Philosophy of Food

Food is a topic that can really stir up emotions. That is because we have so many emotions and personality identities that are invested in what we eat, how we eat, who we eat it with, why we are actually eating. We are the only species on earth that rationalizes, scrutinizes, philosophises, personalizes and emotionalizes everything there is about food. And yet food is something we take into our body 3,4,5 or even 6 times per day! What would our life be like if we did Yoga, meditation, prayer, or any other healing modality 6X per day? If we do anything up to 6x per day think of the potential it might have to harm or to heal!

How many of us actually stop and self reflect on our current philosophy of food or better yet self analyze what our belief structures that we have either adapted from an outside source (usually mom or grandma and then our peers or culture) or created. Raw food, cooked food, food as pleasure, food to connect with others, food is social, food is fuel, food is medicine, food is wasted etc...There is junk food-those who eat junk food what do you think their philosophy of life, love and health might be. There is 'health food' their is cooked food, canned food, boxed food, packaged food, even plastic food (margarine and other trans fatty acids are actually one molecule away from being plastic!). There is fake food, fast food, slow food, conventional food, organic food, etc...How did we come to this much confusion, controversy, chaos, and down right disconnection with food?

Hippocrates had a simple philosophy that we let food be our medicine and our medicine be our food. Thomas Edison also had a philosophy "The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in proper diet, and in the cause of and prevention of disease." Of course in those days the definition of doctor was "teacher of life". Who's doctor is teaching the patient about life or how to avoid being a patient! What about the Ayurveda proverb "If you eat the wrong food no supplements, medicine or herbs will work and if you eat the right food no supplements, medicine or herbs will be necessary." If you really take a look at your own habits surrounding food you will begin to uncover your beliefs and the emotions that you hide, sugar coat and self medicate. This is doing the disease!

In November of 1995 my cancer returned for the second time. My bone marrow transplant failed and I had to turn to diet (nutrition) and exercise (movement) in order to heal my-SELF and not my cancer. This required that I take an honest look at what food meant to me and create a philosophy of how I could use the energy of food to my advantage. I was well aware that cancer was an expression of the disease and that the disease was a disconnection from being whole. In the past, I used food as pleasure, to comfort me and as a drug to self medicate any feelings of emotionality that may arise. Finally I reasoned that if I learned how to eat food in its a whole state according to Natures Laws then I would move towards greater wholeness, nature and my own naturalness/authentic Self. If I consume food in its adulterated processed state then I would be eating separateness according to man's laws. And man's laws are predominantly built on the four human greed's of lust/love, fame, money and power/control. So processed food could only increase my four human greed's. In 1995 I began my detoxification and withdrawal from my preconditioned philosophy of food and followed my own inner created philosophy. Food became a tool for the purpose of building my health and for healing. It was similar to Hippocrates, Edison and the Ayurveda proverb. Each year since 1995, I have continued to learn more and more about food according to Nature and my instinctive animal body. In 2002, I was under the guidance of Doddie Anderson, director of the Metabolic Typing Education Program, who first advised me to consume plenty of raw beef and butter! I didn't feel ready for that but she definitely planted a seed. Then in 2005, a biological dentist in San Diego recommended I acquire a raw food nutritionist that specialized in consuming raw animal products. I didn't heed his suggestion, but in 2007 I was standing in front of the meat counter and said to the butcher "Dave, I want to jump over and grab that meat and shake it in my teeth! It looks perfectly good as it is RAW!" He thought I was nuts and suggested the more socially accepted raw meat as in sushi or shashimi. And I said "I enjoyed shashimi in Australia that I know is good but right now I am feeling a deep urge to eat that pork rib and especially the porterhouse steak!" I left, but finally put all the pieces together from Doddie Anderson, the dentist, my philosophy of food being eaten according to nature and my other insights of getting more bacteria and fat into my body. It all connected! So, I found myself in the office of a local Chiropractor/Acupuncturist, Jeanette Kramer in Prescott AZ. I told her of my experience with the butcher. She left the treatment room and grabbed a book off her library shelf and handed it to me. The book was titled We Want to Live: The Primal Diet by Aajonus Vonderplanitz, PhD. She said that this would explain everything. I asked her if she ate raw meats and to my surprise she said she loved raw meats especially raw beef! In hearing that from a beautiful, intelligent and compassionate woman, it revved up my instinctive hormones! There was something very primal and attractive to me about a beautiful woman who enjoyed eating raw meat. After reading the book, I aligned with Aajonus' philosophy to use food as medicine for healing, rejuvination, fuel, longevity and disease free living. To use food according to Nature's Laws and how the human animal body digests and functions optimally-espeically in our toxic world. It was primal. Bingo!

It took over 7 years to recover my connection to my animal body and I was so thrilled. My animal body, instincts, and hormones are alive and recovering! I borrowed her book and read it in two days. Then made an appointment to get an assessment from the author and meet him in person. Today my food type, quality, etc...has evolved since 1995 much like Tiger Wood's golf clubs have evolved from the plastic type he started out with at three years old.

Has your philosophy of food evolved? Has your health improved by following your philosophy of food or are you falling apart?