Wes:
> Raw food researcher Dr. Howard Loomis has found the same thing as Dr.
> Paul Kauchakoff found repeatedly

Could you provide the reference? Is it recent? (I made a search on
Medline and couldn't find it).

By the way, an article about raw versus cooked food will soon be available
at http://www.beyondveg.com. Since it is fairly long, I thought I
would post the part concerning leukocytosis here. [Note: I say at some
point that Kouchakoff's results haven't been confirmed, but given what
you said above, I might be wrong].

---------------------------

This phenomenon (increase in the number of white blood cells after
cooked, but not raw meals), was discovered in the 1920s, but since it has
never been confirmed by subsequent scientists, it is not unreasonable to
believe that it was due to an experimental error. That this single series
of experiments upon which the raw-foodist claims about leukocytosis
are based hark back to the 1920s/30s would be enough to raise doubts for
any rigorous researcher about the potential oversights early work like
this might have had. Without these experiments having been replicated
with the benefit of considerably more sophisticated modern techniques
and knowledge about the immune system, it is difficult to take these
experiments without a large grain of salt today.


However, for the sake of discussion, let's look at the Kouchakoff
experiments of the 1920s/30s upon which the raw-foodist claims are
based. When we do, what we first notice is that Kouchakoff's
experiments are not an argument against predominantly raw diets (versus
100% raw), since according to Kouchakoff [1930]: "It has been proved
possible to take, without changing the blood formula, every kind of
foodstuff which is habitually eaten now, but only by following this rule,
viz.--that it must be taken along with raw products, according to a
definite formula."

That is, Kouchakoff found that when a cooked food is ingested,
leukocytosis can be avoided simply by adding about 10% of the same raw
food [Kouchakoff 1937, p. 336], or a raw food whose critical temperature
is higher [Kouchakoff 1937, p. 332-334]. Therefore, it is by no means
necessary to eat 100% raw or even predominantly raw to avoid
leukocytosis; even totally cooked meals would be fine provided cooking
temperatures are low enough.

According to Kouchakoff [1937], pp. 330-332, foods heated below their
critical temperature for 30 minutes don't induce digestive leukocytosis.
Critical temperatures vary between 87°C (189°F) and
97°C (207°F). Even water has a critical temperature (of
87°C), which is somewhat surprising and raises some doubts about
the validity of Kouchakoff's results.

Now--still assuming that Kouchakoff's observations are valid, which is
somewhat questionable--it is important to understand the meaning of an
increase of white blood cells. The naive interpretation of raw-foodists is
that cooked food contains foreign substances that the body must fight;
and in addition, since the body's immune system is busy with cooked
molecules, it can't be fully efficient against germs.

Note that these last assertions demand specific evidence--which
probably few if any raw-foodists who espouse this theory would be
equipped to supply. That is, such assertions are simply speculation.
Efficiency of the immune system depends on a number of factors; it's
much more than a simple white blood cell count.

Next, we note that leukocytosis occurs in other circumstances than
infections [Gabriel et al. 1997]: in particular, following exercise. It has
been shown that infection-induced and exercise-induced leukocytosis
differ in nature, but the phenomenon is still not well understood. No one
will say that exercising is bad because of the subsequent leukocytosis.
Similarly, it is known that pregnancy induces leukocytosis [Branch
1992], as well as increased levels of adrenalin. The mechanism
underlying this phenomenon and its physiological implications are not
known.

Finally, let's mention that an article of Kouchakoff's published in French
[1937] includes some dietary advice (pp. 314-316) to prevent digestive
leukocytosis. As seen below, the recommended diet is not even
predominantly raw, and foods such as grilled meat, bread, coffee, and salt
are not prohibited. Of course, we express no opinion concerning the ideas
of Kouchakoff here related to food selection, our point being simply to
show that, in the eyes of the researcher himself who "discovered" a
relation between leukocytosis and cooked food, only minor changes to
fully-cooked diets are enough to prevent increases of white blood cells
subsequent to meals. Our translation from the French follows:

     Here is, along with their preparation method, a short list of
     the main foods we can use without risk of inducing digestive
     leukocytosis. For the sake of simplicity, "raw" will designate
     foods that are unheated, as well as those heated below their
     critical temperature. Furthermore, to correct the effects of a
     cooked food with a raw one, we recall that the latter should
     be added in the proportion of approximately 1 to 10. By
     "water," we mean ordinary drinking water, such as tap water.

     Milk: raw, or heated below 88°C (190°F); if
     boiled, add raw milk or cream. No sugar. Yogurt, curds:
     allowed. Tea and coffee: add lemon juice, or water, or raw
     milk, or cream. No sugar. Wine: should be diluted with two
     raw products: water, fruits, fruit juice.

     Bread: always whole, with butter. Eggs: fresh or soft-
     boiled. The yolk will remain raw and will correct the white.
     Butter: fresh, or melted below 91°C (196°F).
     Cheese: all kinds allowed, but should be taken with bread
     and butter. Fruits: raw or in salad. If at least two different
     kinds are used, sugar may be added. Sugar: avoid as much as
     possible, replace with honey. Remember that sugar should
     always be balanced with two different raw products.

     Condiments: all kinds allowed (nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon,
     cloves, etc.), but add to cooked foods only when serving.
     Salad: one, or better, several kinds (lettuce, endive,
     watercress, dandelion). By increasing the number of
     different components, several cooked foods can be corrected
     at the same time. Use (cold-pressed) first-choice olive or
     walnut oil. No peanut oil. No vinegar, but lemon juice. Salt
     and pepper unlimited.

     Vegetables: raw, finely chopped and prepared at the last
     minute. As with salad, it is better to mix several vegetables
     (carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, etc.), which will perform a
     multiple correction. Eat with a mayonnaise: from first
     choice-olive oil. No peanut oil. Fresh eggs, salt, pepper,
     chives to taste. Lemon juice. No vinegar.

     Meats: any raw or rare meats, smoked or salt-preserved
     meats: herring, ham, bacon. Boiled, braised, or grilled meats
     will be served with a mixed salad or mixed vegetables. Fish
     can be steamed (trout). Thus, boiled water will be avoided,
     since steam is simply distilled water, which is neutral for the
     organism. When serving, add fresh butter, lemon, parsley,
     and chopped onions, etc. Serve grilled meats in a similar
     fashion. For braised meat, cooking water will be discarded
     and replaced with the juice of the same vegetables that are
     served with the meat (carrots, tomatoes). The meat will be
     corrected with fresh butter, lemon, parsley, and the
     vegetables themselves, or by a mixed salad or a vegetable
     salad.

Note that we are not here recommending a diet based on food choices
like what Kouchakoff suggests above, only demonstrating that his
research has been taken considerably out of context by extremists and
used to "prove" things that Kouchakoff's work itself does not support
(such as that an all-raw diet is necessary, or the only way, or the best
way, to avoid leukocytosis).

REFERENCES

Branch DW (1992) "Physiologic adaptations of pregnancy." Am J Reprod
Immunol, vol. 28, no. 3-4 (Oct.), pp. 120-122. Review.

Gabriel H, et al. (1997) "The acute immune response to exercise: what
does it mean?" Int J Sports Med, vol. 18, suppl 1 (Mar.), pp. S28-S45.
Review.

Kouchakoff P (1930) "The influence of cooking food on the blood
formula of man." First International Congress of Microbiology, Paris.

Kouchakoff P (1937) "Nouvelles lois de l'alimentation humaine basées
sur la leucocytose digestive." Mémoires de la société Vaudoise des
sciences naturelles, No. 39, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 319-348.


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