How many more defects in formulas could still be undetected? How many more mistakes will we discover we have made by trying to override the natural system? Clearly a problem exists. We do not get real mother’ s milk— and all its health-giving effects— by isolating, juggling, mixing the physical elements present in the real thing. There will inevitably be unpleasant consequences when we tamper with the products of nature, of living organisms, where parts are joined in optimum harmony, interrelating, supporting, depending upon one another in a manner not yet fully understood by science. The Effects of Food Temperature Among all animals, only humans heat their food. The interesting thing is that it is also only humans who think, speak, and write. And all human societies, to a greater or lesser extent, use fire in meal preparation. Cooking, in fact, is a universal human custom. We will discuss the different aspects of cooking in chapter seven. Now I simply want to consider temperature, how it affects the energy field of the foods we consume, and thus how it affects us. Foods that are served hot, cold, or at room temperature all have a different effect on how we enjoy them as well as on our energy level. First, remember that life needs warmth to unfold. We have an inner warmth( 98.6 ° F) that allows our vital processes to move along smoothly. Heat raises energy, and our inner heat feeds our energy. We keep both of them going by“ burning up” foods during digestion and metabolism; more specifically, by breaking the chemical bonds between carbon atoms, and between carbon and hydrogen atoms, and absorbing the heat released by that breakdown process. Hot foods, which provide additional heat, will support our metabolic activities even more, especially when the weather is cold and we need to counterbalance its effects. Heat raises the energy level of foods, and so our own. In a cool environment life slows down. Witness the hibernating polar bear, and the casserole in your refrigerator that doesn’ t grow mold as easily as it would if you had left it out. It follows that cold foods slow down our metabolism, as well as counteracting our bodies’ inner heat. I’ ve long been puzzled— mostly because I don’ t share it— by the attraction most Americans feel for icy cold drinks and foods. The only way I can explain it is by bringing in the law of opposites: If the system desires cold, there must be a lot of heat somewhere. But where would that excess heat come from? If food is the fuel that provides us with calories( or rather, with heat measured in calories), then probably the food that people eat in this country creates an excess of internal heat. It is too high in calories. And what part of the diet would be the main source of all that heat? Considering that protein and carbohydrates each provide four calories per gram when metabolized, while fat provides nine calories per gram, and considering, too, that fat contributes over 40 percent of the calories in the American diet, it is not farfetched to speculate that fat may be the main source of excessive inner heat. Furthermore, even in the coldest regions of the country people live in springlike temperatures all year round, thanks to central heating. They have therefore little use for all that extra heat— unlike the cowboys of the last century who slept under the stars with one thin blanket and whose breakfast of fried bacon and eggs made great sense. Today Americans need to“ cool it,” and one way is with ice-cold drinks. When people eat less fat and more vegetables, cold fare may not only be unnecessary, it could even have a negative effect. Food and drinks consumed straight out of the refrigerator, where they have been isolated from the larger natural force fields, have a very low energy level; hence they tend to lower energy, sometimes to the point of irresistible sleepiness. The presence of sugar— because it is a partial food whose own energy field has been disrupted— can intensify that effect. However, the energy of refrigerated foods can be raised again by heating, stirring, tossing, adding strong flavorings such as fresh garlic, lemon, onions, herbs, spices, or by any other active motions of preparation. If you want to test this notion of the importance of temperature to the energy level of foods, just start your day with a cup of lukewarm coffee or tea. Does it give you the same boost as your usual hot cup? Or, on two consecutive days, try eating two different kinds of lunch and observe how energetic you feel in the afternoon. On the first day eat only unadorned leftovers straight out of the fridge; on the second day cook up a nice hot meal from scratch. You may be in for a surprise. The Effects of Food Preservation Most human communities need to stash away food for the times when it is scarce. Without a doubt, stored food is not the same as that which has been freshly picked or killed. But is the difference favorable or harmful? How can we judge the effects of food preservation methods on the nutrient and energy content of foods and hence on our health? Traditional techniques of food preservation are cold storage, drying, salting, fermenting, pickling, and smoking. What these methods have in common is that they require only natural“ technology”: cold weather, sun, salt, time, fire. They work by slowing down the growth of spoilage bacteria through cold, through the removal of water, or by the creation of lactic acids by friendly microorganisms. Foodstuffs preserved in these ways often end up with increased nutrient density. Let’ s take a quick look at each of these natural methods. COLD STORAGE Laboratory tests show that some of the more volatile food nutrients, such as vitamin C, will break down and