Healing Foods >>> Food Habits

What is Food?

Every living thing on the face of the earth, regardless of man, plants, and animals, needs nutrition to survive, grow and reproduce. We eat food to live and not live to eat. It means that for survival, we can have simple food that nature provides us: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Nuts, etc. Food not only sustains our physical being but also affects our mind. "We are what we eat." Determination is directly related to what we eat. Eating bad food will negatively affect our minds, and we will face diseases. On the other hand, eating food with good vibrations will help us achieve a calm mind and physical health.

Food Habits to Develop

When to eat: Only when hungry. Also, do not eat if you are not calm.

What to eat: Simple food is healthy; there should not be too much variety at once.

Quantity to eat: Place your two hands together and make the shape of a bowl or cup. Limit your portion size to this volume, approximately 2/3 of your stomach size.

Chewing: Food should be well masticated; chew each bite 36 times before swallowing. The stomach does not have teeth.

Water with the meal: Do not drink water after meals. But after 1 hour drink plenty of water.

Rest after meals: Do not sleep after meals. If you need rest, then lie on the left side only.

Walking after meals: Walking 100 steps after eating can aid digestion, while walking long distances can upset metabolism and trouble nutrient absorption.

How to eat:

1. Thank the Almighty for providing us the food. Request Almighty to bless the food that He has provided.
2. Touch food with all ten fingers. Fingertips emit electromagnetic forces.
3. Be silent and pay attention to the type of food, its color, how it tastes, and how you enjoy it. This is the conscious way of eating food. Avoid any distractions like TV, mobile, tablets, etc.

Selection of Food

The selection of food is according to each one’s temperament. The soul must be satisfied with the food and drink. The soul always tells us whether a particular food is good for us, but we tend to ignore it and eventually suffer. If we follow our soul, the right food will be selected and digested at the right time.

Kinesiology-based: This method always works. Let your body choose the food which is best for it.

• Stand straight.
• Keep left-hand fist closed on heart, and outstretch right-hand parallel to the ground.
• Ask someone to pull down the right hand. Resist as much as possible.
• Keep the eatable in your left hand and keep it on the heart & right-hand parallel to the ground.
• Ask someone to pull down the right hand.
• If the food benefits you, your resistance power will increase; but if the food is not beneficial, your right hand's resistance will decrease.
• You can also test the drink and any other food by touching it with your left hand instead of placing it in your left hand.

Raw vs. Cooked Foods

One should balance raw foods with cooked foods. Do not overcook food. Overcooking and charring can be a problem. Boiling the life out of greens will indeed reduce the nutrient load. And charring meats and vegetables creates cancer-causing chemicals. The solution, however, is not to stop all cooking but to steam, lightly sauté or stir-fry vegetables, and make more soups.

• Live/Raw food has the highest quality and quantity of pranic energy, nutrients, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, bioelectrical energy, biologically active water, pi-electrons, and bio-photons.
• Cooked food, on the other hand, would reduce certain amounts of vitamins and nutrients while increasing the bio-availability (more available for the body to absorb) of the remaining nutrients. In addition, they are easy on the digestive system. Therefore, ideally cooked food should not be saved and eaten for the next day or meal.

Alkaline vs. Acid Foods

For maximum health and mental balance, the blood should be slightly alkaline. A good balance of acid and alkaline-producing foods in your diet is about two-thirds alkaline and one-third acid. Make vegetables the heart of your diet, along with fruits, nuts, legumes, and simple dairy products. Cut down on sweets, starchy foods, and protein, and moderate your use of fats and oils.

• Alkaline foods: It rebuilds and tones organs, nerves, and glands. It helps maintain good health and keeps one balanced, calm, and reflective. Sweet and sour fruits, green vegetables, legumes, milk, yogurt, paneer, cottage cheese, and buttermilk are all excellent alkalinizers. Some of these foods, like citrus fruits, are acidic in their natural states but have an alkalizing effect on the blood.
• Acid foods: Meat, fish, eggs, and most starches (including sweets) acidify the blood.
• Neutral foods: Fats like clarified butter (ghee) are neutral foods, but they are also highly concentrated and, therefore, hard to digest. Eating them in excess can also have an acidifying effect. Butter or any other oil during cooking is not suitable for health. But one can add cold-pressed oil or butter while serving as it will build up the health. 

Element based Foods

• Airy (Sattva) foods: Fruits and nuts are at the highest level above the ground and contain more of the airy element in their atomic construction.
• Warmth (Rajas) foods are a little higher above the ground. Therefore, they contain more of the fiery electric charge in their makeup. e.g., Papaya, Sesame seed, Sunflower seed, Grains, Pulses/Legumes, etc.
• Moisture foods: Foods grown above the ground but near it. They are rich in filtered minerals. e.g., Green vegetables, Cucumbers, Melons, Squash, Pumpkins. Mostly acid foods are found on this level. Seafood also comes under this classification.
• Earth (Tamas) foods: Foods grown under and near the surface on the top of the ground. They have more mineral content in their composition. e.g., all root vegetables, herb roots.

Food Combinations to Avoid

Do not eat	With
Fruit	Any any other food. Eat half an hour before the meal or 2 hours after the meal. There are exceptions, such as certain cooked combinations, dates, and milk.
Melons	Anything. Melons should be eaten alone or left alone.
Milk	Bananas, Cherries, Sour fruits, Bread containing yeast, Fish/Meat, Kitchari, Yogurt.
Hot drinks	Yogurt, Mangos, Cheese, Fish/Meat, Starch.
Yogurt	Fruit, Cheese, Eggs, Fish/Meat, Hot drinks, Milk, Nightshades.
Legumes/Pulses	Cheese, Fish/Meat, Eggs, Yogurt.
Nightshades	Dairy, Cucumbers,
Radish	Bananas, Raisins, Milk
Lemons	Cucumbers, Milk, Tomato, Yogurt.
Acid/Sour foods	Starches (bread, cake, cereals, grains), Potatoes, Rice. Starch foods should be chewed dry and not washed down with liquids such as milk, coffee, tea, soups, or water.
Protein foods	Starches

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Further Reading:

• Holistic Health By Swami Rama
• Some Esoteric Views On Food Cooking By Master Beinsa Douno
• Everybody Guide To Nature Cure By Harry Benjamin
• Foods For Healing and Health By Yogi Harbhajan Singh
• Nutrition and Stimulants By Rudolf Steiner
• Health Via Food By William Howard
  

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