“There are, in fact, no species of animal, humans included, that have evolved to require three meals a day, every day.” excerpt from: “The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss.” by Jason Fung Many cultures included some forms of fasting in their spiritual practices. Christian, Muslim, Native American or Taoist, all of these traditions incorporated fasting practices into their way of living. While fasting might have a significant influence on our spirit it has an even more powerful effect on our body. Have we always understood intuitively that stopping to eat for some time benefits our body on so many levels? Have we subconsciously felt that our organism needs rest and opportunity to regenerate or was it just a simple and inevitable reality of living in the natural environment that made us continuously switch between the feasting and fasting mode? Regardless of why, the fact is that for most of our evolutionary history as a species, we were subjects to constant challenges in regards to having or not having enough food. This situation changed in the twentieth century. Perhaps for the first time ever, large populations of our planet have more food that they know what to do with. Our ability to produce food on the large, industrial scale has created an interesting situation when, on one hand, we are able to feed a lot of people, and on the other hand, we don’t know how to do it without making ourselves sick and miserable. For a couple of generations now, we’ve taken great care to make sure that we are constantly digesting something and never experience hunger. And as it turned out, this approach doesn’t serve us too well. The rates of obesity and so-called diseases of civilization spiral out of control and we still seem to have difficulty understanding the root causes of these problems. Fortunately, it seems that there is a renewed interest within the science community in looking closer at the impact of our lifestyle and some environmental influences as the real source of many of our ailments. One of the conclusions of these investigations is the appreciation of the value of fasting. In recent years many modalities of fasting have been developed and experimented with. Between the extended, multi-day fasts, skipping a meal or two, and various forms of intermittent fasting, everyone can find some approach that will suit their unique needs and personality. It is important to create opportunities in our life to mimic the natural events like the temporary absence of food and allow the body to deal with it and function the way it was designed. Cleansing, healing and regenerating. ...
The feeling of hunger and triggering autophagy.
In 2016 Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize for discovering the mechanisms of autophagy- the process of absorbing old, broken, malfunctioning cells and utilizing them for energy. Autophagy literally means self-eating. It is a body’s way of cleaning up and recycling of our cellular debris. The great news is that it is relatively easy to activate this process. Yes, you must have guessed it by now – it is turned on when we stop eating. It doesn’t happen immediately and it differs from individual to individual but it is something that has always been a part of human life and only recently and in some regions of the world we’ve created conditions where food is abundant and easily accessible all the time. Due to the lifestyle changes, our bodies do not quite know how to deal with the situation when we eat so frequently. What makes matters worse, for quite a long time now, eating multiple meals every day has been encouraged as something beneficial for our health and well-being! Well, not anymore. Many recent studies investigating the impact of intermittent and other types of fasting show the many benefits of creating a window of not eating and allowing the body to turn on the mechanism of self-repair and regeneration. Some of these benefits are: Lowering insulin levels Repairing or elimination of damaged cells Growth hormone stimulation Reduction of insulin resistance Lowering glucose levels. Once we realize the positive impact of calorie restriction/fasting practices, we begin to perceive the feeling of hunger in an entirely different light. Not only that it is OK to skip a meal or two occasionally. but it is something necessary to do even to maintain the basic functionality. Do not fear the feeling of hunger. Think about it as a signal that your body is doing some usually very needed cleaning up. (As long as the person is not undernourished). Another dimension of Primal Tao practice is paying attention to the quality of the fuel we provide our bodies with. There is a lot of confusion in the contemporary world as far as what we should be eating to remain healthy. Obviously, the current governmental suggestions don’t seem to be working too well, considering that we are in the midst of obesity epidemics. It seems appropriate to note what kinds of foods are consumed in the so-called “blue zones” known for extreme longevity and health of their inhabitants. It could also be informative to know what indigenous people eat and used to eat to sustain themselves calorically and maintain a high level of health and performance. When we take a closer look at what’s worked for us so far in the development of the human species, we notice a lot of diversity in macro and micronutrients selection, suggesting our ability to adapt to various environments and sources of energy. With many variables present, it is still easy to observe that the processing of all of these, sometimes very different natural foods is minimal (other than simply cooking, baking, or fermenting). They are eaten and prepared promptly and while still being fresh whenever possible. If the food is stored for later, it is usually dried or frozen. No artificial chemical components are added to it. Fillers, emulsifiers, preservatives etc are not used. This is a vital message for us to absorb and apply in our daily lives: WE NEED TO EAT REAL FOOD! Natural as much as possible. Fresh. Simple. Unprocessed. Sugar and all other sweeteners, white flour, artificial beverages, processed carbohydrates, genetically modified products, and pre-cooked ready-meals are not designed to comprise the bulk of the human diet. I know that many of you will say: WE HAVE NO TIME FOR FOOD PREPARATION! If it is true – you have to change something! You might as well say: we have no time for breathing! ...
