hello!

The following message by Chris Morrill is from a month ago, answering to
one o wrote.




>Thank you for your story, Axel (posted February 14).  Please don't lose
>hope.  It's touching to hear how your early eagerness and quick healing
>turned into scary new symptoms, discouragement, and panic.
>
>I know how scary it is to have this acute edema (disabling water retention)
>that no one can explain -- because I had it, too!  In my early days of a
>cleansing diet, it came on me in much the same way.  So I can suggest how
>it happens, what may help you ... and above all, how to avoid it in the
future.
>
>Unfortunately, I suspect experiences like ours are more common than we know
>among well-intentioned newcomers to health-conscious eating.  Toxic from a
>life-long junk diet, people get miraculous results on a cleansing program
>-- as you did:
>        << i read fit for life and adopted the program overnight. my
digestion
>healed, at least everything seemed normal again. >>
>
>Alas, problems can come later.  When the time comes to shift from cleansing
>to an on-going maintenance program, it's difficult to eat and digest enough
>food on a diet so much bulkier than your guts are used to.  Because raw
>fruits and vegetables are very low in calories and other necessary
>nutrients, you need to eat many pounds every day.  It's hard to do this,
>and what's worse, beginners are misled by noble ideals of eating an
>unnaturally restricted diet.
>
>Deeply rooted in our cells, the body's demand for nourishment cannot be
>denied forever.  So there's a powerful, instinctive impulse to escape from
>the restricted diet and eat some hearty food.  Undernourished on just raw
>fruits, a few vegetables, and perhaps some sprouts, many well-intentioned
>beginners end up bingeing incontinently.  In my case, after months of fruit
>and veggies only, I suddenly gorged myself with cheese and other dairy
>products.  (I told myself I was protein-deficient.)  Acute disabling edema
>followed immediately.
>
>Your story sounds sadly familiar:
>        << from 1996 till the mid of 1997, i stayed all raw, basically was
>fruit,
>seeds, juices, avos, greens. in 1997, i started eating cooked food again,
>more and less clean stuff at the beggining but very soon, for emotional
>reasons, i was eating all the crap, chocolate, cheese, pastry, etc i
>wanted, everyday. in a few weeks, i gained like 50 pounds of water. i was
>all puffed. very horrible. >>
>
>Please do not blame yourself, Axel.  I don't think you ate this way "for
>emotional reasons."  The simple truth is, you were chronically
>undernourished on your restrictive diet.  Your body was crying out to be fed.
>
>The edema (water retention) that you describe is not surprising, after
>bouncing back to a heavy, crappy diet.  Following months of simple food,
>the body is not accustomed to heavy foods of any kind; junk foods are even
>worse.  The edema seems to be the body's way of sequestering this sudden
>influx of unaccustomed, unwelcome material.
>
>The edema, once it comes, is hard to get rid of -- as you know:
>        << i am clueless about what causes water retention beyond the food
>factors. i mean, if i eat well and the water stays there. >>
>
>Yes, it did for me too.  Doctors, as you say, are useless here; they have
>never seen people like us.  Even "alternative" healers, I found, had no
>help for me.
>
>What finally cleared the edema for me was wonderfully simple:  three days
>of fasting on water only.  But fasting, as you discovered in 1994, is a
>powerful tool, and the changes in your body can be scary if you aren't sure
>what to expect.
>
>Here are my thoughts for you:
>
>- If you feel ready to fast again, I think the effect on your water
>retention will amaze you.  But please, take it easy this time -- maybe just
>three days at first.  Get advice about how to eat in the days before and
>after fasting.  Rest during the fast, and be gentle with yourself
>afterward.  Read books like Herbert Shelton's classic, _Fasting Can Save
>Your Life_, and Joel Fuhrmann's _Fasting and Eating for Health_.
>
>- After the fast, keep your diet simple for a few days.  Start with juicy
>fruits (you might try ripe papayas), then slowly add more fruits and veggies.
>
>- As your strength and digestion return, give yourself permission to eat
>plenty of good, nourishing food -- not just low-calorie stuff.  Increase
>your intake of rich, fatty nuts and avocados; experiment with dried fruits.
> Egg yolks, if you are open to animal foods, are said to be easily
>digestible.  Simple cooked foods are no sin, if that's what it takes to
>meet your needs.
>
>- If you feel tempted to binge on junk, it usually means your body is
>crying out for nourishment.  Eat more good food!  You won't crave junk
>foods if you enjoy an generous intake of rich, satisfying, varied natural
>foods.
>
>- Above all, Axel, don't restrict yourself to an idealistic diet.  Trying
>to be _both_ all-raw and all-vegan is probably a mistake.  It's very
>difficult to be well nourished on a diet so out of keeping with our
>ancestral heritage.  The natural human diet is rich, varied, and abundant.
>Read Ronald Schmidt's eye-opening book, _Traditional Foods are Your Best
>Medicine_.  What you learn will surprise you.
>
>Good luck, Axel.  Please write again in a week or two to let us know how
>you are doing.
>
>C.

ok. i sent an incomplete answer a few days ago. i started to write and then
sent it together with other messages. i am sorry.

during the last month, i have made a few changes:

as i said, i stopped junk mostly when i sent that message a month ago. i
had been eating "clean" food for a couple of weeks before that. but for the
last month (in part as a survival mechanism and also because of everybody´s
posts) i have not plunged into eating crap auto pilot. i still eat junk
sometimes, but happily the stuff is loosing its appeal overall, maybe
because i started doing a few other things:


-- rebounding. every morning, i put some music that prompts me to dance,
take a couple of hand weights, and for about 45 minutes to an hour, i
dance/sing/run/rebound/lift weights. the best thing about rebounding is
that i end up feeling energetic for several hours usually after i am done
with it, even if i ate crap that day or the day before. i have read good
things about it, but do not care too much, it seems safe and i feel good.
enough for me. i even enjoy it! ;)

-- i started lifting weights at home. my brother has a cheap small nautilus
machine. this is also a positive influence, i feel stronger, despite not
looking healthy overall and i have more "explosive" energy for everyday
tasks (and i have only been doing it for a month ;)). i had an initial test
(maximum strengh, hearth rhytmh while running at different speeds, etc) at
a nearby gymasium today to start on monday. i want to do real bodybuilding
with proffesional guidance for a few months and see what happens. 


-- bicicling. about an hour a day, most days. 

--sunbathing! there is something about sunbathing! honestly, while the
theory is probably interesting, and bla bla bla, what fascinates me is the
difference in the way i feel and function. there is just _something_ about
it. sometimes i feel it actually "charges" me. of course you do not really
know because at the same time i am doing a few other things, such as eating
"properly" (i can not even write this word in this list ;)), exercise, etc.
i imagine that all other things equal, and assuming you eat some kind of
healthy diet, regular sunbathing is probably good for you, and, why not, it
might have something to do with nutritional problems.  also the skin feels
smoth, odorless no matter how much i sweat, and looks good too.

--in regards to food, oh well. i have my body on my side, that helps. i
know that some foods my body does not like. the problem with this is that i
am overly restricted in choices. the organic scene down here is not even
basic if you want to eat well
 i bought dulse from maine coast sea vegetables. i tried eggs but did not
like the taste. have not tried recently raw dairy, but cheese to me is a
no-no, for the way my body reacts. yoghur? how do you make tasty raw
yoghur? raw butter, ala ajanous (sp?) i guess it would taste great, but
have not tried it.
 
cooked vegetables? maybe, you can eat more, but they are still  low calorie
stuff, so i can eat plenty of them and feel hungry shortly afterwards. raw
meat? i  know i could not even prepare myself to eat it. no way. you know
what i mean, right? just sitting in front of a raw piece of meat, to eat
it, no, i can not do that. cooked meat? sure it might be palatable, but is
it worth it, even cooked, for an undernourished restricted raw vegan? ;).
cooked or raw fish? if it is tasty, i could eat it, and have read here in
this list that raw fish is easy on your tummy. not attracted to fish,
though. cooked starches? sure, i enjoy eating them, but again, avo with
dulse or seed butter with celery or mango with papaya beat them any day.
this means less food needed, satiety lasts longer, feel lighter, can
exercise heavily shortly after eating, etc. what other foods are out there?
grains? no way. i need to eat a lot just not to be hungry again soon. they
are not tasty, either. legumes? too heavy, not properly digested, no fun.
nuts? similar to avos, but heavier, and not properly digested either.
greens are ok, and most veggies too. 
basically i still think that for ME, what works best is a mostly high water
raw food. there can be concentrated foods, sure, but i function best when
most of the food is high water raw. it is inmediate. 

one more thing:

a new acquaintance, out of the blue, invited me to go to miami beach for
eastern, all paid. so i am going to the states again. i wanted to ask you
all this: 

say, you live in a third world country, you go to the states for a few
days, and have some savings. what would YOU guys buy, in terms of
supplements, enzymes, health products, or whatever, stuff that you know you
can not get where you live? i would like to hear what you consider "must
have" stuff. what i know i am going to buy is an angel juicer (can you buy
one somewhere in the miami beach/miami area, so i will not have to order it
from the company?), that seems to be a really good machine. i love green
juices, eventhough the ones i make go bad almost instantly. i am curious
about real juice, no pulp, not rotten. lettuce juice, spinach juice, chard
juice, endivie juice, sprouts juice, wheatgrass. i will report back when i
start drinking it.  

kirt, i though about buying cassia. is it too sweet? is it worth it even if
you are vegan? 


oh, i forgot something important. the water retention in my legs. i was
wrong all the way, and i sincerely apologize to all of you for making it
seem as a serious real thing (some even told me heart and kindey damage).
there was no water retention, it was my ignorance plus my sudden
realization that i was blindly addicted to junk food, plus a sudden desire
to be ok. it was just flabby muscle. not more than that. again, i openly
apologize.  

still i am puzzled by the fact that eating concentrated crap eliminates
some of my symptoms. something to do with the macronutrient profile, maybe,
peter? it could be. although when i eat mostly sweet fruit for the
calories, i do better overall.


changing the topic, i want to say "thank you" to the creator of this list,
to the moderator, and to all the people that participate, because all this
has been a force that prompted me to go back to doing the best i can for
myself. i also have my personal desire to live, heal and enjoy, but you
guys where really helpful. you see, once i started reading all the messages
daily, it did not make too much sense to eat junk all the time! it is not
worth it. 


i started eating sweet fruit more freely, and this satisfies me
pleasure-wise. when i am having dates and mangos and persimons, chocolate
is no longer interesting. it seems to me, at least at my current level of
understanding, that in the long run I need to eat sweet fruit, at least
some. it does not work without sweets at all, as i was doing lately. raw
vegan without sweets, too boring.

i also have an awful lot of reading to do! like, fifty books? one hundred?
seriously! but i am repressing myself because the angel juicer is
expensive, you know.

last thing, i want also to apologize because i have sent many posts lately
that have been aggresive, with an "i know all" bs attitude, preachy, and
extremist. i do think some of the things i wrote, but the style was not the
appropiate. hope to keep talking with you guys in a more friendly relaxed
manner. 


regards,
              axel makaroff