Axel:

> as for the placebo effect of raw food: why do you think this to be the
> case?

That's a complex question, on which a lot could be written. In short:

 -there are many myths about raw food, like that eating raw guarantees
perfect health. That by itself has a powerful placebo effect if one
believes in it.

 -Some books about raw food accuse the pharmaceutical industry, the
meat industry, the dairy industry, etc. People like to hear that they
have been fooled all the way until now, but that they are now part of the
enlightened few; people like to have an easy scapegoat for all
problems of humankind.

 -Some people need a fatherly or even God-like figure because they
feel helpless. Some dietary gurus are sometimes considered as geniuses
or semi-gods.


> how can you determine what causes healing in a person that eats raw
> and/or has faith in raw food and/or anything else?

Short answer: I can't.

Naturally, in non-terminally ill patients, raw foods can and do
help. However, I am still wondering how much of these benefits are
indirect (psychological effects, suppression of processed foods,
decreased grain intake, higher fiber content of diet, suppression of
salt, etc.) and how much result from not cooking food.


--Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>