Wholesome Food Equals a Healthy Body and Mind
Feb 27, 2023 07:35AM ● By Judyth Shamosh, Ph.D.
rh2010/123rf.com
Using wholesome
food promotes good health just as the improper use of food can cause disease.
If your diet is inappropriate, medicine is of little use. However, if your diet
is wholesome, medicine is of little need and your food becomes your medicine.
Dr. Robert Svoboda, Ayurvedic
physician, says, “…the main factor that makes for disease is the indulgence in
unwholesome diet.” He adds, “The fundamental cause for all toxins (ama)—the source of disease, is
indigestible desire.” Desire can be in the form of unwholesome foods we have
been accustomed to eat. These unwholesome foods are
those we tend to crave and know are not good for us. In Ayurveda, choosing to
eat those foods is called “crimes against wisdom.”
Michael Greger, M.D., in his
well-researched book How Not to Die, provides substantial evidence that
a whole food, plant-based diet is the best way to avoid disease. This includes
the sub-clinical disease patterns (undetectable by Western medicine) that damage our ability to accurately perceive and
interpret our world and the functioning of our bodies.
This viewpoint is also
supported by Chinese medicine, which asserts that most health issues are due to
toxins that obstruct the system. Toxins are phlegm-like sticky substances
that are known by the obstructive effects they create in the body. The source
of these toxins is partly due to lifestyle and partly due to our choosing to
eat unwholesome foods, such as processed foods and the greasy and energetically
overly hot (factory farmed) animal products to which people have become
habituated.
So, if you are choosing a
high-protein, largely animal-based diet, the body and mind can become toxic,
stagnant, dull and confused to a greater or lesser degree. Consequently, you
will be more likely to crave foods that do not support your health. Just as a
computer can give output based only on the quality of information it is given, the
mind and body can make decisions based only on the quality of input it is
given. Thus, the old adage of “garbage in—garbage out” or unwholesome foods in—unwholesome
decisions out. In Ayurveda, we say “food is medicine,” but if not properly
digested, which unwholesome food never is, it is considered a poison.
What are the wholesome foods?
Ideally, they are organic, freshly harvested, appropriate for your current
constitution (doshas) and climate, and recently prepared by someone who
can impart love and good thoughts into its preparation. A basic healthy meal
consists of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and spices for flavor and to aid
digestion. Those who have difficulty digesting grains have a weakened digestive
system that needs to be fired up to properly “cook” their food internally.
Think of a fireplace where the fire is not hot enough to burn the wood
completely, resulting in a lot of smoke and ash.
When we introduce food into the
body, it goes through three stages of digestion. The first stage is in the
stomach where the unprocessed food is received. This is where the initial
breakdown of food begins.
The second stage of digestion
is in the small intestine where the food is “cooked” and transformed by
enzymatic activity, known as the digestive fire in Ayurveda. It is in the small
intestine where the decision is made as to what part of our food will be
assimilated and what part will be eliminated. In Eastern medicine, we say the
body decides to separate the pure from the impure part of the food. It is at
this critical stage of digestion where confusion can occur. If the food you
have eaten is unwholesome or there is already confusion or imbalance present,
the body’s innate intelligence may not know what to do with the food, and so it
ends up deposited in a weakened area (think of a backwater) of the body to
begin accumulating. This accumulation is the first step in the process of
disease.
The third stage of digestion is
the colon, which receives the cooked food remnants and eliminates the unwanted
or impure part.
To get the best digestion for
the foods you eat:
· Avoid eating late in the evening and eat a
lighter meal at least three hours before bed.
· Avoid eating when overly stressed, which creates
confusion in the digestive system.
· Eat only when you are hungry (unless you are
never hungry).
·
Honor
your food. Pay attention to what you are eating. Think positive thoughts about
your food. Your body will reward you with good digestion; your food will reward
you with better nutrition.
· Eat slowly; chew thoroughly.
· Never have iced drinks with your meals. It douses
your digestive fire needed to internally cook your food.
· Fruit is to be eaten alone because of its
generally cooling and wet nature.
Following a healthy lifestyle,
routine and proper wholesome food guidelines for your current constitution will
help keep you balanced in body and mind. When you are out and about with
friends or at a gathering, rather than abstain altogether, which can set up an
attitude of resistance, enjoy but practice moderation.
Judyth Shamosh, Ph.D., Systems Herbalist, has been a clinical practitioner since 1994 and is the founder of Greenfingers Herbal Medicine Clinic, where she practices Ayurvedic, classical Chinese and Western herbal medicines and teaches apprentices. She has served on the governing council of the American Herbalist’s Guild, Arizona Herb Association and RainStar University College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and been adjunct faculty of the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.
