Physicians say, “You are what you eat!” They couldn’t be more right. Experts agree that the vitamins and minerals you eat everyday determine how your body reacts both inside and out. However, what they do not agree on is why your body has reactions to what you put inside it.
My Body Talks Theory may help some people adjust how they think of food and how they choose to eat in the future. It may also help explain, in one way, what is happening to the body after eating certain foods, herbs, or spices. Also, it may give people a daily road map for determining what foods to eat and when to eat them.
This theory may also be explained as you might remember how carrots, if eaten by the bushel, will turn your skin a bright carrot orange. Or, how, when you take a daily vitamin, you may inadvertently overload your system with too much iron. My advice is to stop taking vitamins and simply listen to what your body is craving and how your mind tells you which kind of food you want. I also advise you to eat small portions whenever you feel hungry and forget about the time of day when eating. Stop looking at the clock for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and simply eat smaller portions or snacks when you get hungry between larger meals. Now, I don’t mean sugary snacks or even pretzels or nuts are all you eat. There are other foods that you can cut up for snacking like veggies or fruits. Even meats can be dried, like jerky, for snacking between meals.
Have you ever said to yourself, “I feel like Mexican food tonight.”? Why do you suppose that you feel an urgent need for that particular type of food? It could be that your body knows that within this regional food group can be found certain spices or foods that your body needs in that instance. It is well-known that American-Mexican foods often contain foods like avocados, cheese, and cilantro. When you go to a food court and smell the many different cooking foods, how do you choose which restaurant to order from? I say that your body knows instinctively which food group is necessary to keep it functioning at peak performance and it signals your brain to ‘prefer’ a certain ethnic food group simply because of the smell.
This brings me to how people eat food. There are many diets out there that tell you to eat this and not that. They expound on the benefits of certain foods over others. For many years we have been inundated with preferred foods like celery, iceberg lettuce, parsley, lima beans, and other translucent foods. What I have found in my own personal food journey is that these common foods have caused my body to rebel against itself in the forms of asthma and allergic reactions such as panic attacks, rashes, and constant runny sinuses. When I first noticed this reaction to these foods, I was eating a huge chef’s salad loaded with iceberg lettuce and celery. I was so stricken that I almost collapsed onto the floor of the restaurant. This was not an isolated incident. Previously, I had noticed a violent reaction after I had eaten a heaping portion of lima beans. So, putting two and two together, I decided to start from scratch and eliminate these and certain other foods from my diet. I also found other similar light green foods that triggered attacks as I continued to slowly recover from my food allergies.
Now, I am totally free from, not only allergies and asthma, but also from the flu and other viruses that used to plague my body on a daily basis. I am clearer now (especially my sinuses, nose, and eyes) than I have ever been in my life. I am so much happier, calmer, and more clear-headed than before that it is almost a brand new me. The bottom line here is that my body was screaming at the top of its lungs, literally, that what I was eating was not only too much of a certain food, but it was also the wrong food for the proper functioning of my body.
Just because foods are made abundant and available for consumption does not mean that we are necessarily supposed to eat them. The kid doesn’t like Brussel sprouts or broccoli? Don’t force them to eat them! If their body craves them later, they may try it. You CAN, however, simply offer different foods onto the plate in a consistent manner to see if the child will taste the product. However, do NOT force a child to eat everything on their plate!! This is a precursor to obesity!! Let the child have a variety of foods to choose from BEFORE you cook it. Let the child look at the food before it is prepared or give them choices of foods, but also surprise them occasionally with that weird food they’ve never seen or the one they are denying to see if they might become interested in it.
Back to the smell factor. When I crave a certain type of food now, I usually visualize and remember the smell of a certain food I am thinking of. If the craving persists, I relent and go buy that meal or prepare it at home. If I continue to crave something, then common sense tells me that I did not either eat enough of a certain food or I did not eat it at all. And I am still hungry. I say, it is better to eat small portions of that craved food to see if your body ‘fills up’ than it is to eat a large plate of food from that ethnic group. The reason for the small portion (no more than the size of your fist) is that if you DO eat the correct body craving food, your body will tell you that it is satisfied, and you do not need more food until the next craving.
The other important thing to realize is why your body craves certain ethnic foods anyway. My theory is based on how the stomach contracts and expands to accommodate certain foods and turns some foods into gases that expand the stomach and intestines. For instance, there are some instances when I simply have to have Chinese food. At these times, my brain is focused solely on how I might get to that ethnic food as fast as possible. I tend to eat larger portions of Chinese foods, especially the noodles, which quickly fills my stomach, but does not seem to last very long before I am hungry again. Sound familiar? It should be noted that this ethnic food expands the stomach but does not create that overfull lasting feeling you get with, let’s say, Italian food, which, oddly enough, also has pasta as its main feature food. The difference here, I think, is the oils used by the different groups that differentiate how the pasta reacts in the stomach. The Chinese food is covered with soy sauce. The Italian food, in America, is covered with olive oil or tomato sauces. Both satisfy a certain craving in the body, while, at the same time, the sauces or oils make the acids in the stomach react different ways. The tomato sauces tend to make the acid rise in the stomach and the olive oils tend to make acid separate from the food. The soy does not seem to mix well with the acid in the stomach. Olive oil, however, seems to make foods digest better, especially in the intestines.
Another possible reason your body craves foods like those above is that your stomach may need to be expanded because it has been in a contracted state for too long. The same can be said of your intestines as they contract and expand, too. If you eat only those foods that keep your stomach and intestines in a contracted state all the time, then there may be a wrinkle occurring in the linings of the stomach and intestines because they have not expanded and coated all areas with acid or gases, which helps digest and move foods through your system. Just think. There are many blood vessels connected along your digestive system. If they are not stretched out by the expansion of food through digestion, they might tend to become thinner or smaller as the body is led to believe that those areas do not need as much attention as other areas. This may be what happens to anorexic people as they do not eat very much food for long periods of time. Basically, they are starving their blood vessels around their vital organs and eventually these may die off.
So, the good news is, eating large portions of certain foods, sometimes, is not a sin and may even help in future digestion. The sinful part is eating extra-large portions all the time which does the opposite of contraction, which is expansion. If you continually eat large portions, your body must put those vitamins and minerals somewhere and this is called obesity. Your body cannot poop it out fast enough! Remember what I said, “Eat smaller portions more often and, if you can, eat those foods you crave most.” Now, I am not telling you to eat the banana pudding. It may be that you simply crave a banana. However, you can eat two bites of the banana pudding to see if this satisfies your craving.
Have you ever ordered a double-hot fudge sundae and by the time you get to the bottom of the cup, you think to yourself, “This was way too much and way too sweet. Next time, I’ll just order the smallest size.” What you are really experiencing is sugar overload. What you need to do to get a handle on your sweet tooth is to order the smallest portion of anything sugary. Then, after you have eaten or drank that size portion, ask yourself if you need more. Nine point nine times out of ten, I found that I did not even want more of that sweet treat. The same can be said of candy bars or chocolate. Instead of buying the king size portions, buy the small kid size pieces and eat them one at a time as if that one piece were the only portion you meant to eat in the first place. If your body is craving more of the candy after you have consumed the first one, then by all means, eat a second piece. However, your life should NOT be a sprint, it is a marathon. Eat them slowly. Savor the sugary goodness. Don’t gobble your food as if you need to eat it before the kids find out and take it from you. You know who you are. You hide your goodies in your sock drawer away from prying eyes and then when you feel the urge, you sneak into a corner and stuff your mouth.
Finally, you should learn to listen to your brain and body at the same time.
Your brain says, “Hey, I feel like a soda.” But what your body is actually
saying is that it wants a sweet treat. The fizz in the soda is purely a roof of
the mouth sensation, while the tongue is exploding with joy over the flavor.
What your body is really craving is the tons of sugar in the soda. Recognize
that a little soda may not kill you, but the sugar just might if eaten in large
20-ounce quantities on a daily basis. All that sugar builds up in your system
with nowhere to go but your waistline. Remember. You are what you eat,
literally. Take your time. Enjoy your food and eat the food you enjoy. Let your
body decide what it likes, and you will soon like your body inside and out.
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