Cooking is something we all take for granted but a new theory suggests that if we had not learned to cook food, not only would we still look like chimps but, like them, we would also be compelled to spend most of the day chewing…..

Cooking food breaks down its cells, meaning that our stomachs need to do less work to liberate the nutrients our bodies need. This, says Wheeler, “freed up energy which could then be used to power a larger brain. The increase in brain-size mirrors the reduction in the size of the gut.” Significantly Wheeler and Aiello found that the reduction in the size of our digestive system was exactly the same amount that our brains grew by - 20%. Professor Stephen Secor at the University of Alabama found that not only does cooked food release more energy, but the body uses less energy in digesting it. As a consequence, more time was available for social structure to develop.
- from BBC, Learning to Cook Produced Bigger Brains

Changing food habits is a good example of how we shape our own evolution.

Our evolved biology makes our behavior and culture possible. Our behavior and culture changes, and this allows us to make use of our evolved potential in new ways. Both of these changes our selection pressures. Which in turn changes us biologically as a species. And this changes what is possible for us as individuals and as a culture.

We have evolved so it is possible for us to use tools and cook food. Cooking food allows us to make better use of food nutrients, which in turn allows us to make different and new use of our evolved potential. Both of these changes our circumstances and selection pressures, so different characteristics are selected for. This changes us biologically as a species. And this opens new options for us as a species and a culture.

Nowadays, our own culture is perhaps the most significant source of our own evolutionary change, as it has been for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. Through culture, we change our social and ecological environments, which in turn changes the selection pressures, which in turn changes who we are.

(more…)

The four essentials:

1. Move Naturally – Make your home, community and workplace present you with natural ways to move. Focus on activities you love, like gardening, walking and playing with your family.

2. Right Outlook – Know and be able to articulate your sense of purpose, and ensure your day is punctuated with periods of calm.

3. Eat Wisely – Instead of groping from fad diet to fad diets, use time-honored strategies for eating 20% less at meals. Avoid meat and processed food and drink a couple of glasses of wine daily.

4. Belong to the Right Tribe – Surround yourself with the right people, make the effort to connect or reconnect with your religion and put loved ones first.

More info at Blue Zones.

But before we cede the entire moral penthouse to “committed vegetarians” and “strong ethical vegans,” we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot. This is not meant as a trite argument or a chuckled aside. Plants are lively and seek to keep it that way. The more that scientists learn about the complexity of plants — their keen sensitivity to the environment, the speed with which they react to changes in the environment, and the extraordinary number of tricks that plants will rally to fight off attackers and solicit help from afar — the more impressed researchers become, and the less easily we can dismiss plants as so much fiberfill backdrop, passive sunlight collectors on which deer, antelope and vegans can conveniently graze. It’s time for a green revolution, a reseeding of our stubborn animal minds.
- from Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too by Natalie Angier, New York Times

Albert Schweitzer had a good take on this: No matter what we eat, someone or something dies, so we are in debt to life. The question is, how do we pay this by back? How do we serve life?

When I make my own food, I try to eat local, organic and lower on the food chain. Although I do eat meat at times, and I will eat anything I am served by others. For me, it is more about quantities than absolutes. And I have tried to pay back through several years of work in sustainability (local, solution focused, partnership oriented, using guidelines such as the ecological footprint and The Natural Step). And now, more through offering free Breema bodywork and low-cost classes.

There is no need for us to try to justify our food choices, because no matter what we eat, we take life. But there is a need an invitation for us to make the kindest and wisest food choices possible, individually and as a society. What serves life best? What is delicious, nutritious, good for the local economy, good for ecosystems, good for future generations, reduces suffering as much as possible, and practical? How can we organize ourselves so these choices are also the easy, fun, and attractive choices? Many people work on this, and there are many good examples out there (such as CSA farms), so I won’t go into details here.

(more…)

Going into the summer, I find that I eat more fresh and raw food, so this is a good time to write down a recipe I have enjoyed this winter and spring - as a reminder for myself for next year.

• Steel cut oats, soaked overnight. This starts a slight fermentation process and eases digestion.
• Add coconut flakes, raisins, sliced apple, banana, sunflower seeds, etc. I usually use only coconut flakes and apple.
  
• Cook w. green temple chai, or another spice tea, instead of some or all of the water. This adds to the flavor and gives a nice warming effect in the body.
• Slow cook on low heat while stirring the bottom occasionally.
• Serve w. gomasio (roasted and salted sesame seeds), honey, etc.

I have fermented foods off and on for a while, but for some reason haven’t gotten around to making sauerkraut yet. (Could have something to do with irrational prejudices left over from childhood!)

I now have a nice batch of dill-sauerkraut fermenting in the kitchen, and it should be done sometime next week.

Above is a nice little video on how to do it, with more information at the Kitchen Gardeners International website.

Fermented food tastes great, is richly nutritious, and is easily digested and made use of by the body. When I ferment it myself, I find that it creates a deeper sense of connection with my food, body and life in general, and is fun and easy to do as well.

New research suggests that nutritional supplements may, in some cases, lead to increased mortality rates.

I am sure that these supplements are very helpful in some situations, but it also is a reminder that there is no substitute for eating healthy, and that eating healthy in most cases is sufficient.

After all, we evolved for billions of years - counting our pre-human ancestors - eating whole organisms, and we have only had nutritional supplements for a few decades. Food contains nutrients in a form and combination that our bodies have evolved to make use of.  So when it is available to us, it makes more sense to rely on varied, fresh, mostly whole, and less processed foods.

And if it is local (family farms, CSAs), and grown in healthy soil (organic, biodynamic), it has additional benefits. It tastes great, supports the local economy and ecosystems, and supports a healthy form of food production. And if we need an extra boost, teas and infusions are a good first choice before supplements.

Research has suggested certain vitamin supplements do not extend life and could even lead to a premature death. A review of 67 studies found “no convincing evidence” that antioxidant supplements cut the risk of dying.

Scientists at Copenhagen University said vitamins A and E could interfere with the body’s natural defences.

“Even more, beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E seem to increase mortality,” according to the review by the respected Cochrane Collaboration.

Source: BBC News.

An interesting story from BBC on three locations where people live unusually long and healthy lives.

The Okinawan’s most significant cultural tradition is known as hara hachi bu, which translated means eat until you’re only 80% full.

In a typical day they only consume around 1,200 calories, about 20% less than most people in the UK. Culturally it is a million miles from attitudes in a lot of Western societies, where all-you-can-eat meal deals are offered in restaurants on most high streets.

Hara hachi bu is not specific to Okinawa, so there are other factors at play. And whether it has an impact on longevity or not, it certainly has an impact on immediate well being, as I notice very clearly for myself.

If I eat until I am full, I feel heavy, sluggish, dull and constipated, with all of me. But if I eat until it is just enough, hara hachi bu, I feel alert, nourished, ready to go on with my day.

So whatever long term benefits it may or may not have, it certainly have immediate benefits that makes it well worth it.

It feels better all around, and when I notice that, it becomes easy to eat just enough. Eating more is not pleasant anymore.

(more…)

From BBC’s Around the World in 80 Gardens. Definitely worth a watch, and a try!

A post on food dogmatism by c4 reminds me that being pragmatic about food is more peaceful, and also, in the long run, probably more effective.

There are many good reasons for eating vegetarian, including ecology (less land used, less antibiotics used), health (helps many aspects of our health), and concerns for our fellow creatures. (Would I want other creatures to suffer for a short lived enjoyment for myself? No.)

And there are also many good reasons for being flexible about our food habits, such as our relationships and, sometimes, our health.

Which is why I often say I eat 95% vegetarian when someone asks me. I eat mostly vegetarian when I cook my own food (rare occasions with smaller amounts of meat), and I’ll eat whatever is put in front of me when I am with others. (I also try to eat organic, local and free range as much as possible, and when I eat with others, I go for mostly the non-meat parts of the meal if I serve myself.)

There are many reasons why it makes sense to not be too dogmatic about food. Relationships is the obvious one. Do I see food choices as more important than my relationships? No. Can I find ways to balance out the two if I am pragmatic about it? Yes.

(more…)

I my teens, I discovered a tea which had a profound effect on me, nourishing me deeply throughout the body and energetically. It is made by Stangeland who worked with energy medicine, and put together different teas to nurture us in the ways our modern foods and life often does not. I have used it occasionally since then, most recently right now, and am still amazed by how deeply nurturing I experience it. Especially when I feel depleted for one reason or another.

The tea can be ordered through their website, which is only in Norwegian. (But you can email.) The basic tea is called “basis te”, which I now use in combination with the chakra tea.

They recommend simmering for a couple of hours, store in the fridge, and drink half a cup two or three times a day. I cheat and make it as an infusion (which in my experience works as well, and is easier): Fill a jar with hot water and add the tea (a couple of large spoons), let it sit for a while, and store cold. I also refill once or twice with hot water to get more out of the herbs.

I am visiting my family, and food is one of the things that receive more attention than usual. It helps me notice again the difference between tasting with the mouth or with the whole body.

If we taste with the mouth only, we are usually in for trouble one way or another. As we eat, we may ignore the signals from the body saying “that’s enough” or “stay away from that right now” and then pay for it later.

But if I experience myself as that whole beyond and including body-psyche, and am more aware of and responsive to the body, I taste with the whole of me, the whole body and mind. And here, it becomes easy and simple to eat just enough, and also to say no to the foods that do not seem nurturing right now.

I notice that my center of gravity is stably and easily in the second, although I do choose to override it occasionally, which then is just another experience. Another thing to explore and notice.

And a recipe for my favorite breakfast right now:

1. Soak steel cut oats, coconut flakes and raisins over night
2. In the morning, make a cup of strong Green Temple Chai (or another spicy tea)
3. Add the tea and pieces of pear, banana and/or apple (or any other fruit) to the oat mix
4. Cook on low heat for a while (I often do it for half an hour or so)
5. Eat with Green Temple Chai or another spice tea

Right now, during the cold season, this is a breakfast that feels deeply nurturing for the whole body, whole mind.

The British Cheese Board has found that eating different types of cheese before going to bed induces different types of dreams…!

85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most unusual dreams of the whole study. 65% of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities, over 65% of participants eating Red Leicester revisited their schooldays, all female participants who ate British Brie had nice relaxing dreams whereas male participants had cryptic dreams, two thirds of all those who ate Lancashire had a dream about work and over half of Cheshire eaters had a dreamless sleep. [...]

What is particularly interesting is the reported effect different types of British cheese have on influencing the content of dreams. It seems that selecting the type of cheese you eat before bedtime may help determine the very nature of often colourful and vivid cheese induced dreams”

I am not really that surprised as I have found that many things seem to influence not only my sleep but also my dreams, including what and when I eat (chocolate cake is especially good for making my mind go haywire) and where I sleep (sometimes, it even seems that my dreams pick up the typical content of other’s dreams if I sleep where someone else usually sleeps).

In general, food influences me and my mind in sometimes dramatic ways. Dairy makes me and my thinking sluggish and heavy. Sugar makes me very tired. Wheat makes my mind go slightly haywire, in a different way than chocolate cake (!) Chocolate cake wreaks havoc with my attention, where wheat makes everything feel slightly weird and unreal. Apples makes me and my mind feel alert and fresh, and the same is the case for most other fruits. Vegetables, especially if cooked, are more neutral. Meat gives a nice earthy heavy feeling.

I haven’t heard about any other studies looking at the connection between food and the mind (including dreams), but it seems that it would be fertile ground for research, and even have some practical implications.

I am not sure if this is the experience of others as well, but to me it seems that the centaur level also involves a change in taste. (Centaur=a living and lived experience of the whole beyond and including body-mind, the whole of our human self.)
If there is a fragmented sense of self at the human level, taste is also fragmented. Specifically, something can taste good in the mouth and not in the body and the other way around. And this can of course give a sense of conflict, of shoulds and wants pulling in different directions.

But when the sense of our human self is more whole, when there is a direct living experience of the larger whole, the taste also is more whole. When I taste, I taste with the mouth and the body simultaneously. The two are not only aligned, but revealed as the same. Shoulds and wants give way for a simple centaur response to food, so what is good for the whole is also what is wanted. (There are apparent exceptions to this, but even then, what I eat turns out to be something this body-mind seems to need and thrive on, at least in smaller amounts.)

I noticed this even in my teens and early twenties, but didn’t always live from it. Now, it there is a sense of more maturity in it so it becomes (typically) daily and effortless.

Last night, I was reminded of the old advice of the medicine (or poison) being in the dosage, and also that any guideline is only a guideline. Life is always more and more fluid than any guideline.

Over the last few days, I have been getting progressively more tired and exhausted, in spite of a good diet and a regular amount of sleep. I have also had a strong dairy craving which I successfully (and it turned out, stupidly) resisted. Then last night, I bought some feta cheese for a salad, and had a good chunk of it (with a couple of tomatoes) for myself, which almost immediately - and miraculously - restored my energy. I had a great nights sleep, and woke up completely rested.

So the dairy craving was a craving coming from the physical body, needing something in dairy. And, as I well know from before, even if dairy is poison for my body in regular and large amounts (bringing a great deal of sluggishness), it is essential medicine in irregular and smaller amounts.

There is no lack of ironies in our relationship with food in our civilization… for instance, a good number of people across the world starve because they have limited access to food, while others are malnourished from eating large quantities of not especially nutritious foods.

Yet, it can be so simple, and so obvious. Here are some of the guidelines that work for me…

• Drink lots of water (pale to blank urine… this is by far what is most important for my own system, the whole body-mind feels congested if I don’t)
• Eat foods with multiple benefits… good for the body, enjoyable to the mind, gentle on the pocket book, and (as much as possible) good for the local and global ecological and social systems
• Eat fresh (local and in season when possible), colorful, varied and less processed foods
• Eat mostly low on the food chain, with some meat (also good for our ecosystems)
• Eat at least some raw foods at each meal (fresh and more nutritions)
• Eat with the seasons, not only in terms of what is available but also in how it is prepared (I eat more raw foods in the summer, and more cooked in the winter)
• Eat the main meal mid-day when possible, and avoid eating in the evening and especially late at night (a big meal mid-day gives me energy for the rest of the day, and I feel congested and have weird dreams if I eat too late…!)
• Cook on low heat
• Eat fermented foods (pre-digested, extra nutrients)
• Eat with others when possible, and slow down when eating (chew each bite well, and take time to really taste it)
• Use it as an opportunity for appreciation and gratitude, and as a reminder of the radical interconnectedness of all that is.
• Leave some space in the stomach, don’t fill it all the way up (again, I feel congested if I eat too much)
• Don’t take any food guidelines as anything more than a general guideline (food is too important to be absolutist about)
  
• Listen to the body, and adjust when and what you eat depending on what the body tells you - which will change over time depending on time of day, seasons, health, age, and so on (I eat dairy, wheat and sugar in only limited - or often no - amounts, because my body-mind does not do well on those)
• Don’t stray too far away from what your ancestors ate (it is a good general guideline, but our ancestors ate quite different foods at different times - raw further back and cooked later on - so it is not fool proof)