... so what we eat, and why , and how much ...

[Guest guest]

....so how do we " reawaken our lost instinct of hunger,

true hunger "

 

 

Instinct is lost for specific reasons.

Usually animals lose their instincts when they're

tamed and when they live in captivity or are fed with

human they're not suited to.

The same for human.

Hunger is the most important instinct, because it

tells you how much you have to eat, so that it is not

too much and not too few.

Instinct of hunger should also tell us when it's

better to skip a meal and what to eat.

One can also rely on tables, charts and imaginary unit

of energy but it's not the same as when you listen to

what your body need.

I think that as unproper food, captivity, artificial

stimulation and pollution are the reason for instinct

lost, natural food, exercise, proper rest, fulfilling

naturally our body needs, abandoning artificial

stimulation or stimulating substances is the way to

reawaken our instict.

Donald Walters, Laura Day, Karla McLaren and others

have written several books on the importance of

instinct and how to reawaken it.

Unfortunately, they never make the connection between

diet and lost of our innate intuition.

Herbert Shelton and Albert Mosseri wrote several books

about true hunger and how to reawaken the inner

intuition that should help us to give our body what it

wants.

Shelton expecially has explained the difference

between true hunger and false hunger and how to

cultivate the instinct of hunger.

P.S

This has nothing to do with Instinctos and Instict

therapy; their diet is not a diet to reawaken their

true hunger but a false diet with which artificially

powering false hunger and voraciousness.

 

____________________________

 

If we do this we eat only to supply the demands of the

body. We cannot repeat too often the admonition, do

not eat if not hungry.

 

If this plan were followed the present three

meals-a-day plan would end. Also the practice of many

of eating between meals and in the evening before

retiring would cease. For most people real hunger

would call for about one meal a day, with occasionally

some small amounts of fruit during the day.

 

Hunger is the " voice of nature " saying to us that food

is required. There is no other true guide as to when

to eat. The time of day, the habitual meal time, etc.,

are not true guides.

 

Although genuine hunger is a mouth and throat

sensation and depends upon an actual physiological

need for food, muscular contractions of the stomach

accompany hunger and are thought by physiologists, to

give rise to the hunger sensation.

 

Carlson, of the Chicago University, found that in a

man who had been fasting two weeks, these gastric

" hunger " contractions had not decreased, although

there was no desire for food. The same has been

observed in animals. Indeed these contractions are

seen to increase and yet they do not produce the

sensation of hunger. I do not consider these so-called

" hunger-contractions " as the cause of hunger. Real

hunger is a mouth and throat sensation.

 

But there is a difference between hunger and what is

called appetite. Appetite is a counterfeit hunger, a

creature of habit and cultivation, and may be due to

any one of a number of things; such as the arrival of

the habitual meal time, the sight, taste, or smell of

food, condiments and seasonings, or even the thought

of food. In some diseased states there is an almost

constant and insatiable appetite. None of these things

can arouse true hunger; for, this comes only when

there is an actual need for food.

 

One may have an appetite for tobacco, coffee, tea,

opium, alcohol, etc., but he can never be hungry for

these, since they serve no real physiological need.

 

Appetite is often accompanied by a gnawing or " all

gone " sensation in the stomach, or a general sense of

weakness; there may even be mental depression. Such

symptoms usually belong to the diseased stomach of a

glutton and will pass away if their owner will refrain

from eating for a few days. They are temporarily

relieved by eating and this leads to the idea that it

was food that was needed. But such sensations and

feelings do not accompany true hunger. In true hunger

one is not aware that he has a stomach for this, like

thirst, is a mouth and throat sensation. Real hunger

arises spontaneously, that is without the agency of

some external factor, and is accompanied by a

" watering of the mouth " and usually by a conscious

desire for some particular food.

 

Dr. Gibson says that, " The condition known as

appetite, * * * with its source and center in nervous

desire, and its motive in self-indulgence, is a mere

parasite on life, feeding on its host--the man

himself--whose misdirected imagination invites it into

his own vital household; while hunger, on the other

hand, is the original, constitutional prompter for the

cell-world calling for means to supply the true need

and necessities of man's physical nature. * * *

Appetite does not express our needs, but our wants;

not what we really need, but what we think we need. It

is imagination running riot, fashioning out of our

gluttonous greed an insatiable vampire which grows

with our wants, and increases its power until finally

it kills us unless we determine to kill it. * * * As

long as our attention is absorbed in the pleasures of

the table, in the gratification of eating for its own

sake, and in the introduction of new combinations to

bring about stimulating effects, we are increasing the

power of our appetite at the expense of our hunger. "

 

The hungry person is able to eat and relish a crust of

dry bread; he who has only an appetite must have his

food seasoned and spiced before he can enjoy it. Even

a gourmand is able to enjoy a hearty meal if there is

sufficient seasoning to whip up his jaded appetite and

arouse his palsied taste. He would be far better off

if he would await the arrival of hunger before eating.

 

There is no doubt of the truth of Dr. Geo. S. Weger's

thought that " appetite contractions in the stomach are

often excited by psychic states, as influenced by the

senses. " Appetite contractions thus aroused, are of

distinct advantage in digesting a meal if they are

super-added to pre-existing hunger contractions. We

know that these psychic states increase the flow of

the digestive juices--make the stomach " water " as well

as the mouth--and enhance digestion.

 

If we follow the rule to eat only when truly hungry,

those people who are " hungry " but weak and

uncomfortable would fast until comfort and strength

returned. Fasting would become one of the most common

practices in our lives, at least, until we learn to

live and eat to keep well and thus eliminate the need

for fasting.

 

There are individuals who are always eating and always

" hungry. " They mistake a morbid irritation of the

stomach for hunger. These people have not learned to

distinguish between a normal demand for food and a

symptom of disease. They mistake the evidences of

chronic gastritis or of gastric neurosis for hunger.

 

Hunger, as previously pointed out, is the insistent

demand for food that arises out of physiological need

for nourishment. Appetite, on the other hand, is a

craving for food which may be the result of several

different outside factors operating through the mind

and senses. Anything that will arouse an appetite will

encourage one to eat, whether or not there exists an

actual need for food.

 

Hunger may be satisfied and appetite still persist, a

not unusual thing. Our many course dinners, with

everything especially prepared to appeal to the taste

and smell, are well designed to keep alive appetite,

long after hunger has been appeased. No man is ever

hungry when he reaches the dessert, so commonly served

after a many course dinner. Few, though filled to

repletion and perhaps uncomfortable in the abdomen,

ever refuse to eat the dessert. It is especially

prepared to appeal to appetite. This style of eating

necessarily and inevitably leads to overeating and

disease. Too many articles of food at a meal

overstimulate and induce overeating.

 

Hunger and the sense of taste are the only guides as

to the quantity and character of food required. If we

eat when we are not hungry, and if the delicate

sensibilities of taste have been dulled and deadened

by gluttonous indulgence and by condiments, spices,

alcohol, etc., it ceases to be a reliable guide.

 

The unperverted instinct of hunger craves most keenly

the food that is most needed by the body and the

unperverted taste derives the most pleasure and

satisfaction out of the food or foods demanded, and

will be satisfied when we have consumed sufficient of

such food or foods to supply the body's needs. But, if

we have been in the habit of crowding the stomach when

there is no demand for food, just because it is meal

time, or because the doctor ordered it, and we know no

other indication that enough food has been consumed,

than that the stomach can hold no more, we are headed

for disaster. The existence of a natural demand for

food indicates that food is required by the body and

that the organs of the body are ready to receive and

digest it. Eating when there is no time, or as a

social duty, or because one has been able to stimulate

an appetite, is a wrong to the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the great post. Most people drink little or no water.

Once they are educated about the body's need to drink water and they

start doing it, they find that their need to snack during the day

and/or eat large quantitites of food subsides. Of course, tap water

is not good for drinking. I buy my water from Purified Water To Go,

a retail store that puts water through a 12-stage purification

process (see http://www.watertogo.com/concept.htm for more

information) making it as pure as possible.

 

Ron Koenig

Bellevue, WA

 

RawSeattle , attila madaras <Attila86@Y...>

wrote:

> ...so how do we " reawaken our lost instinct of hunger,

> true hunger "

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

The conventional water drinking recommendations (8 glasses per day,

minimum) are as false as the idea that a gnawing stomach indicates hunger,

imo -- they both arise from the fatal practice of eating cooked foods.

Instead of telling people to drink more water to compensate for their

dietary mistakes (that symptomatic approach again), we should be telling

them to eat more foods with the natural water intact. If a cooked person

wants to become healthier, they don't need necessarily to overcome their

habitual snacking, they just need to replace the harmful snacks with raw

fruit. Then replace the harmful meals with fruit or salad, and the rest

evolves naturally into place from there. Drinking water won't do that for

anyone. At best it allows their bodies to process the garbage they're

eating. It may be true that cooked people need extra water but the message

we (as raw fooders) perpetuate when we espouse this party-line advice is

that cooked food eating is perfectly fine as long as you drink tons of

water to compensate. In any event, the advice certainly doesn't apply to

people who are eating biologically appropriate, water-dense,

raw food.

 

Some of the more learned raw food experts say that we aren't physically

equipped to drink water at all. It is probably true that if we were living

natural lives we'd hardly ever need to drink water. It seems to me, though,

that there might be the occasional circumstance where we'd need a drink.

And maybe I'm missing something, but don't our two hands cupped together

make a pretty good drinking receptacle? Hmm. For myself, I drink when I'm

thirsty, which amounts to a couple sips a day at most. In fact most of the

time if I'm thirsty I'll have an orange instead of water.

 

Attila, thanks for that super essay on hunger. It's great to get those

reminders from time to time.

 

Nora

 

 

Original Message:

-----------------

Ron Koenig ron.koenig

Sun, 03 Aug 2003 05:42:23 -0000

RawSeattle

[RawSeattle] Re: ... so what we eat, and why , and how much ...

 

 

Thanks for the great post. Most people drink little or no water.

Once they are educated about the body's need to drink water and they

start doing it, they find that their need to snack during the day

and/or eat large quantitites of food subsides. Of course, tap water

is not good for drinking. I buy my water from Purified Water To Go,

a retail store that puts water through a 12-stage purification

process (see http://www.watertogo.com/concept.htm for more

information) making it as pure as possible.

 

Ron Koenig

Bellevue, WA

 

RawSeattle , attila madaras <Attila86@Y...>

wrote:

> ...so how do we " reawaken our lost instinct of hunger,

> true hunger "

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I agree that the 8 glasses a day is just an arbitrary number. What

you actually need will depend upon how much water you are getting

from your diet, the use of salt and spices in the diet (which cause

an increase in thirst), your weight, and also the weather. In warmer

weather, if you are outside and exercising, you will sweat more,

hence the need for more water. In my post I was coming strictly from

a caloric point of view. Water has no calories, so it is the best

approach for those wanting to lose weight and control appetite. I

have heard of studies that have borne out the point that thirst is

not a reliable indicator for replacing the water used by the body.

In athletes running on a treadmill, one group drank according to

thirst, the other group was given what was needed to replace what

they were losing through exercise and perspiration. It was reported

that the average person who drank according to thirst only drank 1/3

of the water necessary to replenish fluids, and got fatigued sooner

than the group who were given what was needed by the body. One other

point that I say from personal experience: If you don't want to get

up in the night to urinate, don't drink very much, if any, water 5

hours before you plan to go to bed.

 

RawSeattle , " nlenz@q... " <nlenz@q...> wrote:

> The conventional water drinking recommendations (8 glasses per day,

> minimum) are as false as the idea that a gnawing stomach indicates

hunger,

> imo -- they both arise from the fatal practice of eating cooked

foods.

> Instead of telling people to drink more water to compensate for

their

> dietary mistakes (that symptomatic approach again), we should be

telling

> them to eat more foods with the natural water intact. If a cooked

person

> wants to become healthier, they don't need necessarily to overcome

their

> habitual snacking, they just need to replace the harmful snacks

with raw

> fruit. Then replace the harmful meals with fruit or salad, and the

rest

> evolves naturally into place from there. Drinking water won't do

that for

> anyone. At best it allows their bodies to process the garbage

they're

> eating. It may be true that cooked people need extra water but the

message

> we (as raw fooders) perpetuate when we espouse this party-line

advice is

> that cooked food eating is perfectly fine as long as you drink tons

of

> water to compensate. In any event, the advice certainly doesn't

apply to

> people who are eating biologically appropriate, water-dense,

> raw food.

>

> Some of the more learned raw food experts say that we aren't

physically

> equipped to drink water at all. It is probably true that if we were

living

> natural lives we'd hardly ever need to drink water. It seems to me,

though,

> that there might be the occasional circumstance where we'd need a

drink.

> And maybe I'm missing something, but don't our two hands cupped

together

> make a pretty good drinking receptacle? Hmm. For myself, I drink

when I'm

> thirsty, which amounts to a couple sips a day at most. In fact most

of the

> time if I'm thirsty I'll have an orange instead of water.

>

> Attila, thanks for that super essay on hunger. It's great to get

those

> reminders from time to time.

>

> Nora

>

>

> Original Message:

> -----------------

> Ron Koenig ron.koenig@v...

> Sun, 03 Aug 2003 05:42:23 -0000

> RawSeattle

> [RawSeattle] Re: ... so what we eat, and why , and how

much ...

>

>

> Thanks for the great post. Most people drink little or no water.

> Once they are educated about the body's need to drink water and

they

> start doing it, they find that their need to snack during the day

> and/or eat large quantitites of food subsides. Of course, tap

water

> is not good for drinking. I buy my water from Purified Water To

Go,

> a retail store that puts water through a 12-stage purification

> process (see http://www.watertogo.com/concept.htm for more

> information) making it as pure as possible.

>

> Ron Koenig

> Bellevue, WA

>

> RawSeattle , attila madaras <Attila86@Y...>

> wrote:

> > ...so how do we " reawaken our lost instinct of hunger,

> > true hunger "

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

>

>

>