Fred's BS METER: COULD THIS BE TRUE? (or what to think of the latest raw-food books)

I received the following letter from a reader:

“There’s a new book that came out claiming that raw chocolate is the best food. But you say chocolate is 'bad', and this book says it is good, and it is the same for lots of other things about raw food nutrition! I believe more in you than in other raw-food 'gurus' (or the like), but I am extremely confused, I do not know what to think about chocolate and everything else anymore! I really liked your book “Raw Secrets” but then I have wondered what it is right to eat, since most recipes contain garlic, onion, oil, spices... And the more I read, the more I get confused.

“For example I tend to refuse to believe that such a millenary food like bread could be harmful for man. What about onion and garlic, and the famous Hunza nutrition? You see, I tend to believe in raw food nutrition, but... I have lots of doubts, and wonder if our instinct might be enough for us.

“You have been very clear and exhaustive in your book “Raw Secrets,” but perhaps you should be even clearer.”

ANSWER FROM FREDERIC:

Here we go: confusion again!

Someone comes up with a book saying that chocolate is the best thing you could eat (and they happen to sell it, of course), and then a whole lot of people write me and ask me what I think about this, because they get confused. “Could this be true?” But of course, thousands of diet books are printed every year and among them you’ll find an amazing amount of contradicting information. I personally do not have the time (or desire) to go through all of them. And I think it’d be a waste of my time to even try to verify all of the ludicrous statements made by the various authors and self-proclaimed diet gurus. I think I have made it very clear in The Raw Secrets (especially in the new electronic edition) that going back to a natural diet is based on very simple principles that can be hard to put in practice, in fact because “simple” is harder than “complicated” in this world.

At some point, we have to put some trust in Nature. This year, a book comes out claiming that chocolate or raw cacao is the best thing in the world. Next year, it’s going to be something else. Do you have to put to the test all of the sometimes ridiculous theories out there about nutrition and everything else? Do you have to be always in a state of doubt? Remember, success is impossible to the doubter. You have to have a little trust, for a start. Only then, success becomes a possibility.

In Raw Secrets, I made it quite clear that our natural diet should be composed almost exclusively of fruits and vegetables, eaten as much as possible in their natural state. You should read again the chapter where I explain the natural law of dietetics -- or how every creature on this planet selects foods according to three criteria:

*Is the food pleasant to the taste, smell and sight, when it is consumed in the raw state, without seasonings or combinations.

* This simple test should help you determine which are the best foods for us. In the meantime, we know that raw cacao is a stimulating food (For more information, see my article: Raw Cacao). Humans have done perfectly well all over the planet for hundreds of thousands of years before cacao was discovered, and were doing much better in every regard before bread and grains were consumed, only thousands of years ago.

Eventually, you will move from trust (which comes from reasoning), to experience. Experience will teach you the principles that you have learned in the right books. For example, you can read my article on raw cacao and still think to yourself, “Yeah right, I still want to try it.” Then when you spend the night in your bed, restless and unable to sleep, you might think to yourself, “Well maybe it’s true, raw cacao is really a stimulant.”

Or you might read what I have to say on garlic and onions -- avoid them for about a month, and then eat some again. Then you might notice how not only your breath has a nasty garlic flavor to it the next day, but also that your fingers, arms, and actually every pore of your body has a slight garlic smell -- as the body is getting rid of the toxic compounds found in garlic!

I personally always have to remind myself to put my trust in Nature – and to always go back to the basic principles, which are the foundation of any true system.

PS: To go a little deeper into this, read my book, “The Raw Secrets”, and then my course, “How to End Confusion About Nutrition”.