Conscious Eating Part 23

A vegetarian diet is always less toxic than animal foods, even if the vegetarian food is not organic. According to pesticide authority Lewis Regenstein, meat contains fourteen times more pesticides than plant foods, and dairy contains five and one-half times more. Regenstein points out that FDA studies also show that red meat, poultry, fish, and dairy contain pesticides more often, and in greater amounts, than plant foods. In 1975, the Council on Environmental Quality reported that 95% of the nation's DDT ingestion was from animals. John Robbins states that this same percentage holds true for other pesticides also.

s.h.i.+fting to a Vegetarian Diet.

TWO OF THE MOST POPULAR VEGETARIAN DIET PATTERNS are Airola's dietary approach and the macrobiotic approach. One general reason they are both so health-promoting is by an act of omission. A vegetarian diet, even if it includes some dairy automatically decreases the incidence of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, rate of aging, and other chronic degenerative diseases. A transition to a nonjunk-food, vegetarian diet, such as the Airola or macrobiotic diets, in which all fast and highly processed, deep-fried, or irradiated foods, white sugar, white bread, TV dinners, french fries, and pastries are eliminated, will bring even greater benefits to health. If done properly, the transition to a vegetarian diet will almost always increase one's sense of well-being, vitality, and endurance.

The Psychology of the Transition to Vegetarianism.

THE TYPICAL AMERICAN DINNER PLATE Features an animal food with various minor vegetable side dishes surrounding it. When one switches to a vegetarian diet, psychologically there is a s.h.i.+ft from a central meat item on the plate to a more balanced feeling in which all that one eats gets equal attention and value. Unless one tends to overeat, a vegetarian diet will leave one feeling lighter than a flesh-centered meal. This is a new sensation that one will get used to after a while and begin to enjoy. Feeling lighter usually indicates there is less strain on the digestive system and more energy available to the body. After eating, one is less likely to feel sleepy and the mind will tend to be clearer. The bloodstream stops becoming flooded with saturated fats as well as toxins that come from the cells of the deteriorating fish, poultry, or red-meat animals. A clear mind and good health are also a.s.sociated with a clear bloodstream. All these benefits will accrue to one who becomes a vegetarian.

A vegetarian diet does not tend to numb the emotions, mind, spirit, or subtle physical sensitivity like a flesh-centered diet may. The result is that in the process of the transition one becomes more sensitive and more in touch with feelings and the subtle energies of the life process. Most people find that it makes it easier to meditate as well.

To compensate for the heavier feeling that one was accustomed to on a flesh-centered diet, sometimes in the beginning one will be drawn to heavier, cooked meals such as cheese dishes, lentil loaves, and tofu arrangements that resemble meat dishes. This is often the kind of food featured in vegetarian restaurants. Many feel comfortable with this level of vegetarian diet and do not proceed onward. Ethnic dishes, such as vegetarian lasagna, Chinese food, Mideastern dishes, et cetera, often fit in well with Stage Three because they are culturally accepted and familiar.

Another common tendency is to eat a lot of dairy, nuts, and seeds in order to "compensate" for the fear of not getting enough protein and that sense of not feeling as full as when one ate heavier meat dishes. Many people, including myself, went through this phase in the late sixties and early seventies. Today, the protein scare has been diffused so not as many people worry about not getting enough protein on a vegetarian diet. Although I felt better and healthier on my new vegetarian diet than when I was on an animal diet, when I was eating these heavy cooked vegetarian foods, I actually gained a little too much weight until I figured out what was going on. By cutting down on dairy intake and my frequent snacks of nuts and seeds, I felt even better.

Because Stage Three eliminates all animal products, it is natural for one to begin to eat a lot more grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, sea vegetables, soaked and sprouted grains, legumes, and raw dairy. Most of these foods are high in fiber, whereas all flesh foods, dairy, and eggs have essentially no fiber. A vegetarian diet increases all types of dietary fiber and consequently produces a cleaner, less toxic bowel condition. On a healthy vegetarian diet there is usually no longer a need to supplement one's diet with oat or wheat bran fiber to a.s.sist bowel regularity. In fact, to continue adding fiber to the vegetarian diet can produce an excess of fiber and may even cause digestive difficulties and gas.

Vegetarians Get More Fiber.

FIBER IS DEFINED BY ITS INDIGESTIBILITY. The two main types of fiber are cellulose and pectin. Humans do not produce the digestive enzymes to break down either of these. A third type of fiber that is closely related to cellulose is called lignand. The percentage of fiber in a plant increases with its age. Fiber is commonly found in stems, peelings, and hulls. An excess of lignand and cellulose can be irritating to the bowels and can also produce gas. Supplemental bran is primarily this type of combined fiber. Cellulose fiber is good for bulking the stool and also binding carcinogenic and radioactive chemicals. It is the other fiber type, pectin-primarily found in fruits- that binds the bile salts and takes them out of the system. The more bile salts taken out of the system, the less bile salts are available to be reabsorbed to make cholesterol. Another disadvantage of consuming too much of both types of fiber is that an excess of fiber tends to bind minerals and keep them from being absorbed into the system. In order to minimize the mineral loss from fiber, one may want to remove the tough, woody parts of vegetables and fruits, such as the stems, peelings, and hulls. It took me a while to figure this out because I had been attached to the idea of eating the whole plant. Once I began to eliminate the excess and tough plant roughage, particularly stems, I found it easier on my digestion. If people are suffering from sore bowels, juicing the fruits and vegetables is another way to minimize the roughage and maximize the a.s.similation of minerals and vitamins.

Phytates and Oxalates.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PHYTATES AND OXALATES in the vegetarian diet needs to be clarified. The very earliest research suggested that in some grains, phytic acid combined with calcium in the grain and prevented the calcium from being absorbed. Later research found when these grains were made into breads, the enzyme phytase became activated and liberated the bound-up calcium from the phytic acid bonds during the rising of the bread. More recent research has found that over time, the body begins to produce its own phytase enzyme for breaking down the phytates. According to Bitar and Reinhold in Biochemica et Biophysica Acta, the phytase enzyme produced in our intestines releases the calcium from the phytate binding so that the calcium can be absorbed into the system.

The questions concerning the potential harmful effects of oxalates also require attention. Oxalic acid is found in many foods, such as spinach, caffeine products, sesame seeds, cola drinks, nuts, citrus fruit, tomatoes, asparagus, beets and beet tops, Swiss chard, dandelion greens, cranberries, and as...o...b..c acid supplements. Some researchers think that the oxalic acid combines with the calcium in these foods to form oxalates, and then this calcium cannot be absorbed. My general observation, in examining the oxalate sediment in the urine of hundreds of people, is that oxalates from natural foods do not build up in the system if the fat metabolism and digestion are working well. Poor fat metabolism seems to be a.s.sociated with a buildup of oxalate crystals. Dr. Loomis, in a personal communication, pointed out that if one eats lots of chocolate and takes more than 500 mg of vitamin C as...o...b..te, the oxalates will begin to build up and excess oxalate sediment will acc.u.mulate in the urine. Research does show, however, that with some plants, such as spinach and chard, the oxalates can bind with the calcium in a way that prevents some calcium absorption. However, Davidson, in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, points out that the chelating effect of oxalic acid on calcium and other minerals is most likely negligible. According to Dr. Ballentine, even the chelating effect of oxalic acid in spinach or chard can be nullified by eating them with rice. In this way, the high calcium present in spinach and chard can be a.s.similated into the system.

Organic oxalic acid, defined as that which occurs in nature in its raw form, can actually be beneficial to the system. Once foods containing oxalic acid are cooked, according to the dean of juice therapy and author of Raw Vegetable Juices, Dr. Norman Walker, the oxalic acid becomes a dead and irritating substance to the system. He feels that in its cooked form it binds irreversibly with the calcium and prevents calcium absorption. An excess of cooked oxalic acid may also form oxalic acid crystals in the kidney. In the live organic form of oxalic acid, Dr. Walker claims oxalic acid stones and calcium blockage do not occur because the organic oxalic acid can be metabolized appropriately. According to Dr. Walker, oxalic acid in its raw form is one of the important minerals needed to maintain tone and peristalsis of the bowel. See Chapter 27 for more information on phytates and oxalates.

Organic Calcium.

ON A STAGE THREE DIET it is possible to get plenty of organic calcium. Excellent leafy green sources of calcium, which are also low in oxalates, are kale, collards, mustard greens, broccoli, and cabbage. According to the USDA publication Nutritive Value of American Foods, two-thirds cup of collard greens has 91% of the calcium in a cup of milk. According to the Composition of Foods Book published by the USDA, other nondairy sources of calcium that are approximately equal to collard greens are almonds and kelp. Sesame seeds that have been hulled, sunflower seeds, and tofu have about one-half as much calcium as collard greens. Kelp is extremely high in calcium but should only be taken in moderate amounts because of its high iodine and salt content. By eating leafy greens, seeds, nuts, tofu, and dulse, vegetarians get more than enough calcium. Because they also eat a lot of fruit and vegetables which are high in boron (boron helps minimize loss of body calcium through the urine), the amount of calcium in the body stays high. As pointed out before, vegetarian men and women have considerably less osteoporosis than flesh-eating men and women.

One other significant factor in calcium absorption is the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in a particular food (see the following figure). Too much phosphorus in a food causes a lowering of calcium in the blood and produces a tendency to lose calcium from the bones. This is what happens on a high flesh-food diet because meat is high in phosphorus. The foods with the healthiest ratios are leafy greens, which have a ratio between 2/1 and 6/1 times more calcium than phosphorus. Dairy is also good, with 1.5/1 times more calcium than phosphorus. Foods like broccoli and green beans also have about 1.5/1 times more calcium than phosphorus. Fruits such as apples, bananas, and pineapples have slightly more phosphorus than calcium. Foods that have the worst ratios, which means they have much higher phosphorus than calcium, are meat, fish, and poultry at a ratio of calcium to phosphorus of 1/15. Yeast is 1/9. Grains and beans have more phosphorus than calcium, but only 1/2 to 1/5 times higher. The soft drinks on the market have enormously high phosphorus-to-calcium ratios and thus make a strong contribution to the creation of osteoporosis.

Think Zinc.

THE MINERAL INPUT OF A VEGETARIAN DIET is more than adequate. In a balanced vegetarian diet, manganese intake is at least double that of an animal-based diet. Adding leafy greens, dulse, kelp, and herbs like thyme, ginger, and cloves will increase the mineral content of any vegetarian dish to adequate and even what may be considered high levels. The one possible exception to this is zinc, which may not be as plentiful on a vegetarian diet in relation to other minerals. In my own clinical practice, I have noticed that vegetarians and meat-eaters alike tend to have zinc deficiencies. The study of Freeland and Graves on the zinc status of vegetarians published in the Journal of the American Dietetic a.s.sociation in 1980 suggests that vegetarians tend to have a marginal zinc status. Because only seventy-nine people were studied and there are few large studies on this subject, I feel these findings should not be considered definitive. As we have seen with the B12 work, the question remains to be answered as to what are low, and what are low but actually physiologically safe, levels of zinc for vegetarians? A diet high in grains, which are also high in zinc, may actually result in a lower zinc status because the phytates in the grain combine with the zinc to keep it from being absorbed. The phytase needed to release the zinc from the phytate turns out to be a zinc-dependent enzyme. This means that if you are already low in zinc at the time you switch to a vegetarian diet, you may not have enough zinc to make the zinc-freeing phytase enzyme work efficiently. Once there is enough phytase enzyme to release the zinc phytate bonding, then the cycle is broken and the zinc is able to be freed from the phytates. During the time of transition to vegetarianism one might want to check the zinc status and also eat more foods that are high in zinc, such as brewer's yeast, wheat germ, and pumpkin seeds. Other foods that are high in zinc and do not have phytates are dairy products, tofu, beans, seeds, and nuts. Soaking and sprouting grains eliminates phytic acid and liberates zinc for absorption. People who are particularly at risk for zinc deficiencies are pregnant and nursing mothers, children, young males and females going through p.u.b.erty, people undergoing physical and mental stress, those healing wounds, or those with a compromised immune system. Young men are more affected than young women since the male reproductive system requires ample amounts of zinc for its normal functioning and development. Increasing pumpkin seeds in the diet during stages of high zinc need helps to maintain a high zinc input.

Holy Cow!

WHEN ONE ESTABLISHES ONESELF AS A VEGETARIAN, questions may arise as to whether or not to include dairy in the diet. Throughout the world, the majority of people who do not eat flesh food are usually lacto-vegetarians. In many cultures, such as in India, dairy plays a role as a condiment and balancing element to the more spicy, fiery elements of the meal. In ancient India, where the cows were treated with much love and respect, dairy was seen as a sattvic, or pure, food. Today in the West the situation is much different. Cows are exploited as living, financial "stock" which produces a product called milk and later becomes another product called red meat that is eaten. Instead of specially respected animals, they are seen as objects to be exploited and milked of their life force. They become victims of our financial and flesh-food greed. One takes on their victim consciousness when one drinks their milk and eats their flesh. Because cows eat or graze on tremendous quant.i.ties of vegetable matter, when one drinks their milk, one takes on high concentrations of pesticides, herbicides, radioactive particles such as iodine 131, strontium 90, and cesium 134 and 137, antibiotics, and antibiotic-resistant microbes. One also becomes exposed to animal-borne diseases. Even when the milk is pasteurized, not all of the bacteria or viruses are killed. The acceptable standard for pasteurized milk is approximately 100,000 bacteria per teaspoon or 20,000 bacteria per milliliter. The January 1974 Consumer Reports found that one out of six milk samples bought from retail stores had a count of 130,000 bacteria per milliliter.

Another problem with pasteurization is that it destroys the live enzymes in the dairy. One of these enzymes is phosphatase, which is important for the a.s.similation of minerals, including calcium, in the milk. The heating process, according to Dr. Morter, also alters the chemical bonds that hold the minerals together and the calcium becomes less available. The deleterious effect of pasteurization on the nutritive quality of milk is well-ill.u.s.trated by the research of John Thomson of Edinburgh, as reported by Dr. Bieler in his book, Food Is Your Best Medicine. Thomson fed pasteurized milk to one calf of a twin, and the other was allowed to continue to suckle. The calf that suckled grew strong. The calf that was fed only pasteurized milk died within sixty days. Unfortunately for the calves, these same results were found many times.

Dr. Bieler a.s.serts that milk must be raw and fresh if it's to have any nutritive effect on the body. His report that he has prescribed raw milk for fifty years without ever seeing a case of "undulant fever" casts some question on the necessity for pasteurization. Pasteurization also affects the acid-alkaline effect of the raw milk. Raw milk historically has a normally alkaline-producing effect in the body. Dr. Crowfoot, an expert on acid-base balance, in a personal communication to me, reported that raw milk had an alkaline effect in the body as evidenced by alkaline urines that occurred after ingestion. After pasteurization it becomes acid-producing in the body. The acidity increases even more if one chooses to boil the milk because one heats it to higher temperatures than pasteurization. Dr. Morter, in his book Your Health, Your Choice, points out a new trend for raw milk. The dairy cows are being fed more protein because it increases milk production. The milk consequently has more protein in it. Because of the higher protein content, the acid-base balance of the milk has s.h.i.+fted and the total effect of even the raw milk is to add more acid to the body.

Problems a.s.sociated with Milk.

THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS a.s.sOCIATED WITH MILK once we get beyond infancy, where mother's milk is the perfect nutrient food. One problem is that beginning between eighteen months and four years of age, humans lose the enzyme called lactase, necessary for digesting lactose, which is the sugar in milk. Most adults have about five to ten percent of the lactase that they possessed as an infant. When there is a deficiency of lactase, the undigested milk sugar ends up in the intestine as the perfect culture medium for bacteria to grow on. Depending on the degree of lactose intolerance and the amount of dairy eaten, lactose-intolerant people may get symptoms of bloating, intestinal pain, gas, and diarrhea. Black Americans and j.a.panese are more likely to have milk intolerance than Caucasians because they have not genetically adapted to the use of dairy as have those with a long history of consuming it. In the form of yogurt, the lactose is broken down by the healthy lactic acid bacteria, and therefore yogurt is easier to digest.

Milk, no matter if one has enough lactase to digest it, tends to produce mucus. This is especially true in adults who have already pa.s.sed through the formative growth period of their life. Milk, with the exception of goat's milk, according to the Ayurvedic system, is a kapha food. If a kapha food is given to an adult, it will increase the tendency to gain weight as well as produce mucus. Cow's milk, as compared to mother's milk, has 300% more casein. Casein is a milk byproduct that is used to make a tenacious type of wood glue. The main ingredient in Elmer's glue is casein. There may be so much kapha mucus that a cold develops in order to rid the body of this excess mucus.

Another problem with eating dairy is that many people have milk allergies. In children, I am always amazed how many have their chronic colds, sore throats, and earaches cleared up when I discover they are allergic to dairy and they stop eating it. Even without an allergy to dairy, the tendency to colds and flus is greatly decreased when dairy is eliminated. The high fat in pasteurized dairy products is a.s.sociated with increased clogging of the arteries. Yogic traditions also teach that excess dairy clogs the subtle channels of energy flow in the body known as nadis.

There are also ecological concerns a.s.sociated with the use of dairy products, such as the destruction of the rain forest in the tropics and the topsoil virtually everywhere from cattle grazing, cruelty to animals, and excess methane gas from the bacteria in the cow's gut, which is belched out in tremendous quant.i.ties that significantly increase the greenhouse effect. If this sounds incredulous at first, it is a fact that the two billion cattle in the US produce 16 million metric tons of methane per year. This is the third-largest contributor to the greenhouse effect.

The answer to the dairy question is that if one does not have milk intolerance, does not easily produce mucus, does not mind being exposed to increased concentrations of toxins, bacteria, and radioactive substances, does not have a milk allergy, does not care about taking on victim consciousness in every sip or clogging developing arteries and subtle energetic channels, does not mind increased weight gain, making your body more acid, or contributing to the destruction of the ecology, then dairy is acceptable, in moderation. For some, dairy can be an important supplement to their diet, but in any case, it should remain as a condiment rather than a major part of the dietary intake as it is for so many people today

The Airola Diet.

PAAVO AIROLA, PH.D., was one of the most knowledgeable natural doctors of modern times. The diet he recommends permits raw milk to be used as a condiment if one can tolerate it. The diet he suggests is similar to the traditional way of natural eating that is characteristic of many cultures around the world whose members have good health and longevity. The Airola diet recommends a lot of seeds, nuts, and grains. Next in importance are vegetables and then fruits. These food groups may be supplemented by some raw dairy products from healthy cows or goats, preferably in cultured form such as yogurt. Although Airola doesn't recommend dairy products, he allows use of raw dairy as a condiment in a way similar to what one sees in India by lactovegetarians. Actually, in his own clinical healing practice, dairy would often be the first thing he would ask people to eliminate from their diet. He also points out that only those who are tolerant to milk might even consider using dairy as a supplement. In the conscious eating diet, I suggest that if there is to be any use of dairy at all, it should be as a temporary transition step. Airola strongly emphasizes eating approximately 80% of one's food in its live state in the warmer months and closer to 60% live food in the winter, if one feels the need for more cooked food. He particularly emphasizes eating all the nuts and seeds raw, and sprouting most of one's nuts, seeds, and legumes. Airola also emphasizes some foods high in a source of high-quality vegetable oils because they supply the essential fatty acids as well as vitamins E, F, and lecithin. He also recommends kelp as a source of minerals, trace minerals, and particularly for its high iodine content. It is a diet that can be adjusted to balance all three doshas.

The Macrobiotic Diet.

ANOTHER MAJOR DIETETIC APPROACH that many people use as their first entry into vegetarianism is called macrobiotics. The term "macrobiotic" did not start with George Ohsawa or even in j.a.pan. It was coined one hundred fifty years ago by the German researcher and physician Christopher Wilhelm Hufeland, in his book t.i.tled Macrobiotic, The Art of Prolonging Human Life. This is not the macrobiotic approach to which I am referring when I use the term "macrobiotic." George Ohsawa was the founder of modern-day macrobiotics. The first and foremost student of his was Michio Kus.h.i.+. Kus.h.i.+ brought macrobiotics to the West in the early sixties. In the nineties, several other macrobiotic leaders emerged who made minor alterations in its theory and practice. Although the most often-practiced macrobiotic diet includes white-meat fish one to three times per week, my use of a macrobiotic transition is a vegetarian version of macrobiotics.

The standard macrobiotic diet, as recommended by Michio Kus.h.i.+, puts a high emphasis on cooked foods. In his basic diet, Kus.h.i.+ suggests that cooked grains be at least 50% of every meal. Vegetables are suggested to be 20-30% of the daily intake and are recommended at every meal, with two-thirds of them cooked. Cooked beans and sea vegetables, equal to 5-10% of the daily intake, are suggested. Soups made from sea vegetables, grains, or beans with seasonings from miso and tamari are suggested to be 5-10% of the daily intake. The diet also strongly emphasizes cooking all fruit. There is no dairy in the diet.

Like the 80% live-food diet and the Airola diet, the vegetarian version of macrobiotics is an organic, low-protein, and high-natural-carbohydrate one; it is also a nondairy diet. I feel that the inclusion of sea vegetables in the diet is quite beneficial, as it adds minerals, iodine, and certain specific protectors from radioactive fallout particles. In the conscious eater's diet I suggest about two to three ounces of sea vegetables per week.

The other part of the macrobiotic approach which agrees with the conscious eating approach is their teaching that how and what we eat is part of a way of life. As I have pointed out earlier, what and how we eat is a reflection and cause of the awareness and harmony with which we lead our lives. As it has evolved, macrobiotics has included more room for individuality in the diet based on one's particular const.i.tution. As a movement, macrobiotics has an effective and extensive public media outreach which makes it accessible and attractive for many to make the transition from the typical American diet. Because of all of the above factors, I applaud vegetarian macrobiotics as a fine transition diet to vegetarianism.

Part of the effectiveness of the macrobiotic diet is the power of omission. Through the avoidance of high-protein flesh food, high-pesticide dairy, non-organic foods, and junk food, it is a great support to general health. The power of omission in a diet should not be ignored or minimized because it allows the self-healing aspects of the body to be able to do their job. One of the most significant health-benefitting impacts of any vegetarian diet is that it is significantly lower in pesticides and herbicides than a flesh-food diet. Stopping or lowering the intake of environmental toxins can't help but be a boon to our health.

Reservations about Macrobiotics.

THE GENERIC MACROBIOTIC APPROACH emphasizes a fifty-fifty balance of yin and yang energies of the food in the diet. The system is complex and for most people requires some training in order to master the cooking and yin/yang balancing procedures. In the conscious eating approach the focus on the balancing of yin and yang energies uses the totality of one's life to create an overall yin/yang balance, rather than primarily through the diet. This is an important difference because the conscious eating approach is primarily a live-food diet, with a minimal amount of yang grains. The conscious eating approach is a powerful aid to spiritual life. It is easy to balance the yin effect of the conscious eating diet with other yang lifestyle activities. It is only fair to point out that although macrobiotics puts a high focus on a balance of yin and yang foods in the diet as a primary way to achieve this balance, it does not entirely ignore the existence of other lifestyle factors which balance yin and yang. The more conscious one becomes, the easier it is to remain centered and grounded with yin foods as the main component of the diet. My observation in working with many spiritually committed people is that yin food, especially a diet high in live foods, accelerates the consciousness process, and as consciousness increases, people are able to increase their percentage of yin live foods without becoming unbalanced. On a theoretical level, I hypothesize that G.o.d's Divine fire actually begins to add a yang element that balances the more yin foods.

Although certain key concepts of the theoretical orientation of macrobiotics are right on the mark, I feel the diet itself does not necessarily create a stable, long-term, high-energy, radiant health as compared to a properly implemented live-food approach. The radiant energy of someone on live foods is easy to notice. The standard macrobiotic approach is different in a major way from the guidelines of an 80% or more live-food vegetarian diet recommended over the last hundred years by such nutritional lights as Dr. Airola, Dr. Ann Wigmore, Dr. Norman Walker, Viktoras Kulvinskas, M.S., Max Bircher-Benner, M.D., Max Gerson, M.D, Herbert Shelton, Dr. Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, Dr. Paul Bragg, and Dr. Patricia Bragg, all of whom have found a primarily live-food diet excellent for health and for healing severe degenerative diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, and cancer in hundreds of thousands of patients.

Macrobiotics does not address the scientific facts that show that cooking destroys self-digestive enzymes of the food, valuable antioxidant enzymes, and other living food factors. From this point of view, I particularly object to the roasting of the high-life-force foods, such as nuts and seeds, and insistence on cooking all fruits. This essentially total cooked-food diet destructures the food with heat, resulting in a 50% protein loss and approximately a 70-80% loss of the vitamins and minerals, including high losses of vitamin B12. A high-grain diet has a tendency to drive the body toward a more acid state, which for many people is not healthy. Cooked grains also have a tendency to produce excess mucus and destroy enzymes needed to enhance digestion and build the life force.

Although many of the principles of macrobiotics are drawn from age-old health wisdom of countries such as j.a.pan and China, its present form, in actual practice on Westerners, is very new. Although there is some research showing it may be helpful in the healing of certain types of cancer, macrobiotics doesn't have extensive scientific, cultural, or health research in the Western culture to show that it brings about optimal health on a large scale over hundreds of years, as the Airola and conscious eating approach of 80% live food does for the Western body. The use of sea salt, which is hard for the body to metabolize and can contribute to high blood pressure, is another potential health problem in the macrobiotic diet. With its high emphasis on salt and grains, and especially rice, from an Ayurvedic point of view macrobiotics is particularly helpful for people who have a vata const.i.tution and would be most unbalancing for those with a kapha const.i.tution. Due to the above reasons, I am cautious about recommending it beyond the initial transition stage to vegetarianism. In any case, macrobiotics has provided a great service in helping people become vegetarians and making organic food items available in America. I have observed in my clients that the vegetarian macrobiotic diet of Ohsawa and Kus.h.i.+, as well as Airolas diet, are both supportive for spiritual life.

Fermented Live Foods.

FERMENTED LACTIC ACID FOODS, such as sauerkraut and fermented vegetables, are good ways to increase the amount of raw food in the diet and a convenient, viable way to store food during the winter. Dr. James Lind did the first scientific study of raw cultured vegetables-another name for sauerkraut-in the 1700s and found that they prevented scurvy in Dutch seamen. The famous Russian scientist Elie Metchnikoff believed that one of the most important factors in the diet of the long-lived Russians he studied was its richness in lactic acid. Raw cultured vegetables have been used by the ancient Chinese, Romans, and even by the army of Genghis Khan.

Raw cultured vegetables are rich in the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus brevis. These bacteria, via enzymatic processes, convert the sugars and starches in the vegetables into lactic acid and acetic acid. This acid environment is excellent for a healthy colon, where these same bacteria also grow. Because cultured vegetables are slightly acidic, they are a particularly good food for people who tend to be alkaline.

When the conditions for a healthy colon environment are produced, the growth of healthy colon bacteria is stimulated and the overgrowth of candida yeast is prevented. In The Complete Guide to Raw Cultured Vegetables by Evan Richards there are many testimonials to the successful use of cultured vegetables to treat candida. Patricia Bragg, Ph.D., daughter of the famous Paul Bragg, in a personal communication claimed that their "research and experiences have shown raw sauerkraut to help alleviate candida problems, digestive problems, ulcers, and in general, helps to rejuvenate and promote longevity." These claims only apply to raw and not to canned or pasteurized sauerkraut.

One of the most famous medical doctors who used the fermented vegetable approach was Dr. Johannes Kuhl. He regularly used cultured vegetables in his anticancer diet. He claimed that the lactic acid produced by the lactobacteria helps to prevent chronic disease and cancer as well as promote good health. One way that the cultured vegetables are so good for us is that they prevent the yeast, Albicans candida, and pathogenic bacteria from taking over the colon and creating endotoxins that suppress the immune system. In essence, the raw cultured vegetables create a micro-ecological balance in the colon that helps us maintain health. The vegetables mostly used in fermented cultures are cabbage, carrots, and beets. These are high in vitamins A and E. Cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable which is also high in vitamin C. The American Cancer Society's epidemiological studies indicate that diets high in cruciferous vegetables are a.s.sociated with less cancer incidence.

The lactobacilli organisms found in fermented foods are very high in enzymes, which add to our overall enzyme bank when they are taken into the system. These organisms help with the digestion and conversion of starches and sugars in the vegetables to lactic and acetic acid in our colon. This aid to our digestion further supports our overall enzymatic pool because now less enzymes have to be secreted by the pancreas for digestion. The friendly bacteria growing on the vegetables also digest the vegetables during the fermentation process so that they become an easily a.s.similated, predigested food. The best and most inexpensive way to regularly have raw cultured vegetables in the diet is to make them in one's own home. Please see the recipes in Part IV, The Art of Food Preparation.

Nuances of the Stage-Three Diet.

IN STAGE THREE, ONE'S AWARENESS of the acid-alkaline balance, food com-bining, avoidance of excessive protein intake, and organic foods becomes more refined. As one begins to understand these issues, one then begins to increase sprouting skills and to understand the importance of using more of the rejuvenating foods, such as soaked or sprouted seeds, nuts, grains, and legumes. These types of foods are called biogenic because of their high life-force energy. In the spectrum of the vegetarian diet one may find oneself s.h.i.+fting to 6080% biogenic and bioactive foods and 2040% cooked foods. Increased live-food consumption may include soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains. In the later part of Stage Three, biogenic foods may eventually reach 30% of the total dietary intake. About 30 to 40% of the diet is fruit. This is also the approximate percentage for vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Over time, the fruits and vegetables become a larger part of the diet, and the grains, especially cooked grains, diminish in quant.i.ty. Soaked and sprouted seeds, nuts, grains, and gra.s.ses tend to stay about the same. Because the conscious eating approach is individualistically attuned to one's own const.i.tutional needs, each person will adapt a little differently to the variations of the seasons and changes in one's lifestyle and environment. The percentages suggested are more to give a general sense of what this stage might resemble.

During the summer, one tends to eat more fruits and less grains. During the winter, the more heating foods, such as seeds, nuts, grains, and legumes, will often be increased. Vata people tend to do better with slightly more grains and soaked seeds. Kapha and pitta people tend to do better with slightly more fruits and vegetables and less oily nuts, seeds, and fruits, like avocados. The cooked foods that are usually part of the 80% raw and 20% cooked diet are potatoes, grains, and fibrous vegetables with much cellulose coating, such as broccoli and cauliflower.

As one progressively adapts to the Stage Three way of eating, one may find oneself losing interest in dairy, even as a condiment, and eating closer to 80% raw- and 20% cooked-food cuisine. The main food groups in the end of Stage Three are primarily nuts, seeds, grains, fruits, and vegetables. Dairy may be totally avoided or slipped into the diet occasionally as a condiment on special, rare occasions. The idea is not to be rigid about live-food percentages or dairy on a daily basis, but to look at an overall average of one's dietary pattern. This general diet is one that will quite adequately support all one's nutritional needs and provide a gradual detoxification over the years, so ones body will progressively become healthier and be a better superconductor for the cosmic energy pa.s.sing through. A general guideline of 80% raw, 20% cooked, and 33% biogenic diet will completely support all aspects of ones life, including the spiritual. Such a Stage Three diet can be modified to be building or cleansing, acid- or alkaline-forming, warming or cooling, or more yin or yang Stage Three is also a diet that can still be comfortably adapted to social situations.

Preview of Chapter 24.

THE STAGE FOUR DIET IS ONE that seems to accelerate sensitivity and the spiritualizing process in many people. It is a diet for spiritual and raw food Olympians. The people who do best on it are those who have reached a certain amount of stability and harmony in their lives and are already experienced vegetarians. It is a 95% or more live-food diet with about 50% biogenic food. Although this is a powerful diet for enhancing spiritual life, diet is still just an aid to receiving and holding G.o.d's Grace. This chapter describes how to apply the art of conscious eating in a refined way. Although you may not feel it is time to try a Stage Four diet, its principles are worth understanding and applying to your diet as appropriate for you. Do you feel ready to up the intensity of your diet? Remember, part of being vegetarian and eating live foods is to be gentle and peaceful with yourself. If going to 95-100% raw feels natural and healthy for you, then go for it. If it is a major strain, then it is better to proceed in stages.

I. Becoming a spiritual and raw food Olympian.

II. One cannot eat one's way to G.o.d or personal happiness.

III. Stage Four: high biogenic-food diet.