[Raw Food]Thoughts on diet, was Belittling Others & Condescension -The Underlying Low Self-Esteem behind it

[Guest guest]

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Erica

>You are right - one diet is best for all. But just because Doug Graham

thinks it's " fruit and tender greens " , doesn't mean that he is the

authority on the issue. Here is a man afraid to even get his B12

tested. I agree there is one diet for all, but it simply your opinion

that that diet should be 80% fruit. Experience proves otherwise for

many. One week is hardly indicative of a great long-term diet. I can

water fast for a week and feel great, but obviously that doesn't mean

water alone is the ideal food for me. That's all I'm saying. :-) Erica

 

I don't think it's the optimal diet just because Doug Graham, Elchanan, or

anyone else, says it is. I was sceptical at first too - after all, every

food on the list was one of my favourites, surely it can't be good for me,

right?

 

But then I started thinking, well, what would I eat if I knew absolutely

nothing about nutrition, science, studies and so on (ie, if I was off in a

jungle or on a deserted island)? I'd go for things that A: taste good; B:

are easy to digest (no blender in the jungle); C: sit well in the belly, and

D: without causing any adverse affects after eating. Lettuce tastes good, is

juicy and sweet, and is easy to eat. Kale, spinach, bok choy, and others,

don't taste so good, are hard to chew, and don't sit easily in the belly.

Fruit tastes great and sweet, and are something I'd want to eat a lot of the

time; lettuce, cucumbers and similar, are less sweet, and good for a change

of taste, and also very refreshing. I probably also wouldn't eat anything

that resulted in sweating (thus wasting water), or unhuman smells (risking

attracting predators), or anything else that might put survival at risk.

 

I've also watched my boy - when he was first born, it was apparent to me

that, in my family at least, he was the closest thing I'd ever see to

health. He was as free from contaminants as one could be, born to a

meat'n'veg eating mother who'd been pumped full of drugs that did absolutely

nothing beneficial. He reacted to soap, and other toiletries (eg disposable

wipes) so I washed him with water, and he didn't end up with the severe

exzema that most of the other babies had. He was ill when I started him on

solids, even 2 months after the recommended age, so I took him off solids

until he was ready, then took him off them again because he was losing

weight. Then spent a year and a half wondering what the problem was because

he still wasn't thriving (by 18 months, I was starting to get the " how cruel

you are " comments from those who knew he wasn't on solids). The fact that he

showed dramatic improvement within 3 days of going raw - 80-10-10, said a

lot too.

 

Children, being relatively healthy to start with, show rather more severe

reactions to contaminants that adults, who have come to believe that their

state of being is " normal " or " healthy " . Their reactions are many and

varied, ranging from skin problems (exzema, diaper/nappy rash, spots, etc),

to behavioural issues (add/adhd etc) to other things such as increased urine

output (bedwetting to age 7, 8 or beyond), sleep issues, chronic illnesses,

and so on. These things are seen to be " normal " , but really, they're not. My

son, since going raw, has not been ill all year, where usually he has a

" cold " every other week, until I started eating wheat again. Now he has a

runny nose and sniffles, and a rash, and has wet the bed 3 times in a week.

Completely my bad, but a good reminder that diet is so important.

 

So, I trust my son's choices in foods, too - even though he's seen us (his

family adults) eating junky foods, he will choose fruit every time. Some

fruits he won't eat (acid fruits like oranges; strawberries, and similar),

but he will lick them, and ask me to eat them. He also asks me to eat

lettuce at times. After initially thinking he was just being bossy (I am,

afterall, a product of my own childhood), it occured to me that he was

getting me to fill in the gaps, as most of his nutrition still comes from

breastmilk. I've been asked to eat lettuce and snowpeas out of the garden,

mulberries off the tree, oranges, mandarines, strawberries etc out of the

fridge. He eats the bananas, apples, grapes, melons, and other sweet fruits.

He's never asked me to eat herbs though, even when we had a garden full of

them. He's never asked me to eat coffee, or wine, or chocolate, or garlic,

even when we've been sick.

 

So, I've come to trust Elchanan's knowledge, not because I think he's some

wise guru, but because I've seen the truth of his words in my own life, and

in my son. I have no idea if we'll develop deficiencies down the track,

we've only been at this for a few months. I'm inclined to trust in Doug's

and Elchanan's health though, and take it day by day for myself and my son.

I have my theories as to why others eating this way develop deficiencies -

maybe they have a disinfecting thing, maybe they use airconditioning, maybe

they just don't stick to the way of life as much as they think they do.

Besides diet, there are some 30-odd other major factors of health, that a

lot of people seem to forget about in all the debate over diet.

 

Mostly though, if your reason for eating herbs etc is a medicinal thing (I

keep hearing about how healing they are), then they can't be a dietary

staple. If all you're doing is treating symptoms, then you're no better off

than if you're doing it under a doctor - you're still reliant on medications

and drugs to hide the symptoms. I'd far rather remove the cause altogether,

even if it means fasting for a year (I'm gearing up for a week, hehe).

 

I apologise for the rambling nature of this post, it's been a few days in

the writing, in between running round the yard, gardening, swimming, playing

ball, and all the other things the boy thinks he needs to do with his health

;o)

 

Caron

[Guest guest]

No need to apologize for the post. It's beautifully written =)

 

It's amazing the health and diet conclusions we reach when just looking to a

young child, or to a life without blenders and common conveniences. Great post!

Thanks for sharing )

 

~Sarah

 

Caron <carongroups wrote:

I apologise for the rambling nature of this post, it's been a few days in

the writing, in between running round the yard, gardening, swimming, playing

ball, and all the other things the boy thinks he needs to do with his health

;o)

 

Caron

 

 

 

 

Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

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Sarah

>It's amazing the health and diet conclusions we reach when just looking to

>a young child, or to a life without blenders and common conveniences. Great

>post! Thanks for sharing )

 

Thankyou, Sarah ) I've been really pleasantly amazed at how my son has

blossomed since he's been eating this way, even with the turmoil in my own

system going to him through my milk. He has reached heights of health I

didn't even know were possible.

 

 

Caron

[Guest guest]

> Mostly though, if your reason for eating herbs etc is a medicinal

thing (I

> keep hearing about how healing they are), then they can't be a dietary

> staple. If all you're doing is treating symptoms, then you're no

better off

> than if you're doing it under a doctor - you're still reliant on

medications

> and drugs to hide the symptoms. I'd far rather remove the cause

altogether,

> even if it means fasting for a year (I'm gearing up for a week, hehe).

 

 

And why would herbs be treating the symptom? Or a dietary staple? I

have never indicated either. That's great that you are into Natural

Hygiene. Even better to hear you are still open and questioning of

things.... Erica

[Guest guest]

> It's amazing the health and diet conclusions we reach when just

looking to a young child,

 

Most young children I know would live on candy and chips and soda pop.

Not sure if this is the best gauge... ERica

[Guest guest]

Also, high fat animal effluvia like cheese & fried foods. SAD foods

are so addictive, for me,

there's no logic in using craving as a gauge in every situation. This

morning I'd certainly be having a steaming cup of coffee and a big

fat filled sugary muffin with a truckload of butter, but instead I'll

have a green smoothie.

 

 

 

On Oct 24, 2007, at 11:37 AM, Erica wrote:

 

> Most young children I know would live on candy and chips and soda pop.

> Not sure if this is the best gauge... ERica