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Chapter 11. Diet

The body needs food for two purposes, as fuel to supply our energy, and to repair body tissues. Four elements are needed for the building of the body and for its repair, namely (1) protein or nitrogenous food, (2) carbo-hydrates, (3) fats or hydrocarbons, and (4) minerals, these four elements being found in greater proportions in vegetables than in flesh foods. The most valuable vegetable sources of protein are cheess, soya beans, nuts, peas and milk, and the most wholesome sources of starches and sugars are honey, wholewheat, oats, unpolished rice, and potatoes. Fruits and vegetables, as well as supplying organic minerals and hydrocarbons, also aid in keeping an alkaline reserve in the blood, essential for carrying waste carbon dioxide to the lungs for elimination.

I am not going to try to convert any of my meat-eating readers to vegetarianism (as the practice of Yoga will do this for me in time), but I would say this. That although the meat eater may look strong and healthy he has not the endurance, the staying power, and the resistance to disease of the vegetarian. That a natural diet of fruits, greens, milk and dairy products, citrus fruits, and whole grains is man's ideal and vitamin-packed health-giving diet.

It is interesting to note that all food is originally produced in a vegetable form and is in effect stored up sunshine. Think of an orange. The next time you pick one up to peel and eat it and throw the vitamin-rich skin into the dustbin, think of it as it really is, a parcel of distilled sunshine. And why throw the peel away? Eat a bit of it with the rest of the orange and what you do not eat try grating it into various other foods to add a rich and tangy flavour. It is full of vitamins and added to a jar of honey it adds that extra something.

So to eat vegetables is to eat distilled sunshine. To eat flesh is to take vegetable food secondhand from another animal, and here it is interesting to note that man eats mainly the flesh of vegetarian animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and poultry, deer, and rabbits. He does not eat the flesh of carnivorous animals.

Why kill helpless and friendly animals? Why subject them to the pain and terror of the slaughterhouse when there is so much goodness to eat from the clean earth? Why take a life away when we can eat fruit off the trees, and all the bounty of the harvest? Why all this violence in the name of good eating? Why not have mercy? The pure in mind do not kill, and the pure in body do not need to kill. Think, do think, about it first the next time you cut a piece of steak and carry it on your fork to your mouth; think of the animal who died in pain to provide you with this supper of yours. Are you sure it is worth it? And are fruit and vegetables and nuts not more pleasant to handle than wet and bleeding pieces of a dead animal?

It is interesting to note that once a person becomes a vegetarian and knows the health and purity which results from eating good and pure food, he seldom if ever reverts back to the lower type of food. As he grows spiritually, man ceases to desire flesh foods. Thus man's choice of foods is directly influenced by his degree of mental purity.

And so the Yoga diet is simply to keep as closely as possible to natural foods. This means plenty of nuts, whole cereals, and fresh fruits and juices. From these man can get all the vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates and minerals he needs. From these also he has the means whereby to nourish the cells of the body without overburdening the system with unnatural and alien foods and drinks. It should be noted that even the most perfect system cannot work to the maximum of its efficiency when it is fed with unnatural foods.

What, then, are these unnatural foods to be avoided? These are the refined, processed, tinned and packaged foods, the worst offenders being white sugar, white flour, white rice and any other food from which the vitality has been refined out. Pickles, preserves, sweets and over-salted foods should be avoided, as should anything containing artificial ingredients. This, 1 know, is not easy if one tends to eat out a great deal. Well-meaning relations and friends hand us heavily iced sweet cakes and sandwiches made with that unwholesome substance, white bread. What can one do to avoid complete social ostracism? That is a problem which you can work out for yourselves, according to your individual circumstances but to all of you I would say this, avoid these foods wherever possible but do not, in the process, offend anyone. Rather eat a piece of cake than hurt someone's feelings. You can leave most of it in crumbs on your plate without arousing suspicion.

The three main rules of the Yoga diet are (1) non-violence, (2) moderation, and (3) attitude of mind. Non-violence I have already discussed. What then of moderation? You must train yourself to eat only what you need and no more. As you proceed with your studies of Yoga you will find yourself taking less interest in food and more interest in spiritual matters. Food no longer becomes a break from the round of work. It becomes a time of refuelling the body so that it may continue to flourish. Remember to chew each mouthful slowly which simple practice will gradually accustom you to taking only as much food as you need, not as much as you think you want. By all means enjoy your food but take it in moderation.

And what of attitude of mind? It is not necessary for you to become cranks and food faddists who measure every mouthful you eat. It is not necessary for you to set up a hue and cry about the needless slaughter of animals for food. Quietly pursue your own course, eat only what is pure and natural and your influence will be far greater on those around you than by any more noisy methods.
I am by no means deaf to the many arguments against vegetarianism that are hurled at me from time to time. They go as follows. If everyone became a vegetarian we should be completely overrun by animals. That without eating flesh our diet becomes dull and uninteresting. That the vegetarian diet is not filling and the amount of food one has to consume to satisfy one's hunger tends to make one gain weight. That one becomes socially 'difficult' and eating out becomes something of a problem. That the fancy health food shops are much more expensive than the other food shops. These are the main objections although there are many more. Let us demolish each one in turn.

Firstly the danger of us being overrun by animals if everyone became a vegetarian. Not true, for the simple reason that animals raised for commercial slaughter are artificially bred to multiply at a greater rate than is natural. If it became unprofitable to breed animals the number of them would be drastically decreased by introducing alternate breeding methods.

From the economic standpoint, if everyone became a vegetarian the area of land used to graze animals for food could be used to raise anything from four to forty times as much vegetable food. Meat is actually no more than very expensive, secondhand, vegetable food. It is a known fact that vegetable foods can be produced much more economically than flesh foods.

Let us then consider the second argument against vegetarianism, that the vegetarian diet is dull and uninteresting. To a cook who is imaginative and adventurous, this need not be so. To one who is not, a flesh diet is equally as unpalatable for a good cook can show her talent with any kind of food. And what can be more colourful and exotic than a plate full of mixed and brightly coloured vegetables topped with grated cheese. What a conglomeration of colours, textures, and flavours. What a wealth of vitamins, and what easily digestible nourishment. Food without killing, surely that is the ideal diet for a thinking man?

The third argument, that the vegetarian becomes socially a difficult customer, is one which the strong minded will choose to ignore. If your ideals and beliefs are against the killing of innocent animals and the eating of their flesh, then you will not mind being misunderstood by well-meaning friends and relatives. Those closest to you will be only too ready to respect your wishes. As far as eating at restaurants is concerned there are many fine and economical vegetarian restaurants up and down the country and if your own particular district has none you could always take your own packed lunch to work. You can always get round the difficulties if you really want to.

And the fourth argument that the vegetarian diet is not filling enough and that the extra intake of food tends to make one gain weight? What of this? This is where the eating habits of the Yogis will help you. They chew their food slowly and at the same time very gradually decrease their intake of food until they are eating only enough to keep alive and superbly healthy. More food than this amount is superfluous and tends to put on weight but you will notice that no devotee of Yoga has even an ounce of superfluous fat on him or her.

And what of the last argument, I mentioned, that health food shops are expensive markets and eat up the household budget? True in a sense maybe, if you do not bother to learn vegetarian cookery. If you are a housewife, and your cooking is good and tasty, then perhaps your husband and your children will become vegetarians too. If you live alone you have no one to consider but yourself, and if you are a bachelor, your mother, your sister or even an understanding landlady will come to the rescue. What I am impressing on would-be vegetarians is that it can be done if you really want to. And I am not asking you at this stage to become a vegetarian but merely making various practical suggestions as to how it can be done in the event of your gradually turning against the eating of flesh foods for the reasons I have already outlined.

This is a book about Hatha Yoga and I am writing it mainly from the point of view of your health. However, the body and the mind being inseparable, in showing you how to discipline the one I cannot but mention from time to time the effect upon the other. As Yoga gives your body a new lightness and suppleness you will find that you have gradually become a more spiritual person and food will be of less importance to you than before. You will become more sensitive to the feelings of others and therefore stop to consider the feelings of helpless animals in slaughterhouses up and down the country.

You who long to be slim, to regain your youthful suppleness and vitality, are going to be helped to this end not, as I warned you at the beginning, by any magical or 'crash' diet, but simply by adjusting your eating habits and way of thinking. Where to begin?

First of all remember that our bodies are only nourished by food which they can break down and assimilate and that, ideally, all food should be laxative. This is far from the case, however, and far too much devitalized and unnatural food is being consumed in this modern world with the result that an appallingly high percentage of the population suffers from constipation and other disorders of the digestive tract. As I said at the beginning of chapter eight, the Yogis name constipation as 'the Mother of all diseases', and here we might aptly name devitalized food as 'the mother of all constipation and digestive disorders'.

What is devitalized food and why are the Yogis so against it? Dead and devitalized foods include everything that has been preserved, bottled, bleached, refined, canned, pickled, or polished. When I say avoid eating white flour products, white sugar products, and polished rice you will ask why. What is wrong with these substances? Simply that in their refined state they are unsuitable as foods and are actually harmful to the human body. What is wrong with eating raw sugar, whole-wheat flour products, and unpolished rice? They may prove somewhat dearer but who in his right mind would try to economize on good food? And in the case of raw sugar be careful that you are not buying refined sugar that has simply been coloured brown. And try, for a change, to sweeten your food with honey. More easily assimilated than any other food, it is especially beneficial to older people and those of you who are suffering from digestive troubles of any kind.

Being a lifelong honeyeater I cannot impress on you too strongly how wholesome and nutritious a food this is. The purest and most natural of foods, it is cheap and plentiful and yet so few people recognize its enormous value.

I seem to hear protests in my ears already. Do you say that you once bought a jar of honey, and you tried to eat it and what happened. It simply would not go down. You dislike the stuff and that is that. But wait. Perhaps you once bought a pound of sour apples. Did you then decide never to buy apples again because you disliked the taste of sour ones? There are very many different honeys. Maybe the jar you once bought was a blended honey, better used in cooking. Why not try one of the dark honeys, brown as a nut, with the strong and heady sweetness of sunshine? Why not try one of the mild, creamy white honeys, thick and subtle flavoured? There is such a bewildering variety of honeys from all over the world that I could not possibly name them all, but perhaps the most delectable of all, though it is a matter of personal preference, are the clover honeys, smooth and mellow as butterscotch, and with an unforgettable bouquet, and the dark-toned, exotic honeys of the Caribbean.

And do not, please, think that honey is always clear golden or biscuit coloured. Honeys are as multi-coloured as a rainbow. The French honey that is gathered from the blooms of gooseberry and sycamore trees is an exquisite sea green. The flavour, need I say, is beyond words. From Brazil comes a black honey, from Africa a clear, pale green, and from Texas comes one of the most unique honeys in the world, the remarkable guajillo honey which is crystal white with a pearly reflection like new milk. Not always available in American "health-food" stores, but to be looked for at any rate, is the exotic lotus honey of India. It is as exciting, as mysterious, and as health giving as Yoga itself. I could go on for a whole book writing ecstatically of the wonder and the glories of honey but let it suffice to say that if you think you dislike honey then try all the different ones you can find. If you fail to find one you like you are indeed unique.

If you feel I was becoming lyrical over honey I am going to be just the opposite about its greatest rival—sugar. Why, I wonder, did we abandon honey, nature's most nutritious sweet food, in favour of dry, sterile, refined sugars? I am afraid that there can be only one answer—sheer ignorance of the basic needs and capabilities of the human organism. Because, up to about the year 1700 sugar was the exclusive amenity of the aristocracy, it came to be greatly prized by the masses as a delicacy. It had a certain social significance as, say, caviare has today. So when a new process was discovered of refining sugar cheaply and in large quantities honey began to lose its popularity as a sweetening agent and became increasingly less available as sugar became more so.

Then physicians in America and Europe began to realize that a tragic dietary mistake was being made and that the over indulgence in artificial sugars was causing increasing ill health. New digestive and nervous disorders began to make their appearance, and the instance of diabetes shot up alarmingly.

Many people do not know that granulated sugars, syrups, treacles, and molasses are artificial sweets. Still fewer people know that they are also powerful stimulants, drugs which are actually habit forming. So used are people to taking them as an everyday commodity that they have come to regard them as harmless, pleasant, and nourishing. I assure you that they are neither harmless nor nourishing though no doubt many would protest that they are pleasant.

The sweets that 1 have mentioned are manufactured by a process which destroys all their nutritive elements. In the case of granulated sugar the sugar crystals that are formed after the cane juice is treated with the fumes of burning sulphur or heated with bisulphide of lime, are sterile and devitalized. It is just this fact which makes sugar a commodity that will keep almost indefinitely which is a distinct advantage from a commercial point of view but hardly from a health one.

Sugar granules, in their final, highly concentrated form, are powerful stimulants. When they reach the human stomach they oxydize violently upon their contact with oxygen, which produces an explosive effect upon the digestive system and causes an increased activity in the internal organs. White sugar can be compared with a highly combustible fuel that violently ignites, burns with a fierce intensity, and as quickly dies down.

Can you imagine the shock treatment all this activity has on the digestive and nervous systems? And because of this fast dying down the body is aware of a hunger for more and more sugar. It is this fact that makes people often eat as much as a pound of sweets or chocolates at one sitting. The desire for 'just one more' becomes a compulsion, and the more poorly nourished a person is the more susceptible he will be to sugar addiction. For that is what it is, an addiction, no less. That sugar, in the last analysis, can cause serious malnutrition is proved by the fact that although like alcohol, it is a quick source of energy the effects do not last and as the body becomes more and more dependent on these 'quick lifts' it becomes less inclined to eat nourishing food.
To sum up the case for honey and the case against sugar I would say this. That artificial sugars must be broken down by the digestive tract into simple sugars before they can be utilized by the body, and thus they put an undue strain upon the system. The use of honey presents no such problems as it consists entirely of natural sugars that do not have to be oxydized by the digestive tract. Honey is absorbed at once without excessive stimulation or shock to the system and it does not result in a craving for more. Sugar is no substitute for honey as, chemically, it is of an entirely different nature. So why be dictated to by the heavy hand of commerce?

In order to guide you in your choice of foods for your Yoga diet I will here outline the principle vitamins and their easily available food sources. Vitamins, in controlling the body's use of minerals, promotes a balance in the body necessary for the proper functioning of the endocrine glands and the formation of hormones.

Vitamin A

The body uses this vitamin best in conjunction with vitamin D in the proportion of 7-1. The principle sources of vitamin A are cabbage, carrots, celery, endive, lettuce, oranges, parsley, prunes and dried apricots, spinach, tomatoes, and watercress.

Lack of vitamin A produces scaly skin, stones in the kidney and gall bladder, catarrh and sinus infections, poor digestion, and low resistance to disease. This vitamin is essential for proper growth of body tissues, and increases resistance to infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts.

Vitamin B_x

The principle sources are cabbage, carrots, celery, coconuts, citrus fruits, parsley, radishes, turnip tops, and watercress.

Lack of vitamin B1 results in low heartbeats, poor appetite, gastric, intestinal and nervous disorders, chronic constipation and the enlargement of the adrenal glands and the pancreas. Violent exercise, increasing age and weight, and feverishness all increase the body's need for this vitamin.

Vitamin B₂

The main sources are apples, apricots, cabbage, carrots, coconuts, citrus fruits, prunes, spinach, turnip tops, and watercress. The supply of this vitamin decreases when there is an increase in the consumption of fats and minerals, and is conserved by the intake of fibrous foods.

Lack of vitamin B2 results in lack of energy and stamina, loss of hair, cataract, tongue ulceration, and disorders of the digestive tract.

Vitamin C

I would mention that copper cooking vessels cause a serious loss of this vitamin. The main sources of it are citrus fruits, cucumber, parsley, pineapples, radishes, rhubarb, tomatoes, turnips, watercress, carrots, and green leaf vegetables.

Lack of this vitamin causes many illnesses, among them being weakness and shortness of breath, palpitations, headaches, tooth decay, peptic and duodenal ulcers; heart disease, circulatory disease, and the impaired function of the adrenal glands.

Vitamin D

This vitamin is stored in the skin as ergosterol, which is converted into vitamin D2 by sunshine or ultra-violet light. Vitamin D controls the calcium content in the blood; excess of vitamin D results in a number of disorders, including diarrhoea, depression, and severe toxic disturbances.

Lack of this vitamin results in fragile bones, rickets and bow legs, poor retention, and cramps resulting from abnormally low calcium metabolism. Though this vitamin is not found in fruits, vegetables and cereals, butter is an excellent source as is cod liver oil, for non-vegetarians. For the vegetarians there are a number of artificial sources of vitamin D, among them irradiated ergosterol.

Vitamin E

This vitamin is stored in the muscles and fat and as it is rapidly depleted it must be renewed regularly. The main sources of it are wheat germ, celery, lettuce, leafy green vegetables, and parsley. According to recent medical research, lack of vitamin E can produce sterility in both sexes, miscarriage, and loss of hair.

Minerals

The following minerals have been declared essential to the human body by research authorities—calcium, chlorine, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulphur. I will describe each one briefly, listing the main food sources.

Calcium (alkaline). Daily requirements, adults 10 grains, children 15 grains. This mineral builds strong bones and teeth, aids heart action and the clotting of the blood, and helps to establish the correct balance of vitamin D in the body.

Main sources of calcium are cheese, milk, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, carrots, celery, figs, rhubarb, and parsley. Blackberries and cranberries are also a good source of this mineral.

Chlorine. This is a general cleanser of the body and helps to expel waste matter and purify the blood. It also aids in the formation of gastric and other digestive juices. The main sources of this mineral are fruits and vegetables.

Copper (acid forming). The main sources of this mineral, which is necessary for the absorption of iron in the body, are leafy vegetables, fresh and dried fruits.

Iodine (acid forming). As this mineral is essential to the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, deficiency in it results in goiter and general glandular disturbances. The main sources of it are green leafy vegetables, carrots, cucumber, prunes, radishes, pineapples, and tomatoes.

Iron (alkaline). This is the mineral that figures prominently in the building of red corpuscles, and which also absorbs and carries oxygen in the bloodstream to all parts of the body. There must be adequate supplies of chlorophyll and copper in the diet to effect the proper assimilation of iron, and some experts consider that a woman needs three to four times as much as a man. The main sources of iron are whole wheat, oatmeal, dried beans, dried peas and dried fruits, green leafy vegetables, cheese, tomatoes, bananas, and fresh string beans. Lack of iron results in anaemia and general fatigue.

Magnesium (alkaline). This is the mineral that keeps teeth and bones strong and hard. It also helps to build cells, particularly of the lungs and nerves, and also helps to form albumin in the blood. Lack of this mineral results in poor circulation, constipation, and acidity. The main sources of this mineral are nuts, whole wheat, unpolished rice, oatmeal, dried fruits, and leafy vegetables.

Phosphorus (acid forming). This is another mineral essential to the building of sound bones and teeth and it also maintains the alkalinity of the bloodstream by the phosphates it forms. The most important sources of this mineral are nuts, particularly almonds, cereals, grapes, citrus fruits, blackberries and cranberries, cucumbers, whole wheat, wheat germ, soya beans, tomatoes, and watermelons.

Potassium (alkaline). This is the mineral basis of all muscular tissue, and is vital to the correct functioning of the liver. The main sources of this mineral are leafy green vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Sodium (alkaline). Though this mineral is important to the" body in forming the digestive juices, the saliva, bile, and pancreatic juices, and for the elimination of carbon dioxide, table salt is not the most beneficial source. It is far better to obtain it from its natural sources such as whole wheat, rye bread, buttermilk, celery, bananas, leafy vegetables, and beetroot.

Sulphur (acid forming). This mineral has an antiseptic effect on the alimentary canal, is a constituent of the haemoglobin and keeps the blood purified, and prevents toxic impurities from accumulating in the body. All fruits and vegetables are good sources of sulphur but these should be well balanced with foods of a high phosphorus content such as milk, cheese and eggs, cereals and nuts. Foods high in phosphorus but low in sulphur can lead to improper balance of these minerals in the body.

The above will serve as a useful guide to your future eating habits and with a little experimenting you will find a diet that keeps you healthy and provides all the essential elements you need. Though diet is very much a matter of individual taste and circumstances, here is a list of 'musts' that I learned from my own Yoga teacher.

1. If you do not want anything, then do not eat it even if you think it is good for you. By all means eat meat if you like it but do not eat it merely because you think you cannot live without it. Apart from cheese, eggs, and nuts, the soya bean products, weight for weight, contain more protein than the best steak. Soya bean is not only cheaper and more nutritious but it is also non-acid forming.



2. Eat a little less of everything but do effect this very gradually. Do not starve yourself or suffer hunger pains between meals but do try to cut down on your intake of food.



3. Avoid the  'dead' and devitalized foods, i.e. everything refined, bleached, or preserved. Eat wholewheat bread, raw sugar, or honey.



4. When eating fruit do not throw away the peel. Eat it with the fruit, or in the case of oranges, lemons, or tangerines the peel can be grated to add a delicious and tangy flavour to other foods. Always cook potatoes in  their jackets, either baked or boiled. Much of the protein in potatoes is usually thrown away with the peel. And remember the tops of celery, carrots, turnips and beetroots are too nutritious to be thrown away. Cut them up and steam them with the rest of your vegetables.



5. Instead of serving just one vegetable at a meal, cut up several kinds and steam them very slowly in very little water. Do not overcook; in fact many vegetarians prefer chopped or diced vegetables to be slightly underdone. This preserves the natural texture and flavour. Always cook vegetables slowly



6. in a pan with a tight fitting lid and avoid copper cooking pans if possible.



7. Do not drink too much tea or coffee, as tannic acid and caffeine are not beneficial to the body. By all means enjoy a cup of tea or coffee but make a mental note that you will gradually cut down your intake. At the same time try to drink more milk, either hot or cold, but please never iced.



8. Do not throw away water in which vegetables have been cooked. Why dump vitamins down the sink when they make an excellent basis for soups? With a little seasoning added they are very palatable to drink just as they are.



9. Avoid fried foods especially if you are over forty. When you do eat fatty foods choose what are known as unsaturated fats—corn oil, sunflower seed oil, and soya bean oil. Avoid animal fats such as butter, lard, and dripping, and also avoid olive oil and margarine.



10. Experiment with cheeses. They are all a wonderful source of protein and America alone has many fine cheeses with which to vary your diet to say nothing of the delicious cheeses from other countries. Be adventurous, try new things, and above all eat only what is pure and natural. Do not over-indulge and whenever you are tempted to reach for that chocolate box go to the fruit bowl or the honey pot instead. Try dates instead of sweets.

To conclude I will list the five basic Yoga rules for the maintenance of health and the prevention of disease.

1. Natural wholesome food, enough and no more for the body's needs.



2. Proper breathing and breath control exercises, for the increased oxygenation of the blood.



3. The practice of relaxation of the body and of the mind.



4. Regular exercise to stimulate the circulation and to keep the spine supple and healthy.



5. The practice of concentration and meditation, and the correct method of directing the thoughts towards positive spiritual growth.

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