Venting a little.. [Archive]

Fragola

11-27-2006, 11:45 AM

I am sorry for this... but I need to vent a little and I know people here are very supportive and nice :)

Well... as maybe some of you know I am italian, and being quite isolated I had the idea to create a website, a blog, and people from an alternative website asked me to moderate a board dedicated to raw lifestyle.

I know that I am quite a pioneer here, but sometimes I get tired to be always under attack in that forum!! What is incredible to me is that mainly "alternative" people read that website, many vegans, environmentalists... and they are often attacking me for whatsoever reason. Lately it was because I don't take B12 supplements, then I got attacked quite badly when I wrote the story of Paolo (see http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22894) and now because I am talking about natural menstruation, referring to the article http://www.waldorfhomeschoolers.com/menstruation.htm

I had some very arrogant responses!! That just make me feel bad, and I do not like so much negativity.

I wish people could be a bit more open and curious, and I wish I could have more support.
But I am happy I can read and write some english, and to be able to enjoy this lovely board when I need :)

thanks for listening!!

Veganforlife

11-27-2006, 11:49 AM

Oh gosh! Sorry there are folks out there like that attacking you and your beliefs. Just ignore and continue to do what you are doing! I think you are great! I respect people and sadly not everyone feels that way. I wouldn't lose sleep over this - it's not worth it!

D'vorah

11-27-2006, 12:03 PM

I'm sorry people are being so unkind and critical. You come across as a very positive person, don't let their negativity pull you down.

Blessings,

Deborah

RawTruth

11-27-2006, 12:05 PM

Fragola,

You are on the right path. That makes some people nervous and fearful. When people come from a place of fear, they attack so they can stop feeling uncomfortable.

I know it's lonely being the only one, but you WILL attract like-minded people.

In the meantime, a great way to offset the negativity is to write positive affirmations (about your choices and your path) on pieces of paper (post-its work well) and stick them up all around your house. They can provide the warm feedback you need.

Don't let yourself sink under the burden of people who feel threatened by ways of thinking different than their own. You have an open mind, an open heart, and you're exploring for yourself. That's wonderful.

How 'bout a hug? ;)

sport

11-27-2006, 01:20 PM

I am wondering how some of the people that overreacted to some of my preaching over the years think now that they have been picked up by mainstream medicine.
Things such as Glycemic index
Trans fats
Essential fatty acids.
Antioxidents
They thought that I was nuts but now everyone talks about these things.

It will be the same in another 10 years regarding the things that we are talking about now.
It is unfortunate that the world is so far behind us but they will catch up in time and then they will know that you were right.
So relax and wait for your moment to shine. In the meantime continue to get the message out to as many people as you can and do not worry about the ones who have their ears shut and will not listen.

Lay-Lay

11-27-2006, 01:23 PM

Keep up the great work you are doing. So sorry you are recieving negative responces

Sharon in Colorado

11-27-2006, 01:46 PM

But I am happy I can read and write some english, and to be able to enjoy this lovely board when I need :)

thanks for listening!!

Well I have got to say your English is excellent! Better than mine in fact and it's my first language.

You tell them like it is, no apologies!

The thing about doing the right thing against everyone else's opinion, is that you will run into strife from time to time. That just lets you know that you ARE doing the right thing!

PixieLed

11-27-2006, 02:21 PM

Keep doing your thing, you know it's right and it's awesome! Pioneers are always gossiped about and called out to be wrong, until the rest of the world catches up and suddenly they become amazing! Look at Einstein, who was always called crazy until his ideas spread across the world and are now "common knowledge".

One day raw food will be the common knowledge, every day way of life and those of us who are taking the heat, the blame and the negativity are going to be rewarded by the positivity of those who get benefits. :) I hope that made sense!

Ginger

11-27-2006, 02:32 PM

Boy do I understand! (((hugs)))

JEN

11-27-2006, 03:52 PM

I would say to love them as they are for they are not ready to know what you know right now. You are blessed to have learned these things in your journey so far. Choose not to let what other people think affect how you feel for what is right for you might not be right for them. I agree that posting the positive affirmations will help you bring like minded people into your blog. As for the negative people atleast you gave them the opportunity to know what you know. Enjoy the journey!!

RawTruth

11-27-2006, 03:58 PM

I would say to love them as they are . . . You're so right, JEN.

Lay-Lay

11-27-2006, 04:22 PM

Boy do I understand! (((hugs)))

love your avator!

Gosia

11-27-2006, 04:43 PM

Hi Fragola,

I think that you are doing a great job! You are one of these unique people who spread the good message that has potential to save or improve the lives of many people. This is the true reward. Unfortunately, there is so much resistance. Often I feel like shouting to the world "Come here, there is no need for you to suffer, you can be healed from your diseases!". I feel like not saying anything is not the right thing to do. At the same time, I am acutely aware that if I start being more vocal, I may well end up being written off as a weirdo, freak, nut. I also understand if I was pushy about my beliefs, this would only lead to them being pushed ha ha ha! I am like this too. If someone forces something on me, I will resist, and my resistance will be stronger, stronger their force becomes. I think I need to discover things for myself. And I am guessing that it is the same for everyone else. That's why I adopted approach of sharing if asked, and just doing my thing. Plus, of course, I work on my website, where I share with those who are interested to hear.

It is really terrible that you have to go through such a bad bad treatment, considering the selfless work that you are doing. I think that with time patience, the nay-sayers will see that you are still standing tall, while they get affected ny their unhealthy lifestyle. Be a shiny example that you are and never take their negative words within you. They don't know what they are saying.

Look after yourself. Maybe some nice cleansing ritual could wash away the negativity inflicted on you? Is there something you like doing? Swimming, going for a walk in nature, gorging on watermelon, breathing deap in and out?

Warm regards,
Gosia.

DavidZaneMason

11-27-2006, 05:00 PM

Yup. The above responses are spot on. Sometimes the only 'radar' that people have at their disposal to read high vibrations are negativity. They will go out of their way to get into a very supportive environment....and basically tell people that what they are doing is wrong. What they are basically doing is probing for 'attitude' and 'acceptance'..........and unfortunately using the only probe at their disposal....negativity or criticism or non-support. I forgive them. :)

-David Z. Mason

Indi

11-27-2006, 05:06 PM

Maybe don't take this stuff so personally!

I honour the fact that you are standing strong and holding on to your beliefs!

There are lessons to be learnt from this experience, however, I feel that the the main issue here is about looking after yourself, so if the negativity is affecting you maybe its time to take a short break from that forum, recharge and then decide if you wish to return.

Just my take on the situation!

Love and light to a brave soul :)

Ginger

11-27-2006, 06:19 PM

Thanks Lay-Lay I wish I knew where I found it & if they have more similar stuff! :D

Fragola

11-28-2006, 02:13 AM

thank you everybody!!
I feel a lot better :)

I have been told to be ignorant, mysoginist and racist :confused: by posting the article about menstruation and the fact that being on raw and detoxed some women have experienced ovulation without bleeding. Some people have been telling me that basically I am giving an image of the woman being "dirty" and I promote the need for her to be "clean" and without menstruation, and that would be very mysoginist, according to some tradition in use in the past (women couldn't touch food or plants during the period, because dirty).

I believe that some people, for whatsoever reason, feel the need to argue and fight even if there is no need, and to see the "bad" side of things everywhere. I thanked this person about her opinion, an asked her to provide me with some informations about this topic, feminism and the stereotypes in sexuality.
She gave me a long list of informations and seemed happy to do that.
Probably she needed to show off a little her knowledge about this issue :rolleyes:
Like Indi say here, I didn't have to take this stuff personally, but just understand that some people have personal issues.

I am really grateful for all your nice support!

alex

11-28-2006, 08:03 AM

Fragola:

Here are another couple of articles about menstruation.

Hope they help!

alex

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Welcome to the Mobius Strip Tease, my capriciously researched and erratically published newsletter of highly useful* trivia. Below is the inaugural 42nd issue.

Feel free to email me to debate any of my research, to contribute ideas for future issues, or to subscribe to the newsletter.

* I supply the trivia and you find some way to make it highly useful.
Menstruation

The Mobius Strip Tease, Issue 42

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of contents
Background on the biology of menstruation
The endometrium and menstruation
Prevalence of menstruation among mammals
Endometrium shedding and menstruation in humans
Why humans menstruate
Menstruation may not be a significant energy cost
Menstruation evolved in a primate ancestor
Menstruation may fight pathogens but this is a silly theory
Menstruation may be a byproduct of providing more nutrients to the fetus
A couple notes on the social role of menstruation
References
Appendix I (Leviticus 15:19-33)

2. BACKGROUND ON THE BIOLOGY OF MENSTRUATION

a. The endometrium and menstruation

The endometrium is a mucosa tissue full of lots of blood which lines the uterus. The fertilized egg implants itself in the endometrium, and then this tissue provides the interface by which the mother supplies nutrient to the growing embryo.

Menstruation occurs when the endometrium is shed and then expelled in menstrual fluid. Overt menstruation is when enough menstrual fluid is expelled to be highly visible (as is the case in humans).

b. Prevalence of menstruation among mammals

Overt menstruation is recorded in 48 species of primate, most of which are old world monkeys and apes (the group which includes humans). Other primates that overtly menstruate include a few species of new world monkeys and the Malayan flying lemur (Cynocephalus varregatus). Overt menstruation is also occurs in shrews, being reported in 10 species of insectivore from the genera Elephantulus, Erihaceus, Tana, and Tupaia. Other species for which overt menstruation has been reported include four species of bat (Carollia perspicillata, Desmodus rotundus, Glossophaga soricina, and Molossus ater), a marsupial cat (Dasyurus viverrinus), the coyote (Canis latrans), and the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). The reports for menstruation in the coyote and African elephant are anecdotal.

c. Endometrium shedding and menstruation in humans

In humans, if the egg is not fertilized the endometrium is shed about two weeks after ovulation. The endometrium is then built back up to prepare for the next ovulation and possible fertilization that will occur two weeks later. It may seem like a waste of effort to be constantly shedding and rebuilding the endometrium, but it is actually energy effective. When a human female has a fully formed endometrium her energy requirements are between 7 and 10 percent higher than they are immediately after menses. It is simply too metabolically costly to maintain the endometrium in a state of constant readiness, especially when it is only useful once every 28 days.
Most mammals shed their endometrium if fertilization is unsuccessful, and then rebuild it in readiness for the next ovulation. It is the efficient way to do things for mammals that are only fertile on a cyclic basis. What makes overt menstruators such as humans different from the majority of other mammals is that we do not reabsorb all of our endometrium when it is shed. Human females only reabsorb about 67% of the shed endometrium, and the rest is expelled as menstrual fluid. The question then is, "Why don't human females reabsorb all of their endometrium when it is shed?". Humans do reabsorb most of the endometrium, but it would seem more efficient if they reabsorbed all of it.

3. WHY HUMANS MENSTRUATE

a. Menstruation may not be a significant energy cost

The energy and nutrient lost by menstruation may not be very significant. The human female loses an average of 40 mL of blood per menstruation. Over the period of an entire menstrual cycle, the protein lost from menstruation amounts to between 0.01% and 0.06 % of the required intake. This is not very much, and far less than the amount of protein that is lost in fecal matter. It also should be considered that menstruation would be a relatively rare event if no contraceptives were used, which was probably the case through much of our evolutionary history. Reproductive females in pre-industrial societies may only menstruate an average of once a year.

b. Menstruation evolved in a primate ancestor

There seems to be a significant phylogenetic component causing overt menstruation in humans. The majority of species that overtly menstruate are our closest relatives. It is probably the case that the trait of overt menstruation evolved in ancestral Catarrhini (old world monkeys, apes, humans) at least twice, and was subsequently inherited by a large percentage of the species in this group. But why would the Catarrhini have evolved to menstruate?

c. Menstruation may fight pathogens but this is a silly theory

Sperm are nasty little vectors that transmit pathogens from the male and female genitalia into the female's uterus. It has been hypothesized that menstruation is a way of removing these pathogens. There are several problems with this theory. If menstruation did remove pathogens, one would expect the uterine pathogen load to be lower after menses than it was before menses. Although there isn't much research on this, the research that has been done indicates that this is not true (Bollinger 1974; Hemsell et al. 1989). There also doesn't seem to be any evidence that menstrual blood reduces cervical or vaginal pathogens. Another problem with this theory is that it seems counterintuitive that blood can be a very good antibiotic. Blood contains iron, amino acids, proteins, and sugars, all of which are good for bacteria. There is evidence that blood in the reproductive tract can actually increase pathogen loads, and seems to be associated with Toxic Shock Syndrome. It is also the case that no other mammalian tissue bleeds to fight infection, and no other animals besides mammals menstruate even though most of them have dirty little sperm swimming up their reproductive tracts.

d. Menstruation may be a byproduct of providing more nutrients to the fetus

The primates that overtly menstruate tend to have a relatively high litter mass to body mass ratio. Because of this the uterus is larger in relation to the size of the mother, and it has more blood in it. The menstruating primates also tend to produce a thicker endometrium than non-menstruating primates, and they tend to have larger, spiral artioles in their endometrium instead of smaller, straight ones. These factors all contribute to there being more blood produced when the endometrium is shed. It may be that there is just too much blood for it all to be effectively reabsorbed. It is possible that some primates evolved a larger, juicier uterus in order to provide more nutrients to their offspring in the womb, and that overt menstruation is merely an incidental trait.

4. A COUPLE OF NOTES ON THE SOCIAL ROLE OF MENSTRUATION

One study has shown that women who are comfortable with menstruation as a normal, publicly acceptable event are also more comfortable with their personal sexuality (Rempel and Baumgartner 2003). The study also found that women who had engaged in sexual relations with their current partner during menses were significantly more comfortable with menstruation, more aroused by romantic sexual activities, and less sensitive to disgust.

However, this obviously shows a degradation of society, because according to the word of God (Leviticus 15:19-33; see Appendix I) a menstruating women is unclean and must be separated from everyone else for seven days. Anyone or anything that comes in contact with a menstruating women is defiled. Only after the woman sacrifices two doves on the eighth day as atonement for her sin can she again return to her family.

5. REFERENCES

Bollinger, C. C. 1964. Bacterial flora of the nonpregnant uterus: a
new culture technic. Obstetrics and Gynecology 23: 251-255.

Hemsell, D. L., V. L. Obregon, M. C. Heard, and B. J. Nobles. 1989.
Endometrium bacteria in asymptomatic nonpregnant women. Journal of
Reproductive Medicine 34: 872-874.

Profet, M. 1993. Menstruation as a defense against pathogens
transported by sperm. Quarterly Review of Biology 68: 335-386.

Rempel, J. K., and B. Baumgartner. 2003. The relationship between
attitudes towards menstruation and sexual attitudes, desires, and
behavior in women. Archives of Sexual Behavior 32: 155-163.

Strassmann, B. I. 1996. The evolution of endometrial cycles and
menstruation. Quarterly Review of Biology 71: 181-220.

6. APPENDIX I

Leviticus 15: 19-33

And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.
And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.

Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.

And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the LORD for the issue of her uncleanness.

Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.

--Stu Craw,
September 25, 2003

Animal Menstruation

Topic: Wild Animals
Expert: Jonathan Wright
Date: 8/29/2006
Subject: Animal Menstruation

Question
I know that there are other animals other than humans that have menstrual bleeding such as old world monkeys, dogs etc. But how come we never notice it? What happens to the blood? And how much blood do they menstruate?

Answer
Dear Bill

Thanks for your question. I have included some information from an earlier answer and have looked up various books and websites and these contain interesting information about menstruation, but most of the information concerns humans. I wish to thank the authors of this information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle says that only humans and great apes show a true menstrual cycle. Eumenorrhea denotes normal, regular menstruation that lasts for a few days (usually 3 to 5 days, but anywhere from 2 to 7 days is considered normal.The average blood loss during menstruation is 35 millilitres with 10-80 mL considered normal; many women also notice shed endometrium lining that appears as tissue mixed with the blood. An enzyme called plasmin (contained in the endometrium) tends to inhibit the blood from clotting. Not all menstruations result from an ovulatory menstrual cycle. In some women, follicular development may start but not complete, but estrogens will form and will stimulate the uterine lining, which will be shed later.

http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/content/full/157/6/1759 contains information about menstruation and similar topics in various mammals. http://www.biologymad.com/master.html?, http://www.biologymad.com/Hormones/Hormones.htm and http://www.howstuffworks.com/menstruation.htm may also be helpful for you.

The following mammals show menstrual flow: elephant shrews, Old World monkeys and apes, including humans.

http://www.kband.com/reports/000116.html states that overt menstruation is recorded in a few species of new world monkeys and the Malayan flying lemur, as well as cat-like marsupials (dasyures), tree shrews, elephant shrews, hedgehogs and various species of free-tailed and American leaf-nosed bats and vampires. In all of these, the loss of blood is a non-event, compared to the situation in humans. There are anecdotal reports for menstruation in the coyote and African elephant.

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/apr2001/986666565.An.r.html states that menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining between ovulations. Many mammals menstruate covertly, reabsorbing the uterine lining after it is shed so that bleeding is not externally visible. The mammals that menstruate are not all closely related to one another, so the site suggests that the process is probably widespread and that nearly all female mammals menstruate in some fashion.

http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/Menstrual_period#Menstruation_in_other_mammals contains information with links to various scientific terms. It states that a regular menstrual cycle occurs in the great apes, varying from 29 days in orang-utans to 37 days in chimpanzees. Females of other mammal species go through episodes called "oestrus" or "heat" in each breeding season. During these times, ovulation occurs and females become receptive to mating, a fact advertised to males in some way. If no fertilization takes place, the uterus reabsorbs the endometrium: no menstrual bleeding occurs. Significant differences exist between the oestrous and the menstrual cycle.

I hope this helps. It is a bit confusing, as there is some seemingly conflicting information, but it seems that most species of mammals have not been studied and that menstruation is probably more widespread than the above information would indicate. As most menstruating mammals seem to show covert bleeding, this indicates why people don't notice it. I couldn't find any figures for how much blood is lost, but this seems to be minimal in most species.

All the best

Jonathan

Fragola

11-28-2006, 09:01 AM

Alex.... GRAZIE!!!!

Pailani

11-28-2006, 09:05 PM

Some people have been telling me that basically I am giving an image of the woman being "dirty" and I promote the need for her to be "clean" and without menstruation, and that would be very mysoginist, according to some tradition in use in the past (women couldn't touch food or plants during the period, because dirty).

That's related to the attempt to make women feel good about unhealthy weight gain - I remember when there was an email that went the rounds awhile ago talking about how women should be proud of their size and learn to accept themselves the way they are.

Don't get me wrong, I think we should accept the bodies we were born with, but rather than accept unhealthy weight gain and loss of strength, I think there's good reason to try to be as healthy as we can by eating right and exercising. It's not good to give in and say it's okay to eat more chocolate and chips and sit around all day because "this is the body I was born with and I should accept it and be happy this way." What's wrong with being the very best, cleanest and healthiest we can be and not settling for less?

luckitri

11-28-2006, 10:45 PM

Fragola, remember, if you were not standing on solid ground they would just blow you away, they would not bother, they would ignore. You are doing great!

Luna T

11-29-2006, 03:12 AM

I know it's hard to persevere under negative pressure, it has the potential to make us mad and make us doubt ourselves. I get very frustrated sometimes and get a "why bother?" attitude just b/c other people are buttholes.

here is a little ditty from Mother Theresa (one of my favorites) and while it might have it's place in the cheesy stack of school teachers posters of encouragement (such as the "Hang in There" with the cat hangin on by its paws) it is nonetheless helpful to keep in mind....

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the
smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Fragola

11-29-2006, 03:50 AM

Pailani, what you say is so true!

Luckitri, thank you! :)

Luna T... thank you for the inspirational words!! That is so beautiful, and I will copy and paste your response in my diary for the future. I also like to remember Ghandi's quote, "be the change you want to see in the world".

Thank you all!!!

lily

11-29-2006, 05:53 AM

I've come to this discussion a little late, but would just like to add my love and support, Fragola -- and what beautiful wise words people have responded with -- hugs --

lily

trinity082482

12-14-2006, 09:19 AM

Hi there! Im portuguese and I figured I'd take a stab at trying to understand your site. No luck for me LOL. Oh well. Welcome. Vent all you want :D

FirstGarden

12-14-2006, 08:20 PM

Frag, if you are married to that website, I'll understand. I have tried a few raw & vegan websites, and you have voiced my very concern.

Some of these websites, especially the vegan ones, are full of extremely immature, harsh and arrogant individuals who have an axe to grind. For instance, they needlessly pit veganism against Judaism & Christianity, and bite and devour one another over everything and anything.

Their pharisaical outer cleanliness -- in terms of diet -- is far overshadowed and negated by the moral uncleanness of hatred, pride and open excess within.

I had to stop visiting those websites because of this. I sense a more civil and mature flock of souls here, and I hope it says that way. I've not seen one hostile post yet. Maybe I haven't looked enough, but I'm not looking for that at all. I am, like you, looking for likeminded hearts and spirits who desire a pure body, but also a kinder, gentler humanity.

If you must stay there, then you have been given good advice in this thread... to come against them in the opposite spirit of Love, Understanding & Compassion.

Go Fragola!

And God bless you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"In our obsession with original sin, we sometimes forget Original Innocence."

lllouisa

12-14-2006, 11:12 PM

Fragola

12-16-2006, 09:22 AM

I've come to this discussion a little late, but would just like to add my love and support, Fragola -- and what beautiful wise words people have responded with -- hugs --

lily
thanks Lily!!

:)

Fragola

12-16-2006, 09:23 AM

Hi there! Im portuguese and I figured I'd take a stab at trying to understand your site. No luck for me LOL. Oh well. Welcome. Vent all you want :D

:D :D
I guess that having latin roots is not enough
:D

Fragola

12-16-2006, 09:27 AM

Fragola

12-16-2006, 09:36 AM

First of all, I find it hard to believe that anybody could criticize you for what you've been doing. It's ridiculous. Some people just like picking out faults in other people (even though I don't consider those things faults).

Secondly, how did your fast go? I've done a lot of fasts in the past but they've never lasted more than 6 days. And for what reasons did you fast? What changes did you see after finishing your fast? I haven't gone raw yet, but I'm on my way and wanted to do a fast before starting. Please let me know what you think.

I think you're really strong for everything that you've accomplished & that Paolo story was so inspirational to me.
Thank you for your nice words lllouisa!
I fasted because I wanted to detox, even if I was not feeling sick at all, and to try the experience. I have been raw for months befire that, so i suppose I was healthy enough to do not experience many problems, and I had tons of energy. I had a sort of flu after a week and i felt so good after that!! After 10 days I had the picture of my aura taken, and that was so amazing. My aura was all white with some purple, and the woman that took the picture spoke of a pure and very spiritual state of my body. I lost 18 pounds, i lost my cravings for cooked food and after the fasting raw food never tasted better. I stopped using salt too, as food was delicious and tasty without.
I never loved my salad so much!!
I haven't gained any weight after 6 months, my skin was, and it is still glowing, and my digestioon improved amazingly.
It was a fantastic experience indeed!