Food affects and mirrors behavior

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I have observed people visibly change their behavior by the food they eat. This is because food is a energy that has a vibration that electrifies or demagnetizes our body. I am not saying this as a hard and fast rule. Obviously there are some vegetarians that are psychopaths and some meat eaters that can still be saintly.

Just have noticed it in myself and friends over the years, the more meat we eat, the more we become gloomy and sullen. The more fruits and vegetables the more we become vibrant and happier. Swings in moods are typical of meat eaters and usually the more fruits 🍌 🍎 🍉 we eat the brighter our eyes and the lighter our disposition. It is no secret that the Masters have recommended fruit, regardless of the fructose, over other foods. And meat is seen as detrimental to spiritual awakening. Fish being a much better alternative to those having difficulty giving up all carnivore diets.

‘Fish and seafood in general are widely known as a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin D and calcium.‘

I am convinced that meat makes people very ‘earthy’ We are fortunate to have the service of for instance migrant workers, but you can look in most of their eyes and see a very different look then for instance spiritual seekers who eat little to no meat. I have also seen a darker dense look in the eyes of most farm workers in the U.S. who have ( again there are often exceptions )no interest in enlightenment.

Usually people gravitate towards the food that characterizes their consciousness. Or the food they eat characterizes the type of behavior they exhibit.

[guest587]

After reading from Dr. Mark Hyman I've learned it isn't, "we are what we eat" but, "we are what our food eats."

Whether you're eating meat or vegetables, you typically want to go organic and ingest food free from chemicals, pesticides or whatever other synthetic and unnatural products get laced on food.

These type of contaminants effect both meat eaters and vegetarians alike.

That being said, I have introduced regular fruit consumption as my go to for feeling better in life. 

And Gurunath included, "eat plenty of greens!" telling the meat eaters in his satsang that it was okay to eat red meat, but to try and do so as a rare occasion/sparingly. I think Masters sometimes say things that might offend devotees because Masters are able to recognize and address all walks of life which can appear to be in contrast to the advice given to devotees.

[mccoy]

Re. fructose: fructose present in the fruit is not the same thing as fructose from the corn syrup used in sodas.

Fructose in whole fruit is accompanied by fibers, which regulate and slow down its absorption.

Also, fructose in lean people is not the same as fructose in overweight people, who may be at risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver or NAFLD.

Fructose is not discharged directly into the bloodstream as glucose, so it does not spike blood sugar dramatically.

It must be said though that fruit has fructose+glucose+saccarose, so a significant amount of it may not be beneficial to those with high blood sugar.

Again, I used to eat pounds and pounds of fruit, but recently my fasting blood glucose drifted into a pre-diabetic territory, so now I must be very careful and I am eating many vegetables. With that, blood sugar decreased to more healthy values.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

I’m always interested in your insights. Are you saying fructose and corn syrup are the same, because I do avoid corn syrup. I mean can someone really label sugar from corn….. fructose?

[mccoy]

Steve, I'll be more specific. What's mostly used in the American food industry is not pure corn syrup (which is mostly glucose) but hi-fructose corn syrup, which has a lot of fructose. It is mostly used in sodas. It may be dangerous to the liver (you need to be overweight though and eat badly or be predisposed or be an alcoholic).

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup,[1][2] is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.[3]: 5 

As a sweetener, HFCS is often compared to granulated sugar, but manufacturing advantages of HFCS over sugar include that it is easier to handle and cheaper.[4] "HFCS 42" and "HFCS 55" refer to dry weight fructose compositions of 42% and 55% respectively, the rest being glucose.[5] HFCS 42 is mainly used for processed foods and breakfast cereals, whereas HFCS 55 is used mostly for production of soft drinks.[5]

The United States Food and Drug Administration states that it is not aware of evidence showing that HFCS is less safe than traditional sweeteners such as sucrose and honey.[5] Uses and exports of HFCS from American producers have grown steadily during the early 21st century.[6]

[mccoy]

And this is the entry for pure corn syrup. It can spike blood glucose wildly, in predisposed people. MAltose spikes blood glucose evermore than pure glucose.

Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften texture, add volume, prevent crystallization of sugar, and enhance flavor. Corn syrup is not the same as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which is manufactured from corn syrup by converting a large proportion of its glucose into fructose using the enzyme D-xylose isomerase, thus producing a sweeter substance.

The more general term glucose syrup is often used synonymously with corn syrup, since glucose syrup in the United States is most commonly made from corn starch.[1][2] Technically, glucose syrup is any liquid starch hydrolysate of mono-, di-, and higher-saccharides and can be made from any source of starch: wheat, tapioca and potatoes are the most common other sources.[3][4][5]

[mccoy]

Sorry, the bottom line was missing.

Pure corn syrup: can spike blood glucose very much, can predispose to diabetes

Hi fructose corn syrup: spikes blood sugar less but may be detrimental to the liver.

Bottom line: best to avoid both.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Sorry, the bottom line was missing.

Pure corn syrup: can spike blood glucose very much, can predispose to diabetes

Hi fructose corn syrup: spikes blood sugar less but may be detrimental to the liver.

Bottom line: best to avoid both.

Oh I thought you meant bottom feeders, there are many out there ya know and I really get eeereee thinking about those creatures crawling on the bottom of my stomach like an aquarium. Yogananda warns of those in the SRF lessons.

[mccoy]

Oh I thought you meant bottom feeders, there are many out there ya know and I really get eeereee thinking about those creatures crawling on the bottom of my stomach like an aquarium. Yogananda warns of those in the SRF lessons.

Steve, if you mention bottom feeders my mind goes automatically to the gut microbiome, located on the bottom of the intestine (and maybe a little higher) which is believed to be a fundamental part of a healthy body. In this case, we have a symbiotic relationship where we provide food to the bottom feeders and they provide healthy compounds to our system.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Really have noticed how my roommate and some friends have become increasingly crabby and sullen from eating meat. It becomes more apparent if someone was a vegetarian and goes back to meat. The more people eat dead ☠️ things the more it becomes a part of their lives. Paramahansa Yogananda spoke many times about how meat affects mood’s detrimentally and makes one fidgety and restless: a bad recipe for calmness, equanimity and a meditative state.

A lot of diagnosis of ADHD (attention disorder-hyperactivity disorder) could be resolved by ending dead animal consumption and some meditation.

[guest587]

Thanks Steve.

Sugars and junk food are also a big contributing factor to ADHD.

I wanted to say my Spirit was telling me to eat vegetarian tonight for dinner.

It did not happen. I went with the flow, decided to eat with the family.

Events happened the way they did to tell me I should have listened to my gut.

Now I'm feeling anxiety. There are other reasons for it too, but I think if I ate as I had instructed myself to do- then things would be better.

I had another relevant thought at the dinner table too.

All of this is with regards to the parakeet totem flying into my life.

That is, how often have we rushed our own consciousness? How often have we just said, "Fuck it!" and decided to do something abruptly- not listening to our little inner voice?

I think obliging that energy dynamic is one reason why sometimes this:

It's wild to me, just how loud the mind can get begging you to satisfy a craving.

Happens. Impatience, anger, irritability...

And it makes for thick emotions that don't flow as easily.

Again, it's a process. No victim here. Just awareness.

Here's to our little voices within...

If we can be gentle with ourselves, you'd be surprised how that gentle demeanor carries into future moments with others in unexpected ways.

If we rush ourselves and satisfy demands instantaneously, you'd be surprised how short your fuse is- how uncomfortable your heart has become.

[patrick]

In regards to eating meat, what is your opinion on the spiritual aspect of hunting and fishing? These are a large part of spirituality and connection for many indigenous peoples. The aboriginal peoples of Australia for example who may have been in that region for over 70,000 years with a persistent culture.

[patrick]

In other words, how much of negative effects of meat from a spiritual level are actually the result of an unnatural/non-sacred way of obtaining it? Is there any suffering occurring if an animal lives its life connected and in a natural environment and then at the end of that life it is consumed vs decomposes via fungus, insects and bacteria?

[Jitendra Hydonus]

In regards to eating meat, what is your opinion on the spiritual aspect of hunting and fishing? These are a large part of spirituality and connection for many indigenous peoples. The aboriginal peoples of Australia for example who may have been in that region for over 70,000 years with a persistent culture.

We do not know with certainty that during those 70,000 years you speak of, the continent was even there that long. Many deluges and changes of climate and topography have changed the earths surface during that time. Had it not been so there would never have been the well known facts surrounding all kinds of stretches of lands, for an example,  found under the oceans floor that show signs of intelligent life who built them. There would also not have been, for instance, changes in the polarity of the earths poles. There would have not been sudden seismological activity on the earth that has changed the whole topography of the earths surface, Not to even speak of the activities of the inhabitants,  that at times wiped out most of the population of the earth. So what ‘may’ have been is only conjecture.

We must recognize, at some point, that everything has a spiritual aspect. Even a tree has trapped spiritual energy. And who has not seen a spiritual dog that has the ability to even save life? Do we for instance judge a man eating meat as lowly, who has defended his country from intruders invading who would enslave them?  Would the dogs or the man’s protection to our freedom from oppression be considered not spiritual? People and dogs cannot be judged or evaluated by their eating meat, as to whether they have or have not any ability to make spiritual decisions. My  conclusion, following your line of reasoning: We do not know that people have always done anything they may be doing today. Nor what a persons choice of action will be, by what they eat alone. Spirituality has many defining qualities, what people eat and drink is only one of those distinctive expressions, which nevertheless,  obviously affects behavior. Fortunately we have people aware enough to see this and have advised us in the best way to spiritualize consciousness. If people choose to ignore such council it is their psychological, health and spiritual loss.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

In other words, how much of negative effects of meat from a spiritual level are actually the result of an unnatural/non-sacred way of obtaining it? Is there any suffering occurring if an animal lives its life connected and in a natural environment and then at the end of that life it is consumed vs decomposes via fungus, insects and bacteria?

You are only speaking of one single factor here which is nevertheless an important one. That is the suffering of an animal. Any creature can die a painless death if subjected to certain substances that would kill us without pain. Does that make it right to do so? Humans themselves can live in a “natural environment and then at the end of (their) life be consumed vs (decomposed) via fungus, insects and bacteria?” Following this line of reasoning resorting to cannibalism would also be acceptable.