Dear Carol,

Thanks for your message.   It's true that I've never experimented with a raw 
diet that includes animal products.   

In fact, when I became a vegan   (strictly for health reasons) I quickly 
realized that if I didn't need to eat animals to be healthy --   and after 
nearly 17 years without them I'm pretty sure about that -- I didn't have any 
right to.   I am a complete vegan now, and do not knowingly use animal 
products of any kind, including wool, silk, or anything else.    And I see no 
reason to consider anything different.

There is nothing that we can get from animal products that we cannot get 
without them -- except cancer, heart disease, gout, etc.   T. Colin Campbell 
of the China Study says that his research shows that even small amounts of 
animal products added to the diet dramatically increase rates of cancer and 
heart disease.

We do not share the physiological adaptations shared by carnivores or 
omnivores, and I've seen no evidence that eating animal products is either 
necessary or beneficial.   

You make a very good point, ie, that in my sticking to the raw vegan diet, I 
am, perhaps, incorrectly assuming that it is the best that there is.   The 
diet that I recommend is supported by all the science and all the logic that 
I can find.   Our physiology is virtually identical to the frugivorous 
anthropoid primates, and all logic (and the Law of the Similars) says that 
this indicates an identical diet.   

There are many diets that I have not tried -- Atkins, blood type, etc. -- and 
I have no interest in trying them.   I will not be eating raw animals anytime 
soon either.

All the best to you, Carol, on your chosen path.   The key is to listen to 
your own intuition and do what feels right to you.

Namaste,

Loren   

In a message dated 3/1/2003 7:35:22 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:


> Hi, Loren  :)
> 
> > There are many people who swear by their own personal regime,
> > because they have acquired better health by following it.
> > Unfortunately, this is not a logical or reliable indicator.
> > Someone eating 3 big macs a day that cuts down to 2 is likely
> > to get healthier;  that does not suggest that 2 big macs a
> > day is part of a healthy diet, only that ANY improvement in
> > diet will create a consequent improvement in health.
> 
> Amen!  I was cheering as I read that. :)  You put it so well that I
> doubt anyone could argue against it, yet it is a point that has to be
> made over and over again.
> 
> Just as when the 3 big mac eater goes to 2 big macs, there are
> multiple factors at work in your path to raw veganism, and they need
> to be considered independently if we want to get a good understanding
> of what's going on.  I understand that those who give up animal
> products for ethical reasons would prefer not to make that
> investigation, and I'm fine with that, but I gotta ask just in case...
> 
> You stated that your health improved first with a diet that had no
> animal products or processed foods.  Then you said that your next jump
> in vitality came when you went from that diet to a raw vegan one.
> Since your experiences so far (as far as you've described them) don't
> give enough info for you to predict what a raw non-vegan diet would be
> like for you, I'm wondering if you ever tried it or considered it.
> 
> :)
> Carol
>