Are fruits really our primary foods? (WAS: Heating raw foods (WAS: VERY new to raw food diets)

January 20, 2007

Hi Alix, and thanks once again for this great inquiry. I appreciate your

sense of curiosity and willingness to reach out for the resources you need.

I would call the thinking you describe as fundamentally misguided. Where the

idea comes from that fruits can take minerals out of the body is beyond me.

It's quite literally nonsense.

We are designed to eat fruit, above all else, and green leaves. All the

other stuff people tout is not primary food for our species.

We teach people to build their base around sweet fruits, not acid fruits, I

agree about that. But the acid fruits are then fine, particularly in the

company of greens.

If we consider what the human body needs in terms of nutrients, we get:

1. Oxygen, far and away #1, and not even considered a nutrient.

2. Water, far and away #2, and again not considered a nutrient.

3. Fuel -- simple sugars (glucose, fructose), in the case of our species.

4. Minerals, particularly alkalizing minerals.

5. Soft, digestible fiber.

6. Proteins and fats -- FAR less than most people imagine. And

interestingly, the actual science is very consistent on this point. We need

only about 5-6% of total calories from proteins, and about the same from

fats.

The ONLY foods that provide this mix are fruits, and greens fill in with

additional minerals, fiber, and other nutrients found only or primarily in,

well, green leaves. And guess what carbohydrates are typically found in

green leaves? Glucose, fructose, and some sucrose. (A sucrose molecule

consists of one glucose and one fructose molecule, bonded together.) Quite

the consistent match!

Nuts, seeds and grains are low in oxygen, water, fuel (again SIMPLE sugars),

soft fiber. They are high in fats, somewhat high in proteins, and VERY high

in INdigestible fiber. The are foods for other species. In fact, there is

nothing in our design that makes us a biological match for these items as

foods, certainly not primary foods.

Vegetables other than soft, tender greens are indeed high in oxygen, water,

and fiber ... but lots of indigestible fiber, and often lots of starch. We

do not digest starch well.

Hope all this is helpful. I'll add one more thing.

I have had 3 teachers since being introduced to RF who have really been my

primary influences. Of those, Ray Kent is probably the most significant,

though almost no one these days knows who he is (in the U.S. anyway). Ray

likes to say that all majority opinions are wrong. And in general, I agree.

So if you see the majority of society motoring in a particular direction,

look elsewhere. And if you see the majority in the RF world traveling a

certain path or set of related paths, again, look elsewhere. What I describe

is well supported in the sciences and almost completely ignored by, well,

almost everyone. The knowledge is there, all we need to do is use it ... and

trust Nature's design, over concoctions of the human forebrain.

Eating should be, first and foremost, an entirely functional activity. And

in Nature, that means it should follow a principle called the Conservation

of Energy. We should not need to spend more time preparing a meal than we

spend eating it. I'm not suggesting that we should never have fun in a

kitchen. But I AM suggesting that much of what people do in the kitchen,

they do because they think they " should " , or because " it's better for them, "

or the like. I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.

We can pick up fruits and eat them ... that's our design. We can walk

along, come to a fruit tree or vine, reach out with ease and pick the fruits

.... that's our design. And if we rely upon fruits and leaves as our primary

foods, we reach a point where we need to replenish only minimal amounts of

water ... and THAT's part of our design ... to continue to thrive, even when

Nature creates a drought/famine.

I encourage anyone interested in this subject matter to participate in our

upcoming FREE teleconferences:

- What is Health? (Wednesday, January 24)

- Messages from Within (Wednesday, February 7)

- Eat to Live! (Wednesday, February 28)

- Nutritional Self-Awareness (Wednesday, March 28)

and an extra, on emotional eating and related matters, not yet announced (in

a manner of speaking

- Do I have two minds, or what? !! (Saturday, February 17)

Wishing the very best to one and all,

Elchanan

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rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Alix Bernet

Thursday, January 18, 2007 2:37 PM

rawfood

RE: [Raw Food] Heating raw foods (WAS: VERY new to raw food diets)

Hello Elchanan,

I red that eating a lot of fruit can take out of your body the essentials

minerals.

And not too much acids fruits (oranges...) because of the acidity on the

teeth and not on the body because they act as an alkaline product. So

basically not too much fruit and no more than two acids fruits a day.

What do you think of this argument ?

Alix.

London

January 20, 2007

Actually, public schools teach that there are six nutrients: Water,

Vitamins, Minerals, Carbohydrates, Fat, Proteins. I agree that water should

be part of the list. Thanks for your insights Elchanan. They are quite

helpful.

Pat

_____

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

Elchanan

Friday, January 19, 2007 8:22 PM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Are fruits really our primary foods? (WAS: Heating raw

foods (WAS: VERY new to raw food diets)