[www.beyondveg.com]

In this article the author concludes that a 100% raw vegan is not healthy in the long run. He says it is better to eat mostly raw supplemented with some cooked food. What do the gurus think?

Tom Billings has been discussed before, if you do a search for that name you will find some interesting discussion.

It comes down to what we say about always listening to your body. Tom had signs that the diet was not working for him but ignored them for the sake of following an ideal his mind had created. We bring whatever psychological issues we have with us, to whatever diet we follow. In this case, it made him dismiss important messages from his body. I think the website has a lot of good information to consider (it is never bad to question what we believe), but ultimately we go have to with what makes us feel best, and that may be all raw.

Tom Billings?? That name has been around for years, even when I was first starting. If I remember correctly, he did everything but follow an intelligent raw way of eating, then came to the conclusion it's not a good thing to eat raw. There are some good articles on what he really did I came across once.

Have you ever gone to the doctor's office with a complaint and the doctor completely disregarded what you said? He wanted you to try a medication or something and you already knew that wasn't going to work because you've tried it before. It's frustrating, right?! You know your body and the doctor doesn't so why do they insist that the patient doesn't know (or have any say in) what's right for them?

To me, I think it's the same with all of these guru's. The word was cute to me when I started my raw journey eight days ago. Now, I'm coming to loathe it. Anyone who insists their way is the right way is someone I will smile, listen politely while solving the Rubik's Cube in my head.

I'm 41 years old. I have no time or patience for debates with people who need to be right. I love discussions and exchanging ideas, though.

I think it's irresponsible to say that all cooked food is poison. It may not be optimal, but optimal is not always a choice. Even if a person eats only one raw meal a day, their life and health will improve. It's about choice and listening to your body.

Opinion: I don't think cooking does anything to increase the nutrient, mineral, or protein quality/content of the food I eat. So I skip the middle-man and just don't do it. Heh..heh. This is just my experience/opinion.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I have seen that site before and don't want to waste my time perusing it again (better things to do). My understanding is that this person feels bad about their decision to eat animals or animal products, therefore, tries to find as many people as he can to do "testimonials" to make it seem as if the veg diet was to blame for their problems. Unfortunately, I think the people (and possibly the owner of the site) are just not intelligent enough to formulate a balanced diet and own up to their own shortcomings.

Oh thanks guys. I also did a search on this site for tom billings and found previous discussion. That also helped.

Currently I am raw till dinner. The truth is I really look forward to my dinner and enjoy it. Let me stick to the current regimen and see how my body behaves.

I work with a Dr. that has some interesting stuff, she is very educated about nutrition and cellular metabolism. She has written quite a few books on the subject - check it out drhanna.org.