A mild diarrhea, however, if it occurs rarely and lasts no more than three or four days cleans out the system and is to be considered a temporary discharge. It is best left alone. If it lasts more than three days or so, it is becoming more of a malfunction. There are two very effective old remedies for this:
• Cooked white rice;
• Grated apple with skin, allowed to turn brown. INFLAMMATION In problems of inflammation of the digestive tract, such as ulcers, colitis, spastic colon, and so on, abstinence from raw vegetables and fruits is usually very helpful. One of my students, sent to me by her doctor, had a serious case of reflux esophagitis, which gave her attacks of palpitations and breathlessness similar to heart attacks. She invariably had one if she ate a large salad, but did fine, as we soon discovered, with cooked vegetables, grains, and beans— she even lost twenty-five pounds on this regime! Cases of colitis have also responded well to all-cooked-food diets, if they included a high proportion of alkalizing foods such as cooked vegetables and soups; small amounts of beans, brown rice, and millet; maybe a bit of fish. Miso soup with seaweed and shoyu-kuzu are good support foods in these cases as well. Kuzu, incidentally, is my preferred universal remedy for disorders of the digestive tract. I find that shoyu-kuzu on an empty stomach is excellent for cases of expansion, gassiness, or even bleeding ulcers. Shoyu-kuzu with umeboshi( good as an antacid) is helpful for indigestion or overeating. Apple-juice kuzu pudding( a relaxing concoction) helps counterbalance contraction, tightness, cramping, as well as tension, anger, and irritability. In serious, persistent cases of digestive disorder, the kuzu should be taken first thing in the morning and just before retiring. Milder cases do well with kuzu once a day. My children, if they’ ve eaten out too much and feel a bit under the weather, may refuse dinner and ask for a bowl of shoyu-kuzu with umeboshi; then they are fine the next morning. The most important thing to remember in cases of ulcers at any point of the digestive tract is that they are a problem of excess acidity and therefore must be treated with alkalizing foods. The large amounts of milk and cream often used to treat ulcers would have an acidifying effect because of their high protein and fat content. Thus, in addition to avoiding milk and cream, it would be wise for ulcer patients to avoid acid-forming foods in general, such as meats, eggs, flour products, sugar and sweets, alcohol, and fats. They should also keep their grain intake low, chew everything thoroughly, and follow a dietary approach like the one indicated above for colitis. Eating Disorders Our appetite system consists of our taste and smell sensations, bodily feelings that indicate desire for food and drink, satiety, and so on. This system is the sentinel at the gates of our stomach, ideally allowing only healthful substances in and keeping noxious ones out. It is a system both effective and efficient, as it has kept the human species alive for a few million years. In the past hundred or so, however, there have been some changes in our food supply that have wreaked havoc with the ability of our appetite system to understand what we’ re eating. The most obvious of these changes has been the splitting up of foodstuffs into their separate chemical components. Extraction, concentration, isolation, and similar technological maneuvers have yielded nutritive substances that are out of context: white flour, white sugar, juices, soy-protein isolates, individual vitamins and minerals, and so on. Their wide use has completely changed the common diet of the Western world and is fast changing that of the rest. These partial foods— as opposed to whole foods, such as whole wheat bread, sugar cane, fruit, whole soybeans— create relative deficiencies of the elements they don’ t have; for example, sugar, a pure carbohydrate, sets up a vitamin deficiency, among other things. As the body perceives itself unevenly nourished, it keeps on looking for the elements it needs to balance itself and therefore“ gets the munchies.” White bread and jam create a need for protein, fiber, and minerals; a potato chip and ice cream binge may be the attempt to meet that need. In addition, the appetite is further confused by the increased use of chemical additives, whether they’ re made from petroleum or isolated from natural substances. Some foods that would normally be spoiled don’ t taste spoiled, others taste like what they’ re not, and some that are in fact harmful seem delicious. How’ s a body to know what to eat? An increasingly common condition with varying degrees of severity, eating disorders indicate, above all, a breakdown of the appetite system’ s ability to monitor food intake. Hunger, in a body fed isolated foodstuffs, becomes unreliable or even disappears. One specific episode illustrated this phenomenon for me most dramatically. Some months ago, my friend Judy was complaining about her insatiable hunger.“ No matter what I eat,” she said,“ I’ m hungry after every meal. I feel unsatisfied, and go munching on chips or crackers or whatever. And I know I don’ t need it! I just can’ t help myself. Do you have any thoughts on this?” I did indeed, for I’ d seen many of my students go through the same experience and had found my solution to be amazingly effective: Look for