Eating for Health
March 9th 2007 00:32
There is much advice about what to eat about. Some it is the search for the wonder food that will guarantee us good health.
There a couple of problems I think. Firstly is that there is so much it gets confusing. Secondly it relies on laboratory studies which we can’t do much about for ourselves.
For the first problem a simple approach is to keep a food diary. This just means writing down everything you eat and how you feel. But you must put down everything. Every sip of water, every little nibble. Doing this has two advantages. Firstly it is a way of paying attention to what you eat – you will probably find you become much more aware of what you eat and how much of it you eat. Secondly it is a way of finding out what you like, what is healthy for you – once you know this you don’t need to rely on others telling you what to do.
For the second problem there are traditional health systems. Because these developed before modern technology they rely on our senses to choose our food.
The one I know best is Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is a vast storehouse of wisdom on healthy eating in this tradition. And there are many books that explain it.
For an encyclopedic reference there is Paul Pitchford’s “Healing With Wholefoods” which uses both western and eastern approaches. For a basic introduction there is “The Tao of Healthy Eating” by Bob Flaws and for something in between – which will help you adjust to the seasons and advice on using food as medicine – there is “Food for the Seasons” by Lun Wong and Kath Knapsey. All are excellent and readable.
The approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that the different tastes effect us in different ways. And so we can adjust our eating according to how we want to be. There are foods for strengthening different aspects of body and for adjusting for different conditions. There are foods to warm us up, cool us down and so on.
Once we know this we can take control of our own diet and shape it to fit where we are and what is happening for us. It does take some work to learn it but once you do you have your control over your own diet.
With a food diary and Traditional Chinese Medicine we have a sophisticated approach to diet that we shape to suit ourselves. No more searching for that miracle food – just enjoying a wide variety of what is good for us. And, as important as laboratory research is (and it is very important) we don’t need to adjust our diet after every fresh discovery. We will know how to have our own healthy diet.
There a couple of problems I think. Firstly is that there is so much it gets confusing. Secondly it relies on laboratory studies which we can’t do much about for ourselves.
For the first problem a simple approach is to keep a food diary. This just means writing down everything you eat and how you feel. But you must put down everything. Every sip of water, every little nibble. Doing this has two advantages. Firstly it is a way of paying attention to what you eat – you will probably find you become much more aware of what you eat and how much of it you eat. Secondly it is a way of finding out what you like, what is healthy for you – once you know this you don’t need to rely on others telling you what to do.
For the second problem there are traditional health systems. Because these developed before modern technology they rely on our senses to choose our food.
The one I know best is Traditional Chinese Medicine. There is a vast storehouse of wisdom on healthy eating in this tradition. And there are many books that explain it.
For an encyclopedic reference there is Paul Pitchford’s “Healing With Wholefoods” which uses both western and eastern approaches. For a basic introduction there is “The Tao of Healthy Eating” by Bob Flaws and for something in between – which will help you adjust to the seasons and advice on using food as medicine – there is “Food for the Seasons” by Lun Wong and Kath Knapsey. All are excellent and readable.
The approach of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that the different tastes effect us in different ways. And so we can adjust our eating according to how we want to be. There are foods for strengthening different aspects of body and for adjusting for different conditions. There are foods to warm us up, cool us down and so on.
Once we know this we can take control of our own diet and shape it to fit where we are and what is happening for us. It does take some work to learn it but once you do you have your control over your own diet.
With a food diary and Traditional Chinese Medicine we have a sophisticated approach to diet that we shape to suit ourselves. No more searching for that miracle food – just enjoying a wide variety of what is good for us. And, as important as laboratory research is (and it is very important) we don’t need to adjust our diet after every fresh discovery. We will know how to have our own healthy diet.
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