This note is in response to some email that I've received off-list.

Regarding the ratio of carbs to fat in my diet and how much sugar I eat

I don't aim for 50% carbs and 20% fat.  That's just the way it works out,
most of the time.  I don't eat nuts and nightshades because they trouble me.
I don't eat honey or dried fruit.  Aside from that, I eat whatever raw foods
I want, in the amount that I want.  I eat 2 or 3 pieces of fruit per day.
Root vegetables and squash account for most of the remaining carbs.  My
caloric intake averages about 1700 -- less than that in the summer.

I think that many carb:protein:fat ratios can be healthy.  The ratio that's
healthiest for a particular individual is the one that results from eating
plain, raw food according to taste.

Regarding the effects of cooking...

According to food composition studies, nutrient content isn't compromised to
a great degree by conservative cooking.  But the effect, on me, of eating an
all-raw diet is very great.  I'm not a masochist.  I eat the way I do in
order to maximize my pleasure.  I will not trade a few moments of heightened
sensation for the physical and psychological well-being that I now enjoy.  A
single cooked meal can bring me down for a couple of days.

Norm