PROPER DIET

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

Man is as he eateth, so George Bernard Shaw was fond of saying. He happened to be a vegetarian on principle, but whether or not he would have lived to his 94 years had his diet included meat no one can say. One thing is certain, however.

His frugal habits, his abstemiousness, his sparseness of body doubtless had a great deal to do with his long life and vigorous health.

It is not what we eat that is of paramount importance, but how we eat, when and how much. Always remember that eating really includes not only the intake of food but its digestion and assimilation. In a sense, breathing should be considered part of the process too, since bodily nourishment must of necessity include the intake of oxygen; the more oxygen is inhaled into your lungs, the better fed and cleansed your bloodstream will be.

Keep in mind the fable about the senses: "Without breath there can be no life." It is possible to exist on breath alone for many days while fasting, but the most perfectly balanced diet could not sustain you longer than a few minutes were your supply of oxygen cut off. Consequently our discussion of diet cannot be considered as separate from other aspects of your way of life.

We all know how a large meal, gobbled fast, especially when one is tired or in a state of nervous tension, may and often does produce indigestion or painful gas. So does anger. The ulcers from which high-pressure executives so often suffer are the direct result of emotional strain, for when the system is not at rest the digestive juices fail to flow freely and an acid condition is set up which, literally, corrodes the sensitive mucous lining of stomach and intestines. The habit of gulping food is in itself lethal, for the gulper starves himself even as he overeats.

Here are some of the pertinent facts, which you doubtless already know but are likely to disregard in practice a couple of times a day:

Chewing food slowly and thoroughly serves a double function. First of all it is good for your teeth. Unless you give them a daily workout by chewing solid foods, they will weaken and decay for want of exercise. Secondly, unless you do chew your food properly you do not give the saliva a chance to penetrate it. Saliva is, as you know, an important digestive juice. It contains ptyalin, an enzyme which transforms starches into maltose, or body sugar. Such foods as potatoes, bread, noodles, cereals, and mealy vegetables—in other words, the carbohydrates—must all be saturated with ptyalin if they are to do the body any good. This process must be accomplished before the carbohydrates leave the mouth, for once they have been swallowed, the hydrochloric acid in the stomach prevents any further digestion. That is why fast eaters seldom grow fat regardless of the quantities of food they consume. And while you may argue that nothing could be pleasanter than being able to gorge and still stay thin, in reality this is a fine way of cheating yourself; for the net result is undernourishment and a consequent lack of energy.