One of the main concerns of instinctos (and many crudivorists) is the denaturation of food, even those qualified as "organic". Grains are often dried at high temperature, even the sproutable ones; same thing for nuts (see also an excellent article by Tom Billings about heat treatments on nuts); fruits are dried at high temperature and mixed with oil, so that they don't stick together. Dates are steamed to eliminate parasites (little worms). Moreover, the "Deglet Noor" is an excessively selected variety, which has no clear taste change [No wonder I consumed so much; but now, after maybe 40 kg passed through my digestive system, they finally became much less pleasant...] One also has to be cautious that the instinct is not necessarily efficient with "ordinary" organic meat. I discovered that after 5 meals, each consisting of 1 (fresh) chicken and 4 artichokes [my God, will I perpetually be the slave of new addictions after getting rid of old ones?]. Indeed, chickens which are fed with cooked grains (or even with grains dried at high temperature) tend to eat more, and thus are fattier than those which are fed with raw grains. Many failures of instinctos are due to two factors: -lack of pleasure due to artificial selection, denaturation, and lack of variety, -unefficient instinctive stop, mainly due to heat denaturation. The usual consequences are overeating, and unbalanced diet. Thus, the aim of Orkos is to find the best quality foods, the least selected varieties, that don't receive any kind of treatment. ---------------------------------------------- Classic questions about Orkos and classic answers: Q: Orkos products are very expensive. Can instincto be practiced only by rich people? A: With the high pleasure you get, you don't need to eat a lot. Also, think about the money you save on electricity, ovens, and health. Moreover, health is priceless. Q: Exotic fruits are sent by plane. What do you think about air pollution and other problems related with environment? A: Some persons say that we should eat only what grows in the country we live. But man is probably not adapted to living in Norway. Of course, it would be better if everyone cultivated fruits in his own garden, but it is not the case. Q: Animals do not get such a variety of food, coming from all over the world. A: To heal from a disease, it is important to have the most perfect diet. The other reason is that with all the conditioning during childhood and social pressures, instincto is not easy to sustain. Q: Don't you think it is a kind of vice, always seeking more perfection, higher quality, the most rare exotic fruits? A: As long as there is more pleasure, and at the same time better health, I don't see any drawbacks. ------------------------------------------------- My comments: About the price: consider meals I had with Orkos products. Approximately 60g salmon+3 little carrots+1 rutabaga+2 endives = 30F ~5.50$ 80g pineapple+300g bananas+250g strawberries = 40F ~7.50$ And many items are more expensive (durian, honey, mangosteens,...) If a 4-person family that I know had to eat Orkos products, their salary wouldn't suffice to purchase their food, even if they didn't have to pay for clothing and accomodation. One day, I talked about my diet to a friend. As he is communist (which is an endangered species), he grew *very* angry: "How could you think so egoistically about yourself, as so many people in the Third World are starving? Western countries produce too much food, they destroy surpluses, whereas poor ones desperately need a more efficient agriculture. Pesticides, and other chemicals would help feeding the population. Poverty exists in the US too, and the major health problems (obesity...) are due to the fact that fresh products are more expensive than high-carb foods like bread and potatoes; society should be changed, so that they can afford meat, which is ncessary to provide them the proteins they lack, (...)". I have never noticed any spectacular effect on my health after a delightful meal, whereas my metabolism has really changed since I began to eat raw. And many persons who eat cooked are very healthy. My uncle is 70 years old, but he looks 35-40, maybe because his diet is almost dairy and wheat-free, low fat, mildly cooked (boiled rice, vegetables and meat), and low-sugar (usually 1 fruit per meal; vietnamese "pastries" are much less sweet than European ones). More important, he eats the less possible and exercises his body, because of a slight excess of weight. The arguments like "cooked food leads to overeating, and quantities are perfectly adjusted with instincto" should, in some instances, be reversed... It seems that humans, and particularly some instinctos, are still dreaming of a "paradise lost". But we know that in Nature, instinctive behaviors function with the mechanism of pleasure/frustration, and that frustrations are often more effective to make the animal react, and thus play an important role in the natural selection. Maybe we are always seeking more pleasure in food to counterbalance natural and social frustrations? Actually, it seems that GCB is less "sectarist" than some of his lieutenants. For a healthy person, he doesn't care if he is 80%, 90% or 100% instincto. And even if those who go to Montrame (or Berlepsch) continue to eat cooked, but become aware of the importance on instinct and of the dangers of wheat, milk and excessive cooking, it still remains a success. IMO, finding the "perfect instinco diet" is not necessary, and probably impossible. I would be more satisfied with a method which is 80% on the way between the SAD diet and the perfect instincto one, that 80% of those who try it would sustain it without too much frustrations, without having to spend too much money for the best durians from the best trees, imported by plane. Best wishes, Jean-Louis