
>maybe some cooked legumes(CL). Should I be vegan, vegetarian, ovo
>lacto, meat eater, instincto or natural hygiene? Are fasts good for
>you or bad for you? And finally we have The Zone!!! AHHHH!!! And what
>is a food stop or a taste change anyway? Something to do with how I
>feel after I eat a bag of RDSOC(raw double stuff oreo cookies)?

You left out CR (calorie restriction) and PD (Paleolithic diets) that
advocate high protein/meat consumption.;-) Gone is the simplicity of
the good old days with the "bad" standard diet on the one hand and the
"good" vegetarian type diet on the other. Competition is good though
and forces the standards and expectations to be raised.

David said:
>BTW, I did stop smoking last weekend. Its six days now. This is a big
>deal for me.

Congratulations! Hang in there! Just now I forget who but one of the
acid/alkaline guru's claims that smoking has an alkaline effect on the
body. Seen from this perspective smoking is the body's way of
counterbalancing a state of overacidity, and it makes sense as even the
most heavily addicted smoker can kick the habit pretty easily if he/she
goes on an alkaline regime. Juicing on fresh vegetable juices seems to
be especially effective.

David said:
>Severe chest pains manifested on the second day

This is very common and usually passes quickly.

David said:
>I have pleurisy, maybe TB!. I already have HEP C. It will be
>interesting to see what happens with all this stuff on a much
>healthier regimen.

You bet! Keep us posted on your progress.

Tom said:
>Thanks for your comments, Michael! I would be very interested in any
>references to the above noted phenomenom.

I can't help here and can only add that zinc deficiency can be a pretty
serious condition. Without sufficient amounts 300 different enzymes in
the body cannot function properly and the thymus gland, a vital part of
our immune system which produces T-cells and natural killer cells, will
not be able to do its job. Increased susceptibility to colds and viral
infections are the common signs of zinc deficiency. A couple of years
ago one of the contributors to the Natural Hygiene M2M analyzed the
nutrients in all the foods constituting a vegan diet and found zinc
deficiency to be the most difficult to avoid.(even more than B-12 if my
memory serves me. Bhodi, am I right? If are you still valiantly making
your way through the 27 back issues, I am referring to Jerry Story and
his nutritional database)

Tom said:
>An interesting side note: some anorexics report a similar mental
>feeling, and some Psychiatrists report success in treating anorexia
>nervosa with zinc supplements. So, there may be a linkage here.

Very interesting. Tom, have I somehow missed it or did you already
respond to my question about whether a consumption of seaweed and algae
IYO could be the reason a few long term raw food eaters in the SF area
seem to be doing quite well on a high fruit diet? I might add that to
my knowledge with regards to these and a couple of others I know of who
seem to be doing well long-term on high fruit diets that they apart
from trace mineral supplementation do claim to be eating a little
cooked food now and then and also having periods where there
consumption of sweet fruits is not that high. (this is of course not
official but in a couple of cases I have it right from the horses mouth
:-)) If there are 5 people on this planet who have been able to remain
healthy for an extended period of time (7-8 years minimum)on a raw,
high fruit diet I would say the figure probably is a little high. ;-)


Tom said:
>Wild avocados are often very fibrous and hard to eat, compared to
>cultivated.

They are sometimes available at the Santa Monica Farmers Market and
sell under the name "wild root" or "Mexican" avocado. They are very low
fat and sometimes quite fibrous. They are my favorites especially when
eaten as is with the skin on. My guess is that the reason some
instinctive eaters do not get any taste stop with avocados is that they
are eating the hybrid kind without the skin.

Tom said:
>The wild vs. cultivated mango comparison is even more dramatic - I
>used to eat wild, seedling mangoes when I was a kid - you can chew on
>the fiber for half an hour, if you want. Cultivated mangoes have much
>less fiber


Sounds like fun! I believe that the cultures of India began hybridizing
mangoes about 3000 years so I guess even your wild mangoes have been
tampered with somewhat. How sweet are they compared to the regular
cultivated kind?

Tom said:
>The table I posted made the point that wild fruits are much higher in
>fiber than cultivated fruits.

I did not receive such a post. Could you please email it to me
privately?

Tom said:
>Mulberries, blackberries, raspberries come to mind immediately; also
>tropical guavas and passion fruits. Blueberries, cranberries may be
>close to wild. Some of the minor tropical fruits have not been
>subjected to much varietal selection: soursop, jaboticaba, mamey
>sapote, sapodilla.

These 5 tropical fruis how do they compare to other tropical fruits on
the market today with regards to sugar & fiber content, and are there
to your knowledge any sweet tropical fruits that occur naturally that
have not been hybridized by man? I am thinking of fruits like
jackfruit, durian, mangosteen, and the subtropical cherimoya.


>Tom said:I hope readers find the above interesting (it certainly is
>unusual). I hope discussion of rare and unusual raw-food practices
>does not turn off some readers.

I doubt it. You have my full attention for sure, and I look very much
forward to hearing more about this subject.

Tom said:
>Bitter greens include dandelion, endive, escarole, plus many wild
>greens - locally there are many species of wild thistle available.
>Lettuce is bitter, but not as bitter as the greens named in the
>preceding. Other bitter foods are: Bitter Melon (Latin name: Momordica
>Charantia; the small ones from the Indian stores are nearer to the
>wild form than the huge Chinese ones), also turmeric - widely
>available dried, but also fresh from Indian stores.

I will try out your idea of introducing more of these bitter foods to
my diet and see what it does for my cravings for sugar. I am not crazy
about bitter but will just have to re-educate my instincts I guess.:-)

Marie said:
>I just started taking it about two weeks ago, and I do see some
>improvement.

Marie, Welcome to Raw-food! What kind of improvement are you seeing? I
understand that consumers of Barley Green after a while report a
reduced need for animal products .


Best, Peter
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