On The Trail to the TRUTH About Food...

As a spiritual counselor, I have learned that Spirit does not motivate us through fear or guilt or obligation. Spirit doesn't speak the language of 'should' and 'ought to'. Spirit draws us toward what is best for us through an excited sense of curiosity, a strong and joyful desire that bubbles up from inside and feels wonderful.

So why should eating for our health be any different? This question, and a passionate, all-consuming desire to know more, has led me to expand my life's work and set me on a path to learn the truth about food. And what I have found so far is very encouraging and enlightening, and aligns perfectly with how Spirit operates in the other areas of our lives.

Heart Disease and Cholesterol:

In my research, I've found a huge, well-documented, rapidly growing body of evidence that the heart-disease scare is a manufactured lie. I've found that being overweight doesn't lead to heart disease, and that eating cholesterol doesn't lead to high levels of cholesterol. I've found that especially in post-menopausal women, higher levels of cholesterol are normal and even associated with better health than lower levels. I've learned that cholesterol in the body is a by-product that is manufactured when the immune system faces a challenge (like the pus that is the result of white blood cells killing invading organisms), so its occurence has nothing to do with eating cholesterol, and the natural things we do, such as adding whole grains and plants to our diet, that lower our cholesterol levels, do so because they strengthen our immune system.

Fat and Overweight:

I've also found that the fear of fat is another fraud. I've found more than ample evidence that being overweight doesn't lead to heart disease or breast cancer, and is not directly correlated to general unwellness of any kind, by itself. And there is, of course, a staggering amount of ignored evidence that dieting doesn't solve the problem of being overweight, but makes it worse and may even be the root cause of it for many women. I've found that natural fat, such as that found in animal and dairy products, and especially tropical fats, like coconut and palm oil, are not only much healthier for us than manufactured fats but actually contain absolutely essential health-promoting properties that we are missing out on as we seek to cut back on fat in our diets, and have been shown to heal many of our seemingly-overwhelming health challenges. I have learned that natural fats contain compounds within them that help us process them and make the most of them, and that eating natural fat does not make you fat, but can actually help balance your weight.

Dairy:

I've learned that pasteurization kills a huge variety of health-giving properties of milk, and that when we treat our animals with kindness and respect, and feed them what they were born to eat, the raw, pure milk they produce doesn't require any of those medieval measures and is so full of nutrients, including compounds that help us process fat in a healthy way, that it's actually stunningly medicinal.

Flavor:

In my nutritional research, I've found ample evidence that artificial flavors, artificial colors, and especially artificial sweeteners, are all very toxic to our health. I have learned that natural sugar, such as evaporated cane juice, maple syrup, and honey all have health-giving properties when consumed in moderation, unlike sucrose, or table sugar, which is stripped of anything that can be of any benefit to us and so acts on our bodies like a drug. I have learned that the real, organic herbs and spices we used to flavor our food with all the time before the introduction of artifical flavors, can heal any disease or disorder humankind has ever known. I have learned that many people are sodium-deficient, due to the heart-disease fraud, and that we can eat good, natural sea salt to taste and our bodies will thank us for it. I've found that natural chocolate supports our health in a myriad of ways.

And all of this is just the beginning.

So what does all this mean?

Deep inside, our bodies know how to eat to sustain and promote total well-being. And they crave those foods that will heal them. But what we end up giving them instead in our ignorance are psuedo-foods made of chemicals that mimic the look and taste of the natural substances our bodies are crying out for, or plants sprayed with chemicals and grown in depleted soil, essentially starving and thus unable to sustain us the way they are Divinely meant to. And the chemicals not only don't provide what they body craves, they introduce poisons into the system that the body then has to deal with on top of the original deficiency.

Toxicity and deficiency. This is what is causing ALL of our health problems today. And the answer is beautifully, Divinely simple. Get rid of the psuedo-foods and go back to eating real, natural foods. That's it, for the most part. Just don't eat it if it's not food.

The glorious part of this is that indulgence is actually the path to health!

Let's look at a few examples of things we aren't 'supposed to' eat:

Imitation pancake syrup, with high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors, has NO nutritional value and introduces chemicals into the body which break it down. Real maple syrup, on the other hand, is an excellent source of manganese and a good source of zinc, both of which have wonderful, health-giving properties, and due to the additional trace mineral content, the sugars in maple syrup enter the bloodstream more slowly, which is much easier on the body.

White table sugar has NO nutritional value and has been shown to contribute to a huge myriad of health problems. But raw cane sugar is a good source of Vitamin B-2, as well as containing all kinds of trace minerals, and enters the bloodstream more slowly than table sugar, thus being much gentler on the body.

Another natural sweetener, raw honey, is incredibly good for you. It must be raw, because just like with milk, pasteurization kills most of its health-giving properties. Honey doesn't need pasteurization anyway, because it has strong natural antimicrobial properties of its own, and that is one of the things that makes it so good for us. It's also a good source of Vitamins B-2, B-6, iron, and manganese, as well as a huge variety of trace minerals.

Organic, cage-free eggs are a very good source of selenium, iodine, and vitamin B2 and a good source of protein, molybdenum, phosphorous, vitamin B5, vitamin B12 and vitamin D, and they're a great source of amino acids. In fact, studies have shown that rather than raising levels of cholesterol, they lower lipid levels in the blood!

These are just a few of the miraculous truths I've uncovered about food, but they all point to the fact that there is only one indulgence we need to give up in order to have radiant health and well-being, and that's the convenience of prepared pseudo-food. The other thing we need to give up is the belief in all the lies we've been told about what makes us sick. It is those lies that have driven us to fill our pantries and refrigerators with chemical concoctions that we are promised will make us well again.

They won't. Real, natural, delicious whole food WILL.

My quest to find the truth about food has led to me pursuing my Master's degree in Holistic Nutrition, and I will continue to unearth the amazing truth about how the bountiful gifts of the Earth can sustain our bodies. And as I do, I will continue to share them with as many people as I can get to listen. Because I believe in a world without disease, and I'm certain I've found the path to it in real, whole, natural food.

Namaste.