Food Combining & Intermittent Fasting

These are tools to optimize your body's ability to digest and assimilate the food you eat so you get more bang for your buck and spend less energy on digestion. You will be healthier and potentially live longer when applying these principles around your eating habits.  Ideally you would do these two practises together. This might be more or less challenging depending on your life circumstances. 

Food combining made simple

For optimal digestion it’s good to keep it simple. Have as few different ingredients in every meal as possible, Ideally only one. Very Few of us are willing to go to this degree of asceticism. Below are some simple guidelines on how to get most out of the food you eat using the least amount of energy for digestion. If you get inspired and want to go deeper in to food combining there are plenty of theories available, these are the most basic guidelines that will give considerable benefit when applied.

1. Avoid eating starch and animal protein in the same meal. The digestion of these types of food in the same meal takes a lot of time and energy. Both types combine well with low starch veggies and greens such as broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini etc. You can also combine two different starches in the same meal with veggies and salad, ie. Rice & Sweet potato. Legumes go fairly good together with starch, and concentrated veg protein such as tofu and tempeh digest better together with starch than meat. Ideally you would also avoid eating concentrated veg protein together with starch and instead have it with greens and vegetables, and have another meal later on with starch and vegetables.

2.Always eat fruits alone, or with greens. One hour before, or three hours after a meal is advisable.

At first this way of eating may feel unsatisfying, you will not feel full after The meal and may have a sensation of something missing. You will however feel more energized and sharp after eating, and after some time you will get used to it. Less energy will be spent on digestion and more will be available for regeneration and creativity.

Intermittent fasting

This is the practice of having all your daily food intake within a certain time window, usually a 5-8 hour period. The benefits are similar to fasting for longer periods, but the practice is easier to integrate in to normal life and made into a  permanent way of life if so desired. Intermittent fasting will help your digestion and metabolism and tune up your endocrine system as well. You will feel more alert and your body composition will improve. Many people skip breakfast and have lunch and dinner. Personally I like to skip dinner so the body doesn’t need to run digestive processes at night, but can rather focus on repair, detox and restoration.  

What to expect

There will be a certain degree of emotional detox happening, especially if you tend to go to food for comfort and to avoid difficult emotions. 

When I started skipping dinner I would feel very lonely, sad and aloof in the evenings. A good thing I noticed immediately was the feeling of more time, so I started to make use of dinner time as my own special time to take care of myself or do something enjoyable.

It might take at least a few weeks to get used to the new way of living and eating, and probably months to really adjust. Your body will slowly adapt and you might feel starved from time to time. It’s important to focus on nutritionally dense foods, and to not be too hard on yourself if you have a snack or small meal outside your eating window from time to time. A ”relapse” done with self love and awareness will give you strength to carry on and make it less likely to overindulge in heavy binge eating. 
Before your metabolism fully adjust  to intermittent fasting there will be blood sugar issues and adrenal stress. Your body will go in to using reserves to give you the energy you need in the fasting window.  I find it's very good to use adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha,  reishi or ginseng to help the body cope with the stress of adaptation and over time you will find you don’t even really think about eating outside your eating window.

One aspect about Intermittent fasting I really love is the sense of feast and celebration when I brake my daily fast. I also love how sharp and ready to go i feel in the mornings, and how energized I feel after breakfast. My intention is to make intermittent fasting a permanent way of life if it keeps working out well for me.

Are you suffering from Low back pain?

Low Back Pain within a Chinese medicin context

I meet people all the time who suffer from low back pain. Usually we tend to believe the cause is in some way structural. This could mean muscular tension, misalignment or injury. In this text we will explore low back pain from the point of view of Chinese Medicine, especially the kidney system, and it's deepest essence called Jing.  Keep in mind this text is general in nature and the kidney system is not explored very deeply.

When we speak about the kidney in Chinese medicin we don't mean just the physical organ but a sum total of a set of frequencies in our system that manifest as bone, bone marrow, brain, reproductive system, joint health as well as the kidneys, adrenals and the emotions of fear vs .courage. With a healthy kidney system we feel safe and courageous, we sleep well and our body has strong bone structure and joints. We have a healthy appetite for sex and can have normal sexual release without feeling fatigued afterwards. When the kidney system is depleted or out of balance we might experience symptoms of low back or knee pain, weakened sexual function, fatigue or fear. 

The kidney system holds within a deep essence the chinese call Jing. This basically means our inherited, genetic strength, or the stored life force passed down to us through our lineage of parents, grand parents and great grand parents. This energy strongly influences our lifespan and quality of life, and it is slowly depleted just by living and greatly sped up by modern life stresses, stimulant use and excessive sexual activity. 

If you are experiencing low back pain is it worth to look at the following behaviors in your life and try to change them and see if it helps!

1.Stimulant use

Coffee, Yerba mate, tea, cacao, guarana, alcohol, tobacco, recreational/spiritual drugs. These all work by releasing a flood of neurotransmitters and hormones that excites your system, mind and emotions in various ways creating feelings of well being, alertness, focus, insights etc. They all have their proper use and can be a great help and tool for managing different aspects of life. Excessive use or even regular small amounts will use up jing. If we use up more than we can put back in from properly metabolized nutrition we will experience depletion of the kidney system causing different symptoms including lower back pain. If you on a regular basis experience lower back pain and you regularly take in stimulants mentioned above try to cut back or quit their use for some time, ie. a month and see if it helps.

2. Stress/overwork

When over a period time we are exceeding our body’s capacity of regeneration by working too much or being in stress for prolonged periods our body will use it’s reserves to keep us going. This will over time create a depletion in the kidney system that might manifest as lower back pain. Try to relax in the evening for a few hours before bed without exposure to computer/phone, take a walk in nature, meditate, read a book or just hang out with loved one(s) in a relaxed manner. If you find it hard to relax try moderate exercise earlier in the evening. Stressful times in our lives often go hand in hand with an increased use of stimulants to keep us going. This is ok sometimes, we cannot live full lives and avoid stress completely as we have responsibilities and need to accomplish things. If you experience low back pain stress might be the cause, so be mindful of this and try to get more downtime.

3. Excessive sexual activity

This concerns mostly male ejaculation. Semen holds a large portion of our available kidney essence or Jing in the form of minerals and fatty acids as well as the energetic charge of the body released in orgasm. Depending on your age a certain amount of releases is good for you, but when excessive it will deplete your kidney system. If you are a male over 30 it’s a good idea to quit habitual masturbation and get acquainted with tantric/taoist sexual practices where ejaculation is not necessarily a part of every intercourse. For females carrying and giving birth to a child is the most taxing on her body and in times of pregnancy extra care must be taken to nourish her Kidney essence.

4. Malnutrition/malfunction of digestive functions

This might mean weakness in the metabolism or digestive system, preventing the body from getting enough deep nutrion. This will over time also deplete the kidney system because the body will constantly need to use deep reserves as it’s not getting enough nutrition to produce the amount of energy needed for the output of the individual.  Do you have loose stools, irregular bowel movements or undigested bits of food in your stools? Do you experience tiredness after meals? Are you eating regular and balanced meals most days? A closer look in these topics may reveal that you are either not getting enough nutrition in, or that your body for some reason is not processing the food well enough to provide deep nutrition. The first step is to eat nutritious and well balanced meals around the same times every day, chew your food well and eat in a relaxed atmosphere without distraction. Avoid snacking and drinking large amounts of sweet drinks (also teas) in between meals. Avoid too many different foods in the same meal and don’t overeat.If you already have this routine more or less in place you might want to try herbs to strengthen digestion. Ginger tea is an efficient herb to use in periods, even better for long term, gradually working, building effect are Chinese herbs like astragalus (huang qi)  Codonopsis (dang shen), ginseng (ren Shen) or especially for women Angelica root (dang gui)

How to build kidney essence, or Jing?

Nutrition

It’s important to have a whole food diet devoid of processed foods and sugar. Moderate amounts of good quality animal produce will quite fast replace lost essence. Grass fed milk products is the most balanced ones. Bone broth is more effective but also a more aggressive therapy that more easily can cause imbalances. Seafood and eggs are effective as well as spirulina, chlorella and other micro algae. Keep in mind that seafood these days is very polluted, and animal foods in general are produced in a way that doesn't honor life. More on this topic in the post: animal vs. plant foods. Example of Other Jing building foods are: almonds, ghee, bee pollen and coconut.

Herbs

There are a number of tonic herbs that are safe to take on the long term that will gradually improve Jing essence. Some of the most beneficial are :He Shou wu, rehmannia root,  goji berry and cordyceps.

Exercises

In order to build our kidney essence we must have a good metabolism and move our bodies daily. Exercise should not be too taxing and should leave us feeling more energized after than before. There are specific exercises in the eastern traditions for building kidney essence, for example the five tibetans and various qi gong exercises. 

Quality sleep

Sleep is extremely important if we want to build our deep energy reserves. Points to consider: get to bed on time as every slept hour before midnight is equal to two hours slept after midnight. Try to relax for an hour or two before bed without any electronic stimuli, and don't eat heavy foods just before bed.

To conclude this article I'd like to point out that we really need to learn to respect ourselves and our bodies, especially our precious physical essence as it's the foundation of our health, strength, immune system and in the end our ability to create and manifest the kind of life we want to live. 

If your lower back is sore a lot of the time it might be you are low on Kidney Essence and may have to change some lifestyle factors to build your reserves back up again. This might help your lower back to get stronger and painless again.  I hope this information will help you, I know from experience that it works.

Animal and Plant Foods

Generally it’s healthiest to live mainly on a plant based diet as Many studies show that people that live the longest  have this type of diet. Animal products do have their benefits when used appropriately  with respect and care. 

A good question to consider is that no living being wants to die, and an animal raised and killed for food is no exception. Factory farming creates a lot of suffering and  heavy energies such as aggression and fear which is transmuted to it’s consumer, unconsciously in most cases. This is for me personally a good reason to steer away from animal products as much as possible. I’m on a constant mission of finding clean, sustainable sources of animal foods I can have from time to time without suffering, or supporting the misuse of life for profit.

In cases of bodily deficiency, malnutrition and weakness animal foods can provide a fast fix.  A plant based approach to building strength and nourish the deep reserves of the body might take longer, but might in the end also be a more sustainable solution that’s more beneficial for health and longevity.

 In correcting deficiencies and depletion caused by modern life stress with symptoms of having a hard time to relax, low back pain, constant worry, anxiety, depression and fatigue it’s essential to get enough medium chain omega-3 (Epa & Dha) , fat soluble vitamins (A, D, K2)  and minerals from our diet. A good quality fish or krill oil is an easy way to get Epa and dha. Plant sources are micro algae such as spirulina, chlorella and afa as well as the plant purslane.  Mineral storage are  also important to refill. Most easily this can be done with organ meats and fatty meats from free range animals fed a natural diet.  Bone broth is an excellent way of getting both healthy fats, fat soluble vitamins as well as bio available minerals into the system. 

A Plant based approach needs more care and patience as results will manifest more slowly.   Use a variety of the best produce you can find, vegetables, legumes, root vegetables, seaweeds, grains, spirulina, chlorella. Learn to make kitcharis and congees, they are very deeply nourishing. Helpful herbs from the taoist herbal system to replenish deep energy reserves and improve digestion in the body: he shou wu, gojiberry, astragulus, ginseng, rehmannia root, cordyceps and reishi.

The challenges of a plant based diet in modern times;

Factory farming and mono crops even organic mono farming  result in veggies and grains poor in nutrition. Many of us have a deficiency in medium chain omega3 fatty acids crucial for our brains and nervous system. if we have enough we feel calm and strong and can cope with stressful situations in an efficient way without losing our nerve. Usually we have far too much omega6’s from poor quality vegetable oils and seeds in our diets resulting imbalance with symptoms of mood swings and anger. Epa and Dha can be challenging to get from plant sources in modern times.

If you already have a balanced and healthy body and you’re used to a plant based or vegan diet you can get away with using plant based sources of omega 3’s such as micro algae, seeds (chia & flax), purslane or algae oil supplements. if you are already depleted /imbalanced and need to keep up an active lifestyle because of worldly responsibilities it might be best to use a good source of animal fats to replenish your body and correct the fatty acid balance to a more balanced state.

Animal foods such as meat, organ meats, fish, eggs and milk products as well as high quality supplements from the animal kingdom are nutritionally dense and strengthening foods that can be beneficial to consume at times of weakness, stress, depletion and fatigue. They quickly provide energy, strength and deep nutrition in the form of minerals, fat soluble vitamins, protein and medium chain omega3’s. If consumed habitually and In too large amounts they over time cause congestion in the system and shorten life span.

If we choose to use animal produce it’s essential to get them from responsible sources. We need to end the misuse of life for profit and treat all life on earth with respect and care. Large scale meat industry is an absolute disgrace and shouldn’t be supported anymore by anyone who respect themselves.

If you feel you need to incorporate animal products in your diet because of bodily deficiency or weakness, or because of demanding life conditions, please Choose produce from small family farms where the animals are treated with care and respect and have enough living space and get to roam around for their own food as much as possible. If you can visit the farm yourself and get a feel for the process by yourself you can decide if you can consume their produce with a clear conscience. If you don’t have any farms close to where you live try to get produce from farmers markets or online stores and co-ops that carry quality pasture raised produce from small farms. Organic and pasture raised produce found is supermarkets might be ok, but is usually mass produced.

Below is some information about different types of animal products that can help you make better choices for yourself and your loved ones.

Wild fish 

Wild fish have better quality fatty acids and is overall more nutritious than farmed fish that’s usually very toxic and nutritionally poor. Sea fish is very contaminated with heavy metals and radiation these days, but is generally  more nutritious than farmed fish. If you can get wild fish from clean lakes that’s great. If you do choose to eat sea fish please don’t have it more than once a week and make sure you have some chlorella before and after you eat as it aids the body to eliminate toxins. Farmed salmon is one of the most toxic foods found in supermarkets and should be avoided all together.

Milk products

Milk from animals who fed on pastures has a high concentration of fat soluble vitamins (especially A, D, K2)  and medium chain omega3’s, EPA & DHA. Depending on where in the world you live it might be easy or less easy to find grass fed milk products such as Butter, ghee and yoghurts.

Eggs

Make sure to get at least organic, or better pasture raised. If you can get some straight from a small farm where the chickens got to roam free the eggs will be of the best quality with dark yellow, even reddish yolks that indicate rich nutrition.

Organ meats & Bone broth

These are the some of the most nutritious and strengthening foods available. Make sure you get them from a clean source, pasture raised with loving care.  Liver is easy to begin with and once you get used to the strong taste you might come to like it very much. Bone broth is something worth to get acquainted with as well, find a recipe and give it a go. A far easier way of getting the benefits of bone broth is to get a good quality gelatin or collagen supplement. 

Supplements from the animal kingdom

Fish oil
A great source of medium chain omega3's. Make sure you get the cleanest product possible, like a pharmaceutical grade fish oil. Don't go for the cheapest option.

Gelatin & Collagen

An easy way to get some of the benefits of bone broth without all the hassle of actually making it. Gelatin & Collagen has building blocks for cartilage, joints, hair and nails. From a chinese medicin point of view these are very yin substances that help you to relax, restore and rejuvenate. A good brand is great lakes gelatin.

Colostrum powder

A powerful food that builds your immunity and heals your gut. It also enhances mood and gives a general feeling of well being. It's a perfect food with all essential amino acids and fatty acids. Be aware it can have quite an aphrodisiac effect especially together with Raw Cacao. The best colostrum comes from the company Surthrival.