Andre,
> I've been a vegan for over 20 years & have tried Raw
> Foodism for over a year.

20 years is a long time. How's your health overall? I'm not
surprised you've got some concerns.

> I can't seem to figure out
> why my breath, stool & gas is VERY foul.

Could indicate improper intestinal flora.

But a better question might be, why do you have gas? Gas is not a
good thing - means you're not digesting something properly. We're
not supposed to be bloated and gasey after eating.

Could also be that your (or your significant others') interpretation
of "VERY foul" is a little overstated. Poop isn't supposed to smell
like roses - especially in scavenger omnivorous animals like we are.
It's not supposed to smell sweet like cow or horse poop, for
instance, (both of which, to me, are totally wonderful, cozy,
welcoming, comforting smells).

> I could try to blame the breath on my periodontal disease,

That is certainly what I'd assume, if I were you. A better question
might be, why on earth do you have periodontal disease? If it were
me, I'd be wondering about my diet!

> but why is stool & gas so foul.

The gas thing again ...... are you eating lots of beans (like many
vegans, desperately hungry for protein)? Soooo many people cannot
digest beans (legumes). Have you looked at this yet:

http://www.beyondveg.com/index.shtml

You'll find discussions there that might help you think about your
diet choices, and possible digestion problems, that might help
answer your odor questions.

> i don't drink 1/2 hour
> before meals or 2 hours after meals

I wouldn't worry about drinking with a meal. Both animals in the
wild, and domesticated animals, drink with their meals, all the
time. And what about soup? Isn't that drinking with a meal? I think
you may be giving yourself a hard time here. Just drink if you're
thirsty (water).

> my excercise level on
> a scale of 1(bad) to 10(excellant) would be a 2.

That doesn't sound like you're too pleased with your excercise
level. Certainly contributes to your overall level of health, and
therefore efficiency of digestion.

By the way - have you been tested for B12? If so, what did they
test?

Take a look at the article on vegans and B12 at the above site. It's
very informative.

> Typical weeks diet for me would be
> 30% raw salads w/commercial(health food store)
> dressing
> 30% raw nuts(peanuts, pistachios & raw cashews)
> 15% fresh fruit
> 10% cooked fresh veggies(corn, peas, string beans,
> potatoes)
> 5% frozen health food variety garden/veggie burger
> products
> 3% tofu
> 2% oatmeal
> 1% soy milk
> 1% heatlh food whole wheat bread
> 1% pastaurized(preferably not concentrated) fruit
> juices(orange/apple/grape)
> 1% honey
> 1% margarine/safflower oil/
>
> Any suggestions - could there be something else
> medically wrong with me?

I don't particularly like a number of the foods you've got on your
list - but who knows what you can and cannot make use of -
everybody's different.

In answer to your second question, yes, there could be something
medically "wrong" with you - your periodontal disease for one. But I
wouldn't necessarily call it "wrong" - I would think of it as "off
balance" - not just semantics - rather, a fundamentally different
way of thinking about how to approach health problems.

> It amazes me that some of my canivirous eating
> associates nevver seem to have this problem.

Hmmmmm. How would you KNOW this? :)

> (although i'm sure there are some meat eaters with
> this problem as well

Yes, you are right about that!  :)

J. R. Ellis gives medical advice:
> since you are mostly all raw
> you are relatively healthy

This is utter nonsense.

Furthermore, advice like this is irresponsible, and quite possibly
dangerous.

You are not in a position to know anything at all about Andre's
health. For all you know, he could have some serious degenerative
disease, and yet you pose as an expert, advising him that because of
raw food he must be "relatively healthy."

It is a completely foolish myth, that raw food in the diet
guarantees anything. Those who promote this foolish, militant "raw
is law" type nonsense have some personal agenda.

Evidently, J. R. Ellis, you do not appear to be well informed on
either the science behind human nutrition, the current research and
findings in this field, or the abundance of anecdotal evidence that
shows clearly that this notion of rawness having any particularly
significant importance in the diet is just silliness.

> and you are able to get rid of poisons quickly

This is just some more silliness, taken from old, easy-reading,
popular literature found in the health-food stores.

> the small amount of cooked that you do eat can be responsible

:D

> keep in touch if you try it

If you would like to keep in touch with J. R. Ellis, he runs an
internet mailing list for people who are devoted to this
"all-raw-diet" thinking. You will get a lot of encouragement over
there to stick with your veganism, and to try to get your diet to
the point of nothing cooked whatsoever.

He also runs a 12-step program on the internet, for people who are
supposedly "addicted" to cooked foods (maybe they're just hungry?
:D).  Anyway, I'm sure he'll be delighted to tell you all about it.
:)

For a little background on the credibility of this person, take a
look at the archives of this list - I think you'll find it amusing.

But at any rate, with regard to your serious health questions - my
recommendation would be to go to the site I've mentioned above, and
see if you find anything helpful there. And there are normally lots
of people on this list - a diverse, intelligent group, (without any
particular "agenda" for any particular diet ),  who are generous and
happy to help try to figure things out with other listmembers.

Hope this helps some.

Love Liza

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[log in to unmask] (Liza May)