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From:	David Smith (50.43.45.129)
Subject:	Re: Beets and other questionables
Date:	January 21, 2013 at 4:54 pm PST

In Reply to: Beets and other questionables posted by shelley on January 18, 2013 at 7:13 pm:

Hi Shelley,

Here's my take:

Are you consuming MOSTLY sweet fruit, i.e. vs. "veggies?" Are you including RIPE bananas [which have about 100 calories per medium size]? That should satisfy your hunger and calorie and satiety challenges. If you are still having problems [consuming enough calories after that], consider fresh dates, although if you do, I do recommend you rinse and floss your teeth WELL after eating them.

As an adult, you should need to consume only a relatively small amount of calcium, as compared to a human baby [pound for pound], that is doubling and tripling its size on nothing but its mother's milk. However, are you aware that oranges, tangerines, figs, and kiwis all have MORE calcium per ounce than human milk? Ditto for most greens, e.g. celery, lettuces, spring mixes, e.g. arugula, etc.

As for raw tubers, e.g. beets and carrots, it's really a question of whether these foods are biologically appropriate for humans. If eaten in their raw natural state, humans would find it fairly difficult to extract most of their nutrients [because of their tough dense (relative to fruits) fiber]. Humans are not naturally omnivores, like pigs and bears, for instance, both of which regularly dig up and consume roots and tubers; pigs even having a certain mouth/jaw structure [so I understand] that allows then to eliminate much of the dirt from their dug up faire. However, if you eat them raw, they are not going to do you much [or any] harm. Two questions you might like to ask yourself Shelley, are: Do you really prefer the taste of them to our natural faire, e.g. fruits, leaves and stalks? Would you naturally choose to dig up tubers for your food, vs. picking your food from trees, vines, bushes, and other [above ground] plants?

Just my "two cents worth," and I hope it helps as "grist for your mill."

David

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