Guest guest Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 vegwriter vegwriter Saturday, April 23, 2005 10:31 PM [Raw Food] Fwd: [LDSRaw] Toxic buckwheat greens? In a message dated 4/24/2005 12:56:14 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, tlp820 writes: Are Buckwheat Greens Toxic? By Gilles Arbour - June 2004 The surprising answer is a clear and unequivocal YES. Due to the growing popularity of sprouts in general, and a widespread ignorance as to the toxic dangers posed by buckwheat greens specifically, many people are today suffering unnecessarily. In this article I will describe the toxic effects of ingesting buckwheat greens, and I will answer the question of why they are toxic to humans. I will also provide a brief synopsis of what is currently known about this painful phenomenon. And finally, I will recount my own anecdotal experience with buckwheat greens. The basic problem with buckwheat greens is that they contain fagopyrin, a naturally occurring substance in the buckwheat plant. When ingested in sufficient quantity, fagopyrin is known to cause the skin of animals and people to become phototoxic, which is to say hypersensitive to sunlight. This condition, specifically known as fagopyrism, occurs when the ingested fagopyrin accumulates under the skin and is subsequently activated by sunlight, resulting in a toxic reaction within the skin. Typically, exposed areas of skin turn pink or red within minutes, and a strong burning sensation accompanies the reaction. Within a few hours the exposed areas usually appear to return to normal, however continue to remain ultra-sensitive to cold water, hot water and to friction. This sensitivity can last for days. snip--- ________________________ COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright under Natural Law and Common Law, 5765 (2005 CE) by The Office of the Presiding Chaplain of Vibrant Life and His/Her Successors, a Corporation Sole. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to any natural man, woman, or child to excerpt or use all or any portion of the following text for any noncommercial purpose whatsoever, subject to the following conditions: 1. Any portion excerpted must be sufficiently complete to assure no loss of meaning or context. 2. The man, woman or child excerpting or otherwise using all or any portion hereof must place the following (or substantially similar) text prominently and in close proximity to the material excerpted or used: Written by Elchanan. Copyright under Natural Law and Common Law, 5765 (2005 CE) by The Office of the Presiding Chaplain of Vibrant Life and His/Her Successors, a Corporation Sole. All rights reserved. ________________________ Hi everyone, The above writing, while it appears to indicate that we should not eat buckwheat greens, can actually be used to teach us a much more useful lesson. The primary causes of sunburn are lifestyle, poor diet, and stupidity, as follows: - Lifestyle: we are designed to exist outdoors, but we actually live almost entirely indoors. When an army of office workers heads for the beach one sunny afternoon, almost ALL of them are vulnerable to POTENTIAL overexposure. But it's just potential, so far. - When we eat poorly for years, we don't exercise much, and our body's vitality, its capacity to respond to ALL conditions, is diminished. So when those office workers head for the sun, they are seriously compromised in this way, as well. But still, only POTENTIAL for overexposure. - Now those office workers want to " soak up some rays, " and they coat themselves in " sun screen. " This is intended to " protect " them from the sun. Of course, they need no protection from the sun, rather, they need protection from themselves. Think about it...if you hadn't exercised in a year, would you immediately go out and run a marathon? Of course not, if for no other reason than that you COUD NOT. Yet we fail to apply the same rather obvious awareness to ourselves with respect to sun exposure, and instead we damage ourselves over time. All those office workers' bodies CANNOT respond effectively to much sunlight, any more than the couch potato can go out and run that marathon. We must work into things, patiently, consistently, over time, allowing our bodies time to reawaken the relevant physiological functions. Some call this process " vital adaptation. " But we are in a hurry, we want to play NOW. Eventually, many of these people will experience " melanoma " and/or other skin problems, and the medical/industrial complex will blame the sun, wind, genes -- ANYTHING rather than admit that the chemicals, in combination with foolishly self-abusive behavior, are the real culprit. Sadly, that same medical/industrial complex (which manufactured and marketed the sun screen in the first place) will also irradiate and chemicalize these poor unsuspecting people, as those in a group such as this are aware. So that's part 1 of this message. Now, about that fractional thinking. 1. Fruits are the only food group that science has identified as totally nontoxic to humans (assuming no pesticides, etc.). ALL other types of potential food contain at least a few substances that are toxic to our species and which, in sufficient quantity, show observable, negative effects. In this sense, cilantro and basil and even celery leaves contain substances which, when considered one at a time and in isolation, are known to be toxic to our species. However, our body responds to all that we eat concurrently, not one substance at a time, and on balance, a healthy, vital (physically active) human body can easily process out the naturally occurring plant toxins found in greens and young shoots, among other things. 2. A compromised body, that is, one whose vitality, or ability to respond, has been reduced below its optimal capacity to respond, has energy and diminished capacity to eliminate toxins, among other things. Such a body has increased susceptibility to the effects of ALL toxins, not just fagopyrin, or ectoprene (I made that one up, but if I hadn't told you, I bet some of you would be searching the web right now for information about ectoprene!!! WHY??????) Either way, it's rarely an issue of any one substance, but rather, more an issue of the state of one's own vitality. Now, am I saying you " should " or " can " eat buck wheat sprouts? No. Am I saying that you " should not " or " cannot " eat them? Again, no. People often speak of " listening to their body. " Most people have no earthly idea what this means -- we've lost a great deal of connection with ourselves over the years and generations -- but never mind that, for the moment. Let's just assume we DO accurately identify and fully and immediately comprehend every message our bodies send us. We have eyes to see with, a nose to smell with, and little sensory receptors called " taste buds, " on our tongues (yes, to taste with :). Let's use them!!! Do buckwheat greens LOOK vibrant to you? Do they smell enticing to you? Do they taste appetizing to you? (By the way, the order is significant, FIRST appearance, SECOND smell, THIRD taste. We can relearn this lesson from our relatives, the monkeys. But more on that another time.) If you answer " yes " to all three questions, then try the sprouts (or whatever) and observe how this particular food affects you NOW. You see, it's not a global question, " Are they toxic now and always? " Rather, it's more a question of " How does my system process them, respond to them, now? " QUESTION: How do we know? Well, try this experiment: Pick a day on which to test the buckwheat greens (or whatever food is of interest to you.) The day before, finish your last meal early, and make it a high-water-content, zero-added-fat (no avocado!!), zero-salt, zero-spice, zero-onion/garlic, etc. meal. (Just fruit works quite well!!) Then next day, WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY AND NOT A MOMENT EARLIER, put those buckwheat greens (or whatever food is in question) on a plate. Move slowly through this process: - First, look at them, really look, take your time, pick them up and examine them closely, all over. Do they appear vibrant to you NOW? - Next, smell them. Do you find the smell attractive now, as you might that of a nectarine or an orange? Again, take your time, notice how the smell might change after the first few second. Do you find yourself salivating, WANTING TO EAT this material? NOTE: If you are experienced with such experimentation, then if they do not look and smell appealing, stop here. But if you are new to such experimentation, I recommend continuing, so that you may learn about and reconnect with yourself more fully. - Finally, eat them ALONE. Eat them slowly, chew them, make every effort to enjoy them. Really observe your own experience. Do they taste yummy to you? If you genuinely like them, to the point where you would actually choose to make a meal of them (or at least a substantive course all by itself), then continue the experiment. Otherwise, drop them from your diet, or at least eat them only infrequently. To continue the experiment, don't eat anything else for at least several hours. Observe, pay attention, don't make yourself so busy that you cannot. Notice how your system seems to digest the sprouts (or whatever you ate). If this part of the experiment goes well, then consider including this item in your diet. If not, don't. (This step is actually more challenging than it sounds here, because the overall state of your system is a significant factor. But just trying to keep it simple, for the moment.) Speaking for myself, I can eat bananas, dates, melons, oranges, berries, etc. seven days a week, in meal-sized portions, and never blink. I cannot do the same with buckwheat sprouts, nor with any sprout I've ever tasted. So while I do sometimes add a few sprouts (usually sunflower, that's my favorite) to a salad, I do so rather infrequently. Why? They just don't appeal to me all that much. Now if your body TRULY says otherwise (meaning, NOT your conscious mind saying " I should eat such-and-such:), then have at it. Otherwise, eat something you AND YOUR BODY genuinely enjoy!! Congratulations!!!!! You have just eaten your (first?) monomeal and completed our new course called " Holism 101. " :) And you have just engaged your curiosity, your innate, divinely bestowed sense of wide-eyed wonderment, on your own behalf. You have taken a step toward reconnecting with yourself, toward relearning how your body (attempts to) communicate(s) with your conscious mind. Best to all, Elchanan ---------------------[ Ciphire Signature ]---------------------- vlinfo signed email html-body (19453 characters) on 24 April 2005 at 15:04:10 UTC inhs ------------------------------- : Ciphire has secured this email against identity theft. : Free download at www.ciphire.com. 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