I’m truly happy that you are happy. I’ve eaten my fair share of meat too…i’m not judging, for who would there be to judge besides myself? And why would I want to do that? 
Thanks Chas!
I enjoy your contributions to the forum!
Likewise, machart. Love to you…
Hi all,
I’ve also tried a fruitarian/vegetarian diet for a few months, and I got headaches like Etherfish after a while. Didn’t work out for me in the long run.
That was a few years ago, and now I eat more fruit and vegetables, but I round out my diet to get enough meats, sugars, fats, and proteins to feel fully nutrified. While our ancestors once did eat a very high raw fruit diet, humans have also been eating cooked food for thousands of generations already.
Yes it is against my nature to kill things, but I enjoy eating meat. but we must respect animals more that we kill. So I am trying to buy more free-range, grass fed etc. Tastes better, costs more, but I feel better about it.
I got headaches after quitting smoking. Does that mean that smoking was good for me? Headaches and other physical pain is common/normal/expected when discontinuing habitual use of refined foods, dairy, meat, cigarettes, coffee, coca-cola, alcohol, cocaine, heroin,… It goes on and on… we don’t need this stuff. We want it. Crave it. A function of craving is making one believe that it is a need. “I need a smoke”… Really?
Just because we have been doing something for thousands of years doesn’t mean that we have evolved to make it optimal. Our biology is still the same. We have an aversion to killing for a reason. When you eat meat, you are in fact causing the killing, you are just delegating it to someone else. Most likely, an overworked, underpaid immigrant who doesn’t enjoy killing either. If one wants to stop killing animals, there are gentle ways of dealing with the cravings, like Boca burgers. They might not taste as good, but they do a good job of satisfying craving…
“If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.”- Paul McCartney
chas,
You might be getting a little overexcited about what other people eat. And about other people killing their food. Life feeds on life.
Also, addiction is something entirely different from food groups.
You might like to read Yogani’s book “Diet, Shatkarmas, and Amaroli” which has a very wise treatment of this subject of choosing a diet. He recommends a light and nutritious diet, and the rest is up to individual preference.
I’m unattached. I’m just trying to dispel some myths and misinformation, and those don’t effect me fundamentally, either. I don’t consider killing to be “wrong” at all. I observe that human killing does cause pain, suffering, ecological and environmental damage, and disease. If one is happy to contribute to these, then I support them fully. I want everyone to be happy, regardless of what they do or don’t do, and regardless of who the individual is.
I have read and I agree wholeheartedly with Yogani’s advice on the matter, please see my extensive disclaimers at the beginning of the thread…From here, it seems that what I am saying is consistent with Yogani’s advice, i.e. “lighter, more nutritious diet”, and is consistent with non-violence/compassion practices (Ahimsa:
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID ) . It also seems appropriate for this forum.
At any rate, I do care deeply for animals and humans. If a single animal is spared its life and/or pain for any period of time, -and/or- if one human being experiences even just a little bit more health and joy as a result of this discussion, then I would consider our time and energy here to be well spent. I am truly sorry if what i say here offends you, that is not my intent. I started this thread with the intention to help anyone who is interested, and those who are looking to change their diet…
Addiction IS related to food consumption as well as other substances. They all operate through the same mechanism- the craving mind… Which is not “bad”, it is what it is… Whether or not we choose to see it for what it is- is our choice. Some people want to indulge the craving mind, some people want to eradicate it or decrease it’s power. Its all a matter of preference, or intention. Nothing in duality is absolutely right or wrong. But there is cause and effect. If a person cheats on his/her spouse, that is not absolutely wrong, but it is likely to cause pain and suffering to the person’s spouse and others (i.e., children, oneself, etc…) so the question becomes, do you choose to add pain and suffering, or do you choose to add love, joy, and compassion? Regardless, I am not “overexcited”, i’m merely pointing out some effects of the causes…
A question Chas,
I am trying to understand dr Graham’s idea of the candida bloom because I have had occasional problems with fungus since I was young. I don’t know what kind of fungus, i was a vegetarian and the doctors said nothing can be done. Now it is less and less frequent, but sinus problems, I think maybe fungus again.
So, since I am not much of a book reader, can you tell me what the theory is? Something about sugar in the blood stream when there is fat too? So is the idea to get sugar without any fat to somehow starve the fungus?
Thanks.
Etherfish,
Candida is a fungus. It is present in everybody. “Bloom” refers to the rapid multiplication and presence of candida. Our body allows it to reside, because it is a life saving organism. When our blood sugar levels get too high for the body to effectively deal with, these candida will multiply and eat up the sugar. If we rely on these organisms often, they will multiply to a point that they cause symptoms in the body. Of course, the fact that they are multiplying is a good sign, because otherwise, we could very well die. The idea is not to eradicate candida, but to create the conditions necessary to maintain balance in the body, which will naturally decrease the number of candida organisms necessary and its symptoms in the body. When there is “too much” dietary fat, it will stay in the blood for quite a long time following the last meal - if it included a lot of fat (the body can clear low amounts of fat, less than 25% or so of total calories from fat with no problems, normally). Everything it comes into contact will get coated in oil. This includes the sugar, insulin, cell receptor sites, and more. When this happens, the insulin cannot do its job effectively (to a degree in proportion to the fat and sugar present). At various levels, the body is programmed to let these candida take over and fill their purpose. Nature is perfect, and this is indeed a perfect design. Note: I would advise against taking out the candida directly (with drugs, garlic, oregano oil, etc.,as some health professionals advise). We need that candida. If you cannot find balance due to your pancreas problem, there are ways that you can get some relief from symptoms, although symptoms serve a purpose as well…One that comes to mind is dandelion (great for allergies, reducing mucus and such)
Also, keep in mind that diets rich in anything besides whole food, as I consider it, will cause a mucus build up in the sinuses, digestive system, and many other areas, varying by degrees. The mucus’ function is partly as detoxifier (especially in the sinuses ), and partly to protect the soft internal tissues (especially in the case of digestive system) from the foods toxicity and the friction/damage that it causes as it moves through the system. The best solution for this again is balance. If one is eating naturally, the body doesn’t need to compensate so much…
Love
Thanks Chas,
I’m guessing it doesn’t apply to me, since my blood sugar problem is not high, but low blood sugar, and the insulin works very well and quickly. Unless that is candida or something similar working quickly, but have you
heard of candida taking blood sugar down too low? I eat almost no sugar at all, except for starches that turn into sugar.
I guess I will watch and if there’s a sign like peeling hands, try to watch my fat intake and see what happens.
Thanks Chas.
Yes, when they “bloom”, they multiply extremely rapidly and eat all of the sugar very quickly. This is how blood sugar levels “crash”. When they crash, you are cutting off energy going to cells (the body will then start “burning” glycogen reserves, if these get depleted, the body will then “burn” body fat, then toxins, then muscle).
If you wouldn’t mind sharing, what starches are you having? Caloric fat intake?
i don’t keep track of that!
The worst starches I have are potatoes, with steak and eggs breakfast. But blood sugar never crashes after that. Sometimes eggs benedict served with a little fruit at one place, blood sugar goes a little low for a couple hours, but not too bad.
I often have cooked broccoli or brussels sprouts, sometimes corn or potato chips after work. Still no problem after that.
But if I eat a little sugar or fruit on an empty stomach blood sugar always crashes proportionately to how much sugar I eat. So not as bad if mixed with other foods, and better yet if it is early in the day and a lot of physical activity afterwords. There is a daily threshold - go over that and the reaction is really bad.
Okay, seems like a lot of fat…I would highly recommend taking the time to track your intake in terms of calories… It sounds like you have fat in the bloodstream causing insulin effectiveness to be compromised, then candida rise, then blood sugar crashes/blood system depletion (sugar cleared) thanks to the candida , followed by blood sugar spikes when eating carbohydrates, with simultaneous insulin depletion… out of balance. I mean that in the nicest way possible It is a cycle of life processes going on in the body…
Thanks Chas,
It’s pretty hard to believe that all that could be going on while I feel good all the time, but I will consider it. even when there is a fungus problem I feel fine. Just something like peeling hands.
I don’t know how to keep track of calories and amounts of fat etc. Maybe next time I have a suspected fungus problem I will cut out all fats and see what happens. Normally it would last for a few days or couple weeks so I will see if that makes a difference.
If one is moderatly healthy, and meditates often, the nerves are going to be feeling pretty good. But, that doesn’t mean that you’re not having problems with balance in your physical body- with sugar uptake, transport, an delivery. It is a very important process that we could all be well served to pay closer attention to, myself included.
I wish you well…
Thanks Chas.
i know there is too much fat in my system.
I thought it was balanced by eating a high amount of raw, but maybe not.
I never thought about sugar uptake, because i don’t eat sugar. . .
might have to set up some tests.
so if I decide to try the balance you are talking about, is there an easy way, or do I have to read the book & keep track of calories etc?
The reason is, although my diet seems perfect for me, sometimes unknown things happen like fungus, that don’t effect how I feel but I’m curious how to control it because I know it isn’t right.
Every cell in the body runs on glucose, “sugar”, whether the source comes from protein, fat, or carbohydrate. We run inefficiently on fat sources. Protein is never really a primary source unless one is loading up on eggs, protein powder etc… In each case, the fat or protein is transported, broken down, and metabolized into simple sugar. (Protein is broken down to amino acids, or turned into fuel, if necessary…) We run most efficiently on carbohydrate as a primary source, preferably whole… 
Yeah, I would also find a good Naturopathic doctor, maybe have some blood panels and muscle testing (applied kinesiology) done. You might be able to solve real or perceived pancreas issues this way (this is how I found out my adrenals were shot in my early twenties). 80/10/10 is great, The China study is great. Cousens’ books are pretty good. They are each on amazon… I posted links at the beginning of the thread on Thursday 1/27/11… David Wolfe is fun a guy in person…and on YouTube…not sure about his views on fat…
I would suggest a calorie counter app or program. Then you can just select what you want to eat, it will give you nutrition info, and calorie content. Try to keep fat calories at around 25% of your total…if you are going to eat cooked starches, things like whole grain rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, etc… are pretty good. If you are eating meat, I would suggest getting the “lean” type and combining a lot of fiber with it to help it move along (it has zero fiber)…Lots of dark greens are helpful…
Best of luck…
Yes I already eat quinoa and lots of dark greens. Prob just need to cut back on fat. . i’ll see if there is an app, but I don’t know how you figure quantity - oz of each thing.