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Earl Chong's life-giving diet
by Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
JAMAICAN EARL CHONG will be 66 on his next birthday in 2006. But,
according to the records of doctors both here and in Miami, he
should have been dead long ago. He should have died and been buried
twelve years ago.
The
death certificate for this man was all but written in 1994 when
he was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and then cancer of
the prostate at age 53.
One
year before Chong received this appalling diagnosis, another man,
53-year-old Earl Findlay also woke up to the realisation that
his life was at risk.
This
man was 280 pounds and heading for a heart attack, he felt.
Findlay
and Chong both would have almost certainly been dead today, they
say, had they not experienced the miracle that changing their
diet could bring.
According
to Chong, god healed him from cancer and also directed him to
radically change his diet after an initial juice fast which left
him a new man.
Findlay
himself made the decision to become a vegetarian and, since doing
so, has become a convert of Earl Chong who is the owner of Earl's
Juice Garden restaurants and health food stores in Kingston.
On
the day we visited the Jeakfast, he said, he had a 'raw' meal
of split peas in Soya milk, mixed with flaxseed and oats.
According
to Findlay, dinner would be couscous, bulgar and steamed lettuce,
with some tofu in garlic sauce. Added to this diet was the 16
ounces of 'green juice' which he has everyday.
All
of this he does, following the counsel of Earl Chong who is the
apostle of raw food in Kingston. Findlay is one among followers
who number in the dozens.
The
beginning
Chong
recalls how it all began: After three months at Baptist Hospital
in Miami, getting treatment for cancer of the throat, he was told
that the cancer had spread to his chest.
"I
came home ready to die," Chong recalls. But, he prayed and
said he was healed, only to be diagnosed with cancer of the prostate
three months later.
This
time, he went on a strict juice fast for ten days, after which
most of the symptoms went away. The drink was carrot, barley green
and callaloo.
The
day the doctors declared him free of cancer was the start of a
whole new life for him. For others, it has meant a new movement
which has also given them a new lease on life.
Earl
Findlay, who now weighs 180 pounds, and runs five miles every
morning, admits that he has not been able to convert his family
to his way of living. But, he has become adept at cooking his
meals himself.
According
to Chong, he believes in whole foods eaten mostly raw. The body
can heal itself with the right inputs, he explains.
Eight
hours to digest
One of the secrets of his diet, he says, is that cooked food takes
at least eight hours to digest, blocking the digestive system.
When every meal consists of cooked food, the system struggles
with this burden day after day. Meat, itself, he adds, takes 72
hours to digest.
Raw
foods such as fruits and vegetables, however, exit the system
in four hours or much less time.
Never
eat cooked food without a significant amount of raw food to go
with it, Earl Chong advises. He also counsels that certain foods
and fruits should not be mixed, as some are acidic and some are
alkaline.
He
also states that green plants are a better source of protein than
meats, making the point that we need much less protein than is
generally believed. The proportion of protein in the diet, which
is necessary, is four per cent he asserts.
Finally,
he states that in nature, herb-eating animals like the elephant
are much stronger than meat-eating ones. Man should follow their
example, he believes.
Source:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20051204/out/out2.html
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