(Axel wrote in parts from two separate posts:)
>basically i still eat raw vegan, but i am not balanced emotionally as
>i want to be, so sometimes (not often, fortunately) i resort to
>cooked food and junk food for comfort and pleasure (and maybe for
>health reasons, as it will become clear as you read on).

>i am really curious, besides the fact that it gives me the chuckles
>just thinking about how incredibly dogmatic and rigid i have became
>regarding food, to the point that i listen more to the (in this case)
>meaningless theory instead of my wise physical body.

>for a few days after i eat some junk, i regain the pre-natural
>hygiene, pre all of this health stuff
>normal-i-am-young-and-full-of-energy-all-the-time feeling i enjoyed
>all of my previous life.

>i was all raw vegan one hundred percent for almost three years and my
>symptoms did not go away. more and more the last weeks i am feeling
>that my body is DESPERATELY trying to tell me to give up the raw
>vegan way.

>at this point it seems that my body is almost ordering me to eat the
>stuff, because the energy and strength benefits are simply needed. i
>can lift weight better, have TONS of energy just like that, and as
>soon as i go raw vegan again, this VANISHES mostly.

(Jo sez:)
 From your recent posts, I get the impression that you're aware that
something is not quite right, that you're not satisfied with the
results from following natural hygiene or the raw vegan ideal. In my
case, during the past 12-13 months, I respected that awareness and
used it profitably to overcome the (ir)rational objections I carried
towards cooked food, and more recently, animal products. So it's
encouraging that you're coming to terms with the possible failure of
the diet system you currently employ.

Actually, it was a couple years ago that a friend of mine, a
long-term hygienist (25+ years) who I deeply respect for his
experience, mailed me the three part Ward Nicholson interviews from
Chet Day's Health & Beyond newsletters. In his accompanying letter he
explained that he had started to eat eggs, hard-boiled, in salads, no
big deal, the mangoes are great this season, come on out to Molokai'i
when you get the chance. My girlfriend and I, both trying to
gravitate towards fruitarianism, were dismayed, to put it lightly.
But those interviews stuck in my mind, disturbed me, especially part
3 which described my dilemma (and maybe yours) very, very accurately.
Extremely thorough and easy to read, I highly recommend them for
their sincerity:

http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/hb/hb-interview1a.shtml

I also found it helpful to ask myself why I had adopted one
particular diet system and hung onto it for nearly 12 years. I
believe it goes beyond "improving health" for some people, and the
various issues surrounding this question, once brought to light,
will dispel the need to identify the self with a particular dietary
school. In my case, I was a natural hygienist, then a raw vegan
(during which I was a periodical fruitarian) while at the same time
my physical health recovered, stabilized, then slowly began to
weaken over time.

One other question that I considered during that period is, why do
I sometimes binge on cooked starches (fall off the wagon) despite
"knowing" that a raw vegan diet was adequate? Because I had
eliminated the possibility that the hygienic diet might be lacking
for me, I could only blame myself (poor implementation or imperfect
me). That was a deadly trap, one from which I've been able to
extricate myself over the past year.

  If you can say that your junk food binges aren't related to
emotional / mental health issues, then your observation (that your
body is instinctively demanding some nutrients unavailable in your
current diet) seems highly plausible. Why not experiment? More
greens, less fruits, more fats, steamed vegetables, raw eggs in
blender drinks,etc.

I think natural hygiene has a lot to offer but it seems not
everything in its collection of dietary principles apply universally
to everyone. If we can use them as ROUGH guidelines and then retain
individual choices for the fine-tuning, maybe our results will better
reflect the person on a case by case basis. Best wishes, Axel, on
your renewed journey.