|
What Is Good Nutrition?
Chef Jem launches this blog with some personal history regarding his life-long pursuit in understanding what makes for good nutrition and asks "What actually nourishes?".
Date: 4/20/2012 3:32:09 AM ( 14 mon ) ... viewed 799 times Greetings All!
Since "Chef Jem by chef jem" was created to support "... The Recovery of Our Food Sovereignty in America" I've just realized the need for (yet) another blog and this time focused more on the subject matter of nutrition. It is my sincere hope that I can give whatever general information, practical knowledge and personal wisdom that I can regarding nutrition and especially in support of the evolutionary process that I am observing in terms of nutritional awareness.
My own awareness of nutrition and it's importance in my life became more prominent in my consciousness when I was diagnosed with Hepatitis in 1970. I had "Hepatitis C":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_C.
My awareness that nutrition can play a role in health recovery began at that time starting in my doctor's office with my introduction to a nutritional supplement known as Mayadec. Although I don't take that product now I thought it might be interesting to see what the ingredients were back in 1970.
I just wrote the makers of Mayadec:
"Greetings!
Would it be possible to send me a list of the ingredients used in the formula of 1970? I was first introduced to Myadec by my doctor at that time and I am now inspired to write about that.
For me, that was an introduction not only to your product but also to the general subject matter of nutrition which has since evolved into a life-long passion of mine.
Thank you for considering my request!
I look forward to the possibility of hearing from you!"
May 21, 2012 update - there has been no reply from these people as of yet. Do I want to follow-up with them?
My "evolving nutrition awareness" began in the Summer of 1970. In January of 1971 I had a conversation with a couple of my friends on the subject of what good nutrition consisted of and one of my buddies (Curtis) said "a peanut butter and jelly sandwich"! He said it had all the nutrition that we need, namely the top three most important categories of: protein, carbohydrates and fruit (for "vitamins"). The only thing that I "knew" about nutrition up to that point was what I had been taught in "grammar school" and that was "the four food groups": the meat group, dairy group, bread group and the fruit & vegetable group. I didn't know for certain whether peanut butter was in the meat group (along with beans and other sources of protein). Based on the prevailing nutritional model of the "Four Food Groups" I think Curtis may have left out the dairy group (which if that conversation were to take place now I would have promptly filled the gap by offering my DVD: "Raw Milk: The Whole Truth"). Or did Curtis say a peanut butter & jelly sandwich plus a glass of milk?
Now, if that glass of milk was what some call "farm milk" (or others call grass-fed milk, real milk, raw milk and the like) then that alone could possibly be the "lion's share" of good nutrition! But I don't think any of my gang knew anything about "real milk" at that time! At least none of us had ever said a single word about it.
Now, 2012, real milk has become the symbol of the food freedom movement much like tea was at the time of the American Revolution! I cover food freedom in my other Cure Zone blog: "Chef Jem by chef jem":
http://www.curezone.com/blogs/f.asp?f=1785
#########################################
Update - May 31, 2012:
One of my strongest motivations for sharing all that I can about "Good Nutrition" is simply my love for humanity and especially knowing the formative importance that good nutrition has for all children.
"The nutritional aspects of child development and education are of greatest importance. A diet of wholesome, seasonal foods supports clear, open and positive thinking, a healthy inner life of feeling and strong motivation to fulfill our life's tasks and purposes. During the years through high school the children grow and develop into young adults. The opportunities we give the children to be nourished in body and soul, lay the foundation for becoming healthy, self-motivated, confident, caring citizens in the world. The future health of humanity and the earth depends largely upon what we offer our children.":
http://cookingfortheloveoftheworld.com/guidelines_children.html
Therefore, "good nutrition" is that which nourishes our whole body ~ Brain and all our higher faculties, thus supporting our consciousness! It also feeds our soul and the very spirit of life within us.
#####################################3
April, 21, 2012 -
I don't really know whether the Myadec folks will give me a list of ingredients for their 1970 formula. That's not essential. It's just an objective reference to indicate some of how my interest in nutrition began just about forty- two years ago. Seven years after my introduction to Mayadec I took a nutrition course that included an independent study at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. I had enrolled in another nutrition course taught by the Illinois secretary for the American Dietetic Association but dropped it when the professor suggested I could be better off pursuing my interests on my own.
My individual Human Design is such that I learn through trial and error. Up until 1999 (when I met Sally Fallon) my nutrition awareness learning process was a continual stream of trial and error. Fortunately, I was able to realize that my own applications of the "Diet Dictocrats" was not meeting my needs and therefor I was an excellent candidate for recognizing the ancient dietary wisdom that was discovered and very well documented by Weston A. Price and subsequently incorporated in The Weston A. Price Foundation. I'm not claiming to be "trail and error"-free in my continual learning process, however I have a real foundation to continue learning and for that I am deeply grateful!
The only thing that I can think of in this moment that is less than pure gratitude in me is regarding the sorry state of affairs in the realm of education (in general) and specifically (on point here) in terms of nutrition that is based on "the ancient dietary wisdom". It's not like this wisdom isn't accessible because it most certainly is. Dr. Price published his findings in "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" a book that was "First published in 1939, this seminal book startled the worlds of science and nutrition with its documented evidence of primitive populations encountering civilization, adopting modern diets, and finding that their health worsened. It remains the basic book in this area and is essential reading for those concerned with food and health.":
http://www.amazon.com/Nutrition-Physical-Degeneration-Weston-Andrew/dp/0879838167
#####################
May 22, 2012 -
I am thinking: "Love is the Source of all that nourishes". I have started a search with this thought in mind. I found the following:
"Eternal love supports personal growth and is the source that nourishes our mission in life.” -
--Twylah Nitsch., Elder of the Seneca Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge:
http://earthpathschool.com/seneca.html
######################################
Update July 20, 2012 - Just added a blog post a moment ago on the etymology of "Nutrition" and "Nourish" that both have their roots in "Nurse" as in Breastfeeding and that underscores my May 22nd search on "Love is the Source of all that nourishes".
#####################################
Here is a prayer I learned from my early days living in an anthroposophical community: "More radiant than the sun, purer than the snow, finer than the ethers is the Self. That Self are we. We are that self".
In one of my Enlightenment Intensives (after learning that prayer) I had worked with the direction: "Tell me what you are". I was in considerable back pain. Since that was the most real part of my experience I shifted my focus to include that and when I did I was filled with the most radiant love!
I met Sally Fallon in '99. She invited me to prepare the brunch for the founding board members and their spouces. I prepared several items right from Nourishing Traditions. Sally asked me what my "secret ingredient" was. I realized later that is is nothing less than my love!
For years I have known that love is a substance that can be literally worked into the food we prepare and especially when we prepare food from scratch. If you make your own bread, make your own peanut butter, make your own preserves then that "peanut butter and jelly" sandwich can most likely carry your love through to your child and nourish that child. But if you expect that same nourishment from
a loaf of "wonder"-bread, hydrogenated commercial peanut butter and so forth then there will be disappointment. Then again, if you haven't had the homemade P&J yourself then you don't know what you are missing. That "ignorance" may be your bliss. But your "bliss" may not be blissful for your children.
The question "What Is Good Nutrition?" is a question that I'd like every potential mother to ask for themselves. Traditional cultures did not necessarily have to ask that question. They knew! Their knowledge was both innate as well as imbedded in their traditions. They not only knew what good nutrition was they were devoted to including that in their life.
If we compare what these cultures did to obtain their good nutrition many of us would think in terms of how much work it required. Actually not all the cultures ate diets that required any more work than Americans already put into having the food they have (especially if you take into account the work modern people do to have the "money" to purchase their foods). However, there is the impression that Nourishing Traditions (NT) requires "extra work". (I have responded to a review of NT regarding this topic at books.google.) A lot more can be said on this point. My point is that if we have the idea that "good nutrition" is simply a matter of consuming - even the "right" foods, without any regard to the source or the preparation of that food then that idea is missing a large part of what actually nourishes.
What actually nourishes is that which generally includes consciousness (and the consciousness-soul in particular) and thereby supports consciousness because consciousness embodies the nature and substance of what we are.
A mother nursing her child is providing a form of nourishment that includes the consciousness of the mother.
A farmer who cares for his animals according to what the animals truly need is farming with greater consciousness over that of a confinement operation. The more consciousness that the farmer can put into his farm, into his soil, pastures, etc. the more life will flourish and the more life can give of itself into the greater "web of life".
###########################3
September 28, 2012 -
Good nutrition includes an awareness of who/what the nutrition is for and in our case it is largely for the cells in our body.
“The cell is immortal. It is merely the fluid in which it floats which degenerates. Renew the fluid at intervals, give the cells what they require for nutrition and as far as we know the pulsation of life may go on forever.” Dr. Alexis Carrel, Nobel Prize winner.:
http://anuwater.com/?page_id=67
Add This Entry To Your CureZone Favorites! 
 Alert Webmaster
|
CureZone
