nutrition
What is Nutrition?
Nutrition is using food to provide the body with the necessary and beneficial nutrients for health. Complete nutrition maintains the body in proper order; incomplete (lacking) nutrition, or anti-nutrition (toxins), puts the body into dis-ease and dis-order. The only way to health is through good nutrition; there simply is no way around it. No amount or type of supplements or pharmaceuticals can fulfill the body’s continual needs for the nutrition of whole (complete) food. Only food can adequately nourish the body. The best source of nutrition for man is, as this project is entitled, “All Wholesome Herbs.”
Where does nutrition come from?
Plants harness the raw elements of the earth (sun, water, air, soil, etc.) to form carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals,* antioxidants, and innumerable phytochemicals which nourish, heal, cleanse, strengthen, and energize the body of man. The herbs (fruits, vegetables, and nuts) of the earth are not only sufficient, but unequivocally ideal, for our complete vigor and health. Whole plant foods safely and effectively bear potent nutrients to our physical bodies. There is no better nutrition for humans than whole plant foods – or, in other words, all wholesome herbs.
*Plants do not actually create minerals, but rather pull them from the soil and air and assimilate them into controlled forms which are safe and usable to our bodies. Without this plant-sourced assimilation into controlled forms, many minerals, such as iron and copper, are toxic and act as heavy metals in the body – including those we obtain from animal-based foods or “fortified” processed foods.
What Foods are Healthy?
No matter your blood type, gender, nationality, or any other attribute, you are still a human being, and your body functions as a human being, and you therefore have the same needs as other human beings. We don’t have different nutritional needs because we have different genetics; we have different genetics because we have received different nutrition.
So, then, what are the nutritional needs of human beings? Modern nutritional recommendations assert that we need daily consumption of “animal protein” (meat, eggs, and dairy) and grains. But according to Dr. William C. Roberts, who is one of the most prominent cardiovascular pathologists in the world, humans are not and were never meant to be omnivores – meaning, the human body was never meant to eat animal foods (Roberts). In fact, eating animals and their “products” is the primary source of disease and disorder. Whether we believe it or not, the human body is herbivorous – meaning that our nutrition comes from plants in the form of whole plant foods.
What about meat, eggs, and dairy?
A very common (and heavily promoted) misconception is that the human body requires animal flesh, milk, and eggs for health. This could hardly be more incorrect. In fact, eating animal-based foods is the primary source of disease, including Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, Reproductive Disorders, Osteoporosis, and Cancer.
Animals are not the original source of any nutrition. Cows don’t make calcium, and fish don’t make omega-3’s. All nutrition comes from the earth and is harnessed and synthesized by plants (and, in some cases, bacteria and fungi). We are never better off obtaining our nutrition second-hand through animals. Wholesome herbs – vegetables, fruits, and nuts – are the best and safest source of all nutrition, including protein, fat, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids (such as EPA and DHA).
Are Grains Healthy?
Modern nutritional recommendations also insist that grains are the foundation of a healthy diet. But which is healthier?
OATS or ORANGES?
BREAD or BUTTERNUT?
NOODLES or NECTARINES?
CORN or KABOCHA?
BAGELS or BLUEBERRIES?
CEREAL or SWEET POTATOES?
The truth is that vegetables and fruits (all the foods on the right) far exceed grains (on the left) in nutrition. Oranges have far more antioxidants than oats; butternut is much more nutritious than bread; and sweet potatoes are a much healthier breakfast than cereal. While grains bear only basic sustenance, whole plant foods (vegetables, fruits, and nuts) are loaded with nutrition that far exceed that of grains. All our nutritional needs are much better met through “wholesome herbs” – vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
But grains do have a very significant place in the sustenance of people. Because grains (and beans) can be stored for long periods of time without spoiling, they serve as an excellent storage food, reserved for times of famine or hunger. It is far easier to store or ship grains than vegetables. Every family would do well to maintain a personal storage of grain, especially wheat, to sustain themselves through times of need.
NOTE ABOUT GMO GRAINS: Grains that have been genetically modified (GMO) do not bear the same nutritive properties as heirloom (natural) grains, and provoke many disease conditions, including digestive disorders and “autoimmune” diseases.
"Food Groups"
Modern nutritional guidelines divide food into 6 basic “food groups”: grains, protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, and added fats/sugars. From a nutritional perspective, this is rather bizarre. There is no such thing as a “protein food” (virtually all foods contain adequate protein); grains are not foundational to a healthy diet; and “dairy” is not a “food group.” In the real world, there are three general food “groups”:
- All Wholesome Herbs (vegetables, fruits, and nuts): the best source of all nutrition and sustenance for the health, healing, strength, and energy of the human body.
- Grains (such as wheat and oats): contain the nutrition needed to sustain our bodies, but lack the superior nutrition of wholesome herbs; store over long periods of time without spoiling; a storage food for times of scarcity when wholesome herbs are unavailable.
- Animal Flesh, Milk, and Eggs: turn our bodies over to a disease “starvation state”; a food of last resort, sacrificing long-term health for short-term survival from starvation.
The real “food groups” categorize food by priority. We eat all wholesome herbs as often as available to maximize our nutrition and health; we rely on grains when we don’t have wholesome herbs to sustain us through times of scarcity; and we eat animals in times of total scarcity only when we have no plant foods. Vegetables, fruits, and nuts are the most excellent foods for man, and grains (especially wheat) are the best safety net for times of scarcity. Animal flesh can save us from starvation but does not support long-term health.
The Real Food Chain: Linking Man and Plant
Modern philosophies in biology teach that the “food chain” is the current state of animals (and man) eating whatever they can catch and kill (or, in man’s case, what is raised and slaughtered for them). This is an artificial food chain, and rather nonsensical considering the biological patterns of the earth. The real “food chain” is the symbiotic relationship between man and plant (or between animal and plant). This is the biology of continual increase in which both receive and give more.
The
SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP
between
MAN and PLANT
Breathes in Oxygen; Breathes out Carbon Dioxide
Requires Protein; Excretes Nitrogen
Picks and Eats Fruit; Plants Seeds
Breathes in Carbon Dioxide; Breathes Out Oxygen
Fixes Nitrogen; Manufactures Protein in Food
Produces More in Response to Picking
THe Symbiotic Relationship
between
Man and Plant
Man
Breathes in Oxygen;
Breathes out Carbon Dioxide
Requires Protein; Excretes Nitrogen
Picks Fruit
Plant
Breathes in Carbon Dioxide;
Breathes Out Oxygen
Fixes Nitrogen;
Manufactures Protein in Food
Produces More in Response to Picking
What about Processed Foods?
Processed “foods” are food products made from unnaturally processing food in ways that destroy the nutrition and “wholeness” of the food. Food processing is basically external digestion – breaking down the food and exposing the nutrients – but since it’s done outside the body, the nutrition breaks down (through oxidation and other means) before we absorb it, and no longer bears the same benefits. In fact, what was previously nutritious can become toxic, as with oxidized oils.
Food Preparation
Natural
- Cutting (slicing, dicing, chopping, etc.): makes food more manageable and easier to cook and eat in smaller pieces
- Cooking (oven-baking or steam-cooking): increases palatability and digestibility of the food
Food Processing
Unnatural
- Grinding, Blending, Pureeing: unnaturally grinding food into a fine consistency before consumption breaks apart the whole-food form and breaks down nutrients
- Juicing: unnaturally extracts sugars and other water-soluble contents from the whole food structure (such as separating sugars from fibers)
- Extracting: whereas they were previously healthful in their whole food form, extracted oils, sugars, etc. are damaging to health
- Frying, Sautéing (cooking with oil): cooking in extracted oils forms and concentrates many toxins in the cooking process
Food processing is not the same as food preparation. The wholeness of our food does not mean we cannot cut or cook it – in fact, many whole plant foods require cooking. Cutting and cooking are natural food preparations, and still maintain the “whole” form of the food. Unnatural processing, however, destroys the delicate nutrition and alters the very nature of the food. Processed gummy fruit snacks are obviously not the same as whole fruits, and extracted walnut oil is not the same as the whole walnut. With some common sense we can easily judge between natural preparation and unnatural processing.
"Just a little won't hurt... right?"
If we’re honest with ourselves, we will realize that there is no such thing as “getting away” with eating unhealthful (animal-based or processed) “foods” because we can’t hide our food from our own body. Whether we immediately recognize it or not, every unhealthful thing we eat damages our health. Our food does not magically evaporate after we swallow, but continues through the complete process of digestion, absorption, and metabolism. Consider this quote from one of the most significant studies of nutrition ever done:
"Even small intakes of foods of animal origin are associated with… significant increases in chronic degenerative disease mortality rates."
Campbell TC, et al. Diet and Chronic Degenerative Diseases: Perspectives from China. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 59(5): 1153S-1161S, May 1994.
Eating even small amounts of unhealthful food can significantly depress our health – and our appetite. That old slogan “just once won’t hurt” or “just a little won’t hurt” has been used for decades to get us to open our mouths for the hook of addiction. We are happier and healthier when we avoid the temptation and heal from the addiction, than when we give in to the temptation only to suffer it again, and again, and again later.
Choose Your Pleasure and Keep Your Momentum
We have been led to believe that healthy foods “make up” for unhealthy foods, that a few vegetables somehow chase after all the bad stuff we eat and escort it back out. Or perhaps we think that when we eat vegetables, we “earn” that ice cream. That’s like saying (in baseball) if we hit a home run, we “earn” the right to strike out; or (in basketball) if we swoosh a 3-pointer, we “earn” the right to shoot an “air ball.” Let’s be honest with ourselves – we don’t have to “earn” the right to indulge; we have our agency and can do as we please, within law and civility. We can choose to eat that unhealthful thing and suffer the harm – or, we can choose to maintain our positive momentum and enjoy the superior pleasures of health.
The truth is, it is easier to enjoy vegetables when we don’t eat chips; it is easier to enjoy fruit when we don’t eat candy; and it is easier to enjoy nuts when we don’t eat crackers. If you are willing to commit for even just ten days, your palate will adapt and you will find it increasingly easier to direct your appetite to wholesome foods. In fact, one of the most prominent nutritional scientists of our time asserts that when we change to a diet of whole plant foods, “meaningful change occurs within 1 to 3 days” (Campbell). It doesn’t take long, and it’s immeasurably worth the effort.
The purpose of this project is to reach all who desire to regain their autonomy and enjoy the pleasure and freedom of good health. If that’s you, stick around; learn answers to your questions, and start adjusting your lifestyle to make it become the life you want to live.
Research
Williams RC. Twenty Questions on Atherosclerosis. Proceedings (Baylor University Medical Center), 13(2): 139-143, Apr. 2000.
Campbell TC. Nutrition and Medicine: Are They Connected? American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 15(5): 495-497, Sep-Oct. 2021.