Part 2: The Downside Of 8/1/1

[Guest guest]

I am posting these because while I'm glad 8/1/1 works for some

people, many have had issues and it is only responsible to present

people with the whole picture. This is a raw foods discussion group,

not a paid advertisement for 8/1/1.

 

--------------

 

Fruitarian Diet and 80/10/10 Version of the Fruitarian Diet - Part 2

This series is meant for people who are interested in the fruitarian

or 80/10/10 fruitarian diet and are either on it or contemplating

implementing it.

 

I thank all those who have agreed to share and participate.

 

Dr. Graham sent me a communication in which he advised me to contact

every person to make sure the letters were not altered and that they

were genuine and I have taken his advice.

 

from Hannah Botham:

 

From a young age, I was drawn towards vegetarianism and veganism.

This came about not only for ethical reasons, but also as a dietary

rebellion against my family. Both my parents were overweight and

seemed to face constant health struggles: my mother was diabetic, my

father had heart arrhythmias and lived an extremely sedentary life

because of a foot injury, and both of them seemed to be constantly

retreating to the bedroom with a migraine, feeling under the weather,

and other ailments. It terrified me that I might end up like them one

day.

 

Our eating habits were horrendous, to say the least. Everything had

to be drowned in sugar (I remember seeing my father dip bananas into

the sugar bag before he ate them!), salt, or oils. Breakfast was

usually cereal with sugar on top, toast with brown sugar, greasy hash

browns, sometimes eggs with margarine. We ate a lot of meat, as well

as huge portions of sugars and starches. I was slim when I was young,

but once I hit my teenage years, I started piling on weight; no doubt

from following my parents' eating patterns.

 

A turning point came when I was 15. I got notice at school during

lunch hour that my dad was in the hospital, with what might be a

heart attack. I remember staring at my food, which was a burger from

across the school campus where my friends and I picked up lunch every

day. I couldn't bear to eat it. I picked off the lettuce and threw

the rest away.

 

Fortunately, it was a false alarm about the heart attack, and my

father came home that night. But the doctor told him that if he

didn't clean up his diet, eat less sugar, and eat more vegetables, he

might not be so lucky next time. Suddenly, I became keenly aware of

the diet-health connection: this life of obesity and sickness was

avoidable. Before this point, I blindly ate what was served to me. If

you had asked me at dinner what I'd had for breakfast, I probably

wouldn't remember. Now, for the first time, I realized how powerful

food was. At the time, I had a friend whose mother was heavily into

the works of Herbert Shelton. I had eaten dinner with the family one

time and thought it was the strangest meal I'd ever seen: no meat,

eggs, or dairy. Before, I thought it would be terrible to have to eat

like that; but after this incident with my father, I started to

become curious about their eating habits. My friend lent me one of

her mom's books, " Man's Pristine Way of Life, " written by Shelton.

Much of it was over my head at the time, but I think I finished the

entire thing in one weekend. I was fascinated. That was the beginning

of my journey into Natural Hygiene.

 

In the ensuing years, I learned more and more about Hygienic

principles and began applying them to my own life. By the time I was

16, my diet was about 80% raw food, with fruit until noon, a salad,

and one partially cooked meal. My health improved in leaps and

bounds. I stopped eating meals with my family, who refused to buy me

the foods I requested such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead, I

took a job at the local grocery store, where I could get a discount

on fresh produce. Socially I became quite isolated, and lost many

friends who couldn't make peace with my dietary choices. I remained

good friends, however, with the girl whose mother was a Hygienic

vegan. We were the two oddballs throughout high school.

 

I maintained this lifestyle throughout my early years of college, at

about 80% raw and prudently following other lifestyle habits, such as

exercise, exposing my skin to sunlight, sleep, and so forth. It was

at this time that I came across some publications of TC Fry. To make

a long story short, I became convinced that fruitarianism was the

natural diet of humans, and during my junior year of college,

switched to a 100% raw diet of sweet juicy fruits.

 

Despite having eaten such a clean diet for years, the detoxification

period was intense. I ended up dropping out for a semester because I

was cleansing so deeply. After several months of battling intense

cravings, losing hair, being bed-ridden with flu-like symptoms, and a

host of other cleansing reactions, it was as if a door opened: I felt

light, euphoric, and better than I ever had in my life. I returned to

school, feeling like the world was my oyster, as they say.

 

I did lose quite a bit of weight at this point, although I assumed it

was still a part of my detoxification period, so I was not concerned.

The first sign of trouble appeared about a year into my fruitarian

diet. One of my teeth, which had been bleeding and sensitive for some

time, suddenly became quite loose; enough so that it visibly wiggled

when I pressed on it. Though I had not visited a dentist in years, I

went to the university dental school, where they had the dental

students give examinations under the supervision of their

instructors. The student who examined me did not know what to make of

my situation. Apparently my teeth were in disrepair, with severe

erosion and diseased gums. The instructor suggested I see someone

more qualified, as I would likely need extensive surgery to repair

the damage.

 

As I was not a fan of modern medicine or dentistry, I did not take

the advice, and instead embarked on my first supervised fast, for 30

days. I had previously done very short water fasts on my own, but had

read that longer fasts had been successful in repairing teeth, among

other things. I could write an entire book on my fasting experience,

but to sum up: my gums seemed to improve during the fast but returned

to their previous state as soon as I introduced food again.

 

At this point, I was still eating 100% raw, fruitarian diet. Though

the logic of a fruit diet was still set in my mind, I began to read

more literature, seeing if perhaps I was missing something.

Occasionally at this time, I would experience intense cravings,

especially for starchy foods or fats. My energy level, which was once

very steady and predictable, was suddenly wavering. I thought perhaps

I had moved into a deeper level of cleansing.

 

In the early 90s, I went through a period of personal tribulations,

including some issues in a serious relationship I was in. Even now

I'm not sure what happened, but I fell back quite quickly into

unhealthy eating patterns. My Hygienic and fruitarian eating habits

went down the drain. For a brief period, I binged on the unhealthiest

things imaginable: cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pastas, ice cream. I

gained over 30 pounds in a period of months. I came down with a

severe case of bronchitis that had me bed ridden. I honestly never

felt so awful in my entire life as I did at this time.

 

It took a long time of emotional and psychological healing, but

eventually I returned to Hygienic eating, and then to 100% raw foods

once more. I did not attempt fruitarianism again, but kept fruit as

the staple of my diet, supplemented with greens, seeds, nuts, and

avocados. As I see it now, this was similar to Dr. Douglas Graham's

diet of 80% carbohydrates, 10% fat, and 10% protein, though the

ratios were not as low as they should be. I ate large meals of fruit

and a salad each day. However, I don't think I ate enough greens to

provide proper nutrition, and I ate fruit meals frequently instead of

large, infrequent ones.

 

I could never get back to the feeling of lightness, euphoria, and

superb health that I initially felt on a raw Hygienic diet. I

embarked on several more fasts, hoping they would cleanse me enough

to bring back my excellent health. To my dismay, I would feel better

only for a short while and then it seemed my health would decline

even further. My teeth were a mess at this time, and I was also

starting to have problems with joint pain and fatigue. I eventually

opted for surgery to fix dozens (yes, dozens!) of cavities, although

I refused to undergo the more invasive procedures the dentists told

me I needed. I worried that my previous period of cooked food binging

had made me toxic. I also worried that I needed to become a complete

fruitarian again, and that the green salads, avocados, and nuts I was

eating were somehow holding me back from true health.

 

After " Nature's First Law " was published, the raw food movement

started booming. I became more involved with the movement, getting to

know other raw foodists and Hygienists, attending events, and so

forth. Although I met many people who were embarking on high fruit

diets like myself, I also met others who felt that so much fruit was

detrimental to health. This viewpoint was somewhat shocking to me,

since the literature I'd read made it clear that fruit was the

perfect food for humans. I began to doubt the diet I had chosen, and

began looking at other approaches, wondering if inadequate nutrition

was causing my current problems.

 

Later, I discovered that a man named Dr. Douglas Graham was promoting

a high-fruit diet, and had been thriving on it for decades. I was

still enamored with the idea of a fruit-based diet, and felt like

this man and his program was a Godsend, and that perhaps he had the

key to making a high fruit diet work. I attended several lectures and

seminars and soon understood what I must be doing wrong: I was eating

too frequently, perhaps not eating enough fruit to provide enough

calories, and eating overt fats too often. I started charting my food

intake, to make sure I didn't go above 10% fat. I loaded up on leafy

greens. And I ate more bananas than I ever thought possible. In all

fairness, I felt wonderful at first. It was almost the same feeling

of purity and lightness that I had earlier in my raw food journey. To

ward off cravings, I made sure I filled up on as much fruit as I

cared for; it was always nice and ripe, and usually organic. However,

my previous problems persisted, and new ones appeared as well. Along

with poor dental health and intermittent fatigue, I started loosing

hair in alarming amounts. My ankles began to swell up. I had to

urinate frequently, even many times during the night. Minor cuts and

bruises seemed not to heal, but remained on my body for months.

Having made friends with other raw foodists at this point, some

people encouraged that these were signs of a deep detox; others

warned that it was not healthy for these things to be happening, and

that I needed supplements or more protein.

 

Two years after officially starting the 80-10-10 diet, something

terrible happened. While driving to work, I passed out in the car and

rammed into a telephone pole near my home. Luckily no other people

were injured, but I suffered whiplash and several broken bones, as

well as some other minor injuries. I was unconscious until waking up

in the hospital.

 

A blood test had revealed severe areas of deficiency, including B12

levels that were the lowest the doctors had ever seen. My potassium

levels were high, suggesting impaired kidney function and an

imbalance of electrolytes. I was low on many minerals such as zinc

and calcium. I also had an amino acid disorder screening which showed

protein deficiency; this was likely responsible for the edema in my

ankles and the hair loss. One of the doctors said to me, " You're

lucky to be alive " . I'll never forget that. In all my years of

striving for health, I had pushed myself to the brink of death.

 

This experience truly snapped me back into reality. When I had healed

and returned home, I remember looking in the mirror and feeling a

sense of dread wash over me. Something needed to change, because the

path I had been on for so many years was obviously not leading me to

health. Staring at my reflection, I realized I looked practically

dead as it was, with my skin so pale and my hair thin and stringy.

This was not health.

 

I made a bold decision at that point. I wanted to forget what I had

read about fruit being human's ideal food, and I wanted to start from

scratch. I did a complete 180 with my diet. I minimized my fruit

intake, and started taking B12 supplements, eating more nuts and

seeds, eating seaweeds, eating sprouts, eating sauerkraut, eating all

those things Natural Hygienic logic tells us are not optimal. I even

started steaming certain vegetables and eating eggs from my

neighbor's hen. (Note from Erica: this is too bad to read, although

what many obviously turn to when too far in one direction, in this

case, Natural Hygiene extremism that led to deficiencies and ill-

health)

 

What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. On this diet that

I once would have thought was terrible and unnatural, my health began

to improve. Slowly but surely, my hair regained its fullness, the

edema went away, my skin stopped being dry. People began commenting

that I looked healthy and vibrant; something I had not heard in the

past. I had more energy than I did when I was a kid. Even my teeth

improved, and my gums stopped bleeding.

 

Since that time, I have changed my mind about a lot of things. I no

longer believe a high fruit diet is optimal for humans. Maybe if we

were in the wild eating the high fiber, lower sugar fruits that grow

naturally, it would be different. But the things we get in

supermarkets are no comparison to the wild fruits, not nutritionally

and not in terms of macronutrients. Natural Hygiene has many good

principles, especially regarding healthy lifestyles, but the dietary

recommendations are dangerously flawed and based on a logic that just

doesn't work in this world.

 

I truly fear for people who get caught up in the same mindset I was

in. It is so easy to overlook problems when you're convinced your

doing the right thing. The first step to ruining your health, in my

opinion, is closing off your mind to new possibilities. For those on

the 80-10-10 diet, I can only hope that you follow your gut feelings

and do only what brings you health. Perhaps some people are able to

survive on that diet. I think for the majority, not. If you are not

thriving, do yourself a favor and save your health before it's too

late.

 

January 2005

 

Hi Rhio,

 

This is Valya. I wanted to tell you that my brother and I stayed on

Doug Graham's 80-10-10 diet for over a month in the summer of 2003.

We both felt very good. Sergei and I had lots of energy and we both

felt very strong. However, after a month, Sergei started to get a

little shaky and rather skinny-looking so he began to eat more fats

again. I found it hard to stay on a no fat diet when everyone around

me was enjoying exquisitely delicious raw foods.

 

Fats currently constitute about 25% (1 avocado) of my every-day diet,

but I eat considerably less fats than I did before. I've noticed that

the digestive system works flawlessly when a person eats almost no

fats. For this reason, I sometimes go for a day or two without fats

just to give my body a brake.

 

For people with candida, the 80-10-10 diet works miracles! I have

seen these miracles with my own eyes. The only problem is that many

people simply cannot stay on such a diet. For most, just staying on

raw foods is challenging enough. Hopefully though, we can all work

together to make things work. Gourmet chefs like you can help people

transition onto raw foods and begin to eat healthier, and Doug and

Roz can help them refine and personalize their diets after a few

years.

 

I hope this information is useful,

 

Lots of love and hugs, Valya (\o/) (\o/) (\o/)

P.S. Say hi to Lee.

 

From Rhio: I thank Valya for sharing her experience and opinion and

also particularly for her attempt at peacemaking between the raw food

fruitarian promoting advocates and those of us that promote eating a

wider variety of raw foods from all categories (except meat, fish and

dairy). I reject the " gourmet " designation. Although my book does

contain lots of delicious gourmet recipes, it has been my experience

that long term successful raw food eaters have learned to listen to

their own bodies and in so doing are satisfied with much simpler food

most of the time. And when our bodies want something more " gourmet "

then we listen to that too.

 

I respectfully disagree with Valya's last sentence evaluation, which

seems to imply that fruitarianism (as advocated by Doug & Roz) is the

utopia and a wider more inclusive " gourmet " diet is just a transition

to that utopia. As the many letters from people who have tried to

reach this so-called utopia show, it does not work for a majority of

people and they are harming themselves in the process. There is a new

book out called Raw Spirit, What the Raw Food Advocates Don't Preach

by Matt Monarch and in it Matt shares many insights he received from

Dr. Fred Bisci and also his own experience when he eats too much

sweet fruit. I highly recommend the book and have done an interview

with Matt for my radio show which will be archived soon.

[Guest guest]

WOW, Part 2 was really great reading. I met Doug Graham many years ago and just

could not get into his 80/10/10 program. My body would not allow me to stick to

it with all the sugar that is in fruit. After returning home from a LL training

programs and attempting to follow the 80/10/10 I actually gained weight and

thats when I knew it wasn't for me. I've always questioned the loss of hair in

many who ate that type diet program. Seeing many advocates with hair and quickly

losing it drew a red flag for me. You must do your own research and learn what

it is your body is telling you. Good work in your descriptions and layout

 

vj

www.freshfromnature.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> WOW, Part 2 was really great reading. I met Doug Graham many years

ago and just could not get into his 80/10/10 program. My body would not

allow me to stick to it with all the sugar that is in fruit. After

returning home from a LL training programs and attempting to follow the

80/10/10 I actually gained weight and thats when I knew it wasn't for

me. I've always questioned the loss of hair in many who ate that type

diet program. Seeing many advocates with hair and quickly losing it

drew a red flag for me. You must do your own research and learn what it

is your body is telling you. Good work in your descriptions and layout

>

> vj

> www.freshfromnature.com

 

Yes, very true. It also ages you! Erica

[Guest guest]

Thats interesting because I know a fairly young man (30s) who has been on

80/10/10 for years who has thinning hair. Now I have known men who have

genetically gone bald in their teens, but something about him strikes me as

odd. He is also very militant about 80/10/10 to the point that he is not

pleasant to be around.

 

I tried to eat that way too and my body totally rejected it. At the time, I

thought it was the only way to go raw and also caused me to go back to

cooked foods I was so sick. Its definitely not the " optimal " diet by a long

shot.

 

Carla

 

On 10/23/07, Valerie Richardson <veejaytrue wrote:

>

> WOW, Part 2 was really great reading. I met Doug Graham many years ago

> and just could not get into his 80/10/10 program. My body would not allow me

> to stick to it with all the sugar that is in fruit. After returning home

> from a LL training programs and attempting to follow the 80/10/10 I actually

> gained weight and thats when I knew it wasn't for me. I've always questioned

> the loss of hair in many who ate that type diet program. Seeing many

> advocates with hair and quickly losing it drew a red flag for me.

>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

He is also very militant about 80/10/10 to the point that he is not

> pleasant to be around.

>

> I tried to eat that way too and my body totally rejected it. Its

definitely not the " optimal " diet by a long

> shot.

>

> Carla

 

 

Carla, Thanks for sharing. Of course it works for some (at least long-

term, we have no idea otherwise, really), but what I personally see as

unsettling IS the extreme militance and insistence that so many

practice towards it. No matter what you put in your body, such rigidity

cannot possibly be healthy. In that sense, it is cultlike. erica

[Guest guest]

Thank you for this post Erica ) It is something to think about for

sure.

 

Belinda

>

> I am posting these because while I'm glad 8/1/1 works for some

> people, many have had issues and it is only responsible to present

> people with the whole picture. This is a raw foods discussion

group,

> not a paid advertisement for 8/1/1.

>

> --------------

>

> Fruitarian Diet and 80/10/10 Version of the Fruitarian Diet - Part

2

> This series is meant for people who are interested in the

fruitarian

> or 80/10/10 fruitarian diet and are either on it or contemplating

> implementing it.

>

> I thank all those who have agreed to share and participate.

>

> Dr. Graham sent me a communication in which he advised me to

contact

> every person to make sure the letters were not altered and that

they

> were genuine and I have taken his advice.

>

> from Hannah Botham:

>

> From a young age, I was drawn towards vegetarianism and veganism.

> This came about not only for ethical reasons, but also as a dietary

> rebellion against my family. Both my parents were overweight and

> seemed to face constant health struggles: my mother was diabetic,

my

> father had heart arrhythmias and lived an extremely sedentary life

> because of a foot injury, and both of them seemed to be constantly

> retreating to the bedroom with a migraine, feeling under the

weather,

> and other ailments. It terrified me that I might end up like them

one

> day.

>

> Our eating habits were horrendous, to say the least. Everything had

> to be drowned in sugar (I remember seeing my father dip bananas

into

> the sugar bag before he ate them!), salt, or oils. Breakfast was

> usually cereal with sugar on top, toast with brown sugar, greasy

hash

> browns, sometimes eggs with margarine. We ate a lot of meat, as

well

> as huge portions of sugars and starches. I was slim when I was

young,

> but once I hit my teenage years, I started piling on weight; no

doubt

> from following my parents' eating patterns.

>

> A turning point came when I was 15. I got notice at school during

> lunch hour that my dad was in the hospital, with what might be a

> heart attack. I remember staring at my food, which was a burger

from

> across the school campus where my friends and I picked up lunch

every

> day. I couldn't bear to eat it. I picked off the lettuce and threw

> the rest away.

>

> Fortunately, it was a false alarm about the heart attack, and my

> father came home that night. But the doctor told him that if he

> didn't clean up his diet, eat less sugar, and eat more vegetables,

he

> might not be so lucky next time. Suddenly, I became keenly aware of

> the diet-health connection: this life of obesity and sickness was

> avoidable. Before this point, I blindly ate what was served to me.

If

> you had asked me at dinner what I'd had for breakfast, I probably

> wouldn't remember. Now, for the first time, I realized how powerful

> food was. At the time, I had a friend whose mother was heavily into

> the works of Herbert Shelton. I had eaten dinner with the family

one

> time and thought it was the strangest meal I'd ever seen: no meat,

> eggs, or dairy. Before, I thought it would be terrible to have to

eat

> like that; but after this incident with my father, I started to

> become curious about their eating habits. My friend lent me one of

> her mom's books, " Man's Pristine Way of Life, " written by Shelton.

> Much of it was over my head at the time, but I think I finished the

> entire thing in one weekend. I was fascinated. That was the

beginning

> of my journey into Natural Hygiene.

>

> In the ensuing years, I learned more and more about Hygienic

> principles and began applying them to my own life. By the time I

was

> 16, my diet was about 80% raw food, with fruit until noon, a salad,

> and one partially cooked meal. My health improved in leaps and

> bounds. I stopped eating meals with my family, who refused to buy

me

> the foods I requested such as fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead,

I

> took a job at the local grocery store, where I could get a discount

> on fresh produce. Socially I became quite isolated, and lost many

> friends who couldn't make peace with my dietary choices. I remained

> good friends, however, with the girl whose mother was a Hygienic

> vegan. We were the two oddballs throughout high school.

>

> I maintained this lifestyle throughout my early years of college,

at

> about 80% raw and prudently following other lifestyle habits, such

as

> exercise, exposing my skin to sunlight, sleep, and so forth. It was

> at this time that I came across some publications of TC Fry. To

make

> a long story short, I became convinced that fruitarianism was the

> natural diet of humans, and during my junior year of college,

> switched to a 100% raw diet of sweet juicy fruits.

>

> Despite having eaten such a clean diet for years, the

detoxification

> period was intense. I ended up dropping out for a semester because

I

> was cleansing so deeply. After several months of battling intense

> cravings, losing hair, being bed-ridden with flu-like symptoms, and

a

> host of other cleansing reactions, it was as if a door opened: I

felt

> light, euphoric, and better than I ever had in my life. I returned

to

> school, feeling like the world was my oyster, as they say.

>

> I did lose quite a bit of weight at this point, although I assumed

it

> was still a part of my detoxification period, so I was not

concerned.

> The first sign of trouble appeared about a year into my fruitarian

> diet. One of my teeth, which had been bleeding and sensitive for

some

> time, suddenly became quite loose; enough so that it visibly

wiggled

> when I pressed on it. Though I had not visited a dentist in years,

I

> went to the university dental school, where they had the dental

> students give examinations under the supervision of their

> instructors. The student who examined me did not know what to make

of

> my situation. Apparently my teeth were in disrepair, with severe

> erosion and diseased gums. The instructor suggested I see someone

> more qualified, as I would likely need extensive surgery to repair

> the damage.

>

> As I was not a fan of modern medicine or dentistry, I did not take

> the advice, and instead embarked on my first supervised fast, for

30

> days. I had previously done very short water fasts on my own, but

had

> read that longer fasts had been successful in repairing teeth,

among

> other things. I could write an entire book on my fasting

experience,

> but to sum up: my gums seemed to improve during the fast but

returned

> to their previous state as soon as I introduced food again.

>

> At this point, I was still eating 100% raw, fruitarian diet. Though

> the logic of a fruit diet was still set in my mind, I began to read

> more literature, seeing if perhaps I was missing something.

> Occasionally at this time, I would experience intense cravings,

> especially for starchy foods or fats. My energy level, which was

once

> very steady and predictable, was suddenly wavering. I thought

perhaps

> I had moved into a deeper level of cleansing.

>

> In the early 90s, I went through a period of personal tribulations,

> including some issues in a serious relationship I was in. Even now

> I'm not sure what happened, but I fell back quite quickly into

> unhealthy eating patterns. My Hygienic and fruitarian eating habits

> went down the drain. For a brief period, I binged on the

unhealthiest

> things imaginable: cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pastas, ice cream. I

> gained over 30 pounds in a period of months. I came down with a

> severe case of bronchitis that had me bed ridden. I honestly never

> felt so awful in my entire life as I did at this time.

>

> It took a long time of emotional and psychological healing, but

> eventually I returned to Hygienic eating, and then to 100% raw

foods

> once more. I did not attempt fruitarianism again, but kept fruit as

> the staple of my diet, supplemented with greens, seeds, nuts, and

> avocados. As I see it now, this was similar to Dr. Douglas Graham's

> diet of 80% carbohydrates, 10% fat, and 10% protein, though the

> ratios were not as low as they should be. I ate large meals of

fruit

> and a salad each day. However, I don't think I ate enough greens to

> provide proper nutrition, and I ate fruit meals frequently instead

of

> large, infrequent ones.

>

> I could never get back to the feeling of lightness, euphoria, and

> superb health that I initially felt on a raw Hygienic diet. I

> embarked on several more fasts, hoping they would cleanse me enough

> to bring back my excellent health. To my dismay, I would feel

better

> only for a short while and then it seemed my health would decline

> even further. My teeth were a mess at this time, and I was also

> starting to have problems with joint pain and fatigue. I eventually

> opted for surgery to fix dozens (yes, dozens!) of cavities,

although

> I refused to undergo the more invasive procedures the dentists told

> me I needed. I worried that my previous period of cooked food

binging

> had made me toxic. I also worried that I needed to become a

complete

> fruitarian again, and that the green salads, avocados, and nuts I

was

> eating were somehow holding me back from true health.

>

> After " Nature's First Law " was published, the raw food movement

> started booming. I became more involved with the movement, getting

to

> know other raw foodists and Hygienists, attending events, and so

> forth. Although I met many people who were embarking on high fruit

> diets like myself, I also met others who felt that so much fruit

was

> detrimental to health. This viewpoint was somewhat shocking to me,

> since the literature I'd read made it clear that fruit was the

> perfect food for humans. I began to doubt the diet I had chosen,

and

> began looking at other approaches, wondering if inadequate

nutrition

> was causing my current problems.

>

> Later, I discovered that a man named Dr. Douglas Graham was

promoting

> a high-fruit diet, and had been thriving on it for decades. I was

> still enamored with the idea of a fruit-based diet, and felt like

> this man and his program was a Godsend, and that perhaps he had the

> key to making a high fruit diet work. I attended several lectures

and

> seminars and soon understood what I must be doing wrong: I was

eating

> too frequently, perhaps not eating enough fruit to provide enough

> calories, and eating overt fats too often. I started charting my

food

> intake, to make sure I didn't go above 10% fat. I loaded up on

leafy

> greens. And I ate more bananas than I ever thought possible. In all

> fairness, I felt wonderful at first. It was almost the same feeling

> of purity and lightness that I had earlier in my raw food journey.

To

> ward off cravings, I made sure I filled up on as much fruit as I

> cared for; it was always nice and ripe, and usually organic.

However,

> my previous problems persisted, and new ones appeared as well.

Along

> with poor dental health and intermittent fatigue, I started loosing

> hair in alarming amounts. My ankles began to swell up. I had to

> urinate frequently, even many times during the night. Minor cuts

and

> bruises seemed not to heal, but remained on my body for months.

> Having made friends with other raw foodists at this point, some

> people encouraged that these were signs of a deep detox; others

> warned that it was not healthy for these things to be happening,

and

> that I needed supplements or more protein.

>

> Two years after officially starting the 80-10-10 diet, something

> terrible happened. While driving to work, I passed out in the car

and

> rammed into a telephone pole near my home. Luckily no other people

> were injured, but I suffered whiplash and several broken bones, as

> well as some other minor injuries. I was unconscious until waking

up

> in the hospital.

>

> A blood test had revealed severe areas of deficiency, including B12

> levels that were the lowest the doctors had ever seen. My potassium

> levels were high, suggesting impaired kidney function and an

> imbalance of electrolytes. I was low on many minerals such as zinc

> and calcium. I also had an amino acid disorder screening which

showed

> protein deficiency; this was likely responsible for the edema in my

> ankles and the hair loss. One of the doctors said to me, " You're

> lucky to be alive " . I'll never forget that. In all my years of

> striving for health, I had pushed myself to the brink of death.

>

> This experience truly snapped me back into reality. When I had

healed

> and returned home, I remember looking in the mirror and feeling a

> sense of dread wash over me. Something needed to change, because

the

> path I had been on for so many years was obviously not leading me

to

> health. Staring at my reflection, I realized I looked practically

> dead as it was, with my skin so pale and my hair thin and stringy.

> This was not health.

>

> I made a bold decision at that point. I wanted to forget what I had

> read about fruit being human's ideal food, and I wanted to start

from

> scratch. I did a complete 180 with my diet. I minimized my fruit

> intake, and started taking B12 supplements, eating more nuts and

> seeds, eating seaweeds, eating sprouts, eating sauerkraut, eating

all

> those things Natural Hygienic logic tells us are not optimal. I

even

> started steaming certain vegetables and eating eggs from my

> neighbor's hen. (Note from Erica: this is too bad to read,

although

> what many obviously turn to when too far in one direction, in this

> case, Natural Hygiene extremism that led to deficiencies and ill-

> health)

>

> What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. On this diet

that

> I once would have thought was terrible and unnatural, my health

began

> to improve. Slowly but surely, my hair regained its fullness, the

> edema went away, my skin stopped being dry. People began commenting

> that I looked healthy and vibrant; something I had not heard in the

> past. I had more energy than I did when I was a kid. Even my teeth

> improved, and my gums stopped bleeding.

>

> Since that time, I have changed my mind about a lot of things. I no

> longer believe a high fruit diet is optimal for humans. Maybe if we

> were in the wild eating the high fiber, lower sugar fruits that

grow

> naturally, it would be different. But the things we get in

> supermarkets are no comparison to the wild fruits, not

nutritionally

> and not in terms of macronutrients. Natural Hygiene has many good

> principles, especially regarding healthy lifestyles, but the

dietary

> recommendations are dangerously flawed and based on a logic that

just

> doesn't work in this world.

>

> I truly fear for people who get caught up in the same mindset I was

> in. It is so easy to overlook problems when you're convinced your

> doing the right thing. The first step to ruining your health, in my

> opinion, is closing off your mind to new possibilities. For those

on

> the 80-10-10 diet, I can only hope that you follow your gut

feelings

> and do only what brings you health. Perhaps some people are able to

> survive on that diet. I think for the majority, not. If you are not

> thriving, do yourself a favor and save your health before it's too

> late.

>

> January 2005

>

> Hi Rhio,

>

> This is Valya. I wanted to tell you that my brother and I stayed on

> Doug Graham's 80-10-10 diet for over a month in the summer of 2003.

> We both felt very good. Sergei and I had lots of energy and we both

> felt very strong. However, after a month, Sergei started to get a

> little shaky and rather skinny-looking so he began to eat more fats

> again. I found it hard to stay on a no fat diet when everyone

around

> me was enjoying exquisitely delicious raw foods.

>

> Fats currently constitute about 25% (1 avocado) of my every-day

diet,

> but I eat considerably less fats than I did before. I've noticed

that

> the digestive system works flawlessly when a person eats almost no

> fats. For this reason, I sometimes go for a day or two without fats

> just to give my body a brake.

>

> For people with candida, the 80-10-10 diet works miracles! I have

> seen these miracles with my own eyes. The only problem is that many

> people simply cannot stay on such a diet. For most, just staying on

> raw foods is challenging enough. Hopefully though, we can all work

> together to make things work. Gourmet chefs like you can help

people

> transition onto raw foods and begin to eat healthier, and Doug and

> Roz can help them refine and personalize their diets after a few

> years.

>

> I hope this information is useful,

>

> Lots of love and hugs, Valya (\o/) (\o/) (\o/)

> P.S. Say hi to Lee.

>

> From Rhio: I thank Valya for sharing her experience and opinion and

> also particularly for her attempt at peacemaking between the raw

food

> fruitarian promoting advocates and those of us that promote eating

a

> wider variety of raw foods from all categories (except meat, fish

and

> dairy). I reject the " gourmet " designation. Although my book does

> contain lots of delicious gourmet recipes, it has been my

experience

> that long term successful raw food eaters have learned to listen to

> their own bodies and in so doing are satisfied with much simpler

food

> most of the time. And when our bodies want something more " gourmet "

> then we listen to that too.

>

> I respectfully disagree with Valya's last sentence evaluation,

which

> seems to imply that fruitarianism (as advocated by Doug & Roz) is

the

> utopia and a wider more inclusive " gourmet " diet is just a

transition

> to that utopia. As the many letters from people who have tried to

> reach this so-called utopia show, it does not work for a majority

of

> people and they are harming themselves in the process. There is a

new

> book out called Raw Spirit, What the Raw Food Advocates Don't

Preach

> by Matt Monarch and in it Matt shares many insights he received

from

> Dr. Fred Bisci and also his own experience when he eats too much

> sweet fruit. I highly recommend the book and have done an interview

> with Matt for my radio show which will be archived soon.

>