> I don't know any more about this other than what Kirt has reported on
> beyondveg - and I was assuming we can trust that source :). Since there
> are not exactly masses of people doing instincto, even a couple of
> cancer cases would seem to be a concern. Whereas, Ronald Schmid reports
> in 'Native Nutrition' that development of cancers where the person
> before had none, for persons eating a balanced, natural food diet with
> lots of raw foods, is very rare.

I would say that so far, no statistical data can be significant, since
cancer takes years to develop, and rarely occurs among young people:
not enough middle-aged or older people have practiced instincto for a
period of several years to draw any meaningful conclusion.

In Nicole Burger's case, who died of breast cancer a few years ago,
it must be stressed that:

 - Breast cancer is mostly dependent on certain reproductive factors,
   like hormonal factors. Diet may also play a role, but that is less
   certain; if it does, then risk factors have more to do with energy
   intake, macronutrient balance or insulin resistance than with the
   question of eating cooked food or not.

 - Many cancers, including breast cancer, may be dependent on physical
   activity and level of stress. Nicole Burger's marriage was, to say
   the least, very unhappy.

To conclude, avoidance of cooked food is not enough to protect against
cancer. Whether it actually protects against cancer at all is purely
anecdotal at present. In fact, my impression is that science is still
a long way from understanding the exact causes of cancer. Certainly
many carcinogens and antioxidants have been identified, but safe
levels, interactions between different carcinogens, and the role of
protective and enhancing factors is not yet well understood.

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