I know of no human being who lived a full life, from birth to old age, on a totally raw food diet.

Yes, there are tens of thousands of people who have been on a raw food diet for various periods, from a few days to many years ... but I have never known an individual who was on a raw food diet from birth or who started on a raw food diet for fun and pleasure. Every person I knew who embarked on a raw food diet did so for health reasons, usually of a serious nature.

Benefits of raw food: Personally, I have been on a raw food diet, off and on, for over 20 years. I say 'off and on,' but my diet during these 20 years, has ranged from 75% to I 00 raw. At the same time I gave up tea, coffee, processed foods, tobacco and alcohol .... and a little more than a year ago I gave up ice cream.

I had been leery of ice cream for some time but once in a while I did indulge in a dish of the stuff. Then one day my staff had ice cream as part of a Christmas celebration and one brick was left over and put in the fridge. Later I looked in the fridge and — wow! — I was dismayed at what I saw. I said to myself, "I'll never eat ice cream again!" I haven't touched ice cream since that time and I never will .... not unless I know it is made from honest food ingredients.

Please understand that I am not a vegetarian, as I do eat meat a few times a year and I eat good ocean fish, such as salmon and herring, as they become available. That is one of the nice things about living on Vancouver Island .... a good variety of fish is available 52 weeks of the year.

I believe in the raw food way of life with my whole heart and soul — and, yes, with my intelligence, too — but I used to be an 'epicurean hog'. I loved food in all its wide variety and I would eat all the popular foods that make delightful eating. However, I believe that I was faced with a confrontation by my Creator and the dictum was, "Eat what you enjoy and die or eat what is proper and live." Thus, when the choice was between life and death, I chose to live .... longer.

Most of my old friends — those that I knew for many, many years — have died. Only a scant few remain. Of my brothers and sisters (there were nine of us) only three remain. Then, very few of my other relatives reached their three score and ten either.

Yes, I am fully aware that government statistics tell us we can expect to live to be 71 or 72. However, if you believe this is true, then you must also believe in Mother Goose and Donald Duck. Oh, I am not calling the official statisticians liars — no, siree — but somehow figures do get juggled about in hyperbole fashion.

Well, I guess I am a doubting Thomas by nature but I was sure something was cockeyed with these astronomical statistics. I wrote to the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and asked if they had ever made a study to establish the average life-span. They had made such a study and do you know what it revealed? Hold onto your hat and I'll tell you .... only 53 out of 100 reached 69 years of age. Now it bugs the dickens out of me that the official government statisticians apparently can't add or subtract .... or are they just taking us for a stroll along the primrose path?

Wild animals have a more or less established life-span and investigations tell me that, barring accident or interference by man, they almost invariably live out their allotted life-span. Of course, this rule does not apply to most domesticated animals because they are fed by man, not nature, and thus, they are falling prey to disease.

Among the leaders of the raw food movement during the early days were Graham, Thomas, Drews, Estes, Christian, Richter, Gibbon, Bircher-Benner and Brandt. I believe Bircher-Benner was the best known of all but most of them in their time made quite an impact. It is claimed that in 1900 there were over 2,000 people in Chicago living solely on a raw food diet.

Graham, a loquacious Presbyterian minister, had a large following and was the creator of our graham flour. He contended that cooked food was harmful to the human body and urged his followers to consume raw food. That was back in the 1830's and 1840's and his adherents believed and followed him. It is claimed by some that this was the reason for the complete freedom from cholera which his followers enjoyed during the epidemic of that time.

There were numerous other men who left their stamp on this period, including Professor Jaffra, who was connected with the University of Southern California. He made a careful study of a number of families who, for basically religious reasons but also for ethical and scientific reasons, lived almost entirely on a diet of raw fruits and nuts. He found these people to be in excellent health with marked freedom from colds and other ailments. However, the children were below average in height and weight and the adults were also below average in weight. It is a well known fact that strict vegetarians are 10 to 15% lower in weight than those on the standard carnivorous diet.

I would like to relate an experiment conducted by Dr. John F. Russell at the New York Post Graduate Hospital. He made public that a cure for long standing and obstinate cases of tuberculosis was found in specific raw foods. Under the supervision of Dr. Russell, eleven patients were given four ounces of raw vegetable juices each in addition to their regular meals. The juices were from such vegetables as potato, rhubarb, carrot, celery, cabbage, parsnip, radish, string beans and peas. Later, fifty additional patients were placed on the same dietary regimen and the results noted. Within seven months the eleven original patients were given their discharge, being accepted as healthy subjects for a life insurance policy. The other 50 who started later were said to be progressing favorably and were reported to be well on the road to recovery.

Dr. H. E. Kirschner set up a clinic at the Olive View Sanitarium in California, where he treated 200 tuberculosis patients for Los Angeles County. It was reported that some of the patients had spent as long as nine years on their backs in hospital beds with virtually no progress towards regaining their health. Their diet up until that time consisted mainly of spaghetti, macaroni and other conventional cooked foods. The only immediate change effected by Dr. Kirschner was the addition of what he called his 'green drink' which was made of raw juices of alfalfa, spinach and parsley. A glassful of this was added to the diet of the patients every day. The results that were obtained were most favorable and the course of their health was changed to one of recovery. Some of the patients, earlier considered hopeless, were able to get themselves out of bed within six to eight months.

In Dr. Kirschner's own private practice he added raw fresh carrot juice to the already established 'green drink'. Then this became the routine drink in the diet of tubercular patients and it brought about an even more rapid recovery than did the 'green drink' alone.

Dr. Kirschner had great success with such conditions as heart disease, disorders of the prostate, neuritis, arthritis, hemorrhoids and even diabetes. One of the most remarkable cases was a woman with splenic leukemia and her story is related elsewhere.

It has been my personal experience that a total raw food diet practically always brings health benefits to those who have the temerity to follow it. To take it a step further, I would state that I have yet to find a person whose health did not improve on a raw food diet.

I have travelled around the world four times, mainly seeking knowledge about nutrition, specifically 'raw food eating,' and I recall visiting a famous raw food advocate in Teheran some years ago. He was a fine, knowledgable man whose work I respect and, like myself, he did not accept fees for his services. It was at his home that I tasted the most appetizing soup that I have ever tasted anywhere .... yes, even more appetizing than the many cooked soups. However, this learned man did not know that all cashews are heat treated, rolled oats have been steamed and most shelled nuts are processed and treated with various kinds of oil or fat.

People call me for help virtually every day, any time of the day or night, and I give them the best direction of which I am capable. I have been experimenting with various forms of a raw food diet for over 20 years and I am familiar with the various regimens. However, I do not claim to be an expert and if anyone can teach me something about a raw food diet that I do not know, I will thank him from the bottom of my heart.

I plead with you to give a total raw juice and raw food diet an unimpeded chance for 10 short days. What you feel and see will give you the encouragement you need to continue. You, and you alone, hold your fate in your hands. It's as though the kind Creator actually put your life into your own hands. Won't you give optimum effort on your behalf?

Adam Brookover

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