Conscious Eating Part 13

Optimal pH Function Indicators.

Good energy.

A calm nervous and muscle system.

Bowels are moving regularly and the digestion is effective.

Doesn't catch colds and flus.

General feeling of physical, mental, and spiritual vitality and clarity.

How to Balance pH.

OUR BODIES ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY BOTH ALKALINE AND ACID. These two tendencies become one in a dynamic equilibrium. Striving to give the body the optimal percentage of acid- or alkaline-forming foods helps to maintain this balance. One can check the pH of one's 24-hour urine. Based on the results, one can begin to organize one's diet toward an alkaline-acid balance of foods that brings the pH to normal. At the same time, I suggest that there are some individual variations. I also try to explore whether the pH changes before, during, and after menses, as well as pre-ovulatory Men may have monthly cycles with their pH, but the times to check are not so obvious. If the body tends to s.h.i.+ft toward more alkaline or acid on certain days, then the appropriate approach is to adjust one's acid-alkaline food intake on those days to compensate for the body's own s.h.i.+fting. For example, if during premenstrual time one becomes acidic, then it's appropriate to eat more alkalinizing foods during this time, depending on your const.i.tution.

At the normal range of pH, all the enzymes and electrolytes of the different digestive systems, organ systems, and glandular systems function optimally When the enzymes and electrolytes are optimally functioning, the cells of all the glands and organs also begin to work at maximum function. Consequently, the body begins to reorganize back into a stable, healthy homeostasis. I am not saying this is a cure for all diseases. Bringing the urine pH back into the normal range is a preventative measure. It is an attempt to reestablish homeostasis. When the body has become so deranged that the blood pH is no longer at 7.4, usually deeper structural levels of pathology have been reached that take a lot more skill in reversing. The urine pH imbalances tell more about the body on a preventative level. Blood pH abnormalities reflect body pathology.

There are two primary and complementary approaches to balancing the pH. One is eating foods and herbs that keep one healthy and help one reestablish a correct acid-base balance. This, of course, a.s.sumes that one is digesting the foods one is eating. The second major approach is to use live plant digestive enzymes to help digest the foods that are not being digested. For example, if one is too alkaline and is ANS dominant, it is beneficial to eat more protein because when protein is fully digested, it brings acid elements into the system. This only works when one is able to properly digest protein. Without full digestion there is not an acidifying effect from eating the protein. Plant protein digestive enzymes are indicated for solving this problem. The same issue exists if one is too acid and unable to fully digest complex carbohydrates. The appropriate plant enzymes are needed to activate full complex-carbohydrate digestion so that the alkalinizing minerals of these foods can be released fully into the system to build up the alkaline reserve and alkalinize the system.

Incomplete digestion of fats tends to release acid by-products, such as ketones, into the system. Enzymes are needed that will give us a complete digestion of fat so there will not be a metabolic acid build-up.

There are other factors which tend to make the body system acidic. One is poor breathing habits. The deeper and better one breathes, the easier it is to remove acid from the system by blowing off carbon dioxide and thus decreasing the carbonic acid in the blood. One reason most people are slightly acidic in the morning is that during sleep our breathing decreases in depth and rate. This results in the retention of carbon dioxide and hence the buildup of carbonic acid in the blood. Heavy exercise without proper breathing or ventilation builds up both lactic acid and carbon dioxide. Poor oxygenation of the cells creates poor cellular oxidative metabolism and eventually cellular death. Ninety percent of our oxidative metabolism is supplied by the oxygen we breathe. Deep breathing exercises in the morning, throughout the day and before and after exercise will reduce acid build-up. Repressed emotions, excessive anger, "acid" thoughts, and other emotions can also increase acidity. I've doc.u.mented that people with normally balanced pHs become acidic after negative "acidic" thoughts. In the Ayurvedic system, the pitta const.i.tutional type tends to be acid. They become particularly acid with anger. The stress of an excessive lifestyle also contributes to acidity.

The converse can happen as well. For instance, in one case, when a client of mine let go of her "acid" negativities without any dietary change, her urine pH, which previously had been acid, became balanced. One patient, after a major psychological breakthrough from negativity, had her acid urine go to an alkaline pH of 7.5.

Ways to Alkalinize the System for the Autonomic-Dominant Person.

Decrease or stop the intake of flesh food if you are ANS-dominant.

Decrease protein intake in general if you are ANS-dominant, and increase protein if you are oxidative-dominant.

Decrease the intake of fat.

Decrease intake of pasteurized dairy.

Minimize yin acid foods such as white sugar.

Eat more raw fruits and vegetables and their juices if you are ANS dominant.

Eat more raw, biogenic foods, such as sprouted greens, gra.s.ses, and certain alkaline-forming nuts, seeds, and grains. All sprouted nuts, seeds, beans, and grains s.h.i.+ft from their acidic-forming tendencies to either neutral or slightly alkaline-forming. Protein taken in this sprouted form is an excellent way to fulfill one's dietary requirements without making the system excessively acidic.

Take specific alkalinizing foods and herbs that have been proven clinically to alkalinize the body, which are: juice of fresh lemon at least two times per day, chaparral tea or herbal extract, apricots, and vitamin K foods. The outer leaf of cabbage is high in vitamin K. Wheat-gra.s.s juice is an excellent alkalinizer.

Use vegetarian digestive enzymes to improve poor digestion of complex carbohydrates. The most concentrated sources of these are high in amylase and extracted from vegetarian sources.

Use plant enzymes to improve poor fat digestion and therefore prevent the production of extra acids from incomplete metabolic breakdown.

Keep emotionally balanced and avoid creating acid emotions.

Live a balanced, low-stress lifestyle.

Detox and heal the kidneys, liver, and bowel.

Breathe deeply all day long.

Avoid heavy, prolonged, and strenuous exercise.

Ways to Acidify the System for the Autonomic-Dominant Person.

My first choice in balancing the tendency to become alkaline is the use of raw, organic, apple cider vinegar. In addition to its pH-bal-ancing effect, I agree with Dr. Paul Bragg, who espoused the use of vinegar many years ago as a great tonic. Use only apple cider vinegar that is organic and has not been pasteurized or filtered. It is a real food "with a mother lode" still in it. If the apple cider is clear, it is probably acetic acid, synthetically produced from coal tar, or distilled apple cider vinegar. This type should not be used. The truly "living" apple cider vinegar comes directly from the juice of fermented apples. It has many enzymes in it and is extremely high in pota.s.sium, as well as phosphorus, chlorine, natural organic sodium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, copper, silicon, and other minerals. It also contains the organic acid called malic acid which is helpful in dissolving body toxins. Paul Bragg has found that apple cider vinegar is beneficial for "softening the arteries," clearing crystal deposits out of the muscle tissue, supplying much-needed pota.s.sium to the body, and helping to heal a variety of ailments, such as sore throats, bladder infections, and prostate disorders. Apple cider vinegar stimulates digestion if taken five minutes before meals. If held in the mouth for thirty seconds, it stimulates ptyalin secretion for starch digestion as well as stimulates gastric enzyme secretion. The amount may vary from a few drops in water before meals to two tablespoons with meals or in salad dressings. Although often recommended to be taken with honey in a ratio of two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with one of honey in a gla.s.s of water before meals, according to Patricia Bragg, and in my own experience, using honey is not necessary to produce the beneficial effects.

Improve protein digestion with plant enzymes.

For ANS-dominant people, increase protein intake with nuts, seeds, and grains; walnuts are particularly acidifying, as is corn. I have one client who is able to regulate her acid-alkaline balance by eating varying quant.i.ties of walnuts and adjusting the percentage of the soaked nuts and seeds she takes in.

The herb yellow dock is another excellent acidifier.

Watermelon seeds also have an enzyme that is very acidifying.

Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, which is high in lactic acid, support the growth of healthy intestinal flora and are also good acid-ifiers.

Cranberry juice is also good. Onions and garlic have been cited as acidifying as well.

Minimize excessive deep breathing exercises.

Take as...o...b..c acid.

Exercise strenuously.

I want to emphasize that the above-mentioned foods and herbs really work in actual practice. If we know how to use Mother Nature's gifts, she will serve us well.

The ultimate balancing of the acid and base requires knowing one's dominant const.i.tutional type and having the ability to integrate duality in our diet as well as in our lives. In this way we do not polarize out of fear in a senseless acid-versus-alkaline diet debate. Cultivating this sort of att.i.tude toward dietary oneness helps lead to a larger sense of spiritual wholeness rather than the fear and separation created by duality. In this basic way we take "the acid" out of our lives.

Preview of Chapter 12.

IN ORDER FOR ME TO RELATE THE SUBTLETIES of the human organism and the subtleties of our food to the wonderment of spiritual life, I had to develop a new theory of nutrition which included G.o.d as the ultimate source of all nutrition. This theoretical chapter gives the reader a framework for understanding the physical and nonphysical meaning of the word "nutrition." It allows us to understand certain spiritual phenomena and recent nutritional research that the old model of nutrition cannot even begin to adequately explain. It is a conceptual model that helps us become more conscious about what we eat and how it affects us. Are you ready to take this additional step of awareness in your conscious eating program?

I. Spiritualization of the body II. Foundations of a new nutritional theory A. G.o.d is the ultimate source of nutrition on every level B. Subtle organizing energy fields (SOEFs) C. Why the material-mechanistic theory of nutrition is not complete III. SOEFs in food A. Processed food depletes SOEFs.

B. Fresh, raw, live food most energizes our SOEFs.

A New Paradigm of Nutrition.

PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT WAY TO UNDERSTAND and to commune with Mother Nature is to develop a nurturing relations.h.i.+p with her. Without the nutrients she supplies us we could not survive. In a basic way, what we eat and how we care for ourselves affects how we relate to the ecology issues of the planet. Ecological reform starts with ourselves. How can we possibly come into a meaningful harmony with the rest of nature if we pollute ourselves? If we do not take care of our own inner rivers and streams (circulatory system), our own inner atmosphere (lungs), and our own soil (skin and tissues) in a way that brings us into harmony with ourselves as a glorious manifestation of nature, how can we believe that we can take care of the planet? As we change our att.i.tudes about our own bodily ecology, we will begin to change our att.i.tudes about the larger ecology of the planet. Our own insensitivity to our inner nature begets insensitivity to the outer world of nature. Conscious eating doesn't exist separately from the planet.

Our spiritual development is also linked to the quality of our nutrition. Presently we are part of what I perceive as a rising spiral of planetary consciousness that is bringing about an ever-increasing amount of spiritual awareness among the people of the world. In this process of awakening, if the body is not able to raise its vibration rate to keep up with the rest of the spiritualization process, it is possible to slip into a state of imbalance. There needs to be a corresponding spiritualization of the body that keeps us in harmony with our expanding mental and spiritual awareness.

By consciously building the type of physical body that is able to be sensitive to, attract, conduct, nurture, and hold the higher spiritualizing energies, we become more capable of holding the full power of G.o.d's Light. This approach is what I refer to as "full body enlightenment," in which we experience ourselves as the body rather than simply in the body In this context, the body is not separate from spirit but is the manifestation of spirit. Spiritual development is an essential building block of the foundation with which to attain a full nutritional understanding.

Perspectives on Nutrition.

ALL COMES FROM G.o.d AND is NOURISHED BY G.o.d. The energetic power of G.o.d is the ultimate source of all nutrition.

... that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G.o.d, and the Word was G.o.d. (John 1:1) This Divine cosmic force, manifesting at various levels of density, is the most basic and primary nutrient on which our organism can nourish itself. From the perspective of these two biblical quotes, we can consider all levels of energy available to us as nutrients. This includes the pure, nonmaterial, cosmic force-or virtual energy, as some quantum physicists call it. Sunlight is also a major nutrient, as well as radiation from the other stars (stellar) and moon (lunar energies), oxygen, electromagnetic radiation from the Earth, and the densest and most tasty condensation of energy, our material food from the vegetable kingdom. The expansion of our understanding to include the wide spectrum of nutrients that nature gives us broadens our knowledge of what, in fact, qualifies as a nutrient. The aspect of this "new" nutritional paradigm that food is not only material but also energy is fully acknowledged in the Chinese, Tibetan, and Indian Ayurvedic systems of health. In our Judaic-Christian heritage there is also such a tradition that energy is the original, essential nutrient. In The Forgotten Books of Eden, in the section called "Secrets of Enoch," Enoch is said to have ascended alive for thirty-three days and then returned to share his teachings with his children. He said: Hear, child, from the time when the Lord anointed me with the ointment of his glory, there has been no food in me [material food], and my soul remembers not earthly enjoyment, neither do I want anything earthly Two famous examples of living on the direct, nonmaterial, nutritive energies of the divine are that of Moses, who spent a total of eighty days on Mt. Sinai without food or water, and Jesus, who spent forty days and nights in the desert without food or water. In John 4:31, when Jesus' disciples said, "Rabbi, eat," he said to them, "I have food to eat which you do not know...." Two major inferences from these examples can be made. One is that these great ones reached a height of spiritual transformation on a cellular level which allowed them to a.s.similate enough of the cosmic energy of the Divine directly into their bodies that they could survive solely on the energetic "manna from heaven." The other implication is that there is a relations.h.i.+p between the energetic density of our nutrition and our spiritual transformation. As we trans.m.u.te on the physical, mental, and spiritual planes, we are more and more able to partake of the feast of G.o.d's Divine sustenance on the primary level of the cosmic energy.

A nutrient, in this context, is what we absorb into our overall body-mind-spirit from the different density levels that have precipitated from the cosmic force. Material food is the densest, sunlight is the least dense on the material plane, and pure cosmic energy is the most subtle nutrient.

Subtle Organizing Energy Fields.

NOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND that a nutrient can be energy as well as material, we are ready to take the next step in developing a functional hypothesis for learning how to work with our nutrition in a way that brings us into harmony with Mother Earth. A key concept for understanding health and nutrition is what I call the Subtle Organizing Energy Fields (SOEFs), a concept that is developed extensively in Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet.

The SOEF concept is built on a synthesis of both intuitive and scientific knowledge, yet rooted in cultural, historical, and spiritual traditions. The existence of SOEFs is based on the idea that all living systems are surrounded and permeated by an energy pattern that determines the functioning of that system on every level.

The book The Secret Life of Plants has helped to popularize the idea that plants have distinct energy fields that possess specific patterns. The work by Rupert Sheldrake on morphogenic fields of living organisms, A New Science of Life, also helps to support the thesis of the SOEFs. These morphogenic fields correspond to the potential structure of a developing system that is present before it materializes into its physical form. They are the template for the form. The SOEFs are similar to the architect's plans that determine the form and function of a building. They can be correspondingly understood as the thought before the words which culminate in the physical action.

The state of the SOEFs reveals the state of our functioning on all levels. SOEFs are reflected in the strength of our cellular emanation in the subtle force field that surrounds the body, called the aura, and the even more subtle force field called the mind, which exists prior to the physical seat of the mind called the brain. The SOEFs exist prior to the physical levels of our existence and are reflected in the subtle vibrations of our physical, mental, and spiritual selves.

The hypothesis of the existence of the SOEFs fundamentally differs from the current 200-year-old theory of nutrition which I call the material-mechanistic theory, which from now on we'll call the M & M theory. It proposes that food is material only, composed of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and other material factors. In the M & M theory, a food's usefulness is measured on the basis of the amount of protein, carbohydrate, or fat it contains and the food's caloric value. The energy content of food in this old way of thinking is measured only in calories. A major limitation of this theory is that it does not account for the fact that humans are multi-leveled organisms that operate on mind-body-spiritual planes, and that we take in a variety of subtle energies that support life function. The M & M theory does not acknowledge that our physical food has an energy field a.s.sociated with the living plant.

According to the M & M theory, it would have been impossible for Jesus, Moses, and Enoch to have gone without water or food for forty days or more. The SOEF theory uses these examples to make the point that when our organism has been sufficiently spiritualized it is able to be nourished directly from G.o.d's Divine energy. If a theory cannot account for all unusual phenomena a.s.sociated with it, it needs to be challenged and changed. The SOEF theory does not throw out the material-mechanistic theory, but incorporates it in its overall body-mind-spirit approach.

What is important to understand about the SOEFs is that they exist prior to the incarnation of physical form and are the blueprints or templates for biological forms and structures. This means they do not emanate from the physical form of an organism like the magnetic lines of a bar magnet might. In the SOEF theory, the physical form, function, and energy are the result of a preexisting energetic form or SOEF. Some recent evidence for the existence of SOEFs has been supplied by the late Marcel Vogel, one of the world's top crystal experts. Vogel was able to take video photographs of the crystallization of cholesterol esters. He observed that just prior to the appearance of the physical crystal, a blue energy form revealed itself a fraction of a second before the unstructured liquid cholesterol melt entered a structured crystalline phase.

SOEFs exist as the maintaining template for all living organisms. The dynamic interaction of the SOEFs of the plants, which we take in as food, with the SOEFs of our human organism is an important aspect in understanding this new paradigm of human nutrition.

The SOEF theory also relates to what some physicists feel is the general theory of how material existence comes into being. Such great thinkers as Einstein and Nikola Tesla, an electrical engineering genius and inventor who made alternating current practical, theorized that matter is the concrete condensation out of the vibrating universal subtle energy. This vibrating universal energy has been given names such as virtual energy, vacuum state, or zero point energy. These are all names for what scientists call a perfectly orderly, unmanifest state out of which comes the manifestation of the physical universe. Spiritual terms used to describe this state of energy are cosmic energy, pure consciousness, or cosmic prana. The SOEF theory is an attempt to describe how this precipitation from G.o.d's subtle, faster-than-the-speed-of-light, zero point energy manifests as material form. The term I will be using for this potential energy that fills the universe is zero point energy. Through a personal interview with Adam Trombley astrophysicist and expert in zero point technology it was explained to me that the energy used for the materialization of an object from one cubic centimeter represents one quadrillionth (1 x 1015, which is 1000 times greater than a trillion) of the energy available in that volume of s.p.a.ce. In other words, there is essentially an unlimited amount of potential energy available at the zero point level. All we need to do is learn how to tap into it. Dr. Trombley estimates that in one cubic centimeter there is energy available equal to a million, million tons of uranium.

Bob Toben, in his book s.p.a.ce, Time, and Beyond, points out how Einstein, in his unified field theory, repeatedly stressed the view that the energy field precedes and creates the form. The SOEFs originate out of the zero point energy and serve as organizing templates for every level of a living organism's structure, from the RNA/DNA structure to the cellular and organ system levels, and to the overall shape and energy of the totality of a living system. A key understanding is that the SOEFs resonate with the zero point energy and help transduce this energy down into the fields of the human body. The SOEFs resonate with, and energize, the body-mind-spirit complex. The body in this paradigm is a form stabilized by the SOEFs.

One important aspect of the SOEFs is that the zero point or cosmic energy is omnipresent and we are always resonating with it to some extent through the SOEFs. At certain times in our spiritual evolution we become more in tune with the SOEFs and consequently, the zero point energy. These positions of greater awareness of and attunement to the cosmic force or zero point energy may first be experienced in special moments of meditation, prayer, or even in those peak experiences that occur in sports or wilderness activities. The more we are transformed spiritually, the more we become resonant with the zero point and Divine energy, and the more the mind begins to merge with, and identify with, this unchanging truth of who we are. The more we exist in this Divine resonance, the more it becomes part of the conscious awareness of our everyday existence. Eventually we become transformed by the continual experience of this energy flowing through us so that we become one in awareness with this energy. This is known as cosmic consciousness. This is conscious nutrition at its most sublime level. Experiencing the continual flow of the cosmic energy through the physical vehicle, no matter where we are, even when taking our children to an amus.e.m.e.nt park and riding upside down in a roller coaster, is extraordinarily supportive to the maintenance of an unbroken state of Divine awareness. The awareness of the cosmic energy flowing through our bodies links us with the heavens and the earth. We become like the Tree of Life, with our branches reaching to the heavens and drinking in the heavenly energies, and our roots experiencing the energies of the earth.

These SOEFs have form and can gain, retain, or lose energy Because of this, they differ from Rupert Sheldrake's brilliant description of organic forms or morphogenic fields, which are concerned only with form and are neither a type of matter nor energy Once the body has materialized, it becomes a focal point for the SOEFs in the realm of time and s.p.a.ce.

An important understanding in this new nutritional way of thinking is that when the SOEFs are energized they become more structured and a clearer template for our total organism. This in turn enhances the form and function of the organism on the physical plane. Practically speaking, this means an improved functioning of the RNA/DNA system, better protein synthesis, enzyme function, and cellular function and division, as well as an improved glandular, organ, and total system functioning of the organism. In short, when the SOEFs are energized, there is better form and structure on every level of an organism, and the total health of the living organism is improved. When the energy of the SOEFs is dissipated, just the opposite occurs and the total health of the organism degenerates.

SOEFs in Food.

ALL LIVING MEMBERS OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM HAVE SOEFs. The food we eat is a specific way that SOEF energy from nature is transferred to us humans to build the energy of our SOEFs. Food with more structured SOEF energy transfers more of this energy into our own SOEFs and consequently enhances our form and function. Whenever food is cooked or processed in any way, it loses the strength of its SOEFs. Fresh, raw, live, or unprocessed food most enhances our SOEFs and therefore is the healthiest for us.

The concept of the importance of structure in food is supported in research by Professor Israel Brekhman of the Far East Scientific Centre Academy of Sciences in Vladivostock, Russia. He found that the structural integrity of a food affects the overall energy of the food in a way that goes beyond the simplistic concept of calories as the only measure of the energy a food carries. He developed a measurement called Significant Units of Action (SUA). SUAs measure how long an animal can carry out a certain amount of physical work when fed a specific food. He discovered that live, unprocessed foods have significantly more SUAs than the same foods that had their structural integrity compromised by cooking or other forms of food processing. The animals could work longer when fed the "highly structured" raw foods in spite of the fact that the cooked or processed foods had the same number of calories. Cooked foods have less structure because the application of heat disrupts the physical structure and ultimately, their SOEFs. This finding challenges the traditional M & M theory of nutrition, which a.s.sumes that foods, whether cooked or raw, carry the same amount of energy. It supports the SOEF paradigm because it suggests there are additional levels of energy a.s.sociated with a food. If the structure of these fields is disrupted, the energy and quality of health the food transmits to the organism are also diminished.

We see the energy-depleting effect of processed food (versus live-food) working on several levels in the nutritional spectrum. For example, chromium, which normally comes in whole, unaltered wheat, is processed out in the making of white bread. Nature puts the chromium in wheat because we need it to metabolize the carbohydrates in the wheat. In order to compensate for this lack of chromium in the white bread, our bodies use up our own chromium stores. Eventually our bodies become depleted in chromium.

Another example of this depletion phenomenon can be understood with enzymes. Live foods come with their own enzymes, which aid digestion when we ingest them. If the food is cooked, then these enzymes are inactivated. In order to compensate, our bodies must use more of our enzyme stores to digest the incoming food. The result is an accelerated enzyme depletion. This will be explained further in the chapter on enzymes. The point of these two examples is to show that cooked and processed foods actually take energy from our bodies in order to properly a.s.similate them. Theoretically at the SOEF level, this same type of depletion of energy also happens. Cooking or otherwise processing foods disrupts the SOEFs. Our body then needs to use some of its SOEF energy to reorganize the SOEFs of the incoming food. The result is a subtle depletion of energy and structure on every level. This is a theoretical, energetic explanation for Dr. Brekhman's findings that animals on live foods have more endurance and energy, and for the energetic depletion that may be happening in general when cooked or other forms of processed foods are taken into the system for an extended period of time. In Chapters 26 and 27 a further discussion of live foods will help to deepen understanding of this point.