Hi Cee,

It has been a while indeed. Healing thoughts and loving energy directed to your eyes... and fingers secretly crossed behind the back. good luck..

Definitely an icon.. co-responsinble for "inventing" wheatgrass juice, buckwheat and sunflower greens etc, and rejuvelac and fermented nut cheeses.. all that stuff. He was the one who did all the analysis on the nutritional make up of these foods, and whether they were safe, etc.

But he's not raw anymore.. hasn't been for many years... and definitely not 102. Ann Wigmore might be 102 if she had lived, but Viktoras was a lot younger than her.

There was an interview on Raw Vegan Radio, a while back... an expert specialising in amalgum removal. He said, from memory, that there are very few qualified dentists able to do this safely.. all in the US. They're supposed to be removed in a particular order, and not all at once. Some people have had some really adverse effects. Also, he said the plastic implants and porcelain fillings are to be not much better.. based on aluminum. Best is to extract. The Gerson Institute concurs with this view.. they wont remove mercury.. they just pull the whole tooth out.

DISCLAIMER
I have no idea of the veracity of this information, and disavow myself of it...lol. I just remember it being a fascinating interview, and thought it worth mentioning.

I get what you're trying to say FB, and you're right about that, however, there is a greater fallacy which needs to be acknowledged... the elephant in the room. Any comparison of Raw Foodists to non-Raw Foodists is completely erroneous because the differences between individual Raw Foodists is is so great... Raw Food ain't Raw Food. Some RF'ers eat extremely high levels of fat (albeit good fat), others eat less than 10%. Some eat meat and dairy, some eat mostly fruit, some eat contaminated food, some eat organic, some exercise, and guess what, some smoke and drink, and some take drugs. It's apples and oranges. I don't believe any valid comparison could be made between raw and non-raw. The China Study comes a bit closer, because they looked at communities of like eaters, but that's a long way removed from what you and I put in our mouths.

I guess for those who are starting out with raw, it's important to rationalise the diet, but for me it's completely irrelevant... it's just my life, I can't really remember what it's like to be cooked. Even if I believed the Raw Food diet was not as good as some cooked diets, I'd still be raw. At times I've been on a good Raw Diet, and at other times I've been on a bad raw Diet.

The article is an Editorial, so to be fair I wouldn't read it as a scientific article. There are no references, and even the history blurb is all out of whack.

He does what Piers would call "The Straw Man Fallacy".. that is, ascribe some faulty arguments to your opponent then attack those arguments hard. For example the Living Entropy argument. No one ever suggested this was science or even to be taken literally... that's not the point.

There are some things I agree with, though:
- some foods do have better nutritional profiles when cooked (eg. tomatoes)
- the enzyme argument is largely disproved (see The China Study)
- B12 is a problem... esp. for raw vegans buying their veggies from Woollies.

So the next question is .. so what?

I subscribed to the Podcast back in 2006 when it first came out.. Steve ran the whole thing completely free for 2 years. Got to take your hat off to him.

If you get "Google Sketch Up" you can make a 3D model of the inside and outside of your house/street etc, and submit it to Google. Then people can navigate to your house and fly in and around the 3D model. People have done some amazing examples... Sydney Opera House, Time Square, etc. I did a 3D model of our house and block, but I didn't submit it.. never quite finished it.

As always, I can't resist chiming in on this.


KK, it sounds like you've been doing your homework on B12, and you also have answered your own question. There are many reasons for poor absorption, including genetics and age. If we know we are subject ot any of these, then obviously we should take a supp.. there are vegan B12 supps available.


Kebbster.. for the final word on B12 go to http://www.veganhealth.org/sh

Some Points:

- B12 can be obtained from drinking urine or eating feces (our own that is)
- B12 deficiencies take up to 7 years to develop, so if we feel "B12 deficient" we're most likely confusing B12 with other B group vitamins.. that is, B12 levels can not fluctuate on a day to day basis.. more like weeks or even months.
- The fact that one person in one book tells an anecdote of how their B12 deficiency was cured by Green Smoothies is not evidence.. what is the source of B12 in a GS?
- Unwashed vegies should provide (enough) B12. If they don't, the soil may not be in good health, or the plants may have had insecticide. I believe insect ova and feces are the main source of B12 (and some other B's as well) for vegans in the "sate of nature".

The Orignial Question

KK.. on your original question.. "does any one monitor their B12 levels?" I do.. with MMA and TcHy tests every couple of years.. I'm borderline, and this has not improved over the years on raw (it hasn't gotten very much worse either), so now I take a supplement. But I should say, I'm 48, and we all know that B12 absorption diminishes with age. With Vitamin D, you just have to brave the cold.. get out in the sun.. you only need 10 or 15 minutes and your vit. D is good for the day.

The only concern with the blending idea is that it might jam up your blades, and it might give you a stomach ache (the grass fibers.. I guess it depends how pulverised it is).

I've experimented a bit with processing wg. A mortar and pestle works well to liberate the juice.. use the wad of pulp as a sponge to pick up all the remaining pulp then wring it out. As Sheryl says, a nut milk bag or piece of cheese cloth makes an easy job of it... it doesn't take much squeezing, and it's amazing how much juice comes out. Similarly a meat mincer will do the same thing, but better.. very effective.. in fact, probably more efficient than a juicer.

My understanding of this has been that you should "blink briefly" at the rising (or setting) sun. The stimulation to the retina and optic nerve cause cortisone levels to rise, thus giving a sense of well being. I don't know if I'd want to stare at the sun for too long.. even the rising sun. I've read that it's a regular practice in many indigenous cultures, though is often not associated with any religious or spiritual contexts... just something people do when they wake up, like stretching your arms above your head and yawning.

"Clarke's Rubber" lots of different products that might suit?

What about curtains? You might find that blocking any cracks or holes where the hot air can get out might help.

The way I understand it, when the mouth is filled with food that is acidic (not "acid forming in the body" but actually acidic, per se), the body tries to bring the Ph back to normal by releasing minerals from the teeth. If this is the mechanism by which a lot of frugarians get into trouble with their teeth (and there definitely are plenty who will tell you they did), then rinsing with water afterwards is a complete solution (no pun intended.. "solution" lol). That would apply regardless of what you eat.

According to an interview I remember on Raw Vegan Radio, having your amalgams out is not as straight forward an exercise as it might seem. Not for the light hearted, especially if you have a mouthful. They also said that plastic fillings and porcelain are not much better. In fact, some may be even worse, because they're based on aluminium. Pull out your lead and replace it with aluminium? Max Gerson advised against removing amalgam... he says pulling the whole tooth is the way to go (and even then, you have to be careful).. if you end up with a mouth full of gums, then so be it.. just have to live on green smoothies.

Great tip on the HP... that'd be good for juices and gs, I would think.

The shelf life of anything is largely determined by the extent of oxidation. I seriously question the level of oxidation caused by fast speed blenders. Even press juicers have limits... I wouldn't drink a pressed juice that was a day old, so I defintiely wouldn't drink yesterdays Green Smoothy..lol.

Barley will be broader leafed and a slightly lighter colour.. i guess there could be different varieties, but that's been my observation. Barley should be less susceptible to mold than wg. Yes the fluffy looking stuff around the roots is not mold. Usually you want see mold until the grass starts growing a bit.. the blades cut down the air flow and increase the humidity. Now the colder weather is on it's way, no one in Australia should really be getting moldy wg.

I put all my bulk bags of seed in the freezer (I still need a dedicated freezer for this), and keep some in jars on the bench. You can't get rid of the bugs, but you can sure stop em from hatching out. The idea of the freezer is simply to prevent the bugs from hatching. Once the seed comes out of the freezer, the clock has started ticking and eventually it will start moving!

If you like growing wg, try doing a tray of sunflower seeds (use good seed) and buckwheat and brocolli. Not for juicing, but awesome salad greens.. and real cheap.. and really organic.. and home grown.. and water efficient.. and saves fossil fuel.. and high ormus.. and super super fresh.. and super delicious.. and very attractive.. and really rewarding... and a fun activity for the kids.. and an interesting dinner conversation point.. and.. and.. and..

hahaha.. don't forget you've got to close your eyes and think "chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.."

Soil/potting mix is unnecessary since the nutrients are taken from the seed for up to 14 days (it grows fantastically in the EG machine.. water only). The reason I use soil is two-fold. First, and foremast it helps prevent mold, and second, I like to use the spent wg mats in the garden... they're like self contained squares of fortified green manure (especially if you allow some regrowth). If you turn the mats over, slice a whole with a knife and pop in a radish seed, you will be well rewarded (with a radish!).. green manure underneath, soil full of dead wheat roots in the middle to increase water holding capacity and organic content, and an adhered layer of newspaper on the top for mulch. Alternatively, you can layer them in a compost system, or just dig them into the garden.

BEWARE: If you use potting mix for WG, you can be exposed to pathogens in the potting mix (that's why I don't cover the seeds in soil.. some particles of soil inevitably end up mixed in with the cultivated grass. The worst one to worry about is Legionaire's Disease). It's not a huge problem (NOT AT ALL), but one we should be aware of. Some people wear a mask when potting up the trays.

Sodium Hypochlorite is a lot cheaper and better than Hydrogen Peroxide. Since both can be used in making explosives, getting hold of anything more than a thimble full can be a drama. I've discovered that Milton baby bottle cleaning solution (which you can get by the liter) is 99% sodium hypochlorite (there's a nice little loop whole for a would be bomber..lol). Yes hydrogen peroxide comes in 2 strengths, and two (small) sized bottles.. neither is big enough, and it's too dear. I forget how much HP you put into the EG machine.. but it's in the order of drops or maybe a teaspoon. Vitality For Life will have that info. If you don't get mold, I'd leave it alone.

Also, a couple of other tips I discovered which saved me some hassles:
- I saturate the soil first, (absolutely flood it) and let it settle and drain away so that the soil becomes very smooth and flat. This helps when distributing the seeds (the dry seeds stick to the wet soil, and can be moved around with the palm of your hand), and makes it unnecessary to water them in later, which invariably leads to the seeds getting dislodged.
- I place a layer of news paper on top, then top up with water. The NP means you wont have to water again until the paper starts to dry out.. this is also a handy way of figuring out when to water.. ie. when the paper starts to dry out. It also means that when you do go to water it, the NP prevents the seeds from being dislodged.. just gently pour in water until it all floods again.
-I use a measured container (a cup) when pouring out the dry seed onto the (wet) soil. That way, I never get sparse or overcrowded crops.. always the same amount of grass.
- Reuse all the water.. why not, it's not hard to organise.. just set up the trays so that the run off flows into a watering can. It's very surprising how much "new" water has to be added into the system if you do this.