Ego's, Food Hype's, And Subtle Signals

If you have ever read a book on a specific diet you've probably fallen into the trap of an egocentric performance, maliciously backed by re-contextualised scientific research. That is quite a mouth full and may seem like a severe punch to those who write about nutrition. Obviously it’s not that black and white. But there is some truth in the above statement.

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Kings and Queens

To start I’d like to state that in today’s world we’re living like royal highnesses. Yes there is poverty and yes not everybody can afford wealth and luxury. But if we look at the amounts of food available it’s easy to see what I mean. Just take a second to look around next time your in a supermarket. Try to soak it all in. The abundance is astounding.

In medieval times obesity, heart disease, and diabetes were illnesses for the rich and wealthy like kings and queens, royals and landlords. Only they could afford to eat what ever they wanted whenever they wanted. Being a bit chubby was considered a sign of wealth. For most of the population how ever, making ends meet was a daily routine and people where happy if they were able to have at least two decent meals a day.

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Now look at today’s society. Obesity is a serious health issue. If you’re living in a city or urban area supermarkets are on every corner of the street not to mention all the (fast) food places in between. Food is everywhere. This article stated that when arriving at Amsterdam Central station by train, and one would walk down to Dam Square, a 15 min walk if you take it easy, there are over 80 food options that present themselves during this stroll down town. That’s intense. Just imagine being a peasant in 1625 and you’d walk from your house to the city’s church, you’d be lucky if you’d found an apple.

And The Pounds While Just Fly Away…

I don’t want to go down the historical path too much as how we’ve arrived at the point where we are today. If you’re up for such a read, I’d suggest reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. It’s a very compressed read on the history of men.

Due to today's wealth and vast amounts of food choices, there are an equal number of diets. Each year there are new books, practices, and fads that rise in popularity. It’s big business. The theories of these books are often backed by scientific claims which make these books and diets seem even more feasible. The problem with the use of scientific evidence is that it quickly gets re-appropriated in the best interest of the book or diet. This is misleading, to say the least. But it works because people are quick to assume that whenever science had their say about it, well, heck it must be true!

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Through the last 2 to 3 decades we’ve created the trend to hop onto any food fad that comes along and appeals to our need. In reality, nutrition is one of the most complex issues to study.
Modern science knows a lot but is still working hard to figure out the details about the human metabolism, health patterns, and aging. Not to say there is no positive progress. But to understand that progress you have to dig way deeper than reading 2 or 3 food diet books. Sure they might help to try out something that perhaps gives short term results. But in the long run, you have to keep up with what is happening and more importantly learn to listen to your own body.

Sixth Sense

Listening to your own body is something you have to get used to. Some people have this ability from the get go. But most of us have to train it. The way I learned a great deal about what my body is trying to tell me is by practising Vipassana meditation. I got introduced to this practice about five years ago, and it changed my life. In short, it comes down to notice the subtleties. It's the subtle and gentle signals that can tell you a whole lot. But if you’re stressed, consume lots of sugars or caffeine, drink yourself silly every weekend or smoke a lot of cigarettes its very hard to get to the subtle core of yourself. You’re blocking it out through overstimulation.

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I’m not a meditation teacher, and I’m far from a guru. The above mentioned stems from my personal experience, and that’s the only thing I can share with you.
I noticed a severe increase in the awareness of my body through meditation. It’s not like it will tell you: Ok, so today you should eat two eggs, run 2.3 miles and then lay down listen to a podcast for 32 min before you go to sleep. Think of it as a sixth sense something that you have to feel. It’s a very intuitive part of yourself that will help you make better life choices. Sounds vague? Perhaps it is, not everything can be explained with scientific preciseness. There are lots of things that you have to experience in order to understand them.

Just Listen

Another benefit of regular meditation practice is that it can allow the ego to melt, bit by bit. A strong ego can prevent you from making the right choices. From personal experience I can say that the smaller my ego got, the more I started noticing subtleties. Both in my body and mind as in the world around me. The food diet books I mentioned earlier often come across as enormous ego's trying to force their opinion onto others. When confronted with such ego's keep in mind that the best knowledge comes from personal experience. Try to learn to listen to what it is your body tries to tell you and sooner or later you'll be on the right path.

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I hope this piece did not come across as too much of a rant. What I write about comes straight from the heart and is meant to uplift and inspire others. Please leave your suggestions, ideas or feedback below, whatever it might be. We don't have to agree ✌️

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