Hello all!


So I'm feeling frustrated and demoralized. I was talking to a friend about starting this raw paleo diet. He has always agreed with me on the conventional paleo diet(cooked). Started telling him about raw. He stops me and starts talking about cooking food this is how the conversation went and a rundown of what he said:

1). He said if you look at evolution it proves that cooking things like tuber, meat etc.. made us human with bigger brains.

2). He said that cooking jump starts the digestion process for us and that means we don't have to sit around like lions to digest food. That gave us more time to do other things.

3). He talked about stomach acidity of humans vs. carnivores( I looked this up and our stomach's adjust acidity based on food to as low as 1 ph, same as dogs etc...)

4). He then got on the E. coli, salmonella and parasite thing. He said that the shit exists and people get really sick. I told him we have it in our stomachs but he said it wasn't the same.

5). His biggest claim is that people are healthy in spite of eating raw animal foods not because of it.

6). He also said that it could end you up in the hospital or dead and most people on this forum are lucky.

7). Last but not least he talked about scientific studies and how they all point to food safety concerns. He is big on studies and research.

I'm feeling confused and thinking about what he said.  I wanna start this diet but am feeling a little hesitant, and doubting my gut instinct( based on my own research too).

I don't really care about what anyone thinks but is this raw beef, chicken and fish thing necessary?

I'm having doubts and do not want to. I need some input/education/ and reassurance.

When I question all of this I ask myself this question "do any other animals in the animal kingdom cook their food? Obviously the answers "No". Are the "wild" animals healthier than us? Yes.

But then I ask "does this set us apart"? Am I questioning something (cooking of food) that led us to be an advanced species in the world. And "Why hasn't anyone else eg... Media, nutritionist, scientists, regular everyday people see the value in raw"?

Sorry for the long rant but it's just frustrating and there isn't anyone or anywhere else to turn for clarity.

Chuck