For me, food is a very important aspect of life. It is food that generates the thought vibrations. Apart from the ingredients that goes in while cooking, the thought waves that pass through the person cooking are of great significance to the physical and mental health of the person consuming that food.
Raw food vs cooked food
As you increase the amount of raw food in your diet, you feel satisfied and have more energy on smaller meals because raw food has the best balance of water, nutrients, and fibre to meet your body's needs. Raw foods comprise of fruit, nuts, leaves, and vegetables that are gathered direct from tree, bush or vine. They taste good to the majority of us. But those who are used to strong tastes of masalas cannot appreciate the subtle flavours of raw foods.
The human race learned long ago that cooking meat before eating it would protect them from parasites. Since then this practice of cooking has grown to include all types of foods and is now considered an art. The heat of cooking depletes vitamins, damages proteins and fats, and destroys enzymes which benefit digestion. Addition of salt, sugar, spices, or other condiments can irritate your digestion system and over stimulate your nervous system.
When raw foods are chosen properly, one no longer needs to suffer from gas, indigestion, heart burn and constipation. Apart from protecting from acute diseases like colds and flu, a raw food diet can reverse or stop the advance of many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Cooking creates free radicals, which are the major cause of cancer.
How many times should you eat?
Food is needed for body growth, for energy to do physical and mental work. Ideally, one should eat only when hungry and how much to eat should be based on the body’s needs and not for the tongue’s satisfaction.
It is a great policy to not eat after Sunset. I think our ancestors ate during day time and as the Sun set, they gathered around fire, sang and danced and went to sleep. So there is no sense in what is usually said, “One should not go to bed on empty stomach. Those who emphasise on this should be asked whether they have tried eating before Sunset for at least two weeks and did a self assessment how their body and mind felt. I was surprised at the way I felt so energetic and light the whole day on stopping having dinner almost two decades back.
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is all about when you eat. You might try eating only during an eight-hour period each day and fast for the remainder. Or you might choose to eat only one meal a day two days a week. There are many different intermittent fasting schedules.
Fasting for a certain number of hours each day can help your body burn fat and scientific evidence points to some health benefits, as well. Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Mark Mattson has studied intermittent fasting for 25 years, and opines that our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. Mattson says that after hours without food, the body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat. He refers to this as metabolic switching.
One of Mattson’s studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine revealed data about a range of health benefits associated with the practice. These include a longer life, a leaner body and a sharper mind.
What status would you like to have for your body and mind for the remaining period of your life? Before you put that bolus of food into your mouth the next time, stop and think. And make a healthy decision!
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