I think they can also treat some of the fruit with sprays when they come from overseas and other states - this might be part of your problem too.

Not that I was doing it for the strength training, but the 5 Tibetans have made my once bony girl arms much more muscular!

For those in *ahem* sunny melbourne, there is a raw food meetup on 23 august. Here is the link for more info: http://rawfood.meetup.com/365/

I haven't managed to get to one yet, but they look great.

it is a fantastic medicinal herb. It also makes me very flatulent, so bad in fact, that I had to stop eating it! Onion does the same.

I sometimes use it as a medicine, or if I'm eating out, but not as an everyday food. I would have no friends left.

I don't know about any raw restaurants beyond the rumours but there is a list of vegetarian restaurants at VNV: http://www.vnv.org.au/site//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=86 it might be a good start.

Hi KittyK

I guess since going high raw I have a better sense of what my body is telling me. When I feel my B12 is low I start feeling a little bit lethargic and down, it's a particular feeling in my body. And it seems to be the B12 because taking supplements for a couple of days picks me up again. It's not really scientific, but it works for me! (And this coming from a nutritional medicine student!!!)

As a rule I'm not a fan of supplements - many are synthesised from petrochemicals and the body may or may not recognise them as nutrients. My friend who is a chinese herbalist says that the body can actually start attacking the molecules in sythesised vitamins as foreign invaders! But B12 is a bacteria grown in a lab so I'm not so worried about that. For a multivitamin I take good quality spirulina because a) it's vegan b) it's a whole food and c) if you buy the right brand it's raw. I do have to build up slowly because it upsets my digestion if I take big doses right from the start. But it does pass.

Zalan, a raw foodie in Hepburn Springs, has an article about how he cured his B12 deficiency. It's actually an interesting read because it shows that you can raise B12 levels without supplements (although another time he did use supplements).

Anyway his website is www.vegadeva.com.au/ and then you go to Books/Articles > My B12

I have noticed that if I'm under stress (such as when my father died, and when I had exams) I feel low in B12. I can't explain it, I just do! Then I take a (vegan) supplement and I feel better.

I know this doesn't really answer your question either but thought I would put it in the mix!

hi rawphoenix, these guys do potlucks every month, it sounds really good: http://rawfood.meetup.com/365/

I've taped it but haven't watched it yet, I'll wait until after exams I think...

My cousin owns a broiler chicken farm in Hastings, he absolutely refuses to eat any factory farmed chicken even though he grows them.

my eyes went from green to a kind of turquoise colour and got clearer, I really like the change

I met Dr Green at World Vegan Day in Melbourne last year. He did a talk and it was great, also a really nice guy. He has a practice in Footscray, my partner and I will go to him at some point to get our nutrient levels checked etc

never heard of Natchat before, maybe on community TV

I agree melb, I always used a teaspoon and hadn't thought of the differences in TB's

the directions I have been going by are:

Mix in salt to the proportion of one - level teaspoon for half a liter of water. This equates to 0.9% – the same as human blood – and is called an isotonic solution.

which is approx. half a tablespoon per litre. It works well for me. I also do the exercises which can be found here:http://www.jalanetipot.com/asanas1.html

I can't comment on your brother's condition, i think that's one for the professionals. But the saline water does go through the small and large intestine, cleaning it out, so it may be a problem for him but I couldn't say for sure.

because the water is that same salt ratio as blood, it isn't absorbed through the intestines like normal water. There's name for that process but I forget what it's called at the present moment. something about osmosis (this is a bit sad that I can't remember considering I have my biology exam in less than a month!)

If you don't put enough salt in, you will absorb water and pee it out. If you put too much, I think the salt water will draw water out of your body to get it to the proper ratio and you will become dehydrated.

there is a meetup group that meets regularly. I haven't been because it's always conflicted with something else, and I live in the country, but it sounds really good: http://rawfood.meetup.com/365/