How did this system determine which foods were yin and which yang?

Was it based on the way people reacted to them, or felt after eating them, on a cooked food diet?

Is it possible that people who eat like Bryan eats don't react to the same foods the same way a cooked-eater does?

I also want to add that I am TOTALLY FOR the eating and proliferation of as much sweet fruit as possible.... because I do believe that our current modern world has become overly yang... so the more yin we can all be, the better and more peaceful our world will become. I simply wanted to explore here the possibilities for why some people seem to have problems with eating alot of sweet fruit.

But by all means... eat fruit!!!

(unless you can't handle it - in which case sprouted grains might work better for you).

Aquadecoco,
I believe the yin/yang descriptions were based upon how people change upon consuming a particular item. Not only that, but the shape, color, texture, origin and life cycle of a given item. (for materia medica from living things). I'd say that people who eat raw might react differently to particular items, in that cooking changes the nature of a particular item. Different methods of preparation changes how it works in the body.

Sunshine79,
I don't know enough about TCM, but I am not sure an over consumption of yin foods will achieve what you state. I am not absolutely sure, but I have heard of yin conditions transforming to yang, and the other way around. I would be interested in hearing what other people know about this and how this works, and if this relates to the topic at all.

Unfortunately, I am not sure that conflict in the world will totally disappear. I don't like conflict, but I know that every organism on earth competes for space and resources, quite often violently so. A friend of mine was telling me about how these pretty little hummingbirds were attacking each other at his feeder. He was so suprised to see it happening. In nature you can observe these sorts of things all the time. Chicks pushing eggs and smaller chicks out of the nest. In my garden there is this silent war going on all the time over space, aggressive blackberries attempting to grow over other things and choke them out. They are very successful at doing this when there isn't a gardener to pull them out.

Sweet fruit in excess can cause gum problems, tooth problems and digestive problems. Perhaps some people can adjust. Actually alot of fruitarians say this is from trying to become fruitarian too fast. what do you think?

re: "Sweet fruit in excess can cause gum problems, tooth problems and digestive problems."

This is true of any food in excess, whether is leafy greens, vegetables, fresh juice, or whatever. If you eat significantly more of a food than your caloric or energy needs, you will start to see health problems like Mislu was describing. The secret to good health is eating enough food to meet your caloric needs and no more.

Bryan,
Your statement about fruit may qualify to be true. But its very difficult for most people to eat too many calories on a raw food diet. I know that I dropped weight far too fast for me to adjust to, physically and psychologically. I ended up adding some portion of cooked food for a number of reasons. One for the saity factor, as I was literally eating constantly, and constantly hungry. The other is to have a closer cultural fit for my area. I know this sounds like a weak justification for either, but ones total lifestyle determines health, along with social fitness. Something that I have always had a difficult time with. Food being a sort of a sore thum...

I might also add that I meant excess fruit as meaning as too large of a percent of ones diet. Not too many calories, and excess food in general.

Mislu,

I am eating about 95% (or more) of my calories coming from fruit. David Zane Mason and FruitarianOne and others are eating 100% fruit. So is 101% too much then?

Bryan,

Naturally it follows that if you are a fruitarian, no amount of fruit is going to be too much.

I am not sure if you saw my other post addressed to you. But to clarify, I think it would be interesting if someone came up with another term or terms for that period of human history called "the dawn of civiliation". With the developement of agriculture etc... I have reasons for wanting to rename it which are not directly related to food & diet. Just to recap, a lot of people attach positive ideation to the development of civilization and agriculture, as being a step forward. But given the size of environmental problems in the world right now, it appears to be a wrong turn.

The other comment I had questioned was the primate diet. I wonder why people still point to that, its not really the ideal diet advocated on this webpage, not in any form thats acceptible. I would accept that its a formulated diet for the age, but its not exactly what other species consume or what prehumans consumed. It might be very close, but its not exactly.

Mislu:

Have you read Ishmael?

Its a novel that very much explains the relationship and evolution of agriculture..and how it necessarily results in keeping the land under lock and key. moving away from the idea that The Mother - to use that term, is a very friendly providing place.


as for everything else. Its just like in all the other threads.."I tried this..and this and THIS happened (oh my), and realized I NEED X and Y and 2xT or whatever" Its a perfectly logical way to think about things..if that is your thing.

The only choice, really is to either be more open to whatever arises, OR to continue going at whatever pace, and whatever diet works for YOU at that moment...i mean, what else is there but arguing about it? ha ha!