Taking Out the Carbage

[This piece was written for my “Taking Out the Carbage” column in Kit Pharo’s “Pharo Cattle Company Update.” I’m "leveraging" it here in the hope that it will help me get back into regular contributions to this blog …]

“Title page of "La Physiologie du Goût" ("The Physiology of Taste") by French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) with a portrait of the author. 1848 edition.” From Wikipedia

"Shunanything made with flour, no matter inwhat form it hides; do you not still have the roast, the salad and the leafy vegetables?"

This quote from Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin's The Physiologyof Taste, published in 1825, makes three points:

1. Carbohydrate restriction is not a new concept. The notion of the fatteningcarbohydrate has been around for almost two hundred years. Nor is it a "fad" diet. Its status as the most effective means of treatingobesity was thoroughly established and well accepted by researchers and clinicians until the 1960s.

2. Those genetically predisposed to fatten (us "easy keepers") who want to be as lean as their genetics will allow them to be (and those exhibiting the various conditions of metabolic syndrome) should limit theircarbohydrate intake. The degree of restriction will be individually determined. The easiestplace to start is by avoiding added sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages. But we must also limit starch. Starch, when digested, is sugar (glucose).It doesn't matterif it comes from "healthy whole grains" or refined white flour. Its effect on blood sugar is quite similar.

3. Any diet that includes"the roast, the salad and the leafy vegetables" can hardly be called boring! People typically do not suffer hunger on this type of diet, and since they experience greaterweight loss and improvements in metabolic markers, it is an easierdiet to maintain than low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets.

"Oh, Heavens!" all you readersof both sexes will cry out, "oh Heavens above!But what a wretch the Professor is! Here in a single word heforbids us everything wemostlove, those little white rolls ... and those cookies ... and a hundred otherthings made with flour and butter, with flour and sugar, with flour and sugar and eggs! He doesn't even leave uspotatoes, or macaroni! Who would have thought this of a lover of good food who seemed so pleasant?"

"What'sthis I hear?" I exclaim, puttingon my severest face, which I do perhaps once ayear. "Very well, then: eat! Get fat! Become ugly, and thick, and asthmatic, and finally die inyourown melted grease: I shall be there to watch it."

JeanAnthelme Brillat-Savarin, 1825

edited 10:06 6/18/2012

Yoga at the Allied Gardens SDPL branch

http://www.facebook.com/events/154090101397932/ Please note that they will only be able to accomodate 18 people per class. Class attendance is first come, first served. Join us Wednesday evenings 6:30-7:30 for "Hatha Yoga for Adults." Aryn Rannazzisi leads a gentle paced class combining breath work and postures (asanas) to promote strengh, flexibility and balance. This all-level class will include inversions, backbends and sun salutations. Please bring a mat or large towel and a hand towel or strap to class. *Brought to you by the Friends of the Benjamin Branch Library*

Those Mysterious Hand Gestures - The Mudras! a link to a post by Blissful Body Yoga

From blissfulbodyyoga.com I love mudras. They are one of my earliest discoveries of yoga, dating back to my childhood when I would "play" with my hands. Bend them, press them together, make them soar like wings. I let my hands dance as the true expression of my anahata (heart) chakra that they are. As I grew into an artist, yoga teacher and healer, the magical emanations of energy from my hands became an even deeper part of my practice, and how I share healing with others. The Kripalu tradition is part of my lineage as a yogi, and Swami Kripalu, like many yogis, was known to have eruptions of spontaneous mudras while deep in meditation. Mudras create powerful energetic "circuits" in our system on many levels, in all of our koshas (energetic sheaths.) They hold energy, heal, protect, enlighten and express. Over the years I have learned mudras from my teachers, but many, many more have simply come through my hands in a natural way. This is the point I want most to s...

IBS oh my

I'm slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that what I have is in fact a form of IBS. Which means far more careful attention to exactly what I put into my body, from the kind of fiber to the amount of sugar, dairy, wheat, and carbonation (I'm a sucker for sparkling water). While I try to sort out what is best for me, I wanted to share with you some information on IBS, the symptoms, and how yoga can help alleviate the complications. Help For IBS . Enjoy whilst I go and fetch myself some enteric coated peppermint capsules, soluble prebiotic fiber and some fennel tea. We'll chat later :)

Fasly-Kam

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