Here is my opinion about the recent instincto threads:

1) There is nothing wrong with eating banana skins or egg shells... as
long as you *really* enjoy it. They certainly contain other nutrients than
the flesh itself.

2) But it seems that some instinctos act in an even more primitive way
than apes... Avoiding what can't be produced without technology is a
valuable philosophy, but obviously, oranges and bananas can be peeled
without difficulty by humans and several species of apes. You can usually
spit the seeds out (except if you have a severe physical disorder in your
mouth or a severe brain damage). Even pineapples can be split into several
parts with primitive stone tools, to eat the flesh without the skin. Then,
you have wipe the juice pouring on your unshaved face with wild leaves ;-)

3) It seems one of the weaknesses of instinctive eating is the excessive
reliance on "stops". It is commonly said that SADders are responsible for
their being sick, they always want the magic pill whereas they should make
some efforts, etc...  But in a sense, instinctos also want the magic pill,
i.e. food that is self-regulated by pleasure (and pain). When something's
wrong, it's because the "stop" is too weak, the food is denatured, etc.
That's not what I would call a responsible attitude! Unless we go back to
the tropics, naked without even a sharp stick ;-) and gather wild berries,
dirty tubers and scavenge dead animals found here and there, there is no
way we can find the perfect food, and it seems more reasonable to
introduce a certain amount of regulation by the mind, instead of obeying
passively to the stick and the (not dirty) carrot.

4) I don't believe that the attraction to sweet fruits is a symptom of
detoxification. Remember (see Tom's comparison between wild and cultivated
fruit) that modern fruits are artificially high in sugar, which explains
our abnormal attraction to sweets. All humans at any age are attracted to
sweets, even young children which are obviously less intoxicated than old
men having previously worked 40 years in a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

5) I don't think that the official party line is really objective. Their
reasoning is as follows. a) You have been intoxicated for decades by
cereals and refined sugar b) Therefore, you need natural sugar, like
dates, figs and honey c) But all the products you will find on the market
are heat-denatured, and will give you a weak stop in addition to
containing violent poisons like Maillard molecules d) Therefore, you have
to buy our inexpensive honey at Orkos diffusion ($25/lb), our figs
($9/lb), our dates ($18/lb), shipping not included.

6) I don't believe that being cold is a sign of detoxification. Eating too
much sweets and not enough protein and fats, added to the the fact that
the digestive system is not yet adapted to a high amount of raw
food/fiber, lead to deficiencies, lack of energy, sensitivity to cold,
weight loss, etc. These symptoms are more marked in 100% raw vegans than
people eating partially cooked or instinctos, not (IMO) because they are
detoxifying at a faster rate, but because they eat less concentrated
foods, less protein and fat, more fiber, etc. The fact that these symptoms
don't persist more than a few months doesn't mean that it's a sign of
detox, but than somehow the body adapts [Note: whatever dietary change you
make, long-term results often differ from short-term ones, because there
is generally an adaptation; that's why scientific experiments lasting a
few weeks tell little about long-term consequences of a diet].


P.S. to Ellie: there are no other files than the flowcharts. If you find
these flowcharts not satisfying because not complicated enough, I don't
know what we can do...

Best wishes,

Jean-Louis
[log in to unmask]