Let food be your medicine

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

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For as long as I can remember myself as a child, this mother's monologue haunted me almost until the very age of majority. Meat products, milk, sour cream, cream, kefir and fermented baked milk were disgusted almost to nausea … All this was just spat out at first, and then, when I got a little older, it was slowly poured into the sink or thrown out the window on the lawn to the delight of local cats. The adults were surprised: she didn't eat anything, but she was so plump and mobile. They did not understand at all the essence of nutrition, as I am now convinced of this. Soviet upbringing simply could not even allow the thought of vegetarianism, the lack of meat was considered blasphemy and was hatefully eradicated.

It was only when I became an adult and took up clever books that I realized what joy I was deprived of in childhood. The joy of eating what you want, and thus laying the foundation for your physical and mental health. Alas, the postulates of Soviet medicine do not always agree with the traditions of the ancients, and therefore our wiser ancestors, who have long studied how food affects human health. “Let food be your medicine, and medicine your food,” they said. Only now doctors are beginning to slowly shake up their knowledge and try the recipes for a healthy lifestyle that have been worked out for centuries. Honestly, it's never too late to do this. So, what do the traditions of, say, oriental medicine advise us?

Human food should consist of 60-75% of plant products. And the main thing is variety. Otherwise, you can earn a variety of diseases.

Eastern sages believe that food is pure - milk, oil, fruits, vegetables, cereal grains. Exciting - meat, eggs, fish, hot dishes, hot spices, alcohol. And unclean - spoiled, stale food, most often meat. People who strive for spiritual improvement prefer pure types of food. And modern man uses too much stimulating food. And that is why he experiences many problems in his life, both purely physical and moral. As a result, increased nervousness, disorders of the cardiovascular system and other diseases develop. Fashionable diets, according to the followers of oriental medicine, take health away, not give. By depriving a person of a full and varied diet.

People who decide to change their lifestyle and food should first analyze their health status, and also be sure to take into account the national traditions in the field of nutrition of their people, since many of the characteristics of your body are genetically laid down.

For example, the peoples of the North prefer meat, moreover, undercooked, half-baked, to all other types of food, and every Yakut or Chukchi is genetically predisposed to eat fresh meat and animal blood. After all, there is no other way to survive in the conditions of the North. People of the North sometimes do not even understand the taste of dishes made from plants, and deny any seasonings. And this is absolutely true, since the main thing for them is energy, which should be increased during the entire long harsh winter.

By the way, the season also influences the choice of food. For example, in winter, you should eat what is fatter. The body must warm itself up and switches to the fatty type of metabolism. But in the summer, you need to give preference to light plant foods.

According to Tibetans, proteins supply amino acids to the body to build tissues. The richest vegetable proteins are foods: beans, peas, soybeans, buckwheat, oatmeal, rice, baked goods, garlic, mushrooms.

Fats provide a person with twice as much energy as proteins and carbohydrates. The biggest health problems are associated with the consumption of animal fats. They need to be replaced with vegetable ones, they are better absorbed by humans.

The main source of energy is carbohydrates. However, a modern person, to be honest, overdid it a little with carbohydrates. And he got diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Carbohydrates are best consumed not artificial - sugar, cakes, but natural - dried fruits, fruits, honey.

Becoming a vegetarian is not easy. Habits and so-called public opinion hinder this in many ways. However, there are people who cannot immediately and simply solve this problem for purely physiological reasons. Someone after ten days of vegetarianism begins to feel dizzy from weakness, someone in a dream sees mountains of fried, juicy meat. And here you can seriously harm your health if you continue to eat only plant foods. The future vegetarian needs to feel that this way of life is the most important thing for him. And spiritually prepare for the transition to another existence of both your physical and mental self.

At first, meat, eggs and fish should not be removed from the diet at all, just limit their use, say, once a day and only during lunch. And then limit your meat intake to twice a week. Later, a moment comes when the future vegetarian will need to give up "heavy" meat - pork - and replace it with chicken and fish. And also reduce the consumption of eggs by introducing cereals, nuts, lentils, beans, fresh fruits, vegetables into the diet. Drink more juices, raw and sour milk, eat feta cheese and cottage cheese.

At the same time, you should gradually quit smoking, all the time reducing the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Refuse strong drinks - vodka, whiskey. Later, completely abandon tobacco and alcohol. And all this time, reinforce your desire with meditation and breathing exercises. By the way, those who practice yoga cleanse their bodies so seriously with the help of special breathing that they begin to dislike meat, tobacco and alcohol on their own.

You also need to remember that eating too much nuts, honey, butter, replacing meat and fish with sweets and syrups can lead to obesity. So it's not very helpful to strain here. Hasty absorption of food, a quick change of hot and cold dishes, complexly prepared fatty meals from low-quality products - great harm to the body.

You need to eat only when you are hungry. The pleasure is there when you don't feel like eating, leave it to your enemies. The rule of the yogis - to chew water and drink solid food - should be taken almost literally, and a tidbit should be chewed at least 40 times. By the way, the Chinese believe that the slower a person eats, the less food he absorbs, and he has a better chance of staying slim and light for life.

The amount of food is an extremely individual indicator. If a person works physically in the fresh air, he naturally needs more high-calorie food. At a young age, more food is also required than at a mature age. In winter, you also need to eat more than in summer. The saturation process depends only on the needs of the body. The main thing is not to overeat. Better not getting enough sleep than overeating - let's paraphrase a French proverb. And small but very effective tips for Europeans from Tibetan healers. Eat black bread instead of white. Don't eat white refined sugar, replace it with honey. Try not to salt your food with industrial salt, switch to sea salt. Avoid fried food entirely and prefer vegetable oil over animal. Eat less potatoes and more rice. And it is better to eat wheat sprouted or boiled. In winter, instead of canned fruits, buy frozen ones. Try not to drink water while eating. Do not mix fruits and vegetables, cereals and milk in the same dish. Never eat your fill, get up from the table before you feel full. Never sit down at the table if you are tired. Leave your bad mood, thoughts and problems for later, and when you eat - think only of food and enjoy it. Avoid food once a week.

Elena Putalova