FOOD AND YOU

FOOD AND YOU

Nourishment : To sustain with proper nutriment, supplying what is necessary for growth and good condition. From the Latin nutrire, to foster, to cherish.

Deep nourishment: An approach that concerns itself with providing the core substances needed for human beings to reach their full potential. Seeing beneath the surface to what truly nurtures and cherishes.

Food, with water and air, is the most basic of all necessities. It seems so straightforward but it’s not. Food can be turned into a seemingly limitless variety of shapes, sizes, textures, tastes, and meanings. It is the hub around which we socialize, ritualize and mark passages. Beyond simply satisfying our hunger, it serves as everything from solace to status symbol to reward to enemy. There is no question, we have a complicated relationship to food.

And yet, beneath all the complication lies one simple truth. We are healthier when we eat what nature provides. A well researched and documented article in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (Feb. 2005) supports this. It describes the profound changes in diet and other lifestyle conditions that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry about 10,000 years ago, and shows how these changes, along with the nutritional, cultural, and activity patterns of contemporary Western populations, account for many of the so-called diseases of civilization such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, osteoporosis, and cancer. Our genes haven’t caught up to technology. We are still genetically adapted to the environment of our ancient ancestors whose diets were determined by geographic locale and made up of unprocessed, whole, wild plant and animal foods.

Today, many people eat processed or fractionated foods that are, in truth, only parts of food and are often combinations of things that don’t even exist in nature. These products are split off from the whole. They are split off from nature itself.

Calling fractionated foods “food” is like calling petals that have been plucked from a flower “a flower.” They are not. They may remind us of a flower, but they do not have the beauty and vitality that a flower has. They are no longer alive.

Whole foods, on the other hand, are alive and complete. They contain subtle energy and information that instructs our body on how to utilize the food so it can be transmuted into the raw materials we need for life. There is a direct relationship between the dynamic forces of the food and the dynamic forces of our total being.

We, too, hold within us subtle energy and information that instructs us on how to take good care of ourselves. And, like food, when we are fractionated, we lose access to that information. When we are not whole, we don’t take care of our body. When we don’t take care of our body, we are not whole. When we are not whole, we don’t understand what makes us tick, we see ourselves as separate from the web of life, and we lose the beauty and fullness of being human just as the beauty of the flower is lost when the petals are plucked

Becoming fully who we are does not mean perfection, it means understanding and accepting our limitations. What we consider “imperfect” in ourselves can become the compost for our growth and healing. By providing the right conditions through deep nourishment, we can flourish. Likewise, when we compost the parts of whole foods that we cannot eat they become nourishment for new growth. Nothing is lost. Everything is included.

There is a big price to pay for eating fractionated processed foods with the “instructions” missing. These fast foods are also fast in causing the diseases mentioned above. They accelerate the aging process significantly. Let’s consider obesity. We are supposed to be a well-nourished society, but this is an illusion. Obesity is rampant and obesity is a disease of malnutrition. Many people eat a lot of processed foods and take in a lot of calories but little nutrition. Because they receive few nutrients, their body increases hunger in an attempt to get what it needs. Remaining hungry, they eat more. Eating more they become more obese.

In addition, processed foods contain chemicals that increase appetite. It is not easy to resist the temptation of these foods given their ease and convenience as well as the constant pressure from advertising. But the result is well worth the effort.

Healing Our Relationship to Food

When we split the body, mind, heart and spirit, we don’t know who we are; we don’t know what we really need or what kind of nourishment would satisfy. Do you need physical nourishment? Emotional nourishment? Spiritual nourishment? Is food the nourishment you now need? Or is it contact with a friend or loved one? Exercise? Rest? Contact with nature? Play? Music? Art? Prayer? Meditation? Looking in the wrong places for the appropriate nourishment to fill the hunger within leads to craving more food or more material objects. Satisfaction is never achieved and the internal fractionation grows deeper and deeper.

As we become more whole, as the relationship among the various aspects of ourselves becomes more integrated and less split, there is more information clearly exchanged and communicated. We can then have more access to the intelligence of the body, heart, and spirit, as well as the mind. When we are more whole, our relationship to food changes, we pay more attention to the experience of eating, we become aware of the subtle nuances of taste, texture, and aroma. Junk food just doesn’t satisfy any longer.

Where once we blocked our potential for full expression by creating cloudy consciousness through poor nourishment, now we take care of our physical needs. We have more energy to care for other aspects of ourselves. Through good nutrition we build the physical container within which emotional healing and spiritual wisdom can grow. As we heal our relationship with food, we heal our relationship with all parts of ourselves and our awareness expands. As our awareness expands we learn how to better feed ourselves on every level. When we are nourished at the deepest level of our being, we grow in wisdom, make friends with reality, and meet life with joy and vitality.

How do we do this and live in the real world? Eating “perfectly” is not the goal. Eating intelligently and with awareness is the goal.

Here are some general guidelines for harmonious eating:

* Eat whole natural foods. Avoid processed “foods”.

* Eat organic foods as much as possible, especially animal products.

* Eat a wide variety of foods; include all the colors of the rainbow in your food choices.

* Eat a vegetable based diet.

* Make homemade meals as often as possible.

* Eat slowly.

* Chew all foods thoroughly. Digestion begins in the mouth, so don’t short change yourself by gulping down.

* Eat only when physically hungry.

* Eat until you have had “enough”, not too much and not too little.

* Do not eat when angry, upset, or tired.

* Eat with enjoyment and gusto.

* Before eating, relax, take a deep breath and say a short blessing, prayer, or affirmation.

* While eating, concentrate on your meal, not the television, newspaper, etc.

* Love your food.

* Love yourself.



	FOOD AND YOU *Nourishment* : To sustain with proper nutriment, supplying what is necessary for growth and good condition. From the Latin nutrire, to foster, to cherish. *Deep nourishment: An approach that concerns itself with providing the core substances needed for human beings to reach their full potential. Seeing beneath the surface to what truly nurtures and cherishes. Food, with water and air, is the most basic of all necessities. It seems so straightforward but it’s not. Food can be turned into a seemingly limitless variety of shapes, sizes, textures, tastes, and meanings. It is the hub around which we socialize, ritualize and mark passages. Beyond simply satisfying our hunger, it serves as everything from solace to status symbol to reward to enemy. There is no question, we have a complicated relationship to food. And yet, beneath all the complication lies one simple truth. We are healthier when we eat what nature provides. A well researched and documented article in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (Feb. 2005) supports this. It describes the profound changes in diet and other lifestyle conditions that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry about 10,000 years ago, and shows how these changes, along with the nutritional, cultural, and activity patterns of contemporary Western populations, account for many of the so-called diseases of civilization such as obesity, cardio-vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol, osteoporosis, and cancer. Our genes haven’t caught up to technology. We are still genetically adapted to the environment of our ancient ancestors whose diets were determined by geographic locale and made up of unprocessed, whole, wild plant and animal foods. Today, many people eat processed or fractionated foods that are, in truth, only parts of food and are often combinations of things that don’t even exist in nature. These products are split off from the whole. They are split off from nature itself. Calling fractionated foods “food” is like calling petals that have been plucked from a flower “a flower.” They are not. They may remind us of a flower, but they do not have the beauty and vitality that a flower has. They are no longer alive. Whole foods, on the other hand, are alive and complete. They contain subtle energy and information that instructs our body on how to utilize the food so it can be transmuted into the raw materials we need for life. There is a direct relationship between the dynamic forces of the food and the dynamic forces of our total being. We, too, hold within us subtle energy and information that instructs us on how to take good care of ourselves. And, like food, when we are fractionated, we lose access to that information. When we are not whole, we don’t take care of our body. When we don’t take care of our body, we are not whole. When we are not whole, we don’t understand what makes us tick, we see ourselves as separate from the web of life, and we lose the beauty and fullness of being human just as the beauty of the flower is lost when the petals are plucked Becoming fully who we are does not mean perfection, it means understanding and accepting our limitations. What we consider “imperfect” in ourselves can become the compost for our growth and healing. By providing the right conditions through deep nourishment, we can flourish. Likewise, when we compost the parts of whole foods that we cannot eat they become nourishment for new growth. Nothing is lost. Everything is included. There is a big price to pay for eating fractionated processed foods with the “instructions” missing. These fast foods are also fast in causing the diseases mentioned above. They accelerate the aging process significantly. Let’s consider obesity. We are supposed to be a well-nourished society, but this is an illusion. Obesity is rampant and obesity is a disease of malnutrition. Many people eat a lot of processed foods and take in a lot of calories but little nutrition. Because they receive few nutrients, their body increases hunger in an attempt to get what it needs. Remaining hungry, they eat more. Eating more they become more obese. In addition, processed foods contain chemicals that increase appetite. It is not easy to resist the temptation of these foods given their ease and convenience as well as the constant pressure from advertising. But the result is well worth the effort. Healing Our Relationship to Food* When we split the body, mind, heart and spirit, we don’t know who we are; we don’t know what we really need or what kind of nourishment would satisfy. Do you need physical nourishment? Emotional nourishment? Spiritual nourishment? Is food the nourishment you now need? Or is it contact with a friend or loved one? Exercise? Rest? Contact with nature? Play? Music? Art? Prayer? Meditation? Looking in the wrong places for the appropriate nourishment to fill the hunger within leads to craving more food or more material objects. Satisfaction is never achieved and the internal fractionation grows deeper and deeper. As we become more whole, as the relationship among the various aspects of ourselves becomes more integrated and less split, there is more information clearly exchanged and communicated. We can then have more access to the intelligence of the body, heart, and spirit, as well as the mind. When we are more whole, our relationship to food changes, we pay more attention to the experience of eating, we become aware of the subtle nuances of taste, texture, and aroma. Junk food just doesn’t satisfy any longer. Where once we blocked our potential for full expression by creating cloudy consciousness through poor nourishment, now we take care of our physical needs. We have more energy to care for other aspects of ourselves. Through good nutrition we build the physical container within which emotional healing and spiritual wisdom can grow. As we heal our relationship with food, we heal our relationship with all parts of ourselves and our awareness expands. As our awareness expands we learn how to better feed ourselves on every level. When we are nourished at the deepest level of our being, we grow in wisdom, make friends with reality, and meet life with joy and vitality. How do we do this and live in the real world? Eating “perfectly” is not the goal. Eating intelligently and with awareness is the goal. Here are some general guidelines for harmonious eating: * Eat whole natural foods. Avoid processed “foods”. * Eat organic foods as much as possible, especially animal products. * Eat a wide variety of foods; include all the colors of the rainbow in your food choices. * Eat a vegetable based diet. * Make homemade meals as often as possible. * Eat slowly. * Chew all foods thoroughly. Digestion begins in the mouth, so don’t short change yourself by gulping down. * Eat only when physically hungry. * Eat until you have had “enough”, not too much and not too little. * Do not eat when angry, upset, or tired. * Eat with enjoyment and gusto. * Before eating, relax, take a deep breath and say a short blessing, prayer, or affirmation. * While eating, concentrate on your meal, not the television, newspaper, etc. * Love your food. * Love yourself.