malfunction of the pancreas. 3 An excess of sweets( Earth) overstimulates the stomach, spleen, and pancreas and weakens the kidneys and adrenals( Water); perhaps that is another reason why sugar makes us tired. Healthy food without variety can cause similar problems. I have seen many a case where heavy reliance on sour fruits and salad( Wood Phase) caused problems with the stomach or a strong craving for sweets( both Earth Phase). Too much rice, even brown rice( Metal Phase), will overwork and thereby slow down the lungs and large intestine, causing constipation and a sunken chest ‡; it will also create a tremendous craving for fats( Wood), such as tahini, peanut butter, and fried foods. Too much seaweed overstimulates the kidneys and thyroid( all water phase) and weakens the heart and small intestine( fire phase). The best insurance against one-phase overload is to eat different grains and beans at each meal. Some possible combinations would be rice and kidney beans, barley and lentils, corn and black beans, split peas and millet, kasha and red lentils. A wide variety of vegetables of different colors, shapes, and flavors will help balance the meal. For nonvegetarians, consuming a different kind of fish or fowl each time is also helpful. * Hauschka points out:“ Fear of an‘ impure state’ leads to a body cult that easily degenerates into the worst kind of materialism. The frequent washings and irrigations of the outer and inner man actually reflect a lack of confidence in the power of the soul and spirit to work in an enlivening and healing way in body functions.” 1 †
Carl Englund, of the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, found that the“ fluctuation of minerals, hormones, and other substances in the blood can vary throughout the day by as much as 500 percent.” 2 ‡ I’ ve heard rumors that it is called“ rice chest”!