DIMINISHING THE APPETITE

Articles In This Section:

· PROPER DIET

· DIMINISHING THE APPETITE

· TAKING VITAMINS AND MINERALS

· NUTRITION FACTS

· SPECIAL MENTION OF CERTAIN FOODS

· AN OCCASIONAL CIGARETTE

· DRINKS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL

· YOGA PRACTICE OF FASTING

Finally, chewing food thoroughly also diminishes the appetite or, to put it another way, the more you chew the less you will want or need to eat, for small amounts of food will keep you well-nourished provided, of course, that your diet is a balanced one. Taking time to taste and to savor will also enhance your enjoyment of food. And this will in turn pay added dividends, for pleasure in the tasting helps a free flow of gastric juices, which helps digestion. To put it another way, be glad if a dish that is set before you makes your mouth water.

Is it necessary to adhere to strict diet rules to follow Yoga teachings? The answer depends on each person's personal goals. The highly developed Yogi is a teetotaler and a most frugal eater, but contrary to popular misconception there are no strict rules; the Yogis are neither food faddists nor even necessarily vegetarians, and their attitude toward eating is not one of asceticism. Their general approach to diet, as to all other aspects of human behavior, is one of moderation and self-discipline. They do not consider enjoyment of food synonymous with gluttony and would never advocate robbing you of the pleasures of savoring the taste, smell, texture, even the appearance of the dishes you like. Nor do they believe there is any special virtue in vegetarianism as such—if, by that, one means helping make someone into a better man or woman. But Yoga teaches that certain foods, among them milk, fruit, cereals, butter, cheese and all vegetables (preferably eaten raw) are Sattwic food-stuffs and render the blood-stream and the mind pure; while meat, fish, eggs are Rajasic and excite the passionate nature of man. From this you may readily see how a highly detached philosopher will make a choice of foods.

Possibly the reason why so many people have come to equate vegetarianism with Yoga is that Mahatma Ghandi, that most famous of Gurus, never touched meat. That was his personal choice. The fact is, too, that the Hindee in general are not great meat-eaters. India's hot climate and its low standard of living doubtless have much to do with this, besides which in a country where the cow is a sacred animal meat consumption would naturally tend to be lower than in other parts of the world. But these are only contributing factors. Here is how one Yogi Teacher explained his own preference for a diet of fruit, milk, vegetables and nuts: "My tastes have grown simpler with the years," he told me in the course of discussion. "As I became more detached, my habits, my very body needs seemed to change. I never force it—it simply happened. Today I no longer desire meat or other rich foods." But this was a man who had spent twenty years in seclusion in a monastery. He made it clear that he did not expect his disciples to follow his strict regimen.

Since Yoga principles for mental and physical health coincide so amazingly with the findings of modern medicine, it is not surprising to find their basic diet rules similar to the health diets advocated by our own up-to-date experts. The accent, as was already mentioned, is on fresh fruit and vegetables, high-protein foods like eggs, cheese, meat in small quantities, nuts, and milk, modest amounts of fats and carbohydrates— and as few condiments as possible. It is important to eat natural, not processed foods, in order to get the full benefit of what the earth can give us.