Recently, I had a closer look at my diet. Food plays a very important part in one's health. What should we be eating? What was the human species meant to eat? This is a question that some people believe they have the answer to. For example, in Harvey Diamond's book, 'Fit for Life', he explains that humans were meant to eat a diet mainly consisting of raw fruit and vegetables. Raw?? I hear you cry out - yes raw. He believes that a diet in which there is at least 70% raw fruit and vegetables is a healthy one. He argues that in the cooking process, vital enzymes are killed and thus the food is hard to digest and becomes toxic. Of course these claims are not clinically proven. I did however read about a Dr. Walker who lived to 109 years old. His diet was purely fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds - no pasta, no bread, no chocolate, no Big Macs. He died, not of an illness, like most people do, but when he was in good health in his chair one day while catching some sun's rays.

In 1975, a man called Ian Gawler cured himself of terminal cancer through meditation and changing his diet. I was curious to see what he ate. He too recommended eating raw food but only for about a month to cleanse the body of accumulated toxic matter caught in the intestines. He recommends a healing diet whereby 70-80% of your diet is raw fruit, vegetables and nuts. The fruit and vegetables should be organically grown, free from chemicals found in fertilizers and pesticides. I met Ian Gawler a number of years ago and he did seem very healthy indeed. For more than twenty years, he has guided very sick people back to health with this healing diet and meditation. Some celebrities have embraced the raw food diet including actor Woody Harrison and ex supermodel, Carole Alt.

Another good source of information in regards to health and diet is Dr. Mercola. He advocates a diet that is 30-50% raw food. His website, www.mercola.com is the most visited website on the entire planet. You may like to have a look sometime. There's lots of helpful information there.

I wanted to experiment with this raw food diet. For many years, I've eaten cooked foods often twice a day. Would my health improve? Would I feel better? Would I have more energy? So, a few weeks ago, I began my raw food diet adventure. I ate almost 100% raw food (I had some toast and honey most days.) In the first few weeks, I had diarrhea twice a day and lost a fair bit of weight. As Ian Gawler mentions in his book, it's good to be lean and one shouldn't worry about losing some weight. If you lose an excessive amount of weight, you should consult your doctor. I then moved into a 70-80% healing diet as suggested by Ian Gawler and the diarrhea improved. I do feel clearer mentally and healthier. I have more energy and the arthritis that I've had for many years is vastly improved. I ordered Carole Alt's book, 'The Raw 50', and have made some very appetizing meals. The rate at which I am de-toxing has slowed and I continue to grow in vitality and energy.

So who should consider a raw food diet? I suggest you check the acidity of your urine which is an indication of the acidity of your blood. The PH of your urine can be tested to see if you are headed down the path of illness. A healthy person usually scores a PH urine value of between 6.4 and 7.4. If you are below 6.4 your body is too acidic and some changes have to be made. When your urine, and hence your blood, is too acidic, it creates an environment in which viruses, parasites, bacteria and other pathogens can thrive. It is these little nasties that are associated with arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and a host of other serious illnesses. If you are interested in testing your urine's PH, visit your local naturopath or see our doctor here at The Health Place, Dr. Tony Rong. He can be contacted on 1800 001 101.