Hi All!!!

I joined - Well tried to join - about 2 weeks but didn't do it right and
talked to Peter - Who runs the List - and found I had to put "SUBSCRIBE
RAW-FOOD" in the Body and not the Subject and so finally joined last
week and have been waiting to introduce myself because I really want to
go into all the details of who I was and how I started in all of this
etc., but it kept getting so late and I was getting tired when I thought
about it or I was really busy and never got to get around to it.  One
thing you'll find is that I write long messages/posts and that I have a
habit of being very detailed and go on and on - and on!!! - :)!!!  But I
do want you all to know what I do in regards to my Diet, Health, and
Nutrition etc. and so I'll give you a little background/history now so
you can see how I got started.

Yes I was born - but I think you All know that!!! - :) - and I was
Breast Feed a little but would go jaundice from the Breast Milk for some
reason and so it was stopped from what I've been told.  I'm hoping
though that at least I would have gotten the Colostrum which is produced
during the first 48 hours of the Mother giving Milk from what I
remember. From what I've read that can really keep one pretty Healthy
during their Whole Life, and I've been pretty Healthy my Whole Life -
Thank God!!!

I've eaten pretty well my Whole Life and growing up we ate everything
like meat etc. and my Mother pretty much always made home cooked meals -
Both my Parents are Russian/Ukrainian - So that means I am too I guess -
and since I was First Generation American on my Mom's side we still ate
a lot of those Old Country hardy meals and lots and lots of broths and
soups.  Also when I was 12 we moved to England where I stayed till I was
18 and then came back to this Country in 1983 - I'm 32 now - and, of
course, while I was there we drank lots of milk and ate lots and lots of
butter, cream, double cream, and I think what they called triple cream
too, I think.  Also most of the milk was not Homogenized even though it
was Pasteurized and so we got a lot of cream that way as well - I
remember how much I loved the cream and that I never saw it while I was
in back visiting and then moving back to America.

Well that's enough of that and let's now talk about what I started
eating back in 1983 when I was 18 and moved back to America - Los
Angeles to be precise:  I had had quite a lot of very Spiritual,
Paranormal, and Psychic Experiences during my Life and they were getting
more intense as I got older - I mean Very Intense!!! - I won't go into
all the details but suffice it to say, I got struck by Ball Lightning on
about my 18th Birthday when I was in England and have had the Balls
almost hit me 4 times: Once before my 18th Birthday, once just about on
it, and once a few months after, and then again a few months after that;
and again suffice it to say: I had a lot going on during those times.
During that time I had found that or believed that Physical Immortality
was possible - I had read "Life and Teachings of the Masters of the Far
East" by Baird T. Spaulding who wrote about his adventures with
supposedly Ascended Masters and very Aware and Spiritual Beings in
India.  They spoke about how you never have to die and, in fact, had
entire families of several Generations where no one in the Family had
ever died - Sounds Great Doesn't It!!!  Well I felt I was going to be
one of these Total Aware Being who didn't have to die anymore and so I
started more Consciously on my Quest and was figuring out what I had to
do to get there and achieve that State - As you can imagine most people
thought I was absolutely bonkers and just totally deluded and off-base
or just not here in Reality - Which so-called Normal Everyday Reality I
have found is very different depending on the Person, his Environment,
and Lifestyle, and, so therefore, quite Subjective - at least in my
opinion.  So like any Good Truth and Spiritual Seeker I thought I had to
become a Vegetarian and later on a Fruitarian and then, of course, a
Breatharian.  You see Vegetarianism was just a phase in my Mind because
you were still killing Plants just like you did when you killed Animals
when you ate them and killing was killing.  Fruit was the only thing
that I could fine that was a Gift from Nature and nothing was killed in
the eating of it and was created for the sole purpose to be Sweet and
Tasty so we would eat it when it was Ripe and hence we would spread the
seed around as we traveled and did our business so to speak.

Well I had sought out a lot of these so-called Totally Aware and Fully
Enlightened Masters or People supposedly near that state and the trouble
was that some of the few I found looked like shit, were sickly, or had
died of Cancer or something.  Well as you could have probably guessed
that can be quite disheartening.  Well I had made a few acquaintances
and friends who were Psychic and/or Aware and through one very Psychic
Lady in particular met a very Aware Guy who was the only person I had
ever met in my Life who could "see" in the way I could and had been
doing that and other things a lot more Consciously than I had - I was
only 19 at the time now and he had been on the Planet a lot longer than
me and had had time to learn and discover these things too - "Seeing" is
a type of Psychic and/or Awareness Seeing that let's you "see" beyond
just the so-called Normal Everyday seeing or looking - I guess you could
say I could "see" or can "scan" People, things, or whatever I wanted
basically.  It comes in different flavors so to speak like the Physical
Senses do so it's like I can use all my Senses on Deeper or Other Levels
that might not really be considered Physical but more Feeling,
Instinctual, and Spiritual in Nature.

Anyway, we ended up moving in together - We lived together for about 6
years and are still friends - and started eating mostly Vegetarian with
some chicken and fish but no beef - like all the wannabe Vegetarians and
really started researching Health, Diet, and Nutrition.  So in about
1985 I started drinking Raw Milk and eating Raw Butter and Raw Cheese
and making my own dressing for salads etc..  We also started eating
Sprouts and got into juicing and were fortunate enough to be able to
afford a Norwalk so, for those of you who know, we had basically the
best juice that you could imagine and that really could be made at the
time - As far as we knew.  We even moved to Colorado about 20 miles
outside of Durango, where it was so remote we had a Party Line instead
of our own Phone Line.  Well we didn't have to share it because we were
so out there that no one else was crazy enough to be there in the Winter
but us just about - Remember it was a 40 mile round trip in the snow
just to get food!!!  Well during that time I tried to go Totally Raw and
almost did but not quite and had a few more normal meals from time to
time but, of course, no beef.  Well, if you hadn't already guessed, that
didn't last but a few months and we came back to Los Angeles some time
around or after Christmas I think and just never went back - We had a
year lease on the place and well "Oh too bad!!!" we just left the place
because we couldn't think of anyone else who wanted to be up there.

Well when we came back it was quite a trip: We started eating Carl's Jr.
Double Bacon Western Cheeseburgers for about 6 months - No Joke!!!  What
we had found is that it wasn't just what you eat that gets you to Total
Awareness but it's Being in the Moment and following what your Body
leads you to eat and if you force it one way or another it will
retaliate in some fashion or another and you'll sling-shot to the other
extreme - Like we did!!!  What's interesting is that I never ate them
again or had much fast food like that again in about over 10 years - And
I'm glad!!!  So I started eating really good Whole Foods and some were
cooked and others were Raw and I also ate Raw whatever I could that I
liked - So I didn't eat raw potatoes or things like that.

So for the last 10 years I basically ate whatever I felt like at the
time and I noticed that I would eat in a Cyclical Nature changing with
what might have been the Seasons or something but really what my Body
felt like eating.  I at times went with my Mind but always went back to
following my Body because it really seems to know what was best when I
was aligned with it - It really does feel like we have several Parts of
Ourselves that seem separate and yet not and connected.  They seem to
be: Spirit/Mind, Feelings/Will, Heart, and Body - There could be more
but that Feels about the Main differentiation that I've noticed.

I noticed a few years ago that I wasn't eating the best at times and
even though I was still eating good things as well I felt it was
catching up with me and didn't feel as good as when I was eating more
Raw Food.  So what I started to do was look more and more into Raw Food
and I had seen and read quite a few books over the years.  Well about 2
years ago I was at either the Whole Life Expo or the Natural Health Show
we have here in L.A. - I think it was the latter - and saw "Nourishing
Traditions - The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition
and the Diet Dictocrats" by Sally Fallon with Pat Connolly and Mary G.
Enig, Ph.D. - Which became one of my favorite books - and that lead me
to wonderful books like the great classic work on Primitive Diets
"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Dr. Weston A. Price, and also
to look again - I already had it - at the classic work "Pottenger's Cats
- A Study In Nutrition" by Dr. Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. which was about
brilliant studies on diet and physical degeneration in cats and how that
related to Humans.  These are the people that the Price-Pottenger
Nutrition Foundation was named after that was created in 1965 for those
of you who are familiar with that.  There were other great books as well
that covered the gamut of Health, Diet, and Nutrition like Raw and Whole
Food, Enzymes, Fats, Oils, and Minerals etc..

Well from "Nourishing Traditions" I saw recipes for preparing Raw Meat
and I had always wanted to try it but was afraid of the Bacteria etc.
like everyone else, or at least most people.  Well from this I saw that
a lot of cultures eat raw meat and so was willing to try it if I
prepared it right.  I was wondering if I should eat it straight raw or
allow it to ferment or be predigested to a certain extent like I heard
the Eskimos do and other Peoples.  Well I never got around to it - of
course I've had Sushi my whole life but that was different in my Mind -
and last November I heard about a guy who ate Raw Meat while I was at
the Whole Life Expo and that he had a booth and was giving a Lecture and
a Workshop.  Well I went to his booth and saw him talking to others and
learned a bit more about him.  For those of you who don't know who I'm
talking about yet or haven't figured it out yet: it's Aajonus
Vonderplanitz who wrote the book "We Want To Live" and had been eating
RAF - Raw Animal Food - and other Raw Foods for over 29 years now.  When
he was 21, which was 29 years ago, he had Multiple Myeloma (blood and
bone cancers) and was basically sent home to die as they said he was
terminal.  Well after eating RAF he cured himself and has been eating
that way ever since and so that's the reason he's still here and alive
today so he says.  Well I looked at him and "scanned" him and saw that
he was pretty much telling the truth and he looked really great for 50,
like he was maybe 10 years younger, so I was sold!!!  Well we spoke for
awhile and I wanted to know the best ways to and if we needed to or
should age the Raw Meat and let it go "high" and predigest or ferment or
whatever you want to call it like the Eskimos and other cultures did.
Well he was against it and said from what he's seen Indigenous People
only seem to eat fermented foods on special occasions and it wasn't an
everyday affair - I don't know if this is actually true or not but it
could have been his experience.  My Instincts and Body like both
Fermented and Fresh Raw and I want to do both.  From my studies if the
Eskimos didn't feed their dogs "high" (fermented/predigested) fish they
were not hardly enough and didn't have the stamina to handle the harsh
winters etc. so I tend to think that it's actually good for us.  Aajonus
was really against fermented foods of any kind including fruits and
vegetables and I noticed that when I ate these fermented food I not only
like them, I craved them, and thrived on them, so from my experience I
knew they were good for me plus from my Scientific studies into
fermentation, and predigestion, and what it actually does; so I couldn't
really get from Aajonus why it was no good for us in his opinion.

Well I heard his Lecture and how he would eat literally rotten,
bacteria, and parasite infected raw meat and not have any problems with
it or even get sick and not even have any parasites show up in his
system from eating that way.  Well from looking and "seeing" him and
hearing him speak and tell his story and experience etc. I was really
hooked on eating Raw Meat from then on and, in fact, went and got some
within a few days and hadn't stopped since.  I ended up out of all the
raw meats I tried liking Top Round the best with the London Broil cut
because it was thicker about an inch instead of the normal 1/2".  I told
Aajonus what I ended up liking the best and he said he found that too
and so did most people - I thought that was interesting.  I also got raw
beef liver and raw chicken liver and started eating them too and feeding
the same foods to my Cats - So I was telling everyone I basically eat
the same Diet as my Cats!!! - :) - And it was true!!!  I didn't feed
them a lot of muscle meats because I thought the organ meats were better
for them and the muscle meats were so expensive especially since I only
bought Natural Organic Beef, but I recently learned that I should
balance it with muscle meats as well because just liver can throw your
system out of balance after awhile.

Well one thing I noticed that I found really interesting and made me
happy and feel good was that the second I tasted Raw Meat the first time
I had absolutely no aversion to it plus actually loved the taste and
started craving it from them on.  I also noticed the same thing from the
raw beef and chicken liver and that really surprised me - So much for
cultural aversion to Raw Muscle and Organ Meat - I loved them from that
start and was craving and thriving on them - I really was!!!

Well during this time I was also looking into others types of foods and
how to prepare them.  So from reading and studying "Nourishing
Traditions" I looked into Grains and how to prepare them by soaking them
to neutralize the Phytic Acid in the outer later or bran so that it
doesn't chelate and block mineral absorption - So I soak my grains for
at least 24 hours like the our Ancestors did.  Soaking also neutralizes
the Enzyme Inhibitors, present in all grains, and encourages the
production of other beneficial Enzymes.  I also was eating Sprouted
Breads and Raw Fermented Vegetables and Sauerkrauts.  Of course, all
during this time I continued to have all my Raw Dairy Products that I
had been having since about 1985 that I mentioned earlier.  I did
recently find a source for Raw Organic Goat cheese that was Hand-Made
and Unsalted - which was great - and added that to my Diet.

I did notice that after a few months on Raw Meats I was finally getting
a little tired of them and wanted some Raw Fruits and Vegetables again -
During this time I barely had any but felt fine - As I had said before I
really follow what my Body leads me to eat and it seems to work well for
me.

One thing I noticed eating this way was that I seemed to be putting on
Muscle and looking more Muscular but I did nothing else for it.  What I
mean is I sit on my ass on day long in front of a computer and I rarely
leave the house since my girlfriend does most of the shopping, so I
found it a nice effect.  My girlfriend was the one who noticed.  She
also noticed that I was looking better and that all the pimples on my
back were almost completely gone.

I have been studying all the different Types of Diets and basically
found what felt like worked for me and really wanted to make sure that
it was the best Scientifically as well, since I like to back up my
Instincts and Feelings with Logic and Facts when I can and I usually end
up being right or it's shown that my Instincts were correct after a
period of time and sometimes it a long while - I still feel it's
important to get the facts but that if you're really in tune with your
Body that you'll know what to do for you - Look at how often Science
says they're correct only to change their Minds again and say that
they're now really correct this time and this time it's really the Truth
and they have the Facts - So you can see the benefits of developing good
Instincts if you don't already have them.  That's one of the things that
I've been called Weird and Strange for all my Life and I couldn't
imagine being without them anymore than I could any of my Senses since I
use them all the time and in everything I do.

I've been writing for about 3 hours so I'm sort of going to call it
quits soon as my eyes are hurting a bit.  As you All can probably tell I
can go on and on and on - and on!!! - but I hope you've enjoyed
everything so far.  I don't think I'm going to be able to check all my
grammar before I post this but you'll probably understand it all I hope.

Basically, what I want to know after telling you what I've been eating
and why, is what is or are the best ways to eat for People and why and
does it really make a difference on your Blood Type and/or Genetic
Ancestry etc.; and please be specific on all the areas you wish to
comment on from what you know and/or believe to be True and what your
Personal Experiences have been doing different things etc..  So I'd like
to what is your feeling on Raw vs. Cooked, Animal vs. Non-Animal, and
all the other Types of Diets and Ways of Eating out there.

Something I found absolutely Wonderful, Informative, and Enlightening
was and Article I found at the following URL:
http://www2.southwind.net/~wardnik/hb-interview1a.html
-----
                  Paleolithic Diet vs. Vegetarianism:
              What was humanity's original, natural diet?

                   A 3-Part Visit with Ward Nicholson
"One of the best things to ever appear on the net on the subject of diet
and human evolution. Probably the most meticulously documented, closely
        detailed, well-researched discussion I have ever read."
      --Dean Esmay, host and moderator of the PALEODIET listgroup

                                 Part 1
                 Setting the scientific record straight
              on humanity's evolutionary prehistoric diet
                             and ape diets.

                                 Part 2
                  Fire and cooking in human evolution,
                 rates of genetic adaptation to change,
              hunter-gatherers, and diseases in the wild.

                                 Part 3
                   The psychology of idealistic diets
       and lessons learned from the Natural Hygiene Many-to-Many
           about successes and failures of vegetarian diets.
-----
I'm sure a lot of you in the know already have read and know about this
Article but those of you who don't I definitely recommend reading this
one.  I would love some feedback and comments on this Article as well as
my post because as I've said I'm really searching for the Truth and also
what works Me and Others.

I also just the other day started eating Raw Chicken - I had already
been eating Raw Chicken Liver for months - and I was really surprised
how much I liked it.  I had thought in my Mind it was going to be tough
or a bit strange for some reason compared to Beef but Boy! was I
wrong!!! - It Was Great!!! - It was so tender and almost buttery and
soft fruit like in its consistency and I really liked it and wish I had
started eating it earlier.  I had just been to another RAF Meeting in La
Jolla - which is in San Diego County for those of you who are wondering
- and had heard Aajonus speak again and we then had a RAF Potluck
afterwards - Which was Absolutely Fantastic!!! - and I told Aajonus what
I had been eating and asked his opinion about different Meats and what
they did for the Body etc..  He said he found that Beef was the best for
building Muscle and that Chicken and Fish were the best for building the
Nerves etc..  So since I had been eating a lot of Beef I decided to try
Chicken - And as I already said it was Great!!!

The other thing I want to know is that Aajonus basically says that you
can eat all the Honey you want and I'd like to know what you All think
about that; and he mixes it with other things so I guess that masks the
taste so that you can eat more than you'd normally eat on it's own and
so is that a good or a bad thing or neither.

Another thing I like and want some feedback and comments on is something
I wrote on 1-27-98 on the Live-Foods Mailing List and Peter Cross-Posted
here on the 1-29-98.  Here's part of it:
-----
Something else I do that a lot of raw fooders might not consider but if
they studied the Peoples of the World who live the longest they might: I
eat things like soaked porridges; soaked seeds, and grains; fermented
milk products, fruits, and vegetables; and soup and broths made from
chicken, turkey, and beef stocks - There seems to be something very
special about the gelatin in the stocks because it's actually
hydrophilic in nature like raw food is - cooked food is hydrophobic.

To make it easy let me quote you from one of my favorite books
"Nourishing Traditions - The Cookbook that Challenges Politically
Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats" by Sally Fallon with Pat
Connolly and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.:

Page 107, paragraphs 2 and 3:
-----
    "Properly prepared, meat stocks are extremely nutritious, containing
the minerals of bone, cartilage, marrow and vegetables as electrolytes,
and hence in easy-assimilated form.  In particular, wine and vinegar
added during cooking supplies the acid needed to draw minerals,
particularly calcium, magnesium and potassium, into the broth.
     Stock is also of great value because it supplies the hydrophilic
colloids to the diet.  Organic molecules are colloids.  In raw form,
these molecules attract liquids - they are hydrophilic.  Thus when we
eat a salad or some other raw food, the hydrophilic colloids attract
digestive juices for rapid and effective digestion.  Colloids that have
been heated are hydrophobic - they repel liquids, making cooked foods
harder to digest.  However, the proteinaceous gelatin in meat broths has
the unusual property of attracting liquids - it is hydrophilic - even
after it has been heated.  The same property by which gelatin attracts
water to form desserts like Jello, allows it to attract digestive juices
to the surface of cooked food particles."
-----
So, if you didn't already know, Stocks and Broths have been used since
Ancient Times for their Healing and Nutritional Benefits; it was said to
literally bring People back from the brink of death.  I'm sure you're
All familiar with what People seem to know to give people when they have
a cold or the flu: Rich Chicken Broth - The famous Jewish Penicillin.
Different Remedies like that seem to be passed down over Time from
Generation to Generation probably because they worked and, in fact,
another quote from "Nourishing Traditions" shows on Page 108, Paragraph
2:
-----
    "In folk wisdom, rich chicken broth - the famous Jewish penicillin -
is a valued remedy for colds and flu.  The 12th-century physician Moses
Maimonides prescribed chicken broth as a treatment for colds and
asthma.  Science has in fact confirmed that broth helps prevent and
mitigate infectious diseases.  The wise food provider, who uses
gelatin-rich broth on a daily or at least frequent basis, provides
continuous protection from these unfortunate conditions."
-----
Well it's now been about 5 hours since I started this message and I have
just taken a couple pee breaks and that's about it - I'm not joking!!! -
So you can see why I waited to write this message; I had no idea it
would actually be this long but I'm not surprised because I'm like
that.  I basically gave you All what I've done and what I'm into and
what I want to know in one big punch or shot or whatever you want to
call it and I hope you enjoyed it and found it at least some what
Informative and Enlightening and that not only I but everyone in the
Group gets something out of it.  Thank you All for hanging in there and
reading this whole thing; I wouldn't be surprised if it's the longest
message ever posted here - Oh well, as I warned you, I have a habit of
writing very long and detailed messages - But I do hope that you'll
enjoy them though.  As I hope you can tell, I'm really here to learn the
Truth about Diet, Health, and Nutrition - if there can ever be a Final
Real Truth - and I'm willing to spend the Time to Learn and give Support
where I can as well.

Well I guess that's all for now All and again I really do appreciate
your reading of this message and look forward to all of your comments so
that we can really get into some serious learning and discussion - Thank
You!!!

 - So Take Care my Fellow Travelers and Truth Seekers on the Path of
Truth, Life, Love, Health, and Freedom!!!

 - Bye For Now!!!
 - Gregg!!!

P.S. Just so you'd All know I decided to read over the message and check
the Grammar and Spell Check as best I could since I am so tired so
hopefully it's clear, readable, understandable, and, of course, Mostly
Enjoyable!!! - And It Only Took Me About 8 Hours!!! - Is That All!!! -
Geesh!!! - I Must Be Absolutely Totally Obsessive!!! - But In A Good
Way!!! - :)!!!

 - Well This Time I'm Really Done!!!

 - Thanks Again for All Your Time and Anticipated Wonderful,
Informative, and Enlightening Responses!!!