The mind is not the only ingredient for spiritual enlightenment. Food plays as big a role as meditation and actions. Our bodies, like vehicles, need the most efficient energy sources. Eating candy high in sugar, meats high in fat, foods high in preservatives and low in antioxidants can easily bump us off the path to enlightenment, slowing us down or even stopping us dead in our tracks.
Food is one of our most important needs, but more is not better. A little nutrients will take our bodies and minds a long way, but overeating, even healthy food, will make us lethargic as the digestive system sucks energy from other organs to digest the extra food.
There are many diets out there, each claiming for itself to be just what a healthy body needs. Atkins, Jenny Craig, and South Beach have become household names, but for thousands of years there has been a diet that has shown to be better than any of these.
Have you tried the Taoist Diet?
Taoism (Daoism) is ancient Chinese philosophy, developed through generations of studying nature and man’s interaction with it and with himself. Taoism is an early form of psychology, putting much emphasis on natural pathways to a healthy mind. Taoism has also shown that eating well and eating less will lead to a long life with fewer age-related disease (recently verified by modern science with studies on calorie restriction). [A Reduction in Calories Found to Yield More Benefits]
The Taoist diet has changed significantly over the centuries. Once grains were restricted from the diet because it was thought that the digesting of grains allowed demons, who fed off the decomposing matter, into the stomach. [Taoist Diet, Wikipedia] Today Taoists rely on grain quite heavily, making it a mainstay of their macro diet.
Ancient Taoist diets were often shrouded in folklore, growing from Chinese folk-religion and taboos, but as time passed and Taoists studied food and its affects on their bodies, they began to develop eating habits that would become unanimous with longevity.
Taoists keep away from many of the things we’ve learned to associate in our own culture as unhealthy or dangerous. While following this natural diet you should increase intake of herbs, tea, eat moderate amounts of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Decrease or banish completely alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine, rock salt, fried foods, refined sugar and flour (and the foods they are made from like white bread and candy), beef, pork, and other dark meats, along with any preservatives. [Taoist Diet: Basic Guidelines, Wikipedia]
It all seems like common sense, doesn’t it? Remember that Taoists followed these rules hundreds of years before Western science even began to study diet. Today we know that too much salt attributes to high blood pressure, and that red meat raises cholesterol, but we often take for-granted that other cultures knew these dangers first, even if their knowledge wasn’t in modern scientific terms.
Other tips from the Taoist Diet:
Raw foods are believed to weaken the bodies immunity, and overcooked foods are also avoided. [How to Eat Like a Taoist] Whether ancient Taoists knew why or not, they were on to something here. Eating raw foods increases the chance of eating bacteria. Cooking food can kill most bacteria harmful to our bodies, but overcooking food can destroy most of its nutrients, giving us a meal with a low amount of antioxidants and vitamins.
Though rock salt should be avoided, sea salt and sesame salt are good substitutes because they have many minerals beneficial to our bodies. With other food options, always look for substitutes that can lead to a healthier lifestyle. Choose olive oil over vegetable oil, fish over beef, tea or juice over soda pop and beer, soy milk over dairy.
Use herbs in your diet. Cinnamon, sage, basil, oregano, garlic, mustard seed, cayenne and black pepper all have scientifically proven qualities that aid and support our bodies and minds. There are many other herbs, each with their own qualities, tastes, and benefits, and using them in place of ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, and salt to flavor our meals can increase our healthy lifespan and productivity. [20 Anti-Aging Herbs and Spices to Add to Your Diet Now]
Eating can be very enjoyable, especially if you eat food that will help ensure a long and fulfilling life. Use your diet, not as a way to lose weight or look good, but as a way to find spiritual enlightenment. Eat for health mind and body health, and looking good will be natural, like leaves on a tree. Eat only to look good and you may miss out on the benefits food has to offer.
Sources:
1. A Reduction in Calories Found to Yield More Benefits, Bio-Medicine
2. Taoist Diet, Wikipedia
3. Taoist Diet: Basic Guidelines, Wikipedia
4. Nikki Walters, How to Eat Like a Taoist, eHow
5. Dr. Eric Braverman, 20 Anti-Aging Herbs and Spices to Add to Your Diet Now, AlterNet
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