Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Training - chiDiet.net

Too Much Sugar Affects Sex Steroids

Too much sugar turns off gene that controls the effects of sex steroids.

Eating too much fructose and glucose can turn off the gene that regulates the levels of active testosterone and estrogen in the body, shows a new study in mice and human cell cultures that’s published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. This discovery reinforces public health advice to eat complex carbohydrates and avoid sugar.

Table sugar is made of glucose and fructose, while fructose is also commonly used in sweetened beverages, syrups, and low-fat food products. Estimates suggest North Americans consume 33 kg of refined sugar and an additional 20 kg of high fructose corn syrup per person per year.

The rest of the story: http://www.physorg.com/news113902673.html

The original report: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=2066187&blobtype=pdf

[ See also "124 Ways Sugar Ruins Your Health" -
http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/2006/07/124_ways_sugar_.html - Jim Carey ]

Growing Sprouts is Easy

Jim Carey

As a bachelor, I'm into quick-and-easy food prep. Some accuse me of being raw because I don't have to cook. That's not true - microwave dinners are even easier than raw. But as regular readers know, I don't have a microwave any more.

I admit that it's rare that I create a Gourmet Raw Vegan recipe. Instead, I rely on regular visits to raw friends, and institutes like Creative Health for the yummy stuff.

I do, however, grow my own sprouts. Sprouts are about 1/4 of my diet, and I've found that I can grow my own for a fraction of the cost of store-bought with just a few minutes a day of attention. Full instructions can be found in Lesson 4 at chiDiet.com/lessons.htm, but here's a summary:

1. Soak seeds 5-10 hours in any wide-mouthed jar. Soaking time depends on seed size. Rubberband a piece of cheesecloth or window screen over the jar to facilitate draining.
2. Rinse with filtered water every morning and evening, and drain.
3. Leave in a dish drainer, tilted downward at 45 degrees, in a sunny part of the kitchen.
4. I start harvesting fast-growing sprouts in 2-3 days. Slower sprouts like sunflower take about a week. You'll know when they're ready just by looking at them.

I use small quantities of seed in quart jars. Quick and easy. I usually have 6-10 jars of sprouts growing in the drainer, in different stages of development. One of the coolest parts is harvesting half a jar of sprouts, then finding the jar full again tomorrow!

Like I said, it's quick, easy and cheap. Non-organic sprouts cost $4-6 for a small tray at the supermarket. My fresh organic sprouts cost about a dime for the same quantity. I buy most of my organic seeds from wheatgrasskits.com and BulkNuts4You.com.

Eating Raw and Feeling Full

by Jim Carey

During my radio interview with Kerry Pharr last November he mentioned going Raw for three days, and then gave up because he was always hungry. I have a solution for that:

A) To make a raw dish that is delicious and satisfying it is necessary to have all five of these flavors in your recipe:

1. Sweet/Pungent (Onion)
2. Sour
3. Salty
4. Spicy
5. Bitter

The ratios will change with the type of dish you are creating. The key to creating great Raw Recipes is learning to balance the five flavors. With time and practice creating Raw Gourmet food will be second nature to you. Here is a great resource for raw recipes: chiDiet.net.

• Excess sour is balanced by sweet. 
• Overly bitter is balanced sour.
• Fats tone down spices, and mellow too much sweetness. 
• Salt brings out flavors. 

A breakdown of the five tastes:

1. Sweet:  banana, dates, mangos, apples, raw honey, stevia extract
2. Sour:  lemon juice, lime juice, raw apple cider vinegar, grapefruit juice.
3. Salty:  Celtic sea salt, Nama shoyu, kelp, dulse, miso, celery.
4. Spicy:  hot pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper. 
5. Bitter:  kale, lettuce, culinary herbs.

B) Quantity. We're used to having small bowls of salad with our meals (at best). When you're a rawbie, what might look like a salad for four is now dinner for one. For active guys in particular, don't hesitate to eat an entire salad bowl for lunch, or a blender or more of green smoothie for breakfast. Supper should be a small meal.

C) Eating on a schedule. Get you body used to eating on time. I eat at 7:30 am, 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm. Within a few days your body will begine producing digestive juices on schedule, digesting your foods more completely, and leaving you alone between meals.

D) Listen to your body, and eat only what it needs. If you're coming off the SAD, this might mean training your body as to what it needs vs. what it wants.

- with thanks to Victoria Boutenko for the "5 Tastes" insights.

Vegan marathoner wins again

Vegan ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek has won the grueling Badwater Ultramarathon for the second year in a row. Known as the toughest footrace on earth, this 135-mile race takes runners from Death Valley, where temperatures often soar to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, to the trailhead of Mt. Whitney in California. The runners cross three mountain ranges with a combined vertical ascent and descent of over 17,000 feet. Jurek won his first Badwater Ultramarathon in 2005, setting a course record of 24 hours, 36 minutes. Most runners take two days to finish the race.

Both this year and last, Jurek won the race at Badwater just two weeks after winning the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which he has won seven consecutive times. In 1999, at age 25, Jurek became the youngest male runner to win the Western States race, and in 2004, he set a record of 15 hours, 36 minutes.

Jurek, who has been following a vegan diet since 1999, credits his wins to his healthy diet, which allows for faster recovery to restore his body to a higher level of conditioning. Jurek was named Runner’s World Hero of 2005 and UltraRunning magazine’s Ultrarunner of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2003, he was awarded UltraRunning magazine’s Performance of the Year: http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm06autumn/marathon.html.

Early man as hunter theory debunked

You wouldn't know it by current world events, but humans actually evolved to be peaceful, cooperative and social animals.

In a new book, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis goes against the prevailing view and argues that primates, including early humans, evolved not as hunters but as prey of many predators, including wild dogs and cats, hyenas, eagles and crocodiles.

Despite popular theories posed in research papers and popular literature, early man was not an aggressive killer, argues Robert W. Sussman, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences.

Sussman's book, "Man the Hunted: Primates, Predators and Human Evolution," poses a new theory, based on the fossil record and living primate species, that primates have been prey for millions of years, a fact that greatly influenced the evolution of early man.

Our intelligence, cooperation and many other features we have as modern humans developed from our attempts to out-smart the predator, says Sussman.

Since the 1924 discovery of the first early humans, australopithicenes, which lived from seven million years ago to two million years ago, many scientists theorized that those early human ancestors were hunters and possessed a killer instinct.

Through his research and writing, Sussman has worked for years to debunk that theory. An expert in the ecology and social structure of primates, Sussman does extensive fieldwork in primate behavior and ecology in Costa Rica, Guyana, Madagascar and Mauritius. He is the author and editor of several books, including "The Origins and Nature of Sociality," "Primate Ecology and Social Structure," and "The Biological Basis of Human Behavior: A Critical Review."

The idea of "Man the Hunter" is the generally accepted paradigm of human evolution, says Sussman, who recently served as editor of American Anthropologist. "It developed from a basic Judeo-Christian ideology of man being inherently evil, aggressive and a natural killer. In fact, when you really examine the fossil and living non-human primate evidence, that is just not the case."

Studying the fossil evidence

And examine the evidence they did. Sussman and Hart's research is based on studying the fossil evidence dating back nearly seven million years. "Most theories on Man the Hunter fail to incorporate this key fossil evidence," Sussman says. "We wanted evidence, not just theory. We thoroughly examined literature available on the skulls, bones, footprints and on environmental evidence, both of our hominid ancestors and the predators that coexisted with them."

Since the process of human evolution is so long and varied, Sussman and Hart decided to focus their research on one specific species, Australopithecus afarensis, which lived between five million and two and a half million years ago and is one of the better known early human species. Most paleontologists agree that Australopithecus afarensis is the common link between fossils that came before and those that came after. It shares dental, cranial and skeletal traits with both. It's also a very well-represented species in the fossil record.

"Australopithecus afarensis was probably quite strong, like a small ape," Sussman says. Adults ranged from around 3 to 5 feet and they weighed 60-100 pounds. They were basically smallish bipedal primates. Their teeth were relatively small, very much like modern humans, and they were fruit and nut eaters.

But what Sussman and Hart discovered is that Australopithecus afarensis was not dentally pre-adapted to eat meat. "It didn't have the sharp shearing blades necessary to retain and cut such foods," Sussman says. "These early humans simply couldn't eat meat. If they couldn't eat meat, why would they hunt?"

Read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/wuis-th020305.php.

Cell phone usage linked to sharp decline in sperm quality

(NewsTarget) Prolonged cell phone use may damage sperm in male users, suggests a study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, Ohio.

The findings -- presented at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine conference in New Orleans -- were based on a study of 361 men attending the clinic for infertility tests. The men were divided into four groups -- one group with no cell phone usage; one group that used cell phones less than two hours a day; a group that used one for two to four hours a day; and a group with more than four hours a day of cell phone usage. The men who used their cell phones in excess of four hours showed a 30 percent drop in sperm motility and viability when compared to the men who did not use cell phones. Sperm count, quality, and shape were also reduced with each level of increased phone usage.

Testosterone drop causes older men to fall, study says

(Reuters) - Men 65 and beyond with low testosterone tend to fall more often than older men with higher levels of the sex hormone, according to a study published on Monday.

It may be that low levels of the hormone impair vision, thinking processes or coordination, said the report from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061023/hl_nm/testosterone_dc_1.

[Note: Instead of testosterone therapy, you might want to consider that proper diet, nutrition and exercise raise testosterone levels.]

Heavy mobile use damages sperm

(BBC) Heavy use of mobile phones may damage men's fertility, a study has suggested. Experts are calling for further research into the effect of mobiles on fertility: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6079782.stm.

Being even a little overweight at age 50 is dangerous

Baby-boomers beware: Even being a little overweight at age 50 increases your chances of premature death, a large new study reveals.

Past research has shown that being obese, roughly 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight, increases the risk of premature death. But scientists have debated whether being overweight, one pound to 29 pounds over a normal weight, is linked to early death.

To investigate this, researchers with the National Cancer Institute examined the lifestyle habits of more than 527,000 men and women, ages 50 to 71, who were members of AARP. Participants completed surveys, including giving their weight and height. Researchers also looked at participants' death records over 10 years. Findings in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-08-22-overweight-study_x.htm?csp=N009.

Eating cooked foods again?

(August, 2005) You're not "cheating," you've not "fallen off the wagon," you haven't "failed," you're just making poorer choices about how you eat, you're dealing with your addictions to your old "comfort foods," and you've simply been "eating outside of the program."

I like to stop each week for a few minutes, usually on Sunday morning, and consider what I've eaten over the past seven days. I come up with an honest number, a percentage, by volume, of the non-raw foods I've eaten over the last week. Sometimes I'm shocked at how much I ate outside of the program. When I'm in the high 90's (99% raw last week) I congratulate myself for doing so well. When I'm in the 80's (or wherever), I resolve to do better next week.

Over time I'm finding new "comfort foods" that are also Raw and Vegan.

I don't beat myself up over it, and I don't share the number with anybody else (well, except with you). It's my personal business. I just remind myself that this is MY chosen lifestyle, and then get on with my life. This is a lifestyle choice, not a religion, and it's MY choice.

As I've been promising in my Backslider's Corner column, here are two photos of me. One when I weighed 260 lbs, and the other is of me today, at 175. The Raw Living Foods Lifestyle sure agrees with me!

Jim at 260 lbs. December, 2000

Jim at 180 lbs. August, 2005

Sunlight as a cancer treatment

Sunlight is emerging as proven treatment for breast cancer, prostate cancer and other cancers. Natural sunlight news and the healing power of sunshine and the sun's rays - http://www.sunlightnews.com.

What Dr. Ann Wigmore's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Did, and Does, For Me

by Dr. James Carey, PhD (applied microcomputer technologies)

For 23 years I lived in Key West, Florida, and built several computer companies. In '97 I sold off the business, apartments, office building, house, and most of the stuff I'd accumulated. By January '99 I was 48 years old, free and financially liquid.

I took a year or so off and toured the United States, traveled 60,000 miles, first with an Airstream trailer, and later with a Bluebird motorcoach.

I also spent the time overcoming my addiction to cigarettes, something I'd been dependent upon since I was 14 years old.

By Spring of 2000 I was rested, collected, and tobacco-free. I'd relocated to rural Georgia, adopted a dog, and started building a house with my own hands. I also weighed 260 lbs. I'd been watching my weight creep up over the years, from my college weight of 165 to around 220 by '99.

I considered myself healthy because at 45 I could still shinny up a 30 ft. sailboat mast and repair the masthead while holding on with my legs. But a year of sitting behind the steering wheel substituting junk food and rich meals for the cigarettes I was trying to give up really put the weight on me. Now I was almost 50 and single-handedly building a house.

I considered myself to be in good shape, I was active and pain-free, but I sure was getting big.

Jim at 260 lbs.

Jim at 170 lbs.

So... January, 2001. New Year's Resolution - go on a diet. I read about health and nutrition, then put myself on a 1700 calorie-a-day vegetarian diet. I walked at least three miles a day, five times a week.

In four months I lost 20 lbs., bringing my weight down to 240. I kept counting calories in my little notebook, I kept walking 15 miles or more a week, and by Summer - still 240 lbs.! 

I could not lose any more weight. Frustrating. If I went off my diet for a weekend in Savannah I'd gain 5 lbs. in two days, then take a week - or more - to get rid of it.

Back to the Internet for more research. I read about people who had been on one diet or another, but after initial improvements their health deteriorated and they were facing new health challenges because of the inadequacies of the dietary regime they'd adopted.

The deeper I dug, the more one program stood out. The Raw Living Foods lifestyle, taught by Dr. Ann Wigmore. It was old knowledge going back thousands of years, and she was the most famous of modern advocates. What impressed me most were:

1) Testimonies by people that have lived the lifestyle for 20, 30 and 40 years, and are thriving on it.

2) What does the founder look like today, or what did they die of? Dr. Ann died of smoke inhalation while fighting a fire, at 84. She was fit and healthy.

3) Other raw fooders have died as a result of sports accidents in their 80's and 90's, not of disease or medications. All maintained an active lifestyle up until their passing over.

4) Dr. Wigmore's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle combines raw living food, internal cleansing, body detoxification and plant-based supplementation. All of the elements of good health rolled into one.

5) There are hands-on training centers where one can go and experience the program for an extended period of time, and not just try to sort it out from books or weekend seminars.

6) Most hands-on centers are reasonably priced - I've paid as much for one night at a nice hotel for what they charge for a week's stay.

7) Dr. Ann Wigmore's program is educational, not "do this blindly because I say so." At the training centers they teach why the body isn't healthy, and what you can do about it. As an engineer and scientist, I appreciate this.

The more I looked at it, the more the Raw Living Foods Lifestyle stood out as being the program that would work for me - or for anyone!

Synchronicity also came into play. An old friend. When I mentioned Dr. Ann Wigmore's Raw Living Foods program she told me that she'd studied with Dr. Ann at Hippocrates Institute in Boston, and credited the lifestyle with changing her life.

August of '01 found me at Creative Health Institute, near Union City, Michigan. On a trip to visit family I stopped in for a three-day visit. I was so impressed with the personal experiences of the graduating students that I went back to Georgia, closed up the farm, and returned to Michigan to attend the two-week program. I still weighed 240 lbs.

In my first two weeks at Creative Health I lost 20 lbs. I never went hungry, I never missed a meal, I never counted a calorie. Indeed, I usually had seconds.

At the end of the first month I was down to 210 lbs. When I headed back for Georgia for Christmas I weighed 200 lbs. I'd lost 40 lbs. without even working at it!

Why did the program work so dramatically for me?

I was toxic. Not only did the organic, unprocessed food that Creative Health served reduce and eliminate the toxins in my body, Dr. Ann's program helped my body eliminate toxins that I'd been accumulating all of my life.

By eating processed foods, I'd been putting toxins into my body faster than my body could remove them. I learned that my body was storing these toxins in fat cells in order to protect me. Once I eliminated the toxins I was ingesting, my body was able to process the backlogged accumulation and dispose of it.

I also learned that I had a large amount of impacted fecal matter. Most people do. Enemas cleared out this backlog.

From '01 to '05 I spent three to six months of the year at Creative Health, helping out as a volunteer as I helped myself get healthier. I weigh 170 lbs. now.

The other reason I kept returning to Creative Health was the good feelings I felt when I saw others overcome their health challenges. I've seen people heal diabetes, obesity, arthritis, colitis, after-effects of chemotherapy, breast cancer, hepatitis, heavy metal poisoning, asthma, wounds that wouldn't heal, PMS, migraine headaches... all forms of health challenges.

I've seen people stop smoking, painlessly, in just a few days. They didn't even notice that they'd quit. Wish I knew that back in '99.

I've watched people perk up, heal, and get happy. Like Chantel from Zimbabwe. She came to Creative Health with rheumatoid arthritis, which she'd had since she was 16. She was 26. Upon graduation from the two-week program Chantel said, "I stopped taking my medication after I was here three days. I've not had any pain in more than a week."

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she added, "This is the best I have felt since I was 15 years old."

Some time later Chantel sent me an email: "While I am only 75% raw after these two years, I am not taking medication, and my pain has not returned. I am happy to tell you that I am now married and three months pregnant. Your program made this possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

What do raw living foods do for me?

Helped me lose over 70 lbs.,

Gave me an energy level that's like being 25 again (I even took up skydiving - at 52!).

Instead of sleeping 8-10 hours a night, I wake totally refreshed after only 4-6 hours of sleep.

My bowels are regular and move easily.

I'm happier - all the time. I have a more positive outlook on life. People say I "glow," and I smile all the time.

My taste buds have changed, and my cravings for snacks, sweets and caffeine have disappeared.

Most of all, I find my life more satisfying and rewarding than it's ever been before.

I try to help Creative Health in their mission. I've installed computers and a network, rewrote the website, taught classes, mowed the lawn, started a newsletter, served as Program Director, done public speaking, fixed toilets, painted, produced videos, answered the phones, stuffed envelopes, and told my story on TV and radio

When I was answering the phone at Creative Health I repeatedly heard people say, either:

1) I have the time to attend, but just can't afford it, or

2) Affording it is no problem, but there's no way I can take two weeks off.

For those reasons I created the Home Study Program. From a file cabinet with over three decades of research studies and student materials, and two decades worth of videotape, I spent my winters assembling the most comprehensive overview of the program I could.

I now administer the Raw Living Foods Home Study Program in order to help those who:

1) Can't afford to attend a center,

2) Want to have a comprehensive overview of the program to take home with them, or

3) Need training materials to help them share their wonderful transformation with others.

I'm finding it a great way to spend my retirement, and the second half of my life!

Jim Carey
Midville, Georgia
December, 2007

Chili peppers for prostate cancer

New research at Cedars Sinai and UCLA shows a compound in chili peppers can cause prostate cancer cells to kill themselves... a disease that strikes more than 200,000 men every year... doctors are finding that the foods we eat can directly influence the management of diseases:

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9413906/detail.html?rss=la&psp=news

Gout on the rise in the USA

Over the past 20 years, the incidence of gout - a debilitating arthritis caused by eating rich food - has doubled in the USA.  Not surprisingly, this is an increase that parallels the growing epidemic of obesity.

Although gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men, affecting as many as 5 million men in the United States, this painful arthritic condition is essentially unknown in parts of the world where people consume a diet based on starches.

The most important cause is an increase in the intake of rich foods, which are high in uric acid precursors, known as purines. The muscles of animal meat, poultry, fish and seafood are the most abundant sources of purines.

Most people have large storages of uric acid in their tissues which may take months of healthy eating and associated weight loss to dissolve away: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/june/gout.htm.

Obesity, blood glucose tied to enlarged prostate

(Reuters Health) - Benign prostate hyperplasia is a common condition in older men, but the risk of developing the condition seems to be increased by obesity and high blood sugar levels, researchers report: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060727/hl_nm/obesity_prostate_dc_1.

Interview with 55 year raw fooder Dr. Fred Bisci - by Paul Nison

The following is an interview I did with Dr. Fred Bisci for my book The Raw Life (avilable at www.rawlife.com) 

Fred Bisci is in his upper 70's and have been eating a raw food diet for over 55 years. He does coaching over the phone. He does not have email but his phone number is 718-979-7950. Please only call him if you would like to pay to do a sesion with him. He does not have time to take calls for any other reasons. Tell him you heard about him from me, Paul Nsion. 

Fred Bisci is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable person I have ever met. He is kind and gentle. His knowledge about the human body surpasses that of most people alive today. He is also the most humble person I’ve ever met. Since the publication of the first edition of my book The Raw Life, Fred has become a great friend to me. I feel blessed to have such an amazing person to share my time with. Fred and I have been touring together all over the world speaking about the raw food diet and health.

Interview with Dr. Bisci

How many years have you been on the raw food diet, and what got you into it?
I was always interested in nutrition. When I was a young kid, I was an athlete. I was also learning disabled. Little by little, I changed my diet. I would say about 30 years ago, I ran into a fellow who was into eating raw foods. At the time, I thought he really was extreme or radical, but I always had an open mind. I have always been the type of person who did not settle for mediocrity. I always believed in striving for the highest ideals. Therefore, I decided to make a change and pursue it. The more I did it, I got to a point where I decided that there is no doubt about it, eating a raw-food diet is definitely the way to go. Since then, it has served me well. 

How was your health when you started the diet? 
Fortunately, I was always a healthy guy. When I started the diet, I was big and strong. I had very big muscles. I was into weightlifting at that time and was a good athlete. I came from an athletic family, so I never really had any health problems. I was not the type of person who got into this diet because I was sick. Illness is the main reason why many people first start eating the raw-food diet. However, I never had any major illnesses before getting into this. 

Who were some people who gave you the most inspiration to do this when you started out, and is there one person who inspired you more than anybody else? 
I would not say there was one person who inspired me the most. Many influences impressed me greatly, such the writings of Herbert Shelton. I had read just about everything on nutrition, and there were so many contradictory views out there, but Herbert Shelton’s writings were very profound. They were very close to what science was saying and what you would learn in college about biochemistry and things like that. However, he just took it from a different approach and made you see that it was workable. I was always the type of person that made up my own mind, and I was always determined to find out the answers for myself. I was very careful, and everything I went through, I did systematically. 

What do you feel are the most important factors in eating a raw food diet successfully?
Not to be impatient and to persevere through it all. Understand that you are not going to get it down right away. You have to realize that the body releases endogenous materials, and you are going to have cravings. You are also going to have setbacks. It is important not to be discouraged. It is also important not to set unrealistic goals for yourself. 

What are some pitfalls people getting on the raw food diet should avoid? 
I think one of the major pitfalls is the negative feedback you are going to be getting from people around you, from your family and your friends who are not into it. I think you have to surround yourself with people that are knowledgeable and are into raw foods and have been successful at it. They have gone through it and have dealt with it very well. That will help you a lot. In addition, other pitfalls are the social ramifications, because if you are eating just raw foods, you are socially opposite to the average person.

You will also have to be very careful about getting medical interventions once your body is clean, as your body will be more sensitive, and you might react negatively to pharmacologically-oriented medical treatment. In addition, I think most people have to go through a transition where they struggle a little bit and have cravings. I have heard of cases where people just go from eating a horrible diet to an all raw diet and do it successfully. I’ve heard of it; whether it’s true, I don’t know. I think it is a lot easier to go through the cravings and do it systematically.

People also have to understand that they will go through periods of self-doubt. I know that’s what happened to me.Therefore, those are some big pitfalls to avoid. 

What are some common pitfalls people experience with weight-loss and dental problems? 
I will talk about weight loss first. There is a direct correlation between your diet and tissue quality. When going to an all-raw diet, the average person’s tissue quality is not good. The average American actually is like a walking pus bag. So you have to understand that when you make the change to an all-raw diet, your weight is going to go way down. When I first changed my diet, everybody thought I was making a tremendous mistake because I lost so much weight. I went from being a very well built guy to being like a toothpick.

To do this successfully, you have to understand what is going on with the body. When I first got into this and went to some of the Natural Hygiene meetings, some of these people looked horrible. They were terrible examples of good health. The reason was that they were the people into the early stages of this diet. Their bodies were detoxifying and weight-loss was part of that. The people that were doing well were not going to the meetings because they were already past that.

Many people never get through this stage because there is so much confusing information out there that is misleading. Many people, then and today, do not realize that the person trying the perfect diet does not always have the perfect body and because of this, he or she suffers in making the transition. 

Now I will talk about teeth.

Blood gases are connected to  teeth problems. You have to be very careful, for if. your teeth start to become pain-sensitive, that means your stomach has a back pressure of gases. Your teeth are the first place you will feel pain, if you have backed-up gas inside your blood. If this happens, the gases back up into your blood and that is where the trouble begins. It could also demineralize your bones in the roots of your teeth. 

What do you suggest is the best thing to use for fillings for your teeth instead of mercury ? 
There are non-metallic composite materials now available such as IPS empress and all the other new space-age materials that are fantastic.There are several different materials you can use in place of mercury fillings. New porcelain ceramic is very good. I have some of those in my mouth. I have not had any problems with them. I find them to work well. I do not find them auto-intoxicating or poisonous in any way. I am able to tolerate them, but everybody has to find out for himself. 

I am going to mention some topics. Please tell me your opinion on them. 

Nuts and seeds
Some people have a problem digesting them. If that is the case, you should soak them. People have to find out what’s best for them. Most people that seem to do well, do eat nuts and seeds. I know people that do not eat them, but you do not want to hurt yourself by limiting too many foods from your diet. You need a variety of different foods. I think people should try eating nuts and seeds. Make sure you soak them. Exercise speeds up your metabolism beneficially, and you will be able to tolerate the nuts and seeds much better because your digestive system will work much better. 

Grains
I think in some respect, grains are worse than animal protein. If you are in transition and you have to eat grains, then you can eat them. If you want to, you can sprout them to make them more digestible. Many people eat grains and have no problems. I have people that come to me who eat grains and overcame disease.

It depends upon where you want to go and what your goals are. If you are aiming for an all-raw diet, you will get to the point where you cannot eat grains. It will just cause you to have mucus, joint pain and all kinds of problems. If you are not eating an all-raw diet, you can eat grains and be a healthy person, but once you eat an all-raw diet, it is not easy to go back to eating grains. You are just going to suffer too much. 

Is the fruitarian diet sufficient in itself, or are some greens necessary? 
Yeah, absolutely. Having greens in your diet is much safer. I do not recommend anybody eat a diet of only fruit. I think that if you do that, you will run into disaster. I have seen some people actually just about destroy themselves. People say they eat a fruitarian diet of only fruits. I do not have proof, but I think a lot of them are just telling tales. 

Sprouts
If you are going to eat grains, the best way is to sprout them. Are sprouts necessary?  I do not think so. Part of the reason why many people on the original Hippocrates diet were so skinny is because they were eating too many sprouts and grains.They were getting too many endogeneous enzymes in their diet. That made it hard for them to put on weight.

The Natural Hygiene Diet Concepts
I think Natural Hygiene has validity, yet natural hygienists  are certainly making mistakes.They might be overeating on fruit which raises the level of their blood gases. We have to look at the reasons behind what is going on today in Natural Hygiene, why so many natural hygienists are getting cancer. Many hygienists today are dying of cancer. One reason is they are not eating a sufficient variety of foods, eating too little green leafy vegetables. They do not understand the connection of eating fruit to their present bodily state.

As time goes on, you can eat more fruit, however, if your stomach starts to extend, you start to get a gas-filled stomach and your teeth start to hurt, this means higher blood gases and fermentation. If that happens, you might be eating too much fruit. That means you should be eating more fats, more nuts, and eating a variety of different foods. 

Supplements
High dosages of vitamins, or mega dosages for a person on a healthy diet would not be benifical. However, live food supplements such as green superfoods, enzymes, angstrom minerals and probiotics can be benificial in many cases. A person on a raw diet who consumes a good variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds in most cases would assure their body is getting all it needs. Each person should be evaluated individually. 

Hybridized Foods
I think many people are over-exaggerating the harmful effects of eating hybridized foods. I think you could have them in moderation and they will not hurt you. If you are eating any kind of cooked food, you can certainly eat hybrid food. You will not have any problems with them. If you are eating an all-raw food diet and you are never deviating, you will get to the point where certain hybrid fruits and vegetables might give you some phlegm. Just do everything in moderation, and you should not have a problem with it. 

Eating Seasonally
Eating seasonally definitely has validity. I know a guy who is a natural hygienist that lives in Alaska. He was having watermelon flown up to Alaska, and he was freezing to death. If you are living in a cold climate, you must have more caloric density from heavier foods in order to generate sufficient basal metabolism. You are going to have to eat some dried fruit, some nuts or some other fatty foods. Otherwise you are going to freeze. As time goes on, and you become more efficient and cleaned out, you can eat that type of a diet. Then your body will be warm even in cold weather. However, not everybody is that way. If you are very clean inside and you are eating just fruits and vegetables when it is 20 degrees above zero outside, your body will generate enough heat. But if you are cold, you have to look at your diet. When you are cold, your body is contracting. You can take warm baths to help the blood circulate.This will warm you right up. 

Fasting:  Water Fasting vs. Juice Fasting
You have to understand what you are doing when you are fasting. Many people fast when they are in a crisis, but you have to understand that fasting is a crisis-creating situation in itself. In other words, if you are feeling well and you fast, then you will not feel good. You created a healing crisis. If you are already in a severe crisis and you are already weak, it might not be a wise idea to do a water fast, unless you are ready to go to bed, not move and keep your eyes closed.

Another mistake that people make with fasting in Natural Hygiene is not drinking enough water. You actually should be drinking more water when you fast. The water is a transit medium. You need it to carry the endogenous waste out of your system. Many natural hygienists say, "Drink water only when thirsty." I think that is a mistake. You should be drinking at least a glass of water every hour. Otherwise, you are going to feel terrible. Water fasting is more effective than juice fasting, but there is more risk to water fasting.

Anybody that tells you there is no risk to water fasting and that the body will never harm itself, doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I know people who have died on a water fast. Now with juice fasting, I think it is very good. It is much safer, and you will not get as weak.You can go about your business. If you have to function, you could function easier on juice fasting.

Now, it is all relative as to how much juice. If you have three glasses of juice a day, that is enough to carry most anybody through anything. I know some clinics that give people up to 13 glasses of juice a day. That is really too much. They’re really detoxifying and auto-intoxicating people at the same time! Many people are doing that, and they don’t even know it. 

What is your opinion of the different lengths of fasts? 
Unless you have a lot of experience with fasting, I would say you could fast up to seven days. Understand that breaking the fast is the risky part. I have personally seen people break a fast the wrong way and go into renal shock where they had to go to the hospital.

I do not think there is anything wrong with fasting one day a week. I know some hygienists say that it is worthless, that fasting one day a week does not do anything for the body. I do not agree with them on that. I think fasting one day a week is fine. I think when you fast one day a week, what you are doing is giving your digestive system a rest. It might not be a therapeutic fast because your body does not get into therapeutic fasting on a oneday fast. You are just cleaning up your system.

I do not see anything wrong with doing a seven day fast once a year, unless you have a medical condition, if you have a thyroid condition, or you are a diabetic. However, for a healthy person fasting seven days, or doing a fast occasionally, is fine. I personally fast often. I am a fasting person. 

So, do you think it’s healthier to plan a fast ahead of time than to fast when your body is asking for it? 
That is correct. I think it is a good idea to plan a fast ahead of time so you do not get into a situation where you have to do it. Actually, the best time to fast is when you really feel good. As crazy as that might sound, I have done that many times and it takes you to a whole other level. However, when you do that, you cannot go back. Once you’re eating a diet that is an uncompromising type of diet, you cannot go back to a diet that is compromising. You always have to upgrade your diet. 

Is food combining on a 100% raw-food diet necessary? 
I think that you have to look at that on an individual basis. I know some people on raw diets and they do better when they combine their foods correctly. I know other people on raw diets that do not have to combine their foods.

I could just about mix up anything, but I notice a difference. I’m not saying I will not suffer for it, but everything relates to energy. You are going to have to expend more energy if you are mixing your foods up. If you do not mind combining foods, I think it is a good idea. If you are already in transition and you are in true biological healing, I recommend that you do combine your foods. If you do, you will heal much sooner, and you will not feel as bad.

I tell everybody that comes to see me to food combine. As time goes on, I call them to see how they are doing. Then they can start to deviate a little bit. If they could tolerate it without having many problems with their stomach, then and only then is it okay not to combine your food. 

Wild Foods
Wild foods are excellent if you have access to them, but only if the food is whole and there are no chemicals on it. It must grow naturally and it have its full complement of nutrients. It must be fresh and eaten right away. 

Sea vegetables
I think they are very important. They are a great source of nutrients. They are high in sodium. Your body can handle that kind of sodium. I tell people to incorporate it into their diet. I eat seaweed myself. Dulse and kelp are my favorites. 

Exercise
Fantastic, if you are eating a good diet and you are very healthy, you should have such an abundance of vitality and energy that you want to go out and exercise.

If you are eating a raw diet and you do not have a very strong desire to use your body, that means there is something wrong, and you are making some mistake. You have to use your body, just as wild animals use their bodies. They are constantly roaming. They do not have to exercise. They are always fit and able. If you are eating a raw diet, you are automatically fit.

If people eating a raw diet wanted to go out and run, they should be able to run 5 miles very easily without any trouble and without any training. So yes, I think that exercise is very important. Anything that involves movement, I believe, is very good for you. 

Would you talk about your weight change and other changes your body has gone through on this diet? 
Years ago, when I first started, I was an Olympic weightlifter. I weighed well over 200 pounds. I had a very solid physique. When I got into raw foods, everybody thought I was crazy because I lost so much weight. I got down to a very light weight.

One time, I went on a long water fast and my body weight was down to 100 pounds or even less. Whenever you are going to a raw-food diet, even if you are already thin, your body weight is going to drop. It is a frightening experience for many people. I have seen a woman go down to 70 pounds. You are going to get a lot of static from people. The feelings are very scary. You have to be careful. 
Did you ever go through a bad detox?
Yes, I did. When I was a young guy, I ate a lot of animal protein. Whenever you are a weightlifter and eat a lot of protein, the detox is extremely difficult for that type of person. That is why my detox was so hard on my body. I had a guy come to me recently. His wife was sick. He was a big guy, and he worked out with weights. He said, "I will eat this way with her and it will not bother me." He lasted two weeks. He went into detox and he couldn’t take it. He was scared to do it, and it was too hard on his body for him to do it. 

Do you currently eat a 100% raw food diet?  If so, for how long have you been doing this?  Do you ever have slip-ups? 
Let me explain the whole story. When I first got into a raw-food diet, I was going back and forth. I would go a month or two, and then I would slip up. I would have tremendous cravings.They were very hard to control at that time. I would skip eating for a couple of days. Then, I would get back into it. I went back and forth there for a while. Then, for about 12 years, I ate all raw.

Then I went through a period where a couple of my brothers died. I was discouraged, so I started eating some steamed vegetables again. When I started eating steamed vegetables, right away it opened up the gate for cravings, and I saw that I was going to slip into oblivion again and start eating starches. So, I knew that wasn’t for me.

Therefore, I went back into eating a raw food diet. Now, very rarely will I eat anything that is cooked. Maybe I might have some steamed vegetables, but I have not done that in years. I will not say I will never do it again. I am not paranoid about all this. However, I know if I eat anything cooked, I get ill or I fall right to sleep. Therefore, my diet is now strictly 100% raw. 

What is your daily diet like? What do you eat, and how often? 
I very rarely eat more than twice a day. Most of the time, it is once a day. Today, all I had was two papayas, a banana and an avocado. That is all I ate, and I’m not planning to eat anymore.

Tomorrow morning, I will get up and I will juice. I like juicing. I also like blended salads. I eat a lot of them. I like to use cucumbers or coconut water as a base. Then I throw in romaine lettuce, spinach, and I might throw in some dandelions. Then I throw in some flaxseed oil, or maybe some raw flax seeds, some avocado and a little bit of kelp. I whip it up and make a delicious blended salad, and I have a nice big bowl of that. 

What is your opinion of the practice of juicing? 
I think the natural hygienists are wrong in thinking that you shouldn’t juice, and that eating the whole food all the time is always better. I lived on juices for a long time, and I was fine. The only thing is that it’s another step up. You have to be ready to do that. If you do that, you have to be careful because if you go back to eating some of the other things that you were eating before, you will not tolerate it as well. I do not see anything wrong with juicing. 

You have mentioned that fruit is your favorite food. Of all the fruits, which is your favorite? 
I really like watermelon and mangos, but my favorite food by far is figs; I love figs. 

When it comes to food, do you feel it is important to eat every single food organically grown, or are there some inorganic foods you can get away with eating?
Well, it depends upon whether the chemicals penetrate below the outer layer of the fruit. I think avocados are probably okay. Sometimes, I eat them even if they are not organic. You are much better off eating everything organic as much as you can.

The added chemicals mimic estrogen in the male and female body. They lower the male sperm count, and they elevate the female estrogen levels. That is why there are so many estrogen-related cancers.

What’s going on today with all the chemicals they are putting in food is a disaster. I think that eating organic is very important, so make sure you do the best you can. 

Of all the foods, do you think that there is one food that is more important to eat than any other food? 
Not really. I think the key is to eat a variety of foods. Make sure you are getting a variety of different classes and categories of foods. The need for protein is over-exaggerated. We are obsessed with protein in this country. If you are getting enough calories, unless you are doing something radical, most likely you are getting enough protein. I think the basis of diet should be fruits and vegetables. 

Currently, how are your health and energy? 
My health and energy are fantastic!  I will be 70 next year, and I have the same vitality as when I was 35, maybe even more so. I only sleep 2 to 3 hours a night. I have been married for about 25 years and my wife has never seen me sick; so I would say my health is very good. 

How many hours of sleep do you think a person should get every night? 
It depends on the condition of your blood. When you are sleeping, your blood is dialyzing. If your diet is terrible, you might need 12 hours of sleep. If you are going through biological healing, you need as much sleep as you can get. You might need 15 hours of sleep. However, as I said, it all comes down to the condition of your blood. The cleaner it is, the less sleep you will need. 

What mental changes have you noticed on the raw diet? 
It is astounding! When I was very young and eating cooked food, I was always in trouble in school. I was also learning disabled, and I had a speech impediment. Now, I am fine.

Here is how you have to look at it. Man only uses 8 to 12 percent of his brain. Where is the rest of his brain? It all depends on the condition of the blood. That is the result of your diet. When you get into an all-raw diet your blood gets cleaner.

Many people go to the Middle East. They start chanting and meditating to develop elevated consciousness. All you have to do is go on a good diet and clean up your blood. Then your mind starts to work better. Then your consciousness will naturally become elevated. Diet is the key. I cannot stress it enough. Your mental equipoise and the sharpness of your mind all depends on the condition of your blood, which, in turn, is based on your diet. You can change unbelievably.

In your opinion, are eyeglasses and contact lenses  necessary? 
I wear glasses. There was once a period that I wanted to get rid of them. I tried to give up my glasses with the Bates method, and I saw that it was working, but I did not go through the whole process. I feel anyone could do it naturally, without drugs or lasers. If you have to continue to wear glasses, so be it. I know plenty of people that have given them up by doing eye exercises.There are glasses out now with little holes in them that strengthen the eye muscles.Yes, it is possible, but I have not done it. Therefore, I can only speak for myself in this area. 

Not many people talk about the blood gases. Where did you learn about them, and could you tell us what you know about them? 
Arnold Ehert wrote a little about the gases, but I did not learn about them from him. I did a lot of long-term fasting, and I learned about them from my own experiences.

There was a gentleman in Brooklyn though, he was probably the most knowledgeable person on this planet abou