Trish Pottersmith writes:

 > I've learned that what I eat affects my propensity for severe
 > depressions and that (for me) it, along with other healthy pursuits like
 > exercise, meditation/prayer, human contact, is more effective than
 > lithium, prozac or other drugs.  I've settled on about 60-80% raw with
 > occasional forays of 100% raw.

Hi Trish,
I, too, had severe depressions before I got into raw food four years
ago. Last winter I tried to reintroduce some cooked vegetables and
grains into my diet because I felt that my (at that time) vegan
100%-raw diet was too restrictive and not feasible on a long term.
I *craved* for cooked veggies, couldn't get enough of steamed broccoli
and cauliflower. After some euphoric weeks of feeling stronger and
more grounded, I became DEPRESSIVE again! I tried to stabilize this
for some months but finally (in January) returned to
all-raw. Depressions cleared up immediately. The cooked veggies were
definately giving my body something he did not get otherwise but this
seemed a high tradeoff.

In connection with this, I noticed that the small, whitish areas on my
fingernails near the bed of the nails (we call them "moons") started
to regrow again. On all-raw before they totally disappeared (except
for the thumbs) . When I returned to 100% raw, they growing
stopped. The state remained for awhile, somehow linked with the zinc
and B12 supplements I took in that time, but now they are almost gone
again. I don't consider this a good sign. Now i habitually watch
people's fingernails whether they have those moons. Most people have
but some have not. Has anybody an explanation for those moons? Has
anybody experienced growing or shrinking moons? Thanks for any
comments!

 > I have come around to decide that the whole thing is
 > just completely personal.  It's up to you to figure out what works
 > and makes you feel best.   I believe that some people do better on
 > some kind of animal flesh.  My guess is that the human body is much,
 > much more flexible, clever and adaptable than anybody believes.  I find
 > myself wondering whether we can ever really understand it through
 > science.  I guess I don't believe it is that black and white.  There
 > is something perhaps unknowable going on.  As Tom has pointed out as well,
 > nutrition is only ONE part of the picture.  There are people who have
 > lived incredibly long productive lives on all sorts of diets - I wonder
 > what else these people might have in common.

This seems quite clear to me -
they all have a very good digestion and the ability to live on quite
small amounts of food (without cravings or dysbalances - no
dieting!). If you are content with little food, the kind of diet seems
to be not THAT important. Quality of food is an issue, however,
because if you get bad food, you need greater amounts.
Furthermore, they do some physical work outdoors, like gardening.

Best regards

Christian