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(Swedish proverb) 		Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
(Sicilian proverb) 		Your friend is that man who knows all about you, and still likes you.
(Elbert Hubbard) 		You can always tell a real friend; when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job.
(Laurence J. Peter) 		Friends are family you choose for yourself.

2007
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5 February, 2007
There is no better way of testing how good my raw food diet is than doing some high level activity. After many months of sitting on my bum I finally got on the bike and went to uni like that. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes, I'm sure that Luke can do it in around half that time. Still, I did it, yay!!! I can see how my muscles evaporated. Well, practice will do the trick, won't it. Interestingly, my appetite went away after my trip to the uni. First meal after 1pm. Two large mangoes. Suddenly, a salad became appealing, I feel like I would just love to open my mouth and munch on something green, munch munch munch my mouth is pleading. No greens in sight. Have to wait till the evening. Let it be my reward when I get home after the big trip back. That's right, going to the uni is half the challenge he he.

I got my 811 book. I have some quotes to share, if you please:

1) "Nutrition is so rife with conflicting theories that so-called "hard scientists", the physicists, mathematicians, physical chemists, and others, frequently denigrate nutrition as `not real science' ".

2) Long-lived cultures eat high carbs, low fat: Abkhasia (69% carbohydrates, 18% fat, 13% protein), Vilcabamba (74%/15%/11%), Hunza (73%/17%/10%).

3) "All of the creatures that are anatomically and physiologically like us (known as anthropoid primates: gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, and bonobos) thrive on a low-fat diet that is predominated by fruits and vegetables."

4) "Insufficient carbohydrate in the diet leads to an array of health concerns, primary among which are eating disorders, severe food cravings, lethargy, weakness, and all of the conditions associated with the overconsumption of fats. More than ten percent of daily calories from protein results in low energy and acid toxemia, a precursor for osteoporosis, kidney disease, arthritis, immune dysfunction, and cancer. More than ten percent of daily calories from fat leads to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and many other maladies. Any way you slice it - too few carbohydrates, too much fat, or too much protein - you will suffer serious health consequences."

5) Body fat recommendations by Doug Graham:

women - healthy/athletic 13-19%, marginal/sedentary 20-24%, unhealthy 25%+
men - healthy/athletic 3-9%, marginal/sedentary 10-14%, unhealthy 15%+

"(...) I equate health with fitness and athleticism, essentially viewing the two as inseparable. In contrast, government, fitness, and medical "experts" distinguish the athlete from the healthy individual, giving then separate classification, as if it were possible to be healthy and not athletic."


6 February, 2007
Sharing, from my discussions at the rawfoodsupport forum:

"Hi
I wanted to share with you what I have experienced lately. I've been eating fruits and greens for over a year now, n osupplements whatsoever, and I was always eating one or two avocados with my salad every evening, every day.
Lately, I felt less and less the desire of avocados, and even didn't feel very well after eating one. So I now eat one a week, and mostly fruits during the day.
Now, I get up in the morning, don't eat, and usually either go for a bike ride (~2h moutain bike), or a run (half marathon usually, but not more).
What I've experienced is that now, by eating some fruits in the late afternoon, I usually can go on my bike ride or run without eating, and I don't feel hungry when I get back, and keep sipping water until the afternoon where I have a meal. But if my meal is too big, then the following day, I fast, even after my workouts, and don't feel hungry until the next day.
It's king of scary for me because I never experienced that before. But it's also really cool because I can go on all day without eating, and do a lot of stuff. I like it actually!
I guess it's the power of fruits. I feel so much energy that I could go on forever when I ride and run. Usually I stop because it's getting late and I have to go to work...
Did anybody experienced the same thing? What do you think?
Thanks for your comments"

Gosia: Yes, I did and I heard this from my raw friends (Audrey or Nora for example) who experienced this too!!! Yes, the body becomes very efficient on the right foods and the lesson about overeating is one of the last lessons to learn in the raw food transition. A few days ago I decided, after many months of being lazy, to finally get on my bike. I went to work and back by bike, each way taking me about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Big effort. Interestingly, after my morning trip, I did not feel hungry till after 1pm. I only liked sipping some water. In fact, immediately after my morning trip, I felt uneasy until I went to the toilet and expelled some stuff, and felt immediately much better. I realized that my body does not need that much food and overeating can cause me discomfort. To me, it makes sense to eat later than early morning, because my body still digests foods from the day before. Also, I recently discovered that if I eat too much duirng day, then my sleep is disturbed.

I learned from my bike trip that doing some high level of activity puts my body in a different, more efficient gear, and some mistakes that I might be making on raw become more apparent.

and one more from raw pleasure forum:

"Victoria Boutenko advocates about a 60:40 ratio of fruit to greens."

Gosia: She clearly means approximately by volume (for greens to be 40% of your daily calories, based on 2000 cal per day diet, you would need to eat about 9 large heads of lettuce per day, 90 cals each he he). If you transfer it into percentages it falls exactly within the range that had been recommended by Doug Graham, 2-6% (6% translates into 1 and 1/3 large head of lettuce per day).

"She was actually referring to the % by volume for green smoothies... although she's switched it now to 60% greens and 40% fruit.

9 lettuce a day would be a rather lot eh Gosia? *grin*
Sheryl"

Oh, I just love visting the raw pleasure boards. People there have a sense of humour that I cherish! And stories. For example, Freedom taking some durian for her to eat, so innocently and sweet, which made the crew and passengers alert about a possible danger, ending up with the pilot having a little snif of durian. All of a sudden it seemed that the entire flight crew of the plane was standing in the aisle beside me, then one man leaned over and said "excuse me madam, (since when am I a 'madam??") is that durian?" I said yes (impressed that he knew) and then he began assuring all the people in the rows in front of me that it was not a gas leak but only a durian! He went away and returned a few minutes later wearing rubber gloves and said "excuse me but could I please take a little of that to the pilot so he can smell and be assured that it is not a gas leak?" Or, the newly invented word, which you must add to your vocabulary if you want to understand other rawies:
snarf / snaf / verb 1. To eat gleefully and rapaciously, any raw food; to consume raw food without regard to overeating; to eat raw food quickly: Harly snarfed down the figs.
13 February, 2007
I do not intend to bore anyone with my recent fascination about the physical activity. I want to make a point. I learn and when I notice something worth sharing, I share. Making an analogy to the bike, going raw has put my body in a higher gear, higher level of functioning, higher level of health. Then, transitioning to a high-fruit raw diet has put my body in a yet higher gear. Every time I make improvements in my lifestyle, I experience improvements in my health and levels of energy. I certainly noticed that when I went raw, and when I started eating lots of fruit. Now, my recent biking adventures has proven to be another such experience. When I went on the bike last week, I realized very quickly that I ate too much and too late during day the day before. It seems that when I am active, my body operates more efficiently, and correction of some dietary mistakes is inevitable (or I won't feel good, and won't function well).  My first bike trip took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes each way, the second was 10 minutes less each way, and the third even less. During my first trip I had moments when I felt like crying and giving up (and calling Luke to pick me up). The second one was much easier, surprisingly.  I was talking to Luke about being athletic. I said I wasn't. He said he thought I was. I then said - no way. Only if I go to work at least three times a week for at least three months, then I will call myself that. How can I call myself athletic at the level of fitness that I have now. True, this may be well way better than many other women of my age, as Luke said, but age is not excuse. I have no doubt in my mind now that a healthy person is an athletic person. Not necessarily the other way around. Interestingly, for months and months, I was not interested in exercise. In the recent months, I begin to experience some desire, and now I really want to do it. This awakening seems to be parrallel to the spontaneous changes in my diet, which moves towards simpler and less fatty than before. I wonder, is this is the case of finding new energies in me due to the diet? One day we went to the pool a day after Luke had some cooked food, and he seemed to have lost all his huff and puff, as if the cooked food he ate sucked it all out of him. I think that science of cooked food allegedly giving humans energy needs to be rewritten.
20 February, 2007
My recent minor writing effort:

 "Anthropoids, including all great apes, take most of their diet from plants, and there is general consensus that humans come from a strongly herbivorous ancestry." [7 ]"Humans and apes are remarkably similar biologically. In the wild, apes and monkeys consume diets composed largely of plant foods, primarily the fruits and leaves of tropical forest trees and vines. Considerable evidence indicates that the ancestral line giving rise to humans (Homo spp.) was likewise strongly herbivorous (plant-eating)."[6] In fact, "Humans are ancestrally derived from frugivorous primates".[3] "Study of the diet of frugivorous human ancestors is accordingly of relevance to understanding the nutritional requirements of modern humans".[8] A frugivorous dietary heritage of humans is frequently posited.[1][2][3][4] The molar morphology of the earliest hominins implies "a fairly frugivorous diet".[5] The widespread prevalence of diet-related health problems, particularly in highly industrialized nations, suggests that many humans are not eating in a manner compatible with their biology and consumption of more fresh fruit is recommended.[9]

That hunter-gatherer phase is not the origins, but only a phase, the original human diet was frugivorous, as cited above. Note that "Comparative data suggests that human nutrient requirements and most features of human digestive morphology and physiology are conservative in nature and probably were little affected by the hunter-gatherer phase of human existence."[6]

(1) "Fruits, fingers, and fermentation: The sensory cues available to foraging primates", Dominy NJ, Integrative and Comparative Biol 44 (4): 295-303 AUG 2004
(2) "Ferment in the family tree: Does a frugivorous dietary heritage influence contemporary patterns of human ethanol use?", Milton K, Integrative and Comparative Biol 44 (4): 304-314 AUG 2004
(3) "Ethanol, fruit ripening, and the historical origins of human alcoholism in primate frugivory", Dadley R, Integrative and Comparative Biol 44 (4): 315-323 AUG 2004
(4) "Evolutionary origins of human alcoholism in primate frugivory", Dadley R, Q Rev Biol. 2000 Mar;75(1):3-15)
(5) "Origin of Human Bipedalism: The Knuckle-Walking Hypothesis Revisited", BG Richmond, DR Begun, DS Strait; Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 44:70-105(2001)[1]
(6) "Back to basics: why foods of wild primates have relevance for modern human health", Milton K, Nutrition, July 2000 (Vol. 16, Issue 7, Pages 480-483)
(7)"Nutritional characteristics of wild primate foods: do the diets of our closest living relatives have lessons for us?", Milton K, Nutrition, June 1999 (Vol. 15, Issue 6, Pages 488-498)
[8]http://icb.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/44/4/267
[9]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=10378206&dopt=Abstract


If you feel like more reading, I recommend that you check these out as well:
  • Similarities of prostate and breast cancer: Evolution, diet, and estrogens, Coffey DS, Urology. 2001 Apr;57(4 Suppl 1):31-8 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11295592&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum) Quotes: "Approximately 7 million years ago humans evolved from a common ape ancestor, with our closest relative being the pigmy chimpanzee called the bonobo. Like the other great apes, the bonobo eats primarily fruits and vegetables and no meat. Other types of chimpanzees occasionally eat meat as opportunist scavengers, sometimes even with very limited hunting. Even in humans, highly effective hunting was not the major source of high meat caloric intake until later in human development. When early hominoids such as “Lucy” came down from the trees 4 million years ago and began to roam the savannas, they picked up the ability to become hunter-gatherers. This hunting was still at the most primitive level until approximately 12,000 years ago when the dog was brought into human hunting society, which tremendously increased the ability to catch animals, owing to the dog’s speed and olfactory abilities."
    "This major phase shift in food style occurred only about 10,000 years ago, when humans became farmers and domesticated both plants and animals. This technology quickly evolved into a tighter focusing of human diets from wild fresh vegetables and fruits to an eating pattern toward limited plants that could be domesticated and grown in great quantities and stored, like wheat, rice, barley, corn, potatoes, and other tubers. This resulted in approximately 20 plant types rapidly replacing the high diversity of .3,000 plants and fruits that were earlier eaten fresh as they came into season and were gathered from the wild. With large-scale domestication and breeding of cattle came a high meat intake, and this was combined with storage, curing, drying, and cooking as well as a propensity to use milk and cheese from dairy processing. Cooking, burning, and smoking produce high levels of heterocyclic molecules, many of which make adducts to DNA, and are carcinogens."

    "Since separating from the great apes and chimpanzees approximately 8 million years ago, humans evolved into Homo sapiens sapiens that are very similar to our present form in little as 150,000 years. However, we dramatically changed to a Western-style diet only in the very recent past (ie, 15,000 years)—at a pace much faster than we could biologically evolve (Table V). This Western diet consists of high meat and fat; dairy products; stored, processed, and cooked meats; and low fruit and fiber intake, along with a more sedentary lifestyle."

    "In summary, we were not biologically selected by the evolution process to eat the way we do today, and the damage is manifested in prostate and breast cancer. Indeed, all of the present suggestions of the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society as to how Americans might reduce their chances of getting prostate and breast cancer revolve around adapting dietary changes in our lifestyle back toward the early human diet of more fruits; a variety of fresh vegetables and fiber; less burning, cooking, and processing; diminished intake of dairy products, red meat, and animal fats, as well as decreasing weight and increasing aerobic exercise. That is, we must return to a diet and lifestyle that more closely matches the first 135,000 years before technology modified our lifestyle and diet."

    TABLE V. Human development and the change of diet - Time Duirng Human Development (150,000)


    		 First 90% (135,000 years)
    		 Last 10% (15,000 years)
    Fruit
    		 High
    		 Low
    Fiber
    		 High
    		 Low
    Plant diversity
    		 High (3000)
    		 Low (20)
    Red meat
    		 Low
    		 High
    Animal fat
    		 Low
    		 High
    Dairy products
    		 Low
    		 High
    Food
    		 Freh/wild
    		 Cooked/preserved
    Movement
    		 High
    		 Sedentary


  • Adaptive origins of primates revisited, Soligo C, Martin RD, J Hum Evol. 2006 Apr;50(4):414-30 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=16364405) Quote: "At over 1 kg ancestral primates would have weighed in well above Kay's Threshold and clearly would not have been able to subsist on a primarily insectivorous diet. Instead, fruit and similar foods must have formed the major component of the diet, supplemented by either insects or, conceivably, young buds and leaves as protein sources. In this context, it is also noteworthy that the relatively subtle shifts in molar morphology associated with the emergence of primates, such as a general lowering and rounding of cusps, are most compatible with a frugivorous ancestry of the order. General aspects of gut morphology such as the relative size of the colon and retention of a caecum, further support the notion of a largely vegetarian ancestor to the living primates (Martin, 1990), and comparative investigations of orbital convergence and brain structure and of ecological correlates of sociality in primates and other mammals have recently also added to the evidence suggesting that the last common ancestor of living primates was primarily frugivorous (Barton, 2004 and Müller and Soligo, 2005)."

Salt. This really is a mind-addicitive substance. I went to a uni bar and got myself a raw vegan salad. I wanted something gourmet, just for fun. There were some salty olives in it, and at a time, although they felt too much, I had several, but could not finish them all. Several too many. Now, I am craving salt. In any form. I fantasize about salty cooked foods. I gave in once and got myself some salted chips. Eeeek! I will now have to go through a week of detox, before my cravings go away. Brrr. Worst of all, my body started producing a stinky sour sweat, yuck! No more salty gourmet salads for me. At home we do not have a (sea) salt shaker anymore. I through it out. Kids agreed with my decision. They both noticed that although they find the salt very tempting, it makes them feel not so good.

On a cheerful note, last Sunday I created my best raw gourmet meal so far. My friends and I had a meditation at our place. I always invent something raw for them to eat  afterwards. Last time, I made raw noodles. Not just some noodles. The bed of home-grown baby greens first, topped up by chopped up lettuce, on this a good handful of zuccini noodles, then spoonfuls of tomato and avocado sauce, handful of chopped up strawberries, sprinkle of blueberries, chopped up red capsicum, mushrooms in macademia oil and herbs, drizzled with tiny bit of tahini. I was proud (I know it's a mortal sin, but can't resist). When I find some time, I will download a picture here.
22 February, 2007
There is no doubt in my mind that I am a frugivorous being. There is not doubt in my mind that my natural diet is raw. I do have questions for which I have not figured out a fully satisfying answer yet. Am I vegan? I am not drawn towards eating raw meat, milk, eggs or insects. Is this my natural instinct or an acquired pattern? Am I really vegan, or the fact that I might be consuming some mini-beasts when I eat home-grown greens contradicts this? How active is active enough?  What is an ultimate raw food diet? Does one such diet exist? Or, is my life a journey of a continuous progression of neverending improvements?
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Copyright © Dr Gosia O'Reilly. All Rights Reserved.
Acknowledgements: Maura (logo).
Quotes on raw foods by fellow raw foodists.
Other quotes from The Quote Garden.
Photos: Geek Philosopher