There
are many reasons why people eat, but not many are related to true
hunger. Many people say that they have a large appetite, but this
rarely equates to true hunger. In this article, we shall examine some
of the reasons why people eat, when true hunger has not arisen.
Diabetics
are told to eat frequently to avoid going into a diabetic coma. Every
two hours many diabetics force down a concoction of usually
wrongly-combined, nutritionally-deficient foods in an effort to avoid
this dreaded coma. They are not told what types of foods to avoid e.g.
meat and animal products, or that they should be eating
nutritionally-sufficient foods (whole, raw fruit and vegetables as an
optimum). These people are continuing to keep themselves in a diabetic
condition, and are not helping themselves. Here in Britain, the
British Diabetic Association (BDA) now agree that diabetics don't have
to avoid fruit, even sweet fruit as previously thought (however, the
condition of the diabetic may be such that they should withhold from
sweet fruit for a while and gradually increase their intake in the diet
when health improves. It is now becoming common practice amongst
orthodox dietetic associations to encourage diabetics and those with
heart disease to eat more fruit and vegetables. Giving reference to
the Glycaemic Index, however, the BDA do advise that items high on the
GI should be taken less frequently. Fruit, with all its fibre, is a
fine food for people with Diabetes although in some situations it is
best to consume it with raw greens such as celery, cucumber or a little
lettuce to slow down the blood sugar rush. Of course, fruit should
only ever be eaten on an empty stomach and left to digest before other
foods are taken.
However,
non-diabetics continue to make all sorts of excuses for eating and
over-eating in their everyday lives. Some blame it on boredom, some on
worry about food going off, some eat 'to be sociable' but when we are
more honest with ourselves we realise it is usually due to other
reasons. Many people eat when they are not hungry due to lack of love
in their lives either from internal sources (self-love, self-approval,
etc.) or a a perceived lack of love from others. It is important to be
aware of our feelings and emotions when we do eat without true hunger.
When changing to a healthier diet, for instance an avoidance of meat,
dairy products, etc., although it is more beneficial physically to
change quickly; psychologically and emotionally it is often better to
change over a little more slowly. Sometimes it is better to go
vegetarian to start with, then to cut out animal products afterwards.
A transition period is sometimes better, for instance, coming off the
worst offenders first like animal flesh, unless chronic illness is
present. It is also important to have strong motivations for switching
over to a healthier diet and not just second-order desires.
What
I want to emphasise is that the only reason that we should ever be
eating is to satiate a true need for food by the body. When one does
not follow this rule, excess food will be treated as poison and will
need to be eliminated, or it may ferment or putrefy due to the delay in
the digestive process, and cause toxins in the bloodstream. Either
way, our body will be poisoned to some degree and drained of vital
energy. Toxaemia (a saturation of body tissues with poisons) arises
from the taking of excess food, poor food combinations, unsuitable
foodstuffs and this, in turn, gives rise to a more over-eating and
eating without the presence of true hunger. We must gain control of
our emotions and our eating habits.
When
we have toxins circulating around in our bloodstream, our thinking
becomes clouded and we are unable to deal with outside stress and
negative feelings which may arise, and this leads to further poor
food/poor food quantity choices. When we abide by the essentials of
health and provide our bodies with pure raw fruits and vegetables,
organically-grown and in proper food combinations and proper
quantities, we find ourselves more disciplined as our heads are clearer
and our bodies freer from toxins. Excuses like 'It'll have to be eaten
or it will go off' and comfort eating will disappear as we learn to
confront our feelings and frustrations and challenge them more
effectively due to a cleaner bloodstream and a clearer mind.
I
believe that eating when there is no real hunger is usually a love
substitute, although it can be a form of self-punishment. Be honest
with yourself: Do you need food or do you need love? Filling the
emotional gap by feeding our stomachs only abuses our gastrointestinal
tract and will not solve our problems. Treating our stomach as an
organ of pleasure rather than as nature intended, leads to more
displeasure in the long-run. When we need love, we must work out how
to find it; either within ourselves or from external sources. But we
should love ourselves first and foremost and then everything else will
fall into place. So learn to love yourself unconditionally and you
will find the solution to over-eating! |
