The vegan food pyramid

I guess my vegan Peanut Chews would be in the "use sparingly" category. [click pyramid to enlarge]

Joi Ito did a six-week vegan detox last year, using Joel Furhman's "Eat to Live" diet as a guideline:

Eat to Live 6-Week Plan

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want): 

• all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1 lb. daily)
• cooked green vegetables (goal 1 lb. daily)
• beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)
• fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).
• eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomato and other non-starchy vegetables, cooked and raw (unlimited)

*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently.

LIMITED (not more than one serving): 

• cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains--Maximum 1 cup per day (butternut or acorn squash,   corn, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)
• raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. or 28.5 grams a day) or 2 ounces avocado
• ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon a day)
• soymilk, low-sugar preferred--Maximum 1 cup a day
• *avoid breads and cereals as much as possible
  

• OFF LIMITS
• dairy products
• animal products
• between meal snacks     
• fruit juice, dried fruits 
• salt, sugar

NUTS and RAW SEEDS, but not ground flax, are optional for obese or overweight persons while they follow this weight loss plan. People who have difficulty losing weight may also eliminate the starchy vegetable/grain.

Many people who go vegan experience a detox period, as I must be now--flu-like symptoms, cold, runny nose, sore throat. It would be easy to surmise that the vegan diet is making me sick, but my understanding of the process is that this is my body ridding itself of toxins. It will pass.