getting in tuned.

one of the things i hope that i have emphasized greatly during this challenge is getting more in tuned with your body. this week's no meat or little meat challenge isn't to make all of you vegetarians or crazy armpit hair growing vegans. it is just to get you thinking and feeling more in tuned with your body.

they say the effects of food on our moods, energy, and well being are far beyond what we might be able to imagine. and, there is a lot of theory out there regarding these effects.

a story to share.....my two friends were invited to a christmas party this week. the main course was prime rib, and although they don't eat meat often they do enjoy a good steak every once in a while. nothing to report after dinner, but later that night....one of my friends was up all night itching and tossing and turning, not feeling well. her wife woke up the next morning in a bad mood that she couldn't place. and, they may not have thought anything of it until the host of the party came in, my friend's client, complaining about not feeling well and being grouchy.

a weird coincidence? sure. a talking point, yes.

some theorists talk about the energy of the cow and the chemicals being secreted into its body while it is under duress in the slaughter house. they say that energy or those chemicals when ingested, may have an adverse effect on our well-being. but maybe only if you are able to recognize it. otherwise you might just write it off as something else.

again, im not trying to make vegetarians outta you so i should also say the same effects can come from foods containing too much sugar, salt, chemicals, pestisides.....and so on.

i know....it can be enough to make you crazy, which is totally not the point. it won't happen overnight, but your own longitudinal study might be intelligent as we spend a lot of time and energy and money on what we put into our bodies.

the moral of the story is to pay attention. play with different combinations of foods and supplements to find out how to optimize your energy.

there is also some interesting research supporting and offering skepticism around the eat right for your blood type diet.

from wikipedia....

Blood group O is believed by D'Adamo to be the hunter, the earliest human blood group. The diet recommends that this blood group eat a higher protein diet. D'Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.

Blood group A is called the cultivator by D'Adamo, who believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian food intake.

Blood group B is, according to D'Adamo, the nomad, associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.

Blood group AB, according to D'Adamo, the enigma, the most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1,000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.


again....there is no full proof system, but it never hurts to try new things and to see what the effects are (for better or for worse).

also, we talked in class today about a couple of you that had recently gotten physicals. really, all that we are doing here may be seriously lacking without the information they can provide about vitamin defficiencies, cholesterol, etc. so if you haven't gotten one recently, please make an appointment to see what's up.

i hope you have been finding some tasty meatless options this week.

have fun in the snow;)