Diet for Health and Higher Consciousness A Yogi’s Guide to Healthy Food for a Healthy Planet Dada Shiilabhadrananda Ananda Marga Publications Anandanagar, India 2 Copyright © 2009 Ananda Marga Publications All rights reserved by the publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-9966-05-201-1 Cover: Viveka Wu Published for PCAP (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Plants), a branch of the global socio-spiritual organization Ananda Marga. Registered Office: Anandanagar PO Baglata Dist. Purulia, W. B. India www.anandamarga.org 3 To P.R. Sarkar, whose life and teachings are the inspiration for this book and the inspiration of my life. 4 Acknowledgement I would like to extend my sincerest thanks and appreciation to the numerous people who have assisted my effort to publish this book. Their help has been in the form of editing, background material, proof reading, financial support or suggestions on style and content. They include: Amrta Kuru, Chindy Tan, Edwin Low, Didi Ananda Anuradha, Didi Ananda Rucira, Dada Aksarananda, Dada Dharmavedananda, Dada Diiptimayananda, Dada Gunamuktananda, Dada Jyotirupananda, Dada Maheshvarananda, Dada Mantrajapananda, Dada Nabhaniilananda, Dada Ravishekharananda, Dada Satyashubhananda, Dada Shambhushivananda, Dada Vedaprajinananda, Dada Viitaragananda, Daniel Acosta, GBTC Trainees of Davao, Isaac Vitesnik, Jitendra Singh MD, John Gannage MD, Kalyani Chew, Kamala Alister, Kan Ritkajon, KL Leong, Krisada Kampanatsanyakorn, Mark Gannage, Michael Hickey, Miklos Platthy, Oliver Shayuli, Omar Arabia MD, Richard Maxwell MD, Robert Shapata, Sauli Siekkinen MD, Steve Landau MD, Susan Crowther, Tang Tamminga, Vicky Flores, Vivek Wu and Zsolt Platthy. 5 Table of Contents Introduction Section I: Healthy People 1. The Goal of Yoga 2. The Forces of Nature 3. Uplifting the Mind through Diet Sattvic (Sentient) Food Rajasic (Mutative) Food Tamasic (Static) Food Certain Qualifications on Food Categories Sentient Diet and Conventional Vegetarianism The Mental and Spiritual Effect of Food 4. The Different Kinds of Vegetarians Vegetarianism Goes Mainstream Reasons Why People Go Vegetarian 5. What’s Wrong with Onions, Garlic and Mushrooms? The Medicinal Effects of Onions and Garlic The Heating Effect of Onions and Garlic Garlic as a Toxin The Negative Qualities of Mushrooms Vegetarian and Pure Vegetarian 6. Alkaline and Acidic Food The Process of Digestion Some Examples of Very Alkaline Foods Some Examples of Very Acidic Foods 7. The Culture of Eating (Good Eating Habits) Selection of Food 8. The Health Advantages of a Vegetarian Diet Heart Disease New Medical Approaches to Reversing Heart Disease Cancer Dietary Components That Promote Cancer Dietary Components That Protect Against Cancer Obesity The Weight Loss Industry Diabetes The Role of Sweetened Beverages Sugar: “White Poison” The Glycemic Index (GI) Summary 9. The Health Benefits of Sattvic Food Grains 6 Vitamins Minerals Fiber Plant Sterols Processed Foods and Whole Grains Fruits and Vegetables Positive Hydration Effect Alkaline Ash Vegetables and Nutrient Density Phytochemicals Free Radicals and Anti-Oxidants Key Vitamins in Vegetables and Fruits Vitamin A Vitamin C Vitamin D Folate Vitamin K Key Minerals Legumes: Beans, Peas, Lentils and Soy Foods Nuts and Seeds 10. The Dangers of Fast Food Sodium Obesity Rates and Fast Food Consumption “Super Size Me” Film The McLibel Case 11. The Milk Question Osteoporosis Calcium Absorption Rates Lactose Intolerance Summary 12. Not All Fats Are Bad Saturated Fat Trans-Fatty Acids Cholesterol Monounsaturated Fats Polyunsaturated Fats Cold-Pressed Oils High Fat and Healthful Six Simple Steps for Controlling Fat What’s Better: Butter or Margarine? 13. FAQ About the Sattvic Vegetarian Diet 14. Yoga’s Healthy Lifestyle a. Selfless Service b. Daily Bath c. Asanas Asanas and Hormonal Secretions 7 d. Meditation The Results of Scientific Studies on Meditation and Yoga e. Fasting 15. Chlorophyll and Lymph Sources of Lymph in Food The Role of Chlorophyll in Photosynthesis Do Eating Vegetables Make You Smarter? Summary 16. Why Raw Foods are Good for You The Life Force in Food Enzymes 17. Fasting for Health Examples of Long Fasts Fasting and Detox Benefits of Fasting Noted by Physicians Different Types of Fasting The One-Day Fast Fasting and the Moon How to Break the Fast Who Can Fast Fasting and the Production of Lymph AM Wellness Center My First Fasting Experience 18. The Food Pyramid The Seventh Day Adventist Pyramid How Much is a Serving? Inconsistency Between Word and Deed 19. The Secrets of Long Life The Longest-Living Communities Section II: Healthy Planet 20. Organic Food and Healthy Soils The Shift From Family Farms to Industrialized Agriculture Crop Yields of Organic and Conventional Farming Useful Components of the Organic Method A Comparison of the Mineral Content of Organic Foods and Conventional Foods Family Farms Making a Comeback Summary 21. The Evils of Factory Farming The Poisons in Meat Chicken Farms Cows The Veal Industry Pigs Eating Their Own Kind Aren’t There Laws That Protect Farm Animals? 8 Inspection Methods Don’t Ensure Public Safety The Exploitation of Workers 22. Ahimsa: The Principle of Non-Injury 23. The Food Industry’s Fine Art of Deception The Power of Advertising Some of the Food Industry’s Clever Tactics Making Money at Any Cost 24. The Environmental Fallout from Meat Consumption Water Pollution Water Resources Land Resources Rainforest Depletion and the Loss of Biodiversity Energy Expenditure The Depletion of Our Fish Resources Aquaculture President Obama’s Position Summary 25. Meat Consumption and Global Hunger 26. Neohumanism and a New Paradigm for Humanity An Inner-to-Outer Approach Vegetarianism and Neohumanism PCAP 27. Conclusion Appendix Table 1: Percentage of Calories from Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates Table 2: Iron, Zinc and Protein in Foods Table 3: Nutrient Density of Selected Foods Table 4: Fiber in Selected Foods Table 5: Trans-Fatty Acid Content of Certain Foods Table 6: The Vegetarian Food Guide: A Guide to Daily Food Choices Table 7: Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamins and Minerals Table 8: The BMI Chart Notes Bibliography 9 Introduction We are in the midst of a revolutionary change in human consciousness. More than ever before, we are questioning old values, doubting the way we have always done things, trying to make sense of a world which seems to lurch from one crisis to another: oil, food, stock markets, economy, water. The remarkable changes that have globalized society in the last 20 years are pushing us towards adopting a new paradigm of living. Whether it is the field of medicine, social justice, the Green movement, revelations in science or the spiritual renaissance we are in the midst of sweeping changes not seen since the dawn of civilization. Hence the explosion of interest in alternative healing practices, eco-friendly homes and workplaces, strengthening of local economies, vegetarianism, and a host of other new trends that are reconfiguring the way we think and live. This book is about the changing landscape in the field of eating and food. I do not hope to answer all of the bigger questions in this small publication. But like a hologram in which a miniscule portion contains within it the entire entity, I hope that some of the ideas and choices, put forward in this book will synchronise nicely with other areas of your life which you are questioning and looking for new answers. We will look at the vegetarian diet from the perspective of holistic health, ethics, animal welfare, and the environment—four topics which dominate discussions with family and friends all over the world. We will see why a plant-based diet has been the preferred diet of mystics and great thinkers since the dawn of time. Buddha, Einstein, Franklin, Gandhi, Krsna, Pythagoras (some even argue, Jesus) --world figures whose lives changed the course of history. Scientific evidence mounts that a plant-based diet is the best way to overcome the scourges of modern day living with near epidemic rates of heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes. These indicators affect practically all developed countries in spite of remarkable progress in medical science. With the worries of climate change and global warming constantly rearing their heads in the form of level five hurricanes, melting of polar ice caps and mountain glaciers, gyrating weather patterns and loss of biodiversity we will look at how an animal-based diet is considered by experts to be one of the leading causes in our current environmental crises. As human beings constantly evolve to higher levels of consciousness and intelligence, we will see how the manner in which meat is produced together with its attendant acts of egregious cruelty to innocent animals mocks our human potential for good. The ideas in this book are borrowed from the ancient holistic tradition of Yoga, which is making an increasing impact in the thinking of people everywhere interested in new ways of living in harmony with oneself and the world. Specifically this book relates to the ideas of 10 Tantra Yoga as enunciated by the spiritual master, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, 1921-1990, (also known as P. R. Sarkar) who founded the world wide socio-spiritual movement, called Ananda Marga. Ananda Marga has social service activities and yoga centers in over 100 countries around the world as part of its motto of: “Self Realization and Service to Humanity”. My own journey into vegetarianism began at the age of 19 at the same time that I first became interested in the holistic practices of Yoga and meditation in the idealistic period of the early 1970’s. I remember my father’s stark prophesy back then: “Vegetarian? You’ll be dead in six months”. I am happy that it happened differently. We have all come a long way since those days when vegetarianism was linked with hippies, protein deficiencies, drugs and communists.