Health

by Ac. Vedprajinananda Avadhuta

While most complex machines which we use today have a complete operating manual which explains how to get the best use out of that machine, our human body, which is in some ways like a machine, does not have such a definitive operating manual . As a consequence we often treat our body in ways which are harmful to the proper functioning of this structure. Although medical and scientific knowledge has become an important feature of modern life, many of the physical and mental diseases which plague humanity today can be prevented or cured simply by adopting a way of life which is in harmony with the true needs of our physical body.

Yoga is an ancient science of physical, mental and spiritual development which originated in India more than 7000 years ago. Many people have misconceptions about yoga and think that it is mainly a set of strenuous postures which only circus acrobats can perform, or associate it with mystic or esoteric ideas which are far removed from the daily life of the masses of humanity. Rather, yoga has much to offer to contemporary humans and it contains clear ideas and practices which can be implemented by many people who wish to live a healthy, happy and meaningful life. ln short, the ideas and practice of yoga are the “missing” operating manuals for the successful functioning of the human structure.

While most humans live longer today than they did in the past, during the last years of their life (and often even in middle age) they are often troubled with many different physical problems and become incapacitated to a certain degree. Yoga says that if humans observe certain rules, they can easily live an active life to the age of 80. What are these yogic secrets for a long and healthy life? in this article we will give an overview of these practices. A complete discussion of many of these points would take more time, but interested
people can do this by attending our courses or by reading our books.

According to yoga there are six “secrets” of longevity. They are as follows:

1. Proper Physical Labor

In the past people had to use their physical bodies in the course of their normal work. But today someone may get up, go to work in a car, then sit down, get up to go home in the car and when arriving at home, sit down again for the rest of the day. In such a life there is no physical labor. This physical inactivity is one of the main reasons for a host of diseases. Sport, running. walking and other things must be added to our life if our normal work does not require us to exert ourselves physically. In yoga there are some special exercises which are also prescribed and we will discuss them more fully below.

2. Going to sleep when one feels sleepy

This may sound simple, but many people stay up late even when their body is telling them that it is time to sleep. Yoga and Ayurvedic doctors also say that it is better to sleep in the night and be active during the day. However, people such as students will take coffee and stimulants to study late into the night. Others develop the habit of remaining active at night and sleeping during the day. While we can do this, it eventually takes a toll on health. Yoga says that this kind of unnatural living is one of the contributing factors in the causation of cancer.

3. Eating when one feels hungry

This is also a simple idea, but once again we often go against the messages of the body. If one eats out of habit or due to social pressure at certain time of the day, even when one has no real appetite, then there will not be proper digestion of food. Acidity and indigestion begin and this contributes to the likelihood of other more complex diseases taking root. Having an appetite is actually a sign of good health, but if there is no appetite one should wait a bit and then eat. (If one has no appetite even after awaiting a reasonable amount of time, then a doctor should be consulted because something is wrong.)

4. Regular fasting

If would ask any person to work 365 days per year without any rest, they would complain and say that they must have some rest or else they will break down. But we have never bothered to ask or to think about our digestive organs which we compel to work day after day without a rest. They cannot protest the way a person would to his boss, but they do give us signals that they cannot work non-stop. When we ignore those signals and still compel them to work, those organs break down. That is why yoga is say that on a periodic basis it is good to refrain from eating for one complete day. This gives a rest to the digestive organs and also help in the elimination of wastes from the body. Regular fasting allows a person to use the fasting days for intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Fasting is not for hermits in a cave, but is a sensible practice that anyone can practice. In a future article we will explain the procedures for fasting.

5. Ablution before sleep

As mentioned above, proper sleep is essential for the maintenance of health. If one washes important motor and sensory organs (hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) before sleep using cool water this relaxes the body and prepares it for deep sleep.

6. Regular performance of meditation

The body is linked to the mind. Many of the diseases of this era are psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety take their toll on our physical health. Meditation is a mental exercise which, among other things, allows a person to detach him or herself from the worries of life.
Just as we take vacations and go to the mountains or the sea to “get away from it all” and to get mental peace. Meditation enables a person to do this on a daily basis without expensive travel costs. In a subsequent article the role of meditation in the achievement mental well-being will be fully discussed. In this discussion about the physical aspect of yoga, it is important to remember that meditation has a direct influence on our physical body and helps for example to lower blood pressure. Thus, meditation is one of the keys to a long and productive life.

Additional tips for good health

There are three more prescriptions for maintaining a healthy body.

1. Eat raw foods as much as possible

Raw foods (salads, fruits and vegetables) almost always have an alkaline effect on the body. That is, the digestion of these foods contributes to a flow of blood in the body which is alkaline. Most starches and carbohydrates (bread, grains, etc.) as well as meat products are acid-forming. If one consumes more alkaline foods than acidic foods, many diseases such as rheumatism, skin diseases, cancer and others can be prevented or even cured . Conversely, if one consumes a very high proportion of acidic of foods, it is an invitation for diseases.

2. Eat yoghurt

Yoghurt is nutritious and easy to digest. It contains microorganisms which are helpful for our digestive systems.

3. Follow an overall system of physical, mental and spiritual practice

That is, if one follows a complete system, combining proper exercise, food, fasting and meditation, that person’s life will indeed be blissful.

Yoga Postures

No discussion on the physical aspect of yoga would be complete without some words on yoga postures. These postures are called “asanas,” which means a position which is easily held and brings a feeling of composure in the person. Although some of the postures are complex and require exceptional agility, many of the mare simple and can be practiced by anyone.

In the beginning of this article, we mentioned that physical exercise is a key to achieving a long life. Most physical exercises develop the muscles or aid in the circulation of blood. Yoga asanas are “inner sizes” in that, in addition to working on the muscles and circulation, they also have a profound affect on endocrine glands and nerves. Yoga asanas were developed over a period of thousands of years. At first yogis watched the postures of different animals and then imitated them. For example, the peacock is a bird with a powerful digestive system; it can digest a poisonous snake. Similarly there is a posture in which the yogi imitates the position of the peacock. The posture helps develop the glands and organs responsible for digestion and can prevent or cure many diseases that originate in this area of the body.

The endocrine glands are ductless glands which distribute hormones directly into the blood. They have a profound effect on many physical and mental activities of a human being. The thyroid gland (located in the throat) regulates metabolism; that is, the conversion of foods into energy. If this gland under-secretes (gives less hormone into the bloodstream), then a person may become very fat even without consuming much food. An over-secretion of the same gland can make a person too thin even though he or she is consuming large amounts of food. The shoulder stand posture of yoga, regulates this gland. It puts pressure on the thyroid gland. When the posture is released the flow of blood rushing into the throat “massages” the gland and helps it to achieve the right amount of secretion. The other yoga postures work in a similar fashion, maintaining the optimum glandular secretion.

Yoga postures also help maintain the flexibility of the spine. As we age the spine has a tendency to grow rigid. Regular performance of yoga, postures stops this process. The posture known as the spinal twist is an example of such a posture.

Finally there is another aspect of yoga asanas which makes them different from other kinds of exercise. One of the important discoveries of the ancients ages is that there is a system of energy centers or cakras (pronounced chakra) in the body. These centers located along the spine are primarily psycho-spiritual realities (rather than anatomical features) but they are associated with physical glands as well as nerves. Each of these centers regulates different mental propensities. The yogis in their meditation, visualized these cakras and described them as flowers having different petals. Each petal represents a particular mental propensity. For example, the cakra located at the height of the navel area is pictured as having10 petals representing different mental propensities. One of these propensitiesis “anger” . Thus it is often true that those people who have ulcers, constipation or other aggravations in this region also suffer from an irritable or angry personality. Yogis thus prescribe asanas for weakened regions of the body which will directly affect the cakras, helping to physical disease as well as psychic imbalances.

One further word about yoga postures. Every person is unique. Our physical bodies are not the same. The yoga postures of a 60 year old woman suffering from rheumatism are quite different from those of young man in good health. Thus yoga postures cannot just be taken out of a book. Rather the best way is to learn the exact postures which are best for your condition. A qualified teacher can help you to learn which postures are the right ones for you.

In summary, these asanas can be helpful to many people They are easily learned and can be practiced conveniently at home. When the yoga asanas are combined with the other points outlined above they become an important part of a way of life which will bring physical, mental and spiritual fulfillment.

Vegetarian Philosophy

One of the worries people have when they think about adopting a vegetarian diet is, “Will I get enough nutrition if I don’t eat meat? Will I get enough protein?” They have nothing to worry about: a vegetarian diet can provide all necessary body nutrients. In fact, many studies have shown that a vegetarian diet provides much more nutritional energy than a meat diet.

Food and the Forces of the Universe

Thousands of years ago, yoga sages realized the tremendous importance of the food we eat on the state of our bodies and minds. Through their deep, introspective investigations into the nature of the universe, those ancient yogis realized what modern scientists since Einstein are just beginning to discover: that the entire manifested universe is composed of vibrations – vibrations of energy and, ultimately, vibrations of consciousness. In this universe of multifarious waves, what we call matter (solids, liquids and gases), sound, light, and thought, are all simply waves vibrating at different frequencies, from gross to “subtle.” All foods are also permeated with their own subtle vibrations, at different frequencies, and these vibrations in turn affect the body and mind of the person eating them. After long experimentation with different foods on their own bodies and minds (for the yogis were practical, empirical scientists, not merely theoreticians), those ancient seers characterized foods into three categories, corresponding to the three forces which are operating simultaneously everywhere in the universe, in all entities. When any one of these vibrational flows, or energy forces, predominates in any object or creature, it takes on the qualities of that force.

 

1. Sattvika ahara (Sentient Food)

The first of these universal forces is the sentient force of self-awareness, love, peace, purity and joy. When the sentient force is predominant in our minds, we feel peaceful, relaxed and calm, and our minds flow easily to higher levels of consciousness. “Sentient foods” are those in which the sentient force is dominant, which make our minds clear and calm. These foods are the basis of the yogic diet, for they are the most conducive to physical health and mental peace; they are the best diet for those who seek to elevate their minds to higher states of consciousness and attain self-realization. This group of foods includes fruits, most vegetables, beans and nuts, grains, milk and milk products, and moderate amounts of most herbs and spices. The sentient diet (sometimes called “lacto-vegetarian” because it includes milk and milk products) provides a wide variety of nutrients supplying proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and all the essential vitamins and minerals.

2. Rajasika ahara (Mutative Food)

The second of these universal flows is the imitative force , the force of restless movement, activity of change. When this force is predominant in our minds, we become agitated, nervous and restless, unable to calm down and relax. Mutative foods are those which stimulate the body and mind, and should be taken only in moderation in order to maintain our mental balance. Indeed, eating too much of these stimulating foods disturbs the mind and makes it impossible to still the mind for subtle mental pursuits such as meditation. Included in this cateogry are: caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea, carbonated drinks, chocolate, hot spices such as red peppers, fermented foods, and some medicinal drugs.

 

3. Tamasika ahara (Static Food)

The third force is the static force; the force of dullness, inertia, decay, and death. Death occurs when the other two forces in any living entity have completely waned and the static force alone predominates. When this force is operating in our minds, we feel sleepy, dull and listless, lacking energy and initiative. The static foods include meats, fish onion, garlic, eggs, mushrooms, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and food that is fermented, stale or spoiled. These foods should be avoided by those who seek to attain health of body and elevation of mind.

 

 

Why humans are primarily plant-eaters by design

by Michael Bluejay

A fair look at the evidence shows that humans are optimized for eating exclusively plant foods, and not meat. Consider:

• Human anatomy: We’re most similar to other herbivores, and drastically different from carnivores.
• Longevity & health: There’s a direct correlation between the amount of meat you eat and the amount of illness you suffer. Meat is poison to us. It’s the primary reason we get heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and every other major degenerative disease. If eating meat were natural, it wouldn’t make us so sick.
• Physical performance: People have much better endurance when they don’t eat meat — whether they’re professional athletes or normal people.

Clearly we’re capable of eating meat. But that doesn’t mean it’s natural. You can dress a monkey up in a cute little suit and teach it to perform circus tricks, but just because it can doesn’t mean that it’s natural — nor that it should. When I say that meat-eating is unnatural, I mean simply that our bodies aren’t optimized to have it be a normal part of our diets — and we suffer the consequences when we make it so.The meat-eating reader already has half a dozen objections to this before (s)he’s even read the rest of the article, and I will address those objections specifically, but first let me address them generally: It is human nature to want to feel that what we’re doing is right, proper, and logical. When we’re confronted with something that

Vegan bodybuilder, Kenneth Williams. Shattering the myth that vegans are skinny and malnourished.suggests that our current practices are not the best ones, it’s uncomfortable. We can either consider that our choices may not have been the best ones, which is extremely disturbing, or we can reject that premise without truly considering it, so that we don’t have to feel bad about our actions. That’s the more comfortable approach. And we do this by searching our minds for any arguments we can for why the challenge must be wrong, to justify our current behavior.

<p ” align=”left”>Think about that for a moment: Our feeling that our current actions are correct isn’t based on our arguments. Rather, our actions come first and then we come up with the arguments to try to support those actions. If we were truly logical, we’d consider the evidence first and then decide the best course of action. But often we have it in reverse, because it’s too difficult to accept that we might have been wrong.

<p ” align=”left”>This is particularly true when it comes to vegetarianism. It is quite easy to identify because the anti-vegetarian arguments are usually so weak and desperate, compared to other kinds of discourse. A person who would never normally suggest something so fantastic as the idea that plants can think and feel pain, will suddenly all but lunge for such an argument when they feel their meat-eating ways are being questioned. It’s human nature. <p ” align=”left”>At an earlier point in my life, I was in the same position as you probably are. My habits were challenged by a book I ran across in the library called Going Vegetarian. I didn’t want to consider it fairly, because I wanted to keep eating meat. I’d grown up eating it, and I liked it. And there was another reason: I’d grown up in a small farming community raising and killing chickens. Accepting the book’s premise really meant that I’d have to admit that I might not have made the best choices. So I came up with various weak defenses to justify my behavior. But deep down I knew I was kidding myself, and practicing a form of intellectual cowardice. When I considered the arguments honestly, I stopped eating animals. That was over 20 years ago and it was absolutely the best decision I ever made.

But haven’t humans always eaten meat?

I can’t think of a better example of a case in which people believe something to be true just because they assume it is. We all grew up thinking that our ancestors were meat-eaters, but where did we get that idea? Is it true just because it’s part of our collective consciousness? More importantly, what does the evidence say?

John A. McDougall, M.D., perhaps the most knowledgeable expert on the relationship between diet and disease, asserts that our early ancestors from at least four million years ago followed diets almost exclusively of plant foods. Many other scientists believe that early humans were largely vegetarian. (See articles by David Popovich and Derek Wall.) This is important because while prehistoric peoples hunted animals, that is still a relatively recent development in the long period of human existence. Certainly not long enough for our bodies to have adapted to it from evolution. Here’s some evidence: The Maasai in Kenya, who still eat a diet high in wild hunted meats, have the worst life expectancy in the world. (Fuhrman)

There’s another important fact never acknowledged by meat proponents: Humans act by idea rather than by instinct. Other animals are programmed to know what food is. We are not. For us, it’s learned behavior. Or in some cases, guessed behavior. We can make choices about what we should eat even if that’s contrary to good health, as millions prove every day when they eat at McDonald’s. If our ancestors ate meat, they were simply being human and making choices rather than acting on instinct. Think about it: Do you really believe that cavemen were true experts about nutrition? If so, what other major decisions about your life would you like to put in the hands of a caveman?

What it means to be an omnivore

There is no question that humans are capable of digesting meat. But just because we can digest animals does not mean we’re supposed to, or that it will be good for us. We can digest cardboard. That does not mean we should.

If the evidence shows that our anatomy favors the digestion of plant foods, and we’re healthier when we eat less animal foods, what do we make of the fact that we’re capable of eating animals? It’s simple: We have the ability to eat a wide variety of foods as a survival mechanism. The fact that we can eat just about anything, including meat, is very handy, from a biological point of view. But the fact that we’re able to doesn’t mean that we’re designed to. The evidence for this is that our biology is similar to that of other herbivores, and the more animal foods we incorporate into our diets, the more our health suffers. In fact, it is rather specious to claim that humans are natural meat-eaters considering how poorly we fare when we do so.

McDougall explains how the ability to digest animal foods didn’t hurt our survival as a race, although it takes a toll on our lifespan:

Undoubtedly, all of these [meat-containing] diets were adequate to support growth and life to an age of successful reproduction. To bear and raise offspring you only need to live for 20 to 30 years, and fortuitously, the average life expectancy for these people was just that. The few populations of hunter-gatherers surviving into the 21st Century are confined to the most remote regions of our planet;- like the Arctic and the jungles of South America and Africa;- some of the most challenging places to manage to survive. Their life expectancy is also limited to 25 to 30 years and infant mortality is 40% to 50%. Hunter-gatherer societies fortunately did survive, but considering their arduous struggle and short lifespan, I would not rank them among successful societies.”
Finally, our physiology is much more similar to that of other plant-eaters than it is of true omnivores, as we’ll see shortly.

Considering the other primates

Our closest animal relatives are primates. They provide clues about our ideal diet since our anatomy is so similar. Very few of them eat animals, and those who do typically stick to things like insects, not cows, pigs, and chickens. Jane Goodall, famous for her extensive study of apes while living with them, found that it was very rare for the primates she saw to eat other animals. Critics lunge all over the fact that Goodall discovered that primates occasionally eat meat. But the key word here is occasionally. If we ate meat is infrequently as the other primates did, our health would be a lot better. Goodall herself apparently wasn’t impressed by primates’ occasional eating of meat: Jane Goodall is a vegetarian.

Humans lack a desire to eat whole animals

True carnivores (and omnivores) get excited about eating whole prey animals when they see them. Humans do not. We’re interested in eating the body parts only because they’ve been removed from the original animal and processed, and because we grew up eating them, making it seem perfectly normal. It’s amazing how much of a disconnect we’ve been able to learn about the difference between animals and food. As GoVeg puts it:

While carnivores take pleasure in killing animals and eating their raw flesh, any human who killed an animal with his or her bare hands and dug into the raw corpse would be considered deranged. Carnivorous animals are aroused by the scent of blood and the thrill of the chase. Most humans, on the other hand, are revolted by the sight of raw flesh and cannot tolerate hearing the screams of animals being ripped apart and killed. The bloody reality of eating animals is innately repulsive to us, more proof that we were not designed to eat meat.

Ask yourself:
When you see dead animals on the side of the road, are you tempted to stop for a snack?
Does the sight of a dead bird make you salivate?
Do you daydream about killing cows with your bare hands and eating them raw?

If you answered “no” to all of these questions, congratulations; you’re a normal human herbivore; like it or not. Humans were simply not designed to eat meat. Humans lack both the physical characteristics of carnivores and the instinct that drives them to kill animals and devour their raw carcasses.

“But what about canine teeth and binocular vision?”

It’s part of our collective consciousness that we have “canine teeth” and that this “proves” that we’re meat eaters. But the truth is that this argument couldn’t be weaker.
Humans’ so-called “canine teeth” are unlike the canine teeth of actual canines, which are really long and really pointed. Our teeth are absolutely not like theirs. In fact, other vegetarian animals (like gorillas and horses) possess the same so-called “canine” teeth.

Overall, our teeth resemble those of plant-eaters much more than meat-eaters. For example, we have molar teeth (plant-eaters do, carnivores don’t). Try to find a human-type molar inside your cat’s mouth. Our teeth can also move side to side to grind, just like the other plant-eaters, and completely unlike the carnivores. Their jaws go only up and down.

My favorite quote from when someone brought up the canine rationalization on a message board:

Hey Julia–we evolved with canine teeth? I’d like to see you tackle a steer and tear it apart with those ferocious incisors.”
What’s funny to me is how the teeth argument is so important to meat proponents when they make their point about canine teeth, and then as soon as they find out that our teeth are much more similar to those of herbivores than of carnivores, and therefore consideration of our teeth suggests that we’re designed to be plant eaters — suddenly what kind of teeth we have is not so important to them after all.

Others have argued that predators have eyes on the front of their heads for binocular vision, while prey animals have eyes on the sides, indicating that we fall into the predator camp. This ignores the fact that the animals that we’re most similar to — the other primates — have eyes on the front of their heads, and are almost exclusively vegetarian. It’s also important to remember what I said at the top of this article: There is certainly evidence on both sides of this debate, but the preponderance of evidence clearly shows that we’re suited to eating plants almost exclusively.

If meat is so good for us, it wouldn’t kill us

The medical evidence is overwhelming and indisputable: The more animal foods we eat, the more heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other degenerative disease we suffer. This has been exhaustively demonstrated beyond any doubt. If it were natural for us to eat these foods, they wouldn’t kill us. The fact that health can be regained by laying off meat and dairy is powerful evidence that we shouldn’t have been eating those foods in the first place.

Dean Ornish, M.D. was the first person to prove that heart disease can be reversed, and he did so by feeding his patients a vegetarian diet. John McDougall, M.D. has also written extensively about how animal foods cause disease, and how people can regain their health by eating vegan instead. The esteemed T. Colin Campbell oversaw the most massive study of the relationship between diet and disease, the China Study, which the New York Times called “the grand prix of epidemiology”. His conclusions are the same as the other experts: we’re not designed to eat animal foods, because we get sick when we do so.

Human performance is highest on meat-free diets

Vegetarian and vegan athletes are at the top in their sports. Carl Lewis, the runner, won nine Olympic gold medals. Lewis says that he had his best performance as an athlete after he adopted a vegan diet. (source)

The famed bodybuilder, Andreas Cahling, is also vegan.Ruth Heidrich, a vegan Ironman triathlete and marathon runner has racked up more than 700 first-place trophies and set several performance records. She was also named One of the 10 Fittest Women in North America.Those who would object by saying that most top athletes eat meat can congratulate themselves for missing the point. The fact is that most Westerners are meat-eaters, because we’ve all grown up thinking it’s good for us, and we like it. So of course most athletes are going to be meat-eaters too, since they’re only human. These athletes perform well in spite of their diets, not because of them, and would undoubtedly perform even better if they ate less animal foods. And while reliable statistics are hard to come by, there is little doubt that athletes in general have been moving towards vegetarianism in large numbers over the past twenty years.

John Robbins wrote in Diet for a New America about how vegetarians have much more stamina and endurance than meat-eaters:

 

At Yale, Professor Irving Fisher designed a series of tests to compare the stamina and strength of meat-eaters against that of vegetarians. He selected men from three groups: meat-eating athletes, vegetarian athletes, and vegetarian sedentary subjects. Fisher reported the results of his study in the Yale Medical Journal. His findings do not seem to lend a great deal of credibility to the popular prejudices that hold meat to be a builder of strength.Of the three groups compared, the…flesh-eaters showed far less endurance than the abstainers (vegetarians), even when the latter were leading a sedentary life.”

Overall, the average score of the vegetarians was over double the average score of the meat-eaters, even though half of the vegetarians were sedentary people, while all of the meat-eaters tested were athletes. After analyzing all the factors that might have been involved in the results, Fisher concluded that:…the difference in endurance between the flesh-eaters and the abstainers (was due) entirely to the difference in their diet…. There is strong evidence that a…non-flesh…diet is conducive to endurance.”

A comparable study was done by Dr. J. Ioteyko of the Academie de Medicine of Paris. Dr. Ioteyko compared the endurance of vegetarian and meat-eaters from all walks of life in a variety of tests. The vegetarians averaged two to three times more stamina than the meat-eaters. Even more remarkably, they took only one-fifth the time to recover from exhaustion compared to their meat-eating rivals.In 1968, a Danish team of researchers tested a group of men on a variety of diets, using a stationary bicycle to measure their strength and endurance. The men were fed a mixed diet of meat and vegetables for a period of time, and then tested on the bicycle. The average time they could pedal before muscle failure was 114 minutes. These same men at a later date were fed a diet high in meat, milk and eggs for a similar period and then re-tested on the bicycles. On the high meat diet, their pedaling time before muscle failure dropped dramatically–to an average of only 57 minutes. Later, these same men were switched to a strictly vegetarian diet, composed of grains, vegetables and fruits, and then tested on the bicycles. The lack f animal products didn’t seem to hurt their performance–they pedaled an average of 167 minutes. Wherever and whenever tests of this nature have been done, the results have been similar. This does not lend a lot of support to the supposed association of meat with strength and stamina.Doctors in Belgium systematically compared the number of times vegetarians and meat-eaters could squeeze a grip-meter. The vegetarians won handily with an average of 69, whilst the meat-eaters averaged only 38. As in all other studies which have measured muscle recovery time, here, too, the vegetarians bounced back from fatigue far more rapidly than did the meat-eaters.30I know of many other studies in the medical literature which report similar findings. But I know of not a single one that has arrived at different results. As a result, I confess, it has gotten rather difficult for me to listen seriously to the meat industry proudly proclaiming “meat gives strength” in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Summary

• Human anatomy is much more similar to herbivores than carnivores.
• Meat consumption unquestionably promotes heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and every other major degenerative disease.

 

The natural way to good health

Regular fasting serves as a natural way to maintain good health, cure disease and improve your state of mind. Fasting cleans out toxins and poisonous wastes from the body and helps to maintain a balanced, stable mental state.

Fasting to prevent sickness and cure disease

As a result of our modern lifestyle and diet, the human body easily becomes congested with toxic poisons that cause sickness and disease. Fasting is like internal housecleaning: turning off the constant flow of food into your body and allowing it to cleanse itself automatically.

Fasting allows your entire system to rest and rejuvenate; causes the breakdown and excretion of poisonous wastes that have accumulated in the body; burns excessive fat; conserves energy and increases clarity of mind; prevents illness; regulates appetite; and makes the skin look younger and more radiant. Fasting will also help to cure skin eruptions; gas and indigestion; constipation; colds and allergies; and numerous other health problems. Fasting is a preventive medicine, a path to improved health and a cure for disease.

“By fasting I have found perfect health, a new state of existence, and a feeling of purity and happiness, something unknown to most humans…” – Upton Sinclair

Fasting and the effect of the moon

The best days to fast are three days before the new and full moon. In the same way that the moon’s gravitational attraction causes tides in the ocean during the new and full moon periods, it also causes “tides” in our bodies, which are composed of over 70% water. According to scientific research, during the full and new moon days, and three days before and after, the moon’s gravitational attraction draws the liquid in our bodies upwards into our brain. This excess of fluid in the brain disturbs its functioning, resulting in various mental and physical symptoms such as restlessness, irritability, extremes of emotion, anger and strange behavior. Newspapers and police departments often report increased crime and disturbances during these times.

These emotional disturbances start three days before the new and full moons, and fasting without water is a way to negate the disruptive effects of the moon and maintain a calm and balanced mind.

This system of yogic fasting has a duration from Sunrise to Sunrise. You begin at Sunrise on the fasting day and eat nothing. If your body is strong you can also refrain from drinking anything. On the next day, you can break the fast with lemon water, then with fruit and other suitable food.

How to fast

Some people think that fasting is difficult. But if you prepare yourself for fasting it is not difficult. Prepare yourself physically by taking enough food and also plenty of liquids the day before. Prepare yourself mentally by deciding the night before fasting: “Tomorrow is fasting day, and I am not going to eat anything.” If you take this mental determination prior to the fasting day, you will not be hungry during the fasting day. If you do not make a prior determination, during the fasting day you will start to think maybe I should eat, and fast another day. Decide before hand and you will be able to complete your fast.

After fasting, you should take some lemon water with a bit of salt. This drink helps to flush the digestive system, eliminating waste material that might otherwise remain in the body if you didn’t fast.

All in all, fasting is one of the best practices for maintaining physical, mental and spiritual health.

Click here for a list of fasting dates

Please note: Children, pregnant women and nursing mothers should not fast.