Mark,

> the fact that shortly after
> embarking on a raw diet my body ejected a cancerous tumor is pretty good
> anecdotal evidence to me that raw foods are good for something.

I would like to think that I'd be the first to be relieved, pleased,
and eager to congratulate you, on surviving cancer. Mark, that is a
great and happy accomplishment! :)

And, if you and I were to meet in the street to enjoy a few words
about this, I'm sure I would be nothing but sincerely
congratulatory, indeed _encouraging_, regarding your feeling that
your recovery was due to the raw foods.

However, because we are having a _public_ discussion about this, I
feel it is my responsibility to express some other thoughts on this.
First of all, I would wonder whether perhaps your sheer
_determination_ to get rid of the tumour might have had just as much
of an impact on your recovery as the raw foods - who knows - maybe
more!

Furthermore - I'd want to know what else you "changed" at that
time..... Did you start to take better care of yourself in general?
Did you get more sleep? Did you become resolute about taking charge
of your life? Did you change excercise habits? Did you change a job,
or clean up a relationship, or forgive someone important, or clean
out your garage and closets? Did you stop partying and staying out
late at night and drinking and smoking? Did you get rid of stress in
some important way? And as far as diet - did you ELIMINATE something
you had been eating a lot of, that could possibly have been the
culprit?

Human biology is complex, and diet is not always solely responsible
for recovery, like some of us would like to believe.

> I'm sure there is
> abundant research funded by General Mills and other selfless
> organizations which demonstrates that we are all crazy and that
> Twinkies and Kentucky Fried Chicken are the ideal food.

:D  Yes, I agree. Plenty of evil out there. But just a reminder that
there is also a lot of great, creative, ethical, science, too. Lots
of scientists are good people, just looking for answers, like you
and me. :)

> The "To" line at the top of this e-mail reads: "Raw Food Diet
> Support List." Were you under the impression that your statement
> above is supportive of people wanting to eat a raw food diet?  Or
> did you join the list to criticize this diet?

Yes, this is the raw-food list. However that does not mean that
messages such as this last one by Ellis, promoting nonsensical,
possibly even dangerous advice  --  portraying raw foods as being
some sort of magical cure-all for all ills  --  are not to be
challenged. This is a forum for reasonable and intelligent
discussion about the merits of raw foods, not some platform for
someone's irrational personal agenda. Moreover, this particular
person has been childish and irresponsible in the past, with
regard to being accountable for statements he makes, continuing
conversations he starts, answering questions when challenged,
and so on.

Liza had said:
> >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.

Mark said:
> This is a cheap shot.  Why don't you stick to the issues instead of
> launching ad hominem attacks?

Mark, I would have to disagree with you. I do think that, on the
internet especially, it's important to raise the issue of the
credibility of a person who offers "expert" advice. In fact, maybe
this is even more true on a list like this one, where people's
health is at stake.

> For what it's worth, I agree that one is not necessarily
> relatively healthy just because one is eating mostly raw food.

I'm glad you agree, and really I wouldn't have doubted that you
would agree with this - it's just common sense.  And you've seemed,
through your posts on this list, that you are a sensible and
thoughtful person. This is _not_ what was said by Ellis, as you
know. :)

> But as a general proposition, people who eat lots of fresh, raw, organic
> fruits and vegetables instead of the typical devitalized foods most people
> on this planet eat (especially in the industrialized countries) are taking
> a very important step towards improving their health.

Well, of course! Who wouldn't agree with that! :)

Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to write. If Ellis is a friend of
yours, my apologies to you for having to criticize your friend
publically.

And I look forward to more of your interesting posts to the list. :)

Love Liza
--
[log in to unmask] (Liza May)