The Healthiest Diet

(Photo credit)

I like reading about healthy eating and I’ve written several articles on the topic, such as this and this, about vegetarian vs meat eating diet.

Now, if you are interested in eating healthy, you know how confusing the discussions are.

Some people maintain 100% raw vegan diet is the way to go because cooking destroys the precious nutrients. They also imply humans are the only animals who cook, so cooking is unnatural. But then, if we are talking about the original way of human diet, it’s hard to believe they were vegetarian — they certainly ate animals. (Chimpanzees eat small animals like lizards and eggs. Even gorillas, generally considered vegan, actually eat insects along with veggies.)

Some insist killing animals is plane cruel and wrong, and eating animals affects our spiritual health. Then others hit back pointing out the hypocritical nature of vegans.

I am in no position to judge, but I’d like to share what I think. Maybe you can find your takeaway from my thoughts and experiences.

The reality check

In search of the healthiest diet, I set aside my reading on nutritional theories and turned to what has worked in reality.

• Find people who have been in good health for a very long time (not just recovering from disease, not just healthy and beautiful in their youthful years).
• Find out what they have been eating.

The Okinawa centenarians

There are several areas in the world that boast longevity. One is the southern islands of Japan, Okinawa. While some areas of the world still don’t keep reliable third-party data of birth, Japan has been quite meticulous about it since the late 19th century, so I trust the Okinawa records. (You know, just because some old folks say they are 120 years old doesn’t mean they really are . . .)

So how have the Okinawa elders been eating? (Notice my wording — I am not interested in how the Okinawans eat these days. How long an Okinawa man or woman in their teens, 20s, 30… even 50s will live is mystery. They have adopted the westernized diet. I am interested in how the current age 100 or over population in Okinawa have been eating.)

There is an excellent book on the topic called “The Okinawa Program : How the World’s Longest-Lived People Achieve Everlasting Health–And How You Can Too”. The authors did extensive interviews and research. And also, I have had several friends from that area who told me their stories.

The Okinawa centenarians are typically not vegans nor vegetarians. They eat fish and even some pork — but not very often. A bit of background info: The Okinawa islands are far off from the mainland Japan and there aren’t much land for farming… especially not for big-scale farming. People are poor (very few industries that bring cash — who wants to build a manufacturing plant on a far off island?)

So they try to survive on foods they can get on their own, not from stores. They grow their own vegetables and they forage. (They are in semi tropical area, so vegetation is good.) They fish, and younger men dive to catch fish. They raise pigs with food scraps. (Pigs don’t require large pasture like cows.)

They eat brown rice (refinement is waste) and lots of Japanese sweet potatoes. (They are right in the course of typhoons, so crops that grow on the ground, like rice, is always at the risk of getting hit before harvest. In the old days, sweet potato was the main stay of their diet.)

Tofu is a critical protein source. My friend told me her mother made tofu at home with the homegrown soys and natural nigari from the ocean. (Nigari is sea water minus water and sodium chloride. In other words, it’s a byproduct of sea salt production.)

Sweet potatoes, brown rice, wild greens, vegetables, sea vegetables, tofu and occasional fish and pork. Local and, even though the regulation of organic produce was not set back then, practically all produce was organic. Mostly plant-based, but not exclusive of animal products. Minimal refinement.

And remember the whole lot of manual labors involved to get and prepare the foods. Many Okinawa elders remain active, working in the field.

My thoughts on eating animals

The Okinawans don’t see killing their pigs as sinful. They raise their own pigs, take good care of them daily, and when the time comes, they gather, offer a prayer, and slaughter it. Then they divide the meat among friends and family. They eat “everything but the hoof” so that no part would be wasted. That is how they show their respect for the animal that made the ultimate sacrifice to sustain their lives.

I don’t have the guts to do the bloody work to put down an animal, but I understand their sentiment. I think many vegans are a bit discriminative, as if they can stay in their clean holy land if they don’t consume animals.

The truth is life circulates in this world. On the physical level, nutrients circulates. Even if you only eat vegetables, those vegetables need nitrogen, which is typically fed with animal products like chicken manure. (And you don’t think those chickens are kept solely for the poop, right? They are kept for eggs or meat.)

Accepting this truth and showing respect to ALL lives, plants and animals, is very spiritual.

By the way, this may sound bizarre to you, but when I die, I’d like my cremation to be scattered on the Pacific Ocean. In my life, I’ve eaten quite a lot of fish, and it comforts me to think that my little remains feed the fish, thus completing the circle of nutrition.

And yet I stay away from meat…

Having said this, I’d like to stay away from eating meat. Because whenever I try eating meat, even organically raised chicken, I feel the pain and discomfort of the dead animal. I feel so sensitive.

It’s not about moral. It’s about my personal energetic comfort.

I do eat some eggs. I guess I am still experimenting on the quantity and quality of protein that best feeds me. So far, I just don’t feel stable when I go too long on vegan diet.

My thoughts on raw food diet

Even though some nutrients are destroyed with the heat, I think eating some cooked foods is good for me. For one, it balances the yin and yang. If I were living like the original humans, in the sunny African continent and spending the majority of my time hunting or foraging (physical activities), then supplementing yang with cooking heat may be unnecessary. But I don’t live like that. Cooking may be one way humans have adopted to live in the northern climate.

Being attached to 100% raw also has something to do with another aspect of food discrimination. This podcast by long-time raw food advocate Dhrumil is very indicative of this. (The linked podcast is long, but it’s worth it.)

And as they wisely point out, not all “cooked” foods are created equal. I believe the Okinawans cook very simply. (They don’t waste fuel.)

In addition, I found out that many raw food enthusiasts were eating very badly before, like a donut and coffee for breakfast, hamburger and fries for lunch, and pizza for dinner. So when they turn to raw foods and their health improves, is it the power of raw? Or is it the power of taking more fresh vegetables and less toxins such as refined carbs, sugar, and overheated fat (not to mentioned the various additives and synthetic flavorings)?

Further, another point Dhrumil makes, just because someone says they eat 100% raw doesn’t mean they do. Especially online. And those who do don’t tell the whole story — how much struggle they go through with that way of eating. Here is a rare piece that explains it. Matt Monarch’s book, “Raw Spirit” also tells his interesting story of food cravings after he turned raw.

Raw food is great. I think Okinawans have been eating a lot of raw greens. But I don’t think I need to be 100% raw. I like my germinated and cooked lentils, brown rice, and quinoa.

Diet is only part of the deal

To conclude, I want to emphasize diet is only part of the deal for health and longevity. Other factors include:

• Physical activities
• Environment
• Stress level and its management
• Rest, especially the quality and quantity of sleep
• Sexuality
• Family and social life
• Sense of worth and meaning
• Spirituality

The healthiest diet is also personal. Because you are a unique combination of these (and more) factors. So when you read about healthy eating, experiment, listen to your body, and take what works for YOU.

More on Okinawa…

Because they live in the tiny islands, Okinawans have tight connection with their extended family and neighbors. The elders are far from forgotten — many middle age population seek employment in the mainlands, leaving their kids to the care of their parents. Okinawa elders work hard at home and in the field. I am sure they are proud to be such a reliable part of the society.

They produce their own entertainment. Many are excellent musicians, playing sanshin (three string instrument). They knew how essential joy is in life — even when their houses were burnt down in WWII, they ran away carrying their sanshins.

I think Okinawans exhibit the case where so-called negativity like poverty and small, closed society can work positively. Although I have no intention to relocate there (a weakling like myself won’t do there . . . I cannot even tolerate much heat), I have a lot of respect for them.

What do you think about healthy diet? How have you been eating? Please share in the comment. Thank you.

Bonus:
Here is a YouTube video clip of Okinawan traditional music (with modern arrangement). You can see the old man playing the sanshin.

Another Okinawan music, this is modern. Enjoy their unique scale of do, mi, fa, so, ti (no re, no la)

Review: Become Younger by Norman Walker

Norman Walker is the pioneer of raw foods movement and this book Become Younger is his most well-known, first published in 1949. It is a compact book of only 117 pages, but choke-full of valuable information that I haven’t seen in other raw foods books that are published more recently.

Cause of premature aging # 1, malnourishment

Norman Walker maintains the main causes of premature aging — which most of us suffer — are malnourishment and poor elimination.

Cooking heat destroys the vitality of foods and changes the chemical nature of nutrients in the foods. Further, Norman Walker explains how eating starch interferes the nourishment of the cells and efficiency of elimination. The large molecule of starch is insoluble in water. So they travel in blood and lymph as solid molecule that the cells cannot utilize. Instead, they stick to the wall like a plaster. Norman Walker warns the consumption of starchy foods such as grains and beans can cause liver hardening, gall bladder stones, pimples, unnatural blood coagulation, which can lead to hemorrhoids, tumors, and cancers.

(My personal understanding of this starch problem is excessive amount of starch poses a problem. And if you are like many people, you are probably eating starch excessively. But there are personal differences in starch tolerance. Some people can process more starch than others.)

He also warns against the consumption of concentrated protein such as meat. To digest concentrated protein, the body has to work extra hard — taxing the liver, kidneys, etc. The excessive workload results in accumulation of uric acid, which eventually gets stored in the muscles. They become crystals in the muscles that cause sharp pain.

Cause of premature aging #2, poor elimination

This is really the highlight of Become Younger. Norman Walker examined thousands of colon X-rays and even conducted autopsies. The colon diagrams in the book of the actual patients are horrifying. They are distorted so badly that you would wonder how anyone can survive with a colon like that. He explains how the muscles of the colon become flabby and get weighed down by accumulated waste matter. The old waste matter that are stuck in the inner wall of the colon can be up to one inch thick, he reports.

Obviously, the colon cannot function properly with this much of impacted waste. Moreover, we absorb toxins from these old waste, so the problem is not limited to the colon (such as colon cancer and stoppage) but it can also cause seemingly-unrelated issues such as depression, nervous breakdown, kidney malfunction, vision problem, sinus problem and heart trouble.

This, Norman Walker emphasizes, can be the case even when you have “regular” bowl movements. When the passage of the colon is narrowed by accumulated old waste, people actually have more bowl movements, or even diarrhea.

Raw vegetable juice and colon cleansing to become younger

What can you do to reverse the negative impacts of poor nourishment and poor elimination?

First, start nourishing the body by taking plenty of freshly-made raw vegetable juices. He recommends 2 pints (1 litter) a day or more. Other foods you eat are best raw, too. And eliminate starch and refined sugar from your diet. Ideally, eliminate or severely limit the intake of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy.

Two, cleanse your colon by colonics and enemas. It will take many sessions to cleanse years of accumulated waste.

Did Norman Walker become younger?

Norman Walker lived up to 99 years old, according to Wikipedia, which examines his immigration and death records. Some people want to make him into a legend of someone who lived over 100 years old, but unless he lied and successfully got away with immigration office (very unlikely because he is from England, a civilized bureaucratic nation just like USA. And I don’t see why he had to do such a thing), that is not the case.

However, I don’t think this undermines his status as the expert of healthy living. 99 years old is a respectable old age, and I like the peaceful and natural way he passed, during his sleep. He is reported to have been active until that day.

What kind of raw foodist are you?

I read a lot of raw foods blogs and noticed there are many kinds of raw foodists. Some eat salad mainly. Some are big on dehydrated foods and raw imitation foods, such as raw crackers and raw nut burgers. They are certainly raw, but after reading Become Younger, I feel that the main stay of a good raw diet is raw juices.

It is amazing how much vegetables a juice takes. To make a 16 once green juice, I put in 2 to 3 cups of greens, half a head of celery, and half of a large cucumber. Juice is a concentrated nourishment. I think a lot of nutritional deficiencies some raw foodists are experiencing are caused by their reliance on salad and dehydrated raw foods.

I was so impressed with this book that I ordered two more books by Norman Walker, Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices and Vegetarian Guide to Diet and Salad by Dr. Norman Walker.

What do you think of his theory of rejuvenation? Please share in the comments.

Meat Eaters vs Vegetarians / Vegans

What is the best way to eat for the optimal health of yourself and Mother Earth? Can we really live without eating any animal products? Is vegetarian way of living really superior?

There are four reasons why people choose to eat vegetarian, including more strict vegan and raw vegan way:

1. Health: Animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) are loaded with saturated fat and very acid-forming, therefore bad for our health.
2. Environment / Sustainability: Cows don’t convert all the energies they get from their feed to their meat. A big portion is used for them to stay warm and to move around. Eating lower on the food chain saves energy and is kinder to the Earth.
3. Moral / Animal rights: It’s cruel to kill sentient animals.
4. Spirituality: By eating plants, especially raw, our body detoxes and becomes more capable of spiritual growth. Ultimately, the most spiritual way to eat is not to eat, to live solely on Light.

This post is an invitation to further discussion on these points. I am no scientist, so what I have to say about point 1 and 2 are the result of my reading. I’m also not my lightbody yet, so what I say about point 4 is my best guess. It’s a very comprehensive post of over 3000 words, so you might want to bookmark for future reference.

Vegetarians and health

Many vegetarians claim they feel much healthier than they did when they were eating meat. Eating meat does come with risks, as we will see. And I’m glad these people are feeling well. However, the potential risk of vegetarian diet deserves attention, too.

I don’t intend to discourage vegetarian / vegan / raw vegan diet. But some articles I read that support vegetarian diet sound as if this is the only right way to eat healthy, and I do have a problem with this attitude. I think it’s important to see both sides and weigh the pros and cons carefully.

Unless you are developing into a new human (discussed later for point 4), there is a fair chance that you would suffer from nutritional deficiencies on a vegetarian, especially strict vegan, diet. The major problems are:

Vitamin B12: Only bacteria can produce B12. These bacteria live in natural soil and in animals’ guts. So plant foods don’t provide B12. It is believed you need to take B12 either through meat (assimilated by the animal to their system) or supplement. However, some insist humans can host the beneficial bacteria in our guts, too, therefore producing B12 right there. There is also an argument that animal based B12 is not very bioavailable because it is bonded with protein.

Vitamin D: Everyone, including meat eaters, are at risk of D deficiency if they are not getting sufficient sunlight. And if you don’t live in sun-blessed area, you probably don’t get enough sun in colder months anyway.

Calcium: Calcium controversy is huge. Some insist dairy is actually counter-effective because dairy is very acid-forming and causes the body to leach calcium from the bones to neutralize the acidity. Plants, especially dark greens, do provide calcium. However, it’s hard to get the recommended 1000 mg of calcium from plants alone. I played around on Nutritional Data website and found it takes 11 cups of kale to get the 1000 mg of calcium.

Further, how this number of 1000 mg got FDA approved is yet another mystery and controversy. We don’t really know if we need this much of calcium. Calcium supplementation don’t statistically show to lower bone fracture rate.

Iron: Another big controversy. Some say iron from plants (beans and dark greens) are not very bioavailable, some say plant iron is just fine and there is even a study that shows vegans get more iron than meat eaters.

Essential Fatty Acid: Human body cannot produce omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Usually omega 6 is not a problem. Unless you are on a super low fat diet, it’s easy to get enough omega 6. Omega 3 is a challenge, however. There are three kinds of omega 3 fatty acid: ALA, EPA, and DHA. Plants don’t have EPA nor DHA. (Update: Certain algae make DHA, however, and now there are vegan supplements such as Udo’s DHA 3-6-9 Oil)  Plant sources of omega 3 such as flax and chia provide ALA. Humans can convert ALA to EPA and DHA, but the conversion efficiency depends on individual health and age. So vegetarians can be at risk.

Essential Amino Acid (protein): It’s indeed possible to have complete amino acid profile by plant sources alone. However, it’s easy to go short on Lysine, which is typically lacking in grains and nuts. (Beans and some seeds are rich in Lysine.) So we need to pay attention to food combination.

Greens and algae typically have complete or close to complete amino acid profile, but because they contain much water, you just have to eat a lot of them to cover the required amount of protein. For example, one cup of kale has 2.2 grams of protein. Each person’s protein requirement is different, but even for me (petite woman who is not into body-building), the daily requirement is supposed to be 40 grams. If I am to get all my protein from greens, I need to eat heaps of them.

The overall amount of bioavailable protein is another controversy. Many vegetarians insist cows get their entire protein by eating grass, but each animal has different digestive system. Cows have four stomachs to help break down the tough cell wall of plants. Humans have only one. Cows probably have different digestive flora profile, too, to further support their digestion.

Theoretically, this is where juicing and blending come into. The nutrients become more available when the cell walls are broken in these processes, and you can eat much more vegetables this way. I said “can”. I don’t believe all vegetarians are eating plenty of vegetables to support their protein needs.

Health risks of eating meat
Of course, meat eaters who don’t eat enough vegetables face other kinds of potential deficiencies with vitamins, minerals, fiber and enzyme. If you are eating SAD (Standard American Diet), you are likely undernourished while you are getting more than enough calories in the form of saturated fat (read: cholesterol) and excessive protein, both are harmful to your system.

The problem of excessive protein intake isn’t getting enough attention. While we do need certain amount of protein to maintain our system, if you take more protein than you need for maintenance purpose, the excess has to be burned off. But protein doesn’t burn clean in our system like carbs and fats do. It produces nitrogen compound, which can be toxic, so the body has to process it through many chemical changes until it becomes uric acid and can be safely disposed in urine. It’s a lot of extra work for your body.

In addition, typical supermarket meat contains weird stuffs like residual antibiotics, growth hormones, etc. that were given to animals. They are fed really badly — remember the mad cow disease? Dairy and eggs are even worse than meat because these toxins are bio-concentrated. And we have contaminated the ocean so much that the fish come with mercury, PCB and other heavy metals.

Animal products also presents greater risk of bacterial and parasite growth.

Best food choices for your health
If you choose to eat animal products, be sure to chose organic. If you choose to eat fish, smaller fish that feed on plant plankton and whose lifespan is short are safer. And if you choose to go vegetarian or vegan, be smart with your food choices, combinations, and supplements.

I think it’s a good idea to get a blood work periodically to make sure of your nutritional health. Each person is different and what works for someone may not work for you. HOW you eat also affects your nutritional health.

Vegetarians and environment

Another reason people refuse eating meat these days is environmental concern. It’s more efficient to eat closer to the true energy source, sunlight. This means eating plants. If we can use the land to grow plants rather than animals, we are utilizing the resources better. This includes saving fossil fuels used in farming and water resource. Animals require a lot of water, again, most of which are used for the animals’ own sustenance. When we choose to eat plants, we are saving water.

Further, raising animals produces — waste. (Read: methane and other hazards to environment). In terms of carbon footprint, 18% of the world’s total greenhouse emission comes from meat production. Meat industry is a big player in climate change, more than transportation.

Best food choices for the environment
I do think many people eat too much animal products. If you are a meat eater, please review your meat / dairy intake level both for your own health and for the health of Mother Earth. Current level of animal farming is not really sustainable both for the resources and for waste management.

I don’t think, however, we need to completely end raising animals to protect the environment. Rather, I am dreaming of the old fashioned farm, or the way the indigenous people did farming, where animals, plants, and humans co-lived meaningfully, playing each role in the ecosystem.

I’d also like to point out the use of various chemicals in the conventional farming (pesticides, herbicide, etc) is harmful to the plants, land, and our water supply. If you care for the environment, please choose organic vegetables and fruits. And be diligent in checking the underside of your leafy greens — organic means there were bugs on the farm.

Vegetarians and animal rights

Many people choose not to eat meats for compassionate reasons. Killing sentient animals is cruel and against moral. If you don’t eat your pet, why are you okay to eat other animals?

While I agree killing is bad, I think moral has its limitations. Moral is certainly better than no moral. Being aware eating meat means killing animals and killing is essentially no good is better than having no moral about life and death. However, moral tends to be dogmatic and make people judgmental. Further, it keeps us from reaching to higher awareness. In this case, higher awareness means life consumes life and we are all — humans, animals, and plants — part of the ecosystem. It’s not the endorsement of killing, but tolerance of the consumption of other lives.

I mean, I wonder why there is no plant rights activists?

I was also informed we need some form of animal products to grow plants. Bone meal, manure, and worm castings are commonly used fertilizers. So even if you are not eating meat, you are benefiting from byproducts of animal farming or some animals / bugs are working for the soil.

Animals’ right in living conditions
In terms of animal right, I am more concerned how the farm animals are raised and then put down rather than if someone ever put them down for their consumption. Did you know conventional chickens never see sunlight nor breathe outdoor air for their whole life? From the time they hatch in the machine, they are kept in a crowded factory. Letting them move around is a waste of their food energy and it also increases their dark meat, which sells cheaper than white meat. I also heard chicken wings pinched to restrict their movement.

They are packed in filthy indoor, standing in their own feces. This horrible growing environment causes many diseases, so the chickens are fed with antibiotics regularly. Fast turnover means more profit, so in order to raise them quickly, they are also fed with growth hormone.

And when the day comes, these chickens are dunk in hot water alive. Factory farms don’t even bother to kill the chickens individually. They are drowned, which also wet their feathers, making it easier to handle.

I think, if we are to accept animal products as foods even occasionally, the animals must be raised in a more healthy, humane way. And when the time comes, they should be put down properly. A little prayer would be nice to show respect to the animals who are making the ultimate sacrifice to sustain our life. Traditionally some religions require priests to be present at slaughtering. I think this is a very wise way.

How to actualize humane animal farming
Also, in order for this kind of humane animal farming to happen, overall meat consumption need to be much lower. As long as we eat tons of animal products, there will be businesses that raise animals in quantity and speed, rather than paying attention to quality. Gluttony is a real problem, not occasional considerate consumption.

I’m not sure if refusing to eat meat helps to bring this humane animal farming to happen. Most animal right people just condemn any animal farming/ killing and don’t want to learn how we can improve animal farming. If the whole populations are becoming vegan, this is fine — absolutely no animal farming, period. We don’t need to worry about the way animals are raised and slaughtered. But as long as animal farming exists, we are better off paying attention to the reality of animal farming rather than condemning it.

Vegetarians and spiritual growth

This is a reason that is often implied but seldom explained properly. Often, it is discussed at the moral level in regard to compassion and animal rights, but this is not what I mean here by “spiritual growth”.

What I mean is, by eating “clean” foods, we can evolve into a new physical being that is highly developed spiritually as well.

We are spiritual beings in the physical body. So the condition of our physical body affects our spirituality, and vice versa. When we feed our physical body with clean foods that contain less toxins, our body gets to detox itself and start vibrating higher. This helps our spiritual growth.

On the other hand, if we put in foods that contain a lot of toxins, our body has to take care of them. Many people are hardly keeping up with this cleanup task because they eat so much and so much foods that leave a lot of toxins. When you fall behind the cleanup work, you get ill. There is little room for spiritual activities when you can hardly keep up with the maintenance work of your physical body.

Generally speaking, plant foods are cleaner than animal foods. In other words, plant foods are easier to digest and leave less problematic matter in the system. Plant foods, especially raw.

It’s essential to note that, from this perspective, ALL foods are taxing the body more or less. Even raw plant foods, say, an apple, take some work to digest and assimilate. It’s not a pure form of energy you can use immediately. Your system needs to work to unlock the energy from the matter, that is an apple. Not much cleanup work but still there are work to be done.

Breatharianism
Some people, including some raw food enthusiasts, are starting to notice that they can actually live on much less foods than the conventional nutritional health recommends. They are developing to be a new kind of human, so to say. Their system is growing so clean that they are starting to assimilate the energy of Light.

They may not be a 100% breatharian yet, but they are getting part of their energy needs from Light, including sunlight. (I believe sunlight is part of the whole spectrum of light.) Breatharianism is a way to grow into lightbody, which is the ultimate goal of our physical and spiritual growth.

But, you may argue, “(fill in the name) is spiritual but (I heard) they eat meat.”

First of all, you don’t really know what they eat nor the level of their spiritual growth. For this reason, I’d rather not make a judgment about ANYTHING based on whether a well-known person is on one side of the dogma or not.

Second, notice this is not really a meat eaters vs vegetarians / vegans issue. The point is to clean up our system by eating less, and choosing cleaner foods for what we do still eat. Eating (raw) vegan diet is probably helpful, but I doubt if it’s the only way. If we still need nutrition from foods, then choose the best quality, least toxic foods, whether it is plant or animal based.

Where I am in the development
This topic of breatharianism and lightbody is something I am still researching and experimenting. I am not there yet — far from it. But I do know my body works according to a rule that is not quite covered by today’s nutritional science.

For example, I had a chicken sandwich the other day. Just a simple grilled chicken sandwich. I ate exactly the same other than this exception, the diet that kept me at steady body weight, or rather, that let me lose weight gradually. I gained half pound.

Nutritionally, this doesn’t make sense. In order to gain half a pound, we need about 1600 kcal. One pound = 454 grams.
Body fat contains about 20% water, so the real amount of fat in a pound of body fat is 363 grams.
1 gram of fat = 9 kcal.
363 gram of fat = 3267 kcal.
Therefore, to gain a pound of body fat, it takes 3267 kcal.
Half a pound, 1633 kcal.

A chicken sandwich cannot be 1633 kcal. What happened is my body had to dilute the toxins from the chicken sandwich (by the way, it was organic chicken) because it was too much to process at a time. So it retained a lot of water. I think my body does this because it is getting cleaner, therefore more sensitive to any incoming toxins.

Well, I guess I just uncovered the secret of weight management.  When you eat, rather than just counting the calories, think about how easy and cleanly the food digest. Rather than trying to lose weight / body fat, think detox.  ^_^

And how is my spirituality? Well, it’s hard to tell because I don’t have a point of comparison. I’ve been eating close to vegan for a year now. This chicken sandwich was pretty exceptional. And I don’t remember how my spirituality was more than a year ago. I think I was doing fine back then, but that is just my memory, not a fair comparison. And even if I am dong better, I don’t know if it’s the food or other spiritual practices I do that brought my growth.

What do you think about meat eating vs vegetarian / vegan discussion? How do you eat? Please share in the comment. Thank you. (Photo credit 1, 2, 3, 4)

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