sprouting

Question
Thanks for your quick response.  I'm not totally convinced sprouted grains don't have a proper role to play, but I take your words into consideration.  As far as I know, all enzyme inhibitors and mineral blockers are eliminated by sprouting since the main purpose of these is to keep the seed dormant until it's ready to sprout (though I realize the external defense aspects as well), but I may be wrong; and heating to 105 degrees leaves the enzymes intact (it is generally agreed they survive to about 118 degrees).  I didn't know cellulose was a problem - I thought it provided fiber which allowed the colon to do it's job more efficiently.  By the way, where is the raw paleolothic homepage?  I've tried getting onto the primal diet email group but it won't let me in.  I know there's a community of folks out there talking about this - but there seems to be a glass wall between them and myself!

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Followup To
Question -
I'm wondering if the Primal Diet (which I have been on now for about 4 days) takes a position on sprouting, and particularly on sprouted grains.  I know Mr. Vonderplanitz occasionally recommends a little cooked starch, but what about sprouted Essene bread, which I make in my food dehydrator at 105 degrees?
Answer -
Hello,
Well first of all Aajonus(according to the Raw Paleolithic Diet Homepage) has thankfully retracted his previous advice on eating cooked starch. Yes, I know, it's mentioned in his book "We Want To Live" but he hasn't yet put out a new edition yet - although the correction should appear in his sequel("The recipe for living without disease).
As far as I am aware, Aajonus is not in favour of grains, sprouted or otherwise. Grains and vegetables are not a Palaeolithic food. They contain mineral blockers, enzyme inhibitors and cellulose etc., none of  which our carnivorous digestive system can handle very well. Heating grains(like you suggested) is just as bad, as the cooking process, while getting rid of some toxins, introduces new ones, which damage our bodies. That said, sprouted grains will be less of a problem as the sprouting process removes a lot of the toxins. I would not recommend unleavened bread like Essene at all, as it's clearly a grain product. If you'd like to try sprouted varieties, why not just eat alfalfa or watercress or similiar plants. As long as you keep your fruit/vegetable/sprouted seeds consumption to no more than 5%-10% of your diet you should be fine.

Hope This Helps!
As you are rather new to the diet, feel free to ask any follow-up questions if you encounter any problems in the future. It took me a good 6 months, when I first started the diet, before I was able to sort myself out on this diet.
Geoff Purcell

Answer
Hello Karl,
Well, all I know is that Aajonus states that 39 degrees Centigrade plus is when enzymes start getting destroyed. Bacteria get completely destroyed at slightly higher temperatures(there are now so-called raw, pasteurised eggs where the eggs have been heated to 53.3. degrees Centigrade so that the bacteria are completely destroyed).[As you've probably gathered I am English and have no idea how your figures in degrees Fahrenheit compare with Centigrade!]

Basically, the whole point of the Primal Diet is that you should not process your food in any way, whether you freeze it, smoke it or even mildly warm it, as these processes hinder the body's ability to digest the food. By all means, try out your way of doing things, but try to do it in the most natural way you can.
Having said that sprouted grains are far better than seeds or full-grown vegetables, so feel free to try them out. I myself used to eat watercress sprouts often when I first tried the primal Diet.
As far as Cellulose goes, we simply don't have the enzymes needed to digest it, as we are not herbivores. Also, when you are on a 100% raw, palaeolithic diet you just don't need fibre - if anything, it'll clog your system up and slow down the digestion of other healthier foods you eat along with it. Having said that, if you are eating less than 100% raw, then fibre's probably a good idea, to prevent cooked foods clogging your system.(For more info on why eating veg of any kind is bad for you, read the website "The Naive Vegetarian").

The RPD website you are looking for is www.rawpaleodiet.org
It  has all the information you could possibly want about raw palaeolithic foods, including details on how to get onto the raw palaeolithic diet chat groups(bear in mind that the website owner eats only partially raw and advocates eating vast numbers of dodgy supplements, so take his advice with a hefty pinch of salt!). There are 2-3 chatgroups mentioned on the website which are for people who are on any raw palaeolithic diet, but mostly focussing on the Primal Diet. There IS also 1 chatgroup focussing only on the Primal Diet(the one I subscribe to) BUT, oddly, it is now a closed chatgroup. In order to get onto it you'll have to check with the moderator(?) Jon C Fox and ask him for permission. E-mail him at [email protected]

Lastly, I think it's a good thing that you don't take everything I or Aajonus says as gospel. No one has all the answers and each person needs to experiment with their diet to find their own way to health. I myself only improved my health dramatically on the Primal Diet when I realised that raw dairy was not a palaeolithic food, and cut it out of my diet completely.
Hope This Helps
Geoff Purcll

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