Natural Eating

In our biosphere, with the exception of humans, there are no animal species that have a set meal schedule. The majority of people follows a daily “3-meal schedule” (Breakfast, lunch, dinner), and the quantity of each meal usually stays the same. Most animals follow their body needs to determine when to eat, and what to eat. Humans, on the other hand, use their knowledge instead of need to determine their daily food intake. Thus, we can say that the daily “3-meal schedule” was not a eating habit that developed to meet our body needs, but rather it was developed for the convenience of group living life styles.

A person’s eating habit will change according to his body’s change in its needs. For example, some people have a distinct liking to red meat, many of these people shares the problem of nutrient absorption. Although their meals are high in protein, their bodies cannot properly absorb the protein from their meals. As their body’s nutrient absorption ability declines, the need for protein intake increases, and the person becomes fonder of red meat. However, if the person’s nutrient absorption ability doesn’t improve, the amount of protein intake will be irrelevant as his body cannot absorb.

Sometimes when a person’s intestines are in the process of self-repair, the person will lose his appetite. Sometimes the person will crave for sugar; it is likely that his blood sugar level is low. A person preference of food will reflect his body’s need of nutrients.

Using the knowledge of modern medicine, there are many types of foods that are defined as foods that are bad for you. When a person is ill, often times the doctor will inform him to avoid certain foods, and those foods sometimes are the ones that the person likes. Can we be certain that these foods are bad for you? In my opinion, unless the doctor has the ability to understand and cure the illness, we cannot be certain that the foods that these doctors advise you to avoid are actually the foods that are bad for your health. There exists the possibility that the advises given by the doctors are false.

The advice that I give to my patients when they are choosing their diet is that they should ignore the idea of separating the “good food” and “bad food”. Eat the foods that they want to eat, and avoid the foods that their body dislikes. During the first part of the healing process it is essential for the patient to recover his natural ability of choosing food. It is only when the patient recovers this ability, then he can eat according to the need of his body.

As I always say, humans often time over estimates their wisdom and under estimate the wisdom of their body. We should learn to trust our body’s decisions and follow the signals that are given from our body.