by Sam Suska
The conventional American focus on the number of calories has been confusing, damaging and ineffective for the overall health of Americans. The best-selling books, "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan and "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes investigate the flawed conventional American nutritional advice in two completely different manners. Along with the vital text "The pH Miracle" by Dr. Robert Young, these profound books played an essential role in the forming of the nutritional principles within the holistic self-care perspective I have formed.
The holistic self-care perspective will be explained and detailed in the forthcoming text, "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care". Holistic nutrition plays an instrumental role in the overall lifestyle holistic self-care, and is focused on the quality within calories and completely overlooks the quantity of calories! As a result the holistic nutrition focuses on replacing foods that are low quality (which may or may not be high calories) with high quality foods (which may or may not be high in calories).
"In Defense of Food" and "Good Calories, Bad Calories" do a fantastic job of investigating the conventional American nutrition perspective and explaining the many flawed assumptions which are used to build the conventional perspective as a whole. Michael Pollan and Gary Taubes make valuable contributions towards understanding calories and food more practically and rationally but overlook the most powerful factor of food; the pH influence of the specific food within the human body.
Prior to moving forward I must state that I am not completely condemning the reducing of calories in order to lose weight. I am condemning calorie reduction and focusing on calories because this does not focus on the quality of foods and the resulting health implications. Caloric reduction can be a significant first step for individuals who are intimidated or uncomfortable with significantly improving the quality of the foods chosen for consumption. It is very possible to reduce bodyweight, even significantly, simply by reducing the overall number of calories while continuing to eat the same poor foods. However, as both "In Defense of Food" and "Good Calories, Bad Calories" observe and conclude that caloric reduction while eating low quality foods does not lead to a healthier, happier individual. Caloric reduction, if practiced with low quality foods will negatively impact the metabolism and lead to regained weight and/or chronic health issues; and this is only the 'tip of the iceberg' of health issues resulting from poor quality foods, no matter the amount consumed.
"The pH Miracle" does not truly investigate the conventional American nutritional perspective, instead focusing on simply stating the pH-based perspective on foods and calories. The single most important realization from Dr. Robert Young is that the body does not actually "run" on calories, but on the electrical energy held within calories. The conventional American nutritional perspective is built on one flawed assumption that the body "runs" on calories.
Dr. Young observes the laws and conclusions of physics when considering calories. The reality is that all matter, whether living or inanimate is made up of electrical energy containing protons and electrons. The protons and electrons within foods is what provides the 'energy' from food; more specifically electrons provide the body with lasting 'energy' while protons, at best may only be able to stimulate the body for short-term 'energy'. The short-term 'energy' of protons can be observed in proton-dense components of processed foods like sugar, caffeine and additives like aspartame or MSG which provide immediate stimulation but have clear long-term detrimental effect on the human body.
The electrical energy content of foods generally corresponds with the pH implications of the food within the human body, thus electron dense foods generally raise pH. The electrical energy content of foods can be found by measuring the vibration of solids or the oxidative reductive potential (ORP) of liquids. "Raw Food Life Force Energy", by Natalia Rose has a good chart which summarizes the findings from multiple scientific studies. Dr. Young himself has measured the ORP of a good deal of liquids, including waters and many commonly consumed beverages.
A great deal of electron-dense foods and liquids, but certainly (and importantly) not all have the ability to raise the pH of the human body. The pH implications can be demonstrated by the ash left by the food upon digestion (which has been scientifically studied multiple times), but this method does not take into the overall effect of the food on the whole body. Dr. Young considers the net effect of the food on the pH of the body by observing the impact on the blood following the consumption of foods by viewing the blood with a high-powered microscope. As a result the holistic nutrition plan in "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" is mostly influenced by the work of Dr. Young with addition input from "In Defense of Food", "Good Calories, Bad Calories", "Raw Food Life Force Energy" and "Healing with Whole Foods".
"Healing with Whole Foods", by Paul Pitchford presents a great deal of the Asian perspective on nutrition. The Asian nutritional perspective is not based on calories or pH implications, instead focusing on how foods impact the overall 'energy' flow of the body and manifests as emotions and symptoms, both positive and negative . The holistic nutrition plan presented in "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" is very individualized, practical and asks the reader to never consider calories ever again.
The reader will evaluate foods based on the electrical energy content (electron dense vs. proton dense), the internal pH implications and the overall flow of 'energy' within the whole body. The reader will freely eat avocado's, fresh hummus and raw almond butter (which are high in calories) and avoid processed foods advertised as 'fat-free' or 'low-calorie'. The reader will also look for ways to add high calorie liquids like olive oil and hempseed oil to their meals which help raise pH while eliminating low calorie liquids like diet soda's, vinegar dressings and coffee which severely lower the pH within the body.
In addition, the reader will determine their own individualized holistic nutrition plan which suggests the proper balance between raw and lightly cooked foods in order to adequately generate and balance the 'energy' flow within the whole body. In combination with a multitude of other skills the reader will learn of practical ways to avoid the most damaging foods (called negative 'stressors') and realistic manners of implementing the holistic nutrition plan as a step-by-step process.
One can start their holistic nutrition plan today by replacing dairy, animal foods in general, processed foods and drinks with high quality foods which may or may not be high in calories. These high quality foods are green leafy vegetables, low-starch vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds, specific nut and seed butters, a few grains (quinoa, buckwheat, millet and brown rice) and fatty fish. The following links are for articles previously written which specifically make some recommendations to start off a basic, soon-to-be individualized holistic nutrition plan
So, until "The True Health Lifestyle: Guide for Holistic Self-Care" is published in 2011 the inspired individual can easily e-mail me directly at truehealthservices@gmail.com for direct information and holistic lifestyle consultations.
Furthermore, the ultra-inspired reader can directly read "The pH Miracle: Revised and Updated" by Dr. Robert Young first and follow that with "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan, "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. Furthermore, if one were so inclined and time efficient "Healing with Whole Foods" by Paul Pitchford and "Raw Food Life Force Energy" by Natalia Rose are also recommended. Finally, "Never Be Sick Again" by Raymond Francis, "Food Combining and Digestion" by Steve Meyerowitz, "The Ultra-Mind Solution" by Dr. Mark Hyman and "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell offer valuable perspectives and practical suggestions on nutrition.
Best wishes in your holistic self-care, I encourage you to e-mail me with questions or comments. Thanks for reading and remember to be kind, not right when interacting with others and try to help at least one other person every day!
