Tom: >I agree with your observation. Some of the "100% raw NOW" people seem >to have very serious mental problems - hostile zealotry, full-blown eating >disorders, lunacy, etc. (This list has seen examples of hostile zealotry.) >Some other "100% raw" people display symptoms of less serious mental >impairments: mental spaciness, emotional fragility (just challenge their >diet -you will see this very quickly), sugar addiction, eating disorder >behavior (binge eating, cheating, lying about eating, obsession with food >and its "purity"), adherence to crackpot conspiracy/environmental schemes, >emotional immaturity, and so on. You seem to be describing the average fruitarian. Let me do the same with the average instincto. Maybe some of the readers will find the following caricature amusing, but not so far from reality. ***** Mr. X is an instinctive eater. He had been a vegetarian for 3 years, but his health didn't benefit from his diet as much as he would have liked. He had read about many different theories, which contradict more or less each other. One day, as he was looking randomly at books on a shelf of a bookstore, he spots a thick book. The title says: "Manger Vrai", by G.-C. Burger. Intrigued by the fact that the Ultimate Diet could consist of cheeseburgers, he opens the book at the first page and sees a story about red cabbages. After a while, he realizes that it is about eating raw. As the ideas seem non-conventional, and haven't been exposed in any of the 35 dusty books about dietetics that lie in Mr X's library, he decides to buy it. Coming back home, he cannot wait to read his new book. At first, he is seduced by the provocative tone, and then by the scientific approach. So many rigorous arguments, and promises of eternal youth, return to the Golden Age! Wow! He is conscious that raw diets are extreme, and that instincto is one of the most extreme of raw diets. But doesn't mind. He has never liked conventional ideas, and always despised those who a priori reject all the ideas that have not been scientifically proven. And any idea, by the mere fact that it can disturb people, is attractive to him. So, he decides to go to Montramé for one week. Everything is so fine, Burger is bright and has a strong personality, everyone is so excited about their experience, like kids discovering a new toy. Of course adults' toys are somewhat more expensive, but what's the hell? Health is priceless. After that euphoric week, he firmly decides to continue forever. Of course, he loses weight, and as others think he has gone crazy and self-destructive, he knows it is a sign of detoxification and says to everyone who wants to hear it that he is feeling great, that all his health problems are being solved. Of course, he worries a bit about his weight, and eats a lot of concentrate food, maybe too much. But why worry about pouring so much high-quality, "original" food? So, he doesn't listen to the comments around him. Instead, he strongly believes that he has found the right path to Ultimate Truth, that most people are blind to it, and that he is somewhat enlightened, among the elite. A few months later, as his weight comes back to normal, it comforts him in his belief that his diet is correct and that his was right, alone against the whole world. Of course, he is conscious that his health is not yet perfect, but there are many reasons to that: detoxification still under way, food supply not of perfect quality, and, above all, "mistakes" that will certainly be corrected with experience. He feels he has to keep closer to the instincto line, make no exceptions, because anything incorrect may mislead his instinct and destroy the fragile building. So, he is trapped, but he doesn't care, because his jail is a golden one. He is obsessed about his diet, yes, but doesn't want to appear so. His feelings are a mixture of a sense of purity (so many instinctive quality tropical fruits flown by Orkos) and of guilt (why attach so much importance to something trivial, the lowest, animal part in us?). Three years later, his health has improved a lot. He has been searching for a more and more perfect diet, fighting against his neo-cortex and many years of obliterated instinct. His health is still not perfect, but he still believes that the key lies in more perfection, more refinement of his practice. At that point, he decides to come back to Montramé for a few days. There, he meets Miss. Y. They immediately fall in love with each other at the first glance (wow!). Of course, he guides her in her new path. He is a bit paternalistic, but he is too proud of showing the truth to a not yet enlightened person. He feels his understanding of instincto theory is so deep that it is his duty to share it to others. The following year, X and Y plan to travel to Thailand (country of the durian!). Of course, they have heard of some diseases in tropical areas, such as mal... malar... What? Don't remember. They don't care, since instinctos are immune to all diseases, and anyway, as viruses are all beneficial, the new ones they would encounter can but help further detoxifying. So, they land at Bangkok in the summer 19**, and really enjoy the cheap tropical fruits. However, after one week, Y has a severe fever, muscle cramps, lost appetite, and is so weak that she has to stay in bed. Convinced that it is a detoxification process, X advises Y to let Nature do its work of natural healing, although Y expresses some doubts. But after one week, as Y gets worse and worse, X decides to call a doctor. Y is immediately sent to the hospital for an emergency treatment, as she is diagnosed to have caught the notorious par... paras... Well, something that doesn't exist in instincto theory. Y gets better after 48 hours. They both come back to France, but after her near-death experience, Y has become more skeptical about instincto theory, so she decides to give up strict practice. Her diet still includes lots of raw fruits and veggies, no wheat and milk. Of course, X was a bit angry towards her, has a feeling of betrayal. He thinks she should resume instincto, refine her diet, detoxify further... but he finally accepts it with philosophy, more convinced than ever that instincto is only for the elite, and that he decidedly is among the privileged people. Best wishes, Jean-Louis --