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Eastern Nutrition, part 2 |
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We left off last month describing the way in which Eastern Nutrition
sees food. Let us now bring this to bear on the way modern societies
actually eat, as compared to more traditional cultures.
Americans, in particular, tend to feast mostly on intensely sweet, rich,
and thermally warming food. Foremost is an overemphasis on animal
products. While these provide rich nutrition if they are of good
quality, the domestication and processing practices of modern animal
"farms" yield a poor quality product at best. Furthermore, preparation
methods often leave the meat dry, tasteless, and difficult to digest,
while the milk is often drunk cold and unspiced, leading directly to
phlegm. In contrast to this, traditional cultures rely on vegetal
sources of richness, like legumes, roots, and seeds/nuts. Where flesh
and milk are consumed, it is preferred fresh and prepared in easily
digested ways.
Of vegetal matter, Americans tend to eat the soft sweet parts and
discard the rest. For example, a whole-wheat berry is separated into the
white fruiting part (white flour), and the seed (germ) and skin (bran).
We generally eat only the fruit, and a lot of it- from pasta to bread to
pastry- and toss the seed and skin, which add a more complex taste,
texture, and substance to the experience of eating wheat. Next up are
fresh fruit, and fruit products like juices and jams. Of them, we
typically don't eat the skins/rinds, seeds, or even pulp, all of which
add essential bitter and pungent qualities that balance the rather
intense sweetness of the fruity part itself. Following in line is the
wide consumption of refined sugar, a substance divorced from the pulp
and highly nutritious molasses part of the plant.
Other plant parts sorely missing include dark leafy greens, like
parsley, spinach, chard, kale, escarole, and romaine, not to forget the
aerial parts of carrots, beets, turnips, and most other roots. These
typically have complex tastes quite different from iceberg lettuce,
which is mostly sweet and pale in color and nutrition. In addition, they
lend themselves to steaming, sautéing, and stewing, which gently release
their flavor and substance to us. And, of course, no food would be
complete without being properly dressed and spiced. For this purpose,
nature makes available some marvelous things, from licorice /root/ to
cinnamon /bark/ to vanilla /bean/ to basil /leaves/ to pepper /seeds/ to
/fruit /and /grain /vinegars. These "spices" (which are spicy, yet also
bitter, sweet, and sour, and not necessarily "hot"), step up and round
out the flavor and character of a dish. It is no small wonder that the
frozen, bland, overcooked and dry "vegetables" so often served as
"sides" end up staying on the fringe, if eaten at all.
Finally, of minerals we consume large quantities of refined salt. This
"pure" substance plays havoc with our fluid and blood metabolism, while
whole unrefined salt, which is by a rule /moist/ and /grayish/, provides
well-balanced mineral nutrition and will not be craved in excess.
Traditional cuisine, on the other hand, is balanced relative to the
people and climate it serves, be it Asian, Indian, European, African,
Latin, or Native American. The common themes are the use of a variety of
fresh local produce, and balancing tastes, natures, and thermal qualities.
A quick way to appreciate a well-rounded meal is to visit a truly ethnic
restaurant and order traditional fare. Ultimately, though, you will want
to frequent local stores or farms that sell fresh produce, and begin to
experiment with cooking these things. You may wish to use an ethnic
cookbook, rely on recipes from others, or invent your own meals based on
the universal principles briefly outlined in these articles. Also,
practitioners skilled in Eastern Nutrition will be able to help,
especially where the intent is to improve one's health through the diet.
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Quotes |
The supreme good is like water,
which benefits all of creation
without trying to compete with it.
It gathers in unpopular places.
Thus it is like the Tao.
The location makes the dwelling good.
Depth of understanding makes the mind good.
A kind heart makes the giving good.
Integrity makes the government good.
Accomplishments makes your labors good.
Proper timing makes a decision good.
Only when there is no competition
will we all live in peace.
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