I guess there’s no doubt that I will never be a vegetarian, or a yogini, or achieve any sort of enlightment of any kind except, possibly, when underneath a police searchlight.
I am an omnivore, and the worst possible carnivore. I demand dead flesh on my plate, goddamit!
I’ve watched a lot of raw food documentaries, including the ones on the Gerson Therapy and, while I have no doubt in my mind that eating the right kind of food may be the cure for cancer, type-2 diabetes and a host of other illnesses, I don’t believe that food should necessarily be raw. Or vegan, for that matter.
Because, while people following a primal/Paleo diet aren’t claiming a cure for cancer, there are lots of testimonies on the internet of reversing type-2 diabetes, curing skin conditions and gastric ailments… The same claims made by raw foodists.
And then, of course, there’s the Asian conundrum. Even with their diet of rice, soy (both of which are not Paleo) and fish (although occasionally ingested raw, is not in any way vegan), why do older people in Japan live much longer? (The younger ones, maybe not so much anymore.)
The common denominator, in my opinion, is the lack of processed foods in the diet. Eating the food we were meant to eat. Not something that comes out of a box, or a can, or a bottle, or that can trace its roots to a laboratory somewhere.
When you think about it in simplistic terms, all of us survive on this planet by feeding on each other. All we are, really, is one massive food chain. But, somewhere along the way, in very recent history, that food chain was corrupted. By the introduction of chemicals into our food. Livestock are fed grain instead of grass and are injected with growth hormones; and produce are bigger than ever and can sit on shelves for weeks without rotting.
A few months ago, when I was staying with Nicolas in Cebu, he was going off on a trip and I was returning to Manila, so I emptied his refrigerator and took some stuff back with me to Manila. 10 days later, I found that I had missed some cherry tomatoes in my bag. I was worried that they had rotted away in there but, instead, found the tomatoes as plump and ripe as the day I bought them at the supermarket.
Those weren’t tomatoes. Those were Frankenfood. What the hell are we eating?! Do we even know anymore?
Years from now, when they release the data from areas where GMOs were flooded onto the market, what will they find? An increase in ADD/ADHD diagnosis in children? A rise in autism? More adults being diagnosed with depression, strange cancers, and degenerative diseases? What will they say then? “We’re sorry, but we did feed you. We kept you alive, even if your quality of life suffered.”
In this symbiotic food chain that we are a part of, we definitely are what we eat. What we eat can makes us sick or can make us better. Hippocrates himself, the father of modern medicine, said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Today, I am re-entering the real world. I ran 4 km. (30:14) at 6 AM and have already had bacon and eggs. That’s sort of Paleo-compliant though and, unlike before, I don’t intend to achieve full retoxification within the next 24 hours. I’ll be traveling to Cebu and then Manila so I cannot get sick, so I’ve asked the girls to pack some healthy snacks for me to take. I’d also like to see what impact the raw diet has had on my health so I’ve scheduled some blood work for early tomorrow morning, which means I have to fast for at least ten hours tonight.
I’ve decided to keep following the Paleo diet, and incorporate raw vegetables into meals as much as I can. Will also try intermittent fasting and – eek! – have a Cheat Day which, hopefully, will also be the only day of the week that I drink. Oh, one or two glasses of red at lunch and/or dinner isn’t drinking. That’s part of the meal.
Unfortunately for me, my health is directly related to my vanity and quality of life, so I do have to be concerned about it but, at the same time, I don’t want it to rule me and get in the way of my enjoyment of life because then – what’s the point, really?
I recommend the following documentaries on raw food. The full videos are not available on YouTube, unfortunately, and you’ll have to either find somewhere else to download them or buy the DVD:
Both documentaries below are by Steve Kroschel and are a bit cheesy but they’re a great way to learn about the Gerson Therapy.
One of the best documentaries I’ve seen. Tackles the subject of where our food comes from. Again, the full video is not available on YouTube:
These are just some of the many Paleo testimonies online: