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KF's article
is subtitled: Finding balance between the extremes of denial and indulgence.
so since the word balance is used in relation
to nutrition, that should be an indication of muddled thinking.
Note: text in default font
are direct quotes from the referenced web page.
KF: During the winter of 1991, I
began experiencing chronic digestion problems. The main symptoms I experience
when this occurs are that I get very bloated after meals and sometimes
feel like I have a rock in my stomach. I become very lethargic, low-energy,
and depressed. I am not sure whether, when this occurs, there is some
sort of obstruction to the food's passage, but digestion is obviously
very disturbed and seriously slowed if not virtually halted at times.
When it first began, I would sometimes get these awful-tasting burps like
food was rotting in my gut. I experienced this off and on for about a
year prior to it becoming chronic. There were a few times where it literally
made me sick to my stomach and I'd have to spend a day in bed.
Right away, we
know these symptoms are the result of eating far too much protein than
can be digested properly, and/or perhaps eating indigestible combinations.
The rock in the stomach and very
bloated indicating that the meal was not digested
properly, and the awful-tasting burps like food was rotting in
my gut being evidence that indeed the excess
protein was putrefying in the gut.
Beginnings of the problem
KF: Five years before this began
I was following an extremely high-carbohydrate, low-fat, low-protein diet.
I did not follow this diet in a very rational or balanced way.
Since only rotting
protein can produce "these awful-tasting burps", this is questionable.
Nut butters are mentioned further on.
KF: I could also eat a large volume
of food without gaining weight.
It seems that
eating "large volumes" was prized, not tuning one's diet to
produce health. If the food is not digested, it will not produce
weight gain.
KF: I was eating a lot of pretzels,
bread, and pizza without the cheese (because I was vegan). ... sometimes
it felt as though, after eating, a blockage would form in my small intestine
where food would become stuck or its passage impeded.
The lack of
fiber in these refined grains would, indeed, inhibit peristalsis and movement.
TB: I was also eating very chaotically
because I was under a lot of stress. I had a lot of food addictions, and
used food a lot of the time as a way to relieve stress.
Both undermining
proper digestion. The excessive starch being eaten could also be
a result of self-addiction to grains/gluten and their opioid
residues; this being a way to turn off emotionally trying to avoid
the stress, instead of consciously eliminating the stress itself.
Experiences with the "live foods" approach
KF: I tried doing a one or two-day
fast and then a few days of raw foods. It didn't cure my problems but
I felt better. The problem was that I lost another 10 pounds. My weight
was now down to 95 pounds. This really scared me. All my friends and relatives
thought I had anorexia.
Rather than
take responsibility for her own health, and investigate diet in a rational
way to produce health, she falls under the negative emotional influence
of overweight people who are totally ignorant of diet. NOTE: a "few
days of raw foods" is certainly not enough time to either understand
or properly experience this diet, or any other. She also does not
reveal exactly the items, quantities, or combinations of them eaten; apparently
none of this being important to her, just as none of it was ever important
to Billings, either. Again, we have a complete abandonment of both
the quantitative and qualitative aspects of nutrients, and this leads
to fumbling around in the dark.
Going to the other extreme of overindulgence to gain weight
KF: I was somewhat familiar with
acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and decided to give this a try. I was
told I had what they call in this system a "weak spleen."
Like Billings,
she abandons chemical rationality and embraces a nonsensical system of
folklore.
KF: They believe that too much of
what they call "cold food," such as uncooked fruits and vegetables, weakens
digestion. They advised me to stop being vegan and to eat a lot
of soups, well-cooked vegetables, and even meat.
Strangely, every
other species of Life on this planet eats only uncooked foods,
and we all evolved on it, yet this does not weaken their digestion.
Thus, simple facts, such as this, are totally ignored in order to
yield to yet another irrational, groundless philosophy.
KF: I should have followed the advice
of my acupuncturist, which was about trying to find balance through eating
Since there
is no such thing as balance in nutritional biochemistry,
this is absolutely impossible; it sound good - who would want to be "unbalanced"?
- but it is impossible.
KF: I went to the other extreme
and began eating whatever I was craving and foods that I thought would
help me gain weight quickly like ice cream and junk foods, which I loved.
Again, the dangerous
obsession with weight, and the dive back into junk foods.
KF: I gained back 10 pounds, and
was looking much better but still not feeling "well." I was able to keep
this weight on for about a year, but I still had a lot of digestion problems
and low energy.
Still, the obsession
with weight, and not one attempt to determine a healthy diet, or evens
think about nutrients.
KF: I managed to keep weight on during
this year by including dairy in my diet and not being so obsessive about
eating "healthfully." I ate ice cream just about every night before going
to bed. The problem with this was I didn't feel "well." I fell into the
pattern mentioned previously of eating a lot before going to bed and then
waking up feeling bloated, low energy, etc.
Weight always
being more important than health.
KF: I was still having a lot of trouble
with my digestion and keeping weight on, and decided to give Western medicine
a try to see if they had any ideas about what was happening. The doctor
I saw ran a few tests but nothing was found.
No surprise!
KF: I was still basically eating
whatever I wanted which mainly consisted of some vegetables, bread, nut
butters, dairy, junk food, and even occasionally meat. My weight was about
95-100 lbs
Nut butters
contain far too much protein to be digested properly, and in combination
with starches (breads) are particularly indigestible. This is the
first time she mentions nut butters, but they could have been the cause
for "these awful-tasting burps". Ignoring proper food
combining for optimum digestion guarantees chronic indigestion.
Back to the other pole again with Natural Hygiene and cleansing programs
KF: According to raw and living foods
teachings, eating "live food" was supposed to help digestion because this
food still has all the needed digestive enzymes which are destroyed by
heat in cooking.
The false claim
of "living enzymes", or that foods contain enzymes that digest
our foods for us, is one of the more ridiculous myths in contemporary
nutribabble. It was apparently started by a Dr. Edwin Howell and
further propagated by the old Hippocrates Health Institute. Enzymes
are proteins, and are no more, or no less, alive than any other protein
or chemical substance. Plant enzymes support the biochemistry of
the plant, and they do not support human digestive biochemistry. Plant
enzymes are proteins and are digested in the human gut as any other protein
is.
More lost weight, and another swing back the other way...
KF: After about a month of eating
the majority of my food raw, I got scared because I was getting very weak.
My digestion did not seem to be improving either. All my friends and relatives
put a lot of pressure on me to stop what I was doing.
The weakness
could be due to toxins from the old diet being eliminated. Were
proper combinations eaten for proper digestion? Again, she yields
to emotional negativity from the ignorant.
KF: and began eating a lot of junk
and high-calorie foods to help me put weight on. As you can see, I had
this pattern of going to extremes
Ping-pong!
...and back to cleansing again from the consequences
KF: Someone told me about the Arise
and Shine cleanse ... but I stopped after a week
Into a hospital eating disorders unit
KF: My family ... wanted me
to go into the psychiatric unit of Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, which
had an eating disorders unit. It really scared me at first because there
were a few people who seemed pretty psychotic. I had fears that my family
was going to leave me there for life. Although the hospital had an eating
disorders unit, I was the only one in it. There were a lot of very depressed,
suicidal people there. ...they determined that I was depressed and needed
to go on antidepressants.
Back to Natural Hygiene again, and more cleansing...
KF: I'd always felt that I hadn't
taken my "cleansing" far enough and that if only I'd cleanse a bit more
I'd cure my digestion problems. ... at this time I really thought ...
that I needed to do a fast. When I got to Ray Kent's place he felt I was
too thin to do a fast. He advised me to eat 70-80% raw foods, and felt
that if I followed this over a period of time, my body would begin to
cleanse and I'd regain my digestive strength and consequently gain weight.
Finding Balance
KF: After 6-7 months of eating in
this way I didn't feel I was getting anywhere. I got some tests done by
an osteopath who focused on working with people with digestion problems.
The tests showed I had something called small bowel bacteria overgrowth
as well as candida.
KF: I now basically follow the pattern
of eating ... of eating just fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch (I usually
have some type of grain at this time as well), and then heavier protein-type
foods (I also eat grains at this time) at dinner.
Concentrated
protein/concentrated starch combinations are not properly digested.
KF: One of the basic principles I've
learned from this experience that has helped my digestion is to only eat
when I'm hungry, instead of eating whenever attracted by cravings for
specific foods as I did previously when eating "what I wanted." I also
try to listen to my body and "tune in" to get a sense as to what it needs
at that time
Eating only
when hungry is definitely useful, as is learning to differentiate between
unhealthful cravings" and what the body actually wants.
KF: While I'm eating I try to be
mindful of a "taste change" (when the food begins no longer to be so appetizing
as it was when I first started), which tells me I've had enough and it's
time to stop eating. If I eat past this point I generally experience a
lot of bloating and low energy afterwards.
So, she finally
learns that overeating was the main cause for her digestive problems?
Apparently, the "small bowel bacteria
overgrowth as well as candida" were never addressed?
As with the
other "failures", we see no failure of any "diet",
but rather, compulsive overeating, fixation on weight instead of health,
junk food addiction, over-eating to 'solve' emotional issues, other people's
negative emotional hysteria and ignorance, ping-pong dieting, and not
listening to one's own body as the fundamental errors. TB-like,
KF's approach to diet is to completely ignore specific nutrients and the
qualitative and quantitative issues associated with them, to ignore food
combining for optimum digestion, and instead taking the simple, easy,
no-thinking approach of bouncing from one nonsensical 'diet' or abstract
philosophy to another.
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