Furthermore, I am not advocating a low fat, raw vegan diet solely based on what our primate cousins eat. We are our own species and so we must ultimately look to our own anatomy and physiology to discern our species appropriate diet. Unsurprisingly, everything from our teeth to our digestive tracts point to low fat raw vegan.

Bonobos only eat about 60% fruit and none of the fruit they eat are the super-sweet hybrids bred for Western palates. Other apes eat even less. The rest of the ape diet includes leaves, pith, flowers, bark, seeds, honey, fungi, eggs, and invertebrates (e.g. termites, caterpillars and earthworms). The bonobo has been observed to eat small mammals, including shrews, flying squirrels, and small antelopes such as young duikers. However, unlike the chimpanzee, the bonobo has rarely been observed to actively hunt for meat. It captures most animal prey individually and opportunistically, rather than during a group hunt. Our great ape relatives are NOT vegan.

Furthermore, we are NOT great apes and diverged from them half a million years ago. Nor should we eat like them, we are biologically and socially quite different.

All one needs to justify the way one eats (whether it is healthy or not) is personal conviction. Please don’t use scientific inaccuracies, it totally undermines your cause.

In the meantime, it’s great to know that I can eat just fruit all day sometimes, especially when it’s watermelon, grapes, oranges, tangerines and berry and banana or peach smoothies! And losing 45 pounds and gaining more energy are wonderful side effects!

Thanks everyone for your support.

Carol