Gary Orlando wrote:
>
> thank you very much for your comments, David.
>
> I wonder why some people seem to do ok without the raf, and
> others seem to not do well on raw vegan.

I did very well initially as a raw food vegan. I was 48 and noticing wrinkles
around my eyes when I started. I had been a Dr McDougal high complex
carbohydrate vegan for a little over a year when I went raw. For about 6 months
before the switch to raw I had been aware of the possible benefits of all raw
but I kept on eating my beans and rice. Finally I decided to try going all raw -
not sure if I could eat all raw. This was a major shock to my body. I was
ravenously hungry and my body started cleansing. I had some very difficult times
with tiredness, 5 days of sore throat and mucus being eliminated. I would have
stopped many times during this period except for the fact that I was noticing
good changes in my body. After about 2 months, I realized that I was doing very
well and tried to convert everyone I knew. Needless to say there was very little
interest. One of the nice things was the change in my skin. It became softer and
resilient. Wrinkles went away.

I feel that a raw vegan diet is good for cleansing and healing but for most
people lacks some nutrients needed for long term health. I am the listowner of
paleofood on this server. This is a hunter/gather animal food eating list.  A
recurring subject on this list is from former vegan/vegetarians who had
developed health problems that went away when they went back to animal foods.
This is not proof (we don't know "how good" their diets were) but it is an
indication of possible problems. We know that animal foods are common to all
societies on this planet and have been for a long time. Is this just
coincidence? Probably not. It is certainly possible to survive without animal
foods but survive does not mean the same as optimum health.

I have been involved with the raw food (almost all vegan) people in Los Angeles
since 1986. Some have not stayed all raw but seem to be doing well. Of those
that have stayed vegan, IMO they are not as healthy looking as they think they
are. I am now recommending adding animal products to any that will listen. Some
I don't even bother other than to say how much better I feel with animal foods
than before. I have lost a number of friends because of my diet change. I have
become the "eneny".