A spiritual diet anyone???

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

imperium	16 Apr 2002
For as long as I can remember I have been vegetarian ( which is surprising becuase I am also the only one in my family ) an my diet has been mostly based upon foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes ( and other veg of course! ) and lots of bread. There is a point here - I promise!!! So these things are mostly carbohydrate, which, I have learnt in recent years is the main food group concumed by most spiritual persons! This is due to the 'grounding' properties, these earthy foods provide... right? The only problem is, if the said person does not get enough exercise, this amount of carbohydrate will not be burned off and will store in the body as fat. Ick. I an now on a 'low carb' diet ( which I am hating ). I wonder if there is a type of bread which has practically no carbohydrates in it? I am interested to hear all your opinions on whether your spiritual path and lifestyle effects what you feed your body with...cravings, etc. i.e. after a ritual, humous is EXCELLENT! Any one have any strange eating habits or experience with low carb diets?

zorya	16 Apr 2002
my doctor of oriental medicine/accupuncturist recommended i eat root crops for grounding; potatoes , carrots, beets etc. as far as spirituality and food, i grow much of our food myself. this really connects me to what i eat. and to the elements :) eating as organically as possible is a spiritual choice. gathering nuts, berries, mushrooms from the wild is truly a spiritual experience, as is making your own bread. i believe the spirit of what you eat enters you. so i acknowledge and thank those spirits. .....but i admit i can't resist de cecco pasta, pepperidge farms cookies, ben and jerry's and really crisp french fries! LOL i can't really answer your low-carb questions as i'm a lousy dieter. i'm still trying to just shrink my portions. :)

Butterfly	16 Apr 2002
I should imagine that a spiritual diet, is a fully balanced, nutritious meal, whatever form that takes for each individual (everyones needs vary!). A bit of all the food groups, smack full of nutrients. Not too much of any, but lot's of variety. I'm surprised you would say that an high carb would be best because it is heavy- I would have thought that it weighed me down too much to get off a couch let alone do anything spiritual. But everyone has different dietery needs. I trust my body to tell me what it needs. I love food chock full of life force (living food- raw fruits vegies, nuts etc), spices, fresh herbs. Life can be an absolute banquet- enjoying my food, sharing it with the people I love, the ritual of preparing. the most spiritual thing I know. Granted, I do not, and have never had a problem with my metabolism, but for me food is about pleasure and nurturing myself. Not denying and negative feelings Bliss,

joya250	16 Apr 2002
hey imperium, I tried to do a low-carb diet for a while. Actually, it was the Akins Diet, when that was popular a few years ago. According to this diet, you couldn't eat ANY carbs for the first 20 days, and then you could phaze them in slowly. At first it was fun eating foods I always had in moderation -- such as eggs and cheese, steaks, bacon, etc. -- but I must caution you... you have to be sensible. One morning, after ingesting like five sausages and a diet coke for breakfast, I realized how unhealthy this diet was! I did lose weight -- but I felt very weak. I guess the best thing to do to cut back on the carbs would be to eat more salads and stuff. actually, macrobiotic eating is prob. the best thing you can do (even though like 50% is grain-based) -- I did that for a while too and felt sooooo good... but it is extremely difficult to maintain, esp. for my lifestyle. now, I am a vegetarian, with the very occasional meat indulgence. (mmm, love it bloody and rare! haha) but, anyway, as you know, please be careful with the lo-carb diet -- and really, consult your doctor! (supposedly Akins died of a heart attack, but then again, that could be an urban legend.) good luck!!!!! mmmm, humous.....

january	16 Apr 2002
My mom is an avid reader of Doreen Virtue's angel books. In one volume, Virtue mentions a vegetarian diet is best to develop spirituality because you're not carrying the pain of the animal inside of you. She also suggests using all-natural products on your body - soaps, shampoos, et al without silicones and sodium laurelth sulfate. I guess her point is that by being considerate and repectful of your body and all creatures, it will help you build a clearer path for intuitive and spiritual development. These aren't necessarily my practices... i just thought it was interesting to this thread. But I can totally see bread as a spiritual food! (Passover, Last Supper, etc) Bread is a such a staple all over the world and its a wonderful gesture of friendship to "break bread" together. A bit off the subject, I have a cookbook called "Flat Breads and Flavors" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. The couple left their careers (one a lawyer, the other a psych.) and travelled the globe staying with families and gathering recipes and the stories behind them. And that to me is VERY spiritual... bonding with cultures and making friends. Zorya, I agree, making your own bread is sooo spiritual. You literally put you entire body into the kneading and the rising period can be meditative. Not to mention the aroma from the oven!! ~ january

Kiama	17 Apr 2002
When I move into my own place in September, I will be providing my own food for the first time in my life! So, I've made the decision: Me and the boyf are going veggie, mainly for practical reasons, but possibly for me a first step to veganism. We will also be eating lots of fruit and veg, and organic food. Hopefully, I might be able to grow some myself too. It would be my dream to keep my diet as healthy, both physically and spiritually, as possible... I disagree with how most of our meat is produced, and how loads of our crops are produced, and after thinking about it all for the last two years, I would love to on my own place with the space to grow my own crops... To grow chickens, etc... At least then I know where it all came from, and I know that the Earth has not been harmed through it. Kiama

Malachite	17 Apr 2002
I think the vegetarian link might be due more to that fact that many spiritualists see eating animals as wrong...I don;t think that being vegetarian reflects any way on how you are...Its like saying that thunder sours milk...they are both effects, not cause and effect... the other thing about High carb is that it gives plenty of energy without restricting the blood flow to your brain, which a high-fat diet would do...so maybe it gives you more energy to spend on thinking?

joya250	17 Apr 2002
hi. actually Malachite... from what I've read (and experienced) many spiritualists don't eat meat, not 'cause they think it's "wrong" but because they simply can't. it's too energy dense -- and their systems aren't able to comfortably deal with it after a while. Although, I bet you would find many spiritualists who also disagree wtih the way meat is mass-produced and the cruelty inflicted on the animals in these situations. Eating meat is natural. The disgusting way animals are slaughtered is wrong.

suzyspellbound	17 Apr 2002
I think I've read that pita bread is quite low in fat, you know the oval kind witch you slit open and fill with salad etc. and also bagles are quite low in fat I think. I am probably wrong as I need to cut down on carbs myself. I've always felt that fruit is God's candy (cheasy I know) and just the smell of delicious, washed, ripe, fresh fruit is quite an intoxicating if not a spiritual experience. Cooking is very theraputic don't you think? I don't do alot of cooking just stir frys or pasta/ salads stuff that can be trown together (lazy cooking). But I did take the time to bake a passion cake (carrot cake) yetserday which turned out well.

purplelady	17 Apr 2002
I bought books on the high protein , low carb diets ( Atkins and a few others). I read some of the books. I went to web sites and message boards and watched news shows on the diets (The diet "experts" do Not agree with one another!). Then I gave all the books away ! I never went on the diets! I think I am just fundamentally repelled by eating only meat and protein and no carbs! Besides that , I Love my carbs! Bread , pasta , rice , potatoes , etc. I don't care for eggs much at all, and it grosses me out to think of eating only protein! I have read both sides of this thing , and I only know what I tend to think, but cannot say with any certainty whether we are meant to eat only vegetarian? Only protein , no carbs? Or a "balanced" diet. There are good evidence and arguments for all sides! Some people swear the high protein , low carb diet is great , and they DO lose and even keep the weight off. Others say the only reason you lose weight is because ANY diet that restricts whole food groups gets BORING and so you just eat less! Others say that man was Meant to eat only protein, it will keep you healthy , live longer, and you will grow taller! (if you're still an adolescent). Others say that carbs (bread , rice, pasta) was originally created to feed masses of people , cattle , or even slaves , and it isn't the food our bodies were meant to eat , and we won't grow as tall! (Honest, I read or heard it) . I think it was based on ancient races of people. For instance , the inca's ate a lot of grain and they were very short. That sort of thing! Anyhow , when "the experts" ever really figure it out , maybe they'll let us know? And until then we get to try and figure out what works for us!

purplelady	17 Apr 2002
BTW, there IS bread you can make that has no carbs . I believe it uses soy flour, which you can get at a health food or vitamin store. There are TONS of recipes on the web. I do not remember the exact links, but I do remember where to find them. Try going to the Atkins diet site. Or AOL's or ivillage.com diet or Atkins sites and health , diet , and exersise message boards.I Think the Atkins diet site has a direct link to a whole cookbook of no carb breads and everything else. You can also try google.com where you can find anything and everything.

imperium	21 Apr 2002
I found a lot of your experiences very interesting and useful - thank you all! After a heavy ritual last night I woke up and ate crisps fpr breakfast! :-) I have also joined a gym - not just for physical well being but for motivation and metabolism! Blessed be

The A spiritual diet anyone??? thread was originally posted on 16 Apr 2002 in the Chat board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Chat, or read more archived threads.