Leah,

> I think I'm doing pretty well with it, because I have eliminated meat,
> dairy and eggs from my diet - so I pretty much can't go wrong with
> anything I eat.  My main concern at the moment are the quantities - I'm
> finding that I am either hungry all the time or I am eating too much...

It is very difficult to satisfy hunger with low-fat fruits and
vegetables only, unless one eats all the time. Higher quality is not
the answer to all problems: I have tried fruits from Orkos myself, and
observed other people eat these fruits. Obviously, people eat much
more than "two handfuls at breakfast and nothing until dinner" (I
guess it depends on what you mean by "handful"). High-quality fruits
don't have magical properties (and are very expensive, as Alan pointed
out). The only way I know which has some degree of success to be raw
vegan is to eat a lot of avocados (3 or 4/day) or other fatty plant
foods (like nuts). But aside from being quite boring (who wants to eat
1200 avocados/year all his life?), such a diet can bring deficiencies
after a few years. Another way (like you are doing) is to include some
cooked starch in the diet.

> I'm looking for a happy medium, which will satisfy my pleasure in eating
> and sustain my physiological nutritional needs.  I thought proper
> combining might be the answer - because I don't think it's what I am
> eating at the moment but rather how I am eating it.

Proper combining can only solve digestive problems, but won't increase
the nutritional quality of what you are eating.

> For instance, this morning I've had 2 bananas, a pear and a small orange
> (I don't know what they are called in English) and I am stuffed!!! I
> feel like I'm about to explode.  I've tried cutting down to like 1-2
> pieces of fruit in the morning, but then I find myself starving hungry
> at 11am! Any advise???

Are you getting sufficient calories at dinner? Many people find
breakfast unnecessary, but dinner has to include a "dense" food in
sufficient quantity.

> I am 30 years old and have only started this way of life about 6 months
> ago.  So far so good, but I have had to start taking B12 pills because 3
> months ago my levels went way below normal and they wanted to give me
> shots.

Since humans usually have 3-5 years of B-12 reserves, I guess Alan is
right when he says that your diet cannot posibly have caused your B12
deficiency (i.e. you were probably already deficient 6 months ago),
but regardless of the reason why your B12 level is below normal, not
having adequate sources of B12 would be dangerous (like trying to
drive a car with an empty tank), unless you want to take pills for the
rest of your life. The only reliable sources of B12 are animal (meat,
fish, eggs, dairy). Other sources (dirt, bacteria in your mouth, etc)
can supply a little B12, but in your case, until your stores are fully
replenished, relying on them is too risky.


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