Nutrition and Physical Regeneration

This is an article that I started several years ago but never finished. Digging through some old material I came across the first installment. I will post a new installment at least once a week. I hope you enjoy it.

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courtesy of kundaistreet.blogspot.com

To make matters worse many people who are originally a part of the movement succumb to the siren call of practicality and pragmatism, i.e. the well intentioned goal of reaching a broader audience and thus being considered relevant becomes the dominant concern, even to the point of temporarily abandoning principle (which usually is never temporary).

These folks compromise basic principles thinking they are helping to expand the movement when in reality they are undercutting it, although obviously such “turncoats” don’t see it that way.

The battle in the War on Good Food is no different. We struggle socially because so many and in fact most people around us are doing it differently. Our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues all think we are making much ado about nothing. Or even if they acknowledge we have a valid point, think we might be carrying our ideas a wee bit too far.

In the process we get tired and frustrated and wonder whether trekking to three stores 20 minutes away is worth the trip when there is a local Safeway right around the corner. Our neighbors hit one store and they are done. Not to mention we also visit Safeway as well realizing that good food can be found even in havens of bad food decadence.

What follows are five of an undetermined number of points (I envision at least three installments in this series), in no particular order, and certainly not all-inclusive, that are designed to help revive, motivate and sustain you when the battle seems particularly tough or even lost at times. Each point stands on its own, but taken as a whole they should keep you well equipped in the War on Good Food. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Don’t ever lose your enthusiasm

This is foundational. Nothing motivates, nothing is as persuasive, and nothing is as winsome and attractive as genuine enthusiasm. Enthusiasm covers a multitude of sins. Even when people don’t fully understand what you are saying, they will listen and they will be intrigued in the face of sincere enthusiasm. People tend to be less critical of enthusiastic people, i.e. they are more likely to keep their criticism to themselves, which is no small thing when the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and one more jab from your brother-in-law might send you into the depths of despair or on a major refined sugar binge.

Usually what happens when we encounter a new idea that captures our imagination is that we are initially very enthusiastic. As time goes on and we acquire more knowledge and become more articulate about our new found beliefs, our enthusiasm is replaced by a much more rational, i.e. “professional approach.” We are still excited but it is covered by a layer of rationality simply because we know our subject so much better and maybe have even had some exciting personal successes with our own health after venturing into eating really good food.

In our enthusiastic stage we may have won several converts, even if most of the time we were talking at breakneck speed in a language most people didn’t understand. “You know that stuff is full of GMO’s and you can’t eat that cuz there is a problematic gliadin peptide and oh yeah dysbiosis can be real problem when consuming that and oh man those glycation end products are gonna do you in and…and…and…” People responded to our excitement and were overjoyed that someone might have what seemed like a good argument as to why that huge porterhouse steak on their plate loaded with butter might actually be good for them.

In the professional stage we may win some folks through sheer logic but in general find the going much tougher. We talk at a normal pace, we remind them that their steak isn’t grass fed and the butter isn’t raw. We talk casually about fermenting cabbage and making kefir and our reasons for being gluten free. It is good and well but gone is that whiz bang excitement, that rush of sheer energy, that sense of destiny that this time we are right and that eating all those foods that taste good are actually good for us.

It is a fairly simple reason why converts at this stage are hard to come by; most folks are not moved by logic. As anyone who has ever made a living in sales and marketing quickly discovers being logical is not the same as being emotionally compelling. You might be dead to rights in your assessment of all things nutritional, but if you don’t present them in an emotionally compelling way, most folks won’t get on board with you, at least not in the early stages when it runs counter to everything around them unless they have their own more compelling reasons (like sickness or weight loss or vanity).

The best combination is to be enthusiastic and “professional”. Once we understand the difference between being logical and emotionally compelling and learn to combine the two, we can make a lot of headway in what otherwise might appear to be very hard ground, nutritionally speaking.

2. Win people one at a time in their time

Over the years I have been involved with recruiting and training people who may have never been involved in my industry. In doing so I rarely if ever try to convince someone who looks like they have all the goods to be a superstar to move over from what they are currently doing and join my company. Nope. I just tell a story about who I am, what we have to offer, etc. I tell it with excitement and enthusiasm. If it clicks with them then that is great. If not then I just move on.

The philosophy is simple. I’m looking for people for whom this is the right thing for them to be doing now, and no one else. No great closes, no fantastic benefits, no overcoming of every objection in the book. I’m just looking for someone who puts their head up when I “call” their name.

The same thing goes here. Tell your story. Be helpful. Be enthusiastic. But realize not everyone is listening or ready to listen. Try to meet them at their point of perceived need. If someone responds positively, that is great. If not you just have to move on and engage in what I call the drip theory. That is every now and then, in an unobtrusive non-offensive way, give them some new information. It may be a pamphlet or it may be inviting them over to dinner and impressing them with a good food dinner without saying one word about the makeup of the dinner. You won’t have too. They will know. Eventually some of those folks, who weren’t ready when they first heard you, will eventually warm to and embrace your message and nutritional way of life.

Life isn’t static. People change. Circumstances change. What may have been true six months or a year ago may no longer be true now. Maybe a loved one got sick and died at a tender age. Maybe their life insurance premium was rated higher because of some illness. Maybe they ran into an old high school buddy who still looks great after all these years. At any rate what they couldn’t hear before rings true to them now. So don’t despair. Stick to your knitting. You will eventually find yourself surrounded by people who do care about good food and see it as a legitimate avenue to great health.

Robert Mendelsohn in Confessions of a Medical Heretic wrote years ago that you should strike up conversations with people about health, not to argue, but to find those who are predisposed to your path, and then befriend them and join them on the way.

One person here leads to another person there who leads to another person there and on and on. It only seems small to you but the myriad of lives we all touch throughout our life makes our potential impact quite large.

There was once a group of scared, largely uneducated, ragtag men and women who were the outcasts of their own society. There were initially twelve and then a few others joined along the way. But at the death of the founder of their group it didn’t look pretty. Just one more fringe group ready to fade into the sunset once their beloved leader was gone. But 50 days later with a newfound vision and power 5,000 people were added to this group in one day. 21 centuries later billions of people, to this very day, have been directly impacted by the followers of Jesus Christ.

One at a time in their time can work miracles.

3. Understand that sowing and reaping occur in different seasons.

This is directly related to the point two above. You just can’t go out and throw some seeds in the garden today and then look out tomorrow or even next week and expect to see some growth, let alone a full blown plant. Planting food takes time, energy, effort, tending, nurturing, and watering before you can expect to see any results.

It is no less different in the world of ideas. We are usually talking and interacting with people who have probably spent a lifetime thinking and eating in a way diametrically opposed to what we are talking about. They aren’t going to convert over night, if ever. It takes time and wisdom and patience before we can expect to see the fruit of our efforts, sometimes many many years.

4. Understand and embrace the social dynamics of food

One of the best ways to win people over without ever engaging in direct discussion is to invite them over or out for a good meal. It has happened to me on numerous occasions when I have invited people over and they thoroughly enjoyed the meal only to watch them suddenly open up to the concept of eating healthy. The first few times I did that I had no ulterior motive whatsoever, it just happened quite by accident. Nothing quite beats good fellowship and good food for helping to broaden people’s horizons in the whole arena of nutrition.

This is why I am constantly amazed by people who discover a new way of eating, a new healthy regimen, and simply take no time or make no effort to make their regimen as appealing as possible in the presence of other people. Then they wonder why friends and family are so opposed to how they eat. This is particularly important if you are in any kind of familial relationship.

Steak tartare can be a launching pad for many a discussion about the benefits of raw meat. As can a glistening plate of beef carpaccio or Japanese sashimi. It is compelling and can provide for interesting discussion and interaction. On the other hand, steak “cold on a cold plate” is probably going to just drive a wedge between you and those you love most, at least when it comes to eating.

If you are involved in any kind of relationship where the other person doesn’t see it quite the way you do, you must go out of your way to make the food, without compromising it, as visually appealing and tasty as possible.

You say that is too much work. Perhaps, but if you are serious about this war and concerned about the health of your loved ones you really don’t have any other choice, unless you want to live a hermetically sealed social life and constantly endure the jabs and barbs of those who are closest to you.

Wars aren’t won in isolation. They involve engagement with people in an effective and compelling way. If you want to eat your raw meat and have everyone think you are weird, then make no efforts. If you want to have a vibrant social dynamic with friends and family then you will make the effort, even if none ultimately come around to your way of thinking.

5. Don’t isolate yourself

Under no circumstances should your food choices be an occasion for social isolation. If they are something is wrong with what you are doing. Usually this is more a question of attitude then anything else. There are many and numerous ways to interact and retain your food principles without becoming an outcast. We will tackle such strategies in another article. But for now just keep in mind that if your food choices cause you to become a social outcast, then whatever benefit you may be gaining from your diet, could possibly be undermined by the social stress you have introduced as a result of that diet. Humans thrive in relationship. Sharing food is probably one of the most foundational ways that such is acknowledged and enjoyed. Don’t ever lose sight of that reality.

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See also: Winning the War on Good Food – Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

Winning The War on Good Food – Part 1 by Michael Miles is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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