Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>:
>** Perfect health? **
>
>The trouble is that nobody knows what perfect health is. We can
>roughly say that this man is more healthy that one. In the same way,
>Murray Perahia is a better pianist than my neighvor's daughter, but I
>won't compare him to Maurizio Pollini. There are no objective ways to
>measure the level of health; the human body cannot be reduced to a few
>indicators (like blood pressure, heartbeat,...); likewise,
>intelligence cannot be identified with IQ.

Tom:
Thanks for your comments. I agree that "perfect health" is questionable as
we cannot objectively measure health. I mentioned it only because there are
raw fooders who claim that the dietary "program" they follow, is guaranteed
to give perfect health, and can cure all diseases, and will make you nearly
immortal, and other crazy claims. Those who promote such dietary claims are
probably engaging in zealotry; while those who believe such claims are
apparently acting in ignorance. Anyway, I have met too many raw fooders making
absurd claims about their diets, so I wanted to inject some common sense. I
will reconsider the use of the word perfect, and might change that.

Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>:
>It is not logical to be
>perfectionnist regarding diet, and to neglect the "other half".
>
>Is there a Perfect Holistic System that leads to the Ultimate Goal?
>Certainly not; everyone can find his own way to the top of the
>mountain.

Tom:
Agreed, you have made the point very nicely.

Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>:
>Why is the raw-foodist so prone to criticism? Maybe that behavior
>stems from our natural spirit of militantism. We need to be part of a

Tom:
Good question. I think a major factor in this is idealism. Raw foods diets
are both difficult and idealistic, and they attract somewhat "exteme" people.
Those who try such diets usually experience an improvement in health fairly
soon; this provides what Ward Nicholson called the "conversion experience", like
a religious conversion. The conversion effect then is seen as evidence that the
claims about the diet (even ridiculous claims) are true.

Again, thanks for your interesting comments!

Regards,
Tom Billings
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