In yoga, to yoke the elements of life together, the breath with the body with the spirit. The quality of the fuel that we choose to nurture our bodies with must also be considered. In the same way our breath is not the same, carbohydrates are not created equally. A deep delicious breath that enters the body slowly and fills the belly to capacity and invigorates every cell of the body with peace is not the same as a shallow, fear filled, worried breath barely taken in, a form of rejecting life not embracing it. In exactly this way, by what we choose to eat, we are rejecting or embracing life.
There are libraries filled with books on diet, all written with the best of intentions and all with their own versions of truth. And perhaps when it comes to the human body, there are few absolute truths. Some bodies are better designed for eating larger amounts of fat and protein. However, the most famous of these, the eskimos, have a shorter life expectancy compared to the rest of the human population. Still living until around sixty on the icy tundra does seem a huge accomplishment. It’s difficult to determine which book about diet is the right one, if such a thing exists. I have read a plethora of them myself, not to lose weight like most, but for nutritional purposes.
One of my recent, unfinished I should add, conquest is Why We Get Fat, by Gary Taubes. Gary advocates eating a high protein and fat diet over a carb diet. He does suggest eating at least two cups of vegetables and two cups of salad per day. On the other hand, the book, Green For Life by Victoria Boutenko, examines evidence that shows humans need much more leafy greens in our diet than previously prescribed. Since the most protein the human body will ever need is during the first 180 days of life when infants double their weight, and given the fact that human mother’s milk is only 2% protein, eating massive amounts of protein may not be appropriate for the human body. We will never need that amount of cell regeneration again. Hopefully, we will not double our weight in such a short period of time again either. The properties of human mother’s milk vary in infinitesimal degrees, unlike the books about nutrition.
Another bone of contention in Why We Get Fat is that in the recipes in the back of the book, he recommends eating artificial sweeteners. The consumption of sugar is a whole other topic, and I do agree with him in limiting this addictive and harmful powder from our diet. But to replace harmful sugar with potentially more harmful chemicals makes no sense. According to Natural News, Artificial Sweetener Disease, (ASD) has been linked to volumes of diseases, including “unbearable migraines, depression, anxiety, muscle pain, arthritis flare ups, buzzing or ringing in the ears, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and Crohn's disease.” Increasing evidence is showing that some people who suffer from Muscular dystrophy and other similar diseases have recovered or greatly improved their condition by eliminating artificial sweeteners from their diets. This evidence shows a connection between these poisons and muscular disorders. In addition, the only people I have personally seen eating artificial sweeteners also are the ones trying to lose weight, which they cannot do. Increasing evidence is showing that there may be a link between weight gain and artificial sweeteners as well.
What are the alternatives to a high protein, artificial sweetener diets? Agave and Stevia are good substitutes for sugar. Raw fruit is also a great snack and dessert. And eating more leafy greens full of easily absorbable calcium, protein, vitamins, chlorophyll and other minerals is a great way to absorb more of everything we eat. Beans and rice also make a perfect protein combination. Protein can be absorbed from all forms of fruits and vegetables, which also contain fiber to help keep our bodies clean, unlike meat that can take up to seven days to digest and sits and rots in our stomachs. Protein from cows must also be processed from grass and, in the case of factory farmed animals, corn, wood fiber, animal waste (around twenty percent of their diet) and other harmful substances. These materials must be consumed by a cow and processed through her body in order to make protein. By eating vegetable protein even veggie burgers processed from vegetables, we can consume far less processed food and eat food closer to its source. Lions do not have the ability to do this, but humans have been equipped with a body that is finely tuned to process fiber and vegetables. So eat your veggies and be lean, happy, energized and young.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034378_artificial_sweetener_disease_ASD_aspartame.html#ixzz2jJRSADKPmuscular dystrophy,
