re: fruitarianism
in a recent post, Michele Reel <[log in to unmask]> comments:

>I have a friend who was a strict fruitarian for I think it was 2 years.  She
>tells me that ever since she has trouble digesting most other foods.  She has
>always warned me not to totally give up eating anything I want to eat again for
>too long or the body may no longer be able to digest it.  Any thoughts on this?

I know a holistic health professional (an Ayurvedic practicioner), who told me
about two patients of his who were fruitarians for 5 years (2 women). He said
their digestive systems had practically stopped working, and he was having a
difficult time in "restarting" their systems. He also spoke of other patients,
who were on macrobiotic diets, who had similar problems. So there is some
truth to what your friend is saying. (Also, I recall  a note in Viktoras'
"Survival" book to the effect that following a fruit diet for a long time may
cause a thinning** of the intestinal walls. That could explain some problems
that occur when one quits fruitarianism.)
** If thinning occurs, is it a sign of physical purification, or a sign that
the digestive system is suffering from atrophy? An interesting question...

The additional comment I would make is that the impairment to the digestive
system can probably be corrected. I had a similar problem for a number of years.
Of all the things I did/do to strengthen digestion, I think the most important
may be yoga. The "abdominal poses": peacock, bow, uddiyana bandha, agni sara
dhauti, agni sara pranayama, and nauli kriya, have a very positive effect on
the digestive system. The Ayurvedic tonic herb, triphala churna, which is
simply 3 dried fruits ground up, may be helpful also. Yoga and triphala work
very slowly to strengthen and restore your digestive system.

re: flossing
in a separate post, Michele inquired whether the local (San Francisco) holistic
dentist recommended using baking soda when brushing your teeth. His specific
statement was that he uses only salt, so probably doesn't use baking soda (if
one eats acid foods like lemons/limes, brushing with baking soda is probably a
good idea - neutralizes acids). He also believes that flossing is considerably
more important than brushing. A side comment: the approach of this dentist
to doing fillings is interesting. If it's small, not on a chewing surface, he
uses pure gold foil (not an alloy: pure gold), as filling material. If he can't
fill it with gold, he usually does a porcelain crown. Given the extra cost
and pain associated with crowns, one wonders why he doesn't do gold alloy
inlays/onlays, when possible, in place of crowns.

Tom Billings
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