E-A-S-Y P-E-A-S-Y: a not-so-new eating and info program concocted by me . . .

Eat Astutely Satisfy Yourself

Promote Energy And Stay Young

Creator: Michael Farnum. www.zhbym.net Credentials: Michael is a licensed massage therapist and longtime student of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2017 he earned a Certification in Holistic Nutrition from the Energetic Health Institute of Los Angeles and passed the National Association of Nutrition Professionals' Board Certification exam. He also holds a baccalaureate degree in Liberal Arts from Indiana University-Bloomington. Michael concocted the EASY PEASY program to promote common sense in developing and maintaining a holistic lifestyle for every man, woman and child on the face of the earth. Or at least a handful. By the way, the word "holistic" means essentially balancing the mind, body and spirit through nutrition, movement, mindfulness and other activities that create positive energy. Namaste . . . PART ONE: BASIC FOOD AND NUTRITION

A great Chinese master once said that if he were to write a book on nutrition, he would have to write at least a billion books. This is how individuated is the diverse subject of human nutrition. We are all unique, just like everyone else, and we all have special, highly individualized needs, tastes and idiosyncrasies concerning our diets. The following can be considered a baseline of guidance and suggestions rooted in my own experience, education and personal research. I was once plagued with serious health issues, largely due to stress and poor nutrition. These health problems included chronic acid reflux, leading to an esophogeal ulcer, persistent fatigue and extreme anemia. I was on a prescription medication for several years ( and was told by my physician that I would have to be for the rest of my life) until I began to feel the unwanted side effects. Thus began my road to a healthier, more holistic lifestyle. And equally as important, taking personal responsibility for my own health and wellness.

FACT NUMBER #1: AMERICA AND THE WORLD AT LARGE ARE MORE UNHEALTHY AND MORE OBESE NOW THAN AT ANY OTHER TIME IN RECORDED HISTORY. SAD BUT TRUE.

This is no accident in my humble opinion and that of countless others. The system has been designed this way and the system is rigged. Our profit-driven corporate-controlled society has painstakingly engineered this tangled web of endless materialism, pandering to our human hungers and desires, our greed, our fears of insecurity, our apparent undying need for convenience (aka laziness?) and so many other mortal weaknesses. The only escape is information, an open mind and a little bit of will power. Since the moment of our birth we have been taught countless half-truths, myths and outright lies about the nature of reality and the way things really work. The fables of human nutrition are just one such facet of this vast matrix of control long-established by the powers that be.

Let's commence to uncovering a few of these stubborn myths.

MYTH #1: MILK DOES A BODY GOOD. Since childhood most of us have been taught by our unwitting elders the countless but less-than-accurate benefits of drinking cow's milk and eating dairy. Full of calcium and protein and Vitamin D, this is one of the healthiest most natural things we can put into our bodies. Sadly, not quite true. Commercially produced milk these days (along with cheese, yogurt, and ice cream) is wrought with unhealthy substances, including but not limited to antibiotics, untold preservatives, synthetic hormones, heavy metals from unfiltered water, herbicides and pesticides ingested by dairy cows, not to mention reams of cow puss. (Anybody up for a frothy, all-natural glass of tasty cow puss?)

A little known fact is that the pasteurization process essentially kills the bevy of natural enzymes in raw milk, thus rendering it extremely difficult for the human body to digest. Further, milk contains another mineral called phosphorous which effectively neutralizes much of the calcium, thus inhibiting the body's absorption. Undigested milk festers in our lower gastrointestinal tract, causing inflammation, poisoning tissues and weakening organs and our immune system-at-large. The body atttempts to force these toxins through our skin and lungs and is often responsible for acne and other skin blemishes, asthma and countless respiratory ailments and infections.

MYTH #2: WOMEN SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO DRINK MILK TO PREVENT OSTEOPOROSIS.

Dangerously false. In fact, osteoporosis can be attributed to a number of dietary and other factors which render the body acidic and rob the bones of calcium. These include chronic stress, lack of exercise and a high intake of sugar and soft drinks, processed meats, refined starch and alcohol. The consumption of dairy milk is especially hazardous to the health of women as it wreaks havoc with the delicate balance of the female endocrine system. From the viewpoint of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the milk of animals is a form of sexual essence. To drink it can only lead to trouble. And it does. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, co-author of "The China Study" refers to casein, the animal protein found only in milk, as "the number one fuel for the cancer fire."

Milk has been salaciously advertised by the dairy industry as perhaps the best source of calcium. Silly question. Where do cows get their calcium? Perhaps from eating grass, or at least they used to. Healthy sources of calcium include all your greens and veggies such as kale, spinach and broccoli, tofu, almonds, sesame seeds, kelp and sardines. Supplementing with 3mg daily of boron also appears to prevent calcium loss in the bones. Regarding the intake of Vitamin D, essential for bone health, blood sugar control and the immune system, consider spending a relaxing 30 minutes in the sun. Not a sun person? Consider these quality food sources of Vitamin D: wild-caught salmon, sardines, tuna and mushrooms. Not quite willing or able to kick the milk habit? Keep in mind, healthier alternatives include organic goat's milk, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, rice or oat milk, soy and hemp milk. MYTH #3: JUICE COMES FROM FRUIT, SO IT HAS TO BE HEALTHY. RIGHT?

Not exactly. Fruit juice is essentially a highly concentrated form of sugar. And even though this sugar is fructose, which is better than sucrose, or common sugar, it's still not great. Fructose should come from eating actual fruit, which includes fiber-rich pulp, vitamins and innumerable antioxidants. Much like is done with milk, the pasteurization process of juicing neutralizes many health benefits of raw fruit. This high concentration of fructose is equivalent to ingesting any food containing high fructose corn syrup or whatever the commercial food industry tries to call it these days. Over time, this can very damaging to the liver, especially in children who have been consuming large quantities of dangerously sugary juice for years. (The new American Academy of Pediatrics guidance allows 4 oz of juice for 1-3 years of age, 4 to 6 oz of 100% juice for children 4-6 years of age and 8 oz for children 7-18 years of age.) Meanwhile, statistics easily show that both childhood diabetes and obesity are rising at an alarming rate and the correlation to high-sugar diets is painfully obvious. This appropriately leads us to the next culprit . . .

MYTH #4: ALL THIS NASTY HYPE ABOUT OUR BELOVED SUGAR IS JUST A BUNCH OF BS. RIGHT, SUGAR? . . .

Sadly, it is all that and worse. The body considers sucrose to be a natural enemy, or pathogen, and it instantly attacks it upon entry into the bloodstream. This process seriously weakens the body's immune system, diverting its defenses into multiple battle fronts and obviously weakening its effectiveness. As previously mentioned, sugar robs the bones and teeth of calcium. The consistent consumption of sugar depletes the body of numerous crucial nutrients, like potassium and magnesium, essential for healthy cardiac functioning. It causes the pancreas to produce an excessive output of insulin, which suppresses the release of human growth hormone (essential for the immune system) by the pituitary gland and ultimately leads to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and myriad additional complications. Fatty liver. Obesity. Tooth decay. Low resistance to infections. Numerous studies have linked high dietary sugar to behavioral and emotional problems in both adults and children. In one instance, the banning of sugar from the diets of prison inmates measurably reduced incidents of violent behavior.

MYTH #5: DIET COKE WILL HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT.

Oh, such wishful thinking, deluded one. The ugly truth is drinking so-called diet sodas and other "low-cal" or "sugar-free" foods may actually be linked to factors causing weight gain. One well-known study concluded that even adults who regularly exercised, lived active lifestyles and otherwise ate healthy diets gained weight or failed to shed unwanted pounds largely in proportion to the subjects' routine consumption of diet sodas as compared to those who did not indulge in diet drinks.

The low down dirty truth of the matter is that common sugar (and so many other artificial sweeteners cleverly hidden in our food) is as dangerous and addictive as any drug on the open market or the black market. Of course we won't see the wonderful FDA banning this ubiquitous, astronomically destructive money-maker anytime soon. But the choice is ours. Luckily there are several healthy alternatives to sugar, including agave, raw honey, stevia and molasses. Also, concluding our meals with naturally sweet foods--sweet potatoes, coconut, dark chocolate, so many fruits--acts as a nice aid to our digestion in signaling to the body that the meal has come to a neat, sweet hopefully not bitter end. MYTH #6: ME NEED MEAT.

Well maybe you do, natural-born carnivore but probably not in such large, unhealthy quantities. First of all, consider the source of your meat. Do we really want to be ingesting the bad karma of animals who have been so badly mistreated or experienced the worse kind of terror imaginable right up to the point of their death? And solely for the benefit of our insatiable collective hunger for yet one more tasty burger or fat, juicy steak. Another oft-ignored issue regarding meat in the standard American diet (previously discussed in the anti-milk section) is the alarming contamination of antibiotics and steroid hormones used to improve the appearance and fatten up cattle, fowl and farm-raised fish. High processed meat intake equals high blood sugar, low immune function, poor heart health and overall acidity in the body. And the lower quality meat you are eating is making life all the more difficult for your poor liver. Meditate on that, meat-lover. (Yes I am one, too, and I have.)

Another important consideration is the oil in which our meat is cooked. Cheap, hydrogenated oils are the worst--a one-way ticket to heart attack city and proven carcinogens so commonly used in your lower rate dives and fast-food so-called restaurants. In cooking one's own food, which we should do whenever possible, choose healthier oils such as avocado, safflower, sunflower, hemp, coconut, or high-quality olive oil. And always take note of the temperature at which you will be cooking and the smoking point of the oil in use. When your oil starts to smoke it becomes a trans-fatty acid, instant carcinogen.

Do not despair, there are healthier meat alternatives, though harder to find and obviously more expensive by no accident. Consider lamb, wild-caught salmon, tuna, shrimp, wild game, elk or buffalo burgers when red meat is a must. Believe it or not there are other protein-rich foods: eggs, legumes, hummus, soy, peas, spinach, asparagus, greens, Greek yogurt, and tempeh. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Yum . . .

Use your imagination. Get creative. Free your mind.

A FINAL NOTE ON EGGS . . .

A much-debated, highly controverted subject. Pasture-raised eggs are a good source of protein, B vitamins, choline (essential for brain growth and development in children) and Omega-3 fats. On the other hand, high in cholesterol, high-inflammatory and acidic. The best bet with eggs as anything in the world of food is moderation. Best consumed no more than 2-3 times per week is my personal suggestion. Lightly cooked is better than fried. Always consider free-range, organic for a kindler, gentler nutritional karma. (FYI: cage-free does not necessarily mean pasture-raised.)

Stay tuned for Part Two, Healing Herbs and Supplements.

General Eating Habits

Eat in a calm and relaxed atmosphere and do not rush your meal Avoid intense interactions at meal time, including television and reading Chewing food thoroughly supports spleen qi Don’t eat meals late at night Avoid overconsumption and excessive fasting Eat your water and drink your food (chew until your food is completely liquidated.)

Avoid:

Frequent raw, cold foods, and iced beverages during meals Excessive dairy Oily, greasy, and fried foods Refined sugar and limit overly sweet foods like fruit Refined carbohydrates Excessive alcohol intake Excessive meat consumption

References

The Complete Book of Chinese Health & Healing. Reid, Daniel. Shambala. Boston. 1995.

The Tao of Healthy Eating. Flaws, Bob. Blue Poppy Press. Boulder, Colorado. 2005.

The World's Healthiest Foods. Mateljan, George. Mateljan Foundation. Seattle. 2015.

The Smart Parent’s Guide to Raising Vegan Kids . Lindstrom, Eric C. Skyhorse Publishing. July, 2018.

The China Study. Drs. T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell.

Abstract 1058-P. Fowler, Sharon, MPH, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine, San Antonio. 2005.

Juice and Weight Status, Latest Research, Scientific Juice Reviews, Summaries and Commentaries. American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatrics magazine. May, 2017.

Helping Ourselves: Guide to Traditional Chinese Food Energetics. Leggett, Daverick. Meridian Press, 1994.

Chinese Nutrition Therapy: Dietetics in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Kastner, Joerg. Thieme, 2004.

Eating with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition. Pitchford, Paul. North Atlantic Books, 2002.

Master's Path lecture, Master Jason Campbell. Zen Wellness. Avondale, AZ. 2018.